I enjoy horror films. The genre is massive and there's something for everyone. But it can also be intimidating: a lot of people's favourites tend towards particular tastes, and one bad experience can absolutely- and understandably- turn people off the genre.
So, discussing this with friends, I came up with a pair of baker's dozen lists of what I'd consider solid "introductory" horror films. Nothing too extreme or weird, just solid, unsettling films for people who want something well made and engaging.
List one: the starters
- Alien
- Beetlejuice
- Dawn of the Living Dead (1978)
- Get Out
- Gremlins
- The Haunting (1963)
- Jaws
- Poltergeist
- Psycho (1960)
- The Return of the Living Dead
- The Ring
- The Silence of the Lambs
- The Thing (1982)
Odds are pretty good that you've watched some of these anyway and had a great time. A few of them are what I consider to be "perfect" films, and most of these are stone-cold cinematic classics. There's a nice mix of subgenres here, so I'm confident something will click with you. A great way to dip your toes into the genre.
List two: gently-advanced horror
- Candyman (1992)
- The Fly
- Hereditary
- Ju-On
- Prince of Darkness
- Rosemary's Baby
- Scream
- The Shining
- Skinamarink
- Suspiria
- Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
- Train to Busan
- The Wicker Man
Here I'm opening the door to some of the more "unpleasant" elements of horror. While the first list has its share of gore, the bloodletting in list two is much more notable- you'll notice a couple prominent slashers on the list, not to mention the body horror of The Fly and the stylized unpleasantness of Suspiria.
I'm also getting more opinionated here: Skinamarink is very divisive, but it really worked for me, and is an impressive experimental film in its own right. The Wicker Man isn't scary or gory in any typical sense, but it will stick with you forever. I went with John Carpenter's Prince of Darkness over Halloween (1978), just because it's my favourite Carpenter, and if I was going to only have one John Carpenter Film Starring Donald Pleasence it was going to be that one.
The second list also gingerly branches away from American horror, and non-English horror could be a list unto itself. This is absolutely a list I could spend endless time fiddling with. Train to Busan and Cure were swapping a spot as I was writing. Could The Shining be on list one? Maybe! Should I have put up Ringu instead of The Ring? Possibly*! Are Jame Gumb or Roman Polanski too problematic to be on the list? I don't think so, but I'm bringing it up now Just In Case.
I hope you take the time to check some of these out. I have plenty of other recommendations, but those are a pair of lists I feel very confident in showing the world (Cohost).
*no
