Here’s the thing with horror movies: you either love them or absolutely loathe them. By virtue of the fact that you’re actually reading this, it’s safe to assume that you fall into the former camp. If not, just a heads up, you might wanna tap out now.
This week is a pretty massive week for horror movie buffs, with Jordan Peele‘s brand new film Us hitting Aussie cinemas this Thursday.
Despite only premiering earlier this month, the latest instalment by the Oscar-winning Get Out director has already smashed the US box-office records with the highest grossing opening weekend for a live-action original film since Avatar. Um, whoa.
Plus, Us scored a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes the week after it debuted at SXSW film festival. Yep, 100% – which is practically unheard of.
To refresh your memory, here’s the trailer:
To get you suitably hyped for this sure-fire horror classic we reached out to the broader PEDESTRIAN.TV films buffs to bring you our list of the top five horror movies to watch before Us hits cinemas this Thursday.
Here we gooooooo.
1. The Exorcist (1973)
Made in 1973, The Exorcist is an iconic piece of horror history. In fact, it’s the only film deemed so damn terrifying that my dad has gone so far as to try and ‘forbid’ me from watching it. LOL.
For those unfamiliar with the nightmarish tale, as the title implies, the film centres around the exorcism of a young girl called Regan, whose mother and local priest believe to be possessed.
From heads swivelling around 180 degrees to one particularly graphic scene involving a crucifix and a vagina, this is your classicly terrifying and truly messed up horror flick.
2. Hereditary (2018)
Hereditary has been dubbed on of the most unsettling horror movies since The Exorcist, meaning you already know it’s gonna deliver on the wet-yourself factor.
Starring our lass Toni Collette, Hereditary centres around the Graham family, who start experiencing a series of strange and horrible events after the death of their secretive grandmother, Ellen Leigh. Whilst it sounds tame enough from the synopsis, castmember Alex Wolff (who plays Peter Graham), told Vice that he thinks he has PTSD from filming and suffers from pretty messed up flashbacks. Two words: Hail Paimon.
3. The Shining (1980)
Writer Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) moves his family to Colorado to become winter caretakers of the Overlook Hotel, with the move designed to help cure his writer’s block. But it’s not long before Jack’s son, Danny, experiences disturbing premonitions and Jack turns into a homicidal maniac.
If axe chases and downright petrifying rantings are your cuppa tea, come right this way. Alternatively, if you’re not a fan of family vacations, maybe give this one a miss, yeah?
4. Halloween (1978)
If you’re scared of being home alone, this one probably isn’t for you.
Halloween follows the life of Michael Myers (Nick Castle), who murdered his older sister, Judith, on the night of Halloween. 15 years later, as Myers is being transferred to a court appearance, the felon escapes and returns to his childhood town on Halloween night to finish what he started.
Starring a young Jamie Lee Curtis this horror movie has dated particularly well and is just as scary as when it was released over 40 years ago.
5. IT (2017)
Ah IT. The movie that’ll either reaffirm your existing fear of clowns or introduce you to the terrifying phobia.
In the town of Derry, Maine, there lives a shapeshifting demon called Pennywise who emerges from the sewers every 27 years to feed on the town’s kids – which sounds freaky enough. When six-year-old Georgie goes missing, his band of mates rally together to find out what happened to him, only to be met with something more terrifying than they could’ve possibly imagined.
