Pop Culture Recommendations: My 10 Favorite Scary Movies

Note: Not all of them are straightforward horror movies, but these are the ones that scared the “baby cheeses” out of me, and at the same time are utterly beautiful or heartbreaking or disturbing (sometimes all at the same time)

1. The Others

When I finally found out the “twist” at the end, I re-watched the movie and was even more terrified. Not everyone was scared of the movie, but I loved how everything was so understated and even cerebral.

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2. 28 Days Later

We were so used to zombies walking around slowly with arms raised outwards and they weren’t scary coz you could outrun them. Until this movie, where zombies were faster and more ravenous. And waking up in a world where almost everyone is dead is terrifying

3. Let the Right One In

This, for me, is what a vampire movie should be like: cold, mysterious, quiet, terrifying. No sparkly vampires or declarations of undying love or big dramatic action scenes. I still haven’t seen the Hollywood remake so I’ll reserve judgement after. But this, the original is all kinds of awesome

4. Pan’s Labyrinth

A “fairy tale” definitely not for children. What makes this film all the more fascinating and terrifying is that even though it is fantasy, it is still rooted in harsh reality. And the ending just about killed me

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5. The Shining

This is a classic of course. I am more afraid of villains that are psychologically horrifying than those that just maim and kill. And Jack Torrance is the ultimate scariest villain for me. And those twin girls? Egads

6. Don’t Look Now

Most probably only film students or film aficionados will know this movie. The story starts out as a drama, with a couple mourning the death of their daughter but then it escalates into a ghost story, a psychic whodunnit, and it ends in one of the most terrifying chase scenes in Venice (probably the only movie where Venice becomes scary)

7. Tesis

This was Alejandro Amenabar’s (director of The Others) first film and this was where Nicolas Cage’s 8MM was loosely based. But obviously this was WAY BETTER and scarier than than Hollywood film. I still think Spain makes the best horror movies (I have 3 Spanish movies in this list)

8. The Orphanage

And the Spanish strike again. An old house. Ghost children. A woman on the verge of going insane. Perfect elements for a kick-ass tragic horror movie.

9. Identity

I probably only know 2 other people who liked this movie, but this is one of those that kept me on the edge of my seat the whole movie. And even though you could see the twist a mile away, it still had that “what the” factor when it was finally revealed

10. Dear Zachary

This film, although it is a documentary, deserves a space in my list because it makes you face a different kind of horror, one that might hit close to home. And because it was horrifying how much I cried while watching this