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Gore is lame, as is "Scream" like tactics. Fear is creepyness. Gore is similar to filth and you would have a similar reaction to blood as you would someone eating shit: it just makes you feel uncomfortable because you're not used to it.
However, creepyness is the fear instilled when a hand slowly slides accross the shower tiles just as you close your eyes to wash your face.
Mothman Prophecies is quite scary but not really made to be a horror film.
The original Texas Chainsaw is very good. This is because of the reality of the situation. Very few instances in that movie aren't things you would do yourself. When anything seems out of place and scary there is no bullshit going in alone to look at something. They go together, and ditch each other in the face of danger. That is reality for the characters they were portraying.
In the new one there is plenty of going in alone, gore, and "i'm not leaving if my one month old boyfriend is still in there."
The original Shining is also extremely creepy and cool. Isolation and closure. It takes its time and the music and carpeting and Jack Nicholson is just perfect. Even the son is extremely creepy.
Stephen King is probably the best horror writer of all time, however his movies don't always turn out that well. Kujo, for example, was a pretty bad movie. Although you could tell it was a quality piece of writing because of the realism of the story, it just wasn't that scary.
I haven't seen a lot of his other movies so I can't say. I think it's because I need to prepare myself because I'm sure pet cemetary will scare the crap out of me.
Movies like Friday the 13th and Halloween are pretty much the 80s equivalent of Scream, with a pretty predictable idea of who's going to die next. However, unlike Scream, those movies had spectacular base storylines.
A movie that freaked me out that was not horror was called The Hole. It's about a few teenagers who skip a school field trip by hiding out in an old bomb shelter but get locked in. Pretty freaky shit. I'm clausterphobic so I really felt ill afterwards.
The Blair Witch Project was probably the scariest movie I have ever seen in respect to my physical reaction to it. I threw up afterwards and was almost immobolized by fear when I watched it. However, that all being said, you've probably already heard about it and know the hype so it's likely ruined for you. I watched it opening night with no preconceptions. And given that I get totally immersed in movies, I really thought i was in the movie.
The Exorcist is a good movie. Very well made with little to no tricks. The first time through it is a good creepy movie. However, similar to the Mothman Prophecies, it's purpose is something somewhat different than horror... although it is still a horror movie. You also have to remember that it was released about 25 years ago or so, and it was extremely vulgar for the time. Vulgarity that disturbed women and mothers got a lot of press. This is why Jaws and this movie got a lot of press because they both had pretty gory and vulgar scenes.
Saw was somewhat of a scary movie but the storyline did not live up to the expectations placed in you at the begining of the movie. It was hyped up and you can watch it one time but this again is somewhat of a gory movie. It feels like the directors came up with a general storyline and sort of tried to wrap it up but it wasn't adequately wrapped up.
It's pretty easy to come up with a very scary or unnerving premise. But you have to wrap it up with an equally satisfying conclusion. Scream 1 did this, as do almost all of Stephen King's stories.
A good Stephen King movie that is not exactly horror but moreso scary sci-fi is called the Langoliers. Incredible movie where a bunch of people on an airplane wake up with half the plane empty, the crew gone, and all their clothes and belongings still on the plane. And no one's flying it.
"Hating everyone protects me from elitism."
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