Do you love horror and want to share that love with friends and family? Do you want to introduce the kids to scary movies but don’t want to go too dark too fast? Or are you someone who wants to watch horror movies but find them to be too scary? Well my friends, you have come to the right place! For I have personally gone through my extensive list of horror movies and picked out those perfect for beginners.
But where to begin? There are just so many to choose from. Therefore I have decided to make small, bite-sized lists for your convenience. A collection of horror and horror-adjacent films that you can watch either alone, with a loved one, or with your kids. So please. Sit back and enjoy our carefully curated list!
JAWS (1975)
Synopsis: A great white shark terrorizes the small town of Amity Island. As the body count rises, it is up to local police chief Martin Brody (Roy Scheider), oceanographer Matt Hooper (Richard Drewfuss) and grizzled shark hunter Quint (Robert Shaw) to stop the beast.
Why it makes the list:
You may be quick to dismiss JAWS as “just another creature feature” and you would be wrong. It is much more than that. Directed by Stephen Spielberg, JAWS is as much a human story as it is about a killer shark. In fact, the titular beast doesn’t even show up until the 1 hour 21 minute mark. Before that, all we see of the shark is from it’s point of view whenever it is hunting.
The primary source of conflict comes from between Martin Brody and Amity Island mayor Larry Vaughn (Murray Hamilton). Brody wants to close the beach until the shark is captured or killed. Mayor Vaughn, on the other hand, outright refuses. He states that the upcoming Fourth of July weekend is just too important for the town’s tourism trade. This is also the reason he flat-out refuses to warn the locals of the shark attack. The last thing he wants is paranoia ruining his perfect weekend.
It is this reason that I put JAWS on the list. The movie is less “straight-up” horror and more of a “suspenseful drama”. I would daresay that the movie doesn’t even get all that scary until the last 15 minutes or so when the shark is finally revealed. The movie sprinkles in moments of suspense all throughout the movie but it isn’t until the final act where things really get intense. And by that time you are so invested in the characters that you cannot look away no matter how hard you try.
Dramatic, suspenseful, with a phenomenal finale; this is a banger for those wanting to to dip their toes into the vast ocean that is horror.
Coraline (2009)
Synopsis: A girl named Coraline discovers an alternate reality hidden within a crawlspace inside her new home. This reality is controlled by a strange entity known as the “Other Mother”. But things are not what they seem. When the Other Mother traps Coraline in her world, Coraline must use her wits and courage to find a way back home.
Why it makes the list:
Coraline is one of the best “gateway” horror movies for younger audiences. It’s stop motion animation is simply beautiful; from the environments to the characters themselves. There is not one frame in this movie that couldn’t be considered art.
It has some wonderfully complex characters as well. On the surface, Coraline’s parents come across as rather distant and self-centered. But that is, of course, until you realize that they are authors under strict deadlines. They are trying to make ends meet and Coraline’s childish selfishness is not helping matters. And of course Coraline doesn’t mean to a brat. She is just having problems adjusting to life in a new house. It makes them all feel real and I appreciate that. Especially in a movie targeted towards younger audiences.
And you know what makes the movie even better? The fact that it is legitimately scary. I am not talking about cheap jump scares either. There is this underlying sense of unease that permeants throughout the movie. Like there is something wrong with the world but you just can’t put your finger on it.
Of course, this only gets more intense after the Big Bad reveals herself. Then it goes from an eerie, albeit charming, fantasy film to a straight-up horror movie. And while it is genuinely creepy, it never crosses that line into “nightmare territory”. It is just scary enough to keep younger audiences on the edge of their seat. I think it helps that Coraline herself is a child. I think children will be able to identify with Coraline and use her bravery to feel brave themselves.
Like I said. Coraline is the perfect “gateway” horror movie for younger audiences. Just scary enough to make them tense but not so scary as to traumatize them. Definitely worth your time.
Tremors (1990)
Synopsis: A small desert community is under attack by a trio of gigantic subterranean worms that hunt via vibrations. Local handymen Val (Kevin Bacon) and Earl (Fred Ward) need to come up with a way to destroy the worms and save the town before it’s too late.
Why it makes the list:
Tremors is considered by many to be the “perfect creature feature”. It spends a lot of time on its main characters. Earl and Val are well written characters who have their own distinct personalities, quirks, hopes, and dreams. They are funny, genuine, and likable as hell making them the perfect protagonists to the movie. The side characters are just as good. We don’t fall into the horror trope of making one of the townspeople an asshole for us to root against.
On top of that, it has some beautiful practical effects. Everything you see in the movie is done practically – from the first person POV shots from the monsters’ perspectives to the worms themselves. And let me tell you; the monsters look great! Just real enough to make you jump a bit but not so much to where you’d suffer from nightmares.
So what makes it a good movie for beginners? Well for starters; it is very light hearted. Tremors is, first and foremost, a character comedy. It is chalk full of witty dialogue, silly slapstick, and over the top action scenes. It never takes itself too seriously which helps when the suspense kicks into gear. Mind you, this isn’t JAWS. The suspense is minimal at best but it is still there. Especially during the beginning when you don’t know what exactly the creatures look like or how they hunt.
Tremors is probably the most approachable movie on this list. It takes place in the daytime. It’s light on suspense and scares. And it focuses more on its characters and humor rather than traumatizing newcomers with scenes of extreme terror. If you want to dip your toe into the horror genre than this is probably one of the best movies to start off with. I promise you won’t be disappointed.
