The world of horror movies can seem hopelessly intimidating for any newcomer. If you aren’t already accustomed to watching blood-soaked slashers and spine-chilling supernatural thrillers, just the thought of diving into the genre could be as terrifying as the movies themselves. Thankfully, there’s a lot more to horror than just gore and jump scares.
If you’ve never seen horror movies yourself or are looking for the perfect gateway film to introduce your friends to the genre, these famous classics strike the perfect balance between terror and intrigue.
1
Predator
An elite group of mercenaries travels to Central America with orders to rescue a high-ranking politician, but they soon discover the true goal behind their mission. Something dangerous is stalking the area, leaving corpses sliced in half or burnt to a crisp, and the mercenaries are tasked with eliminating whatever is leaving behind this gruesome trail of bodies. Their hunt soon takes a terrifying turn when an otherworldly threat begins stalking the team, forcing them into a nonstop fight for their lives.
The original Predator isn’t so much a traditional horror movie, as it is an action-horror hybrid. Although Predator features enough explosions, one-liners, and Arnold Schwarzenegger to rival most ’80s action blockbusters, it’s also a relentlessly tense horror story. The titular predator is shown to be a technologically advanced and seemingly unstoppable hunter, and you can never shake the feeling that it can appear from anywhere at any moment. While non-horror fans can still enjoy the film for its pulse-pounding action, the ever-present fear of the predator will keep them glued to the screen until the very end.
2
Jaws
When a small town is shaken by a string of deadly shark attacks, the mayor turns to the local police chief, an experienced shark hunter, and a marine biologist to hunt down the massive great white shark that’s terrorizing the locals. Based on the 1974 novel of the same name, Jaws is the reason most people still think twice before swimming at the beach. Even today, the film will keep you on the edge of your seat, especially during the hauntingly tense shark attack scenes that are only made scarier by its nerve-wracking score.
Anyone who hasn’t already seen Jaws may be surprised to find that it’s also a compelling drama. When the movie isn’t focused on hapless swimmers being mauled to death, it tells a grounded story about a small community’s desperate efforts to confront a bloodthirsty terror, the consequences of leaders choosing to prioritize profits over people, and the personal tragedies that follow. Unlike the many sequels and knockoffs it inspired, Jaws manages to make its human-focused drama seem just as compelling as its blood-spilling shark attacks.
3
Silence of the Lambs
Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) is a young FBI trainee who’s brought into the search for an infamous serial killer known as “Buffalo Bill.” As part of her role in the case, Clarice is assigned to interrogate Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins)—a cannibalistic ex-psychiatrist held in a criminal asylum—and convince him to provide any information that could assist in the FBI’s manhunt for Buffalo Bill. As the case progresses and Clarice finds herself walking into a series of dangerous and disturbing scenes, her meetings with Hannibal slowly grow more unsettling as he uncovers her beliefs, her childhood traumas, and her deepest fears.
Silence of the Lambs is an incredibly disturbing, brilliantly written, and masterfully acted psychological thriller—but it isn’t scary in the traditional sense. Its uniquely disconcerting atmosphere is more subdued than a typical horror movie, creating an underlying tension that only heightens as Clarice gets closer to finding the elusive killer. Even for longtime horror fans, very few movies are as effective at getting under the viewer’s skin as Silence of the Lambs. Anyone who isn’t put off by the film’s intentionally uncomfortable subject matter will be captivated by its complex character studies and suspenseful mystery.
4
Psycho
After learning that her boyfriend is deep in debt, Marion Crane embezzles $40,000 from her real estate company and runs off to deliver the money. Along the way, she decides to spend a night at the Bates Motel, managed by the seemingly charming Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) and his elderly mother. Unfortunately, it isn’t long before the unsuspecting Marion discovers that the motel is home to a dark and twisted secret.
If you’re at all familiar with Psycho, then you probably already know its big twist and have seen the infamous shower scene, but you might not know that Bates was largely based on real-life killer Ed Gein. Regardless of whether you’ve already been spoiled on these iconic moments, Psycho is still a mesmerizingly tense ride and one of the best slasher movies ever made. While most of the film’s most famous scenes come from the slowly building horror of the film’s first half, the second half sees the film transform into an enthralling game of cat-and-mouse between the motel’s guests and a deranged serial killer. As you would expect from one of Alfred Hitchcock’s greatest films, Psycho is a masterclass in pacing and brutal payoffs, yet it’s never too gore-y or intense for horror newcomers to enjoy.
Release Date
September 8, 1960
Runtime
109 minutes
Director
Alfred Hitchcock
Writers
Joseph Stefano, Robert Bloch
Sequel(s)
Psycho 2
5
Aliens
Ridely Scott’s Alien is a terrifying hybrid of blood-soaked slasher and sci-fi horror, following the doomed crew of a space transport shuttle as they struggle to survive against the “Xenomorph,” a murderous extraterrestrial that has snuck onboard their shuttle and begun slaughtering the crew members. The sequel, Aliens, sees original protagonist Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) returning to accompany a squad of Colonial Marines on their investigation of a seemingly abandoned lunar colony. Upon arriving, they discover that the colony has been overrun by alien eggs and fully grown Xenomorphs, once again throwing Ripley into a nightmarish battle against the aliens.
Even though I wholeheartedly recommend watching the first two Alien movies (and the recent Alien: Earth), squeamish viewers may want to skip the first film and start with the sequel. Much like Predator, Aliens is an action-horror hybrid, though it leans more into its horror than the Schwarzenegger classic. Aliens raises the stakes by having Ripley face off against an entire colony of deadly Xenomorphs, and the film makes the most of that premise with plenty of exciting action sequences and nerve-wracking moments. Aliens is still a tense film, but its lighter scares and less claustrophobic atmosphere make it much more approachable than the first movie.
6
House
After a group of high-schoolers learn that their trip to a luxurious inn has been canceled, their leader—a teenage girl nicknamed “Gorgeous”—invites the other girls to spend their summer vacation at her aunt’s mansion. However, what begins as a relaxing countryside trip turns into a surreal nightmare as the house comes alive and begins attacking the girls with bizarre traps and supernatural terrors.
House is more confusing than it is scary. Despite its bog-standard premise, House delivers a one-of-a-kind mashup of wacky slapstick humor, anti-war messages, and a unique style of low-budget horror that bounces between hilariously weird and deeply unsettling. But the most iconic part of the film is its unorthodox editing, which alternates between impressively creative and laughably cheap. Some scenes feature the most stylish and creatively composed visuals you’ll ever see in a movie from the 70s, while others are terrible even by the standards of the era—but both add to the movie’s imaginative charm. House only gets weirder as it progresses, eventually abandoning all semblance of sanity by the time it reaches its mind-boggling conclusion.
Even though there are plenty of better arthouse horror films like Suspiria, better horror-comedies like Scream, and better Japanese horror classics like Ring, House is a fantastic introduction to all of those subgenres while also showcasing the wonderfully weird side of horror films. It will certainly leave you with more questions than answers, but House is a unique fever-dream that everyone should experience at least once.
7
Dawn of the Dead
When a mysterious zombie virus sweeps across the United States, a group of small survivors band together to turn an abandoned Philadelphia shopping mall into their personal safe haven. But with both undead and human threats at their doorstep, the survivors are forced to adapt to their new lives in the mall while working together to escape before it’s too late.
George Romero’s Dawn of the Dead is a masterpiece of zombie fiction, but not just for the reasons you would expect. Early on, the film presents an unsettling yet grounded depiction of the initial response to a zombie apocalypse, showing the mass civil strife and tragic chaos that unfolds as society seemingly collapses in a matter of days. However, as the movie progresses, it narrows in on the individual characters and their shifting relationships. Dawn of the Dead only becomes more complex and fascinating as it goes on, seamlessly shifting between comedy, horror, social commentary, and emotional drama without ever abandoning the ever-present stakes of the undead horde. While every of Dawn of the Dead is fantastic in its own way—including a very different re-edit by Dario Argento and a terrifying remake by Zack Snyder—the best way to experience the film is its 139-minute Extended Cut.
8
The Shining
Struggling novelist Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) agrees to work as the temporary caretaker of a resort hotel during its winter closure, believing the change of scenery could serve as a vacation for his family and help him overcome his writer’s block. Their stay takes a dark turn when Jack’s son, Danny, begins to encounter disturbing visions throughout the hotel. Jack also starts experiencing similar hallucinations and violent mood swings, much to the growing concern of his wife, Wendy (Shelley Duvall). It soon becomes clear that a malicious presence is haunting the hotel, and it’s now after the family.
Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation of The Shining tells a very different story from the original Stephen King novel, despite hitting many of the same plot beats. The film presents a quieter and more subdued take on supernatural horror than the source material, placing a greater emphasis on surrealism and interpretative storytelling than personal character drama. The result isn’t as scary as most other horror movies, but The Shining makes up for it with an ominous atmosphere and a suspenseful story filled with subtle details that will haunt you even after the credits finish rolling. Much like any other great psychological horror film, The Shining slowly picks away at you by creating an unshakable sense of dread, and it never lets up until the very end. However, the lack of loud scares and gruesome imagery (apart from a few notable scenes) makes it a great entry point for first-time horror watchers.
Even if you’re squeamish around gore and terrified of jump scares, you might still enjoy the many excellent horror movies that manage to be creepy without feeling too scary. For anyone brave enough to dabble in the horror genre, don’t be scared to watch any of these excellent films.
