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5 Films That Can Turn Someone Who's Anti-Horror Into A Horror Junkie

5 Films that can turn the Anti-Horror into the Horror Junkie One strange thing about me is that I grew up in a house full of girls where horror movies, action movies, any film that someone dies or blood is shown on screen was completely forbidden from my home by my mother, and so I was never exposed to the genre or even anything relatively close to it my entire life. Fuck, the woman wouldnt even let me watch The mpsons. However, nce then I watched a few here and there, until I met my boyfriend who a lot of you on HorrorBid know already. He showed me there was an entire world of horror behind the genre and I grew an appreciation towards it and maybe the start of an obseson. So before my mind turns into a blur of guts and gore I thought Id share with you guys the 5 films that got me interested in horror the most.

The gnal 2007



This film I find is a good watch for the horror newbies because and Im just speaking from my own personal experiences here

I found the hardest part of getting into horror was getting used to the idea of watching people die horrible and painful deaths. Now, to the real horror gurus out there it may sound lly, but nce I never had the experiences growing up, the battle of gore vs. my stomach, the gore always lost and I would sadly hide my head. Now in this film people die pretty painful deaths, but the hilarity of the film makes it a whole lot eaer to watch, and springs an appreciation for the creativity of the death scenes.

House of 1000 Corpses 2003 / The Devils Rejects 2005



The reason why I group these two together is for obvious reasons. Both Rob Zombie films, but not only that, they share characters and that same fantastic lightly disturbed feel you get from the films. Why these films are great for the new ones is because even though they have some pretty fucked up scenes, it is just too damn good of a movie to look away... much. Now i do have to say they do have a bit of disturbing parts to them that made my virgin eyes stray, like a guy getting cut up by scissors or a woman being fucked with a gun in front of her family. Even so, I believe they are a must-watch for the newbies, especially if you can see the special features on the DVD of each of them. I found gore eaer to handle being able to see how they made it. Maybe thats just me though.

Scream, Scream 2, Scream 3, Scream 4 1996. 1997, 2000, 2011



I know, I know. As introductory films to the slasher sub-genre I know Ill be asked why I didnt automatically say Friday the 13th or Nightmare on Elm Street or something. The reasoning behind that is because those are movies youd automatically think of when you think of horror. Now, the Scream series might give you the same feel, but sometimes I feel it is quite overlooked. I found growing up it was not much other than a halloween costume, could have been my upbringing but watching all 4 over the course of a couple days gave me an appreciation for the sub-genre more than someone going around and killing a bunch of people though that is pretty damn awesome. The reason why I include these movies is because they give me almost a Scooby Doo type mystery behind the murders, to a point where at the end I think Im going to hear, "And I would have got away with it too, if it werent for you meddling kids, and your dumb dog!".

Night of the Demons 2010

I chose the remake because I found when starting to get into horror, that I didnt have much appreciation for the older films and just laughed at them. So for this remake, it has hilarious deaths, hot girls making out, and anal sex. What more could you ask for? I may just be a party girl myself but I love horror movies that have party scenes. Or any movies that have party scenes. I loved this movie so much it made me want to stick a lipstick into my nipple. It is a very good watch for the newbies, and did I mention theres hot girls?

Last House on the Left 2009

Again, I choose a remake for the same reasoning as before. Now, this may seem like a strange choice or all of these but as I was getting into horror I found this movie really intriguing, mainly because one of the bad guys really didnt want to be a bad guy. That one boy made the movie have such a different effect on me, whether that was the intention of his character or not. Either way, some good ol rape and murder in this film. Ruining a familys vacation, all that good stuff. Why its good for someone whos new to horror is because nce it is light on the gore but still has some blood, it makes it a lot eaer on the more queaer of us and has a slightly typical, but strong storyline.

Now, Im not expecting any of you to agree with me on any of the points that I have made but those are the films that got me into horror, and I found they should be shared. The more the merrier, right?
xStarcasm Sunday 8/28/2011 at 12:46 PM | 81695
Decent choices, but all of them are more recent stuff. I'm more into the old flicks, and those are what will really turn you into a horror junkie. I viewed Child's Play 2 at the age of about four, and Chucky scared the bejeezus out of me so I wouldn't walk down the horror aisle for the next three years because I knew I would probably see his face. When I was seven, I decided to face my fears and I managed to view both Child's Play 1 & 2. Ever nce that moment, I was a horror junkie for life.

For horror beginners, I would recommend Fright Night (the original; I hate how remakes come along and you always have to clarify which (Ex.:) Nightmare on Elm Street you're talking about. Unless further notice, I'm always talking about the original), Slaughter High, April Fool's Day, Blood Diner, TerrorVion, An American Werewolf in London, Two Thousand Maniacs!, The Gate, Halloween, Friday the 13th Part 6, Maniac Cop, and Night of the Creeps. Most of those are lighthearted and good for the average horror junkie wannabe.
ObscureCinema101 Monday 8/29/2011 at 12:16 AM | 81716
Seriously!? ..Not only was House of 1000 Corpses the worst Horror film I've ever seen, but it was by far the worst film I've even seen in general That movie was just all over the place with a mess of completely nonsencal bullshit, ridiculous writing, dozens of blatant ripoffs, tons of continuity failure, incredibly obnoxious editing, and over the top/unbelievable characters I'm STILL not over how mind-numbingly retarded it was!

The Scream franchisee!? But isn't that known as the beginning of "trendy horror"!?

Last House on the Left & Night of the Demons,OK!... BUT THE DOUCHEY RE-MAKES!?? WTF!?I don't know what The gnal is, but if it was made in 2007 I can't imagine it being great (tons of bullshit that year).
ubersteigen Monday 8/29/2011 at 12:36 AM | 81718
I'm not sure these are picks I would show someone who isn't big on horror, to be honest. With the exception of Rob Zombies stuff and Night of the Demons, I'd say some overall good movies though (although you DID list Scream 3, which is just about guaranteed to make a non-horror fan a BIGGER non-horror fan lmao).

i like the effort Star.
Matt_Molgaard Monday 8/29/2011 at 12:40 AM | 81719
I can't say that I really back any of these choices.

Night of the Demons remake was out right when you got in to horror?

That came out like last year...
kennyxedge Monday 8/29/2011 at 12:58 AM | 81720
about time someone wrote a universal piece on here... VERY GOOD. I agree, but i always felt like House of was so different than Devils Rejects, with Rejects holding the trump card. Never cared much for house of... but a great article none the less.
jswaffxxx Monday 8/29/2011 at 01:00 AM | 81721
For horror beginners, I would recommend Fright Night (the original; I hate how remakes come along and you always have to clarify which (Ex.:) Nightmare on Elm Street you're talking about. Unless further notice, I'm always talking about the original), Slaughter High, April Fool's Day, Blood Diner, TerrorVion, An American Werewolf in London, Two Thousand Maniacs!, The Gate, Halloween, Friday the 13th Part 6, Maniac Cop, and Night of the Creeps. Most of those are lighthearted and good for the average horror junkie wannabe.

I agree with most of these with the exception of BLOOD DINER, SLAUGHTER HIGH and TERRORVION.

BLOOD DINER is a very, very weird film, I'm not even sure how I feel about it. It's a bit of a comedy at first but morphs into this pseudo serious, wild, zombie, LCD laced gorefest. While it's all done with a good sense of fun, it's not the best film out there - it's not even one of the best B horror films out there - it's a good time to be had by a seasoned genre fan, but not one I'd recommend to a newbie.

SLAUGHTER HIGH is a pretty awful film, obvious 30 somethings playing teenagers to only play themselves at their real ages X amount of years later without even so much as getting a haircut. Couple that up with terrible acting and bad writing certainly make this a fun flick to watch if you're well into the genre, but I would never recommend it to someone just starting out.

TERRORVION is all in good fun but that's the problem - it's TOO fun. The cheese factor in that film is like grade Z 100+, i.e. complete cheese overload and not even really much of a horror film in my opinion. It's been more of a sci-fi/slapstick than anything else so again, couldn't see to someone just starting to get into the genre to check this one out.

I've had luck with the following films when showing friends horror films so take these as mild suggestions, everyone is different so there is no need to believe that everyone's list will be the ideal/end all be all, but these have had the most weight with my friends and theirs as well.

FRIGHT NIGHT - as mentioned by ObscureCinema, this is the original I'm talking about. It's not only one of the best horror films of the 80s, but it's one of the best horror films in general. One I actually was watching by myself one night when some friends dropped by, after a few minutes I had half the house in my room at first laughing at the movie - making fun of the 80s styles, etc. - then in the next...they were transfixed, all wanting to know what was going to happen next and loving every second of it. Made a few of them want to see it from the beginning, that same night I might add, as well as to go out and pick it up for their library.

NIGHT OF THE DEMONS (1987) - Another fun party flick that abet does start off a bit on the slow de, but once the boobs and demon grue starts to fly, folks seem to get hooked.

THE RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD - The ultimate zombie party movie. Fast talking punk rockers, a fantastic script and an original take on the zombies most people already know of makes this one for a head turning experience that will leave your friends screaming for more!

NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1990) - This one is based on experience. When I was in high school, I wrote a short story based off the original NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, which lead my teacher to ask me to bring the film in to show the class. Well I brought in the colorized veron, knowing my classmates - anything in black and white was automatically taboo so I figured this would be the best way to mislead them, and they paid attention to the flick for maybe 10 minutes and lost interest. I spoke with the teacher and told her there was a remake that I feel like they would like better so she allowed me to bring it in the next day. When I tell you, that you could hear a pin drop in that classroom when the graveyard zombie first attacks Johnny and Barbara, till the very end when Ben is blown away by the posse - I mean that a mouse could have ran across the room nging "Howdy Doody" and no one would have bothered to peak. This film grabbed the class and everyone wanted to know where they could pick a copy up, suddenly zombies were "in" for a few weeks.

SUSPIRIA - One of those, "what the fuck" kind of movies that hypnotizes the viewer into submison with it's eerie score, breath-taking cinematography and it's dread filled atmosphere make this one a must.

FRIDAY THE 13TH: PART IV - THE FINAL CHAPTER - Granted this is the 4th in the knee deep FRIDAY THE 13TH franchise, but it is also the best made in terms of a slasher film. This has everything everyone could ever expect from a slasher, a group of thrill seeking teenagers, grizzly special effects, gratuitous nudity and a high body count matched with a better than average cast put this one into the must see category for any fan trying to get into the genre. If your friends are worried about seeing the first three films, tell them not to fret for as we all know - there's a brief recap of the previous events and that's all they'll need walking into this one.

TALES FROM THE CRYPT PRESENTS: DEMON KNIGHT - Another one that I've been known to throw on for a party or two that seems to grab everyone and pull them into its twisted tale of demonic posseson and a group of seven strangers under ege by a smart mouth collector paired with his band of cankerous cadavers. All in a great sense of fun, with it's comedic tones and wild gore scenes - this is one that will be sure to please the crowd.

FROM DUSK TILL DAWN - Two for the price of one. First you get an action film, but then at the half point are thrown into a vampire gorefest complete with genre favorites Tom Savini and Fred Williamson, matched with sultry strippers who morph into grotesque vampires definitely throw this one into the must see canon.

Hope this list helps. Enjoy your horror folks!
chrismac87 Monday 8/29/2011 at 03:46 AM | 81736
Everyone here can probably guess that I love House of 1000 Corpses and The Devil's Rejects. I infact have seen someone who wasn't that into horror really ending enjoying Rejects after I draged her to see it on opening day back in 2005.

It is just a great film on so many levels..And House of 1000 Corpses actually really got me back into being obsessed with horror..I never stopped being a horror fan, but in the 90's, with all the excellent animated shows and movies that were coming out, I was watching more cartoons than horror movies. But, when I ended up buying a copy of House of 1000 Corpses around Halloween 2003, I ended up renting tons of horror movies and getting obsesssed with horror again..
Moon Monday 8/29/2011 at 04:17 AM | 81738
Last House on the Left (2009) and the original are not gems they are trash and garbage because they have rape scenes in them and no movie should be aloud that .Rape doesn't belong anywhere in any movie ever .
nightmareblade Monday 8/29/2011 at 05:29 AM | 81743
Well first off, I wasn't saying at all by any means that I'm 100% correct or anything. I'm still new to the genre and a couple times I state the reasoning why it got me dragged in. Not for everyone obviously. You don't have to like these films, but I do.

now so I don't have to make a couple different posts I'm just going to say a few things directly here. ObscureCinema101 - Thanks for the feedback, and I know they're all newer movies, I just found it hard for me to take an older movie seriously back then. As I said, obviously not for everyone just speaking of my own experiences and sharing them!

ubersteigen - Meh, everyone has their own different tastes and I know I'm not the only person in the world that thinks their both masterpieces. And I like my douchey remakes thank you very much! :) haha, and def check out the gnal, don't judge a movie by it's production year.

Matt_Molgaard - lol thank you

kennyxedge

- Which is why I said I'm pretty new myself, I only just started getting into horror like a year and a half ago haha

jswaffxxx - Thanks so much, appreciate it

Moon - :):)

nightmareblade - Movies should also not have cannibalism, torture, pedophilia, degration, or child abuse either. doesn't the fact that it's all acting make it eaer? Most of what I listed is a lot harder to watch than the rape scene in Last House on the Left.
xStarcasm Monday 8/29/2011 at 12:49 PM | 81748
Oh lord, they did that lipstick-nipple bit in the remake as well? That was so bizarre. I still don't get it.
dew Monday 8/29/2011 at 01:25 PM | 81751
This is an excellent list. I've recruited a good many people with The Devil's Rejects and Scream.

KEEP IT UP :)
nolifefan Monday 8/29/2011 at 03:20 PM | 81757
In trying to get my wife into the horror scene I try to find more recent movies that are lighter on the gore and more about suspense. I wholeheartedly agree with the Scream movies and would go with the other movies that cropped up around that time (I Know What You Did Last Summer, Urban Legend, etc.) Bacally, I don't want to scare her off (scare her off from being scared...hm...) by delving into something that's all blood and guts. I would also recommend some Stephen King movies like IT and The Shining that are more about terror and suspense. Anthologies would be good too such as the Creepshow movies or even episodes of Tales From the Crypt or Tales From the Darkde. Heck, even the clown episode of Are You Afraid of the Dark would be a good starting point.
Ed Reilly Monday 8/29/2011 at 04:27 PM | 81764
I would personally ease in with the paranormal style films first - start with The Others, etc, move on to Poltergeist to up the gore factor a little, and so on. Spooky but not bloody; not everyone is going to develop that taste for gore and it may take some lead-up time.
dew Monday 8/29/2011 at 09:22 PM | 81782
For horror beginners, I would recommend Fright Night (the original; I hate how remakes come along and you always have to clarify which (Ex.:) Nightmare on Elm Street you're talking about. Unless further notice, I'm always talking about the original), Slaughter High, April Fool's Day, Blood Diner, TerrorVion, An American Werewolf in London, Two Thousand Maniacs!, The Gate, Halloween, Friday the 13th Part 6, Maniac Cop, and Night of the Creeps. Most of those are lighthearted and good for the average horror junkie wannabe.

I agree with most of these with the exception of BLOOD DINER, SLAUGHTER HIGH and TERRORVION.

BLOOD DINER is a very, very weird film, I'm not even sure how I feel about it. It's a bit of a comedy at first but morphs into this pseudo serious, wild, zombie, LCD laced gorefest. While it's all done with a good sense of fun, it's not the best film out there - it's not even one of the best B horror films out there - it's a good time to be had by a seasoned genre fan, but not one I'd recommend to a newbie.

SLAUGHTER HIGH is a pretty awful film, obvious 30 somethings playing teenagers to only play themselves at their real ages X amount of years later without even so much as getting a haircut. Couple that up with terrible acting and bad writing certainly make this a fun flick to watch if you're well into the genre, but I would never recommend it to someone just starting out.

TERRORVION is all in good fun but that's the problem - it's TOO fun. The cheese factor in that film is like grade Z 100+, i.e. complete cheese overload and not even really much of a horror film in my opinion. It's been more of a sci-fi/slapstick than anything else so again, couldn't see to someone just starting to get into the genre to check this one out.FROM DUSK TILL DAWN - Two for the price of one. First you get an action film, but then at the half point are thrown into a vampire gorefest complete with genre favorites Tom Savini and Fred Williamson, matched with sultry strippers who morph into grotesque vampires definitely throw this one into the must see canon. OK, I'll give you Blood Diner and TerrorVion, but I'm not budging on Slaughter High. I think it tells the average beginner to not set their expectations at Halloween-level whenever they watch a film and to just have fun with it. On another note, I have to say the last half of From Dusk Till Dawn is crazier than Blood Diner! I mean, you had vampires playing human guitars, shotgun crosses, Tom Savini with his penis gun, and more! I wouldn't necessarily say it's right for the horror wannabe. I think it's a great movie, though.
ObscureCinema101 Monday 8/29/2011 at 09:43 PM | 81787
@nightmareblade

rape belongs in movies, now im not saying that every movie should have a rape in it but its not as awful as you make it sound. before i go on i just want to make clear i dont enjoy rape scenes and most of the time just look away but it happens in horror alot and often is a huge part of revenge plot movies. the reason the first last house on the left is regarded so highly is because how real the movie looks. it gives the movie a snuff like appearance which is something modern horror cant recreate. the remake handled the scene much better, toned it down and actually gave krug a reason for doing it. so for xstarcasm to enjoy this movie being a new horror fan it totally makes sense why she chose this move on her list over the original or even movies like i spit on your grave.

plus think about how many tv shows are out there that deal with rape on an episodic bas (c, law & order, etc.).

rape is an awful act, but just acting like it doesnt exist and ignoring it is ever worse.
cainn marko Tuesday 8/30/2011 at 12:19 AM | 81819
OK, I'll give you Blood Diner and TerrorVion, but I'm not budging on Slaughter High. I think it tells the average beginner to not set their expectations at Halloween-level whenever they watch a film and to just have fun with it. On another note, I have to say the last half of From Dusk Till Dawn is crazier than Blood Diner! I mean, you had vampires playing human guitars, shotgun crosses, Tom Savini with his penis gun, and more! I wouldn't necessarily say it's right for the horror wannabe. I think it's a great movie, though.

Well FROM DUSK TILL DAWN was picked technically because it's a two for one. You get an action film and a horror film rolled into one package, so if you have a friend who's an action fan you can ease them in with this. The human guitars, shotgun crosses are just part of the fun to be had here and honestly, none of that stuff is so whacked that it throws you out of the film. If anything, it makes you giggle which is all part of the fun this film has to offer. While it may be wild and crazy, I don't agree that raing a razor teethed lizard-esque cannibal queen while turning an audience into zombies even comes close to what goes on in the finale of BLOOD DINER. Not to mention the whole film.

As far as SLAUGHTER HIGH - there are far more better "fun" horror films that don't borderline on the level of idiocy that this film achieves. I can think of at least a dozen other films that are far more fun and less painful to watch than SLAUGHTER HIGH. Sorry but you can't sell me on this one, I saw it back when I was 12 and hated it then when films like CURSE OF THE CANNIBAL CONFEDERATES were "good" to me, so that's all I can say about that.

But as I've said - to each their own.
chrismac87 Tuesday 8/30/2011 at 12:36 AM | 81821