Horror movies that are actually scary and not just gore/startles

[WhatIsThisIDontEven]

I've been thinking, and I haven't seen a decent horror movie for a while. It seems that most horror movies nowadays are either just buckets of blood (Saw) or just things popping out of doors like a middle school haunted house. I haven't seen any horror movies recently that build atmosphere and pace themselves and give you an actual feeling of unease (other than Noroi).

Any suggestions?

 

[Bassik]

The Whisperer in Darkness springs to mind, a great atmospheric indipendant film. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1498878/

Jacob's ladder, another one of those psychological horror films.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099871/

And my favourite atmospheric horror story: Willard. It's got lots of cute rats in it, all trained to do awesome stuff. The atmosphere is very dark and brooding, and did I mention the cute rats?
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0310357/

 

[WolfCross]

the only new-ish one i can think of is Room 1408...the best opening 30-45mins of a horror i've seen in a loooong time without giving too much away. Some nice performances, and even a reasonable stab at a coherent character arc that tries to resolve itself meaningfully. Don't get me wrong it's far from perfect but i know where youre coming from, horrors are pretty horrifying these days for all the wrong reasons. Mostly gimmicky dross, boring teen slashers or limp supernatural guff.

Spoiler

Unfortunately the actual scares fall decidedly short as room 1408 seems to be haunted by the ghost of Michael Bay who chooses to obliterate the tension the film worked so hard for in the first 30minutes with ludicrous special effects and messing with the thermosat in the room of all things. However, the bit with the laptop is very good as was the window across the road part. Also the the original ending is pretty bad as well....not the original one they shot, but the one they replaced it with for cinema release, thus making it the 'original' ending and the one they shot first becoming the alternate (i think :/) which happens to be the standard ending on Blue Ray at least

 

[hazabaza1]

There's a good Spanish 'handheld camera' type movie called Rec. Check it out.
SHAME THAT THEY NEVER MADE ANY SEQUELS. EVER

 

[Nouw]

The Thing. It actually manages to have a great atmosphere and have tons of gore as well.

 

[Rawne1980]

Event Horizon is a pretty decent film with good atmosphere.

 

[Casual Shinji]

The (original) Texas Chainsaw Massacre

It's a slasher flick with NO gore whatsoever, but tons of thick and heavy atmosphere.

And it has a dinner table scene you won't soon forget.

 

[Casual Shinji]

The (original) Texas Chainsaw Massacre

It's a slasher flick with NO gore whatsoever, but tons of thick and heavy atmosphere.

And it has a dinner table scene you won't soon forget.

What really scored it for me on the original was how rough the actual film it'self looked. That just slightly washed, over-heated feel the whole setting had. It was just the right icing for the cake.

That's because it actually was really hot during filming. During the dinner table scene Gunner Hanson (Leatherface) apparently went crazy with heat stroke and seriously cut open Marilyn Burn's finger instead of pretending.

 

[piinyouri]

Session 9 jumps to mind.

Paranormal Activity and Blair Witch Project both know how to handle tension and release rather well, despite that hate they receive.

 

[Padwolf]

Session 9 - A fantastic film, very atmospheric.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0261983/

Rec - A bit of a zombieish movie but it is genuinely scary.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1038988/

Strange Circus - This one has a bit of gore in it, but it is creepy as hell. It's very
disturbing but it is a good film.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0492784/

Audition - it has some gore, but it has great acting and a great story.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0235198/

Misery - I cannot praise this film enough. Fantastic acting. Fantastic everything. It gets the book spot on. It is the only film that made me curl up in a ball and grab my foot and think "oh holy hells" (those who have seen it may know what I am talking about) no gore at all.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0100157/

The Shining - Another horror film I cannot praise enough.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081505/

Black Swan - A psychological horror film, everything about it is fantastic.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0947798/

I could go on and on, I have seen countless horror films, so I will stop there.

 

[Froggy Slayer]

I'd recommend 'The Thing' (the 80's one, obviously). It does have a lot of gore in, but its main strength is how well it builds tension. Also, compared to most films with a lot of gore, the effects are incredible.

 

[Owlslayer]

The scariest movie I´ve seen was called Noroi. I think it was also called The Curse, or something like that, and it was made in 2005 or so. It was a japanese horror movie, and good god, did i freak out a lot. Very creepy stuff indeed. Told a story about how some paranormal investogator-writer started poking around stuff that was way too heavy for him...

 

[Raven's Nest]

The Orphanage and The Devils Backbone are both fantastic horror films which don't use gore or shock tactics. Both are Spanish movies though, brought to you by Guillermo Del Toro of Pan's Labyrinth fame.

 

[Basement Cat]

The scariest movie I've ever seen was one you don't want to watch with a group of smart asses or they will totally ruin the effect.

I'm talking about The Blair Witch Project. It's all about atmosphere and getting into your head. No gore--there's only one bit with just a tiny bit of blood. It also set the precedent and standard for hand held camera filming that became so prevalent in the wake of its success.

I remember renting it and watching it alone in my house a while back. It's not a very long movie, but half way through it I needed to take a leak and by that time I was so caught up in the movie that I LITERALLY checked every door and window in the house to make sure they were locked...

AAAANNNNNDDDDD I checked behind the door in every room...

AAAANNNNNDDDDD I checked under the beds...

AAAANNNNNDDDDD I checked behind the shower curtains...

AAAANNNNNDDDDD I checked each closet...

AAAANNNNNDDDDD I even checked the cabinets under the bathroom sink!!!

This movie has so well earned a reputation for being scary that guys like to get together to watch it just to prove that it won't get to them--hence the warning about watching it with smart asses. It became one of those movies that was so overwhelmingly popular and successful that a lot of people later (much later--after the craze passed) started hating on it the way people do when anything or anyone gets too much attention and praise.

But it works....brrrr....it works.....

 

[Edible Avatar]

What Lies Beneath and The Thing (John Carpenter original, not the remake).
WLB has great atmosphere and the story will keep you guessing.

 

[JanatUrlich]

Martyrs. Just watch it seriously. I am not affected by horror films in the slightest but this deeply unsettled me.