Top Five Must-See Horror Movies

With the crisp chill biting the air, dark clouds flooding the sky and Halloween mere days away, there is no better time than now to put together a compilation of classic must-see horror flicks that will make your skin crawl. Horror being one of my absolute favorite genres, you can only imagine how hard it is to narrow down from the hundreds of amazing movies I have seen. With so many intricate varieties within the scary spectrum, I made sure to include something for every gal and ghoul, from bloody slashers to classic mind twisters.

Grab your honey, slip beneath a warm blanket and embrace the holiday spirit with my top horror movie picks, including A Nightmare on Elm Street, House of 1000 Corpses, Haunting in Connecticut, Saw and The Shining. So now kiddies, pick your favorite and prepare for a night of shrieking horror. And read on for our guide to the best frightening film events featured this fall at local movie theaters.

Discover the top five muse-see horror movies.

A Nightmare on Elm Street: The lead villain throughout A Nightmare on Elm Street happens to be my favorite horror antihero of all time: the infamous Freddy Krueger. Not only does Freddy have the fright factor down due to his burned body and knifed hand, he is also utterly witty and quite the character. This 1984 film, written and directed by award-winning Wes Craven, revolves around the lives and dreams of several teenagers who are haunted and hunted by Freddy in their dreams because of a morbid secret held by their parents. Making this scarier is the fact that if Freddy is able to kill the kids in the dream world, they are also dead in the real world. This film was Johnny Depp’s breakthrough performance, and also stars Robert Englund, John Saxon, and Heather Langenkamp. If you pick this film and love it, you will rejoice to hear that there are 8 other Freddy films in this franchise.

House of 1000 Corpses: This scary 2003 exploitation flick, written and directed by Rob Zombie, has everything a horror movie should: scary characters, intriguing sets, and plenty of bloodshed. The plot follows 2 young couples as they pick up an innocent-looking hitchhiker (played by Zombie’s wife, Sheri) and proceed to get stuck in her family’s version of hell. They all face horrible fates at the hands of the deranged family.  This film was Rob Zombie’s directorial debut and features a soundtrack including songs by Zombie himself.  House of 1000 Corpses stars Sid Haig, Bill Moseley, Karen Black, Chris Hardwick, Erin Daniels, and Jennifer Jostyn.  If you end up falling in love with this production, make sure to check out the sequel: The Devil’s Rejects, which stars many of the same cast members and follows the family on further creepy adventures.

Haunting in Connecticut: Perhaps what makes this movie most terrifying is the fact that the story is loosely based on real-life events that supposedly happened to the Parker family in the 1980s. Just like in the true story, this haunting psychological horror film centers around a single family that decides to move closer to a hospital once the son, Mathew, is diagnosed with cancer. When Mathew first starts seeing frightening hallucinations, the family assumes that the visions are simply a side effect of his treatments. However, upon finding disturbing equipment in a previously locked basement, they soon learn that their new house used to be a mortuary with a torrid past. Film stars include Virginia Madsen, Kyle Gallner, Martin Donovan and Amanda Crew. If you watch and enjoy this film, make sure to keep your eyes peeled for the upcoming series in this franchise, A Haunting in Georgia.

Saw: This 2004 independent shocker is chockfull of things to make your stomach turn. The plot centers around an evil mastermind named Jigsaw who purposefully sets up twisted games with individuals he feels need a change in their life. This film starts off with two chained men that wake up in a small and dingy room, with a dead body directly between them. They are left specific directions via microcassettes and must figure out how to attempt to save their lives. Throughout the movie, flashbacks show us what other games have been set up for prior “players”; including one who was trapped in a cage filled with razor wire and asked to escape. Saw was directed by James Wan and stars Danny Glover, Cary Elwes, Monica Potter and Michael Emerson. Note that this chiller is the first of 7 Saw movies, so there is plenty more gore where this came from.

The Shining: This chilling film from the 1980s was directed by Stanley Kubrick and loosely based on the 1977 novel by horror master Stephen King. This classic psychological horror movie follows Jack Torrance, played by Jack Nicholson, as a writer who accepts a job to keep his eye on a desolate hotel. In addition to Nicholson’s outstanding performance, the film also stars Shelly Duvall, Danny Lloyd and Scatman Crothers. The hotel the family comes to has a sinister history, from its location on an Indian burial ground to the fact that the previous caretaker went mad. Adding to the story is that Jack’s son has special psychic talents that allow him to see things other people can’t: including the ghosts and ghouls who occupy the hotel and terrible events that will come from them staying there. In a sordid twist of events, Jack ends up succumbing to an evil presence and attempting to kill his wife and son. In the end, what seems a simple story turns into a complex web of perceptions.

For those craving even more horror, check out these scary screenings at San Diego movie theaters.

Little Shop of Horrors: a cult classic showing at Birch North Park Theatre on October 26 at 7pm

Edward Scissor Hands: a fun yet scary production showing at The Pearl on October 26 at 8pm

Michael Meyers Movie Marathon: a fright-filled night at 98 bottles on October 29 at 6pm

Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde: a silent horror film screening at UCSD Arts Library on October 31 at 7pm

The Haunted House: step into a real life horror film in the Gaslamp Quarter, now through October 31

Discover more spooky Halloween attractions and sultry Halloween parties