Subgenres of Horror

Asking someone what their favorite horror movie is like asking someone what their favorite book is. Are all books alike merely according to the fact that they are books? Hell, no! You got thrillers, memoirs, self-help, chicklit and so much more just like horror movies are not merely limited to “horror movies”. There’s body horror and supernatural and paranormal and slasher and so much more. Since I have opinions on everything here are my favorite horror movies according to subgenre.

Subgenre: Slasher

Favorite: Scream. Scream (made in 1996 starring Neve Campbell as your token final girl as well as featuring David Archuetta and Courtney Cox) is a horror movie as well as a parody of a horror movie which is cleverly done. Teenagers in a small town start to be picked off by a notorious killer Ghostface. The police aren’t exactly on top of it leaving Sydney (Neve Campbell) and her friends to fend for themselves and take down the killer once and for all. The movie is infamous for laying out all the horror movie “rules” according to one character, Randy: 1) don’t have sex 2) don’t drink or do drugs 3) never ever ever say “I’ll be right back” I actually have these rules on a T-shirt.

Runner Up: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 1974 version. It isn’t exactly a cinematic masterpiece but that is part of its charm…how rural and rustic it is. Its about five friends who are in Texas (shocker) when they stumble upon a cannibalistic clan. When you think that the basis for this story was the serial killer Ed Gein (who also inspired Buffalo Bill from Silence of the Lambs and Norman Bates from Psycho), it makes it all the more gross.  They both created household objects out of human skin like lampshades. Perhaps the most well known cannibal is the infamous Leatherface, who I’m guessing, got the name because he wears a mask of human skin. Oh yeah and wields a chainsaw.

Subgenre: Found footage

Movie: Cannibal Holocaust. I should start by saying I actually kind of hate found footage films. But if I had to pick one it would be….definitely not the Blair Witch Project which was just chaos with the screen moving all over the place. Blair Witch  Project was like a friend that let me down. I was expecting more, Blair Witch! Anyway my favorite found footage is Cannibal Holocaust, a found footage Italian exploitation firm. There is a lot of controversy over the movie. First of all, the actors were told to lie low to create buzz. But then the courts started actually thinking they were dead and told them to come forward. Another thing is they killed real animals for this movie which I in no way support but it was 1980 when the movie was released and animal rights were not as supported as they are today. Warning: this is a very graphic movie. I have spoken earlier that I watched disturbing movies when I was in my teens to freak myself out. This movie was one of those and reading the synopsis on the Wikipedia I feel kind of sick. There is alot of rape in this movie, callous and cold. Please please make sure you are good with that kind of stuff before you watch,

Runner Up: Late Night with the Devil. I saw this movie in theaters with my boyfriend. My boyfriend doesn’t watch horror movies after I  made him watch Smile but he could handle this movie which turned out not to be very scary. I did like it though. There were comedic elements to it. My boyfriend was interested for the TV aspect (it’s about the Late Show). I just felt a little unsatisfied with the ending which I’m not going to give away. Horror movies are tough to end as a rule and surprising endings are even more difficult because they usually back their way into a corner. That’s why when its done well you’ve got to have respect for the genre.

Subgenre: Body Horror

Movie: The Fly (the 80s version). Jeff Goldblum plays scientist Seth Brundle who accidentally crosses his DNA with that of a fly in a teleportation gone wrong incident. Now Seth is slowly turning into a fly. Like I said the movie is in the 80s so the side effects might not stack up today. But the acting is great as only Jeff Goldblum can offer. And trust me, the transformation? Not a pretty sight.

Runner Up: The Hills Have Eyes 2006 version. A family is taking a cross country trip and they are in the middle of nowhere where they encounter mutated cannibals who attack the family attempting to kill (and in some cases rape) them. You’ll root for the family as they fight back, trying to protect themselves and each other. 

Subgenre: Supernatural Horror

Movie: Smile 1 and 2. I have written about both these movies on my blog. They are similar yet they inspired very different reactions and you might be surprised to see Smile 2 on my list since I did complain about it.  But I have to give credit where credit is due. These movies are full of twists that I (and I don’t think many people) did not see coming. The characters were developed. The situations in the two movies were worlds apart. In the first movie, Rose is a nurse in a psychiatric ward who witnesses a suicide which puts a curse on her: in  several days she too will commit suicide but not before experiencing tortorous hallucinations and delusions. In the second movie, the main character is a international pop singer who catches the curse from a friend. Everyone starts thinking the singer is back on drugs when really she is under the influence of this curse. These movies take an emotional toll when you yourself have been unstable, when you can recognize your own “crazy” in these people who were under a curse but for you its just your own mind. 

Runner Up: The Ring. This was one of the first horror movies I’ve watched, mostly because it is rated PG13 and my parents never let me watch movies Rated R (until I learned to torrent).  But anyway this movie is about a VCR (that’s how old you know this movie is). Once you watch the video your phone will ring with a message saying “7 days” That is how long you have to live. The main character (played by Naomi Watts) struggles to stop this from happening in order to save herself and her son. Honestly I was surprised this was PG13. It had some disturbing shit, most of which went over my head when I watched it the first time.

Subgenre of Horror: Zombie Movies

Movie: Night of the Living Dead. Yes, this movie is from the 60s and yes it is black and white but you can’t deny it is the ultimate zombie movie..and the first! I saw this movie when I was fifteen and loved seeing how the idea of a zombie emerged in subsequent films. Seven people are trapped in a rural farmhouse surrounded by flesh eating zombies (I also like movies when people are trapped in the same place). Panic ensues as the zombies surround the house. It is also considered a groundbreaking movie because Duane Jones was the first African American to have a lead role in a mainstream horror movie. 

Runner Up: The Crazies. This is a remake of 1972 George Romero film (George Romero was the director of Night of the Living Dead). It got 72% on Rotten Tomatoes and I stand behind it. When people start going “crazy” in a small town, they start quarantining the sick….and eventually the “crazy”. In this movie they work with a different definition of crazy than we do on this blog….in this movie crazy means homicidal. My favorite quote “Don’t ask me how I can’t leave my wife and I won’t ask you how you can”

Horror Subgenre: Psychological Horror

Movie: The Others

Grace (played by Nicole Kidman) lives in a darkened house with only her two children and several servants for company. Her husband is a soldier away at war. Her children are allergic to sunlight and the curtains are always drawn. This movie is so good. First of all, you don’t see the twist coming (unless you’re a genius and then I salute you). The acting is masterful especially on the part of the children (although Nicole Kidman delivers a great job too). There aren’t jump scares or adrenaline jumps but you will be haunted by this story long after you leave the theater.

Runner Up: Silence of the Lambs. This worked both as a book (I recommend) and as a movie. Anthony Hopkins played legendary cannibal Hannibal Lector who is entreated to help the police capture notorious sick serial killer Buffalo Bill who skins his victim’s skin and then wears it like a suit. There is alot of forensic psychology in this and I’m not sure how much is accurate but this movie definitely did the book justice.

Horror Subgenre:  Monster

Movie: Jaws. Of course it’s got to be Jaws. Also another book I read and also well adapted as a movie. This film made people flee from beaches . For those who haven’t heard of it Jaws is about a great white shark that is attacking a small tourist town. The beaches are the main reason the town makes any money at all so the shark attacks are causing scandal and potential devastation to the town. What do we need? “We need a bigger boat”

Runner Up: The Descent. I’ve seen this video twice: one on my own, one more recently with someone else (I think it was my brother). I managed to appreciate it more the second time around. It resembles a found footage film in that you can’t see everything going on but that’s kind of the point. It’s about a group of friends who go spelunking but in the cave the friend who planned this reveals she has no map and she has left no word with anyone about where they are. She does this because she is an idiot. Soon it appears they are not alone. There are creatures that appear in the darkness. These creatures are never clearly shown which make it all the more creepy. The second watch clinched it for me that this is a very good monster movie.