Halloween is right around the corner, and what better way to get in the spooky spirit than watching horror movies with fuzzy socks and a big bowl of popcorn in your lap. I am going to break down 9 of the most terrifying horror films to date. If you’ve got a weak stomach, or are sensitive to gore and horror, I would suggest watching these movies with a couple of friends or avoiding them altogether. You’ve officially been warned.
- “Saw II” (2005)
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The first movie I’ll be talking about is none other than Saw II (2). All of the movies in the Saw series are terrifying, but this one seems to take the cake. This film follows a group of 6 individuals ranging from teenagers to middle-aged adults who wake up in an escape-room-like house which is slowly being filled with deadly gas. To make things even better, these 6 individuals have to play Jigsaw’s “game”. If you’re not already familiar with the Saw franchise, Jigsaw’s captives have to obtain keys to open doors which will eventually lead the group of prisoners to the end where they will be freed. However, the journey to getting there is anything but a walk in the park. Hint: the keys are not always hidden in plain sight, and when they are, they’re gonna have to do some serious digging, perhaps in a tub of needles.
- “The Circle” (2015)
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This film is one of the more tame ones on the list, but scary AF nonetheless. The Circle starts off with a large group of people (of all ages, and I mean ALL ages), and slowly but surely narrows itself down throughout the movie. I’m sure you can figure out how. But the real kicker is why. The group of unfortunate hostages are kept to one small circular room and are given no other rules than to… you know… make the group of people smaller. To sell the horror-aspect of this film, even more, one of The circle’s hostages is pregnant, one is under the age of 10, and a couple of them are disabled. Oh and, only one can live…
- “The Mist” (2007)
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The Mist takes place in a busy Supermarket on what was supposed to be just any other misty day. To the shoppers’ surprise, supernatural tentacle-like creatures appear from the thick mist outside with one goal in mind: to eat every last person. The shoppers are quick to team up and come up with plans of escaping, however, the outdoors are not too ideal. In the boarded-up supermarket, these store-goers have to avoid an ever-growing population of these hungry creatures. There’s one problem, though: they’re going to start running out of food and water. Guess it was the wrong day to head down to the grocery store for your dinner’s ingredients.
- “The Human Centipede: First Sequence” (2009)
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This disgustingly intriguing horror film focuses on three tourists who, after their car crashes down, seek refuge from the rain in a scientist’s home for the night. Little did these innocent tourists know that their savior, the scientist, was conducting a very twisted experiment in his basement. I will let you find out what the experiment is on your own. Viewer discretion is highly advised for this one.
- “Hush” (2016)
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Hush isn’t your typical blood-spilling, teeth-chattering horror movie, but I still wanted to put it on this list because it will still have your heart racing out of your chest despite the lack of goriness. What it lacks in visual horror, it gains in psychological horror. The film follows a young, deaf writer in her empty home when an intruder decides to make the deaf woman his new eye candy. The masked stalker relentlessly follows her around in her home, and being blissfully unaware of the intruder, the young woman continues on with her daily tasks, mainly working on her new project. Since the young woman is deaf, the intruder doesn’t have to be aware of his footprint, until she notices him…
- “Parasite” (2019)
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This South Korean film packs a punch of horror, comedy, and romance all in one, in that order. Parasite starts off juxtaposing the not-so-grand life of a low-class family in a city to an upper-class, wealthy family living in an amazingly glorious mansion in the countryside. The low-class family seeking a luxurious life become special servants to the wealthy family after posing as upper-class citizens with credible work efforts in South Korea. When the wealthy family becomes suspicious of their new guests, the family goes to great lengths to keep their positions in the home. Just how far they are willing to go will be a great shock to those watching for the first time. However, the film is in Korean and requires subtitles for non-Korean speakers.
- “Us” (2019)
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2019 was a great year for the Horror genre. A prime example of this is the smash movie Us, written and directed by Jordan Peele, comedian and horror movie expert. Although Jordan Peele is known for his hilarities in Key & Peele, Us is anything but funny. Us, as complex and amazing as the plot of the story is, also takes some serious digging of the brain to figure out just what is going on. The movie follows a family who heads out on a vacation in a cozy cabin home in the woods not too far from the beautiful beach of Santa Cruz, California. (what could go wrong in the woods, right?) When suddenly, a group of imposters enters the home to terrorize the family. These imposters aren’t just any imposters, though. The imposters are them. I wouldn’t want to give anything away, so you’ll just need to see it for yourself. If you dare.
- “Hereditary” (2019)
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Describing the plot of Hereditary would be a wonderful way to spoil the movie completely. However, I will say that this movie is nothing like you’ve ever seen, despite its plot being somewhat “cliché”. I mean, a family is in a home, weird things start happening, paranormal stuff… blah blah blah… but Hereditary does it differently. So very different. The acting in Hereditary also helps to sell this 5-star movie even more. A tried and true horror movie all around. You might be terrified of miniature dollhouses or night car rides weeks after watching though, so beware.
- “Train To Busan” (2016)
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This South Korean horror film, centers around a young father on a mandatory business trip to the widely populated district of South Korea, Busan, when a passenger on the train starts showing zombie-like symptoms. Soon after, the infected passenger makes its way through the train biting and infecting everyone in the train cart. Just like that, a zombie apocalypse breaks out. These flesh-eating zombies are nothing like your average zombies, they’re ten times scarier, faster, and smarter. Hands down the best zombie horror movie I have ever seen, and I think you’d agree. Once again, this movie is spoken in Korean and requires subtitles for non-Korean speakers. You’ll have to do some reading, but it is totally worth it, you probably wouldn’t be looking away in the first place.
Don’t freak yourself out too much watching these movies this Halloween season!