My Top 30 Horror Movies of ALL TIME
by toninikolaialeksanteri | created - 21 Oct 2020 | updated - 2 weeks ago | PublicRULE: Includes only movies that I consider strictly HORROR. One title per director and film series. The list is mostly subjective and based on my personal preferences, but it could look completely different some other day. Movies are from the 1970s to the year 2020 (so classics such as Psycho, Night of the Living Dead and Rosemary’s Baby are not included). Movies like Jaws, Pan’s Labyrinth, Silence of the Lambs, I Saw the Devil, ハウス etc. are great, but imo more other genres than horror. Also movies which are scary mostly only for the sake of being disturbing (such as A Serbian Film, Human Centipede Part II and Cannibal Holocaust) are not included in this list as well as some popular ”scariest movies of all time” which I personally didn’t find quite so scary (e.g. Insidious, Babadook and Paranormal Activity). The Exorcism of Emily Rose, Cabin in the Woods, Antichrist, Get Out, It Comes At Night, It Follows, Let the Right One In, Deep Red, The Orphanage, Sinister, The Conjuring, Scream, Nightmare on Elm Street, The Burning and An American Werewolf in London just barely missed the cut, but consider them as SOME honorable mentions. Also there’s still plenty of horror movies yet to be discovered and waiting on my watchlist :) Anyway now LET'S GO!
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1. 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: 951,450 | Gross: $78.90M
Not necessarily the scariest, but in general my favourite movie from the horror genre. An absolute masterpiece of a film.
2. 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: 232,483 | Gross: $2.40M
Whenever I think about horror movies, this one usually comes up to my mind first. C-L-A-S-S-I-C.
3. 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: 1,107,329 | Gross: $44.02M
An all time pick and for a good reason, Jack Nicholson's performance is phenomenal.
4. 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: 455,203 | Gross: $232.91M
The movie that’s objectively considered the scariest of all time and I totally understand why. A timeless classic.
5. 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: 128,651 | Gross: $5.10M
One of the most enjoyable horror movie ever from the OG zombie director!
6. 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: 466,941 | Gross: $13.78M
The best practical special effects in any horror movie imo. Terror at it’s finest!
7. 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: 375,179 | Gross: $129.13M
The best horror remake of all time. IMO better than the original.
8. Hereditary (2018)
R | 127 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
A grieving family is haunted by tragic and disturbing occurrences.
Director: Ari Aster | Stars: Toni Collette, Milly Shapiro, Gabriel Byrne, Alex Wolff
Votes: 378,487 | Gross: $44.07M
This might be the scariest movie I’ve seen in the recent years. True horror experience.
9. 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: 89,282
Best slow-burn horror movie of all time.
10. 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: 183,751 | Gross: $30.86M
One of the more realistic slasher movies, that really holds up very well even after ~50 years.
11. 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: 446,049 | Gross: $45.06M
Best post-apocalyptic horror movie ever made.
12. The Blair Witch Project (1999)
R | 81 min | Horror, Mystery
Three film students vanish after traveling into a Maryland forest to film a documentary on the local Blair Witch legend, leaving only their footage behind.
Directors: Daniel Myrick, Eduardo Sánchez | Stars: Heather Donahue, Michael C. Williams, Joshua Leonard, Bob Griffin
Votes: 285,724 | Gross: $140.54M
The og found footage film that actually spread the genre to the masses. When I first saw it as a kid I thought it was real. By far the scariest film I had seen by that point and it probably gave me nightmares for weeks!
13. 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: 247,057 | Gross: $26.02M
Gorgeous and claustrophobic as F.
14. 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: 196,791
Scariest found footage film of all time.
15. 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: 106,507
"New French Extremity" definitely lives up to it's name with this one. Just wow.
16. A Tale of Two Sisters (2003)
R | 114 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
After being institutionalized in a mental hospital, Su-mi reunites with her sister, Su-yeon, and they return to live at their country home. But strange events plague the house, leading to surprising revelations and a shocking conclusion.
Director: Jee-woon Kim | Stars: Lim Soo-jung, Yum Jung-ah, Kim Kap-su, Moon Geun-young
Votes: 68,295
Absolutely beautiful and artsy yet very chilling Korean horror film.
17. Inside (2007)
R | 82 min | Horror
Four months after the death of her husband, a woman on the brink of motherhood is tormented in her home by a strange woman who wants her unborn baby.
Directors: Alexandre Bustillo, Julien Maury | Stars: Alysson Paradis, Jean-Baptiste Tabourin, Claude Lulé, Dominique Frot
Votes: 44,718
Another French masterpiece, completely insane movie. Not for the faint of heart!
18. 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: 202,020 | Gross: $40.46M
One of the best horror remakes ever, very emotional experience.
19. Braindead (1992)
R | 104 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Horror
A young man's mother is bitten by a Sumatran rat-monkey. She gets sick and dies, at which time she comes back to life, killing and eating dogs, nurses, friends, and neighbors.
Director: Peter Jackson | Stars: Timothy Balme, Diana Peñalver, Elizabeth Moody, Ian Watkin
Votes: 103,337 | Gross: $0.24M
Altho technically horror comedy, this movie deserves a spot in the list because it must be the goriest movie I've ever seen. No contest.
20. 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: 306,913 | Gross: $47.00M
The best slasher movie of all time.
21. 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: 466,936 | Gross: $56.00M
One of the best horror-thriller-murder-mysteries out there. Also has one of my favourite twists in the end!
22. Barbarian (2022)
R | 102 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A woman staying at an Airbnb discovers that the house she has rented is not what it seems.
Director: Zach Cregger | Stars: Georgina Campbell, Bill Skarsgård, Justin Long, Matthew Patrick Davis
Votes: 180,978
Horror movie with the creepiest basement ever. Seriously.
23. The Wailing (2016)
TV-MA | 156 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
Soon after a stranger arrives in a little village, a mysterious sickness starts spreading. A policeman, drawn into the incident, is forced to solve the mystery in order to save his daughter.
Director: Na Hong-jin | Stars: Jun Kunimura, Hwang Jung-min, Kwak Do-won, Chun Woo-hee
Votes: 82,065
Quite an unique and moody Korean fantasy horror movie.
24. Evil Dead Trap (1988)
Unrated | 102 min | Horror
A late night TV presenter receives a snuff tape, in which a woman is brutally killed. She decides to take a crew out to a location indicated in the tape, but only death and despair await them.
Director: Toshiharu Ikeda | Stars: Miyuki Ono, Aya Katsuragi, Hitomi Kobayashi, Eriko Nakagawa
Votes: 3,802
A bizarre, strange and extremely weird yet mesmerizing Japanese cult movie.
25. 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: 117,938 | Gross: $26.12M
Inspired certain elements in the video game series "Silent Hill" and it shows. Covers an absolutely bone chilling case based on actual true events.
26. 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: 62,351 | Gross: $0.98M
Probably has the scariest and most unsettling ending for any movie ever.
27. Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992)
R | 128 min | Fantasy, Horror, Romance
The centuries old vampire Count Dracula comes to England to seduce his barrister Jonathan Harker's fiancée Mina Murray and inflict havoc in the foreign land.
Director: Francis Ford Coppola | Stars: Gary Oldman, Winona Ryder, Anthony Hopkins, Keanu Reeves
Votes: 238,541 | Gross: $82.52M
The most epic (and probably most expensive) horror movie ever made.
28. Suspiria (I) (2018)
R | 152 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
A darkness swirls at the center of a world-renowned dance company, one that will engulf the artistic director, an ambitious young dancer, and a grieving psychotherapist. Some will succumb to the nightmare. Others will finally wake up.
Director: Luca Guadagnino | Stars: Chloë Grace Moretz, Tilda Swinton, Doris Hick, Malgorzata Bela
Votes: 92,364 | Gross: $2.47M
Insanely atmospheric and visually stunning horror remake.
29. The VVitch: A New-England Folktale (2015)
R | 92 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
A family in 1630s New England is torn apart by the forces of witchcraft, black magic and possession.
Director: Robert Eggers | Stars: Anya Taylor-Joy, Ralph Ineson, Kate Dickie, Julian Richings
Votes: 301,137 | Gross: $25.14M
One of the best and most unique atmospheres in any horror movie ever. Not for everyone tho.
30. Inland Empire (2006)
R | 180 min | Drama, Fantasy, Mystery
As an actress begins to adopt the persona of her character in a film, her world becomes nightmarish and surreal.
Director: David Lynch | Stars: Karolina Gruszka, Krzysztof Majchrzak, Grace Zabriskie, Laura Dern
Votes: 62,198 | Gross: $0.75M
The only film in existence I’m honestly scared to watch ever again and probably never will.
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