Best Horror Movies of All Time

[GothmogIV]

The Exorcist. Hands down the most frightening film I have ever seen. I admit that it may have landed especially hard for people who were raised Catholic, but this film literally terrified me.

 

[Wolfram stout]

When it comes to genre, I try to have a broad definition specifically to avoid boring coversations about whether or not a particular work belongs there. Does it have the trappings we expect in a horror story? Then it's horror. I'm not going to complain that Ghostbusters is on the list. And, really, after seeing a few scenes again for the first time in decades, I don't mind it being on the list. That cab driver was a little intense.

My choice is presented in no particular order and I am not claiming they are the ten best. I simply cannot list the ten best, so I'm just listing movies which I think are notable and should be watched.

• Night of the Living Dead (1968): This one seems rather tame by today's standards, though there are some intense scenes depicting ghouls eating human flesh, but it created the modern zombie monster we all know and love. After a somewhat slow beginning, director George Romero hits the pedal to the metal and non-stop go, go, go until the end. This movie terrified kids at matinees when it was released.
• The Changeling (1980): If you haven't seen The Changeling starring George C. Scott, do yourself a favor and rent it. After the death of his wife and daughter, composer John Russell moves into a haunted mansion in Seattle, WA and uncovers the mystery behind the restless spirit. There is a scene that gave me chills when I first saw this when I was a child that gave me chills once again as an adult. Be warned, this movie is very slow paced compared to what we're used to today.
• The Thing (1982): It's shocking to me how John Carpenter's movie was a box office disappointment and panned by critics when it's so damned good. The cast is great, the writing tight, and the special effects are horrifying. I cannot recommend this movie enough.
• Alien (1979): I think we all know about this one. Another movie where the cast was great, the writing tight, and the special effects were fantastic.
• The Devil's Backbone (2001): Set in Spain during the Spanish Civil War, this movie is about a boy left at an orphanage who is haunted by a dead child. Directed by Guillermo del Toro, it's a great movie in a setting and era most of us aren't familiar with. It's in Spanish, so either learn the language or use subtitles.
• A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984): We all know who Freddy is. This is the movie that kicked off a franchise with diminishing returns. So successful, people used to call New Line Cinema "The house that Freddy built." Robert Englund plays Freddy Krueger, a dead dude who has returned to take vengeance on the children of the townsfolk who lynched him. This was a somewhat low budget movie that was unexpectedly successful. Wes Craven did a great job here.
• Near Dark (1987): is one of the few vampire movie I can think of that never uses the word vampire. Lance Henriksen leads a hillbilly family of blood suckers feeding across American when his daughter adds a new member. Jeanette Goldstein and Bill Paxton are also members of this little family.
• Dracula (1931): The Bela Lugosi classic is almost a century old. It might seem quaint by today's standards, but it's a good movie and Lugosi set the gold standard for cinema vampires. If you've never seen it, I encourage you to give it a chance.
• An American Werewolf in London (1981): I saw this movie when I was six or seven because my parents didn't love me. This movie is about a tourist in England who is attacked by a werewolf and starts howling and killing people at night. It's actually a horror/comedy and Jenny Agutter has a shower scene that isn't scary but it did make me feel funny.
• Frankenstein (1931): Another classic that's nearly it's 100th anniversary. It's a good movie with some iconic scenes and Boris Karloff defined the look of Frankenstein for the last 90 years. Quaint by our standards, but a nice movie.

I have to echo The Changeling since I don't see it on anyone else's list. It is creepier than it has any right to be.

 

[payn]

I also find it very odd to make a big deal about horror films needing to be scary, thus eliminating Sixth Sense, and then adding...checks notes...Ghostbusters?

Anyway, here are some of my top horror films excluding comedies.
One of Guillermo's best.

Deep cut.

Better in black and white!

Nightmare fuel.

A24, say no more.

 

[Clint_L]

For favourite werewolf film, I think I’m going with Ginger Snaps.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

@Deset Gled
Rules? Check.
List? Check.
Preemptive rubbishing of other people's wrong opinions? Check.
Drive by hit (mother)? Check.

I APPROVE THIS THREAD!

Okay, this is really hard. I love horror movies, but .... I love different horror movies for different reasons. Slashers, moody, cosmic ... I could go on and on, but I will abide by your rules, because that's the right thing to do!

Here are ten of my favorite horror movies, in no particular order.

Midsommar.
Audition.
The Thing (1982).
Alien.
Suspiria (either original or remake).
The Shining.
Ringu.
Hereditary.
The Witch.
Funny Games (original).

 

[nyvinter]

The "Easy" List

• Alien
• Chronos
• The Fly
• Ginger Snaps
• House
• The House of the Devil
• Jacobs Ladder
• Near Dark
• Pontypool
• Sauna
• A Tale of Two Sisters
• The Thing
• VVitch

Debatable of horror or just dark fantasy: Nightbreed. And yes. I'm one of those people who think it's the vastly superior of Clive Barker's movies.

Horror but not horror: I Saw the TV Glow. Amazing movie.

As A Swede: Midsommer felt more like a comedy than horror. Sorry.

 

[payn]

• House

Classic!

 

[dragoner]

Definitely best on screen portrayal of Lucifer,
but strangely not a movie I"d consider Horror - like it obviously is, but my brain shifts it to action thriller instead (Serpent and the Rainbow too)

I think Viggo Mortenson’s portrayal of Lucifer in The Prophecy is among the best ever. Absolutely chilling.

And, FWIW, a lot of the movies I couldn’t rule in or rule out are being mentioned, sooooo…

Walken's Gabriel is also very good, the entire cast is well known actors. Yes, it is difficult to call some of these movies straight horror. Others that are decent:

Pulse, the Japanese version.
The Keep
Virus (1999)
Demon Seed
Oculus
The Fog
Return of the Living Dead, maybe campy, though also has some of the most scary zombies, as they can't be stopped.

Maybe not "great" but worthy of seeing.

 

[Clint_L]

As A Swede: Midsommer felt more like a comedy than horror. Sorry.

As a Canadian of Swedish ancestry, I finally visited Sweden this past summer, and I love how much the kind and socially conscious Scandanavians also appreciate darkness and horror - we were staying close to Stockholm's Old Town, and there are so many cool little shops and bars that go in for a hint of horror. Especially an absolutely fantastic record shop that specializes in death metal.

And I too have trouble taking Midsommer seriously - my family still has a massive Midsummer party every year and the closest we get to dark rituals is when we challenge newcomers to eat surströmming.

 

[nyvinter]

As a Canadian of Swedish ancestry, I finally visited Sweden this past summer, and I love how much the kind and socially conscious Scandanavians also appreciate darkness and horror - we were staying close to Stockholm's Old Town, and there are so many cool little shops and bars that go in for a hint of horror. Especially an absolutely fantastic record shop that specializes in death metal.

And I too have trouble taking Midsommer seriously - my family still has a massive Midsummer party every year and the closest we get to dark rituals is when we challenge newcomers to eat surströmming.

All of this yes.

And I think it's best exemplified with the dances — we do have those, traditionally but that's more enacted by either social conservatives or kindergarteners — felt like an American version by someone who didn't really get it. Which propelled it far into fascicular territory. It felt very American as opposed to Swedish, at least to me.

But compared to all the other Wicker Man remakes, it is a pretty darn good one.