My Favorite Horror Movies: Celebrating Friday the 13th

Today is Friday the thirteenth, so I figured I would stay in theme and share some of my favorite horror movies. In case you don't know, horror is one of my favorite genres and I have watched so many scary movies that I am practically desensitized. One thing I have learned is that finding decent horror movies is not an easy feat. While bad horror has its place (I enjoy watching them for a good laugh), I obviously want to consume some good content, too. So without further ado, here are some of the best horror films to watch this Friday the thirteenth. 

Oculus

Oculus is a bit of an odd one. It's directed by the same man who directed The Haunting of Hill House show on Netflix (which is amazing, by the way). This film is shown both in flashbacks and in the present-time. It starts with two siblings, Kaylie and Tim, with the younger brother being released from a psychiatric hospital in the present day. Ten years earlier, the pair's parents were killed and Kaylie suspects that an antique mirror their father bought was to blame. With her brother finally released, they revisit their childhood home to confront the haunted mirror. Soon, they cannot discern reality from hallucinations. This movie builds the horror slowly, adding layer upon layer of eerie imagery and spine-tingling incidents until you're both terrified and anxious. This is the kind of movie that will get under your skin.

Us

After the success of Jordan Peele's first film Get Out, the hype surrounding the release of Us was insane. The expectations were high but Us surpassed them all. Us follows a family visiting their beachfront home that the mom, Adelaide, had been to as a child. Adelaide is haunted by a traumatic experience she experienced there in the past and her anxiety concerning the trip only heightens when a family of doppelgangers attack them. I have only good things to say about this film. Not only is it beautifully shot, the acting is some of the best I have ever seen. Each actor plays two characters, the "normal" families and the doppelgangers. At its core, this is a survival movie. But Us delves far deeper than that, into strange and twisted concepts that disturb the mind. You can also find some clever thematic meanings within the story, but it never comes of as pretentious or like it's trying too hard.

The Woman in Black

I admit that the reason my eleven year old self wanted to see this movie in theaters so badly was because Daniel Radcliffe was in it. But little did I know that this movie would be the launching pad for my horror-movie obsession. The Woman in Black is based off of the 1983 novel of the same name, set in the late 1800's England. Daniel Radcliffe's character, Arthur, is a lawyer sent to a marsh town to settle the affairs and the house of a dead woman. But the town's inhabitants respond violently to Arthur's visits to the house, warning him against a "woman in black" whom they are terrified of returning. Soon, Arthur is confronted with a horrifying tale. The setting of this movie is creepy in itself, a dilapidated old house isolated by the marsh. Some of the shots are crafted in ways I haven't seen before, such as viewing a shot from the ghost's eyes or only seeing the specter standing in the background while the characters remain unaware of her presence. The Woman in Black spins the classic haunted house tale in new and spooky ways.

It

This one shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone. It was one of my favorite books of 2017 and I read it after seeing the movie adaptation. Hopefully by the time this post goes up I'll have seen the sequel. The first It movie follows a group of children who band together to defeat a great evil in their town, one who often presents in sly and mysterious ways. Obviously, do not watch this if you hold a particular phobia towards clowns. It is a fantastic example of a well-done horror movie. While I do not personally find it to be as scary as some do, I really enjoyed the imagery and plot. I usually find jump-scares to be weak and ineffective tools, but there are a few jump-scares in It that actually do provide a lasting sense of fear, some of which I have never seen the likes of in other films. 

The Descent

I expected nothing from this film. One day I was scrolling through Netflix with my boyfriend searching for a horror movie to watch. I didn't care if it was good or not, and to be honest, I thought The Descent sounded cheesy. In a way, it is cheesy. It is a monster movie set in a cave system far from any human contact. This is an indie found-footage style film. I am usually not a fan of found-footage, but this feels more like a documentary or vlog then a shaky, boring movie with little plot and cheap effects. The Descent is effective because it makes you feel just as trapped as the group of women spelunkers are. They are desperate to escape the cave systems after multiple accidents, especially once they are discovered by blind, monster-like creatures that begin to hunt them. This is a claustrophobic movie where the low budget works to their advantage, allowing for small, cramped sets and dim lighting. 

Annabelle: Creation

So I despised the first Annabelle movie. I would advise you not to bother watching it, even if you are a fan of The Conjuring series. But I was pleasantly surprised by the prequel, Annabelle: Creation. This installment is everything the first one is not. It succeeds where Annabelle fails and has some seriously chilling scenes. There is just something so much creepier about horror movies where the main characters are children. The movie tells the origin story of the famous Annabelle doll from The Conjuring. A group of orphans are taken in by an older couple who lost their own child many years previously. However, the kids discover that the child--or what appears as the child--may not truly be gone. 



Suspiria

I would recommend the 2018 Suspiria remake to any serious horror fans. This is not a mainstream, easily digestible horror movie. This is the kind of horror I like to classify as a "disturbing" one, not for the faint of heart. It doesn't feature cheap jump-scares or a standard plot, but rather an unconventional story centered around a coven of witches. The witches run a prestigious dance studio in Germany as their cover and recruit American dancer Susie for other, more lethal reasons than her dance abilities. Tilda Swinton plays multiple characters in this movie, and she did it so convincingly that I did not even notice the others were also portrayed by her until after looking it up. This movie is vulgar, oftentimes hard to watch, and all-around demonic--all the makings of a truly disturbing horror movie. 

A Quiet Place

You could argue that A Quiet Place isn't strictly a horror movie as it does contain quite a few science-fiction/dystopian themes. But there is a whole lot of suspense in here, along with some good thrills, phenomenal acting, and a neat concept. If you haven't already heard, A Quiet Place is set in a post-apocalyptic world where monsters hunt humans through sound. This movie will keep you on edge every second until the climactic ending. The cast skillfully portrays a desperate and mourning family who are attempting to survive this new world. There is also some great deaf-representation. You will root for these characters like no others, which only increases the tension of an already tense story as the stakes are raised higher and higher and they are placed in greater danger. 

The Conjuring

The Conjuring franchise is probably the most popular and well-known horror franchise in the past few years. Initially, I found The Conjuring to be a tad disappointing. While it has its flaws, such as showing the ghosts/demons too often until you become desensitized, after rewatching it a couple times, I began to really enjoy it. I am a sucker for a good haunted house story and this movie is undoubtedly well-executed. It is based on a true story of paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren who attempt to help a scared family being haunted and hurt by different demons in their new home. The Conjuring should serve as a general crowd-pleaser for horror fans and newbies alike. 

Do you enjoy horror movies? If so, which one is your favorite?