i lump horror, suspense, and thriller together, too, but truthfully the latter two also exist without elements of horror. people can also wax poetic about the differences between horror and fantasy (which you didn't mention but are also often put together along with sci-fi), and talking about suspense and thriller, mystery is right there, too.


>I just finished watching the Haunting at Bly Manor and it
>solidified for me my dislike for horror.

this is literally the first review or opinion i've read of this. i've been waiting to hear. i still haven't watched The Haunting of Hill House, even though i've heard almost nothing but good things and like the original. i thought there was a sequel series to that coming, but then this happened (instead?).

i don't know why people keep remaking The Turn of the Screw. this is the second one just this year, and The Innocents from 1961 is already regarded as a classic.

i know he's popular on this board, but it might reveal a bit about Mike Flanagan that he's so prone to tread well worn ground, even though i'm inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt that he's basically a victim of IP mania.


>I'm not sure if anyone else feels this way. Last horror movie
>that made me scared was Hellraiser when I was a kid,
>everything else is just hilarious, corny, nonsensical, or
>boring. Edit (forgot about the Shining, I watched that as a
>teen, that was a great scary movie, but no longer)
>
>Any good horror recommendations, that might change my mind?

i am going to interpret this as new releases for the moment. going back to Flanagan, his film Oculus (WWE studios) was one of the horror films of the previous decade i watched expecting little and was surprised by how good it was. i'd sort of counted out horror myself since it went in the teensploitation direction in the late '90s and then cycled through remakes and sequels.

Oculus getting under my skin put him on my radar, but it wasn't until (shining sequel) Doctor Sleep came out and i saw it in the theater that i would see more from him. i found rebecca ferguson really unnerving in that one; great job from everyone.

the film released before Oculus that really creeped me out was Sinister. i was happy to see it covered at length in the season premiere of History of Horror on AMC this past weekend (serious spoilers for those who haven't seen the film already). it was directed by Scott Derrickson, who would go on to do Doctor Strange, so for surrealist imagery, it's there in a much more disturbing way. the music is also excellent in it and really builds up the creep factor; it's incredible this was a studio picture aside from having an A-list star and a plot that isn't complex.

another one i was glad to see History of Horror spotlight was The Cabin in the Woods (again, huge spoilers in the show). that and Drag Me to Hell i thought were flukes in signalling horror was back for me, but i was wrong.

for something more recent, on a smaller budget, and international, i thought The Babadook delivered on my expectations when i finally watched.

i also found the first chapter of IT very unsettling and well made but haven't yet watched the (less well received) conclusion.

there really are all manners of horror, evidenced by the crisscross with those other categories, so it's hard to recommend or discuss it as a blanket genre. a person could find it all stupid except for a certain type.

i still really like watching cult classics. i just today ordered April Fool's Day after streaming it on netflix a few years ago, and i believe it's streaming on amazon prime video right now. one i watched on APV just this week i'd been wanting to see for years, the horror comedy buddy cop movie Dead Heat. the effects, laughs, and chemistry were great, so if someone is in the mood for something lighter and doesn't mind more zombie stuff, check it.