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I really love arty horror and movies that ooze atmosphere. I'm a sucker for period pieces the most. What are some of the most atmospheric horror movies you have seen?

I think stuff like:

Dracula (1979)
Candyman (1992)
The Others (2001)
Graveyard Shift (1990)
The Company of Wolves (1984)

DAGON
PAN'S LABYRINTH
ABSENTIA

Cat People        1942
The Haunting    1963

I Walked With a Zombie - 1943

I don't think it's possible to lay on atmosphere any thicker than this.

edit: derp, wrong date

The Brood:  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078908/
Long Weekend:  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079482/

.WHITE ZOMBIE (1932)-It's like a very Grimm fairy tale come to life...very sparse dialouge-coulda been a silent film.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoGrPDP-aAQ


.The OLD DARK HOUSE (1932)-No musical soundtrack,but with all the thunder and wind...it doesnt need any!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5BTFqnQLi4

Carnival of Souls (1962) I think this would be right up your alley. Creepy old school movie thats available on youtube
[For a more recent one I was impressed by Ti West's House of the Devil. I felt he managed to effectively capture that classic horror atmosphere and slow pace of movies from the past.
Other noteworthy mentions would by The Changeling (1980) Messiah of Evil (1973) and the first two Omen films.

Not a period piece, at least not when it was first filmed, and not particularly scary, but 1944's "The Uninvited" w/ Ray Milland, Ruth Hussey, and Donald Crisp, which is regarded as being one of the best horror films ever made, because it is chuck full of atmosphere. And people have already mentioned a couple of producer Val Lewton's films. Here are some more.

Bedlam
Isle of the Dead
The Body Snatcher
The 7th Victim
The Leopard Man

And what he could do with horror, he could also do with westerns. "Apache Drums."

first one, definitely. the bunch of creepy incidents surrounding the film suggest there was probably just as much of an 'atmosphere' off camera as well

Omen pt2...not so much. (imo)

it's not really a horror movie, but SE7EN has wonderful atmosphere.

Love that movie!  CAT PEOPLE (1942), same director, also heavy atmosphere.

NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (original)
THE DEVIL'S BACKBONE & PAN'S LABYRINTH
THE SHINING
 VAMPYR (1932)  is pretty much nothing but atmosphere. (And it's one of Dreyer's more accessible movies....) 
(http://pixhost.me/avaxhome/4c/38/0011384c_medium.jpeg)

Who Can Kill A Child
Carnival Of Souls (original)
Night Tide
Dead And Buried
Let's Scare Jessica To Death

I really enjoy Daughters of Darkness. 

It's questionable whether you can call it a horror movie or not, but The Changeling is also really good. 

A lot of John Carpenter's films, particularly:

The Thing
Halloween
The Fog

EDIT: Also, Suspiria.

Ahhh...The Fog! How could I miss that one? I think pretty much any Aregento film from the 70s/ early 80s qualifies as well. Cronenberg's 70s era stuff has a real seedy quality to it. Deathdream has a nice vibe to it too.

A recent sort of atmospheric horror film was The Woman in Black.  The atmosphere was very strong in this one, though there are jump scares and they sort of ruin a couple of solid nerve wracking moments (though if the soundtrack didn't boom with them, they might have worked just fine).

The Keep (1983) is certainly atmospheric.  I heard a rumor that it might be coming to DVD or Blu ray at some point in the future. 

Carnival Of 'Lost' Souls- I think what makes the movie is the reality  one can be dead and not  know it and the simple, but, scary make-up. BTW, Candance Hilligoss(the dead woman who doesn't know it) is still alive and looking quite well, saw her a  few years ago and she signed a  Carnival Of Souls  poster  for me.  :smile:

(http://www.blogcdn.com/blog.moviefone.com/media/2010/03/cos.jpg)

(http://oldies.s3.amazonaws.com/i/boxart/simu/40/089218404299.jpg)

Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things- Atmospheric, claustrophobic, you name it, this  movie  has it, with a  chillng slow motion ending.


(http://ia.media-imdb.com/images/M/MV5BMjE1NzgyMTY3N15BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwMzA5MTUxMQ@@._V1._SY317_CR3,0,214,317_.jpg)

(http://www.dvddrive-in.com/images/a-d/childrenshouldnt8.jpg)

Also, anything with Vincent Price.  Anything.  His skits on the Muppet show have more atmosphere than some horror movies.  The guy changes the atmosphere just by walking into the room. 


I'm especially fond of House on haunted Hill, Pit and the Pendulum, and Abominable Dr. Phibes. 

Horror Hotel
Night of the Demon
The Shining

The original WICKER MAN has a sort of surrealistic atmosphere, too. 

Good call. RABID is one I like in particular.

DON'T LOOK NOW has a very creepy vibe, probably not strictly a 'horror' though

     LEMORA, LADY DRACULA

     THE BLOOD-SPATTERED BRIDE

     THE NIGHT STALKER (TV)

     SALEM'S LOT (TV)

     VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED (original)

     GODZILLA (original)

     THE DEVIL'S MESSENGER

     TERRIFIED

     THE HAUNTING (original)

     YOU'LL LIKE MY MOTHER

     THE DAY MARS INVADED EARTH

     THE SADIST

Not horror, but I think The Lttle Girl Who Lives Down The Lane has a nice atmospheric quality to it. Don't Look In The Basement has a tense and downright kooky feel to it. Rituals (the one with Hal Holbrook) is atmospheric, as is Just Before Dawn. Maniac (1980) has a real suffocating feel to it which helps with the plot (or lack of as some may say).

Some great ones mentioned so far, particularly Carnival Of Souls and The Devils Backbone.

Another that had a great atmosphere was The Descent. Claustrophobic and tense.

CASTLE OF BLOOD
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kjr-le2p-g

THE INNOCENTS
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mfy8j8qaIU

CARNIVAL OF SOULS 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkTz0EvfEiY

EYES WITHOUT A FACE 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEjrg-L8lvs