MovieChat Forums > General Discussion > Wish they would make more scary films th...

Wish they would make more scary films that didn't rely on gore/violence...


I really wish they could make some truly scary flicks that don't rely on gore or violence to get the scares across.

Any recommendations for flicks to watch you teen children for some good scares would be appreciated.

Don't get me wrong - I can watch the rougher stuff, but I'd still like to see some flicks where you can yell "BOO" and scare the children quite well.

reply

I got bored with the torture porn stuff as well, I liked the first Saw film for example as it had some psychological play in there, tried watching the second one and it was just misery. I prefer a little more than or like the shlocky style horror films where it is mostly for fun.

reply

I've been watching some of those again and they are fun. Amazon Prime has a larger number of them available.

reply

Some other good ones,

The Others (2001)
Scream (1996) if you haven't already seen it this one skirts the line between parody/homage of horror films as well as genuine suspense.
The Ring (2002)

reply

Insidious 2010

reply

Thank you, I'll make a note of it...

reply

The Woman in Black (1989)
Burnt Offerings (1976)
Dark Night of the Scarecrow (1981)

reply

Dark Night of the Scarecrow is great. I wish we had good made for tv movies into the 2000s.

reply

It’s sad that those kind of made for TV movies just dropped off after a while. They were such big events and everyone watched them.

Two more to add:
Don’t Go to Sleep (1982)
Salem’s Lot (1979)

reply

I remember the scene in Salem's Lot when Geoffrey Lewis jumps down in the grave....one of the creepiest scenes....

reply

Yes! And the kid floating up to the window.

reply

A nice atmospheric horror movie that I really like is Noroi (2005).

Another great one is The Changeling (1980).

reply

Some nice non-violent scary movies to watch with your kids?

• Fright Night, both the original and the remake.
• Don't be afraid of the Dark, both the original and the remake.
• The classic Hammer movies are perfect for kids, like Dracula (1931) or Frankestein (1931)
• Black Sunday (1960) is the best non-Hammer movie that looks like a Hammer movie.
• The Howling (1981), warning: there's a nude scene, so check it first.
• The Fearless Vampire Killers (1967) is a comedy about vampires, but kids will love Professor Abronsius character.
• The Shinning (1980) and The Exorcist (1973), both masterpieces.
• Gremlins and Critters, two franchises that are perfect for kids.
• The Fog (1980), John Carpenter and and a ghost pirate ship, but be aware: it's scary.
• Poltergeist (1982), I loved this one when I was a kid.

reply

• The Shinning (1980) and The Exorcist (1973), both masterpieces.


You read my mind! You've got the shinning!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kddzyds4fGo

reply

I've been trying to find Don't' Be Afraid of The Dark streaming, but there is one reason I don't want to watch it as an adult and that is because I don't know if it will stand up as it did when I saw it as a child. I'm afraid it will lose that "magic" it had way back then.

reply

Horror from the recent years, Bye Bye Man from 2017, that was for me like a journey to 1930's, the first film since I was little that I had to to watch through my fingers, and sometimes had to look away completely or switching off the sound, not because of gore, but because of the silence, the empty space boiling with intensity that was nerve racking. It is probable during my out of body experience I could meet that Bye Bye Man there for real, coming after me, lots of imaginary things beome real there, it affected me a lot, maybe it's time for some cleansing and healing to release it from my emotional body.

reply