The Others (2001) - SPAIN , USA

The Others is a 2001 psychological horror/suspense film by the Spanish/Chilean director Alejandro Amenábar, starring Nicole Kidman. In the United States, it was rated PG-13 for thematic elements and frightening moments and runs around 100 minutes.

The Others is one of the top horror stories ever told. It's creepy, simplistic, and eerie.

Good things about this movie is enchanting simplicity of the plot, the lack of need for "Hollywood" special effects, and the haunting atmosphere that loomed over everything from beginning to end.

The first half, or even three quarters, seemed to move along a bit slowly, but it felt necessary to build the suspense to the most important point of the movie .

The film is set on Jersey Island, on the eve of the end of the second world war. Grace (Nicole Kidman), raises her two children by herself in a big mansion, teaching them religion, and protecting them from the external light. The kids suffer from an allergy that does not allow them to be exposed to daylight. As a result, all the shutters and doors are closed. But after she hires three servants, strange phenomena start.

The Others succeeds in the horror genre by being really scary as the director develops a fear of the unknown and madness. The strength of the film is to never go for violence or gore. Instead, he builds the fear in the imagination of the audience. Each closed door (and they all are in this house) masks what each one is afraid to find.The story and final twist are familiar, in the light of the recent trend in moviemaking: once again in The Others, the worlds of the living and the dead cross each other. The twist could easily be predicted, making The Others an answer to the Sixth Sense.With such an ending, flaws and inconsistencies come to light while a lack of originality can be criticized.

Nicole Kidman's brilliant turn is at the center of this sumptuously made supernatural thriller that builds and sustains creepy tension without ever relying on gory violence or special effects.

Like a stranger following in the blackness of twilight, The Others creeps up on an audience when they least expect it and leaves them breathless and dreading. It’s a throwback to psychological terror films of yesteryear.

Highly Recommended .

IMDB Info :

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0230600/

EVIL DEAD TRIOLOGY (1981, 1987 & 1992 ) - USA

Another classic horror triology - EVIL DEAD . I think that everybody knows about this movie . The Evil Dead (also known as Evil Dead, The Book of the Dead, Sam Raimi's The Evil Dead and The Evil Dead: The Ultimate Experience in Grueling Terror) is a 1981 horror film written and directed by Sam Raimi, and starring Bruce Campbell, Ellen Sandweiss and Betsy Baker. The film depicts five college students and their vacation in an isolated cabin in the woods, which turns into a nightmare when they find an audiotape that is a key to unlocking evil spirits.

Not for the faint of heart or those uninitiated in the ways of modern horror, it's a hoot for fans of the genre.

Energetic, original and icky, Raimi's splat-stick debut is a tight little horror classic that deserves its cult reputation, despite the best efforts of the censors.

There are two sequels to this one

"Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn"
"The Evil Dead 3: Army of Darkness"

The second part is definitely the best of the bunch . Third part is more of a comedy then a horror .

IMDB Info :

The Evil Dead (1981) : http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083907/

Evil Dead II (1987) : http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092991/

Army of Darkness (1992) : http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106308/

Dellamorte Dellamore (1994) - ITLAY

Dellamorte Dellamore (also known as Cemetery Man in the United States and Of Love and Death in Australia) is a 1994 Italian horror - Comedy film directed by Michele Soavi.

This movie is not as great as a horror flick but yet it is fun to watch .

This movie is based on a novel of Tiziano Sclavi, and it always reflects the "sclavian philosophy" diffused by the most succesful comics in Italy: Dylan Dog, the detective of the nightmare. There is the duality between love and dead (in Italian "dellamore" means "of love" and "dellamorte" means "of death"), a duality that Dellamorte feels in a really hard way. He is the guardian of the cemetery of Buffalora, a little town in the north of Italy, in which, we don't know why, corpses rise from tombs and Dellamorte has to destroy them. Dellamorte seems not to ask to himself why this happen, he shoots and loves. But at the end he wants to leave Buffalora...

The movie has a satirical undercurrent that's easy to miss; I think this is where the film is most intelligent. It's a scathing look at all the obsessions of the 1990s that veers from the ridiculous to the sublime. It deals with the obsession with safe sex in a comical scene in the ossuary. It skewers the annoying absolutist-relativist idea espoused by many students who've heard something about postmodernism—the idea that any form of judgment is bad—with Gnaghi's vomit and a young girl's assertion that she can be eaten by anyone she wants to be eaten by.

The film is more than a comedic gore fest (although it is the best of the lot). It is also a rueful mediation on life and death and love, on the lengths to which lonely people will go to find happiness, and on being content with what we have. It is filled with gorgeous camera work by Mauro Marchetti, including one perfect shot of Everett facing a statue of death while silhouetted by broken angel wings. It contains wonderfully wry dialogue for people familiar with Everett's usual work. It is a perfect balance of comedy and tragedy, with gibbering zombies thrown in for the ride. It's a flesh-eating, existential take on modern society's steady move toward individual lives that are insulated entirely from direct human contact. It's both a satire of empty 1990s angst and a profound examination of the causes of that angst.

Recommended .

IMDB Info :

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109592/

The Exorcist (1973) - USA

No need to describe this classic horror movie . One of the most profitable horror films of all time . The Exorcist is an Academy Award-winning 1973 American horror film, adapted from the 1971 novel of the same name by William Peter Blatty, dealing with the demonic possession of a young girl, and her mother’s desperate attempts to win back her daughter through an exorcism conducted by two priests. The film features Ellen Burstyn, Linda Blair, Max von Sydow, Kitty Winn, Lee J. Cobb and Jason Miller. Both the film and novel took inspirations from a documented exorcism in 1949, performed on a 14-year-old boy.

Extremely controversial at the time of its release, THE EXORCIST kicked off intense debate among critics, community leaders, and even religious leaders--spurring the public, of course, to make it one of the most financially successful horror films ever made.

Based on William Peter Blatty's runaway best seller (which itself was based upon a reported exorcism in 1949) THE EXORCIST shrewdly exploits the fears and frustrations of parents while disturbing religious implications merely provide portentous window dressing. The film is an intense rollercoaster ride, a marvel of audience manipulation, with director William Friedkin pushing all the right buttons to make this a genre landmark.

A film of such horrifying power that audiences are apt to be visibly shaken.

Absolutely timeless horror in its purest form.

IMDB Info :

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070047/

The Changeling (1980) - CANADA

The Changeling is a 1980 horror film directed by Peter Medak and starring George C. Scott and Trish Van Devere (Scott's real-life wife). The story is based upon events experienced by writer, Russell Hunter, while living in the Henry Treat Rogers Mansion of Denver, CO.

Regarding the plot : After the death of his beloved wife and daughter, hit by a truck in a snowing road upstate New York, the composer and music professor John Russell (George C. Scott) moves to Seattle to teach music in the local university. He leases a huge mansion in Chessman Park that belongs to the Historical Society and has been empty for twelve years. John hears some weird noises always at 6:00 AM and later he experiences the contact of the ghost of a child that lived many decades ago in the house. He researches the history of the house, and discloses a despicable secret.

This movie has everything. Dark, spooky stairways draped with dusty cobwebs, a boarded up room with a terrible secret, a shadowy seance scene, ghostly voices and frightening noises that echo through the huge house, political intrigue and a very solid looking ghost who scares the absolute hell out of anyone he shows himself to. It boasts a well thought out plot with several great twists and a very angry murder victim, who doesn't want to be at peace - he just wants revenge, and boy does he get it.

Fans of "Ringu" will enjoy this tale of murder, ghostly revenge and bodies thrown down wells.

This film has very few gory moments or F/X. It scares with great story telling, sounds and dark corners. The acting is excellent and the director is quite accomplished.

This film was #54 on Bravo's 100 Scariest Movie Moments.

IMDB INFO :

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080516/