My Top 30 Horror Movies of ALL TIME
RULE: 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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30 titles
- DirectorRidley ScottStarsSigourney WeaverTom SkerrittJohn HurtThe crew of a commercial spacecraft encounters a deadly lifeform after investigating a mysterious transmission of unknown origin.Not necessarily the scariest, but in general my favourite movie from the horror genre. An absolute masterpiece of a film.
- DirectorSam RaimiStarsBruce CampbellEllen SandweissRichard DeManincorFive friends travel to a cabin in the woods, where they unknowingly release flesh-possessing demons.Whenever I think about horror movies, this one usually comes up to my mind first. C-L-A-S-S-I-C.
- 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.An all time pick and for a good reason, Jack Nicholson's performance is phenomenal.
- 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 movie that’s objectively considered the scariest of all time and I totally understand why. A timeless classic.
- DirectorGeorge A. RomeroStarsDavid EmgeKen ForeeScott H. ReinigerDuring an escalating zombie epidemic, two Philadelphia SWAT team members, a traffic reporter and his TV executive girlfriend seek refuge in a secluded shopping mall.One of the most enjoyable horror movie ever from the OG zombie director!
- DirectorJohn CarpenterStarsKurt RussellWilford BrimleyKeith DavidA research team in Antarctica is hunted by a shape-shifting alien that assumes the appearance of its victims.The best practical special effects in any horror movie imo. Terror at it’s finest!
- DirectorGore VerbinskiStarsNaomi WattsMartin HendersonBrian CoxA journalist must investigate a mysterious videotape which seems to cause the death of anyone one week to the day after they view it.The best horror remake of all time. IMO better than the original.
- DirectorAri AsterStarsToni ColletteMilly ShapiroGabriel ByrneA grieving family is haunted by tragic and disturbing occurrences.This might be the scariest movie I’ve seen in the recent years. True horror experience.
- 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.Best slow-burn horror movie of all time.
- 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.One of the more realistic slasher movies, that really holds up very well even after ~50 years.
- DirectorDanny BoyleStarsCillian MurphyNaomie HarrisChristopher EcclestonFour weeks after a mysterious, incurable virus spreads throughout the UK, a handful of survivors try to find sanctuary.Best post-apocalyptic horror movie ever made.
- 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.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!
- DirectorNeil MarshallStarsShauna MacdonaldNatalie MendozaAlex ReidA caving expedition goes horribly wrong, as the explorers become trapped and ultimately pursued by a strange breed of predators.Gorgeous and claustrophobic as F.
- DirectorJaume BalagueróPaco PlazaStarsManuela VelascoFerran TerrazaJorge-Yamam SerranoA television reporter and cameraman follow emergency workers into a dark apartment building and are quickly locked inside with something terrifying.Scariest found footage film of all time.
- 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."New French Extremity" definitely lives up to it's name with this one. Just wow.
- DirectorJee-woon KimStarsLim Soo-jungYum Jung-ahKim Kap-suAfter 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.Absolutely beautiful and artsy yet very chilling Korean horror film.
- DirectorAlexandre BustilloJulien MauryStarsAlysson ParadisJean-Baptiste TabourinClaude LuléFour 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.Another French masterpiece, completely insane movie. Not for the faint of heart!
- DirectorDavid CronenbergStarsJeff GoldblumGeena DavisJohn GetzA brilliant but eccentric scientist begins to transform into a giant man/fly hybrid after one of his experiments goes horribly wrong.One of the best horror remakes ever, very emotional experience.
- DirectorPeter JacksonStarsTimothy BalmeDiana PeñalverElizabeth MoodyA 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.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.
- DirectorJohn CarpenterStarsDonald PleasenceJamie Lee CurtisTony MoranFifteen 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.The best slasher movie of all time.
- DirectorJames WanStarsCary ElwesLeigh WhannellDanny GloverTwo 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.One of the best horror-thriller-murder-mysteries out there. Also has one of my favourite twists in the end!
- DirectorZach CreggerStarsGeorgina CampbellBill SkarsgårdJustin LongA woman staying at an Airbnb discovers that the house she has rented is not what it seems.Horror movie with the creepiest basement ever. Seriously.
- DirectorNa Hong-jinStarsJun KunimuraHwang Jung-minKwak Do-wonSoon 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.Quite an unique and moody Korean fantasy horror movie.
- DirectorToshiharu IkedaStarsMiyuki OnoAya KatsuragiHitomi KobayashiA 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.A bizarre, strange and extremely weird yet mesmerizing Japanese cult movie.
- 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.Inspired certain elements in the video game series "Silent Hill" and it shows. Covers an absolutely bone chilling case based on actual true events.
- DirectorNicolas RoegStarsJulie ChristieDonald SutherlandHilary MasonA 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.Probably has the scariest and most unsettling ending for any movie ever.
- DirectorFrancis Ford CoppolaStarsGary OldmanWinona RyderAnthony HopkinsThe 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.The most epic (and probably most expensive) horror movie ever made.
- DirectorLuca GuadagninoStarsChloë Grace MoretzTilda SwintonDoris HickA 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.Insanely atmospheric and visually stunning horror remake.
- DirectorRobert EggersStarsAnya Taylor-JoyRalph InesonKate DickieA family in 1630s New England is torn apart by the forces of witchcraft, black magic and possession.One of the best and most unique atmospheres in any horror movie ever. Not for everyone tho.
- DirectorDavid LynchStarsKarolina GruszkaKrzysztof MajchrzakGrace ZabriskieAs an actress begins to adopt the persona of her character in a film, her world becomes nightmarish and surreal.The only film in existence I’m honestly scared to watch ever again and probably never will.