Non-splatter Horror

[Sky]

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.

[Lakov_Sanite]

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

[apocrypha]

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

[shiznitz]

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.

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

[pxib]

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.

[Mrbloodworth]

What is non-splatter horror?

Unless you mean suspense.

[Sky]

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 :)

[schild]

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

[Raging Turtle]

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

[Mrbloodworth]

I Recently watched "The Mist". I suppose that qualifies. I liked it.

[HaemishM]

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

[Mrbloodworth]

Tucker and Dale vs Evil

[Merusk]

+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)

[satael]

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)

[Ruvaldt]

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.

[Margalis]

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!

[DraconianOne]

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

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

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. 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.

[tar]

One that I never see mentioned is Dust Devil. 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).

[DraconianOne]

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.

[UnSub]

"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.

[Sky]

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.

[tazelbain]

I thought Fallen was pretty horrific.

[Lakov_Sanite]

Would pan's labirynth be considered horror?

[Johny Cee]

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.

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). 

[shiznitz]

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.

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.

[Mrbloodworth]

Would pan's labirynth be considered horror?

Yes.

[HaemishM]

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

[Lakov_Sanite]

The serpent and the rainbow.

[01101010]

The serpent and the rainbow.

Oh dear god good call.

[SurfD]

Would pan's labirynth be considered horror?

Yes.

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

[DraconianOne]

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...

[schild]

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.

[UnSub]

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

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:

   MAX SCHRECK
It made me sad.
   ALBIN
Why sad?
   MAX SCHRECK
Because Dracula had no servants.
   ALBIN
I think you missed the point of the book, Count Orlock.
   MAX SCHRECK
Dracula hasn't had servants in 400 years and then a man comes to his ancestral home, and he must convince him that he... that he is like the man. He has to feed him, when he himself hasn't eaten food in centuries. Can he even remember how to buy bread? How to select cheese and wine? And then he remembers the rest of it. How to prepare a meal, how to make a bed. He remembers his first glory, his armies, his retainers, and what he is reduced to. The loneliest part of the book comes... when the man accidentally sees Dracula setting his table.

[Ironwood]

1408 was shockingly decent, but I really like John Cusack.

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

[DraconianOne]

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.

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.