The 17 Best Horror Movies You've (Probably) Never Seen
By Sharon Knolle We can't get enough of horror movies. It's this condition we got; liking to watch most of them with our hand covering our eyes or with the lights on. But there are a few we, and you, probably haven't seen. Here are 17 of them, guaranteed to give you all the nightmares.
'Dead of Night' (1945)
Before "The Twilight Zone" or the movie "Magic," this horror anthology film gave us the definitively creepy relationship between a ventriloquist (Michael Redgrave) and his dummy. It's the standout segment of stories told to a man who has a recurring dream of impending horror -- if he can only remember what it is.
'Eyes Without a Face' (1960)
This poetic but still shocking French horror film -- about a disfigured girl whose surgeon father tries to build her a new face from those of women he abducts -- was years ahead of its time. (And yes, it did inspire the Billy Idol song of the same name.)
'Shivers' (1975)
Horror master David Cronenberg's first thriller is every bit as visceral as his later films. It plays like a twisted version of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers," in which a parasite turns an entire high-rise apartment building into sex-crazed predators intent on infecting everyone they see.
'Suspiria' (1977)
If you haven't seen any films by Italian horror director Dario Argento, start with this operatic, blood-drenched chiller about a young ballerina who discovers her prestigious German ballet school is home to a coven of witches.
'Possession' (1981)
Isabelle Adjani won a César (the French Oscar) and Best Actress at Cannes for her role as a woman who tells her husband (Sam Neill) she wants a divorce and whose behavior becomes increasingly erratic and violent. Audiences apparently weren't ready for this film, which got hacked down by about 30 minutes for its initial American release.
'Audition' (1999)
A modern Japanese horror classic, its last 30 minutes had people running for the exits when it played in theaters. A widower sets up a fake movie audition to find a new girlfriend. He chooses the quiet Asami, but he has no idea who she really is.
'Ravenous' (1999)
Never saw this black comedy/indie cannibal western starring Guy Pearce and Robert Carlyle? You're not alone, since critics didn't know what to make of this horror hybrid when it came out. But you can stream it right now on Netflix and find out what you missed.
'Frailty' (2002)
One day, the father of two young sons (Bill Paxton, who also directed this gem) reveals he's been chosen by God to kill demons -- who look just like ordinary people. One of those traumatized sons grows up to be Matthew McConaughey, a Texas cop who's told his brother is the "God's Hand" killer that the FBI has been hunting.
'Session 9' (2001)
In this low-budget but deeply creepy thriller, a group of men are hired to clean the asbestos from an abandoned mental asylum. One of them begins listening to the therapy sessions on tape and, needless to say, it doesn't end well.
'Them' (2006)
You might have seen "The Strangers," about a terrifying home invasion, but did you know it's a remake of this possibly even more horrifying French film?
'Inside' (2007)
Among the new wave of French horror film is this bloody, viscerally disturbing film about a violent woman who stalks the pregnant Sarah. Why? So she can take her unborn baby.
'Kandisha' (2008)
A brilliant criminal defense attorney's latest case involves a woman who claims she didn't kill her husband, it was Kandisha, an ancient spirit who avenges abused women. David Carradine and Saïd Taghmaoui ("Lost") co-star in this Moroccan horror film that has won several film fest awards.
'The House of the Devil' (2009)
Ti West's homage to '80s horror movies is so perfectly retro, it feels like a classic you've just stumbled across. One night, during a full moon, college student Samantha (Jocelin Donahue) is hired to sit an unseen old woman at a creepy, isolated house. It slowly builds to one hell of a bloody ending.
'Jennifer's Body' (2009)
Yes, this film got terrible reviews, but like so many films on this list, it's not only worth a look, but well-deserving of cult status. It's like a twisted version of "Mean Girls," in which Megan Fox is a Regina George-type who's not just 'high school evil" but "evil evil." She's a demon; a literal maneater who must be stopped by nice girl BFF Amanda Seyfried.
'Tony' (2009)
Turns out that nice quiet bloke down at the pub (Peter Ferdinando) is actually a sociopath in this British indie that's been compared to "Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer."
'Thirst' (2009)
"Oldboy" director Park Chan-wook spins a very different kind of vampire tale in which a priest volunteers for a medical experiment that turns him into the living dead. He soon finds a companion who's far more bloodthirsty than he could ever be.
'Kill List' (2012)
Before "High-Rise," director Ben Wheatley directed this thriller in which two ex soldiers become freelance hit men for a mysterious new employer. Bloody Disgusting called it "the #1 Horror Film" of 2012. It's definitely the creepiest.
