1.The Exorcist- The first time I saw it was a crappy, edited for tv version on TBS in the nineties, and it still scared the crap out of me. Before the internet, I had heard about the Th Exorcist through word of mouth as something that was legitimately unholy. While that obviously wasn't the case, the mystique of it lingered. I legitimately think having constant information through social media/the internet completely kills th mystique of films like The Exorcist and makes it far less scary for future generations.
2. Rosemary's Baby -there are no jump scares, very little make-up, yet this film strikes at one of our greatest fears-slowly losing your mind. While rosemary is proven to not be crazy, that fear transforms into another universally fearbeing a parent under extreme, undeesirable circumstances.
3. The Shining Kubrick was made to make a horror movie and this is proof of that. While I still love the book, the movie takes the eerie ness of isolation and failure to another level.
4.Paranormal Activity-no deep thematic thoughts here, just solid filmmaking that scared the crap out me the first time I saw it. Like most horror franchises, the sequels missed the point, but the original legitimately had me waking up a few times the night after.
5. The Nightmare-this documentary on sleep paralysis is on Netflix and, not-coincidentally, had me up all night after ward.
