Ultimate Horror/Thrillers to Watch This Halloween
This list is in no particular order. I listed Movies as well as TV Shows in the Horror or Thriller Category. There are also some Made for TV Movies. With the exception of a few, most are modern films/shows. Some movies obvious and are on most
"Best Horror Movie" lists, but I tried to add some different movies that aren't on a lot of lists to mix it up a bit. These will give you some ideas for Halloween or anytime viewing when you are in the mood for some real scares! Feel free to share list or add comments! Or let me know if I missed any! Thanks!
"Best Horror Movie" lists, but I tried to add some different movies that aren't on a lot of lists to mix it up a bit. These will give you some ideas for Halloween or anytime viewing when you are in the mood for some real scares! Feel free to share list or add comments! Or let me know if I missed any! Thanks!
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- CreatorBrad FalchukRyan MurphyHalley FeifferStarsLady GagaKathy BatesAngela BassettAn anthology series centering on different characters and locations, showcasing different aspects of horror.
- CreatorAnthony CiprianoCarlton CuseKerry EhrinStarsVera FarmigaFreddie HighmoreMax ThieriotA contemporary prequel to Psycho, giving a portrayal of how Norman Bates' psyche unravels through his teenage years, and how deeply intricate his relationship with his mother, Norma, truly is.
- DirectorGus Van SantStarsVince VaughnAnne HecheJulianne MooreA young female embezzler arrives at the Bates Motel, which has terrible secrets of its own.
- DirectorTom SaviniStarsTony ToddPatricia TallmanTom TowlesWhen the unburied dead return to life and seek human victims, seven refugees shelter in a house in the Pennsylvanian countryside.
- CreatorFrank DarabontStarsAndrew LincolnNorman ReedusMelissa McBrideSheriff Deputy Rick Grimes wakes up from a coma to learn the world is in ruins and must lead a group of survivors to stay alive.
- DirectorAdam WingardStarsSharni VinsonJoe SwanbergAJ BowenWhen the Davison family comes under attack during their wedding anniversary getaway, the gang of mysterious killers soon learns that one of the victims harbors a secret talent for fighting back.
- DirectorTaylor SheridanStarsEric Jay BeckApril MatsonAkeem SmithFour friends are kidnapped by a madman and locked in a house with six other people. Each of the captives has to endure life-threatening torture to fill a device attached to their heads or they will be trapped inside forever.
- DirectorRichard SchenkmanStarsNoell CoetDaniel Hugh KellyCharlie O'ConnellYoung Emily Walton, who has suffered from psychosomatic blindness ever since the car accident that took her mother's life, must summon every instinct at her disposal to protect herself and her loved ones from a mysterious intruder.
- DirectorScott DerricksonStarsEthan HawkeJuliet RylanceJames RansoneA controversial true-crime writer finds a box of Super 8 home movies in his new home, revealing that the murder case he is currently researching could be the work of an unknown serial killer whose legacy dates back to the 1960s.
- DirectorZack ParkerStarsAlexa HavinsJoe SwanbergKristina KlebeThe life of three parents who have all shared the loss of a child. Motives are not what they seem and sanity is in short supply in this thriller.
- DirectorMarcus DunstanStarsJosh StewartEmma FitzpatrickChristopher McDonaldA man who escapes from the vicious grips of the serial killer known as "The Collector" is then forced to help rescue an innocent girl from the killer's booby-trapped lair.
- 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.
- DirectorRob ZombieStarsScout Taylor-ComptonMalcolm McDowellTyler ManeAfter being committed for 15 years, Michael Myers, now a grown man and still very dangerous, escapes from the mental institution and immediately returns to Haddonfield to find his baby sister, Laurie.
- DirectorRick RosenthalStarsJamie Lee CurtisDonald PleasenceCharles CyphersWhile Dr. Loomis hunts for Michael Myers, a traumatized Laurie is rushed to Haddonfield Memorial Hospital, and The Shape is not far behind her.
- DirectorRob ZombieStarsScout Taylor-ComptonTyler ManeMalcolm McDowellLaurie Strode struggles to come to terms with her brother Michael's deadly return to Haddonfield, Illinois; meanwhile, Michael prepares for another reunion with his sister.
- 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.
- DirectorDarren Lynn BousmanStarsDonnie WahlbergBeverley MitchellFranky GA detective and his team must rescue 8 people trapped in a factory by the twisted serial killer known as Jigsaw.
- DirectorDarren Lynn BousmanStarsTobin BellShawnee SmithAngus MacfadyenJigsaw abducts a doctor in order to keep himself alive while he watches his new apprentice put an unlucky citizen named Jeff through a brutal test.
- DirectorKevin GreutertStarsTobin BellCostas MandylorBetsy RussellAs a deadly battle rages over Jigsaw's brutal legacy, a group of Jigsaw survivors gathers to seek the support of self-help guru and fellow survivor Bobby Dagen, a man whose own dark secrets unleash a new wave of terror.
- DirectorJames WanStarsPatrick WilsonVera FarmigaRon LivingstonParanormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren work to help a family terrorized by a dark presence in their farmhouse.
- DirectorDavid FincherStarsJake GyllenhaalRobert Downey Jr.Mark RuffaloBetween 1968 and 1983, a San Francisco cartoonist becomes an amateur detective obsessed with tracking down the Zodiac Killer, an unidentified individual who terrorizes Northern California with a killing spree.
- DirectorDavid Guy LevyStarsBrittany SnowJune SquibbJeffrey CombsDesperate to help her ailing brother, a young woman unknowingly agrees to compete in a deadly game of "Would You Rather," hosted by a sadistic aristocrat.
- DirectorStuart HazeldineStarsAdar BeckGemma ChanNathalie CoxEight candidates for a highly desirable corporate job are locked together in an exam room and given a final test with just one seemingly simple question. However, it doesn't take long for confusion to ensue and tensions to unravel.
- DirectorJonathan LiebesmanStarsNick CannonClea DuVallTimothy HuttonFour individuals sign up for a psychological research study only to discover that they are now subjects of a brutal, classified government program.
- DirectorPaul T. ScheuringStarsAdrien BrodyCam GigandetForest Whitaker26 men are chosen to participate in the roles of guards and prisoners in a psychological study that ultimately spirals out of control.
- DirectorJohn MayburyStarsAdrien BrodyKeira KnightleyDaniel CraigA Gulf war veteran is wrongly sent to a mental institution for insane criminals, where he becomes the object of a doctor's experiments, and his life is completely affected by them.
- DirectorJohn CarpenterStarsAmber HeardMamie GummerDanielle PanabakerAn institutionalized young woman becomes terrorized by a ghost.
- DirectorWes CravenStarsNeve CampbellCourteney CoxDavid ArquetteA year after the murder of her mother, a teenage girl is terrorized by a masked killer who targets her and her friends by using scary movies as part of a deadly game.
- DirectorWes CravenStarsNeve CampbellCourteney CoxDavid ArquetteTwo years after the first series of murders, as Sidney acclimates to college life, someone donning the Ghostface costume begins a new string of killings.
- DirectorWes CravenStarsDavid ArquetteNeve CampbellCourteney CoxWhile Sidney and her friends visit the Hollywood set of Stab 3, the third film based on the Woodsboro murders, another Ghostface killer rises to terrorize them.
- DirectorWes CravenStarsNeve CampbellCourteney CoxDavid ArquetteTen years have passed, and Sidney Prescott, who has put herself back together thanks in part to her writing, is visited by the Ghostface Killer.
- DirectorMorgan O'NeillStarsJohn CusackDallas RobertsVincent MessinaAn obsessed cop is on the trail of a serial killer prowling the streets of Buffalo, N.Y. but when his teenage daughter disappears, he drops any professional restraint to get the killer.
- 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.
- DirectorRodney AscherStarsBill BlakemoreGeoffrey CocksJuli KearnsAn exploration of various interpretations of Stanley Kubrick's horror film, The Shining (1980).
- DirectorChristophe GansStarsRadha MitchellLaurie HoldenSean BeanA woman, Rose, goes in search for her adopted daughter within the confines of a strange, desolate town called Silent Hill.
- DirectorDennis IliadisStarsGarret DillahuntMonica PotterTony GoldwynAfter kidnapping and brutally assaulting two young women, a gang unknowingly finds refuge at a vacation home belonging to the parents of one of the victims: a mother and father who devise an increasingly gruesome series of revenge tactics.
- DirectorBrad AndersonStarsHalle BerryEvie ThompsonAbigail BreslinWhen a veteran 911 operator takes a life-altering call from a teenage girl who has just been abducted, she realizes that she must confront a killer from her past in order to save the girl's life.
- DirectorJonathan DemmeStarsJodie FosterAnthony HopkinsScott GlennA young F.B.I. cadet must receive the help of an incarcerated and manipulative cannibal killer to help catch another serial killer, a madman who skins his victims.
- DirectorRobert SchwentkeStarsJodie FosterPeter SarsgaardSean BeanA bereaved woman and her daughter are flying home from Berlin to America. At 30,000 feet, the child vanishes, and nobody will admit she was ever on the plane.
- DirectorDavid FincherStarsJodie FosterKristen StewartForest WhitakerA divorced woman and her diabetic daughter take refuge in their newly-purchased house's safe room when three men break-in, searching for a missing fortune.
- DirectorStephen KayStarsJake McDormanAgnes BrucknerJoshua CloseOn the surface, Philip Markoff appears to be the ideal med student, fiancé and future son-in-law - but there's something seriously wrong with him.
- DirectorRobert DornhelmStarsHayden PanettiereMarcia Gay HardenVincent RiottaBased on the events surrounding the murder of British student Meredith Kercher.
- DirectorNorma BaileyStarsMatt BarrEric McCormackLolita DavidovichA charming but devious college student is accused of killing his wealthy father and attempting to murder his mother in their home while they slept.
- DirectorMikael SalomonStarsRob LoweKaley CuocoCatherine DentFollowing the mysterious disappearance of his fourth wife, a man is accused of the murder of his third.
- DirectorPeter WernerStarsRob LoweElizabeth MitchellOscar NuñezFlorida District Attorney prosecutes Casey Anthony in an murder trial that shocked and enraged the American public.
- DirectorSam RaimiStarsCate BlanchettKatie HolmesKeanu ReevesA fortune teller with extrasensory perception is asked to help find a young woman who has mysteriously disappeared.
- DirectorDavid KoeppStarsKevin BaconZachary David CopeKathryn ErbeAfter being hypnotized by his sister-in-law, a man begins seeing haunting visions of a girl's ghost and a mystery begins to unfold around him.
- DirectorJoel SchumacherStarsNicolas CageJoaquin PhoenixJames GandolfiniA private investigator is hired to discover if a "snuff film" is authentic or not.
- DirectorJohn GrayStarsJeremy DaviesClea DuVallAllison SmithA new take on the Manson Family murders, with a keen focus on Charles Manson himself.
- DirectorAndrew FlemingStarsRobin TunneyFairuza BalkNeve CampbellA newcomer to a Catholic prep high school falls in with a trio of outcast teenage girls who practice witchcraft, and they all soon conjure up various spells and curses against those who anger them.
- 20091h 36mUnrated7.1 (2.9K)DirectorAndrew MonumentStarsLance HenriksenLarry CohenJoe DanteAn exploration of the appeal of horror films, with interviews of many legendary directors in the genre.
- DirectorStuart RosenbergStarsJames BrolinMargot KidderRod SteigerNewlyweds and their three children move into a large house where a mass murder was committed. They start to experience strange, inexplicable manifestations which have strong effects on everyone living in or visiting the house.
- 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.
- DirectorJamie BlanksStarsJared LetoAlicia WittRebecca GayheartA college student suspects a series of bizarre deaths are connected to certain urban legends.
- DirectorBrian De PalmaStarsRachel McAdamsNoomi RapaceKaroline HerfurthThe rivalry between the manipulative boss of an advertising agency and her talented protégée escalates from stealing credit to public humiliation to murder.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsRod TaylorTippi HedrenJessica TandyA wealthy San Francisco socialite pursues a potential boyfriend to a small Northern California town that slowly takes a turn for the bizarre when birds of all kinds suddenly begin to attack people.
- DirectorRichard KellyStarsJake GyllenhaalJena MaloneMary McDonnellAfter narrowly escaping a bizarre accident, a troubled teenager is plagued by visions of a man in a large rabbit suit who manipulates him to commit a series of crimes.
- DirectorTarsem SinghStarsJennifer LopezVince VaughnVincent D'OnofrioAn F.B.I. Agent persuades a social worker, who is adept with a new experimental technology, to enter the mind of a comatose serial killer in order to learn where he has hidden his latest kidnap victim.
- StarsChristopher Crutchfield WalkerKiff VandenHeuvelGeno McDermottThe heartbreaking, mystifying and unbelievable stories of loved ones who have disappeared and the families that never give up hope.
- CreatorJudy TygardStarsPeter Van SantErin MoriartyMaureen MaherOne of television's most popular true-crime series, investigating shocking cases and compelling real-life dramas with journalistic integrity and cutting-edge style.
- StarsAphrodite JonesRandy ThomasJonathan Brown-TeaTrue Crime with Aphrodite Jones follows one of the nation's top crime writers, Aphrodite Jones, as she goes behind the scenes of famous murder cases to uncover hidden secrets and new information to shed new light on these sensational stories.
- DirectorBryan BertinoStarsScott SpeedmanLiv TylerGemma WardA young couple staying in an isolated vacation home are terrorized by three unknown assailants.
- DirectorJames DeMonacoStarsEthan HawkeLena HeadeyMax BurkholderA wealthy family is held hostage for harboring the target of a murderous syndicate during the Purge, a 12-hour period in which any and all crime is legal.
- DirectorJames DeMonacoStarsFrank GrilloCarmen EjogoZach GilfordThree groups of people intertwine and are left stranded in the streets on Purge Night, trying to survive the chaos and violence that occurs.
- DirectorRichard KellyStarsCameron DiazJames MarsdenFrank LangellaWith the press of a button, a wooden box bestows riches and death.
- DirectorVincenzo NataliStarsNicole de BoerMaurice Dean WintDavid HewlettA group of strangers awaken to find themselves placed in a giant cube. Each one of them is gifted with a special skill and they must work together to escape an endless maze of deadly traps.
- DirectorWes CravenStarsHeather LangenkampJohnny DeppRobert EnglundTeenager Nancy Thompson must uncover the dark truth concealed by her parents after she and her friends become targets of the spirit of a serial killer with a bladed glove in their dreams, in which if they die, it kills them in real life.
- DirectorJames WanStarsPatrick WilsonRose ByrneBarbara HersheyThe Lamberts believe that they have defeated the spirits that have haunted their family, but they soon discover that evil is not beaten so easily.
- DirectorJoe ChappelleStarsDonald PleasencePaul RuddMarianne HaganSix years after Michael Myers last terrorized Haddonfield, he returns there in pursuit of his niece, Jamie Lloyd, who has escaped with her newborn child, for which Michael and a mysterious cult have sinister plans.
- DirectorPaul ShapiroStarsSummer GlauChris CarmackZoe McLellanA couple marries in Hawaii and embarks on a honeymoon cruise where things go terribly wrong.
- StarsRichard ThomasTim ReidAnnette O'TooleIn 1960, seven pre-teen outcasts fight an evil demon who poses as a child-killing clown. Thirty years later, they reunite to stop the demon once and for all when it returns to their hometown.
- DirectorJ.P. SchaeferStarsJared LetoLindsay LohanJudah FriedlanderA film about Mark David Chapman in the days leading up to the infamous murder of Beatle John Lennon.
- DirectorJosh C. WallerStarsZoë BellRachel NicholsTracie Thoms50 abducted women are forced to fight each other using their bare hands.
- DirectorMary LambertStarsDale MidkiffDenise CrosbyFred GwynneAfter tragedy strikes, a grieving father discovers an ancient burial ground behind his home with the power to raise the dead.
- DirectorRichard EyreStarsCate BlanchettJudi DenchAndrew SimpsonA veteran high school teacher befriends a younger art teacher, who is having an affair with one of her fifteen-year-old students. However, her intentions with this new "friend" also go well beyond a platonic friendship.
- DirectorMary HarronStarsChristian BaleJustin TherouxJosh LucasA wealthy New York City investment banking executive, Patrick Bateman, hides his alternate psychopathic ego from his co-workers and friends as he delves deeper into his violent, hedonistic fantasies.
- DirectorAnthony MinghellaStarsMatt DamonGwyneth PaltrowJude LawIn late 1950s New York, a young underachiever named Tom Ripley is sent to Italy to retrieve Dickie Greenleaf, a rich and spoiled millionaire playboy. But when the errand fails, Ripley takes extreme measures.
- DirectorMathieu KassovitzStarsHalle BerryPenélope CruzRobert Downey Jr.A psychiatrist awakens as a patient in a mental institution, with no memory of the murder she's accused of committing. As she tries to regain her memory, a vengeful spirit manipulates her.
- DirectorBryan SingerStarsIan McKellenBrad RenfroJoshua JacksonA boy blackmails his neighbor after suspecting him to be a Nazi war criminal.
- DirectorWilliam CastleStarsVincent PriceCarol OhmartRichard LongA millionaire offers $10,000 to five people who agree to be locked in a large, spooky, rented house overnight with him and his wife.
- DirectorSteven SoderberghStarsRooney MaraChanning TatumJude LawA young woman's world unravels when a drug prescribed by her psychiatrist has unexpected side effects.
- DirectorNimród AntalStarsKate BeckinsaleLuke WilsonFrank WhaleyA married couple becomes stranded at an isolated motel and finds hidden video cameras in their room. They soon realize that unless they escape, they'll be the next victims of a snuff film.
- DirectorJaume Collet-SerraStarsVera FarmigaPeter SarsgaardIsabelle FuhrmanA husband and wife who recently lost their baby adopt a 9-year-old girl who is not nearly as innocent as she appears.
- DirectorAndy MuschiettiStarsJessica ChastainNikolaj Coster-WaldauMegan CharpentierAfter a young couple take in their two nieces, they suspect that a supernatural spirit named Mama has latched onto their family.
- DirectorBrad AndersonStarsDavid CarusoStephen GevedonPaul GuilfoyleTensions rise within an asbestos cleaning crew as they work in an abandoned mental hospital with a horrific past that seems to be coming back.
- DirectorTakashi ShimizuStarsLeslie BibbRyan KwantenAmy SmartFlight 7500 departs Los Angeles International Airport bound for Tokyo. As the overnight flight makes its way over the Pacific Ocean during its ten-hour course, the passengers encounter what appears to be a supernatural force in the cabin.
- DirectorAndy HurstStarsAlethea KutscherErin ConsalviBrad AshtenSix kidnapped teens awake in an abandoned factory to discover they're being filmed for a twisted and terrifying reality show.
- DirectorChris ShadleyStarsMelissa Joan HartWilliam Lee ScottJohn TerryNine strangers are kidnapped and forced to figure out the connection they have to each other as one has to die every ten minutes.
- DirectorNelson McCormickStarsBrittany SnowScott PorterJessica StroupDonna's senior prom is supposed to be the best night of her life, though a sadistic killer from her past has different plans for her and her friends.
- DirectorNeil BurgerStarsEdward NortonJessica BielPaul GiamattiIn turn-of-the-century Vienna, a magician uses his abilities to secure the love of a woman far above his social standing.
- DirectorM. Night ShyamalanStarsSigourney WeaverWilliam HurtJoaquin PhoenixA series of events tests the beliefs of a small isolated countryside village.
- DirectorM. Night ShyamalanStarsBruce WillisHaley Joel OsmentToni ColletteMalcolm Crowe, a child psychologist, starts treating a young boy, Cole, who encounters dead people and convinces him to help them. In turn, Cole helps Malcolm reconcile with his estranged wife.
- DirectorDavid KoeppStarsJohnny DeppMaria BelloJohn TurturroA successful writer in the midst of a painful divorce is stalked at his remote lake house by a would-be scribe who accuses him of plagiarism.
- DirectorTim BurtonStarsJohnny DeppChristina RicciMiranda RichardsonIchabod Crane is sent to Sleepy Hollow to investigate the decapitations of three people; the culprit is legendary apparition The Headless Horseman.
- DirectorAlexandre AjaStarsTed LevineKathleen QuinlanDan ByrdA traveling family falls victim to a group of mutated cannibals in a desert far away from civilization.
- DirectorAndrew DouglasStarsRyan ReynoldsMelissa GeorgeJimmy BennettNewlyweds are terrorized by demonic forces after moving into a large house that was the site of a grisly mass murder a year before.
- DirectorTobe HooperStarsJoBeth WilliamsHeather O'RourkeCraig T. NelsonA family's home is haunted by a host of demonic ghosts.
- DirectorGary ShermanStarsHeather O'RourkeTom SkerrittNancy AllenCarol Anne is staying with her aunt in a high-rise building, where the supernatural forces haunting her make their return.
- DirectorKaryn KusamaStarsMegan FoxAmanda SeyfriedAdam BrodyA newly-possessed high-school cheerleader turns into a succubus who specializes in killing her male classmates. Can her best friend put an end to the horror?
- DirectorAsif KapadiaStarsSarah Michelle GellarSam ShepardPeter O'BrienJoanna Mills, a traveling business woman, begins having nightmares of a murder that occurred 15 years ago. Soon she is drawn to an old farmhouse, where the murder took place.