THE 18 SCARIEST MOVIES I'VE EVER SEEN
These are the films that genuinely got in my head. These are the films that have scared me, disturbed me, and shocked me to the core. They are not all strictly horror films, but causing fear isn't something the horror genre has a monopoly on.
Also, you'll notice that most of these titles feature psychological or realistic horror as opposed to fantastical/supernatural. That is simply because I am no longer (or never was) terrified by ghosts, vampires, invincible masked-men, or any other "monsters". As I grew older this becomes more and more true because every day I witness something that proves human beings are the scariest monsters. That being said, I can definitely be scared by the unknown too. It works better if the unknown is portrayed enigmatically and not revealed, especially in a gimmicky way.
Also, you'll notice that most of these titles feature psychological or realistic horror as opposed to fantastical/supernatural. That is simply because I am no longer (or never was) terrified by ghosts, vampires, invincible masked-men, or any other "monsters". As I grew older this becomes more and more true because every day I witness something that proves human beings are the scariest monsters. That being said, I can definitely be scared by the unknown too. It works better if the unknown is portrayed enigmatically and not revealed, especially in a gimmicky way.
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- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsRyo IshibashiEihi ShiinaTetsu SawakiA 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."Audition" tops the list for one simple reason: It's the only movie I've ever turned off because I was scared to finish it. There are not many films which so slowly yet so effectively impose a feeling of dread which bubbles into a feeling of utter terror. I felt nauseous, disoriented and appalled during the final act, an act which must be regarded as one of the most vicious, shocking, and sadistic in cinema history.
- DirectorGaspar NoéStarsMonica BellucciVincent CasselAlbert DupontelEvents over the course of one traumatic night in Paris unfold in reverse-chronological order as the beautiful Alex is brutally raped and beaten by a stranger in an underpass tunnel."Irreversible" is known for a horrendous, harrowing scene shot in one long continuous take. While this scene has got to be the hardest to watch of any I've ever seen, I was terrified long before it came on screen. That is because, from the very first frames to the infamous scene, we are taken on an underworld odyssey where nothing is sacred and pleasure is king. Nowhere is this more true and more horrifying than in the scene featuring the sex night club. The camera flips as if being flushed town a toilet while an ear-piercing, high-frequency drone pulsates like a roaring car engine. Bodies are lit in red, seen in flashes as they engage in bondage and domination. If Hell were to be captured on film, I feel that the footage would like something like this. "Irreversible" isn't a horror film, strictly speaking, but it still horrified me and still haunts me to this day.
- DirectorPascal LaugierStarsMorjana AlaouiMylène JampanoïCatherine BéginA 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.From the very first minutes of the film, "Martyrs" tugs you by the shirt, pushes you down and forces your eyelids open. It leaves you guessing, but each guess will be wrong. You have never seen anything like "Martyrs" and I doubt another film could reach its level of insanity and depravity. I am at a loss to think of any other film which portrays human suffering in such a visceral, raw, and unforgiving manner. You are warned.
- DirectorDavid LynchStarsJack NanceCharlotte StewartAllen JosephHenry Spencer tries to survive his industrial environment, his angry girlfriend, and the unbearable screams of his newly born mutant child.Nobody brings nightmares to the big screen like David Lynch. From this, his very first film, Lynch's name in adjective form earned a place in the Oxford Dictionary. It's impossible to imagine anyone other than Jan Svankmajer committing such a nightmare landscape to film. Thanks to Frederick Elmes's heavily contrasted black and white cinematography and David Lynch's unsettling sound design, this nightmare landscape comes to surreal life. Entering the universe of "Eraserhead" is like being in the throes of an uncompromising Kafkaesque dream where nothing is certain and everything you attempt to do is laughed at.
- DirectorDaniel MyrickEduardo SánchezStarsHeather DonahueMichael C. WilliamsJoshua LeonardThree film students vanish after traveling into a Maryland forest to film a documentary on the local Blair Witch legend, leaving only their footage behind.You might feel as though "The Blair Witch Project," one of the most acclaimed horror films of all time, has become dated. This is no fault of the film but the fault of countless imitators. The found footage genre had been explored before ("Cannibal Holocaust") but "The Blair Witch Project" made the format not only famous but also the decidedly preferred method of filming horror films for the next decade and beyond. No found footage film has been able to touch the naturalness, the rawness, or the do-it-yourself-ness of "The Blair Witch Project". It is because the film never betrays this naturalness that it succeeds greatly at touching our nerves. We are as much in the dark of those woods as the three main characters. We know as little as they do. In a world where the majority of horror films can't help but show us EVERYTHING, "The Blair Witch Project" remains a refreshing reminder of how effective the unknown can be.
- DirectorAdrian LyneStarsTim RobbinsElizabeth PeñaDanny AielloMourning 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.What's more horrifying than being unable to trust your own mind? "Jacob's Ladder" makes it clear that nothing is. It is the very pinnacle of psychological horror in film. With the Vietnam War as its starting point, "Jacob's Ladder" reaches not towards heaven but towards hell. From the green jungles to the rainy concrete ones, the film explores the degradation of a soldier's psyche, brought to excruciating life by Tim Robbins' striking performance. "Jacob's Ladder" reminds us that some of the most horrifying things are not on the outside, but often lay in waiting right inside ourselves.
- DirectorJohn McNaughtonStarsMichael RookerTracy ArnoldTom TowlesArriving in Chicago, Henry moves in with ex-con acquaintance Otis and starts schooling him in the ways of the serial killer."Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer" is one of the most daring films ever made. With its documentary aesthetic, the film reveals the callous and cruel existence of an everyday man who happens to be a sadistic, methodical killer. Michael Rooker, long before being a well known character actor, took the lead as the seemingly gentle though wholly unstable Henry, based on Henry Lee Lucas, the infamous serial killer who confessed to hundreds of murders (though the majority of these are believed to be false). Rooker is as menacing as Michael Myers but ends up being more frightening because of his thin veneer of blue-collar normality. Once this volatile man meets up with another sick personality, all manner of depravity ensues. "Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer" is one of the best films made on the subject of serial killers because it does not sensationalize or indulge in histrionics but rather shows us how a real monster is able to live among us.
- DirectorWilliam FriedkinStarsEllen BurstynMax von SydowLinda BlairWhen a young girl is possessed by a mysterious entity, her mother seeks the help of two Catholic priests to save her life."The Exorcist" is another film which might feel dated to some due to its practical special effects and how much it has been discussed and imitated. However, "The Exorcist" still packs a punch with its patience, its intellect and its belief in itself. The struggles of a doubting priest, an overwhelmed mother and a suffering daughter make this film just as psychologically horrifying as it is supernaturally so. The haunting production design by Bill Malley has us feeling trapped in the claustrophobic freezer of Regan's room, and William Friedkin's brilliant, devoted direction has us fearful of each new frame.
- DirectorBen WheatleyStarsNeil MaskellMyAnna BuringHarry SimpsonNearly a year after a botched job, a hitman takes a new assignment with the promise of a big payoff for three killings. What starts off as an easy task soon unravels, sending the killer into the heart of darkness.When a former soldier becomes a contract killer in order to feed his family, the brutality he tried to leave behind comes back into play tenfold. Slowly but surely his world is torn apart by the shadow of his work, made monstrous by the ominous workings of his employers. "Kill List" horrifies because it depicts what happens when a contract killer is not nearly as cruel, vicious, and conniving enough to face the horror which awaits him.
- DirectorNick BroomfieldBarney BroomfieldMarc HoeferlinStarsNick BroomfieldLonnie David Franklin Jr.DonnaNick Broomfield digs into the case of the notorious serial killer known as the Grim Sleeper, who terrorized South Central Los Angeles over a span of twenty-five years.Documentaries can be scary too! Look no further than this excellent gonzo documentary by the masterful Nick Broomfield. Detailing the case of the Grim Sleeper, an LA serial killer, "Tales of the Grim Sleeper" enters the streets where the specter personifying rape and murder lurks like a modern day Jack the Ripper. Several interviews feature everyday people who heard something from a friend of a friend, or who know a prostitute who spent an evening with the Grim Sleeper. The result is a disturbing film that acts like a fairy tale set in the troubled city of LA where one of the most heinous serial killers in American history hunted young women like the big bad wolf.
- DirectorStanley KubrickStarsJack NicholsonShelley DuvallDanny LloydA 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.For all its flaws (and there are several), Stanley Kubrick's sole horror film has etched its terrifying imagery into the collective unconscious. It is as iconic and memorable as any of the highly esteemed American films of the 20th century. Where Kubrick failed with adaptation and with the one note performance by Jack Nicholson, he gloriously succeeded with imagery and sound design. The endless hallways with garish carpets, the vivid hallucinations, the ocean of snow enveloping the hotel, and the dissonant, wailing music all figure into the potency of "The Shining." Never has production design been so villainous and unsettling.
- DirectorAri AsterStarsToni ColletteMilly ShapiroGabriel ByrneA grieving family is haunted by tragic and disturbing occurrences.Director Ari Aster's description of his own film as being about "a family going to hell" is the perfect distillation of "Hereditary". Taking inspiration from "The Shining" and "Rosemary's Baby," the film masterfully portrays the disintegration of a family unit and the horrific impact of death on its vitality. Just like the best horror films, "Hereditary" leaves you guessing and guessing wrong each time. It is an unpredictable beast of a film with an unmerciful agenda. Ari Aster's vision is unique and creates excitement for the possibilities of the horror genre.
- DirectorJustin KurzelStarsLucas PittawayDaniel HenshallLouise HarrisBased on true events, 16 year-old Jamie falls in with his mother's new boyfriend and his crowd of self-appointed neighborhood watchmen, a relationship that leads to a spree of torture and murder.I don't want to say too much about this crime masterpiece by Justin Kurzel, but suffice it to say that "The Snowtown Murders" (or "Snowtown") is an unnerving look into how one man controlled a whole town under his paranoid, hateful, and violent vision. Rarely has brutality been depicted in such a realistic, soul-shattering way. After the film ends, you shudder to think that it actually happened.
- DirectorMichael HanekeStarsSusanne LotharUlrich MüheArno FrischTwo violent young men take a mother, father, and son hostage in their vacation cabin and force them to play sadistic "games" with one another for their own amusement.
- DirectorTobe HooperStarsMarilyn BurnsEdwin NealAllen DanzigerFive 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.
- DirectorDavid Robert MitchellStarsMaika MonroeKeir GilchristOlivia LuccardiA young woman is followed by an unknown supernatural force after a sexual encounter.
- DirectorBabak AnvariStarsNarges RashidiAvin ManshadiBobby NaderiAs a mother and daughter struggle to cope with the terrors of the post-revolution, war-torn Tehran of the 1980s, a mysterious evil begins to haunt their home.
- DirectorBrian De PalmaStarsSissy SpacekPiper LaurieAmy IrvingCarrie 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.