If you’re buying a gift for someone that loves the excitement of a good thriller script, or if you’re simply looking for a good horror movie for yourself this holiday season, keep reading. This page is for you. Gain insight on some of the highest grossing horror and thriller films of 2008 while finding the perfect movie, whatever the occasion may be.
The Strangers
From Norman Bates in Psycho to Jason from Friday the 13th it seemed as if every idea had been created regarding a horror movie villain. This film manages to round together a group of the most terrifying movie villains yet, strangers. It all begins after a wedding reception, as a young troubled couple return to a vacation home. It is the middle of the night and it begins with a knocking by a young girl asking for someone that doesn’t live at the home as the sound of a broken record plays. This movie focuses on one of the more terrifying ideas in Hollywood today; a villain terrorizing someone for no reason at all except to terrify them. You’ll find that quality in strangers.
- Director: Bryan Bertino
- Writer: Bryan Bertino
- Released: 30 May 2008
- Running Time: 85 Min
- MPAA: R
The Happening
This film focuses on natural elements that are out of society’s control. It follows a high school science teacher, his wife and a young girl as they struggle to survive during a bizarre yet spreading episode of something they simply do not understand. Beginning in Central Park, the plot focuses around strange behavior that individuals begin experiencing before committing suicide. This movie is enjoyable especially in the fact that it is terrifying, has psychological attributes, and a superior thriller film script complete with nice visual effects.
- Director: M Night Shyamalan
- Writer: M Night Shyamalan
- Released: 13 June 2008
- Running Time: 91 Min
- MPAA: R
Prom Night
The high school themed horror film of the year was definitely Prom Night. A high school aged girl with a troubled past is ready to put everything behind her and go to her school’s prom. The night is interrupted by an unwelcome guest from her past who refuses to leave unrecognized. This movie follows the idea of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre for fans that love the gore and slaying. This movie also has a lower MPAA rating of a PG-13 and is suitable for teenagers.
- Director: Nelson McCormick
- Writer: J. S. Cardone
- Released: 11 April 2008
- Running Time: 88 Min
- MPAA: PG-13
The X Files: I Want to Believe
For TV fans, The X Files hits the big screen again and follows up on all of the loved characters from the show, including Scully and Mulder. This superstitious film includes a variety of sub-interests in horror and can meet a majority of film loving people’s requirements. A few positive notes on this film: the movie is fun, and easy to understand, yet manages to be complex and steadily paced in it’s story line, never moving too fast or too slow.
- Director: Chris Carter
- Writers: Frank Spotnitz and Chris Carter
- Released: 25 July 2008
- Running Time: 104 Min
- MPAA: PG-13
Untraceable
This psychological thriller makes modern technology an aide to evil as a serial killer creates a website where murders are performed live on the Internet. The more people that sign on to watch the murders, the more torture a victim will experience before final death. The catch is that the Secret Service is unable to put a name to the serial killer because the website is untraceable. This movie is a mixture between Saw and Silence of the Lambs.
- Director: Gregory Hoblit
- Writers: Robert Fyvolent, Mark Brinker and Allison Burnett
- Released: 25 January 2008
- Running Time: 101 Min
- MPAA: R
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