The Top 50 Greatest Horror Films of All Time
Horror is my favorite cinematic genre, yet has the least to show for it. Emerging from screening the mountains of insipid waste that this genre has to its name, here I pay respect to the better angels of the spooky content we subject ourselves to out of radical self-love. This isn't to be confused with the 'scariest movies of all time' or what have you, just the good stuff we call horror, scream queens and final girls and all. If you're looking for scary, objectively the scariest scene ever made public was that one dream sequence in David Lynch's masterpiece non-horror in "Mulholland Dr." where the guy recounts his dream of that ghastly woman outside the restaurant. Scary stuff.
According to the advanced search engine offered here, I've watched 400+ horror films -- feature-length movies classified by the IMDb hierarchy as containing elements compatible with the horror movie genre -- in my benevolent servitude to humanity. There, there's my bona-fides.
Directors with multiple entries in the rankings (organized in alphabetical order of last name):
T-1.) John Carpenter: 3 films (The Thing; Halloween; They Live)
T-1.) David Cronenberg: 3 films (Videodrome; The Fly; Dead Ringers)
T-1.) David Lynch: 3 films (Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me; Eraserhead; Twin Peaks: The Return)
T-4.) Dario Argento: 2 films (Suspiria; Deep Red)
T-4.) Brian De Palma: 2 films (Carrie; Phantom of the Paradise)
T-4.) Robert Eggers: 2 films (The Lighthouse; The Witch)
T-4.) Alfred Hitchcock: 2 films (Psycho; The Birds)
T-4.) Roman Polanski: 2 films (Rosemary's Baby; Repulsion)
T-4.) George A. Romero: 2 films (Night of the Living Dead; Dawn of the Dead)
According to the advanced search engine offered here, I've watched 400+ horror films -- feature-length movies classified by the IMDb hierarchy as containing elements compatible with the horror movie genre -- in my benevolent servitude to humanity. There, there's my bona-fides.
Directors with multiple entries in the rankings (organized in alphabetical order of last name):
T-1.) John Carpenter: 3 films (The Thing; Halloween; They Live)
T-1.) David Cronenberg: 3 films (Videodrome; The Fly; Dead Ringers)
T-1.) David Lynch: 3 films (Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me; Eraserhead; Twin Peaks: The Return)
T-4.) Dario Argento: 2 films (Suspiria; Deep Red)
T-4.) Brian De Palma: 2 films (Carrie; Phantom of the Paradise)
T-4.) Robert Eggers: 2 films (The Lighthouse; The Witch)
T-4.) Alfred Hitchcock: 2 films (Psycho; The Birds)
T-4.) Roman Polanski: 2 films (Rosemary's Baby; Repulsion)
T-4.) George A. Romero: 2 films (Night of the Living Dead; Dawn of the Dead)
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- 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.My rating - 9.5/10
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsAnthony PerkinsJanet LeighVera MilesA Phoenix secretary embezzles $40,000 from her employer's client, goes on the run and checks into a remote motel run by a young man under the domination of his mother.My rating - 9.5/10
- DirectorJohn CarpenterStarsKurt RussellWilford BrimleyKeith DavidA research team in Antarctica is hunted by a shape-shifting alien that assumes the appearance of its victims.My rating - 9.5/10
- 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.My rating - 9.5/10
- DirectorRidley ScottStarsSigourney WeaverTom SkerrittJohn HurtThe crew of a commercial spacecraft encounters a deadly lifeform after investigating a mysterious transmission of unknown origin.My rating - 9.5/10
- DirectorDavid LynchStarsSheryl LeeRay WiseMädchen AmickLaura Palmer's harrowing final days are chronicled one year after the murder of Teresa Banks, a resident of Twin Peaks' neighboring town.My rating - 9/10
- DirectorAndrzej ZulawskiStarsIsabelle AdjaniSam NeillMargit CarstensenA woman starts exhibiting increasingly disturbing behavior after asking her husband for a divorce. Suspicions of infidelity soon give way to something much more sinister.My rating - 9/10
- DirectorDavid LynchStarsJack NanceCharlotte StewartAllen JosephHenry Spencer tries to survive his industrial environment, his angry girlfriend, and the unbearable screams of his newly born mutant child.My rating - 9/10
- DirectorKiyoshi KurosawaStarsMasato HagiwaraKoji YakushoTsuyoshi UjikiA frustrated detective deals with the case of several gruesome murders committed by people who have no recollection of what they've done.My rating - 9/10
- DirectorDavid CronenbergStarsJames WoodsDebbie HarrySonja SmitsA programmer at a Toronto TV station that specializes in adult entertainment searches for the producers of a dangerous and bizarre broadcast.My rating - 9/10
- DirectorDario ArgentoStarsJessica HarperStefania CasiniFlavio BucciAn American newcomer to a prestigious German ballet academy comes to realize that the school is a front for something sinister amid a series of grisly murders.My rating - 9/10
- DirectorJonathan GlazerStarsScarlett JohanssonJeremy McWilliamsLynsey Taylor MackayA mysterious young woman seduces lonely men in the evening hours in Scotland. However, events lead her to begin a process of self-discovery.My rating - 8.5/10
- CreatorMark FrostDavid LynchStarsKyle MacLachlanSheryl LeeMichael HorsePicks up 25 years after the inhabitants of a quaint northwestern town are stunned when their homecoming queen is murdered.My rating - 8.5/10
- DirectorRoman PolanskiStarsMia FarrowJohn CassavetesRuth GordonA young couple trying for a baby moves into an aging, ornate apartment building on Central Park West, where they find themselves surrounded by peculiar neighbors.My rating - 8.5/10
- 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.My rating - 8.5/10
- DirectorNobuhiko ÔbayashiStarsKimiko IkegamiMiki JinboKumiko ÔbaA schoolgirl and six of her classmates travel to her aunt's country home, which turns out to be haunted.My rating - 8.5/10
- DirectorSam RaimiStarsBruce CampbellSarah BerryDan HicksAsh Williams, the lone survivor of an earlier onslaught of flesh-possessing spirits, holes up in a cabin with a group of strangers while the demons continue their attack.My rating - 8.5/10
- 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.My rating - 8.5/10
- DirectorRobert EggersStarsRobert PattinsonWillem DafoeValeriia KaramanTwo lighthouse keepers try to maintain their sanity while living on a remote and mysterious New England island in the 1890s.My rating - 8.5/10
- 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.My rating - 8.5/10
- DirectorGeorge A. RomeroStarsDuane JonesJudith O'DeaKarl HardmanA ragtag group of Pennsylvanians barricade themselves in an old farmhouse to remain safe from a horde of flesh-eating ghouls that are ravaging the Northeast of the United States.My rating - 8.5/10
- DirectorJack ClaytonStarsDeborah KerrPeter WyngardeMegs JenkinsA young governess for two children becomes convinced that the house and grounds are haunted.My rating - 8.5/10
- DirectorGeorges FranjuStarsPierre BrasseurAlida ValliJuliette MaynielA surgeon causes an accident which leaves his daughter disfigured and goes to extreme lengths to give her a new face.My rating - 8.5/10
- 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.My rating - 8.5/10
- 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.My rating - 8.5/10
- DirectorBrian De PalmaStarsSissy SpacekPiper LaurieAmy IrvingCarrie White, a shy, friendless teenage girl who is sheltered by her domineering, religious mother, unleashes her telekinetic powers after being humiliated by her classmates at her senior prom.My rating - 8.5/10
- DirectorSion SonoStarsTakahiro NishijimaHikari MitsushimaSakura AndôA bizarre love triangle forms between a young Catholic upskirt photographer, a misandric girl and a manipulative cultist.My rating - 8/10
- DirectorBrian De PalmaStarsPaul WilliamsWilliam FinleyJessica HarperA disfigured composer sells his soul for the woman he loves so that she will perform his music. However, an evil record tycoon betrays him and steals his music to open his rock palace, The Paradise.My rating - 8/10
- DirectorWerner HerzogStarsKlaus KinskiIsabelle AdjaniBruno GanzCount Dracula moves from Transylvania to Wismar, spreading the Black Plague across the land. Only a woman pure of heart can bring an end to his reign of horror.My rating - 8/10
- DirectorRobert EggersStarsAnya Taylor-JoyRalph InesonKate DickieA family in 1630s New England is torn apart by the forces of witchcraft, black magic and possession.My rating - 8/10
- DirectorJuraj HerzStarsRudolf HrusínskýVlasta ChramostováJana StehnováSet in Central Europe during World War II, a demented cremator believes cremation relieves earthly suffering and sets out to save the world.My rating - 8/10
- DirectorJames WhaleStarsBoris KarloffElsa LanchesterColin CliveMary Shelley reveals the main characters of her novel survived: Baron Henry Frankenstein, goaded by an even madder scientist, builds his monster a mate.My rating - 8/10
- DirectorHenri-Georges ClouzotStarsSimone SignoretVéra ClouzotPaul MeurisseThe wife and mistress of a loathed school principal plan to murder him with what they believe is the perfect alibi.My rating - 8/10
- DirectorF.W. MurnauStarsMax SchreckAlexander GranachGustav von WangenheimVampire Count Orlok expresses interest in a new residence and real estate agent Hutter's wife.My rating - 8/10
- 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.My rating - 8/10
- DirectorAri AsterStarsToni ColletteMilly ShapiroGabriel ByrneA grieving family is haunted by tragic and disturbing occurrences.My rating - 8/10
- DirectorDario ArgentoStarsDavid HemmingsDaria NicolodiGabriele LaviaA jazz pianist and a wisecracking journalist are pulled into a complex web of mystery after the former witnesses the brutal murder of a psychic.My rating - 8/10
- DirectorJoe DanteChuck JonesStarsZach GalliganPhoebe CatesHowie MandelThe Gremlins are back, and this time, they've taken control of a New York City media mogul's high-tech skyscraper.My rating - 8/10
- DirectorJordan PeeleStarsDaniel KaluuyaAllison WilliamsBradley WhitfordA young African-American visits his white girlfriend's parents for the weekend, where his simmering uneasiness about their reception of him eventually reaches a boiling point.My rating - 8/10
- 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.My rating - 8/10
- DirectorDavid CronenbergStarsJeremy IronsGeneviève BujoldHeidi von PalleskeTwin gynecologists take full advantage of the fact that nobody can tell them apart, until their relationship begins to deteriorate over a woman.My rating - 8/10
- 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.My rating - 8/10
- DirectorJulia DucournauStarsVincent LindonAgathe RousselleGarance MarillierFollowing a series of unexplained crimes, a father is reunited with the son who has been missing for ten years.My rating - 8/10
- 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.My rating - 8/10
- DirectorIshirô HondaStarsTakashi ShimuraAkihiko HirataAkira TakaradaAfter a dinosaur-like beast - awoken from undersea hibernation by atom bomb testing - ravages Tokyo, a scientist must decide if his similarly dangerous weapon should be used to destroy it.My rating - 8/10
- DirectorShin'ya TsukamotoStarsTomorô TaguchiKei FujiwaraNobu KanaokaA businessman accidentally kills The Metal Fetishist, who gets his revenge by slowly turning the man into a grotesque hybrid of flesh and rusty metal.My rating - 8/10
- DirectorJohn CarpenterStarsRoddy PiperKeith DavidMeg FosterThey influence our decisions without us knowing it. They numb our senses without us feeling it. They control our lives without us realizing it. They live.My rating - 8/10
- DirectorTod BrowningStarsWallace FordLeila HyamsOlga BaclanovaA circus' beautiful trapeze artist agrees to marry the leader of side-show performers, but his deformed friends discover she is only marrying him for his inheritance.My rating - 8/10
- DirectorRoman PolanskiStarsCatherine DeneuveIan HendryJohn FraserA sex-repulsed woman who disapproves of her sister's boyfriend sinks into depression and has horrific visions of rape and violence.My rating - 8/10