About 16 years ago I was planted on my a couch in my living room across from my cousin who was also on a couch. We had just finished a movie with my dad. He stood up at the end of it and said, "well you know the deal boys, I'm going to the neighbors to get us some more movies. Don't answer the door for anyone but me." When he returned he had a stack of VHS's (yes, VHS's for you younger young ins'.) After scanning over the covers I knew which one we were going to watch.
 
The cover had a translucent female face with a twisted look on her face towards the top and a man with a chainsaw running at the person holding the tape. He had a mangled looking face with a crazy expression. For some reason this is the one that I insisted we watch. I remember holding my blanket up to my face as far as I could without covering my eyes completely. The movie was The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and it would spike my interest and obsession with horror for the rest of my life. The following is a list of movies that I believe truly capture the fear and intensity of horror...

 
 
 

 
Green Room (2015)

Green Room centers around a traveling punk rock band down on their luck and morale. They are invited to play at a venue in a backwoods off the beaten path place. The venue is owned and operated by a neo Nazi group leader played by Patrick Stewart. One of the band members accidentally walks in on a woman who has been murdered in a back room. When he attempts to leave he is told to calm down and stay in the room along with his other band members. The rest of the movie is a frantic fight to get out of the building and away from the extremist Nazi group. But the group stops at nothing in order to silence the kids. Green Room isn't a slasher and there is no one masked murderer and the violence is sparse. But when the violence does happen... it happens. Easily some of the most brutal realistic violence ever put on screen. This movie makes this list for it's intense realistic portrayal of people in immense fear fighting for their lives.

 

 
 
 

The Thing (1982)

The Thing is brought to us from the mind of John Carpenter, the mastermind behind the original Halloween. This is also a remake of an older film by the same title. The Thing is about a group of scientist who are at the mercy of a shapeshifting alien life form. It takes the image and shape of any living creature, making for some tense "who did it" type moments. A big factor in what makes this movie amazing is it's visceral use of practical effects. The modern horror movies we get a lot of today are usually ripe with CGI but not The Thing. Between an alien multi headed dog, a decapitated head with spider legs and a stomach that opens up showing teeth that bite a mans arms off, this movie is brimming with twisted imagery. The visuals and not knowing who is the alien is enough to sit you on edge of your seat.

 

 
 

The Blair Witch Project (1999)

The Blair Witch Project is one of the original path makers for the "found footage" horror genre. We join three teenage college kids in their adventure to a presumably haunted forest for a documentary they're shooting. The first day goes decently enough with nothing raising any flags, but soon takes a turn when strange things begin to happen. This movie was promoted heavily as a "true" story and that the footage we were seeing was authentic. As a young boy I completely believed it and that was enough for me. As I grew older I went back and viewed it again and I honestly think it's a little scarier. Some of it's key moments are when the kids wake up to ritualistic relics hanging in the woods near them as well as one of them disappearing over night. The Blair Witch Project manages to be scary without relying on the use of a masked killer or a disgusting monster. We literally never see any physical antagonist what so ever, and I think that's an amazing feat.

 
 
 

Sinister (2012)

By 2012 the horror movie genre had come to a fairly depressing crawl, with PG-13 movies made in bulk tailored for younger audiences. I had no real hopes going into Sinister but I was blindsided in the best way imaginable. I remember seeing it on Fort Benning in the creepiest movie theater ever. It was me and my friend and that was it. The rest of that theater was completely desolate. About half way through the movie when a particularly crazy moment was occurring I looked to my friend to ensure he was sharing the dread that I had in that moment. He was sound asleep. So it was me, this creepy theater and Sinister. This movie makes incredible use of  grainy old school footage and skin crawling audio to drive you insane. I can't watch this movie today without getting goosebumps at certain parts. An absolute must see for any horror fan.

 

 
 

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)

Okay so I may have spoiled it with the intro but man, there is no way that this could not be my top pick. Ever since that night watching as an 8 year old kid it has always been held in high regards. Tobe Hooper took what he had (which was virtually nothing) and made one of the scariest movies in history. From the grainy footage to the ear piercing sounds and set design, you can't get through this one without feeling slightly uncomfortable. The thought of a Texan redneck cannibal family just sounds horrifying and somewhere I'd never want to come across. If you're into horror movies I'm sure you've seen it but if you haven't you are missing out and need to leave this article immediately to see it!

 

 
 
What are some of your favorite horror movies? I'm all ears, let me know down below!