In horror Hollywood cinema, two common monsters used to be employed in many narrations. They are vampires and werewolves. Both of two them have various stories as they are represented in the movies, and they have been dominating the contemporary horror stories in Hollywood.

Horror and humour have always been a part of civilisation, as Wheeler Winston Dixon states in relation to horror it “[…] may be traced back to the beginnings of narrative itself, or at least as far back as the Babylonian Epic of Gilgamesh (circa 2000 BC) […]” It is perhaps because these are two states of consciousness, both emotional and behavioural, that make it so hard to underpin a definitive theory or explanation of exactly what they are and how they work on the human psyche.

There are so few movies that take the time to think and give the viewers a ride that they are not expecting and cause us to rethink our entire morality Fight Club, Matrix, Usual Suspects, 12 Monkeys, and even The Rich Man’s Wife are a few of mine. Those movies that open your mind with a shock when you suddenly realize things have never been what you were being told. We have all been M. Night Shyamalan-ed in movies like The Sixth Sense, having our minds blown when all the pieces fall into place. The Saw series is the among best of this breed because it has been able to surprise us and flip the entire story without being too simplistic for a full seven movies and a fist full of video games as well. The Cube series petered out and Hostel really only had so many places to go, or that people would go to. It would be great to see more of both of them though. Thankfully we all know that Saw: Legacy (Saw VIII really) is in the works, and we can be certain that it will not be the end.

This week I have chosen some movies from the past which made me think. If you are looking for something that will get your mind working then try one of these from the recent past. Whether you use Netflix, Amazon Video of any other source there is far more out there than what comes up on the first page of your search and there is something special to be found in each of these very different stories.

I am asked by people all of the time “What is new that I will like?” and I am always surprised that those same people have missed at least 99 percent of the other great pieces of entertainment because of all the noise coming from other places. Here we are in the age where all the movies and shows we could ever want are right at our fingertips with services like Netflix and Amazon Video. You do not have to pay the full new release prices either if you take some time to catch up on things that did not get your attention the first go around.