Here's a list of movies that feature tentacles: http://www.horrormovies.org/database/keywords/Tentacle/

You can also search the Horror/Sci-Fi database for Octopus or Squid. There aren't a lot of titles that come up and even fewer before 1994 so maybe one will "ring a bell." Please do report back if so.

As folks have said, can't go wrong with John Carpenter (I'd add In The Mouth Of Madness to the must-see list) and Hellraiser 1&2 (the late entry Hellraiser: Deader is actually rather good too, but only because it was intended to be it's own film before the studio stitched Hellraiser to it).

A big HELL YEAH +1 to tinyE for suggesting The Sentinel. One of my faves, just watched it again for the nth time the other night. Perfectly eerie.

For horror I'll add The Whisperer In Darkness (recent B&W Lovecraft adaptation), Matango (from Japan), and Pontypool (seriously smart and creepy "zombie" film). If you haven't seen The Blind Dead movies, you might enjoy them (more Italian grand guignol). I actually liked the fourth and final of the series (Night Of The Seagulls) the best.

And in the psychological thriller genre, check out Don't Look Back, The Bird With The Crystal Plumage, and Jacob's Ladder.

I did mention Romero's Dead/Living Dead series among the "obvious classics". Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead (1978) being the best out of the series.

(Regarding your first statement, believe me, I only call these "b-movies" for communication purposes, since most people would automatically think The Shining if I said "classic great horror movies" instead of "horror b-movies". This way everyone understands what I'm talking about and don't start talking about pseudo-intellectual "psychological horror" titles or the overrated French new wave of grindcorefestsnuffsplatterabductorevengepsichologicalFreudwasfullofshitbutwestillthinkhewasgreatwhenallofweste rnsocietyisprettymuchfuckedupbecauseofhimandhisidealsifyouwantpsychologygoreadKafkaalready)

Definitely. My ex-girlfriend, for instance, was too "superior", "cerebral" and just plain "good" for these horror movies. All she watched was the crappy found-footage flicks, poltergeist stuff and J-horror. And not even the same J-horror I like (I enjoy the likes of Infection (Kansen) and Audition, for instance).

Oh, and IAmSinistar: anyone that suggests Jacob's Ladder, one of my favorite movies, deserves all the attention I can spare, regarding your other recommendations.

Alucarda

I recommend this show :

Max’s Midnight Movies

hehe I try to watch that every friday when it gets a rerun during the night, pretty neat show except that guy telling jokes over movie scenes is kind of sucky at times. I wish there was more of that Max chick and less of that guy.

Hmm... for something a little bit offbeat, try Dellamorte Dellamore a.k.a. Cemetery Man.

Less said about it the better, but it is highly recommended.

Glad to hear it! Jacob's Ladder is one of my favourites as well, and deserves viewing from anyone who appreciates complex horror. I've also long suspected that it influenced aspects of the Silent Hill games in some part.

EDIT: Just noticed you added Isolation to one of your earlier posts. I really enjoyed that one too.

How about Blood Diner and Basket Case?

Oh, and not horror per se, but smart and nerve-wracking as hell, is Cube. I highly recommend it, and it's good viewing for gamers as well. Do avoid the sequels however, done by completely different folks with apparently little to no talent.

Santa Sangre is a surreal horror masterpiece.

Theatre Bizzare is a recent anthology film worth seeing. Also the Mother's Day remake is better than you'd expect.

Excellent choices, those are some great overlooked films. Matango is a much better film than you'd expect with a crazy horror.

I was entering to mention Prince of Darkness, but it's been done. Many Carpenter movies would qualify. All are enjoyable, even when terrible and cheesy. But Prince of Darkness had terrified me. To be honest, so did Raimy's Evil Dead.

I love the old universal edgar poe movies, with Vincent Price. And the Hammer Cushing Lee stuff.

And Balaguero's [Rec]. Not the sequel, not the remake.

I like Argento movies, but from a certain distance. Even though I appreciate the formal spectacle, I don't really manage to "enter" them. Except the Stendhal Syndrome (fittingly).

Anmd I completely adore Don Coscarelli's Phantasm series.

The rest are obscure movies, but not B. Qualiy stuff such as Darkness, Ravenous, and, yes, The Changeling, or Communion.

Seconded. And Ravenous is a good choice as well.

Speaking of Civil War horror (not a huge genre), Dead Birds is a creepy-as-f*** film that seems largely unknown. Highly recommended.