Mike Flanagan has shared his horror movie picks for those who think they don't like the genre – but don't take them too seriously.
The filmmaker shared a list on film social media site Letterboxd titled 'Mike Flanagan's Recommended Gateway Horror for Beginners', writing: "Every so often, someone says to me 'I really, really don't like horror movies' and I bite the inside of my cheek and smile at them.
"Sometimes they continue with 'what horror movies would you recommend as a gentle way in', or 'can you recommend any horror movies for beginners that are more like REAL movies?' In those cases, these are the movies I immediately recommend."
The first title on the list is Gremlins – so far, so accessible. It's from that point, however, that things take a left turn, and it becomes evident that Flanagan is pulling our collective leg. The recommendations go on to include violent French horror Martyrs, Funny Games, which sees a family subjected to sadistic games by two men who hold them hostage in their vacation home, Imprint, Takashi Mike's episode of Masters of Horror, Wes Craven's exploitation horror debut The Last House on the Left, and A Serbian Film, which has been banned in Philippines, Spain, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, and Norway.
Flanagan, of course, is no stranger to the genre, as the helmer of The Haunting of Hill House, Midnight Mass, and more. His latest TV series, The Fall of the House of Usher, was released on Netflix last month, marking the director and showrunner's last collaboration with the streamer. All Flanagan's projects going forward – for the foreseeable future, at least – will be for Prime Video, instead.
Next up for Flanagan is Stephen King adaptation The Life of Chuck, starring Tom Hiddleston and Mark Hamill. While we wait for his next flick to arrive on the streamer, check out our picks of the best movies on Amazon Prime Video to add to your watch list.
