There are several different genres of horror movies, and each has its scariest bits. Frankly, what scares one person may not scare another. But there are some movies that are universally praised by those who love those particular kinds of films. Here are some scary movies that you should examine. Some of these are very easy choices, others are more obscure.

In the Blood and Gore genre:
Saw and Hostel are both very excellent movies in the brutality and torture category. They are dismal and bleak and extremely violent. Okay, that's not my cup of gruesome, but it's the best of a bad lot. The re-make of Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a waste of time, lacking both the humor and the shock of the original. The Devil's Rejects is a forgettable addition to the genre, but it does have some of the finest nihilistic acting in an age.

In the Suspense and Shock genre:
After the unconditionally self-referential films like Scream and The Blare Witch Project, and even The Nightmare on Elm Street franchise, a good suspense and shock movie may seem to be more of the same. We've seen it all, and we now make fun of the rules by which these films play. But it's still good to see how real directors can turn this genre into art. Psycho is the finest film in the suspense and shock genre, because it carefully extends our pleasure from the first slash to the final revelation. It gives clues and taunts us to play along, but it never treats us like idiots.

In the Supernatural genre:
Ghost movies are almost always universally un-scary. Poltergeist, for instance, has its moments, but overall, it's hard to see something ephemeral and psychic in its terrors as something really scary. The original 13 Ghosts, or its re-make, Amytiville Horror, or other ghost stories of that ilk, usually make better fodder for Simpson's parodies. But there are exceptions, especially from foreign directors. Hideo Nakata's Ringu, which was re-made in America as The Ring, was so scary and original that it reinvented the genre and spawned a cottage industry of rip-offs.

Satanic Horror genre:
Since Robert Bloch offered up The Exorcist, we have been treated to dozens of really bad Satan Made Me Do It schlock fests. Even Schwartzenegger has weighed in with the film End of Days. the Omen was a well-written book, and made a fine film, but it is still a pale imitation of The Exorcist. The problem is that The Exorcist does not age well. The effects and acting have been surpassed even in such

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