17. The Hole (2001)
Director: Nick Hamm (Full Circle)
Writers: Ben Court (Mayday)
Caroline Ip (Mayday)

Stars: Desmond Harrington (Ghost Ship, Dexter)
Thora Birch (Hocus Pocus, American Beauty)
Laurence Fox (Elizabeth: The Golden Age, Gosford Park)
Keira Knightly (Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Domino)

Plot: With everyone going away for vacation, four British private school students plan a party weekend in an old bomb shelter.

My Thoughts: I think this movie actually falls into the Thriller genre if you want to get technical. My friends and I used to meet up on weekends and rent stacks of horror movies from Blockbuster. This was one of the movies we rented one of those weekends and after Blockbuster closed down I regretted not buying it. I then searched for it for a few years and finally found it by mistake under Keira Knightly’s IMDB. I liked the psychological breakdown of the characters and how quickly they get hysterical. A good movie to check out if you like physiological thrillers.

Trailer: The Hole

 

16. Undead (2003)
Directors: Michael Spierig (Daybreakers)
Peter Spierig (Daybreakers)
Writers: Michael Spierig
Peter Spierig

Stars: Felicity Mason (Mortified)
Mungo Mckay (Daybreakers)
Rob Jenkins (The Void)

Plot: After a meteorite strikes a small fishing village, a small group must fight the undead to survive.

My Thoughts: This is another movie that I saw because of one of the Blockbuster movie weekends. I
actually bought the copy I rented that same weekend. If I had to categorize it I would say it’s a B-movie. It’s a horror comedy that plays on all the different cliches in zombie films. It’s full of funny one liners, awesome over done characters and zombies. Fans who like to laugh at the cliches of horror films should definitely check this out.
Trailer: Undead

 

15. Dead Alive (1992)
Director: Peter Jackson (Lord of the Rings Trilogy)
Writers: Peter Jackson
Stephen Sinclair ( Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers)
Fran Walsh (Lord of the Rings Trilogy)
Stars: Timothy Balme (The Almighty Johnsons)
Diana Penaluer (El Comisario)
Elizabeth Moody (Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings)

 

Plot: After being bitten by a Sumatran rat-monkey, a man’s mother dies and returns to life only to eat everything that comes her way.

My Thoughts: This is another movie that pokes a little fun at the genre. It’s an early Peter Jackson movie and he teams up with the writers who would later pen the Lord of the Rings with him. This movie is funny and also has gallons of fake blood. I was introduced to this movie through a movie club in high school. This is one of the early movies that I feel influenced others like Shaun of the Dead. A good movie for zombies, blood and laughs.

Trailer: Dead Alive

 

14.Dead Snow(2009)
Director: Tommy Wirkola (Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters)
Writers: Tommy Wirkola
Stig Frode Henriksen (Kill Buljo 2)
Stars: Vegar Hoel (Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunter)
Stig Frode Henriksen (Kill Buljo 2, Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunter)
Charlotte Frogner (Maria)
Plot: A group of medical students head to the mountains for a ski trip and wind up in a battle against Nazi Zombies.

My Thoughts: When it comes to zombie movies this one makes the top of the list. The cover of this movie is what caught my eye and the plot is what made me buy it. The makeup for the zombies is amazing and far beyond what I expected. Aside from the story being well written, they keep it simple and sometimes keeping it simple works best. This is a must see for Zombie fans .

Trailer: Dead Snow

 

13. Near Dark (1987)
Director: Kathryn Bigelow (Point Break, Zero Dark Thirty)

Writers: Kathryn Bigelow
Eric Reed (Blue Steel)
Stars: Adrian Pasdar (Heroes)
Jenny Wright (The Lawnmower Man)
Lance Henriksen (Aliens)
Bill Paxton (True Lies)
Joshua John Miller (Teen Witch)
Plot: After getting bit by Mae, Caeb joins her family of drifters and soon learns their dark secret.
My Thoughts: This is one of my favorite vampire movies. My girlfriend received this as a gift and asked if I’d watch it with her. I knew most of the cast but I had never heard of the movie. This movie has that great classic eighties horror movie feel to it. After watching it I found out it has a cult following yet I feel like not many people know about it. Bill Paxton and the rest of the cast are great in this movie. It’s a great escape from most of these lame vampire movies that have been coming out these days.
Trailer: Near Dark

 

12. 30 Days of Night(2007)
Director: David Slade (Hard Candy)
Writers: Steve Niles (Remains)
Ben Templesmith (Criminal Macabre)
Stuart Beattie (Pirates of the Caribbean:The Curse of the Black Pearl)
Brian Nelson (Devil)

Stars: Josh Hartnett (Lucky Number Sleven)
Melissa George (The Amityville Horror)
Danny Houston (X-Men Origins: Wolverine)
Ben Foster (Pandorum)
Plot: As the Alaskan town of Barrow slips into a month of darkness it’s remaining inhabitants are attacked by a gang of vampires.
My Thoughts: I’m huge fan of the comic series so when this was announced I was super excited. A lot of people don’t like the movie but I don’t see what’s not to like. It follows the same plot from the comic,for the most part, which is an awesome vampire story. This is a must see for vampire fans and if you don’t enjoy the movie than you have to read the comic. Steve Niles is an amazing writer and Ben Templesmith’s art is breathtaking.
Trailer: 30 Days of Night

 

11. People Under the Stairs(1991)
Director: Wes Craven (Nightmare on Elm Street)
Writer: Wes Craven
Stars: Brandon Quinton Adams (The Sandlot)
Everett McGill (Twin Peaks)
Wendy Robie (The Glimmer Man)
A.J. Langer (My So-Called Life)
Ving Rhames (Pulp Fiction)
Sean Whalen (Twister)
Plot: After Poindexter “Fool” Williams breaks into his landlords house, he quickly discovers a nightmarish secret in the basement.
My Thoughts: While most people hear Wes Craven and think Nightmare on Elm Street, I hear his name and think of this movie. When I was young my parents and family members exposed me to horror at an early age. This was one of the movies that I remember seeing as a kid and then re-watched when I got older. I was always fascinated by the story and Roach was one of my favorite characters. It’s a surprise to me that such a well known horror filmmaker could have a movie like this slip under some peoples radars.
Trailer: People Under the Stairs
10.Dark House (2008)
Director: Darin Scott (Tales From the Hood)
Writers: Darin Scott
Kerry Douglas Dye (Body/Antibody)
Stars: Jeffery Combs (Re-Animator)
Meghan Ory (Once Upon A Time)
Diane Salinger (Carnivale)
Matt Cohen (90210)
Plot: A troupe of actors are hired to work for a new age haunted house and soon find out it’s truly haunted.

My Thoughts: Dark House is a good take on the traditional haunted house story. I enjoyed the story the most with this movie. It had some good scares, some cheesy ones and some funny moments.You can never go wrong with a classic ghost story.
Trailers: Dark House

 

9. Cabin Fever (2002)

Director: Eli Roth (Hostel)
Writers: Eli Roth
Randy Pearlstein (Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever)

Stars: Rider Strong( Boy Meets World)
Jordan Ladd (Death Proof)
James DeBello (Swimfan)
Cerina Vincent (Not Another Teen Movie)
Joey Kern (Super Troopers)
Plot: A group of friends rent a cabin in the woods and fall victim to a gruesome flesh eating virus.

My Thoughts: This is my favorite Eli Roth movie hands down, no questions asked. No matter how many times I watch this movie it still makes me cringe. The gore in this movie is top notch. Again keeping the story simple pays off. Classic storyline mixed with gore and suspense, who could go wrong. Most people enjoy Hostel better, but I think that Cabin Fever is Eli’s best.

Trailer: Cabin Fever

 

8.High Tension (2003)
Director: Alexandre Aja (The Hills Have Eyes)
Writers: Alexandre Aja
Gregory Levasseur (Mirrors)
Stars: Cecile De France (Hereafter)
Maiwenn (The Fifth Element)
Plot: Two friends encounter a crazed killer while on vacation.
My Thoughts: This is another movie that could fall under Thriller but it has Horror elements as well. This is actually a foreign film that’s in French with English subtitles. This movie is amazing, it’s one of the best to come out in the 2000’s. Like the title states it’s heavy on the tension. The movie also has a great soundtrack.
Trailer: High Tension

 

7.Shutter (2008)
Director: Masayuki Ochiai (Infection)
Writer: Luke Dawson (Reawakening)
Stars: Joshua Jackson (Fringe)
Rachael Taylor (The Darkest Hour)
Megumi Dkina (Ju-on: The Grudge)
Plot: A couple discovers ghostly images in their photos that they develop after a tragic accident. Upon further investigation a horrible secret is uncovered.

 

My Thoughts: At first I was skeptical about watching this movie because it seemed like every other horror movie with a creepy ghostly figure. I always enjoyed ghost movies with electronics and photos, there’s just something that interests me about them. The movie wasn’t bad at all, it had a few surprises and a great cast.
Trailer: Shutter

 

6.Killer Klowns From Outer Space (1988)

Director: Stephen Chiodo (Team America: World Police)
Writers: Stephen Chiodo
Charles Chiodo (Critters)
Edward Chiodo (Good Burger)
Stars: Grant Cramer (Santa Claws)
Suzanne Snyder (Weird Science)

Plot: Aliens that look like clowns terrorize a small town.
My Thoughts: One of the campiest, most incredible, movies that I’ve ever seen. I was recommended this movie by friends of mine and I couldn’t believe I hadn’t watched it before. The movie is so good it’s almost hard to explain how much I enjoy it. This is a movie you have to pop in and immediately realize that what you’re about to watch is exactly what the title states. Don’t be fooled by it though because it’s a genius movie.
Trailer: Killer Klowns From Outerspace
5. Pulse (2006)
Director: Jim Sonzero (Resident Evil 5 (VG))
Writers: Wes Craven (Scream)
Ray Wright (The Crazies)
Kiyoshi Kurosawa (2001 Screenplay Kairo)

Stars: Kristen Bell (Veronica Mars)
Rick Gonzalez (Old School)
Christina Milian (Be Cool)
Ian Somerhalder ( Lost)
Plot: A computer hacker and his friends must battle an evil found in a mysterious wireless signal.

My Thoughts: I watched this movie after I finished watching Lost and my girlfriend was getting into The Vampire Diaries so we both wanted to see Ian Somerhalder in something other than a TV show. This is another movie on my list that has to do with electronics, which it seems a lot of people don’t like. With the rapid advances in technology it’s only normal that movies would start to use that in the storyline with the supernatural. I found the movie to be a little creepy. The use of computers is very relevant to this time period and makes the story work better.
Trailer: Pulse
4.Salems Lot (2004)

Director: Mikael Salomon (Nightmares and Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King)

Writers: Stephen King (Novel)
Peter Filardi (The Craft)

Stars: Rob Lowe (Wayne’s World)
Donald Sutherland (Invasion of the Body Snatchers)
Andre Braugher (The Mist)
Samantha Mathis (Under the Dome)

Plot: A writer returns to his home town and finds it being terrorized by vampires.

My Thoughts: First off I’m not completely ignoring the original Salem’s Lot, but that movie doesn’t have to be mentioned on this list. I chose the 2004 TV movie because I feel like it was a really good remake and because I don’t know if a lot of people know about it. I’m a fan of both Rob Lowe and Donald Sutherland so that was a major selling point for me. Also the movie has great special FXs , a superb group of actors and is well made for a TV movie. I suggest checking it out if you’re a big Stephen King fan, like myself, or just a fan of vampires. If you haven’t seen the original yet than I have to ask what you are doing with yourself.
Trailer: Salem’s Lot
3. Donnie Darko (2001)

Director: Richard Kelly (Southland Tales)

Writer: Richard Kelly
Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal (Zodiac)
Maggie Gyllenhaal (The Dark Knight)
James Duval (Independence Day)
Plot: Donnie is a teenager who, after surviving a bizarre accident, is plagued by visions of Frank the Bunny who makes him commit a series of crimes.
My Thoughts: Some may consider my choice to include this on my list as cliche, because of the rather large cult following the movie has. That being said I included this because the movie is dark, strange and interesting from start to finish. There’s a ton of theories that try to explain the events and symbolism behind the movie, but making your own theory is part of the experience of watching this movie. Richard Kelly also has his movie Southland Tales which was released as two parts. One part graphic novel and the second part a really cool movie. So I suggest seeing Donnie Darko and then following it up with Southland Tales.
Trailer: Donnie Darko

 

2.Trick ‘R Treat (2007)
Director: Michael Dougherty (X-2)
Writer: Michael Dougherty
Stars: Anna Paquin (True Blood)
Brian Cox (The Bourne Identity)
Dylan Baker (Spider-Man 3)
Plot: Four interwoven stories that occur on Halloween night.

My Thoughts: I remember reading about this movie in Fangoria magazine and then anxiously waiting for it to come out on Blu-Ray. This movie has a nice comic book feel to it. This movie screams Halloween and has a nice mix of classic urban legends that go with the holiday. It’s creepy and it’s fun and it’s actually a good movie to watch in the month of October to get the mood right for Halloween.
Trailer: Trick ‘R Treat
1. From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)
Director: Robert Rodriguez (Machete)

Writers: Robert Kurtzman (Story)
Quentin Tarantino (Reservoir Dogs)
Stars: George Clooney (Three Kings)
Harvey Keitel (Bad Lieutenant)
Juliette Lewis (Natural Born Killers)
Quentin Tarantino
Plot: Two Criminals and their hostages take refuge in an establishment run by vampires.

My Thoughts: You can’t go wrong with Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino. This take on vampires is one of the best. You have the action ideas of Robert and Quentin and the classic Tarantino Dialog all rolled up into an ass kicking vampire movie. Everything about this movie is awesome. If you haven’t seen this than I suggest you get on it.
Trailer: From Dusk Till Dawn