10 Great Horror Movies You Probably Missed
February 18th, 2010 by GuestChristian Toto is a veteran journalist and film critic whose movie reviews are heard on WTOP radio and “The Dennis Miller Show.” He blogs on film at What Would Toto Watch?
Horror fans can’t be pleased about the state of the blood-soaked genre. Hollywood seems more interested in cranking out tepid remakes and reboots of classic horror movies (see the upcoming Nightmare on Elm Street) rather than surprising us with something original.
The shock success of Paranormal Activity in 2009 stands as a rare - and welcome - exception.
Plenty of smart and creepy horror films have come out in recent years, but there’s a good chance they never played at a theater near you. No matter, since the DVD shelves are a fine place to discover some buried horror treasures.
Consider these 10 films the next time you’re in the mood for a good fright and want to steer clear of another mindless slasher film.
1. Splinter (2008)
The setup is simple. Two couples seek shelter in a convenience store after someone - or something - attacks them. The dynamic between the couples provides its own sense of danger, but so, too, does the mysterious creature slamming itself against the store’s window front trying to break in. The clever visual effects leave audiences unsure exactly what’s trying to gobble up the protagonists, and you’ll be rooting for the film’s heavy, played with gusto by Shea Whigham.
2. Eden Lake (2008)
This British chiller follows a couple eager for a romantic camping trip. What they stumble onto is a pack of unruly teenagers who terrorize them at every turn. Lake doesn’t need monsters or vampires to leave us breathless. It’s the thought of everyday kids running amok that does the trick.
3. Rogue (2007)
A killer croc movie? Pass. Not so fast. This Aussie import provides some beautiful scenery and expertly crafted thrills. The attractive cast doesn’t hurt, including Michael Vartan of Alias fame and the under-rated Radha Mitchell (Melinda and Melinda)
4. The House of the Devil (2009)
This 2009 film paid homage to the early ’80s horror movies with one big difference. It’s actually smarter and more satisfying than the films from the time period it’s emulating. A broke college student decides to take a babysitting gig in a creepy old mansion. Bad move. Fun movie. Just be patient. The film starts very slowly and takes some time before it reaches the boiling point.
5. Shuttle (2008)
This shocker is less a pure horror film than a nail-biting thriller, but there’s enough blood spilled to qualify for the genre. A group of travelers make their way onto an airport shuttle to deliver them back home. The shuttle bus driver has other plans. You might not believe some of the twists that soon unfold, but the film barrels forward at a breakneck pace.
6. Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon (2006)
The slasher genre gets skewered in this sly horror comedy. A wannabe serial killer named Leslie Vernon hires a documentary crew to shoot the dawn of his killing spree. This no-budget affair offers some funny observations on the horror genre and manages to be creepy as Leslie goes to work.
7. Wolf Creek (2005)
This one is unsettling, plain and simple. Three travelers, lost in the Australian Outback, run into a charismatic local who knows the lay of the land. That’s all that can be shared about the film without giving too much away. Director Greg McLean, who is also responsible for Rogue, takes his sweet time before unleashing the evil. But when it comes … it hits about as hard as a horror film can. Not for the squeamish.
8. Pontypool (2008)
This sleeper might be the most cerebral shocker on this list. It’s the tale of a wizened disc jockey trying to maintain his cool as a zombie-like outbreak spreads across the town. Don’t expect blood and guts mayhem, just psychological terror anchored by a great lead performance from Stephen McHattie.
9. The Midnight Meat Train (2008)
Horror fans couldn’t wait for this feature, an adaptation of one of author Clive Barker’s creepier tales. But the film’s studio rushed it into but a few theaters before it raced to DVD. Train isn’t a classic by any means. The ending is a bit bloodless, dramatically speaking, but it’s one of the more brutal horror films in recent years, should that be your cup of joe. Vinnie Jones provides a terrifying screen presence as a passenger to be avoided at all costs.
10. Slither (2006)
Think horror-comedy and films like Shaun of the Dead and An American Werewolf in London rush to mind, and for good reason. But this no-nonsense thriller is a perky blend of laughter and gross-out moments. A meteor crashes to earth, bringing with it a creature eager to infiltrate a small Midwestern town. Firefly’s Nathan Fillion finds the right tongue in cheek groove to make this romp a guiltless pleasure.
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February 18th, 2010 at 4:33 pm
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February 18th, 2010 at 7:07 pm
Slither is the only one of these that I’ve seen, and I remember getting a lot of giggles out of it. But that’s what most horror movies do- make me laugh. I’ve yet to find one that was actually scary. I love the damn things though! lol
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February 18th, 2010 at 7:56 pm
Midnight Meat Train is a perfect example of so bad it’s good. My friend and I watched it when we saw the title on demand. So very prime for riffing.
For example, how did the guy get the job at the meat packaging plant in the first place? What must that interview have been like?
“Well, we’ve reviewed your resume and we’ve noticed you left Al’s Meat Packaging. What were you reasons for leaving?”
“…”
“Hmm…Do you have any medical conditions we should know about?”
*Rips open shirt*
“Hmm…You start Monday!”
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February 18th, 2010 at 9:01 pm
These aren’t horror films. They’re gore-filled suspense films.
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February 18th, 2010 at 9:10 pm
God bless Pontypool. It finally got a U.S. DVD release too!
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February 18th, 2010 at 10:14 pm
i love Slither! such a oozefest!
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February 18th, 2010 at 10:37 pm
Wolf Creek and Midnight Meat Train are the only films i have seen off this list and I would definitely recommend them. Wolf Creek in particular. Nice and gore-y.
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February 19th, 2010 at 10:43 am
Eden Lake was a true horror film, superbly written and paced, the acting was well done even with the younger actors in the film. Very believable, very chilling. Slither was an excellent blend of horror, comedy and gore. An enjoyable movie, again with good acting that made it’s horror and gore more palatable.
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February 19th, 2010 at 2:14 pm
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February 19th, 2010 at 2:37 pm
To start off, movies like Wolf Creek don’t really appeal to my love of Horror movies the way one should. I mean, to start off, watching extended rape/molestation scenes is one of those things that, to me, is more annoying than “scary”. The Hills Have Eyes (remake mostly) was guilty of the same thing. I mean, everyone knows about rape. We know it exists. And yes, the prospect of being raped is, in and of itself, a “scary thought”. However, when portrayed on the big screen it does little more than cause the viewer to be uncomfortable and awkward. Most of the reason that old classics put random boob shots and sex scenes in the movies were to a) appeal to the male viewers and b) form a kind of setting establishing who the next person is that’s going to die (because they’re sinners). This worked. Boys got the boobs without feeling completely awkward about looking at them and it made you care more about the killer ultimately… That and since the rape scenes generally don’t do anything for the plot in movies like that (sans Last House on the Last, etc.) it’s kind of just annoying to watch after a while… It’s just too overdone.
As for The Midnight Meat Train, it was kind of like watching an M. Night Shamalan movie. The whole time building this vaguely interesting story, only to let the viewer down with one of the most retarded plot twists imaginable. Sometimes this works, yes… But honestly, the mystery of the movie itself was completely destroyed by the final scene and the only thing I thought by the time the credits rolled was, “what the fuck!?” It was just… stupid… I mean, if you want to make a movie about the supernatural… Cool, fine. But don’t muck it up by throwing it in last minute because you can’t think of a better ending. It’s lazy.
And no, it wasn’t stupid in a good way… It was just kind of annoying-stupid. Evil Dead 2, that was so bad it was good. Midnight Meat Train might of accomplished this, if they didn’t try so hard to make the story serious all the way through, only to smack you in the face with demons.
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February 19th, 2010 at 5:23 pm
By that mentality, NO film ever made is a horror film.
Don’t be so full of yourself.
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February 20th, 2010 at 4:53 pm
The house of the devil is the worst movie I’ve ever seen…it takes ages to get to the boiling point, which is not boiling at all…few bloody scenes doesn’t make a horror movie, CSI is more horror than this.
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February 21st, 2010 at 2:27 am
Pontypool, Slither, and Splinter are not gore films.
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February 21st, 2010 at 5:32 am
Probably the best horror movies I ever saw! Thanks for the post!
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February 21st, 2010 at 5:35 am
Great list. I’ve seen three of these so far (Pontypool before I found this list) and I’m not dissappointed! Horror is hard these days, but these are pretty fine movies.
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February 21st, 2010 at 6:17 am
I came across this website on - STUMBLEUPON. horror films are my favourite subject. I have to say i was VERY disappointed with SLITHER. EDEN LAKE was awesome… As a massive film, Horror, Gore, fanatic I felt this film should have been banned, because it was too close to home :O).
The other four I havent seen. WOLF CREEK was average.
The following 2 I havent seen. SLITHER was ok…. (I prefer films (HORROR) to be serious rather than comedic (Although BRAINDEAD is a classic))
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February 21st, 2010 at 6:18 am
P.S. email me if you like :o)
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February 21st, 2010 at 4:31 pm
thank you good sir. As a big movie fan I only didn’t see 2 movies on your list. Making sure to watch them on the next opportunity.
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February 21st, 2010 at 8:47 pm
“A killer croc movie? Pass.”
No love for Lake Placid?
I thought Oliver Platt was hilarious in that film.
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February 22nd, 2010 at 1:21 am
Shuttle and Eden Lake were awesome. Thanks for introducing me to these chillers…
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February 22nd, 2010 at 8:34 am
[...] movies, especially ones which get very little press but deliver big scares. My premiere feature for Jinni.com shares my top 10 hidden/under-appreciated horror gems in recent years. There’s something for [...]
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February 22nd, 2010 at 1:48 pm
[...] this ideea came from post 10 great horror movies you probably missed [...]
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February 22nd, 2010 at 4:38 pm
There are only four on this list that I have seen previously. The rest are now in my Netflix queue. Thanks Jinni and StumbleUpon!
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February 23rd, 2010 at 7:55 pm
YAY I have seen or own them all!! thats a semi rewarding
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February 24th, 2010 at 7:46 pm
I’ve only seen a couple of the movies on the list, so I have to thank you for it. Splinter is already in my Netflix queue and I will surely be adding the others to it as well, with the exception of Midnight Meat Train (which I was lucky enough to record off of HDNet Movies and watched around Halloween of ‘08) and Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon, which I was just really happy to see on the list.
I bought Behind the Mask based on a short review when it came out and have watched it 3 times with various friends just so I could share it. Nice to see it show up on a list like this and get a bit more exposure!
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February 25th, 2010 at 3:22 pm
Slither is the only one on the list I’ve seen, and I loved it! Of course, that had a lot to do with it starring Nathan Fillion, but even if he hadn’t been in it, the movie was funny, engaging, and a whole lot of fun. The rest of these have been added to my netflix queue. Thanks!
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February 26th, 2010 at 7:13 am
The house of the devil is the worst movie I’ve seen…it takes ages to get to the boiling point, which is not boiling at all…few bloody scenes doesn’t make a horror movie, CSI is more horror than this
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February 26th, 2010 at 7:13 am
nice list man!
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February 27th, 2010 at 7:31 pm
Dude, can you think of anything more horrible than being raped? The point is to make the viewer feel uncomfortable. I am not sure you understand what a horror movie is supposed to be.
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March 1st, 2010 at 11:30 am
Wolf Creek was horrible. Nothing but a Hostel rip-off.
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March 2nd, 2010 at 5:27 pm
I’ve seen a few of these films. This guy doesn’t know what he’s talking about.
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March 7th, 2010 at 8:43 pm
The only film on the list I haven’t seen (or own a copy of) is the house of the devil. Somehow, anything with “devil” in the title tends to get right past me. I just find anything “devilish” to be a bore-fest usually. maybe it’s the atheist in me? Regardless, a pretty good list. “Many have problems. The camera work in Splinter nearly ruined the movie for me. “Rogue” is a decent giant animal movie, but you need to enjoy that going in. Umm, My favorite of the bunch was probably “Slither” but it’s very subjective.
If these are considered “probably not seen”, what about “Martyrs”, which actually scared and disturbed me, or “Frontiers”, which rivals any typical chase and gore film. Or the new classic “let the Right One In”? If we are too sheltered to read or speak other languages, how about the remakes of “Funny Games” or “Long Weekend”?
I’m not saying this isn’t a good list. Maybe it should have been 20 or 30 movies though.
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April 7th, 2010 at 7:15 pm
Check out David Lynch’s - Lost Highway
Its not scary its just weird and freaky. It is a psychological thriller. I don’t get scared by “scary” movies any more, but this one is definitely freaky.
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April 10th, 2010 at 1:37 pm
CrackedPepper, just exactly how was Wolf Creek (January 2005) a rip-off of Hostel (January 2006)? I must have missed that.
This list is superb. I’ve gotten all of these except for Slither (not a fan of comedy + horror), Behind the Mask (sounds a lot like Man Bites Dog, yeah…) and Rogue (still unsure of the concept). Wolf Creek was probably my favorite, closely followed by Eden Lake. They’re genuinely terrifying and leave you uncomfortable, which is what a good horror film SHOULD do.
Shuttle was kind of a long journey of suspense, but it wasn’t bad. I appreciated the tone of The House of the Devil, even if it did take forever to get to its point. Splinter is average, but not bad either. Pontypool is very original and creative, but I felt it was lacking something.
Midnight Meat Train was the only one I saw prior to viewing this list, and I liked it. It’s different from most “slashers”, I would say.
I would highly recommend Ravenous–it’s more of a black comedy, but it has horror elements. And of course, Session 9 is great as well.
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April 15th, 2010 at 4:03 pm
I have seen a few of these and some were great! Thanks for the list. Wolfcreek kind of freaked me out but loved it! It’s actually based on a true story somewhat.
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April 21st, 2010 at 9:14 am
Where’s the zombie movies at? Don’t forget about Zombie Anonomous, Zombies Gone Wild, Zombies, Zombies, Zombies, etc.
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April 28th, 2010 at 3:48 am
Eden Lake and Wolf creek and funny game are the best movies that i have seen in this decade they are great horror and thriller movies.
trust me if you haven’t seen these movies don’t waste your time go and see them.
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May 7th, 2010 at 4:10 pm
I hope you people realize that Wolf Creek wasn’t a rip off of ANYTHING… it is a movie about something that actually happened. They did add a character or two to make the story more interesting mind you… this was NOT, I repeat, NOT, a rip off of Hostel but a film based on REAL events… Why do people call movies rip offs so much… when you boil it down, nearly all movies are rip offs in some way or another. I mean this in that, man makes horror film for first time, and people rip off the idea to make horror films also… and then people put twists on old movies, do remakes etc…
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May 7th, 2010 at 7:04 pm
I would highly recommend Ravenous–it’s more of a black comedy, but it has horror elements. And of course, Session 9 is great as well.
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May 19th, 2010 at 3:05 am
YOU GUYS SHUD PUT THIS FRENCH FLIM ‘MARTYRS’,,NOW THTS SCARY,,FROM THE BEGININ TO END,,,
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May 20th, 2010 at 1:06 am
Slither is the only one of these that I’ve seen, and I remember getting a lot of giggles out of it. But that’s what most horror movies do- make me laugh. I’ve yet to find one that was actually scary.
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June 11th, 2010 at 9:14 am
Nice list, only seen a couple of these.
I’m always looking for new horror films to watch.
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June 14th, 2010 at 11:07 pm
Splinter and Rogue were extremely awful. Eden Lake was good and original.
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July 1st, 2010 at 6:54 pm
What about A l’intérieur??? That deff needs to be number one on this list, both scary and gory as hell!!! Splinter and Eden Lake are definitely both great films on this list as well :P
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July 27th, 2010 at 6:32 am
Pontypool began with so much promise and then just went and got stupid as hell at the end. The final half an hour or so just killed it for me. Despite McHattie’s amazing acting job, I’ll never watch this piece of cr_p again.
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July 29th, 2010 at 5:08 am
Apart from Slither and Wolf Creek I am ashamed to say that I hadn’t encountered any of the others in the list. I see this as a good thing as it means I have plenty to look forward to. Thanks for the tips ;-)
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