Either Halloween is around the corner, or you’re the type who loves watchinghorrormovies all year around. Regardless, you’re looking for some of the scariest visuals that cinema has to offer. Modern horror movies are filled with CGI and while this may look good at times, sometimes the scariest visuals are the ones that almost seem real.
Practical effects are perfect for giving all the horrific monsters and body horror a more physical feel. So which films do it best? From classic zombie apocalypses to scientific experiments gone terribly wrong, here are the eight best horror movies that use practical effects to keep you awake at night.
8The Fly
Disgusting Body Horror
The original version of The Fly might seem a bit too campy to scare a modern audience, but the remake’s effects are so good that it scares people even today. It all starts with a simple experiment that will hopefully unlock the technological advancement of teleportation. However, when a fly gets caught up during testing, molecules get rearranged and Dr. Brundle ends up coming out the other side seemingly unscathed.
It isn’t long before he starts exhibiting some more erratic behaviors and even some gruesome physical changes. Everything culminates when Dr.Brundle completely transforms into a monster best known as Brundle-Fly. It is not a film for the squeamish.
7An American Werewolf In London
The Best Werewolf Transformation
When David Kessler and Jack Goodman journey through the moors of Yorkshire, they make the worst horror movie decision possible. They decide to walk outside at night. This is where they are attacked by a werewolf who soon infects David and kills Jack.
What makes this entry such a fantastic horror flick is the practical effects on Jack, who is trapped in a purgatory-like limbo. He haunts David, warning him of what is to come, each time looking more grotesque and decayed. When David doesn’t heed his warning, viewers are treated to some of the best werewolf transformations of all time. You can watch as each hand turns into flesh-ripping paws and his bones painfully shape themselves into the form of a wolf.
6Day Of The Dead
George Romero’s Secret Masterpiece
George Romero’s Day of the Dead is theunderrated third installmentof the Dead Series. While it initially had a much more ambitious script the final cut of the film remained within the confines of a missile silo in the Everglades.
This is the film where Tom Savini’s zombie makeup reached its peak. The zombies look deader than ever before with blood and gore that even made the actors throw up during production. Gone were the days of the pink blood from Dawn of the Dead and beyond this film, many of the effects of the franchise would be replaced with CGI.
5Krampus
Is It Christmas Or Halloween?
There’s nothing like seeing multiple holiday-themed monsters wreak havoc on Christmas. In Krampus, a family is terrified by a creature from German folklore who, unlike Santa, visits children who have been bad this year.
This film features multiple monsters, from nightmarish puppets to the big goat himself, all of which use practical effects to land their scares more effectively. Just knowing that these monsters are on-screen and not just added in digitally later makes them feel more like they belong in the world. This is a fantastic film to watch over the holidays if you’re still finding yourself with some of that Halloween energy left over.
4Terrifier
The Hottest New Killer In Town
Every generation has its horror icon. This can be Freddy Krueger, Pennywise the Clown, or even the Ghost Face Killer. If the modern horror era has a defining character, it’s Art the Clown. Terrifier is bloodier than any horror flick you’ve ever seen. It also has acompelling narrative buried deep beneath the surfacethat makes you question just who, or what is Art.
With each sequel topping the last in terms of kills, Terrifier knows how to use practical effects to deliver some of the most sinister scares in horror movie history. The films are not for everyone though and viewer discretion is advised. Just know that you’re in for a terrifying experience.
3Poltergeist
A Haunting Like No Other
In a film about ghosts and one family’sterrifying encounter with the paranormal, you would think the ghosts would be anything but physical. However, Poltergeist still has some of the best effects and props that make this encounter terrifying and memorable.
From killer clown puppets that drag you under the bed to hallucinations where your face comes off, Poltergeist is still surprisingly scary thanks to the practical effects used for the film. When Carol Anne is taken by the poltergeists, it is up to her family to band together and find a way to save her before she crosses over into the light.
2Alien
Crew Expendable
The Alien franchise has gone through its high notes and rough patches, but it is safe to say that the original Alien is still one of the best horror movies of all time. Everything from the spaceship to the Xenomorph itself looks like nothing that could be found on the planet back when it was made or even in modern days.
These practical effects do make the Xenomorph seem terrifying but also unnatural to look at. As it creeps through the vents, towers over the crew, and even emerges from tight corners, you will forget that it is only a person in a suit.
1The Thing
The Best Horror Movie With Practical Effects
One of the best horror movies to use practical effects is none other than John Carpenter’s The Thing. The film follows a crew in Antarctica that comes across a shape-shifting alien. This creature takes the shape of the crew mates, kickstarting the first-ever game of Among Us.
With practical effects, The Thing looks horrifying as it absorbs the dogs and even manages to chop a few limbs off. This is also an excellent way to do body horror with seemingly human characters stretching out in abnormal shapes as The Thing attacks. A prequel was made in 2011 but using CGI effects fell flat compared to the 80s version.
