75
votes
Did any actor ever win an Oscar for their work in a horror movie?
Of course they did:
Rosemary's Baby: Ruth Gordon won for Best Supporting Actress
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931): "Fredric March’s performance as the title character(s) earned the film a Best Leading ...
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36
votes
Is there a term referring to the transgression that often begins a horror film?
It's not specific to horror movies, but the event or action that kicks off the plot of a movie is typically called it's inciting incident.
This is a literary term that applies to almost anything with ...
- 35.7k
28
votes
Is there a specific name for a character that is a sacrificial "example"?
As @BrettFromLA mentioned is the comments, I would suggest this character is called the:
Red Shirt
Warning! TV Tropes Link!
The trope name come from Stark Trek: The Original Series where the new ...
- 9,665
27
votes
Accepted
Horror/sci-fi alien attack found-footage movie
This is Cloverfield (2008) and the smaller creatures you are referring to are called Parasites
The monster was covered in 2,000 Parasites that are roughly the same weight and height as a dog. They ...
- 141k
22
votes
Did any actor ever win an Oscar for their work in a horror movie?
Ruth Gordon won Best Supporting Actress in Rosemary's Baby.
This article lists 14 horror films "noticed" by the Academy, including Misery and Silence of the Lambs. Whether these two can be classified ...
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17
votes
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TV episode about patient who has revenge on plastic surgeon who botched his/her surgery
Yes, that does ring a bell. There were a number of pretty good series that basically emulated the Twilight Zone in format and style.
One of those was the HBO-created series called The Hitchhiker (...
- 9,735
15
votes
Are the Zombies in Zombieland actually undead?
They're still alive, according to the film's makers, just infected.
Ruben Fleischer, special effects makeup designer Tony Gardner, and
Tony Gardner's team researched infectious diseases, and their ...
- 30.5k
14
votes
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Horror movie about psychopath murderer parents who raise daughter to be perfect until little boy helps her out
Is it People Under the Stairs (1991)?
The plot seems very similar. Plus here are a few quotes that look like a good match:
The Robesons, who are believed to be a married couple, call themselves ...
- 3,226
13
votes
Is there a specific name for a character that is a sacrificial "example"?
In literature what you're looking for is called the 'sacrificial lamb'. A character whose sole purpose is to die so as to give the protagonist a reason to act. It also can be used to show just how '...
- 131
13
votes
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Movie about a bridge accident, people dying horribly and premonition
This is Final Destination 5 (2011)
Sam Lawton is on his way to a company retreat with his colleagues. While their bus crosses the North Bay Bridge, Sam has a ...
- 141k
13
votes
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Does a horror movie have to have supernatural elements?
No
Horror does not require supernatural elements. The Horror genre is defined by the deliberate attempt to invoke a phychological reaction of terror, fear, shock and revulsion in the audience. It is ...
- 54.5k
12
votes
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Do sound effects, specially in horror movies, use emotion initiating frequencies?
Rather than specific frequencies it is more about musical intervals. It is pretty well accepted that specific chords and scales have associations with particular emotions for example music in a minor ...
- 3,100
12
votes
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A horror movie about witch in the attic
It's a TV episode, not a movie, What you probably saw was Dreams in the Witch-House:
H. P. Lovecraft's Dreams in the Witch House is the second episode of the first season of Masters of Horror, ...
- 14.6k
12
votes
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Movie about a girl who wishes or writes in a book for things to happen to people?
This is Devil's Diary from 2007 that aired on Lifetime.
When two friends, Dominique and Ursula, uncover an ancient book in a graveyard one night, they discover that the book has the supernatural ...
- 100k
11
votes
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Movie about a girl who had another different life when she dreamed
This is the plot of Dark Corners from 2006 with Thora Birch.
Birch plays two characters, alternating between them each time she falls asleep, each of whom believes that the other is a dream. The ...
- 100k
11
votes
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Why does fake blood in older movies look so fake?
Blood in horror movies has a rich history. Black and white movies had no problem with it and could pull it off easily. So much so that it is said that Alfred Hitchcock shot Psycho in black and white ...
- 410
11
votes
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Post Apocalyptic and disturbing Anime from my childhood
Akira (1988)
A secret military project endangers Neo-Tokyo when it turns a biker
gang member into a rampaging psychic psychopath that only two
teenagers and a group of psychics can stop.
Here ...
- 4,105
11
votes
In films, especially horror, Why does the devil interact with random people?
Someone who is already powerful or important either made a deal with the devil to get there or doesn’t need to make a deal with the devil any more.
There’s also the trope that the rich and powerful ...
- 12.3k
10
votes
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Name of horror film about train and reality shift in tunnels?
I did some quick digging, and found that this from Season 2, episode 19 of "Tales From the Darkside" called "The Last Car".
There's a full synopsis at http://talesfromthedarkside.wikia.com/wiki/...
- 451
9
votes
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What was that horror movie where a priest is chopping a chocolate bar?
You're looking for the horror film Catacombs (AKA Curse IV: The Ultimate Sacrifice) from 1988. From Wikipedia:
In the 17th century, an order of monks in Italy capture and entomb a demon that has ...
- 100k
8
votes
To what extent are child actors exposed to the violent aspects of the movie they perform in?
It comes to what the child agrees to do and if the parent will allow it as well. A director of a film will try to not to put the child in a vulnerable position in filming where the child feels ...
- 7,098
7
votes
Identify this horror movie about a person going to a mental hospital for work
The first bit sounds like Gothika.
From Wikipedia:
Psychiatrist Dr. Miranda Grey (Halle Berry) who works at the Woodward
Penitentiary For Women, has a car accident after trying to avoid a
girl ...
- 1,380
7
votes
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Woman trapped in her house by dead alien's forcefield
The Bellero Shield (Season One, Episode 20 of the original "The Outer Limits" series)
Quote from tv.com:
"Sure enough, he soon reveals that he has an impenetrable shield.
Judith, who wants to ...
- 4,770
7
votes
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90s B Horror Film about Splicing Human DNA with some fish DNA?
This sounds like the 1995 horror film, "Shadow Creature".
Detective Brighton investigates a series of unusually gruesome murders
and is soon caught in a web of intrigue involving a mad scientist, ...
- 4,499
7
votes
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English horror film where mice kill people with scissor like weapons
You're looking for Don't Be Afraid of the Dark from 2010 that stars Katie Holmes and Guy Pearce and was co-written by Guillermo del Toro.
A young girl is sent to live with her estranged father and ...
- 100k
6
votes
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Help identifying Evil Dead like movie
Maybe a long shot, but could it be the Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight?
My reasons for thinking this:
Story takes place largely in a hotel/Inn, very Evil Dead feeling.
Made in 1995, fits time ...
- 3,483
6
votes
In films, especially horror, Why does the devil interact with random people?
Why would the Devil interact with just normal people who, especially
to him, are random nobodies?
But what do you consider a special person to the Devil? It doesn't need money or power, the key ...
5
votes
Do sound effects, specially in horror movies, use emotion initiating frequencies?
In addition to Chris Johns' excellent answer about music, I want to mention Marilyn Manson, who composed part of the score for Resident Evil. In a behind-the-scenes documentary on the DVD, he said ...
- 23.9k
5
votes
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Movie where people are in bunkers and one of them goes mad
Sounds like Domain that came out in 2016 (in select theaters).
After a deadly virus wipes out most of humanity, the survivors are forced to wait alone in self-sustaining bunkers while the viral ...
- 100k
5
votes
Accepted
Stalker which is killing women
I believe you're talking about Perfume: Story of a murderer. It's about a young man, with a really strong smell sense. It's actually based on a Novel.
From Wikipedia:
The film tells the story of ...
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