SoH Horror Guide

What movie should I watch? Can you recommend something for me? What movies have you seen? As a horror blogger, I get this question or a variation of it a lot which is…what horror movie should I watch? And the honest answer is that it varies. Some can handle most if not all types of horror, some might like campier ones, or you’re into classic horror, maybe even before the 70s. You might not like the blood and gore but you enjoy psychological horror. And then there are some that I flat out wouldn’t recommend to a newcomer off the bat because those are one time watches (Cannibal Holocaust, Terrifier, The Last House on the Left, A Clockwork Orange) and those may or may not scar you.

So I decided to give a list of films I think deserve love and attention and a watch. Now, be prepared, the “CLASSIC” ones may or may not be present because of overexposure. You might not have seen Psycho but you know who Norman Bates is and what happens because it’s a known film in and out and is considered a pioneer in the genre.

This will be by decade to make things easier and smoother for you guys so let’s jump into it.

1920s
– Haxan (1922)
– The Man Who Laughs (1928) 
– The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)
– Nosferatu (1922)
– The Phantom of the Opera (1925)
– Faust (1926)

1930s
– Universal Horror (previously starts in 1920s but surged into 1930s with Dracula, 1931)
– Freaks (1932)

1940s
– Cat People (1942)
– The Wolf Man (1941)

1950s
– The Blob (1958)
– The Night of the Hunter (1955)
– House of Wax (1953)
– Diabolique (1955)
– The Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954)
– Tarantula (1955)
– Them! (1954)

1960s
– Black Sunday (1960)
– Blood Feast (1963) 
– Blood and Black Lace (1964) 
– Carnival of Souls (1962) 
– The Haunting (1963) 
– What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)
– Village of the Damned (1960)

1970s
– Phantasm (1979)
– It’s Alive (1974) 
– Black Christmas (1974)
– Alice, Sweet Alice (1976)
– Deep Red (1975) 
– Suspiria (1977) 
– Ganja & Hess (1973)
– Zombi (Zombie 2) (1979)

1980s
– The Return of the Living Dead (1985)
– Re-Animator (1985)
– The Howling (1981)
– Killer Klowns from Outer Space (1988)
– Night of the Demons (1988)
 – C.H.U.D. (1984) 
– Hellraiser (1987) 
– The Monster Squad (1987) 
– My Bloody Valentine (1981) 
– The Stepfather (1987)
– Night of the Creeps (1986)
– The Stuff (1985)
– Tetsuo I: The Iron Man (1989)
– Videodrome (1983) 
– They Live (1988)
– The Changeling (1980)
– Gates of Hell Trilogy (City of the Living Dead, 1980, The Beyond, 1981, and The House by the Cemetery, 1981)

1990s
– Bad Moon (1996)
– The Faculty (1998) 
– Jacob’s Ladder (1990)
– Audition (1999)
– Cube (1997)
– The People Under the Stairs (1991) 
– In the Mouth of Madness (1994) 
– Child’s Play 2 (1990)
– Body Bags (1993) 

2000s
– Drag Me to Hell (2009)
– Ginger Snaps (2001)
– Repo! The Genetic Opera (2008)
– Trick r Treat (2007)
– 30 Days of Night (2007)
– Dog Soldiers (2002)
– American Psycho (2000)
– Let the Right One In (2008)
– Thirteen Ghosts (2001)
– Lake Mungo (2008)
– House of Wax (2005)
– The Descent (2005)

2010s
– The Cabin in the Woods (2012) 
– Ready or Not (2019) 
– Overlord (2018)
– The Invitation (2015)
– You’re Next (2011)
– Tigers Are Not Afraid (2017)
– Clown (2014)
– Suspiria (2018)
– Don’t Breathe (2016)
– The Witch/VVitch (2015)
– The Mimic (2017) 
– It Follows (2014) 
– Warm Bodies (2013) 
– Creep (2014) 
– The Neon Demon (2016)
– Haunt (2019)
– Digging Up the Marrow (2014)
– Hush (2016)
– Attack the Block (2011) 

There has been some really great films released last decade. The 60s have become a favorite decade to check out because I think it is one of those great decades of new ideas, directors, and a huge step away from the sci-fi, quirky B-movies of the 50s. There’s nothing wrong with those but there’s a shift that starts in the 60s and continues into the 70s and 80s.

These are just a handful of films off the top of my head or that I’ve watched this year or last year when I started taking the film watching process more seriously. If you have any input or what you’d put in or take out, comment below! Film (art really) is subjective and we like different films and we dislike others.

So what’s a film from this year or the past year you’ve experienced that you’d include?