Horror Movie Marathon – Where to start?

Nothing inspires movie marathons quite like the horror genre. Seriously, the movie marathon landscape is littered with them! (for example, see the Ohio 24-hour horror movie marathon, Brookline horror, etc.)

Why is that? There are lots of psychological theories on why we like to watch horror films. Most of them sound like utter malarkey. I like the theory that we enjoy the jolt of adrenaline experienced in a safe environment.

Regardless of the reason, if you want to have a horror movie marathon, you have a lot of material to choose from. Horror movies are cheap, and there are a lot of them. IMDB lists 53,915 entries in the “horror” category (this includes both film and TV) and there are almost 25 horror subgenres out there according to this authoritative-looking infographic. So where do you start?

How about viewing the entire history of horror films in one day? By that, I mean watching the most ground-breaking, influential horror films ever made. The movies that spawned a thousand imitators. At least it gives you a good, horrible foundation of classics to start with. I have a sample schedule for you below. Enjoy 24 hours of sheer terror!

Horror Movie Marathon Movies

Nosferatu

My take: The very first monster movie as we think of them today. This silent movie relies on creepy, dreamlike visuals instead of LOUD NOISE! scares.

Frankenstein

My take: The first and one of the best classic Universal studios monster movies. Features heady subjects for the 1930s – like mad scientists, grave robbing, reanimation of life, child killing, etc.

Godzilla

My take: One of the first and best of the 1950’s “giant monster” / “nuclear threat” movies.

Psycho

My take: The horror movie that deconstructed horror movies by being so violent, sexual, and shocking that it smashed all audience expectations.

Night of the Living Dead

My take: The movie that invented zombies as we know them today, plus a gleeful abandonment of good taste and some social satire to boot.

The Exorcist

My take: So scary and controversial, it caused moviegoers to faint and ruined Linda Blair’s career for no logical reason.

Texas Chainsaw Massacre

My take: A template for slasher movies to come, shot in realistic-looking documentary style.

Jaws

My take: The movie that defined the “summer blockbuster”.

Halloween

My take: The wildly successful independent film that set off the 1980s trend of “mindless killer slasher” films.

Alien

My take: A perfect mixture of science fiction and realistic horror.

The Shining

My take: The horror movie like no other horror movie. So out there, it was nominated for two Razzie awards, but now is considered one of the best horror films ever.

The Evil Dead

My take: One of the first independent horror films on VHS, and the inspiration of many famous directors today.

The Blair Witch Project

My take: The horror film that started the”found footage” and “shakey cam” style.

Horror Movie Marathon Schedule

Related posts:

Halloween Movie Marathon Ideas from The A.V. Club Comedy Movie Marathon – Where to Start? A Kid-Friendly Horror Movie Marathon? Horror Movie Marathon 2016!