10 Horror Movies That Only Work In The Cinema
These scary flicks have to be seen on the big screen.
In the age of streaming and video on demand, you can watch movies pretty much anywhere these days. On your laptop in bed. On your phone on the bus. On the toaster whilst waiting for your breakfast. It's all fair game.
But nothing will ever quite top the magic of the cinema.
The movie theatre is the place where dreams come true, a portal to a world of action, romance, and adventure that has a special place in the heart of anyone who has ever been to one.
Despite struggling in recent years, the picture house business is still alive and that's because there are some movies that just have to be viewed on a big screen.
Horror is a genre that lends itself perfectly to the environment of a cinema. Watching movies in a theatre means that there's no distractions from the outside world, forcing viewers to pay more attention to what's on screen. The tension is higher, the suspense is greater, the scares are scarier.
These ten films were all made to be consumed this way. Watching them whilst on the toilet just isn't good enough.
10. Drag Me To Hell
A "jumpscare" is defined on Wikipedia as a technique "intended to scare the audience by surprising them with an abrupt change in image or event, usually co-occurring with a loud, jarring sound".
In short, it's a someone popping out from behind something to say "boo!" so loudly that you soil yourself.
The best way to experience a jumpscare is in the conditions created by a cinema. Their lack of external light and sound makes you focus more tightly on what's happening on screen, which means you'll be caught more off guard when something unexpected happens.
The perfect movie to prove this is Sam Raimi's 2009 film Drag Me To Hell. This wicked tale is about loan officer Christine attempting to escape a demonic curse placed on her by a scorned Gypsy.
It's got jumpy moments aplenty, like when Ganush (the Gypsy) appears in Christine's tool shed. Or when Ganush appears in her bed. Or when Ganush appears on her phone screen.
It sounds like audiences should have been ready for Ganush to appear all the time, but it's still scary every single time she pops up.
A tense scarefest from a horror legend, Drag Me to Hell deserves all of your attention.