Shivansh Mishra
Source: DOG
Admit it! We all love a good scare every once in a while. Be it the old classics like “The Mummy” or “Bride of Frankenstein” or even the cult classic “Hocus Pocus”, nothing beats the simple charm of a Halloween classic. And what’s better than watching a horror classic from the impressive selection on offer by Amazon Prime? Not much, we’d say.
Looking for something classic? Go for “An American Werewolf in London” or “Night of the Living Dead”? Seen those already and looking for something new? No problem, Amazon’s video service regularly updates with new favorites for you to choose from.
Just to make sure that you do not lose half your day endlessly browsing through the large collection, we have compiled a ready go-to list for your kind perusal. So, get your popcorn ready, bust out the blanket, and settle in for some spooky fun!
1. “Rosemary’s Baby” (1968)
Source: CDR
A newlywed couple, Rosemary (Mia Farrow) and Guy (John Cassavetes) appear idyllic when we’re introduced to them as they shop for a new Manhattan apartment. Things take a sharp turn when Rosemary gets convinced that she has actually been impregnated by Satan’s child.
2. “Saw” (2004)
Source: CDR
The advent of torture porn, the movie revolves around a terminal cancer patient who decides to punish all those who don’t appreciate life in his own grisly manner. Call it his justice. Or just, you know, don’t!
3. “The Witch” (2015)
Source: CDR
Directorial debuts don’t get much better than what Robert Eggers pulled off with “The Witch”, an immersive, atmospheric exercise in the existential dread of the fanatically devout in 17th Century New England.
4. “Blood and Lace” (1971)
Source: CDR
This movie introduced the concept of home-invasion horror before it became popular with “Halloween”. Every man in “Blood and Lace” is oozing filth as they all try to get their hands on a teen who talks a big talk about her experience with love. Cringe-inducing? HELL YES! Boring? HELL NO!
5. “Suspiria” (1977)
Source: CDR
This Italian technicolor fever dream of lavish violence and operatic production design follows a young American ballet dancer abroad at a prestigious German dance academy where she uncovers an ancient, sinister coven of witches. Famous for its wildly violent kills, this movie is a trip!
6. “The Blackcoat’s Daughter” (2015)
Source: CDR
The movie is an enigmatic occult drama that conjures a spellbinding, nightmarish thrall of Satanic menace. The creepy slow-burn is complemented by punctuating moments of violence throughout its run-time.
7. “What We Do in the Shadows” (2014)
Source: CDR
Director Taika Waititi will soon be a big name Stateside with “Thor: Ragnarok” but in 2014, he directed and starred in the horror-comedy “What We Do in the Shadows” that revolved around a coven of vampires and their long-standing rivalry with a band of werewolves that is as grisly as it is funny.
8. “Night of the Living Dead” (1968)
Source: CDR
The zombies in George A. Romero’s “Night of the Living Dead” are called “ghouls” but nonetheless this is the film that created the movie zombie as we know them: blank, thoughtless creatures who lumber around with vacant stares and barely retain any resembling sense of their humanity. For this reason, the thrill of the movie zombie has generally been in seeing how our heroes with brains dispatch them with great efficiency and cruelty.
9. “The Girl With All the Gifts” (2016)
Source: CDR
Based on Mike Carey‘s hit YA novel from a screenplay he penned himself, the movie takes place in an apocalyptic dystopia where the world has been ravaged by mold-covered zombies called “Hungries”. We pick up with the survivors of a military camp, where they’re searching for a cure by experimenting on different, trickier kind of monster — human/hungry hybrid children who look, think, and act like your average school kids… until they catch the scent of live flesh and the monster comes out.
10. “An American Werewolf in London” (1981)
Source: CDR
Considered by many to be one of the best horror films in cinematic history now that its cult status has been firmly cemented, John Landis’ dark horror-comedy “An American Werewolf in London” has set itself apart from all other werewolf films that came before it and have come since. Notable for the make-up special effects work of Rick Baker, for which the film won the inaugural Oscar for Outstanding Achievement in Make-Up, the visceral, bone-crunching werewolf transformation will haunt your dreams for a long time.
11. “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” (1974)
Source: CDR
The setup of the movie is simple, and it’s all in the title, a group of good kids make a detour in Texas where they are massacred one by one, sometimes with a chainsaw. It’s a genre-defining entry in backwoods horror, a relentless onslaught of butchery that invokes sledgehammers and meat hooks and, of course, chainsaws as implements of horrific violence and depravity.
12. “The Greasy Strangler” (2016)
Source: CDR
It’s absurd, unapologetic, and indecent by just about every conventional standard, but the beauty of “The Greasy Strangler” is the fact that it doesn’t care about conventional standards at all.
13. “Green Room” (2015)
Source: CDR
A partying punk band wanders into the thick of Neo-Nazi territory when their planned gig falls through. Led by Imogen Poots, Alia Shawkat and Anton Yelchin (whose untimely death still staggers the mind), the young ne’er do wells square off against the most militant red laces. Patrick Stewart, cast brilliantly against type, plays their charming leader Darcy with a terrifying calm and calculating confidence, and his no-guns rule means that every kill comes hard and cuts deep.
So, what do you think of the list? And what’s your pick of the lot?
Sound off in the comments below!