Horror movie suggestions

[Goblinoid Games]

Ok guys and gals, we're coming to the wire and if you are anything like me you are looking for some sweet horror goodness to get you through the last days up to and including Halloween. So please recommned good but perhaps overlooked horror (released in the past or recently, whatever) , as I may have seen mor epopular titles you might otherwise suggest. I'll even throw one out there:

Stakeland

Pretty awesome.

[sniderman]

Here are a few of my favorites to drag out this time of year:

The Deadly Spawn - Deadly alien eating machine invades a small town. Over-the-top gruesomeness from the '80s. (Saw it in early high school.)

The Blob (1988 remake) - Unlike the plodding, slowly oozing mass from the '50s original, THIS blob moves like lightning. And the explanation of WHAT the blob is worked for me. Love this remake.

Splinter- A very creepy cheapie made recently. The tale is the typical "trapped in a remote location and terrorized by a creature" movie, but the monster is one of the most interesting and disturbing ones I've seen in recent years.

Frankenstein's Army - What if Hitler had gotten hold of Dr. Frankenstein's personal journal? What if he began creating an army of reanimated super-soldiers? And what if this movie were filmed in a faux documentary style and presented as found footage? A very interesting film that has some very disturbing imagery. (The POV you-are-there technique works well too, but if you're prone to motion sickness, it'll kill ya.)

[seneschal]

Cat People (1942) -- Creepy and atmospheric. Is the pretty brunette really turning into a giant cat, or is it all in her head?

Arsenic and Old Lace -- A newspaper columnist discovers that his sweet little old aunts maybe aren't as sweet as he thought.

Curse of the Demon/Night of the Demon -- Supernatural debunkers challenge a wizard to do his worst, and he does.

King Kong (1931) -- Can't beat the original.

White Zombie -- When the nearest neighbor to your sugar plantation is Bela Lugosi, maybe it is time to relocate.

Alligator People -- A newlywed bride's husband vanishes en route to their honeymoon, and she launches a determined search for him. Sometimes, it is best to leave well enough alone.

The Ghost Breakers -- Bob Hope defends a young woman who has inherited a spooky Cuban castle.

Ship of Monsters (Spanish) -- Boastful singing cowboy romances space vixens who have a cargo of alien invaders.

The Cat and the Canary -- The 1920s silent version is best, but the Forties version with Bob Hope is fun. Heirs gather to hear the reading of the rich old man's will, but it disappears. Meanwhile, an escaped lunatic killer -- The Cat -- is loose in the neighborhood. Is he in the house?

Old Dark House -- Despite the storm and the flat tire, don't seek shelter at the dark mansion, especially if the butler is Boris Karloff.

Fiend Without A Face -- What you can't see can't hurt you, right?

It! Terror From Beyond Space (1958) -- The inspiration for Alien, this is suspenseful despite the monster's zipper lines

The Monster That Challenged the World (1957) -- Don't go near the water (and this is decades before Jaws!).

The Bat (1959) -- Faceless killer threatens denizens of rented summer home.

Nosferatu (1922) -- No blood, no gore, the monster never actually touches anyone, but God is it scary.

The Golem (1920) -- Rabbi creates clay automaton to defend the Jews of Prague, but it has an eye for the ladies and a mind of its own.

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) -- To sleep, perchance to die.

Ghost Train -- British travelers are stranded at a haunted train station.

The House on Haunted Hill (1959) -- Spend the night in Vincent Price's mansion and win $10,000. Assuming you're still alive at dawn.

[sniderman]

Almost forgot The Ghost and Mister Chicken with Don Knotts. Love that film. Funny and creepy all at the same time.

[seneschal]

Santo and Blue Demon vs. The Monsters (1970) -- (Spanish) Heroic masked wrestlers tackle a Mexican version of the Universal Monsters.

The Mummies of Guanajuato (1972) -- (Spanish) A trio of masked wrestlers takes on a squad of ancient mummified warriors.

Dracula (1931) -- (Spanish) Filmed at the same time and with the same script and sets as the English version. It is hard to replace Bela Lugosi in the title role, but the rest of the Mexican cast blows those tepid Anglo thespians away. The Spanish Renfield is manic, scary and hilarious at the same time. In the English version, a corrupted Mina stares hungrily at her oblivious beau. The Spanish version actually tries to eat him, and she's sexy enough to make you wish you were in his shoes.

Island of Lost Souls (1932) -- The first and best film adaptation of H.G. Wells' The Island of Dr. Moreau.

Island of Terror (1955) -- Isolated British islanders face doom when a genetic experiment escapes from the lab.

The Uninvited (1944) -- A brother and sister discover too late that their dream house is haunted. A subtle and genuinely creepy ghost story.

[Agrippa]

Here's one you wouldn't think of, The Shawshank Redemption (1994). It begins with the trial and wrongful conviction of a banker by the name of Andy Dufesne for the murder of his wife and her lover in the year 1947. It then goes down hill from there as our hero is sent to Shawshank State Prison in Maine, run by the corrupt and religiously fanatical Warden Samuel Norton, then witnesses the beating death of a new inmate by Capt. Byron Hadley. While in prison Andy works in the laundry and endures rape an torture from Bogs Diamond and his gang, "The Sisters".

Fortunately Mr. Dufesne finds new friends and allies on the inside, namely prison smuggler/fixer Ellis Boyd "Red" Redding, and the prison librarian Brooks Halten, whom Andy later becomes assistant to. That is until Brooks' parole from prison in 1956, and his subsequent suicide as the now elderly ex-con is unable to live on the outside. I won't spend my time further recounting The Shawshank Redemption. But I will say that the horror within the story comes from Man's inhumanity to Man and the loss of hope. In the end hope, and financial manipulation along general ingenuity, is what dispels the monstrosities of Shawshank.

You didn't say it had to be supernatural horror, did you?

[Omote]

Let Me In (the American version)
A bullied young boy befriends a young girl who lives in secrecy with her guardian. A very mature, well-written, and unique tale of survival.

~O

[seneschal]

So, what did you end up actually watching?

My family watched Ghost Ship, a 1940s Val Lewton thriller about a junior ship's officer who becomes convinced that his captain is a murderer. Who ya gonna call when you're in the middle of nowhere, the rest of the crew thinks you are the crazy one, and the suspected killer is the guy in charge?

Followed this up with Gremlins, which turned out to be the Halloween movie of all the scary films we've watched this week that actually spooked my daughter. It is one thing for Dracula to stalk London or Godzilla to stomp Tokyo. The fact that the vicious critters were skittering around an American family's home is what made her uncomfortable; if it could happen to them, it might happen to her.

[Goblinoid Games]

Thanks for all the suggestions! It was a long day, so by the time I finally collapsed to watch something I just grabbed an old staple, the original Fright Night. But I'll be tracking down some of these to watch soon.

[Trashcan]

I'm late to this thread, but there are some lesser known films I'd suggest for any fan of the genre. Be aware, though, the list skews to the indie and foreign:

A Tale of Two Sisters is stellar: atmospheric, haunting, and beautiful. Two or three nailbiting sequences.
The Burrowers is fantastic - a western/horror mashup that plays nicely on the conventions of both genres.
We Are What We Are is a quiet, moody, character piece with some fine performances.
Let The Right One In is the best vampire film in years, if not decades, and is anchored by two remarkable performances and gorgeous landscapes. Careful of this one, though: you're looking for the theatrical subtitles. With apologies to Omote, the far superior version of the story.
Slither is a distillation of genre beats from the 1980s in particular. Funny, gory, and a little unhinged.
The House of the Devil is a beautiful, quiet re-examination of the coven panic subgenre of the 1980s.
Pulse is a superb meditation on the dissassociative powers of technology and modern society. It features one of the creepiest sequences in some very long time. Could easily be paired with Cure for the alientation in Japanese society is terrifying award.
The Host is perhaps the best monster movie since Jaws, to which it owes a great deal.
Beneath is one of Larry Fessenden's (Habit, Wendigo) better pictures, and a cruelly efficient study in group dynamics.
You're Next is a fantastic ride: tense, thrilling, and often darkly funny.

That should be enough to keep you watching for a while, and give you fodder for next Halloween.