They really need to make a horror-film centered around Track 2 of the original SILENT HILL soundtrack..

..Once you hear this track you turn into a ravaged, murdering psychopath focused only on KILL KILL KILL..

..and f--- that THE HAPPENING (2008) flick!

Children Kill..

It means Rosemary will explode. Micheal Bay demands that all childbirth be AWESOME.

I've never seen any of the films you mentioned. I remember my parents talking about Hitchcock, especially The Birds.

That movie is not scary; it's ultra violent, like Robocop. Of course, the violence might be scary to some people. Another good early Malcom McDowell film is If...., from 1968.

  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063850/

Not _really_ horror but the best thriller, by far, I watched this year is Chugyeogja (english title: Chaser - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1190539/ )
It does contain horror/gore elements but that's not the meat of the movie (...).
No silly revengeful or supernatural entity in there, just human psychology.
By all means give it an evening if you can.
Korean flicks: awesome alternative to hollywood dumbed-down crap even a chicken with an IQ of 16 couldn't stand.
Later,

Alcahest

Although I'm a huge horror-lover, I stayed out of this thread simply because there's just too many films to mention. Personally, horror movies never really frighten me, but I do enjoy them still for their dark settings and campy silliness. I just thought about this, though:

I definitely think avatar! brings up an interesting point here. Ingmar Bergman's movies are most often not considered conventional "horror", but still I'd say that they are way more disturbing than most horror movies. Its a different type of horror: an exposition to and contemplation on your own mortality, that frankly makes you realize that most horror movies where you have some guy in a hockey-mask going around chopping up people or some supernatural shit going on are just plain silly and childish (although these silly movies also have a lot of charm). I guess different people find different subjects "scary" or "disturbing". The Seventh Seal definitely disturbed the hell out of me more profoundly than any horror movie I've seen (since I'm a philosophical person and thus very open to/able to identify with it's particular kind of dread). But other people might be able to relate to and prefer to be frightened by stuff like this instead, if that's their cup of tea.

On the subject of the more "existential dread"-side of horror (as opposed to the serial killer/zombie/alien/possession/etc. sides), I've always found dystopian tales very disturbing, you know like 1984, Brave New World, and the like. Definitely scarier than some dumb monster running around. And while we're on the topic of different and atypical horror, how about the surreal stuff? I've always found David Lynch's work full of disturbing scenes: Twin Peaks, Fire Walk With Me, Blue Velvet, Lost Highway, Mulholland Drive, and Inland Empire definitely have their share of nightmare moments, many of them far more earthshattering than the cheap jabs of the "slasher"-films. Again, a different type of horror. Not to mention the TV news, that stuff really turns my stomach so much that I purposely avoid it for the sake of my own mental well-being.... Oops, getting somewhat off-track here.

Anyway, what I bumped the thread for (if anyone cares) is that I suddenly remembered the mention of Ingmar Bergman in here, and the discussion about whether or not to classify him as "horror". It turns out Bergman actually made one conventional horror movie apart from his existential stuff: Hour of the Wolf. Its quite good with a very well-crafted chilly atmosphere, about a painter who thinks he sees demons. Gets quite unsettling and freaky towards the end (in the "psychological horror"-way).

Also, Michael Bay remaking Rosemary's Baby is just about the most pathetic thing I've ever heard. That guy isn't even on the same planet as Roman Polanski.

And while we're on the "also" note: remakes of classic horror movies practically always suck, don't they?

I definitely wouldn't call Hour of the Wolf conventional horror. Again, it's about a man fighting his own daemons. Just like all Bergman films, it's psychological and deep.

As for Michael Bay, has he done anything good?? I wonder how many explosions there will be in the RB remake? Yeah, chances are good, that it's going to suck. There's only one remake that I can think of that was actually as good or even better than the original. That is:

The Mummy

then of course, it was followed by an absolutely terrible sequel (which I saw ONLY because I had a free ticket, and it totally wasn't worth the time)! I guess there's also a horrible third Mummy movie, which apparently has nothing to do with any mummy.

cheers,

-avatar!

That depends on what you mean by "conventional", of course. It has Bergman's existentialist touches, but its definitely a horror movie, as there are demons (actual demons, as in supernatural creatures) and impossible, supernatural scenarios. Its the only Bergman movie I've seen that has supernatural motifs, which is probably why its known as his only horror movie. The Seventh Seal featured Death personified of course, but he was more metaphorical than "real".

Yes, but those daemons are in the man's mind! If I recall, at the end of the movie, the woman even says something like "if you live with a man long enough, do you begin to see what he sees?" So, I will have to disagree with those who call it a conventional horror.

cheers,

-avatar!

I'm not sure about that. I think the movie, like all good psychological horror, is purposely constructed so that we'll never really know if the demons were "real" or just "in his mind". But the movie is so graphic that in many scenes (especially when they visit the castle) it seems to imply that either they were real, or the painter is just plain insane. The "demons" Bergman explores in most of his movies are usually much more abstract and metaphorical, which is why I guess most people see this movie as more of a horror movie than his others.

But I can agree that its certainly not "conventional".

I find Twin Peaks creeping into my skull almost constantly, despite it not expressly being horror. Lynch is a fascinating director. I really wish Twin Peaks had ended the way he wanted it to.

I recently watched the French film Martyrs. If you feel desensitized in any way, then go watch it.

Someone is probably going to shoot me for bringing this up in this thread since it's not a good movie... and (if you want to get technical) only half of it is horror... but I really like the first half of Rob Zombie's Helloween remake for some reason. I think they did a decent job depicting Myers childhood. However, then Rob Zombie had to completely ruin the movie during the escape scene in the middle of the film. Seriously, I did not need to see that scene Rob... it's so... pointless.

There's an old movie called Spoorloos, "Without a Trace" in english. Can't remember the original language.

A woman goes missing and a young man encounters the man who took her. He not only casually admits to taking her, but also offers the protagonIst the choice to go and see her. Short on twists and plot, but it's nonetheless a gripping chilling tale. That ending will haunt me for the rest of my life. Highly recommended.

Don't know the movie, but I recognize Dutch when I see it

Edit: It's called "The Vanishing" in English, apparently. "Without a Trace" seems to be completely unrelated?

"The Vanishing" seems to be the official English title. I think "Without a Trace" or "traceless" might be the exact translation of "Spoorloos". Could be wrong. Can't check. Wife sprayed oven cleaner over laptop and iPhone is being poor substitute right now. Anyone help me out?

Jacob's Ladder

Night of the Living Dead.

I just rewatched this recently...it's pretty good - but mostly because you don't know what the heck is going on until the end, and even then it's vague...Also the extended scenes are a worth viewing (on youtube) for a couple of good scares.  Also , I didn't realize, but apparently this was very influential in Silent Hill games.

yes a million times. Good one to mention here!