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250 Greatest Horror Movies
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Definition: Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes.
Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, apocalyptic events, and religious or folk beliefs. Cinematic techniques used in horror films have been shown to provoke psychological reactions in an audience.
Horror films have existed for more than a century. Early inspirations from before the development of film include folklore, religious beliefs and superstitions of different cultures, and the Gothic and horror literature of authors such as Edgar Allan Poe, Bram Stoker, and Mary Shelley. From origins in silent films and German Expressionism, horror only became a codified genre after the release of Dracula (1931). Many sub-genres emerged in subsequent decades, including body horror, comedy horror, slasher films, supernatural horror and psychological horror. The genre has been produced worldwide, varying in content and style between regions. Horror is particularly prominent in the cinema of Japan, Korea, Italy and Thailand, among other countries.
Despite being the subject of social and legal controversy due to their subject matter, some horror films and franchises have seen major commercial success, influenced society and spawned several popular culture icons.
Criteria: These Horror movies are ranked according to their initial & lasting popularity, influence, initial & lasting acclaim, both within the horror genre and overall.
Edited By: Tim, Dubrow, ManPerson
Last Updated: 2022-10-26 |
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Greatest Horror Movies |
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Title - Director (Year)
1. Psycho - Alfred Hitchcock (1960)
2. The Exorcist - William Friedkin (1973)
3. Night of the Living Dead - George A. Romero (1968)
4. The Shining - Stanley Kubrick (1980)
5. Nosferatu - F. W. Murnau (1922)
6. Jaws - Steven Spielberg (1975)
7. Alien - Ridley Scott (1979)
8. Halloween - John Carpenter (1978)
9. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre - Tobe Hooper (1974)
10. The Thing - John Carpenter (1982)
11. The Silence of the Lambs - Jonathan Demme (1991)
12. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari - Robert Wiene (1920)
13. Dawn of the Dead - George A. Romero (1978)
14. Rosemary's Baby - Roman Polanski (1968)
15. Frankenstein - James Whale (1931)
16. Dracula - Tod Browning (1931)
17. The Evil Dead - Sam Raimi (1981)
18. A Nightmare on Elm Street - Wes Craven (1984)
19. Bride of Frankenstein - James Whale (1935)
20. The Birds - Alfred Hitchcock (1963)
21. Carrie - Brian De Palma (1976)
22. The Blair Witch Project - Daniel Myrick & Eduardo Sánchez (1999)
23. Don't Look Now - Nicolas Roeg (1973)
24. Suspiria - Dario Argento (1977)
25. The Fly - David Cronenberg (1986)
26. Peeping Tom - Michael Powell (1960)
27. Aliens - James Cameron (1986)
28. The Sixth Sense - M. Night Shyamalan (1999)
29. Evil Dead II - Sam Raimi (1987)
30. 28 Days Later - Danny Boyle (2002)
31. Get Out - Jordan Peele (2017)
32. King Kong - Merian C. Cooper & Ernest B. Schoedsack (1933)
33. Vampyr - Carl Theodor Dreyer (1932)
34. Dracula - Terence Fisher (1958)
35. An American Werewolf in London - John Landis (1981)
36. Videodrome - David Cronenberg (1983)
37. Repulsion - Roman Polanski (1965)
38. Les diaboliques - Henri-Georges Clouzot (1955)
39. Cat People - Jacques Tourneur (1942)
40. Invasion of the Body Snatchers - Don Siegel (1956)
41. The Omen - Richard Donner (1976)
42. Poltergeist - Tobe Hooper (1982)
43. Black Sunday - Mario Bava (1960)
44. Deep Red - Dario Argento (1975)
45. Let the Right One In - Tomas Alfredson (2008)
46. Eyes Without a Face - Georges Franju (1960)
47. The Haunting - Robert Wise (1963)
48. The Wolf Man - George Waggner (1941)
49. Freaks - Tod Browning (1932)
50. The Innocents - Jack Clayton (1961)
51. Black Christmas - Bob Clark (1974)
52. Ring - Hideo Nakata (1998)
53. Scream - Wes Craven (1996)
54. Eraserhead - David Lynch (1977)
55. The Wicker Man - Robin Hardy (1973)
56. Friday the 13th - Sean S. Cunningham (1980)
57. Braindead - Peter Jackson (1992)
58. Saw - James Wan (2004)
59. The Mummy - Karl Freund (1932)
60. Kwaidan - Masaki Kobayashi (1964)
61. Audition - Takashi Miike (1999)
62. Godzilla - Ishirô Honda (1954)
63. The Invisible Man - James Whale (1933)
64. Phantom of the Opera - Rupert Julian (1925)
65. House of Wax - André De Toth (1953)
66. The Thing from Another World - Christian Nyby & Howard Hawks (1951)
67. The Fly - Kurt Neumann (1958)
68. The Curse of Frankenstein - Terence Fisher (1957)
69. Nosferatu the Vampyre - Werner Herzog (1979)
70. Invasion of the Body Snatchers - Philip Kaufman (1978)
71. Misery - Rob Reiner (1990)
72. Dead of Night - Basil Dearden, Alberto Cavalcanti, Robert Hamer & Charles Crichton (1945)
73. Shaun of the Dead - Edgar Wright (2004)
74. Gremlins - Joe Dante (1984)
75. The Bird with the Crystal Plumage - Dario Argento (1970)
76. Possession - Andrzej Zulawski (1981)
77. The Vanishing - George Sluizer (1988)
78. Village of the Damned - Wolf Rilla (1960)
79. The Conjuring - James Wan (2013)
80. The Black Cat - Edgar G. Ulmer (1934)
81. The Last House on the Left - Wes Craven (1972)
82. Pit and the Pendulum - Roger Corman (1961)
83. Onibaba - Kaneto Shindô (1964)
84. Hereditary - Ari Aster (2018)
85. Black Sabbath - Mario Bava (1963)
86. Carnival of Souls - Herk Harvey (1962)
87. Hellraiser - Clive Barker (1987)
88. The Return of the Living Dead - Dan O'Bannon (1985)
89. Re-Animator - Stuart Gordon (1985)
90. I Walked with a Zombie - Jacques Tourneur (1943)
91. House of Usher - Roger Corman (1960)
92. The Descent - Neil Marshall (2005)
93. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - Rouben Mamoulian (1931)
94. Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer - John McNaughton (1986)
95. The Masque of the Red Death - Roger Corman (1964)
96. Blood and Black Lace - Mario Bava (1964)
97. It Follows - David Robert Mitchell (2014)
98. Creature from the Black Lagoon - Jack Arnold (1954)
99. The Witch - Robert Eggers (2015)
100. Island of Lost Souls - Erle C. Kenton (1932)
101. White Zombie - Victor Halperin (1932)
102. The Devil's Backbone - Guillermo del Toro (2001)
103. Night of the Demon - Jacques Tourneur (1957)
104. House on Haunted Hill - William Castle (1959)
105. Jacob's Ladder - Adrian Lyne (1990)
106. The Cabin in the Woods - Drew Goddard (012)
107. Candyman - Bernard Rose (1992)
108. The Uninvited - Lewis Allen (1944)
109. The Others - Alejandro Amenábar (2001)
110. Near Dark - Kathryn Bigelow (1987)
111. [REC] - Jaume Balagueró & Paco Plaza (2007)
112. Cannibal Holocaust - Ruggero Deodato (1980)
113. Zombi 2 - Lucio Fulci (1979)
114. The Orphanage - Juan Antonio Bayona (2007)
115. The Ring - Gore Verbinski (2002)
116. Bram Stoker's Dracula - Francis Ford Coppola (1992)
117. Day of the Dead - George A. Romero (1985)
118. The Howling - Joe Dante (1981)
119. The Seventh Victim - Mark Robson (1943)
120. The Tenant - Roman Polanski (1976)
121. The Brood - David Cronenberg (1979)
122. Witchfinder General - Michael Reeves (1968)
123. The Phantom Carriage - Victor Sjöström (1921)
124. The Beyond - Lucio Fulci (1981)
125. The Amityville Horror - Stuart Rosenberg (1979)
126. Phantasm - Don Coscarelli (1979)
127. The Changeling - Peter Medak (1980)
128. The Fog - John Carpenter (1980)
129. The Babadook - Jennifer Kent (2014)
130. The Old Dark House - James Whale (1932)
131. Shivers - David Cronenberg (1975)
132. House - Nobuhiko Ôbayashi (1977)
133. What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? - Robert Aldrich (1962)
134. The Golem: How He Came into the World - Paul Wegener & Carl Boese (1920)
135. The Body Snatcher - Robert Wise (1945)
136. The Unknown - Tod Browning (927)
137. In the Mouth of Madness - John Carpenter (1994)
138. Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein - Charles Barton (1948)
139. Paranormal Activity - Oren Peli (2007)
140. A Quiet Place - John Krasinski (2018)
141. Midsommar - Ari Aster (2019)
142. The Mist - Frank Darabont (2007)
143. Martyrs - Pascal Laugier (2008)
144. From Dusk Till Dawn - Robert Rodriguez (1996)
145. A Tale of Two Sisters - Kim Jee-woon (2003)
146. Dellamorte Dellamore - Michele Soavi (1994)
147. Hour of the Wolf - Ingmar Bergman (1968)
148. The Host - Bong Joon-ho (2006)
149. Faust - F.W. Murnau (1926)
150. Funny Games - Michael Haneke (1997)
151. High Tension - Alexandre Aja (2003)
152. The Student of Prague - Paul Wegener & Stellan Rye (1913)
153. The Hunchback of Notre Dame - Wallace Worsley (1923)
154. The Fall of the House of Usher - Jean Epstein (1928)
155. Drag Me to Hell - Sam Raimi (2009)
156. Army of Darkness - Sam Raimi (1992)
157. The House of the Devil - Georges Méliès (1896)
158. Frankenstein - J. Searle Dawley (1910)
159. The Hills Have Eyes - Wes Craven (1977)
160. Dawn of the Dead - Zack Snyder (2004)
161. A Bay of Blood - Mario Bava (1971)
162. The Devil Rides Out - Terence Fisher (1968)
163. The Abominable Dr. Phibes - Robert Fuest (1971)
164. It - Andy Muschietti (2017)
165. Predator - John McTiernan (1987)
166. Häxan - Benjamin Christensen (1922)
167. The Girl Who Knew Too Much - Mario Bava (1963)
168. Martin - George A. Romero (1976)
169. Mad Love - Karl Freund (1935)
170. Pet Sematary - Mary Lambert (1989)
171. Ju-on: The Grudge - Takashi Shimizu (2002)
172. The Plague of the Zombies - John Gilling (1966)
173. Son of Frankenstein - Rowland V. Lee (1939)
174. Them! - Gordon Douglas (1954)
175. Child's Play - Tom Holland (1988)
176. The Bad Seed - Mervyn LeRoy (1956)
177. The Blob - Irvin S. Yeaworth Jr. (1958)
178. L'inferno - Francesco Bertolini, Adolfo Padovan & Giuseppe de Liguoro (1911)
179. Santa Sangre - Alejandro Jodorowsky (1989)
180. Us - Jordan Peele (2019)
181. Train to Busan - Yeon Sang-ho (2016)
182. Event Horizon - Paul W. S. Anderson (1997)
183. Ginger Snaps - John Fawcett (2000)
184. Creepshow - George A. Romero (1982)
185. Tenebre - Dario Argento (1982)
186. Tremors - Ron Underwood (1990)
187. The Incredible Shrinking Man - Jack Arnold (1957)
188. Let Sleeping Corpses Lie - Jorge Grau (1974)
189. The Lost Boys - Joel Schumacher (1987)
190. The House of the Devil - Ti West (2009)
191. May - Lucky McKee (2002)
192. Who Can Kill a Child? - Narciso Ibáñez Serrador (1976)
193. Under the Skin - Jonathan Glazer (2013)
194. Pulse - Kiyoshi Kurosawa (2001)
195. The Exorcist III - William Peter Blatty (1990)
196. Hostel - Eli Roth (2005)
197. The Cat and the Canary - Paul Leni (1927)
198. The Picture of Dorian Gray - Albert Lewin (1945)
199. Cronos - Guillermo del Toro (1993)
200. Kill, Baby, Kill - Mario Bava (1966)
201. Insidious - James Wan (2010)
202. American Psycho - Mary Harron (2003)
203. Blood Feast - Herschell Gordon Lewis (1963)
204. The Most Dangerous Game - Irving Pichel & Ernest B. Schoedsack (1932)
205. Frailty - Bill Paxton (2001)
206. Basket Case - Frank Henenlotter (1982)
207. Dead Ringers - David Cronenberg ((1988)
208. Cure - Kiyoshi Kurosawa (1997)
209. The Dead Zone - David Cronenberg (1983)
210. Session 9 - Brad Anderson (2001)
211. Dressed to Kill - Brian De Palma (1980)
212. Fright Night - Tom Holland (1985)
213. Final Destination - James Wong (2000)
214. The Golem - Paul Wegener & Henrik Galeen (1915)
215. Spider Baby - Jack Hill (1967)
216. Tetsuo: The Iron Man - Shinya Tsukamoto (1989)
217. Let's Scare Jessica to Death - John D. Hancock (1971)
218. The Tingler - William Castle (1959)
219. Interview with the Vampire - Neil Jordan (1994)
220. Black Swan - Darren Aronofsky (2010)
221. Werewolf of London - Stuart Walker (1935)
222. Mystery of the Wax Museum - Michael Curtiz (1933)
223. The Legend of Hell House - John Hough 1973)
224. The Man Who Laughs - Paul Leni (1928)
225. The Hitcher - Robert Harmon (1986)
226. A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors - Chuck Russell (1987)
227. The Curse of the Werewolf - Terence Fisher (1961)
228. Trick 'r Treat - Michael Dougherty (2007)
229. Dog Soldiers - Neil Marshall (2002)
230. Wolf Creek - Greg Mclean (2005)
231. Demons - Lamberto Bava (1985)
232. The Lodger - John Brahm (1944)
233. Prince of Darkness - John Carpenter (1987)
234. Quatermass and the Pit - Roy Ward Baker (1967)
235. The Hands of Orlac - Robert Wiene (1924)
236. Cloverfield - Matt Reeves (2008)
237. Inferno - Dario Argento (1980)
238. Sisters - Brian De Palma (1972)
239. The Devil's Rejects - Rob Zombie (2005)
240. Maniac - William Lustig (1980)
241. New Nightmare - Wes Craven (1994)
242. The Spiral Staircase - Robert Siodmak (1945)
243. Song at Midnight - Ma-Xu Weibang (1937)
244. Cube - Vincenzo Natali (1997)
245. The Blood on Satan's Claw - Piers Haggard (1971)
246. Opera - Dario Argento (1987)
247. Alice, Sweet Alice - Alfred Sole (1976)
248. Tombs of the Blind Dead - Amando de Ossorio (1972)
249. Night of the Creeps - Fred Dekker (1986)
250. Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me - David Lynch (1992)
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Top 30 Horror Directors
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1. Mario Bava (Black Sunday)
2. George A. Romero (Night of the Living Dead)
3. John Carpenter (Halloween)
4. David Cronenberg (The Fly)
5. Dario Argento (Suspiria)
6. James Whale (Frankenstein)
7. Wes Craven (A Nightmare on Elm Street)
8. Terence Fisher (Dracula)
9. Alfred Hitchcock (Psycho)
10. Roger Corman (Pit and the Pendulum)
11. Tobe Hooper (The Texas Chain Saw Massacre)
12. Roman Polanski (Rosemary's Baby)
13. Tod Browning (Dracula)
14. Sam Raimi (The Evil Dead)
15. William Castle (House on Haunted Hill)
16. Lucio Fulci (Zombie 2)
17. Jacques Tourneur (Cat People)
18. James Wan (Saw)
19. Brian De Palma (Carrie)
20. David Lynch (Eraserhead)
21. F.W. Murnau (Nosferatu)
22. Ishirô Honda (Godzilla)
23. Herschell Gordon Lewis (Blood Feast)
24. Jordan Peele (Get Out)
25. Joe Dante (Gremlins)
26. Takashi Miike (Audition)
27. Robert Wise (The Haunting)
28. Jack Arnold (Creature from the Black Lagoon)
29. Peter Jackson (Braindead)
30. Guillermo del Toro (The Devil's Backbone)
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Mario Bava
George A. Romero
John Carpenter
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10 Best Horror Movies of 2023
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1. When Evil Lurks (Demián Rugna) (Ezequiel Rodríguez, Demián Salomón)
2. Birth/Rebirth (Laura Moss) (Marin Ireland, Judy Reyes, A.J. Lister)
3. Infinity Pool (Brandon Cronenberg) (Alexander Skarsgård, Mia Goth, Cleopatra Coleman)
4. Evil Dead Rise (Lee Cronin) (Lee Cronin, Mirabai Pease,Richard Crouchley)
5. Thanksgiving (Eli Roth) (Patrick Dempsey, Ty Olsson, Gina Gershon)
6. Stopmotion (Robert Morgan) (Aisling Franciosi, Caoilinn Springall, Stella Gonet)
7. Saw X (Kevin Greutert) (Tobin Bell, Shawnee Smith, Steven Brand)
8. The Boogeyman (Rob Savage) (Sophie Thatcher, Chris Messina, Vivien Lyra Blair)
9. The Nun II (Michael Chaves) (Taissa Farmiga, Jonas Bloquet, Storm Reid)
10. Nefarious (Chuck Konzelman, Cary Solomon) (Sean Patrick Flanery, Jordan Belfi)
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10 Best Horror Movies of 2022
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1. Pearl (Ti West) (Mia Goth, David Corenswet, Tandi Wright)
2. Barbarian (Zach Cregger) (Georgina Campbell, Bill Skarsgård)
3. X (Ti West) (Mia Goth, Jenna Ortega, Kid Cudi, Brittany Snow)
4. The Menu (Mark Mylod) (Ralph Fiennes, Anya Taylor-Joy, Hong Chau)
5. You Won't Be Alone (Goran Stolevski) (Noomi Rapace, Alice Englert)
6. Bones and All (Luca Guadagnino) (Timothée Chalamet, Taylor Russell)
7. Speak No Evil (Christian Tafdrup) (Morten Burian, Sidsel Siem Koch)
8. Fresh (Mimi Cave) (Daisy Edgar-Jones, Sebastian Stan, Jojo T. Gibbs)
9. The Harbinger (Andy Mitton) (Emily Davis, Raymond Anthony Thomas)
10. Hatching (Hanna Bergholm) (Siiri Solalinna, Sophia Heikkilä, Jani Volanen)
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10 Best Horror Movies of 2021
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1. A Quiet Place Part II (John Krasinski) (Emily Blunt, Millicent Simmonds)
2. Titane (Julia Ducournau) (Vincent Lindon, Agathe Rousselle, Garance Marillier)
3. Lucky (Natasha Kermani) (Brea Grant, Leith M. Burke, Dhruv Uday Singh)
4. Candyman (Nia DaCosta) (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Teyonah Parris, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett)
5. My Heart Can't Beat Unless You Tell It To (Jonathan Cuartas) (Patrick Fugit)
6. Censor (Prano Bailey-Bond) (Niamh Algar, Michael Smiley, Nicholas Burns)
7. The Night House (David Bruckner) (Rebecca Hall, Sarah Goldberg, Vondie Curtis-Hall)
8. Fear Street: Part One - 1994 (Leigh Janiak) (Kiana Madeira, Olivia Scott Welch)
9. The Boy Behind the Door (David Charbonier, Justin Powell) (Lonnie Chavis, Ezra Dewey)
10. In the Earth (Ben Wheatley) (Joel Fry, Reece Shearsmith, Hayley Squires)
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10 Best Horror Movies of 2020
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1. Relic (Natalie Erika James) (Robyn Nevin, Emily Mortimer, Bella Heathcote)
2. The Invisible Man (Leigh Whannell) (Elisabeth Moss, Oliver Jackson-Cohen)
3. Possessor (Brandon Cronenberg) (Andrea Riseborough, Jennifer Jason Leigh)
4. The Lodge (Severin Fiala, Veronika Franz) (Riley Keough, Lia McHugh)
5. Gretel & Hansel (Oz Perkins) (Sophia Lillis, Samuel Leakey, Alice Krige)
6. The Rental (Dave Franco) (Dan Stevens, Alison Brie, Sheila Vand)
7. We Summon the Darkness (Marc Meyers) (Alexandra Daddario, Keean Johnson)
8. The Wretched (Brett PierceDrew T. Pierce) (John-Paul Howard, Piper Curda)
9. You Should Have Left (David Koepp) (Kevin Bacon, Amanda Seyfried)
10. Beneath Us (Max Pachman) (Lynn Collins, Rigo Sanchez, Josue Aguirre)
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* Top 10s compiled by: Lew
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