My Favorite Scary Movies
by sweetlittlepie | created - 29 Aug 2011 | updated - 23 Nov 2013 | PublicThese are my favorite scary movies in no particular order. I haven't seen every horror film ever made. There's some that I want to see, but for some reason or another haven't been able to yet. So the list might expand later on. Remember this list is my favorite scary movies not the best scary movies ever made. It's just my personal opinion of some of the horror movies I love. Some of them are flawed, but I still like them. Some might seem cliche, but I still like them, too.
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1. The Orphanage (2007)
R | 105 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
A woman brings her family back to her childhood home, which used to be an orphanage for handicapped children. Before long, her son starts to communicate with an invisible new friend.
Director: J.A. Bayona | Stars: Belén Rueda, Fernando Cayo, Roger Príncep, Mabel Rivera
Votes: 163,583 | Gross: $7.16M
This movie really got me. This isn't just a "scary" movie. It's an emotional roller coaster ride and personally while some people found the ending to be "happy" I just found it to be down right depressing. It has a couple of jump scares. C'mon even the best horror movies have those. But mostly the movie builds the creepy atmosphere and the isolation and hopelessness the main character is feeling.
2. REC (2007)
R | 78 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A television reporter and cameraman follow emergency workers into a dark apartment building and are quickly locked inside with something terrifying.
Directors: Jaume Balagueró, Paco Plaza | Stars: Manuela Velasco, Ferran Terraza, Jorge-Yamam Serrano, Pablo Rosso
Votes: 196,610
Personally I feel like the Europeans, especially the Spaniards are the only ones making real horror films now a days. This is probably one of the best and most effective zombie movies I've ever seen. The sequel isn't bad, some people don't like. I actually liked it, but I still prefer the original. Also the remake is boring. Anyone who says it's better than the original should slap themselves.
3. The Exorcist (1973)
R | 122 min | Horror
When a young girl is possessed by a mysterious entity, her mother seeks the help of two Catholic priests to save her life.
Director: William Friedkin | Stars: Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Linda Blair, Lee J. Cobb
Votes: 454,876 | Gross: $232.91M
Okay, here's the obvious cliched entry. I don't care if it's cliched. This is one of my favorite horror movies. I watched it for the first time when I was nine, and boy did it leave an impression.
4. Fire in the Sky (1993)
PG-13 | 109 min | Biography, Drama, Fantasy
An Arizona logger mysteriously disappears for five days in an alleged encounter with a flying saucer in 1975. His co-workers endure ridicule and contempt as they are wrongly accused of murder.
Director: Robert Lieberman | Stars: D.B. Sweeney, Robert Patrick, Craig Sheffer, Peter Berg
Votes: 28,421 | Gross: $20.10M
There's one scene in this movie that stuck with me for years after I watched it. The scene where they abduct the guy and strap him to an operating table. It's probably one of the most disturbing scenes I've ever seen.
5. The Sixth Sense (1999)
PG-13 | 107 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Malcolm Crowe, a child psychologist, starts treating a young boy, Cole, who encounters dead people and convinces him to help them. In turn, Cole helps Malcolm reconcile with his estranged wife.
Director: M. Night Shyamalan | Stars: Bruce Willis, Haley Joel Osment, Toni Collette, Olivia Williams
Votes: 1,051,165 | Gross: $293.51M
Say what you will about M. Night, but the guy was actually a competent filmmaker before he became a hack.
6. Signs (2002)
PG-13 | 106 min | Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
A widowed former reverend living with his children and brother on a Pennsylvania farm finds mysterious crop circles in their fields, which suggests something more frightening to come.
Director: M. Night Shyamalan | Stars: Mel Gibson, Joaquin Phoenix, Rory Culkin, Abigail Breslin
Votes: 385,644 | Gross: $227.97M
Yeah...Yeah... The ending was kinda stupid. Well, more than a little stupid. But the caught on camera amateur alien footage scene is probably the only reason why this movie is on the list.
7. Dawn of the Dead (2004)
R | 101 min | Action, Horror
A nurse, a policeman, a young married couple, a salesman and other survivors of a worldwide plague that is producing aggressive, flesh-eating zombies, take refuge in a mega Midwestern shopping mall.
Director: Zack Snyder | Stars: Sarah Polley, Ving Rhames, Mekhi Phifer, Jake Weber
Votes: 272,422 | Gross: $59.02M
A remake that is actually good. Who could have know? Don't get me wrong I love me some classic slow Romero zombies, but faster zombies are scarier.
8. Dawn of the Dead (1978)
Unrated | 127 min | Horror, Thriller
During an escalating zombie epidemic, two Philadelphia SWAT team members, a traffic reporter and his TV executive girlfriend seek refuge in a secluded shopping mall.
Director: George A. Romero | Stars: David Emge, Ken Foree, Scott H. Reiniger, Gaylen Ross
Votes: 128,563 | Gross: $5.10M
Classic Romero. The zombies are slow which means you can probably outrun them, but there's just so many of them.
9. Jacob's Ladder (I) (1990)
R | 113 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
Mourning his dead child, a haunted Vietnam War veteran attempts to uncover his past while suffering from a severe case of dissociation. To do so, he must decipher reality and life from his own dreams, delusions, and perceptions of death.
Director: Adrian Lyne | Stars: Tim Robbins, Elizabeth Peña, Danny Aiello, Matt Craven
Votes: 117,858 | Gross: $26.12M
This movie is so confusing. The ending had me scratching my head for days. Still it has some note worthy creepy scenes in it. While everyone says the scariest scene is when he's dancing with his girlfriend and she's assaulted by a lizard-like creature (or turns into one, I don't really know), but the scene that really gets me is when he's in the hospital in the middle of the day in a crowded waiting room and then the nurse's hat falls off and he sees a bone sticking out of her skull.
10. 28 Days Later (2002)
R | 113 min | Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi
Four weeks after a mysterious, incurable virus spreads throughout the UK, a handful of survivors try to find sanctuary.
Director: Danny Boyle | Stars: Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris, Christopher Eccleston, Alex Palmer
Votes: 445,597 | Gross: $45.06M
I'm a sucker for a good zombie movie. Though the zombies in this movie aren't really zombies, more like infected people.
11. Suspiria (1977)
R | 92 min | Horror
An American newcomer to a prestigious German ballet academy comes to realize that the school is a front for something sinister amid a series of grisly murders.
Director: Dario Argento | Stars: Jessica Harper, Stefania Casini, Flavio Bucci, Miguel Bosé
Votes: 105,400
The first Argento entry on this list, but not the last. God Argento use to make such good movies in the 70's, all up until the early 90's. Then he started to cast his daughter in his films and to be honest they turned into crap. Some people like his new films. I'm not one of them. I tuned out after The Stendhal Syndrome. That movie was just boring.
12. Poltergeist (1982)
PG | 114 min | Horror, Thriller
A family's home is haunted by a host of demonic ghosts.
Director: Tobe Hooper | Stars: JoBeth Williams, Heather O'Rourke, Craig T. Nelson, Beatrice Straight
Votes: 179,543 | Gross: $76.61M
Tobe Hooper and Steven Spielberg make a horror film. And a damn good one in my opinion. Probably one of the best horror movies of the 80's. There's just too many scenes from this movie that stuck with me, but if I have to choose just one I'd have to say the face peeling bathroom scene.
13. Pet Sematary (1989)
R | 103 min | Fantasy, Horror, Thriller
After tragedy strikes, a grieving father discovers an ancient burial ground behind his home with the power to raise the dead.
Director: Mary Lambert | Stars: Dale Midkiff, Denise Crosby, Fred Gwynne, Brad Greenquist
Votes: 115,010 | Gross: $57.47M
I just learned they were going to do a remake of this movie and I died a little inside. The remake is probably gonna be sh*t with a capital S like most remakes of good 80's horror films. Oh well...
14. A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
R | 91 min | Horror
Teenager Nancy Thompson must uncover the dark truth concealed by her parents after she and her friends become targets of the spirit of a serial killer with a bladed glove in their dreams, in which if they die, it kills them in real life.
Director: Wes Craven | Stars: Heather Langenkamp, Johnny Depp, Robert Englund, John Saxon
Votes: 262,433 | Gross: $25.50M
The original is always the best. I love this movie and I love the original Freddy, even though Jackie Earle Haley is the best and the only good thing about the remake.
15. Salem's Lot (1979)
PG | 100 min | Horror
A novelist and a young horror fan attempt to save a small New England town which has been invaded by vampires.
Stars: David Soul, James Mason, Lance Kerwin, Bonnie Bedelia
Votes: 27,475
This movie really creeped me out as a kid.
16. Session 9 (2001)
R | 97 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
Tensions rise within an asbestos cleaning crew as they work in an abandoned mental hospital with a horrific past that seems to be coming back.
Director: Brad Anderson | Stars: David Caruso, Stephen Gevedon, Paul Guilfoyle, Josh Lucas
Votes: 62,894 | Gross: $0.38M
There's something really unsettling about a broken down abandoned mental hospital.
17. In the Mouth of Madness (1994)
R | 95 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
An insurance investigator begins discovering that the impact a horror writer's books have on his fans is more than inspirational.
Director: John Carpenter | Stars: Sam Neill, Jürgen Prochnow, Julie Carmen, David Warner
Votes: 79,318 | Gross: $8.95M
This movie is a real trip. A good kind of trip though.
18. The Serpent and the Rainbow (1988)
R | 98 min | Fantasy, Horror
An anthropologist goes to Haiti after hearing rumors about a drug used by black magic practitioners to turn people into zombies.
Director: Wes Craven | Stars: Bill Pullman, Cathy Tyson, Zakes Mokae, Paul Winfield
Votes: 27,646 | Gross: $19.60M
Ah, one of Wes Craven's last good horror movies.
19. Saw (2004)
R | 103 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Two strangers awaken in a room with no recollection of how they got there, and soon discover they're pawns in a deadly game perpetrated by a notorious serial killer.
Director: James Wan | Stars: Cary Elwes, Leigh Whannell, Danny Glover, Ken Leung
Votes: 466,626 | Gross: $56.00M
Ignore the crappy sequels and pretend they don't exist like I do and you'll find that Saw is well done decent little horror film.
20. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
R | 83 min | Horror
Five friends head out to rural Texas to visit the grave of a grandfather. On the way they stumble across what appears to be a deserted house, only to discover something sinister within. Something armed with a chainsaw.
Director: Tobe Hooper | Stars: Marilyn Burns, Edwin Neal, Allen Danziger, Paul A. Partain
Votes: 183,592 | Gross: $30.86M
The remake wasn't so bad, but personally I didn't think it was scary. Now the original on the other hand.
21. The Shining (1980)
R | 146 min | Drama, Horror
A family heads to an isolated hotel for the winter where a sinister presence influences the father into violence, while his psychic son sees horrific forebodings from both past and future.
Director: Stanley Kubrick | Stars: Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd, Scatman Crothers
Votes: 1,106,459 | Gross: $44.02M
So Stanley Kubrick changed the ending and some other stuff from the original novel. In my personal opinion I actually like the film's ending better than the cookie cutter happy go lucky ending of the novel. Sorry Stephen that ending was pretty stupid.
22. Audition (1999)
R | 115 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
A widower takes an offer to screen girls at a special audition, arranged for him by a friend to find him a new wife. The one he fancies is not who she appears to be after all.
Director: Takashi Miike | Stars: Ryo Ishibashi, Eihi Shiina, Tetsu Sawaki, Jun Kunimura
Votes: 89,219
The last fifteen minutes of this flick are just down right disturbing. God bless Takashi Miike.
23. Halloween (1978)
R | 91 min | Horror, Thriller
Fifteen years after murdering his sister on Halloween night 1963, Michael Myers escapes from a mental hospital and returns to the small town of Haddonfield, Illinois to kill again.
Director: John Carpenter | Stars: Donald Pleasence, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tony Moran, Nancy Kyes
Votes: 306,753 | Gross: $47.00M
*beep* Rob Zombie! I'm sorry, I had to get that out of my system, but seriously *beep* him for that stupid ass remake and it's stupid ass sequel. The original is and always will be the best. This film is a masterpiece and proves you don't need gore and guts to make a scary slasher film. Though that helps.
24. Friday the 13th (1980)
R | 95 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A group of teenage camp counselors attempt to re-open an abandoned summer camp with a tragic past, but they are stalked by a mysterious, relentless killer.
Director: Sean S. Cunningham | Stars: Betsy Palmer, Adrienne King, Jeannine Taylor, Robbi Morgan
Votes: 157,416 | Gross: $39.75M
It's like Halloween, but with gore.
25. The Evil Dead (1981)
NC-17 | 85 min | Horror
Five friends travel to a cabin in the woods, where they unknowingly release flesh-possessing demons.
Director: Sam Raimi | Stars: Bruce Campbell, Ellen Sandweiss, Richard DeManincor, Betsy Baker
Votes: 232,370 | Gross: $2.40M
Let's get this out of the way. I don't like Army of Darkness. I don't like Drag Me to Hell, in fact I think it's downright stupid, and Evil Dead 2 is just a rehash of this film. So this is probably the only horror film Sam Raimi has made that I actually like.
26. Alien (1979)
R | 117 min | Horror, Sci-Fi
The crew of a commercial spacecraft encounters a deadly lifeform after investigating a mysterious transmission of unknown origin.
Director: Ridley Scott | Stars: Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, John Hurt, Veronica Cartwright
Votes: 950,375 | Gross: $78.90M
Sci fi. Horror... Who cares? It's a good film with a creepy and claustrophobic atmosphere. Actually let's be honest, it's a monster movie in space.
27. The Ring (2002)
PG-13 | 115 min | Horror, Mystery
A journalist must investigate a mysterious videotape which seems to cause the death of anyone one week to the day after they view it.
Director: Gore Verbinski | Stars: Naomi Watts, Martin Henderson, Brian Cox, David Dorfman
Votes: 374,970 | Gross: $129.13M
Never seen the original so I can't really compare. Still sh*tty sequel aside, I really like this movie. Though after a recent viewing I noticed some obvious flaws it's still a good scary movie that with holds the test of time.
28. Fright Night (1985)
R | 106 min | Horror
"Fright Night" sees a teenager believing that the newcomer in his neighborhood is a vampire. He turns to an actor in a television hosted horror movie show for help to deal with the undead.
Director: Tom Holland | Stars: Chris Sarandon, William Ragsdale, Amanda Bearse, Roddy McDowall
Votes: 78,628 | Gross: $24.92M
Haven't seen the remake. I've heard mixed reviews of it though. I'll probably watch it later on. Still big fan of the original. God they use to make such good movies in the 80's. Kinda makes me wish I had time machine so I could back in time and watch them in theaters.
29. The Thing (1982)
R | 109 min | Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi
A research team in Antarctica is hunted by a shape-shifting alien that assumes the appearance of its victims.
Director: John Carpenter | Stars: Kurt Russell, Wilford Brimley, Keith David, Richard Masur
Votes: 466,522 | Gross: $13.78M
I love this movie. Point blank I love it. I love the atmosphere, the cast and characters, the special effects, the creature itself, the location, the Kurt Russell. It's just awesome.
30. An American Werewolf in London (1981)
R | 97 min | Comedy, Horror
Two American college students on a walking tour of Britain are attacked by a werewolf that none of the locals will admit exists.
Director: John Landis | Stars: David Naughton, Jenny Agutter, Joe Belcher, Griffin Dunne
Votes: 120,484 | Gross: $30.57M
Did I mention they made really good horror movies in the 80's?
31. Black Christmas (1974)
R | 98 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
During their Christmas break, a group of sorority girls are stalked by a stranger.
Director: Bob Clark | Stars: Olivia Hussey, Keir Dullea, Margot Kidder, John Saxon
Votes: 48,343 | Gross: $4.05M
Like the tagline says: "If this movie doesn't make your skin crawl. It's on too tight!"
32. The Children (2008)
R | 84 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A relaxing Christmas vacation turns into a terrifying fight for survival as the children begin to turn on their parents.
Director: Tom Shankland | Stars: Eva Birthistle, Stephen Campbell Moore, Jeremy Sheffield, Rachel Shelley
Votes: 19,029
Wasn't expecting much when I saw this flick. But boy was I in for a surprise. Little kids go crazy and start killing their parents. Trust me it's much better than it sounds.
33. Don't Look Now (1973)
R | 110 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
A married couple grieving the recent death of their young daughter are in Venice when they encounter two elderly sisters, one of whom is psychic and brings a warning from beyond.
Director: Nicolas Roeg | Stars: Julie Christie, Donald Sutherland, Hilary Mason, Clelia Matania
Votes: 62,318 | Gross: $0.98M
The sex scene alone scarred me for life.
34. Deep Red (1975)
R | 127 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A jazz pianist and a wisecracking journalist are pulled into a complex web of mystery after the former witnesses the brutal murder of a psychic.
Director: Dario Argento | Stars: David Hemmings, Daria Nicolodi, Gabriele Lavia, Macha Méril
Votes: 42,631
Another Argento gem. Also a giallo, probably my favorite horror sub genre.
35. Let's Scare Jessica to Death (1971)
GP | 89 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
A recently institutionalized woman has bizarre experiences after moving into a supposedly haunted country farmhouse and fears she may be losing her sanity once again.
Director: John D. Hancock | Stars: Zohra Lampert, Barton Heyman, Kevin O'Connor, Gretchen Corbett
Votes: 9,313
I don't know what it is, but something about this movie really unsettled me.
36. The Last House on the Left (1972)
R | 84 min | Crime, Horror, Thriller
Two teenage girls heading to a rock concert for one's birthday try to score marijuana in the city, where they are kidnapped and brutalized by a gang of psychopathic convicts.
Director: Wes Craven | Stars: Sandra Peabody, Lucy Grantham, David Hess, Fred J. Lincoln
Votes: 40,276 | Gross: $3.10M
Classic Wes Craven.
37. 30 Days of Night (2007)
R | 113 min | Action, Horror, Thriller
After an Alaskan town is plunged into darkness for a month, it is attacked by a bloodthirsty gang of vampires.
Director: David Slade | Stars: Josh Hartnett, Melissa George, Danny Huston, Ben Foster
Votes: 189,383 | Gross: $39.57M
The vampires in this movie don't glitter. In fact they're down right scary.
38. Near Dark (1987)
R | 94 min | Horror
A small-town farmer's son reluctantly joins a traveling group of vampires after he is bitten by a beautiful drifter.
Director: Kathryn Bigelow | Stars: Adrian Pasdar, Jenny Wright, Lance Henriksen, Bill Paxton
Votes: 44,729 | Gross: $3.37M
Another kick ass vampire film.
39. The Fly (1986)
R | 96 min | Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi
A brilliant but eccentric scientist begins to transform into a giant man/fly hybrid after one of his experiments goes horribly wrong.
Director: David Cronenberg | Stars: Jeff Goldblum, Geena Davis, John Getz, Joy Boushel
Votes: 201,863 | Gross: $40.46M
The birth scene alone is enough to make me put this film on the list. As a woman that scene really unsettled me.
40. Carrie (1976)
R | 98 min | Horror, Mystery
Carrie White, a shy, friendless teenage girl who is sheltered by her domineering, religious mother, unleashes her telekinetic powers after being humiliated by her classmates at her senior prom.
Director: Brian De Palma | Stars: Sissy Spacek, Piper Laurie, Amy Irving, John Travolta
Votes: 206,634 | Gross: $33.80M
Brian De Palma and Stephen King. Enough said.
41. Rosemary's Baby (1968)
Approved | 137 min | Drama, Horror
A young couple trying for a baby moves into an aging, ornate apartment building on Central Park West, where they find themselves surrounded by peculiar neighbors.
Director: Roman Polanski | Stars: Mia Farrow, John Cassavetes, Ruth Gordon, Sidney Blackmer
Votes: 235,123
The sex scene between the Devil and Mia Farrow is one of the most disturbing scenes I've ever seen.
42. Hellraiser (1987)
R | 94 min | Horror, Thriller
A woman discovers the newly resurrected, partially formed, body of her brother-in-law and lover. She starts killing for him to revitalize his body and escape the demonic beings that are pursuing him after he escaped their underworld.
Director: Clive Barker | Stars: Andrew Robinson, Clare Higgins, Ashley Laurence, Sean Chapman
Votes: 140,496 | Gross: $14.56M
There's so many things I love about this movie. The perverted uncle, Pinhead and the cenobites, all the gore... etc.
43. Insidious (I) (2010)
PG-13 | 103 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A family looks to prevent evil spirits from trapping their comatose child in a realm called The Further.
Director: James Wan | Stars: Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Ty Simpkins, Lin Shaye
Votes: 338,989 | Gross: $54.01M
A recent horror flick that doesn't suck. Is it flawed? Yes, but it's also got some of the best jump scares I've ever seen in a film especially a recent one and it's a lot of scary good ridiculous fun.
44. Martyrs (2008)
R | 99 min | Horror
A young woman's quest for revenge against the people who kidnapped and tormented her as a child leads her and a friend, who is also a victim of child abuse, on a terrifying journey into a living hell of depravity.
Director: Pascal Laugier | Stars: Morjana Alaoui, Mylène Jampanoï, Catherine Bégin, Robert Toupin
Votes: 106,396
You gotta love the french.
45. Trick 'r Treat (2007)
R | 82 min | Comedy, Horror
Five interwoven stories that occur on Halloween: an everyday high school principal has a secret life as a serial killer; a college virgin might have just met the guy for her; a group of teenagers pull a mean prank; a woman who loathes the night has to contend with her holiday-obsessed husband; and a mean old man meets his match with a demonic, supernatural trick-or-treater.
Director: Michael Dougherty | Stars: Anna Paquin, Brian Cox, Dylan Baker, Rochelle Aytes
Votes: 104,619
This movie didn't really scare me, but it's still a lot of fun.
46. Creepshow (1982)
R | 120 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Horror
"Creepshow" is a 1982 movie that tells five grisly tales from a children's comic book: a murdered father rising from his grave, a bizarre meteor, a vengeful husband, a mysterious crate's occupant, and a plague of cockroaches.
Director: George A. Romero | Stars: Hal Holbrook, Leslie Nielsen, Adrienne Barbeau, E.G. Marshall
Votes: 53,220 | Gross: $21.03M
Cockroaches...
47. 28 Weeks Later (2007)
R | 100 min | Horror, Sci-Fi
Six months after the rage virus was inflicted on the population of Great Britain, the US Army helps to secure a small area of London for the survivors to repopulate and start again. But not everything goes according to plan.
Director: Juan Carlos Fresnadillo | Stars: Jeremy Renner, Rose Byrne, Robert Carlyle, Harold Perrineau
Votes: 293,755 | Gross: $28.64M
A sequel that is actually good.
48. Let the Right One In (2008)
R | 114 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
Oskar, an overlooked and bullied boy, finds love and revenge through Eli, a beautiful but peculiar girl.
Director: Tomas Alfredson | Stars: Kåre Hedebrant, Lina Leandersson, Per Ragnar, Henrik Dahl
Votes: 226,748 | Gross: $2.12M
Haven't seen the remake yet. Though I have heard good things about it so it's on my to watch list and if it's really as good as they say it is I might add it to this list later on. Still I have seen the original and it's really good.
49. The Descent (2005)
R | 99 min | Adventure, Horror, Thriller
A caving expedition goes horribly wrong, as the explorers become trapped and ultimately pursued by a strange breed of predators.
Director: Neil Marshall | Stars: Shauna Macdonald, Natalie Mendoza, Alex Reid, Saskia Mulder
Votes: 246,881 | Gross: $26.02M
A movie that did not need a sequel and unfortunately got one. The original is a pretty bad ass horror flick, probably one of the best of the decade.
50. Day of the Dead (1985)
Not Rated | 101 min | Horror, Thriller
As the world is overrun by zombies, a group of scientists and military personnel sheltering in an underground bunker in Florida must decide on how they should deal with the undead horde.
Director: George A. Romero | Stars: Lori Cardille, Terry Alexander, Joseph Pilato, Jarlath Conroy
Votes: 74,362 | Gross: $5.80M
This may sound weird, but I actually like this movie more than the original Dawn of the Dead. Dunno why, I just do. And though Romero makes great zombie flicks, he really should stop making them. It's getting ridiculous.
51. The Mist (2007)
R | 126 min | Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller
A freak storm unleashes a species of bloodthirsty creatures on a small town, where a small band of citizens hole up in a supermarket and fight for their lives.
Director: Frank Darabont | Stars: Thomas Jane, Marcia Gay Harden, Laurie Holden, Andre Braugher
Votes: 340,282 | Gross: $25.59M
Some people like this movie, some don't. I personally do.
52. Cloverfield (2008)
PG-13 | 85 min | Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller
A group of friends venture deep into the streets of New York on a rescue mission during a rampaging monster attack.
Director: Matt Reeves | Stars: Mike Vogel, Jessica Lucas, Lizzy Caplan, T.J. Miller
Votes: 420,603 | Gross: $80.05M
The characters are annoying. Still it's a pretty good horror flick, though I'm not sure it is a horror flick at all.
53. The Signal (2007)
R | 103 min | Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller
A horror film told in three parts, from three perspectives, in which a mysterious transmission that turns people into killers invades every cell phone, radio, and television.
Directors: David Bruckner, Dan Bush, Jacob Gentry | Stars: Anessa Ramsey, Justin Welborn, Scott Poythress, Sahr Ngaujah
Votes: 21,891 | Gross: $0.60M
This movie combines everything. Horror. Comedy. Romance. And it does it pretty damn well.
54. Slither (2006)
R | 95 min | Comedy, Horror, Sci-Fi
A small town is taken over by an alien plague, turning residents into zombies and all forms of mutant monsters.
Director: James Gunn | Stars: Nathan Fillion, Elizabeth Banks, Michael Rooker, Don Thompson
Votes: 88,848 | Gross: $7.77M
Another movie that combines horror and comedy pretty well.
55. Dog Soldiers (2002)
R | 105 min | Action, Horror, Thriller
A routine military exercise turns into a nightmare in the Scottish wilderness.
Director: Neil Marshall | Stars: Sean Pertwee, Kevin McKidd, Emma Cleasby, Liam Cunningham
Votes: 65,640
Scariest werewolf movie I've ever seen.
56. The Ruins (2008)
R | 90 min | Adventure, Horror, Thriller
A leisurely Mexican holiday takes a turn for the worse when a group of friends and a fellow tourist embark on a remote archaeological dig in the jungle, where something evil lives among the ruins.
Director: Carter Smith | Stars: Shawn Ashmore, Jena Malone, Jonathan Tucker, Laura Ramsey
Votes: 84,256 | Gross: $17.43M
Again either you love it or hate it. I love it.
57. The Host (2006)
R | 120 min | Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi
A monster emerges from Seoul's Han River and begins attacking people. One victim's loving family does what it can to rescue her from its clutches.
Director: Bong Joon Ho | Stars: Song Kang-ho, Byun Hee-Bong, Park Hae-il, Bae Doona
Votes: 132,696 | Gross: $2.20M
This movie is heartbreaking, but in a good way.
58. Wolf Creek (2005)
R | 99 min | Horror, Thriller
Three backpackers stranded in the Australian outback are plunged inside a hellish nightmare of insufferable torture by a sadistic psychopathic local.
Director: Greg McLean | Stars: Nathan Phillips, Cassandra Magrath, Kestie Morassi, John Jarratt
Votes: 78,343 | Gross: $16.19M
This movie has one of the bleakest, most unsatisfying endings I've ever seen in any film, let alone a horror film, but I think that's why I like it so much.
59. Ginger Snaps (2000)
Not Rated | 108 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
Two death-obsessed sisters, outcasts in their suburban neighborhood, must deal with the tragic consequences when one of them is bitten by a deadly werewolf.
Director: John Fawcett | Stars: Emily Perkins, Katharine Isabelle, Kris Lemche, Mimi Rogers
Votes: 52,294 | Gross: $0.00M
I freaking hate this movie's sequels with the passion of a thousand burning suns. I'm sorry, but they're just fricking awful. The original though, it's pretty damn good. Though I personally found both of the main characters annoying.
60. The Hills Have Eyes (2006)
R | 107 min | Horror, Thriller
A traveling family falls victim to a group of mutated cannibals in a desert far away from civilization.
Director: Alexandre Aja | Stars: Ted Levine, Kathleen Quinlan, Dan Byrd, Emilie de Ravin
Votes: 183,236 | Gross: $41.78M
Haven't seen the original...yet. But I like this movie. For a remake it's pretty damn good.
61. The Legend of Hell House (1973)
PG | 95 min | Horror
A physicist, his wife and two mediums are hired to investigate the Belasco House, where 27 guests had inexplicably died in 1927, along with most of a team of paranormal investigators that was sent in the early 1950s.
Director: John Hough | Stars: Roddy McDowall, Gayle Hunnicutt, Pamela Franklin, Clive Revill
Votes: 14,039
A good old classic British haunted house flick with Roddy McDowall. I can't even begin to explain why and how much I love this movie. It's campy, but it's made in the 70's so what do you expect. Despite the camp, it's still awesome.
62. The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (1970)
GP | 96 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
An American expatriate in Rome attempts to unmask a serial killer he witnessed in the act of an attempted murder - and is now hunting him and his girlfriend.
Director: Dario Argento | Stars: Tony Musante, Suzy Kendall, Enrico Maria Salerno, Eva Renzi
Votes: 24,087 | Gross: $0.42M
Another Argento classic. Also has one of the best and most effective twist ending in any horror film I've ever seen.
63. Burnt Offerings (1976)
PG | 116 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A family moves into a large old mansion in the countryside which seems to have a mysterious and sinister power over its new residents.
Director: Dan Curtis | Stars: Karen Black, Oliver Reed, Burgess Meredith, Eileen Heckart
Votes: 13,604
This movie is so cheesy... Though that smiling man haunted my dreams days after I watched this movie. Reason enough for me to put this movie on this list.
64. The Omen (1976)
R | 111 min | Horror, Mystery
Mysterious deaths surround an American ambassador. Could the child that he is raising actually be the Antichrist? The Devil's own son?
Director: Richard Donner | Stars: Gregory Peck, Lee Remick, Harvey Stephens, David Warner
Votes: 132,457 | Gross: $4.27M
God I loved this movie when I was younger. Still do.
65. Cujo (1983)
R | 93 min | Horror, Thriller
Cujo, a friendly St. Bernard, contracts rabies and conducts a reign of terror on a small American town.
Director: Lewis Teague | Stars: Dee Wallace, Daniel Hugh Kelly, Danny Pintauro, Christopher Stone
Votes: 50,963 | Gross: $21.20M
Rabid dogs...
66. They Live (1988)
R | 94 min | Action, Horror, Sci-Fi
They influence our decisions without us knowing it. They numb our senses without us feeling it. They control our lives without us realizing it. They live.
Director: John Carpenter | Stars: Roddy Piper, Keith David, Meg Foster, George 'Buck' Flower
Votes: 145,449 | Gross: $13.01M
I haven't seen this movie in such a long time, but I use to love it when I was a kid.
67. Re-Animator (1985)
Unrated | 84 min | Comedy, Horror, Sci-Fi
After an odd new medical student arrives on campus, a dedicated local and his girlfriend become involved in bizarre experiments centering around the re-animation of dead tissue.
Director: Stuart Gordon | Stars: Jeffrey Combs, Bruce Abbott, Barbara Crampton, David Gale
Votes: 71,496 | Gross: $2.02M
What can I say about this movie that hasn't been said already?
68. Demons (1985)
Not Rated | 88 min | Horror
A group of random people are invited to a screening of a mysterious movie, only to find themselves trapped in the theater with ravenous demons.
Director: Lamberto Bava | Stars: Urbano Barberini, Natasha Hovey, Karl Zinny, Fiore Argento
Votes: 26,557
This movie made me jump a couple of times and yell at the TV screen and not a lot of movies make me do that.
69. Videodrome (1983)
R | 87 min | Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller
A programmer at a Toronto TV station that specializes in adult entertainment searches for the producers of a dangerous and bizarre broadcast.
Director: David Cronenberg | Stars: James Woods, Debbie Harry, Sonja Smits, Peter Dvorsky
Votes: 102,957 | Gross: $2.12M
Cronenberg. Cronenberg. Cronenberg.
70. The Blob (1988)
R | 95 min | Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller
A deadly entity from space crash-lands near a small town and begins consuming everyone in its path. Panic ensues as shady government scientists try to contain the horrific creature.
Director: Chuck Russell | Stars: Shawnee Smith, Kevin Dillon, Donovan Leitch Jr., Jeffrey DeMunn
Votes: 43,499 | Gross: $8.25M
What it lacks in character development and predictability. It makes up with damn good special effects.
71. Demons 2 (1986)
R | 92 min | Horror
A group of tenants and visitors are trapped in a 10-story high-rise apartment building infested with demons who proceed to hunt the dwindling humans down.
Director: Lamberto Bava | Stars: David Edwin Knight, Nancy Brilli, Coralina Cataldi-Tassoni, Bobby Rhodes
Votes: 12,036
Not as good as the first one, but still it's pretty good for a sequel.
72. The Howling (1981)
R | 91 min | Horror
After a bizarre and near deadly encounter with a serial killer, a television newswoman is sent to a remote mountain resort whose residents may not be what they seem.
Director: Joe Dante | Stars: Dee Wallace, Patrick Macnee, Dennis Dugan, Christopher Stone
Votes: 40,192 | Gross: $17.99M
It's kinda dated, but I still like it.
73. Critters (1986)
PG-13 | 86 min | Comedy, Horror, Sci-Fi
A group of small but vicious alien creatures called Crites escape from an alien prison transport vessel and land near a small farm town on earth, pursued by two shape-shifting bounty hunters.
Director: Stephen Herek | Stars: Dee Wallace, M. Emmet Walsh, Billy Green Bush, Scott Grimes
Votes: 39,307 | Gross: $13.17M
I have a phobia against rats. And the creatures in this movie are like mutated rats so I guess that's why this flick creeps me out so much.
74. Phantasm (1979)
R | 89 min | Horror, Sci-Fi
A teenage boy and his friends face off against a mysterious grave robber, known only as the Tall Man, who employs a lethal arsenal of unearthly weapons.
Director: Don Coscarelli | Stars: A. Michael Baldwin, Bill Thornbury, Reggie Bannister, Kathy Lester
Votes: 41,268 | Gross: $11.99M
The tall man, one of the creepiest, most effective villains ever.
75. The Hitcher (1986)
R | 97 min | Action, Mystery, Thriller
A young man who escapes the clutches of a murderous hitchhiker is subsequently stalked by the hitcher and framed for his crimes.
Director: Robert Harmon | Stars: Rutger Hauer, C. Thomas Howell, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Jeffrey DeMunn
Votes: 52,534 | Gross: $5.84M
Stick with the original and stay away from the remake.
76. [Rec]² (2009)
R | 85 min | Horror, Thriller
In order to ascertain the current situation inside, a supposed medical officer and a GEO team step into the quarantined and ill-fated apartment building.
Directors: Jaume Balagueró, Paco Plaza | Stars: Jonathan D. Mellor, Manuela Velasco, Óscar Zafra, Ariel Casas
Votes: 78,517 | Gross: $0.03M
The original is better. Still this one is scary.
77. Shaun of the Dead (2004)
R | 99 min | Comedy, Horror
The uneventful, aimless lives of a London electronics salesman and his layabout roommate are disrupted by the zombie apocalypse.
Director: Edgar Wright | Stars: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Kate Ashfield, Lucy Davis
Votes: 593,875 | Gross: $13.54M
Comedy and horror. Balanced greatly.
78. The Ninth Gate (1999)
R | 133 min | Mystery, Thriller
A book broker discovers his latest find may summon Satan.
Director: Roman Polanski | Stars: Johnny Depp, Frank Langella, Lena Olin, Emmanuelle Seigner
Votes: 197,457 | Gross: $18.66M
Trippy and kinda creepy.
79. The Amityville Horror (1979)
R | 117 min | Horror
Newlyweds and their three children move into a large house where a mass murder was committed. They start to experience strange, inexplicable manifestations which have strong effects on everyone living in or visiting the house.
Director: Stuart Rosenberg | Stars: James Brolin, Margot Kidder, Rod Steiger, Don Stroud
Votes: 44,592 | Gross: $86.43M
So cheesy, but still a lot of fun and it does have some actual noteworthy creepy scenes in it.
80. Torso (1973)
R | 92 min | Crime, Horror, Mystery
A string of appalling lust murders shocks the University of Perugia as a sadistic serial killer strangles to death beautiful college girls with a red and black scarf.
Director: Sergio Martino | Stars: Suzy Kendall, Tina Aumont, Luc Merenda, John Richardson
Votes: 7,822 | Gross: $0.74M
Though it is a giallo, it is a blueprint for slasher films that followed.
81. A Bay of Blood (1971)
R | 84 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
The murder of a wealthy countess triggers a chain reaction of brutal killings in the surrounding bay area, as several unscrupulous characters try to seize her large estate.
Director: Mario Bava | Stars: Claudine Auger, Luigi Pistilli, Claudio Camaso, Anna Maria Rosati
Votes: 12,704
I am convinced Sean S. Cunningham watched this movie before making Friday the 13th.
82. Tenebrae (1982)
R | 101 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
An American novelist visiting Rome to promote his latest book is stalked and harassed by an obsessed fan who is committing a string of murders that appear to be tributes to his work.
Director: Dario Argento | Stars: Anthony Franciosa, Giuliano Gemma, John Saxon, Daria Nicolodi
Votes: 27,416
One of my favorite Argento films.
83. Inferno (1980)
R | 106 min | Horror
An American student investigates the disappearance of his sister and the death of a friend, both connected from New York to Rome by an old alchemy book.
Director: Dario Argento | Stars: Leigh McCloskey, Irene Miracle, Eleonora Giorgi, Daria Nicolodi
Votes: 24,014
Suspiria's sequel. Inferior to the original, but much better than it's successor, Mother of Tears.
84. Christine (1983)
R | 110 min | Horror, Thriller
A nerdish boy buys a strange car with an evil mind of its own and his nature starts to change to reflect it.
Director: John Carpenter | Stars: Keith Gordon, John Stockwell, Alexandra Paul, Robert Prosky
Votes: 92,433 | Gross: $21.20M
That damn car!
85. The Return of the Living Dead (1985)
R | 91 min | Comedy, Horror, Sci-Fi
When two bumbling employees at a medical supply warehouse accidentally release a deadly gas into the air, the vapors cause the dead to rise again as zombies.
Director: Dan O'Bannon | Stars: Clu Gulager, James Karen, Don Calfa, Thom Mathews
Votes: 68,890 | Gross: $14.24M
Brainsss!!!
86. Society (1989)
R | 99 min | Comedy, Horror
An ordinary teenage boy discovers his family is part of a gruesome orgy cult for the social elite.
Director: Brian Yuzna | Stars: Billy Warlock, Concetta D'Agnese, Ben Slack, Evan Richards
Votes: 21,942
This movie really messes with your head. Uhh, just thinking of that shunting scene makes me ill.
87. Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom (1975)
TV-MA | 117 min | Drama
In World War II Italy, four fascist libertines round up nine adolescent boys and girls and subject them to 120 days of physical, mental, and sexual torture.
Director: Pier Paolo Pasolini | Stars: Paolo Bonacelli, Giorgio Cataldi, Uberto Paolo Quintavalle, Aldo Valletti
Votes: 65,819
This movie isn't scary. Well, it's not traditionally scary, but what most of the characters (and to a lesser extent the actors themselves) are subjected to in this film is what frightens me the most.
88. The New York Ripper (1982)
Not Rated | 85 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A burned-out New York police detective teams up with a college psychoanalyst to track down a vicious serial killer randomly stalking and killing various young women around the city.
Director: Lucio Fulci | Stars: Jack Hedley, Almanta Suska, Howard Ross, Andrea Occhipinti
Votes: 12,488
Another so called Giallo, that plays more like a slasher flick. Not Fulci's best work, but still pretty good.
89. Zombie (1979)
R | 91 min | Horror
Strangers searching for a young woman's missing father arrive at a tropical island where a doctor desperately seeks the cause and cure of a recent epidemic of the undead.
Director: Lucio Fulci | Stars: Tisa Farrow, Ian McCulloch, Richard Johnson, Al Cliver
Votes: 30,712
One of Fulci's best.
90. Blood and Black Lace (1964)
Not Rated | 88 min | Crime, Horror, Mystery
A masked, shadowy killer brutally murders the models of a scandalous fashion house in Rome.
Director: Mario Bava | Stars: Cameron Mitchell, Eva Bartok, Thomas Reiner, Arianna Gorini
Votes: 13,005
Long live Mario Bava!
91. The Beyond (1981)
R | 87 min | Horror
A young woman inherits an old hotel in Louisiana where, following a series of supernatural "accidents", she learns that the building was built over one of the entrances to Hell.
Director: Lucio Fulci | Stars: Catriona MacColl, David Warbeck, Cinzia Monreale, Antoine Saint-John
Votes: 25,308 | Gross: $0.12M
In my opinion Fulci's best film.
92. Halloween II (1981)
R | 92 min | Horror
While Dr. Loomis hunts for Michael Myers, a traumatized Laurie is rushed to Haddonfield Memorial Hospital, and The Shape is not far behind her.
Director: Rick Rosenthal | Stars: Jamie Lee Curtis, Donald Pleasence, Charles Cyphers, Jeffrey Kramer
Votes: 101,692 | Gross: $25.53M
Not as good as the original, but a very well done sequel.
93. Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988)
R | 88 min | Horror, Thriller
Ten years after his original massacre, the invalid Michael Myers awakens on Halloween Eve and returns to Haddonfield to kill his seven-year-old niece. Can Dr. Loomis stop him?
Director: Dwight H. Little | Stars: Donald Pleasence, Ellie Cornell, Danielle Harris, George P. Wilbur
Votes: 58,640 | Gross: $17.77M
I'm not a big fan of sequels, but I'll admit this movie is like a guilty pleasure for me.
94. Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989)
R | 96 min | Horror, Thriller
One year after the events of Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988), the Shape returns to Haddonfield once again in an attempt to kill his now-mute niece.
Director: Dominique Othenin-Girard | Stars: Donald Pleasence, Danielle Harris, Ellie Cornell, Beau Starr
Votes: 47,077 | Gross: $11.64M
A continuation of Halloween 4. I actually liked it better than the fourth movie. Much better than it's effed up bullsh*t sequel, Halloween 6: The Curse of Michael Myers.
95. Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981)
R | 87 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Five years after the events of the first film, a summer camp next to the infamous Camp Crystal Lake is preparing to open, but the legend of Jason is weighing heavy on the proceedings.
Director: Steve Miner | Stars: Betsy Palmer, Amy Steel, John Furey, Adrienne King
Votes: 77,744 | Gross: $21.72M
Again another sequel I very much enjoyed. Also it's the first time Jason shows up in the franchise.
96. Friday the 13th: Part 3 (1982)
R | 95 min | Horror, Thriller
Jason Voorhees stalks a group of friends who have just arrived to spend the weekend at a cabin near Crystal Lake.
Director: Steve Miner | Stars: Dana Kimmell, Tracie Savage, Richard Brooker, Terry Ballard
Votes: 60,396 | Gross: $36.69M
The first time Jason shows up in the hockey mask.
97. Friday the 13th: The New Blood (1988)
R | 88 min | Horror, Thriller
Jason Voorhees is accidentally freed from his watery prison by a telekinetic teenager. Now, only she can stop him.
Director: John Carl Buechler | Stars: Terry Kiser, Jennifer Banko, John Otrin, Susan Blu
Votes: 42,349 | Gross: $19.17M
Okay, not the best Friday the 13th sequel. In this movie the protagonist is telekinetic. Yes, it's a ridiculous premise. But the scene when Tina and Jason battle it out is still awesome.
98. Psycho (1960)
R | 109 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A Phoenix secretary embezzles $40,000 from her employer's client, goes on the run and checks into a remote motel run by a young man under the domination of his mother.
Director: Alfred Hitchcock | Stars: Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, Vera Miles, John Gavin
Votes: 718,175 | Gross: $32.00M
A true classic.
99. Candyman (1992)
R | 99 min | Horror, Thriller
The Candyman, a murderous soul with a hook for a hand, is accidentally summoned to reality by a skeptic grad student researching the monster's myth.
Director: Bernard Rose | Stars: Virginia Madsen, Xander Berkeley, Tony Todd, Kasi Lemmons
Votes: 100,147 | Gross: $25.79M
I didn't really like the ending too much, but still it's a great horror film with an effective villain.
100. Child's Play (1988)
R | 87 min | Horror, Thriller
A struggling single mother unknowingly gifts her son a doll imbued with a serial killer's consciousness.
Director: Tom Holland | Stars: Catherine Hicks, Chris Sarandon, Alex Vincent, Brad Dourif
Votes: 116,718 | Gross: $33.24M
The only Chucky movie that scared me. In my defense I was eight years old when I first saw this movie.
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