A good horror film has the ability to haunt its viewers, for many hours after having watched it. However, some of the boldest, freakiest horror movies remain permanently etched in the memories of those who dare to watch. Those who are able to achieve this feat usually have some fresh device, plot point or character(s), setting themselves apart from their competitors.
With this in mind, we take a look at some of the top, freakiest horror films of all time. So, without further ado, we start our list with the controversial 1997 sci-fi horror, Event Horizon.
Warning: the following list contains major plot spoilers. Read on at your own risk.
5. Event Horizon
With a star-studded cast - including Sam Neil, Laurence Fishburne and Jason Isaacs - Event Horizon tells the tale of a rescue crew, dispatched to answer the distress signal of a long lost starship called the Event Horizon. In 2040, the Event Horizon was launched on its maiden voyage to “… explore the boundaries of the solar system.” Alas, all does not go according to plan and she inexplicably disappears into obscurity, while en route to Proxima Centauri.
The film commences with the Event Horizon’s inceptor, Dr. William Weir (Sam Neill), experiencing a cryptic, and rather disturbing, nightmare. Witnessing the tortured imaginings of Weir, we see a weightless figure floating aboard a derelict ship, shrouded by the darkness. Panning closer, the audience is greeted by a man covered in lacerations, from head to toe, and covered in blood. Evidently, script writers Philip Elsner and Andrew Kevin Walker didn’t believe in the slow buildup to horror, as the gruesome scene lands within the first few minutes; naturally, this is merely an omen of things to come.
Seven years after its disappearance, the Event Horizon suddenly resurfaces. Now aboard the Lewis & Clark vessel, Weir embarks upon a space trek towards the Event Horizon’s decaying orbit, along with a search rescue team led by Captain Miller (Fishburne). Weir explains that the ship is based upon experimental “gravity drive” technology that he played a hand in implementing. Although the newfangled tech was designed to offer spacefarers the ability to rapidly travel vast distances by “folding space,” the ship’s core somehow managed to propel the Event Horizon’s original crew straight into the bowels of hell.
As the rescue team sets about trying to fathom the mysterious disappearance of the previous crew, the ship begins to play tricks on its newest inhabitants. What ensues are visions from hell, dismembered corpses, eyeball-less protagonists and scenes of Sam Neill at his craziest and most engrossing.
Interestingly, the original film was supposed to feature 130 minutes of footage. However, Director Paul W.S. Anderson’s initial cut was, seemingly, so graphic that Paramount felt compelled to instruct him to tone down the violence. Anderson planned to release a director’s cut edition of the film, but much of the removed footage had either been lost or destroyed.
4. Requiem for a Dream
Admittedly, Requiem for a Dream is not technically categorized as a horror film, and has been described as a “tragic drama.” However, I defy anyone to watch Requiem and not regard its material horror. The film’s director, Darren Aronofsky, has proved that horror comes in different forms; the film’s gritty setting is grounded in realism and complemented by believable characters and fantastic pacing.
Released in 2000, Requiem for a Dream chronicles the interconnected lives of four ordinary people; these people are gradually absorbed by their respective addictions and become transformed beyond all recognition.
One of the main characters is Harry Goldfarb - a naive, young man who dreams of escaping the streets by peddling drugs around Coney Island. Enlisting the aid of his companions - Tyrone Love and Marion Silver - Harry and company become caught up in the murky world of illegal drug trading. After the group succumb to heroin addiction, they find themselves desperately trying to fund their own insatiable need for the drug.
At the other end of the spectrum is Harry’s mother, Sara Goldfarb - a Brooklyn widow who yearns to recapture her youth. Goldfarb spends her days obsessing over losing weight, in preparation for making an appearance on an American game show. In order to fit into her red dress, Goldfarb begins regularly popping prescription weight-loss pills. After becoming hooked, Goldfarb then starts taking higher and higher doses, before experiencing psychosis and institutionalization.
It’s difficult to describe exactly what makes Requiem for a Dream so truly terrifying, and words really cannot do the film justice. From a stylistic perspective, Requiem for a Dream is very distinctive. The scenes are portrayed in a very “trippy” way, using quick montages of shots, bodycams and psychedelic themes to convey the various themes. More importantly, however, it’s perhaps the idea that the events portrayed in the film are so plausible. Each life impacted by drugs, eventually, is completely shattered and the main characters become mere husks of their former personalities.
Indeed, a number of the actors and actresses who took on the movie roles have previously articulated just how challenging their characters were to play. Certainly, the fate that befalls Marion Silver (Jennifer Connelly) is one of the grimmest that any onscreen character has been subjected to.
3. The Cabin in the Woods
Whereas Requiem‘s freaky factor primarily stems from its emphasis on relentless desperation and unflinching realism, The Cabin in the Woods is a very different beast. Taking a more satirical approach to the horror genre, Cabin in the Woods is an enigma that has puzzled many a horror aficionado. Fusing a myriad of clichéd horror tropes into one film, Director Drew Goddard has turned the worn, splatter-fest formula entirely on its head.
The film starts out in a similar vein to many other horrors; a group of college students are journeying to an isolated cabin for a weekend getaway (a la The Evil Dead). Once the group settle in to their new environment, it quickly becomes apparent that The Cabin in the Woods is not your typical horror. Unbeknownst to the clueless, college kids, a group of subversive technicians are working feverishly behind the scenes to perform an annual, ritualistic killing of people who fit very specific archetypes; failure to achieve this goal will result in the awakening of a malevolent being and an ensuing apocalypse. In a bid to bring about the group’s speedy demise, the technicians behave as puppeteers and use an artificially constructed environment to prep and release a series of monstrous creatures.
The Cabin in the Woods is not a film that takes itself seriously, and goes out of its way to poke fun at some of the more ridiculous and lamer elements of other horror flicks. The film’s unique ability to blend elements of horror and humor is something truly different. For example, after the group is attacked by a “zombie redneck torture family,” Curt Vaughan (Chris Hemsworth) offers a logical recommendation to his friends.
Curt: We go room by room and barricade every window and door. We got to play it safe. No matter what happens, we have to stay together.
The Cabin in the Woods quickly reminds the audience of standard horror film protocol, however. In their isolated control room, technicians Gary Sitterson and Steve Hadley find a way to intervene:
Steve: F-K!
Gary: Calm down. Watch the master work.
With the click of a button, Sitterson releases aerosolized, psychotropic drugs into the cabin, impairing Curt’s judgment.
Curt: This isn’t right… we should split up; we can cover more ground that way.
2. The Fly
Released back in 1986, The Fly has certainly stood the test of time. The film revolves around an eccentric, socially reclusive scientist, Seth Brundle (Jeff Goldblum), who designs a teleportation device. After meeting Particle magazine journalist Veronica Quaife (Geena Davis), Brundle whisks his new companion back to his makeshift laboratory and shows her the teleportation system, which consists of a pair of Telepods hooked up to a central computer.
Eventually, the pair develop a romantic relationship, inspiring Brundle to perfect his machine to allow teleportation of organic material. Suspecting that Quaife could be cheating on him, an inebriated Brundle enters the transmitter pod and beams himself to the adjacent container. Little does he know, a housefly enters the unit with him, causing Brundle to merge with the insect at a molecular and genetic level.
The Fly was utterly terrifying for a number of reasons. The main character’s tragic death was not a quick and easy affair. Instead, Brundle was made to endure slow, unpleasant physical and psychological changes that spanned several weeks. As Brundle begins his hideous transformation into a giant human-fly hybrid - playfully dubbed Brundlefly - the film taps into a fear that we all have; ordinary people have the potential to become the very monsters they fear. Seth was neither a blood-lusting creature nor a chilling ghoul from another plane. He was just a normal man who became jealous, got drunk and then made a monumentally stupid mistake.
What makes the entire process that much worse is the reaction of those around him, as he begins to make the unassailable change. Although some critics and film buffs thought Director David Cronenberg was making a cultural statement about AIDS, he claims it was more of a metaphor for disease in general, as well as the aging process.
1. Maniac
Maniac is, quite possibly, one of the most perverse horror films I have personally viewed. Starring Elijah Wood as Frank Zito - a mentally disturbed proprietor of a mannequin store - Maniac is a psychological slasher flick that makes you immediately forget Wood’s previous performances in The Lord of the Rings, Happy Feet and Wilfred.
Director Franck Khalfoun recently spoke of how some actors become typecast after playing certain characters. The French-born director said part of Wood’s appeal was his “good guy” image, saying fans would be shocked by the 33-year-old actor’s role:
“He has this good guy sort of package. Usually an actor’s baggage can hurt your character, but he really is just this good guy sort of persona so I couldn’t wait to turn him into a horrible beast. I think for his fans it’s shocking too, and it adds to the shock value of the film.”
Haunted by his mother’s past indiscretions, Zito transforms into a psychopathic serial killer who stalks, kills and maims innocent women. Because of his tumultuous childhood, Zito is unable to hold down meaningful relationships with potential partners, and his errant sexual liaisons typically end in bloodshed.
After luring/hunting his victims, the troubled shopkeeper scalps the corpses of those he’s slain and dresses up his mannequins with their stolen hairlines. Yeah… so, it’s not exactly a Disney-esque romp through Los Angeles, and viewers really shouldn’t expect a happy ending.
We hope you have enjoyed our 5 all-time freakiest horror films. Please feel free to share our list and leave comments and feedback, below.
