While I know that many of you may already be out of college, as I know a lot of my friends are, there are those of us who are preparing to study for finals. But who studies without a little procrastination first. Or at least based on this list, at least 15 hours worth. Here are 15 classic Netflix and HBO horror films that will help you procrastinate the inevitable.
1. Children of the Corn
While I personally have not seen this myself, as I am waiting to the read the book, take it from a huge Stephen King junkie herself, any book you read or movie you watch that has to do with Stephen King is sure to send a shiver down your spine. Children of the Corn is about a couple who finds a murdered boy in the road and while trying to contact the authorities stumble into a town populated solely by children. They soon discover that something is not right and find themselves fleeing the children who are trying to sacrifice them to their demonic deity. As if you didn't think children weren't already demonic enough.
2. The Omen
Throwing it back to this 1976 classic and staying with the children theme, The Omen is a movie that you would not be able to forget easily. In this haunting tale, a couple decides to adopt a child named Damien after suffering the loss of their child. While being warned that death is often revolved around this child, it is not something they believed until they experienced it themselves. The father decides to dig into Damien's background and finds that they may have adopted the Antichrist. Fear not, this is a fictional story, adoption is 100% free from the Antichrist.
3. The Babadook
While you may have come across this Australian film while scrolling through Netflix and dismissed it as looking foolish. It is not. I stumbled across this film and was not upset with the results. A mother was reading her son a book before he went to bed, only what seemed like a fictional book was not so fictional after all. Her son started to see the figure in real life, and after telling her son that it was make believe, she soon learns that he was not wrong after all. This movie definitely will makes me think twice about what stories I am going to read to my kids before they go to bed.
4. Dead Silence
If you aren't a fan of puppets, this is not a film for you. If you are a fan of puppets, you certainly will not be after watching this. Dead Silence is from the creators of Saw, and if you have see those films, you know the horrors they are capable of creating. Following the death of his wife, Jamie Ashen returns to his hometown of Ravens Fair. That town name alone is creepy enough. Upon returning he finds that Mary Shaw, a murdered ventriloquist, still has a presence looming over the town. While most sane people would get the heck out of there, this is a movie and Jamie instead comes face to face with none other than the Mary Shaw and her over 500 puppets, or rather "children" as she calls them.
5. The Human Centipede
While this isn't necessarily a classic, or quality film, it is definitely a gut-wrenching and entertaining one. Two American tourists' car breaks down somewhere in Germany, and after refusing a ride from a truck driver, they stumble upon a country house owned by none other than a crazed surgeon. He pretends to call someone to help them, but drugs their drinks instead. He sows them up along with some other poor tourist making them look like, well a human centipede. While I will not go into the gruesome details, just know that this film is not for the weak stomached. They should have gotten a ride from that truck driver...
6. Mine Games
Another Netflix film that I happened to be intrigued by, and has become one of my favorite Netflix horrors. Seven friends staying in a cabin in the woods, because everything scary seems to happen in the woods, find an abandoned mine. While exploring the tunnels, they find that a mysterious force is hunting them and they have to reverse their fates to keep their lives. Try and guess the ending to this movie because I guarantee that you won't. An exciting movie with an unforeseeable ending that will have you staring at the credits wondering what just happened.
7. Hush
While hesitant to watch this movie at first because I thought it seemed rather boring, it is in fact not and I have enjoyed watching this film twice. The story follows a deaf woman who is being stalked by a killer in her own home. While you may think that she does not stand a chance because of her inability to hear where the killer is, she uses her smarts to try and outwit the killer, who is surprised himself that she is not an easy target. A realistic film that touches on a very prominent fear of home invasion. Highly recommend.
8. Would You Rather
What is known as a classic game of often stupid scenarios like would you rather eat a bottle of ketchup or eat your own sock, is turned into the matter of life or death for 8 partakers. What is given to Iris (Brittany Snow whom many of us know and love from Pitch Perfect) as a simple explanation of play in this game and if you win you will be given a large sum of money, is in fact not the entirety of the story. Nothing is ever as simple as it seems. She soon discovers that she will either have to hurt herself or other people in a series of would you rather rounds. I for one can say that I would not rather play this game ever again. A film that touches on many different emotions, keeps you guessing, and has an unbelievable and rather angering ending. A movie that I have already seen 5 times and will probably see another 5,000.
9. The Visit
Horror comedies, how good can those be? Well The visit knocks that genre out of the park. A film that I have already seen three times and will gladly watch again. Mostly filmed by the first person view of the daughter adding to the scary effect of the film, much like the Paranormal Activity movies, two kids who are excited to meet their grandparents in Pennsylvania for the first time in their lives, quickly start to regret their decision as increasingly strange behavior starts to be displayed from their cute grandparents. After discovering a shocking secret, they begin to worry that they will never make it home. I for one will not be spending five nights with my grandparents in creepy Pennsylvania farm country after watching this film. Nor will I be cleaning any ovens.
10. Nightcrawler
A film that I have seen in theaters and on Netlifx twice starring none other than the dreamy Jake Gyllenhaal who takes on a very creepy role. While I admit after I left the theater after seeing it the first time regretting spending my money on it, the more I thought about it, the more I realized how much of a cinematic masterpiece it actually is. Gyllenhaal (Louis Bloom) survived by scavenging and theft, until he decides to be a cameraman. Armed with nothing other than a camcorder and a police scanner, he begins nocturnal forays in search of grisly crimes. When he finds a news director thirsty for more ratings, he goes to greater lengths to obtain that one perfect "money shot." A movie that you have to see before Netflix takes it off their website, you will not be sorry.
11. Sinister 2
While I wish I could be writing about the first Sinister, unfortunately the second one is the only one on HBO as Netflix holds neither. Sinister is easily my favorite scary movie, one that I watched by myself in broad daylight and still was afraid to move in fear that something was going to try to kill me if I turned around. If you haven't seen the first one, then you aren't living. As for the second one, not nearly as good as the first as sequels rarely are, but still one that sent a shiver down my spine. Still based on the urban legend Bughuul, an evil spirit who recruits innocent children to murder their loved ones, this time attacks a mother and her two sons. Their lives are dependent on the ever favorite Deputy so-and-so who is their only hope, as he is the only one who knows about Bughuul. A quality film with enough jump scares to make you change your pants at least twice.
12. Poltergeist
While I am a bigger fan of the 1982 Poltergeist, the 2015 version is just a more modern and revamped version. A family of five moves into a new home, what could go wrong? Well nothing, unless the youngest daughter starts talking to an imaginary friend, who isn't actually imaginary at all. After that, it is not long before the family has to call in a team of parapsychological experts to free their daughter of the supernatural entities. And in case you were wondering, this is the movie where the classic quote, "They're here" comes from. You cannot call yourself a horror movie connoisseur if you haven't seen this movie, or the next three I am about to mention.
13. Scream
While I first heard of this movie because of the ever-so hilarious Scary Movie films, I decided I needed to check out this American classic. I was not disappointed. There's a killer on the loose in the town of Woodsboro and no one is safe. This psychopath stalks and taunts his victims with trivia questions, then rips them to shreds. Charming, I know. I bet you can't guess who the killer is. Netflix currently has a tv series titled Scream, which is a spinoff of the movie, so after you check out the movie, watch the tv series because neither are disappointing. And again, no one is safe.
14. The Sixth Sense
The father of plot twists. A haunting classic. A stellar cast. In other words, a triple threat. This 1999 film will have your jaw on the ground by the end of it. A young boy, played by the cute little Haley Joel Osment, has a gift. He can see dead people, or ghosts with unresolved problems. Yes the "I see dead people" quote is from this cinematic masterpiece. He is too afraid to tell anyone about his unwanted gift except for child psychologist Malcolm Crowe, played by none other than the Bruce Willis. As they grow closer, they are both in for a surprise. This haunting tale is one that everyone should have the opportunity to watch, there are little to no jump scares that allow for those of you who are of the faint of heart and do not care for scary movies the ability to watch.
15. The Shining
"Here's Johnny!" Wrapping it up with another Stephen King based film is none other than The Shining. If you have not seen this film, I cannot express how sorry I am for you. If you take anything away from this list it is to watch this movie. The definition of a 1980 classic starring none other than the very intense and very animate Jack Nicholson. This movie follows a writer Jack Torrance who becomes the caretaker at the Overlook Hotel in Colorado for the winter, bringing his son and wife along with him. His son is plagued by psychic premonitions and being cooped up in this creepy hotel only makes them grow stronger. Jack begins to discover the hotel's dark secrets and begins to unravel into a homicidal maniac, hell-bent on terrorizing his family. While I highly recommend reading the book first as the endings between the two are different, and of course the book is better than the film, this is a 11/10 recommendation. So keep calm and "redrum" on.