Jumpin said: Of course, and this is just my opinion, but Insidious revolutionized horror, and the era since has been the best of all time, IMO, finally beating that late 70s/early 80s era. It’s a bit hard to look back at the pre-Insidious era and talk about it with praise given James Wan has REALLY stepped it up with tension and execution for those style of horror films. I have yet to see one that has given me goosebumps more than Conjuring 2 did. |
Dead Silence was batshit intense as well. Not many horror movies really scare or even phase me, anymore, but that movie legit gave me sleep troubles for a couple of nights afterwards, having to walk all the way upstairs in the dark to go to bed was no fun. It didn't have a great plot, mind you, but holy shit did it deliver on the scares. Mary Shaw is nightmare fuel. James Wan really is the best at what he does (yes, he also directed that movie), which is why The Conjuring received an R rating despite having virtually no blood or gore and no nudity or F-bombs.
Oh and the first Transformers I have a soft spot for. It was also the only Transformers movie I really enjoy aside from Bumblebee, which is the only TF film not directed by Michael Bay (I remember saying I "liked" the others while feeling guilty for doing so, then rewatching them and realizing they're bad).
The original Saw, like its successors, also wasn't well-received by critics despite being relatively well-liked by moviegoers. It's the only Saw film that doesn't rely excessively on gore (and creating the "torture porn" subgenre) and it had great tension and atmosphere. I also liked seeing Adam and Dr. Gordon's story unraveling through all those flashbacks and learning more about their characters, and that twist is still one of the best in horror history. Ironically enough, the first Hostel, which IS juvenile trash, was better-received by critics despite being more exploitative and less story-focused.