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Since there's a recommendation thread for time movies, I'm wondering if you folks have some recommendations for non-splatter horror. Not that it doesn't necessarily have gore, but it's not some lame shock-fest.

Of course, the Kubrick Shining is the gold standard for the Lovecraftian horror method of pushing the atmosphere as the centerpiece of horror. But there's also a flick I caught several years ago and just watched again last night, Session 9. Great cinematography, nice minimal soundtrack, great atmosphere and setting. It's no Shining, but it's a pretty decent flick.

The thing, I don't consider splatter horror since much of the real horror was psychological.

[Rec] and [Rec²] are well worth watching, excellent films. Very shaky-cam though, so avoid if that gives you motion sickness.

I assume you have seen John Carpenter's The Thing, but if not...

There's a little movie I loved called Lake Mungo. Film about an Australian film about a family whose daughter drowns accidentally and then starts haunting them.

Try to avoid looking for promotional material since so much of it cheapens the effect. It's done in a documentary style (mostly interviews rather than "found footage"), and a slow burn... but extremely creepy. Watch at night where you won't be interrupted.

What is non-splatter horror?

Unless you mean suspense.

I mentioned two movies in the OP. Stuff like those. I'd call it horror (in the Lovecraftian sense of creating a horrific atmosphere), it's not really suspense.

Not Saw 15 or whatever the hell passes for 'horror' for most people.

In the splatter genre I like the Deathproof type stuff or Rob Zombie's stuff. But this isn't about that :)

Non-splatter horror is where Asia shines. Getting off on gore is a largely American thing, and a depressing one at that.

The Descent was pretty good.  Worth a rental, at the very least. 

I Recently watched "The Mist (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0884328/)". I suppose that qualifies. I liked it.

I'll second both The Mist and The Descent as decent, non-splatter horror.

Tucker and Dale vs Evil

+1 for Tucker & Dale. Tho it's not totally horror, but a horror spoof and I wouldn't say it's not splatter-like w/ some of the deaths.

Netflix has a whole section called "Cerebral Horror Movies" when I browse.  I imagine many of those are light on gore vs atmosphere.  They're recommending me
Strigoi &  Pulse (2011 from Asia)

Pulse is a good film, and so are two other Kiyoshi Kurosawa movies; Cure and Charisma (though Charisma isn't horror)

I'm a big horror buff, and will likely make more suggestions later, but off the top of my head The Changeling is probably my favorite haunted house/ghost film and is definitely of the non-splatter variety.  It stars George C. Scott and is pretty 1980.

John Carpenter:
The Thing
Prince of Darkness
In the Mouth of Madness

David Cronenberg:
Most of his earlier stuff, most notably The Fly and Videodrome, also including Scanners (not a huge fan myself other than some classic scenes) and Shivers (which is sort of horror cheese but I like it and the woman in it is ridiculously hot - it's also Suda 51's favorite movie)

The Ring  - aka the last really good US horror movie

Some good Spanish-language stuff:
Devil's Backbone (similar in spirit to Pan's Labyrinth)
The Orphanage (borderline-horror I suppose)
Probably Kronos (have not seen it myself)

Asia is the king of ghost (for lack of a better term) stories, and a lot of Spanish films are ghost/fairy tale vibe to them.

Personally I really like the movie Lost Souls, but I'm a sucker for religious-themed horror, and I'm like the only person on earth who likes it.

A lot of episodes of Masters of Horror were good (horror series that aired on Showtime), I can suggest specific ones if interested.

Edit: I forgot the Star Wars prequels - the most horrific movies of all!

I ran past the cabin they used in that only lat night!  :grin:

A friend of mine put together a non-exhaustive list of 50 creepy films that, on the whole, is something I'd go along with. It's here. (http://www.denofgeek.com/movies/21744/50-genuinely-creepy-horror-movies) They range from old movies like "The Cabinet of Dr Cailgari" (1920) and M (1932) through to more recent fare. I don't agree with her on all of them - I'd take out Blair Witch Project, Insidious and Paranormal Activity for a start and include some more Polanksi like Rosemary's Baby, The Tenant and Repulsion but it's not a bad starting point for a list.

Got to agree with Ruvaldt about Peter Medak's "The Changeling" though. Really creeped me out first time I saw it.

If you've never seen Ghostwatch, you should - although it may lose something if you're not a Brit. It's tremendous. Also, the BBCs adaptation of MR James' "Whistle and I'll come to you" (1968 version - the 2010 version with John Hurt was a touch too long and suffered for it), that's quite creepy.

One that I never see mentioned is Dust Devil (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104155/). Doesn't really count as non-gore but I love the sense of atmosphere in it. It's kinda bleak and depressing, possibly a bit slow but it's, well, just a bit different. Definitely not saw-esque (from what I've heard, not seen Saw).

Dust Devil is an interesting but flawed film. If you do end up seeing, make sure you see the Final Director's cut (108 minutes) and not the edited-to-shit 88 minute version which makes very little sense.

Richard Stanley was a director with (I feel) a lot of promise - shame he got so royally screwed over by Warners.

"Angel Heart" has some gory bits, but the horror element doesn't come from it.

"Night of the Hunter" (which was on that list) I enjoyed.

"Jacob's Ladder" - was happy I tracked that one down.

I got started on this watching Vampyr, which is pretty awesome. Got led to that by the butchering of Nosferatu, with an edited soundtrack by 'the silent orchestra' that should be actionable it's so atrociously bad. I'm still pissed about it. And I'm reading through Poe again, working through a bibliography Lovecraft wrote.

I thought Fallen was pretty horrific.

Would pan's labirynth be considered horror?

A highlight from my college years was going to see Nosferatu with a live five piece that did the music and sound effects.  It was amazing.  Shadow of the Vampire is very good as well, basically based around the conceit that Murnau got an actual vampire to film Nosferatu, with Max Schreck's part being played by Willem Dafoe (who is fantastic and was nominated for an Oscar). 

I literally fell asleep watching Shadow of the Vampire.  That is a rare thing.

Yes.

Pan's Labyrinth and Jacob's Ladder I would also second the recommendation. The latter in particular is one of my favorites.

The serpent and the rainbow.

Oh dear god good call.

I would also add "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark" as well.

I'll third that.

"Pontypool" has been mentioned elsewhere on F13. It's definitely creepy.

Other creepy/disturbing films I liked:

The Others
Demon Seed
Paperhouse
Altered States
Hour of the Wolf

Admittedly, Altered States and Hour of the Wolf (one of my favourite Ingmar Bergman film) are not everyone's cup of tea...

Pan's Labyrinth is NOT horror. It is overrated Housekeeper Drama with a light side dish of Guillermo del Toro.

I really disliked it.

I would second Altered States. To bring this around to the other thread, I'd also say the original Stephen King's IT miniseries. Obvious films from my previous post include Ringu, Audition, and Ju-On. If you believe Jesus was a real thing that mattered, The Exorcist qualifies.

Horror Movies for me need to evoke some sense of actual dread. There's a lot of suspense and thrillers in this thread, but very little horror. The first viewing of Silence of the Lambs qualifies if you know nothing about it. Unfortunately my generation is probably the last one that was exposed to it in a way that wouldn't ruin it. 1408 was shockingly decent, but I really like John Cusack. I'm a big fan of In the Mouth of Madness (but I like Sam Neill as much as I like Cusack, so it's probably shit).

Oh, Insomnia certainly applies. Both versions. Robin Williams knocked it out of the park.

Ahem, I will cap off this post with:

X-Files s01e20: Darkness Falls

What a fucking masterpiece.

I did think the film was overrated, no matter how good Dafoe was. That said, his monologue on why a vampire would find Dracula to be a sad book is absolutely brilliant.

Just grabbing it from somewhere on the net, not sure if it is the full quote:

You'd have to be to enjoy that piece of shit movie.

In The Mouth Of Madness was a really, really good film. Perhaps second only to The Thing as both my all time favourite Carpenter film and Lovecraft adaptation (that's not an adaptation).

Insomnia is good - I'd have filed it under Thriller more than horror though but won't argue the toss. Worth watching (both versions).

 "The Little Girl Who Lives Down The Lane" -  13-year-old Jodie Foster and Martin Sheen. Disturbing and creepy. Won a Saturn Award for Best Horror in 1976.
"Les yeux sans visage" (Eyes without a face) - a 1960 French film that freaked me out when I first saw it.

I was going to recommend that but even though its not high enough on the teen arterial spray to count as a gore-fest...that last half hour is pretty rough.

I also add my vote to the recommendations for 1408, In The Mouth of Madness and Insomnia.

A movie not mentioned so far, probably too close to gore, is Event Horizon.

I watched Event Horizon again recently (first time since watching it in the theater) and it didn't hold up so well. I still liked the parts I liked about it originally (the concept, the atmosphere, the set design) but the weaker parts were more distracting.

I also recently watched Let the Right One In and I have to say it did nothing for me at all.

Seriously, are we talking about the same movie here ?  The one with Cusack as a paranormal investigation type person staying in a shitty hotel where a number of bizare and, frankly, unscary fuck stupid things happen ?

 :uhrr:

Did you watch the remake or the original Swedish one? The original was far, far superior I thought. Not particularly horrific, more sad than anything, but very good.

ltroi for us lazy people  :awesome_for_real: was not really horror. yeah it had a vampire and all but really it was a suspense movie with slight supernatural elements.

I agree with everything you said. Also, I finally saw Event Horizon a couple months ago. I had not, for whatever reason, seen it yet. I kept hearing how fucked up it was. It's boring. But, I grew up having Jacob's Ladder be one of my favorite films, so fucked up is relative, I guess.

There's a lot of crossover when it comes to Thriller and Horror, especially if you are eliminating Splatter out of it.

Alien (even if it does have a fair amount of blood) is probably still my favorite Horror movie. Beyond that, hard to beat Hitchcock for a lot of that same feeling. Rear Window, Psycho, etc.

Oh another one that I had kind of ignored, probably because I don't like Nicole Kidman generally, was The Others. I still have a lot of love for Poltergeist,Exorcist, Last House on the Left. And in that vein, The House of The Devil is a great fucking throwback film that came out in 2009. One of my favorite flicks of the last 5 or so years.

It's not a masterpiece - hell, it's not even good. It's decent, and has John Cusack. I only said shockingly because I expected it to be total total shit and it wasn't. Mostly because of said actor.

That's why I liked "Must Love Dogs", no.. wait, that was shitty too.

Finding shitty movies with enjoyable actors is such a tall order I'm shocked you were able to find one.

The fiancee loves bad rom coms. Even she apologized for that movie.

This horror invites splatter.

Strangely, despite my hating the woman and the film itself being predictable and cliche, I liked this film more than I should have.  It was just.. I dunno, done well or something.

Also, if you want to talk bad Cusack, that fucking one called 'Identity' was the worst film I've ever seen.  Five minutes in, I whisper to the wife 'Figured it out' and it just follows the predictable train all the way to the end, sucking mightily as it goes.

It's billed as a horror, but avoid the fuck out of it.  The only horror is 'Omg, I just watched Identity.'

He really did go through a phase of just paying the rent.

Nothing wrong with paying the rent. Nick Cage was doing that also when he made a bunch of shit (and eventually Lord of War).

Fuck you for making me remember I spent money to see that. Seriously.

I'm watching The Bourne Ultimatum while I'm working and the assassin that shoots the reporter is a Treasure Goblin.

I don't even know what Identity is and I'm not looking it up on IMDB.

Yeah, but Nick Cage has had one good film and that was The Sorcerors Apprentice.

This. The movie was goofy and would have been a complete fuckup if not for Cusack, IMO.

I'll also chime in with applause for Mouth of Madness (last good Carpenter movie I've seen) and Insomnia.

The original Amityville Horror qualifies. While there is some gore, most of it is just psychological creepiness. It may not hold up as well as I remember, but I know when I first saw it, it scared the SHIT out of me.

EDIT: I also liked Identity. You people are fucking broken.

Wait... what.

I like John Carpenter's Vampires a lot...

I saw the foreign version of Let the Right One In. I dunno...I just completely no-sold the movie. It had zero effect on me and I was bored. Neither the main kid nor the vampire was particularly likable and I wasn't invested in them at all, if anything I found the main kid kind of annoying. It seems like the kind of movie I would enjoy and I was looking forward to it but it just didn't work for me at all.

I know, right? Everyone knows the one, single role that Cage hasn't blown shit in was Valley Girl.

Haven't seen it.

If you liked John Carpenter's Vampire$, you should really really read the book by John Steakley, because its better. Rich character development, wonderful tension throughout, and a much longer story.

My submission to this thread is a ghost story from yesteryear, but one that stands the test of time. The Haunting (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Haunting_(1963_film)) from 1963, NOT the 90s remake (avoid like the plague). Its based off The Haunting of Hill House (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Haunting_of_Hill_House), a short novel by Shirley Jackson

YES.  Now, admittedly, I was 10 when I saw that, and I haven't seen it again since.  But it was an extremely spooky movie, more so because of its ambiguity.

Its an adult movie, with a bunch of social commentary subtext in it that's of interest, especially from a woman's rights perspective. Still, scary as heck for a 10 year old.

No gore makes things a little tough. Hmm, I'd have to add:

The Woman in Black remake. I liked it a lot, plenty of creepiness and suspense the first time through.
Rose Red (uncut). I downloaded the uncut version and I thought it was much better then the version they show on TV. But I'm gay for Julian Sands.
The Skeleton Key. Most people here would figure out the ending ahead of time but it's still worth watching.

Having thought a bit longer:

 - "The Sadist", based on the Charles Starkweather / Caril Fugate killing spree, the film has three innocents get car trouble in the wrong rural area. It sounds naff (and the film is from the early 1960s, so yes there are cliches) but the villains are mesmerising, the threat feels very real and the good guys aren't stupid, just unlucky.

 - "The Wicker Man", the Edward Woodward version, obviously. It isn't really horror, more thriller, but it's an effective mystery with a neat twist at the end.

Oh hell that is the one I was trying to think of. I am a sucker for creepy voodoo.

"I sell the dead"

Ah, thanks a ton for this thread.  I love scary/creepy movies, but hate all the splatter gore and torture porn that gets made.  Will peruse several of these movies, thanks.

Though having said that:
Ok, going to have to veto that one.  I know its not just something like SAW 6 and is well done, but its still very much a torture porn flick (just well made torture porn).  I think films like that go against the general principle of the thread.

Watched the Skeleton Key on recommendation from this thread and I was not dissapoint at all.

The Devil's Carnival

Repo! The Genetic Opera

...doesn't fit either criteria of this thread.