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Psychological Horror
Reznik
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Need some psychological horror as inspiration for a little project. Stuff like Silent Hill (the games - haven't seen the film but from what I hear it's not very good) and Jacob's Ladder (or at least that part that's up on youtube that is clearly the inspiration for Silent Hill). I think Eternal Darkness might also fit?
I'm pretty sure psychological horror is the right term, anyway. 'Smart' horror, basically. No silly jump scares or excessive gore for no reason other than having excessive gore. Just.... disturbing, creepy, scary stuff that plays with your head and makes you uneasy and fills you with a sense of dread in between scares.
Can be games or movies, but if they're games I'd like something that has a good Let's Play of it so I can watch/read along. Gets past the problem of me being terrible at scary games and also not having anything other than Sony consoles.
I'm pretty sure psychological horror is the right term, anyway. 'Smart' horror, basically. No silly jump scares or excessive gore for no reason other than having excessive gore. Just.... disturbing, creepy, scary stuff that plays with your head and makes you uneasy and fills you with a sense of dread in between scares.
Can be games or movies, but if they're games I'd like something that has a good Let's Play of it so I can watch/read along. Gets past the problem of me being terrible at scary games and also not having anything other than Sony consoles.
Do... Re.... Mi... Ti... La...
Do... Re... Mi... So... Fa.... Do... Re.... Do...
Forget it...
Do... Re... Mi... So... Fa.... Do... Re.... Do...
Forget it...
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Amnesia: The Dark Descent
It's an incredibly dense book and the slow start to it can turn some off, but it takes a very simple concept and turns it into an experience. If you can get into it, I guarantee it'll stick with you and give you a fear of... certain spaces, for a long, long time.
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For movies, the only movie I've seen lately that had moments of genuine horror in it (as opposed to scares, or sickening and disgusting visuals) was a spanish-language film called The Orphanage. I think Guillermo del Toro was a producer on it - not sure when it was made. Virtually no cheap scares in the whole movie, and it builds tension and reveals deep horror with surprising force.
Yeah, don't read that at night in an empty office building. It's a really strange book, and you kind of can't overthink it or underthink it because either will ruin the experience.
Also, seconding Green Dream on Lovecraft. The Color Out of Space remains one of my favorite short stories to this day. It's short and simple, but very good.
If you're into that kind of stuff, Higurashi no Naku koro ni and kai make up an anime series that does have a few jumps and a few disturbing scenes, but neither of those things are what make the show so very disturbing - seemingly hopelessly so, for a while.
Its extra freaky if you live in a place where it rains a lot at night
I've heard the Fatal Frame games are pretty scary too
I'm also going to recommend the film Session 9.
Why do people always go out of their way to blue the House in House of Leaves?
Anyway, the first thing that comes to mind would be Pulse. The Asian version, not the American remake. It's not exactly scary but it's eerie and actually a rather interesting commentary on the isolating nature of technology. Granted this was in 2000 before social networking stuff was huge.
It might be considered Supernatural horror, but then again so is Silent Hill. I believe it's on Netflix instant. I'd actually suggest going through their foreign horror section and looking at the higher rated titles, because there are a lot of good picks there, compared to American horror.
Event Horizon might be a good choice, too. Though the concept it presents is better than how it was ultimately executed. That alone might be worth a look, though.
As for games, since I second the HP Lovecraft suggestions, I think that the Call of Cthulhu game on the original xbox is fantastic. The first level is one of the creepiest games things I have ever played. After that though, it becomes an FPS and is alittle less scary.
It's kind of how the book works.
Amnesia: seen some reaction videos of people playing it, and a gameplay video with this one guy freaking the fuck out over skype. It looks terrifying. Will definitely check it out.
House of Leaves: Heard a bit about it. Sounds interesting. Will see if they have any copies at the library.
Lovecraft: Sounds awesome. Will definitely check out his work. I know a bit about it just in general terms but I haven't actually read his writing.
The Orphanage: Found a copy. Will probably watch tomorrow. Sounds great.
Higarushi no Naku koro ni: Gave it a quick wiki - Concept sounds interesting but I'm not much for anime so I don't think this is something I could get into
Fatal Frame: I remember a friend of mine talking up how terrifying these were. If I can't get my hands on one of them there's at least a Let's Play of the second one up on lparchive
Eternal Darkness: Love the whole concept of the sanity effects. Gonna try and find a good LP of this as well since I don't have a gamecube.
Harlan Ellison: I absolutely love I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream. I've read it probably five or six times.
Session 9: I'll see if I can get my hands on a copy, though it's got David Caruso in it and I can't not see him as Horatio...
Pulse: Will also see if I can get my hands on a copy. Unfortunately I don't have Netflix. I thought it sounded familiar but - yeah, American remake. 11% on RT. Why do they even bother?
Event Horizon: I recall being scared shitless by this movie many years ago when I saw it... either on TV or somebody had it on VHS. Either way, it left an impression. I wonder how it holds up.
Salo: I've wiki'd this movie before. I don't think I'd be able to stomach it. I'll have to pass on this one.
Whew. Feel free to keep suggesting things, though I think I'll have my hands full for a while.
Do... Re... Mi... So... Fa.... Do... Re.... Do...
Forget it...
Audition
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-anabfAg06U&feature=related
I'd also say that The Island of Doctor Moreau is a psych horror, although it may just be that it doesn't seem graphic due to the century since it was written.
This. This so much. It is the only movie I have ever had to pause to take a break, remind myself it was a movie and not real, and get some cuddles from the dog before continuing. It is freaky and consuming and beautiful. I lent my copy out and don't remember to who
In the Mouth of Madness is well worth watching as well.
This is not a film I would ever recommend lightly to anyone. LOTS of underage nudity, torture, rape, children being forced to eat shit, etc.
This is not psychological horror (or a horror movie at all). It's very blatant, in your face, and definitely not what the OP is looking for by any stretch of the imagination.
Watch:
the 60s version of The Haunting,
Carnival of Souls,
The Innocents,
Repulsion,
Rosemary's Baby,
Peeping Tom,
Les Diaboliques,
Eyes without a Face,
and, of course, Psycho if you've never seen it.
Everything great in psychological horror comes from these.
Also try the films of David Lynch. Lost Highway and Mulholland Drive especially, as far as psychological horror goes.
I think the OP kind of ruled out torture porn, the way I read it. I had a friend who was really into some of those movies. If it's like the sort of thing that he used to watch, it's not pretty, but it's also not very psychological outside of "watch people be tortured and torn apart". The aim of a psychological horror is more to make you scared of what's coming around the corner and less to see how long you can watch before you throw up. The latter is a different kind of horror.
eidt: I just looked up Salo. It's based on 120 Days of Sodom, by the Marquis de Sade. I've read much of that book, and knowing that, it is very, very unlikely you want to watch this movie. It's not really psychological horror, it's about torture for the sake of seeing how far you can go and still get it up. The book is basically Saw written in the 1700's.
Paranormal Activity is really scary. The sequel is more of the same.
Amnesia is pretty darn scary, but has too many BOO! moments for me.
The original The Haunting is very good, as is House on Haunted Hill. The remakes are terribad though.
The SCP Foundation.
Start here.
Screw you.
I had shit to do today.
Sounds a little in the vein of "The Human Centipede," which I have no interest in watching, ever. The trailer and the wikipedia page were enough to satiate my curiosity.
When footnotes were just pretty basic references I treated them as such and skimmed them rapidly. A that point I really started enjoying it more and really got into it. And I kinda felt strange for a few days after finishing it. I don't know how to explain it.
Edit: Is that Salo movie even legal?
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It only takes a couple of seconds. It's not like it takes a minute or two.
It's not for everyone, but if you're looking for the psychological "horror that isn't jump boo in your face horror" than it might be right up your alley. Remember that the style at the beginning isn't exactly the same as the style later on, so if you start it and don't like it you might warm to it later.
Xagarath's list is pretty good. You can find a lot of those films on cheap "Horror Collection" DVDs at department stores for a few bucks a piece. Check the bulk discount DVD bins.
SCP Foundation is pretty good. It's one part stupid and three parts horrifying. But for every entry that is dumb you're bound to stumble upon an entry that freaks you out.
Oh goddamn. I need to study.
The best by far are the log files of 914.
http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/experiment-log-914
I'm assuming you mean the American remakes - you should watch the original Ringu, it's pretty damn scary