This article comes from Den of Geek UK.
In the age of the blockbuster, where cinema tickets are bloomin' expensive, audiences often demand more bang for their buck, with tentpole films frequently running to more that two hours. It's nice to get your money's worth, but let's face it, we're all busy people. There's nothing like a brief, sub-90 minute chiller which arrives, scares the pants off you, and then lets you get on with your day.
Horror particularly lends itself to a short runtime, often dealing in heightened tension with few characters and limited locations. Horror is a genre that often does great things on a low budget, too, so 'quick and dirty' can make for some of the most efficient scary movies.
Here are 13 compact horrors under an hour and a half - each one of them is an absolute cracker.
Them (2006)
77 minutes
This taut, economical French home invasion chiller from directors David Moreau and Xavier Palud is very light on plot: couple Clémentine and Lucas are terrorised in their remote house by a bunch of faceless youths for no reason whatsoever - though it really doesn’t matter. This is pure visceral, experiential horror that knocks the breath out of you and leaves you gripping the arms of your seat for the duration, as we follow each of them in real time seeing only what they see. Thank goodness this one is short - feeling this tense for too much longer would be pretty unbearable.
[REC] (2007)
78 minutes
A TV reporter follows the emergency services into an apartment building which is quickly put on lockdown with something inside. This Spanish found footage movie from Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza is packed with shocks, as an infection breaks out which spreads quickly through the building ramping up the tension until a WTF ending which is one of the most notorious shocks in horror.
Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
75 minutes
James Whale’s 1930 original Frankenstein is even shorter at a brisk 70mins - both are wonderful - but we fractionally prefer the sequel starring Elsa Lanchester as both Mary Wollstonencraft Shelley and the mate created to appease Victor Frankenstein’s poor abandoned creature. Iconic, moving and pacey.
The Evil Dead (1981)
85 minutes
Sam Raimi’s rough and ready cabin in the woods movie was a genre game changer establishing Bruce Campbell as a cult icon and taking leaps and bounds in low budget filmmaking. Though some of the effects look a little bit shonky it still holds up as a creepy classic today and at 85 minutes it doesn’t hang about.
What we Do in the Shadows (2014)
86 minutes
Four vampires share a flat in New Zealand in this good natured and very funny mockumentary-style horror-comedy from Thor: Ragnarok director Taika Waititi. Jermaine Clements stars alongside Waititi, with fellow Flight of the Conchords favourite Rhys Derby co-starring as Anton, the Werewolf alpha with impeccable manners (“we're werewolves, not swearwolves!”).
Paranormal Activity (2007)
86 minutes
The multiple sequels, spin-offs and rip-offs maybe have diluted the brand somewhat but the original take on the found footage genre still holds up as a very effective and economic shriek-fest. The premise is crazy-simple. Weird stuff is happening in the suburban house of Katie and Micah, so Micah sets up cameras to film them during the day and while they sleep. The home ents release has several alternative endings - the theatrical version is a serious jolty jump scare that works every time.
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
83 minutes
Arguably the greatest horror movie ever made, Tobe Hooper’s gruelling slasher sees a group of kids brutalised by a cannibal family. The whole film is a masterclass in dread from the odd slow build, to the uncanny, disgusting design of the house including furniture made from skin and bones, to the horrific final act which is 30 minutes of solid screaming. Yeah it’s only 83 minutes long, but each of those is used to the max.
Inside (2007)
82 minutes
This brutal chiller from directors Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury was at the forefront of the 'New French Extremity' movement. It’s shocking, gory and harsh as hell as a recently bereaved pregnant woman is stalked in her own home by a mysterious stranger who wants to steal her unborn baby from inside her. Eeps.
Sightseers (2012)
88 minutes
Ben Wheatley’s most palatable horror is this black comedy which plays like Natural Born Killers, with caravans. Steve Oram and Alice Lowe, who also co-wrote the screenplay, play lovers who travel the English countryside knocking off strangers who are generally rude or annoying. Funny, sweet and violent.
Tucker and Dale vs Evil (2010)
89 minutes
Loveable rednecks run into paranoid college kids in the woods in this good natured satire on ‘cabin in the woods’ tropes. Tyler Labine and Alan Tudyk play the titular heroes who are just trying to do up their holiday home and have a peaceful time, but people keep accidentally getting killed. A whole lot more sophisticated than the title implies.
Under the Shadow (2016)
84 minutes
Creepy chiller set in post-revolutionary Tehran in the ‘80s following a mother and daughter living the war torn city who find themselves haunted by a Djinn. It’s a very effective frightener with political subtext, the directorial debut of Iranian born Babak Anvari which won the BAFTA for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer.
Lights Out (2016)
81 minutes
Developed from his very scary short of the same name, David F Sandberg’s directorial debut saw a family haunted by an apparition who only exists in the dark. With subtexts relating to mental health issues and some clever set pieces involving intermittent light effects (camera flash, light from a gunshot etc) it’s an original horror which has already been earmarked for a sequel.
Lake Mungo (2008)
87 minutes
Under appreciated Aussie mock-doc following a family in the aftermath of the daughter’s death, who think she might be haunting them. Far more twisty than that sounds, it’s reminiscent of Twin Peaks in its small town quirks and comes with a gut punch ending that’s not only very scary but also soaked in grief.
http://www.denofgeek.com/us/movies/horror-movies/274469/13-brilliant-horror-movies-under-90-minutes-long
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