Paranormal Peep-show: Weirdness in the Movies
Paranormally flavored movies that appeal to the ghastly sensibilities of the Neoplatonist.
-----Not including devil/demons (see my other list "Satan on the Screen") or the classic monsters (Frankenstein, vampires, werewolves, mummies, et al - see my list "Bloody Good Vampire Movies" for our fanged friends, "Werewolf Movies to Make You Howl" for lycanthropes, and "Mummy Movie Favorites" for dead wandering Egyptians).
-----In alphabetical order after the customary annoying number...
-----Not including devil/demons (see my other list "Satan on the Screen") or the classic monsters (Frankenstein, vampires, werewolves, mummies, et al - see my list "Bloody Good Vampire Movies" for our fanged friends, "Werewolf Movies to Make You Howl" for lycanthropes, and "Mummy Movie Favorites" for dead wandering Egyptians).
-----In alphabetical order after the customary annoying number...
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- DirectorMikael HåfströmStarsJohn CusackSamuel L. JacksonMary McCormackA man who specialises in debunking paranormal occurrences checks into the fabled room 1408 in the Dolphin Hotel. Soon after settling in, he confronts genuine terror.
- DirectorMichael PowellEmeric PressburgerStarsDavid NivenKim HunterRobert CooteA British wartime aviator who cheats death must argue for his life before a celestial court, hoping to prolong his fledgling romance with an American girl.Trippy rendering of the interaction between this world and the next: an outrageous romantic comedy of the afterlife.
- DirectorWes CravenStarsHeather LangenkampJohnny DeppRobert EnglundTeenager Nancy Thompson must uncover the dark truth concealed by her parents after she and her friends become targets of the spirit of a serial killer with a bladed glove in their dreams, in which if they die, it kills them in real life.
- DirectorVal GuestStarsForrest TuckerPeter CushingMaureen ConnellA kindly English botanist and a gruff American scientist lead an expedition to the Himalayas in search of the legendary Yeti.Very creepy indeed. The Yeti have telepathic powers...
- DirectorJennifer KentStarsEssie DavisNoah WisemanDaniel HenshallA single mother and her child fall into a deep well of paranoia when an eerie children's book titled "Mister Babadook" manifests in their home.Probably a film about grief-induced madness, but at least the madness is presented in ostensibly paranormal shape.
- DirectorJohn GorrieStarsJohn GielgudJeremy BrettGwen Ffrangcon DaviesA corrupt young man somehow keeps his youthful beauty, but a special painting gradually reveals his inner ugliness to all.Not quite as good as the movie (see below), but strictly faithful to the novel, with fine performances all round from such luminaries as John Gielgud and Jeremy Brett.
- DirectorAndrew LemanStarsMatt FoyerJohn BolenRalph LucasWhile sorting the affairs of his late Uncle, a man accidentally stumbles across a series of dark secrets connected to an ancient horror waiting to be freed.Brilliant adaptation of the H.P.Lovecraft story. The atmosphere is just right. Hats off to Sean Branney and the others of the H.P.Lovecraft Historical Society who made it.
- DirectorHerk HarveyStarsCandace HilligossFrances FeistSidney BergerAfter a traumatic accident, a woman becomes drawn to a mysterious abandoned carnival.A neglected piece of eerie weirdness.
- DirectorBrian De PalmaStarsSissy SpacekPiper LaurieAmy IrvingCarrie White, a shy, friendless teenage girl who is sheltered by her domineering, religious mother, unleashes her telekinetic powers after being humiliated by her classmates at her senior prom.
- DirectorJacques TourneurStarsSimone SimonTom ConwayKent SmithAn American man marries a Serbian immigrant who fears that she will turn into the cat person of her homeland's fables if they are intimate together.An object lesson in how to make a horror film. Shadows, lights, sounds, ambiguities...
- DirectorTom HollandStarsCatherine HicksChris SarandonAlex VincentA struggling single mother unknowingly gifts her son a doll imbued with a serial killer's consciousness.
- DirectorGuillermo del ToroStarsFederico LuppiRon PerlmanClaudio BrookA mysterious device designed to provide its owner with eternal life resurfaces after four hundred years, leaving a trail of destruction in its path.A different take on vampires: so different that I thought it belonged here rather than on my "Bloody Good Vampire Movies" list.
- DirectorAlberto CavalcantiCharles CrichtonBasil DeardenStarsMervyn JohnsMichael RedgraveRoland CulverGuests invited to a weekend in the country share their supernatural stories, beginning with Walter Craig, who senses impending doom as his half-remembered recurring dream turns into reality.Wonderful British collection of four stories within a narrative of a man awaking from a nightmare. The final story about the ventriloquist's dummy is justly famous and very disturbing.
- DirectorSam RaimiStarsAlison LohmanJustin LongRuth LivierA loan officer who evicts an old woman from her home finds herself the recipient of a supernatural curse. Desperate, she turns to a seer to try and save her soul, while evil forces work to push her to a breaking point.I also put this on "Satan on the Screen" list, but maybe it should be here as well, given the mind-boggling, virtually magical shenanigans of the "Lamia" creature.
- DirectorWilliam FriedkinStarsEllen BurstynMax von SydowLinda BlairWhen a young girl is possessed by a mysterious entity, her mother seeks the help of two Catholic priests to save her life.The so-called demon Pazuzu is so bizarre and unCatholic in its nature and antics (and demise), I'm compelled to regard it as a Lovecraftian entity masquerading as a "Christian" demon. (Which is why I haven't put the movie on my other list "Satan on the Screen"). That said, it's a hugely atmospheric movie with great acting.
- DirectorPhil Alden RobinsonStarsKevin CostnerJames Earl JonesRay LiottaIowa farmer Ray Kinsella is inspired by a voice he can't ignore to pursue a dream he can hardly believe. Supported by his wife, Ray begins the quest by turning his ordinary cornfield into a place where dreams can come true.The paranormal was never no beautiful and moving.
- DirectorJames WongStarsDevon SawaAli LarterKerr SmithAfter getting a premonition about a plane crash on his school trip, Alex, a student saves a few of his classmates. However, their situation gets complicated when death starts chasing them.
- DirectorDavid R. EllisStarsA.J. CookAli LarterTony ToddDeath is stalking Kimberly Corman and multiple survivors of a deadly highway accident.Not bad as sequels go.
- DirectorJoseph L. MankiewiczStarsGene TierneyRex HarrisonGeorge SandersIn 1900, a young widow finds her seaside cottage is haunted and forms a unique relationship with the ghost.Combination of whimsy and tragedy. Very fine.
- DirectorRobert WiseStarsJulie HarrisClaire BloomRichard JohnsonHill House has stood for about 90 years and appears haunted: its inhabitants have always met strange, tragic ends. Now Dr. John Markway has assembled a team of people who he thinks will prove whether or not the house is haunted.Best haunted house movie. Quite unnerving in places.
- DirectorJack ClaytonStarsDeborah KerrPeter WyngardeMegs JenkinsA young governess for two children becomes convinced that the house and grounds are haunted.Henry James' "Turn of the Screw" brought to compelling life. Stunning performances.
- DirectorJohn CarpenterStarsSam NeillJürgen ProchnowJulie CarmenAn insurance investigator begins discovering that the impact a horror writer's books have on his fans is more than inspirational.
- DirectorVictor SalvaStarsGina PhilipsJustin LongJonathan BreckA brother and sister driving home through isolated countryside for spring break encounter a flesh-eating creature which is in the midst of its ritualistic eating spree.Disgracefully low score on IMDB. The creature is demon-like but not a demon as it's physical.
- DirectorDavid F. SandbergStarsTeresa PalmerGabriel BatemanMaria BelloRebecca must unlock the terror behind her little brother's experiences that once tested her sanity, bringing her face to face with a supernatural spirit attached to their mother.
- DirectorDan CurtisStarsDarren McGavinJo Ann PflugSimon OaklandA reporter hunts down a 144-year old alchemist who is killing women for their blood.Kolchak's second movie: good sequel to "The Night Stalker" (see my other list "Bloody good vampire movies").
- DirectorTom McLoughlinMichael SchroederStarsMeg TillyMelissa NewmanRobin EvansAs part of an initiation into a club called the Sisters, a young girl must spend the night in a mausoleum.Builds to a thrilling end.... A neglected little gem.
- DirectorAlejandro AmenábarStarsNicole KidmanChristopher EcclestonFionnula FlanaganIn 1945, immediately following the end of Second World War, a woman who lives with her two photosensitive children on her darkened old family estate in the Channel Islands becomes convinced that the home is haunted.Now why didn't I see that twist ending creeping up on me?
- DirectorAlbert LewinStarsJames MasonAva GardnerNigel PatrickA seductive woman falls in love with a mysterious ship's captain.The incomparable James Mason as the other-worldly sea captain, and Ava Gardner in one of her most visually impressive roles as the woman fatally attracted to him.
- DirectorAlbert LewinStarsGeorge SandersHurd HatfieldDonna ReedA corrupt young man somehow keeps his youthful beauty, but a special painting gradually reveals his inner ugliness to all.The definitive version. Even improves on the Oscar Wilde original in some ways. A study in corruption with one shocking scene - a man brutally stabbed to death as he prays for the one who kills him.
- DirectorWilliam DieterleStarsJennifer JonesJoseph CottenEthel BarrymoreIn Depression-era New York, an impoverished painter has a chance encounter with an enigmatic, old-fashioned little girl in Central Park who inspires him and changes his destiny.Hauntingly beautiful. Conveys a potent sense of the paranormal.
- DirectorJaume BalagueróPaco PlazaStarsManuela VelascoFerran TerrazaJorge-Yamam SerranoA television reporter and cameraman follow emergency workers into a dark apartment building and are quickly locked inside with something terrifying.Watch it as a one-off, and the nature of the evil infection is left essentially mysterious, albeit with some supernatural overtones or undertones (whichever you please). In the sequel things get more demonic, but I advise sticking with the original and letting the sinister weirdness unsettle you.
- DirectorStanley KubrickStarsJack NicholsonShelley DuvallDanny LloydA family heads to an isolated hotel for the winter where a sinister presence influences the father into violence, while his psychic son sees horrific forebodings from both past and future.Make sure you see the longer version. It's much better, in theNeoplatonist's humble opinion.
- StarsTim DalyColm FeoreDebrah FarentinoA dangerous blizzard hits an isolated town and brings along a mysterious stranger intent on terrorizing people for his own desires.
- DirectorChristopher SmithStarsMelissa GeorgeJoshua McIvorJack TaylorFive friends set sail and their yacht is overturned by a strange and sudden storm. A mysterious ship arrives to rescue them, and what happens next cannot be explained.Somewhat underrated: a thoroughly unsettling immersion into the weird.
- DirectorDan CurtisStarsRobert BurtonJohn KarlenGeorge GaynesThree bizarre horror stories, all of which star Karen Black in four different roles playing four tormented women.See the third and final story "Amelia". A spirit-possessed doll. Very effective. Karen Black is outstanding in all three tales.
- DirectorWim WendersStarsBruno GanzSolveig DommartinOtto SanderAn angel tires of his purely ethereal life of merely overseeing the human activity of Berlin's residents, and longs for the tangible joys of physical existence when he falls in love with a mortal.Takes a while to get going, but then becomes addictive.
- DirectorGoran DukicStarsPatrick FugitShea WhighamTom WaitsA film set in a strange afterlife way station that has been reserved for people who have committed suicide.Another neglected gem on the afterlife.