Lots of people hate to be scared, and for good reason. Horror movies today are so realistic and many of them play up to that whole ‘based on a true story’ idea so well that they could very well be real. I know people who refuse to watch the trailer for the new Evil Dead movie, let alone sit through the film. I myself am a hard-core horror fan; there isn’t a film I would refuse to watch, because I like to be scared. But for those of you who don’t, here are five horror movies you should be able to sit through without heading for the door.

Stay Alive (2006) 

‘Days after one of their friends dies a horrible and mysterious death whilst playing a new video game, a group of teenagers find themselves fighting for their lives in a next generation survival game. Based on the true story of 17^th Century Countess Bathory, known as ‘The Blood Countess,’ they play through levels to try and stay alive. There is only one rule; die in the game and die in real life.’

Now, this may sound like a silly idea, but the film manages to pull it off. It’s not the best horror movie in the world but it isn’t the worst, by far. For people who don’t like to be scared, this should be a walk in the park.

Because it’s based on a video game, the graphics have an excuse to be a lower standard than in most effects movies, but the added element of basing it on a real person does ramp up the fright factor slightly. However, compressing the abilities of one of the most prolific female serial killers in history into a video game doesn’t quite work for me.

The scares are few and far between, with lots of noises and movement in the shadows, the only real danger to our protagonists being when they are playing the game. Towards the end of the film the game begins to play by itself, eliminating this complication. Finally,the group is left at the mercy of the Countess.

There’s very little blood, so for those of you who are squeamish this may be a good fit, the only throat slash being off camera and not visible. You don’t even see the body after she dies. It’s only lasts one hour and twenty minutes so there isn’t much to endure. For some reason it’s rated 15 and is said to contain ‘strong fantasy horror’ which I guess it does, but in my eyes this would have been a 12A with strong parental guidance warnings.

If you like a star in your movies this one has a few names you may recognise. Frankie Muniz stars as a nerdy video game/computer geek with One Tree Hill’s Sophia Bush as the goth chick who is killed off at an early stage. Samarie Armstrong comes in as the ‘outsider’ to the group with mutual connections and Hero’s Milo Ventimiglia has a cameo at the beginning of the movie.

Overall, I would give the film 2/5 but on a scale for scares it would be 1/5.

Ripper (2001)

‘Molly Keller, the only survivor of a violent massacre, turns to researching psychopaths on a forensic science programme at Berkeley under famed author and Professor Martin Kane. Before long, Molly’s research group go missing and turn up dead one by one on campus. Reluctantly she joins the remainder of the group who intend to track down the person responsible. They soon discover the killers Modus Operandi is that of one Jack the Ripper. The past reawakens and Molly must face a terrifying secret behind this killer’s appearance.’

Jack the Ripper is a constant source for horror movie makers to explore with endless ideas and ways to look at the famed serial killer. Ripper is not the most inventive film on the subject but the setting in an American university does make it different.  Each victim in the movie bears a resemblance to one of Jack’s original victims which is eventually discovered by the group.

This film is more of a thriller than a horror movie to me. Sure, there are some jumpy moments and some gory death scenes (such as allusions to Carrie when blood drips from a murder victim through the ceiling of a club onto a poor dancing girl dressed all in white) but it’s more of a ‘who done it?’ than a scary monster in the shadows type film.

If you have ever seen a slasher film, it will look like Ripper. No lengths were taken to make that aspect original, along with the character stereotyping. Many people will find the characters annoying and predictable and will be constantly shouting ‘why the hell are you doing that?!’ at the screen. But that’s all part of the fun, right?

Casting is also hit and miss in this film. If you’re a fan of Criminal Minds you’ll recognise A J Cook, who just about pulls off a role in this film (Even with a questionable hair style). Then there’s Kelly Brook. The only reason I can think of for her being casted was to appeal to a British audience, although lots of people won’t even know this film exists. Thankfully her character is killed off relatively quickly. Emanualle Vaugier makes an appearance too (is it me or does she pop up in most low budget horrors?) and as for the male cast members, none of them are that note-worthy.

It’s rated 18 because of the year it was made and the death scenes. Now, it would probably get a 15 rating. It’s quite long as well so be prepared to be bored through some of the more dialogue-heavy scenes.

Overall I would give the film a 1/5 and I can’t rate the horror factor because it’s a murder mystery tale.

Darkness Falls (2003)

‘As a young boy, Kyle claimed to see the tooth fairy. He also claimed that she tried to kill him. When evil emerges in his home town, Kyle must return home, face his fears and save his childhood sweetheart and her little brother from the tooth fairy. A curse on the town of Darkness Falls needs to be broken, and Kyle can only do this by defeating the winged monster he saw as a child.’

I bet this sounds even more ridiculous than the evil video game in Stay Alive doesn’t it? I know it sounds it but in my opinion it’s a better film. Not much, but slightly better, because they’re putting an evil twist on a child’s story.

First off, if I lived in a town called ‘Darkness Falls’ I would move, eliminating the chances of meeting this evil tooth fairy. But sadly the horror movie characters don’t think like you and I. The main idea here is that if you look at the tooth fairy whilst she’s collecting your teeth and see her hideous face, she will want to kill you. The only thing that will save you is being in the light as darkness fuels her.

The main scary element of this film is the tooth fairy herself, but once you’ve seen her that’s it. There’s nothing more to be frightened of. It’s a different idea but perhaps tarnishing the tooth fairy’s good reputation is taking it a bit too far. (I wouldn’t recommend this film to anyone who still thinks the tooth fairy is real).

Honestly the only actress I know from this film is Emma Caulfield, and that’s only because I’m an avid watcher of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and I prefer her character in that than in this movie. She is the ‘damsel’ who needs to be rescued from the evil tooth fairy, although she does protect her little brother well from the danger.

Lots of darkness and tight spaces make the film claustrophobic and tense to watch. With no blood or nudity, the film was given a 15 rating purely on the threat factor and the language which shouldn’t be too hard for people to handle. The acting is decent all round and the script isn’t the worst low budget horror I’ve ever read so for that it’s worth a watch.

Overall I would give it a 3/5 and a 2/5 for scares because it builds very well up to the climax.

Asylum (2008)

‘A group of students discover their dorm was once a mental hospital where experiments were performed by a deranged physician who wanted to cure troubled teens. The mad doctor’s ghost is back to finish his experiments and he’s found just the patients to use.’

I love a good college slasher where everyone is good looking, don’t you? Asylum is your mainstream teen horror. Girl with troubled past goes to college, makes friends for the first time and then they all end up dying around her. Bummer. But here’ what I like about Asylum; it plays on individual fears. Instead of a crazy guy with a machete or a gun, this ghost picks what each of the victims fear the most and turns it into the way he kills them.

Much like Darkness Falls, if I found out I was living in a mental institution I would request a change in dorm. They even discover the abandoned wing of the hospital with all of the patient’s records still intact and don’t ask for a change of scenery.

The gore factor is much greater in this movie than the others, but if you can handle blood then this is a good fit for you. Granted, the ghost of the doctor is pretty scary, but you only see him occasionally.

As in all good horror movies you have the creepy guy who warns you about the place you’re staying but you choose to ignore him. Usually this figure will play a part in your escape and get himself killed in the process which is what happens here with the creepy yet good hearted maintenance man.

For fans of Final Destination 2 this is by the same Director, David R Ellis, who does his best at creating a disturbing and unwelcoming environment. He gives each nightmare a particular feel for each character which I feel is a nice touch.

An attractive young cast is led by Disturbia’s Sarah Roemer, who cries on cue and does everything necessary of a horror movie lead. There’s eye candy for the ladies too in the forms of Jake Muxworthy (Borderland) and Travis Van Winkle (Friday the 13^th) as well as a satisfyingly deranged performance from Mark Rolston (Saw VI) as the doctor.

Overall I would give this film 4/5 and a 3/5 for the scare factor. (Based more on gore than actual scares.)

See No Evil (2006)

‘A group of community service delinquents arrive at Blackwell hotel to renovate. Along with two police officers they must work to bring the building back to its former glory, unaware of the terror inside. Seven foot tall, four hundred pounds with a rust plate screwed into his skull and razor sharp fingernails. This is the creature who awaits them as they go about their day. Psychopath Jacob Goodnight.’

See No Evil is probably the scariest film of the lot. Not only because WWE wrestler Kane is a massive scary dude, but because he likes plucking out people’s eyeballs with his bare hands. That’s something for even us horror fanatics to cringe at. Jacob is a mute giant in chains with a penchant for religious tattoos who roams the building searching for people’s eyes.

This film plays like a teen slasher but with a different setting and class of teens. They are delinquents coming to do community service, not fresh faced youngsters coming to college for the first time. This adds different dimensions to the characters and sets up new expectations for them.

The film feels nice and claustrophobic with an added element of Jacob being able to walk along the walls and watch them, particularly in the shower, as they go about their business. The decay and dirtiness of the film gives it a grimy feel which I enjoyed as it wasn’t all polished and new, it felt more real than most horror films.

Although some of the acting was questionable, most of them are dead before the final act, making it easier to bear. Christina Vidal (Freaky Friday) gives the best performance as the lead character and is really one of only two characters I cared about getting out alive. The other being Samantha Noble (Gabriel) a character covered in cross tattoos. Rachael Taylor (Transformers) makes an appearance as the ‘mean girl’ who we can’t wait to see get killed, along with Michael J Pagan (Chain Letter) who plays a nice secondary role.

Overall I would give this film a 4/5 and a 4/5 for the horror.

So there you have it: my top five horror films to see if you don’t like horror films! I would start at the beginning because they get worse the farther you get down the list. Who knows, after this you may become more adventurous and give Evil Dead a try!