Sure, time travel looks like zippy fun in the Back to the Future movies but even that immortal series took a turn to the dark side in the first sequel, imagining very unpleasant results if the wrong person abused the power. It's no surprise, then, that horror films have reflected dire consequences for those who dare to trip through the centuries. Time travel, according to these movies, is best left to the professionals.
Triangle (2009)
A pleasant sailing trip turns into a nightmarish journey for Melissa George and her companions when they end up on a mysteriously-abandoned ocean liner. The time travel here is of the "loop" variety, which makes it even more terrifying as the hapless participants struggle to figure out what's happening.
Donnie Darko (2002)
Jake Gyllenhaal stars as a troubled teen who is told by a rabbit-suited figure that the world will end in 28 days. Things only become more bizarre and profoundly disturbing after that, with time travel just one of the philosophical themes that are weaved throughout by writer/director Richard Kelly.
12 Monkeys (1995)
In the future -- a hopeless-looking 2035 -- an imprisoned sociopath (Bruce Willis) is sent back in time to gather information on a virus that wiped out most of the population in 1996. Instead, he arrives in 1990 and is locked up in a mental facility, where Brad Pitt makes a memorable impression. Willis must struggle against impossible odds to save the world.
Army of Darkness (1992)
The gleefully funny third installment of the series leans much more on the comedy than the horror, but there's no denying that director Sam Raimi takes full advantage of the possibilities offered in the time-travel scenario, as Ash (Bruce Campbell) finds himself in the Middle Ages, navigating culture clashes and surviving numerous battles as he attempts to fling himself back to the present day.
Frankenstein Unbound (1990)
Roger Corman returned to the director's chair with this very entertaining and stylish exercise in time-travel horror, following 21st century researcher John Hurt as he journeys into the past and meets the original Frankenstein (Raul Julia), as well as his monster and other horrifying historical personages.
Warlock (1989)
Directed by genre veteran Steve Miner (House, Friday the 13th Part 2), this fantasy horror thriller was an early project written by David Twohy, who would go on to direct Pitch Black and Riddick. Julian Sands stars as the time-traveling titular character, who jumps from the 17th century to the 20th century in order to flee a death sentence and undo the entirety of creation, a horrifying prospect.
Bloody New Year (1987)
Modern-day teens looking to party end up at an abandoned hotel on an apparently uninhabited island, where they encounter all kinds of deadly threats. For some reason, everything looks just as it did in the late 1950s; as one might guess, it's related to time travel, or, more accurately, a time warp, an idea that this extremely low-budget movie pretty much wastes.
Time After Time (1979)
At first glance, this might look like nothing more than a romantic adventure: H.G. Wells (Malcolm McDowell) uses his own time machine to travel to modern-day San Francisco, where he meets and falls in love with Mary Steenburgen. Lurking in the background of the love affair, however, is the real purpose of the trip: stopping Jack the Ripper (David Warner) before he commits any more heinous, horrible murders.
