Recommend me some Horror films with smart characters

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Shredderi

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Just netflixed this slasher flick from 2009 named "My bloody valentine" and it was really bad. Most slashers have dumb characters so that they can be more easily be pushed into their untimely deaths, but I find that very jarring. I want a horror film where the character(s) aren't tripping over all the time when running away. I want the characters to fight tooth and nail and be fairly smart about it. I liked Dog Soldiers because how resourceful the characters were. Some Dog Soldiers spoilers ahead:
They fighted till the very end. Even without weapons they didn't just curl up on the floor while screaming, opting to at least try instead, even if it was hopeless. I want to see more of that. There was that one guy in particular who fought that one werewolf indoords and did everything he possibly could with what was inside the house, throwing stuff at the wolfie and frantically stabbing it till the very end. The characters here were soldiers so of course it's logical that they'd respond better than civilians.

I want more resourcefulness and less running extremely slowly (the bad guys often catch up to the characters even when walking) and tripping over and just watching helplessly as the killing blow is coming.

So help a guy out? Know any good horror films with decent characters?
 
You're Next

SPOILERS
Well, it was just the one Aussie girl who was smart/badass. Watch it and you'll see.

Edit: haha ThirstyFly beat me to it. =)
 
The Final Girls. It's a horror comedy but still.

Oculus is a mix of smart and stupid.

Sinister and The Conjuring are the only ones off the top of my head where the characters don't do anything obviously stupid.

The Skeleton Key has the opposite where everyone except the main protagonist is smart.

Oh and maybe the Langoliers. It's not a great movie though.
 
Check out the stuff being reviewed here:

Http://www.TTF13.com

And other smaller indie focused sites like http://www.rarehorror.com

You'd be surprised at some of the quality found with short films and the indie scene in general. There should be something for every kind of fan of the genre.

Last Shift was a nice ghost story and Deathgasm is a very fun demonic romp!

Goodluck. There's a shitload of quality films of you look.
 
commedieu said:
To answer your question, no.

I submit Pontypool. People reacting realistically to WTF-Erry.
Click to expand...

Was going to say Pontypool.

I'm torn on whether to recommend It Follows or not. I want to say that the characters do largely at act realistically given what they know about the situation, and how they act later changes in fairly logical ways based on how the plot unfolds.
 
commedieu said:
To answer your question, no.

I submit Pontypool. People reacting realistically to WTF-Erry.
Click to expand...

Oh man how did I forget Pontypool. I've watched it so many times. Get's my pulse rising everytime. I love the fact that you recommended it :)

kinggroin said:
Check out the stuff being reviewed here:

Http://www.TTF13.com


You'd be surprised at some of the quality found with short films and the indie scene in general. There should be something for every kind of fan of the genre.

Last Shift was a nice ghost story and Deathgasm is a very fun demonic romp!

Goodluck. There's a shitload of quality films of you look.
Click to expand...

Aces. Will take a good look at the site :)
 
horror and smart characters doesn't fit at all...

it's all part of the horror charm.

I would not want to watch a horror movie with characters doing the right thing.

I want my big breasted blonde girl running to the door in slow motion to see if there's anyone there.
 
timthumb.php


Say what you like about the film, but they made a good team.
 
I'm not sure I can really answer this because almost all of my favorite horror films feature some level of surrealism and the characters' actions are deliberately "off."

ThirstyFly said:
Not all of the characters are smart (wouldn't be a horror movie if they were), but you might want to check out You're Next.
Click to expand...

To be fair, that's kind of the point of the movie and the characters are almost always immediately punished for their stupid actions.
The sprinting out the door scene gets me howling every time.
 
strafer said:
horror and smart characters doesn't fit at all...

it's all part of the horror charm.

I would not want to watch a horror movie with characters doing the right thing.

I want my big breasted blonde girl running to the door in slow motion to see if there's anyone there.
Click to expand...

See, I know that this is a common defense to my dilemma. But I feel like the dumb character thing is a crutch. Instead of having the protags be dumb, I want the baddies to be that much more resourceful instead. That way it won't pull me out of the experience as much :)
 
Shredderi said:
Oh man how did I forget Pontypool. I've watched it so many times. Get's my pulse rising everytime. I love the fact that you recommended it :)



Aces. Will take a good look at the site :)
Click to expand...

Yeah no problem. That site will rotate newly reviewers stuff weekly so check back every so often.

Also if you missed my edit http://www.rarehorror.com

And DO NOT SLEEP ON VIMEO

Seriously. Lots of independent gems floating around (Bad Guy #2 was dopey fun)
 
I always thought Adam and Gordon were fairly smart in the first Saw, at least compared to most horror film protags.

Adam's only mistake was reaching for the revolver (which was empty) instead of Zepp's handgun.
 
If you're looking for smart characters specifically I highly recommend It Follows, even if the second half falls apart. The kids at least attempt to come up with a logical solution.

Also if you haven't seen these already, Monster Squad, Nightmare on Elm st, and Lost Boys (original)
 
The Descent.

That movie's script not only realistically portrayed every female character, but also what an all-female group looks like in the middle of a crisis so well.

They all make logical decisions throughout the whole movie
which is why it's so sad that it's still hopeless in the end.
 
kinggroin said:
If you're looking for smart characters specifically I highly recommend It Follows, even if the second half falls apart. The kids at least attempt to come up with a logical solution.

Also if you haven't seen these already, Monster Squad, Nightmare on Elm st, and Lost Boys (original)
Click to expand...

The best thing about It Follows (major ending spoilers)
is the implication that the boy had the best idea in the whole movie: pass it on to a hooker-but never shared that idea in order to get with the girl, thus risking the girl's life for the entirety of the movie just so he can sleep with her. It's so god damn sinister, I love it.
 
Mister Wilhelm said:
The Descent.

That movie's script not only realistically portrayed every female character, but also what an all-female group looks like in the middle of a crisis so well.

They all make logical decisions throughout the whole movie
which is why it's so sad that it's still hopeless in the end.
Click to expand...
Logical decisions?
They go spelunking in the middle of nowhere with no way to be found and the main character brutally kills one of her friends over a simple misunderstanding.
 
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