I think The Conjuring 2 for recent films is the scariest and most awesome. So I agree with the original post.

I do think fear is subjective. For example, I don't find slasher films very scary, and never did, not even as a child. What I always found most scary was the prospect of entering into a very unsettling room or area with the anticipation of something horrific... Candyman had such a scene (and it is the exception in the slasher genre for me), Silence of the Lambs, the Grudge (remake/sequel), and all of the recent James Wan films - so I find that kind of stuff scary.

With the Grudge, I specify the remake - the original lacked those elements and was kind of amateurish, I think the Takashi Shimizu was using it as a proof of concept before getting the much larger budget he needed to fully realize his vision with the English version. But the Grudge is not even close to as scary as The Conjuring 2, IMO.

Also, I see some complaints about "jump scares." Personally speaking, I find these are essential for making a film very scary. If it is just creepy, I find it a little underwhelming, while having good jump scares can really increase the tension when done right.

I don't find most horror movies scary. That being said I think The Shining is the creepiest and best horror movie ever. Psycho is a masterpiece. Paranormal Activity managed to give me the creeps. A Quiet Place was a great original film. Haus is a bonkers Japanese horror classic that everyone should watch for the lulz.

I think I could make a good horror film given the resources.

I dont watch horror movies so nothing really comes to mind. Some say alien but I feel that was more action than horror.

Signs wasn't scary at all. Just scary bad, haha.

I don't know what my parents were thinking but I watched Child's Play & that version of IT when I was 3-5 years old. That is absolutely terrifying to someone that young. I had nightmares for years about Chucky and every time I had to take a shower I avoided touching the drain and watched over it to make sure no shenanigans would occur.

Watching Child's Play is one of the very first memories of my life. I was 3 or 4 and I remember the very night I watched it and what I did after.

It's actually my favorite movie ever (not the best movie ever I admit, but I watch it annually for nostalgic reasons). Enough so that I bought a 500 dollar Good Guy doll via Kickstarter.

But yeah, I don't know what my dad was thinking letting me watch it. Oh wait, yeah I do. He wanted to scare the bejeezus out of me. And he did. My mom was so pissed off when she found out though. Years of nightmares ensued after...