Great observation, I’ve long felt the same way, the supernatural is at home in tales about the “time” before science and rationalism unseated the occult, god, Satan, and superstition. The hidden force(s) of the Devil just out of sight but present is a powerful inducement to terror in period piece stories. I happily…

Hrm... I didn’t much care for either of the Woman in Black films nor Crimson Peak. I don’t think period piece guarantees anything. I do agree with your broader point that the atmosphere tends to be better due to the way that technology makes connectivity too easy, but you could have a contempo horror set in a rural…

Did you ever see Ginger Snaps 3? 1800s werewolf goodness. I’d also recommend the original (3 is just a time-displaced rehash but still very enjoyable). Avoid 2 like a drunk on a subway.

What is truly terrifying are the actions and results of the actions of people who THINK that they are doing what is right for themselves and others, but in the end, results in horrific results.

My choice in a good horror flick is one that implies the scary or makes it so brief that it freaks you out. Paranormal Activity was good in that sense because it was filled with tension and used subtle audio cues to let you know when the demonic spirit was there. and you KNEW. I just feel insulted when they feel they…

I love the idea of this list, but WALL-E/Eve, Xena/Gabrielle, and Root/Shaw shouldn’t be on here, because they’re romances, and I think those deserve their own list.

+1 for crazy evil goat.

I agree about The Village. It truly creeped me out when it was still a ‘horror+period piece’ and those types of films (along with the God/demon+religion) have always freaked me out for the reasons you state.

Modern horror movies are dull because they’ve lost the real meaning of horror - they now rely entirely on the lowest forms. The jump scare. The overtly evil monster. The gore. As you say, the mystery is gone.

Nevertheless, there’s absolutely no reason for a modern setting to detract from the horror experience. In fact,…

Horror plus period piece equals true scares. Modern horror movies seem so dull because the horror comes in the actions of the villainous character and not the mystery. We do live in a time where the real horror is that information can be found everywhere and technology is good at figuring out so much about anyone.

My favorite thing right now

So... pretty much, this guy.

I’m more anxious for the casting of Wednesday. It won’t be Anthony Hopkins (which was too obvious anyway) and I’m pulling for Ian McShane.

Also if Keith David isn’t at least in consideration for Mr. Nancy, something is horribly wrong.

Expanse +1000. Rarely have my expectations been so exceeded. Been waiting a long time for a writing team to step up like this. Whole thing is first rate.

Beowulf and Grendel had its negatives, but the dialogue was definitely not one of them.

I do love Matt’s channel.