25. SUSPIRA
A German ballet school is the setting for this lurid Italian thriller by giallo master Dario Argento.
24. GREEN ROOM
A young punk band, playing a gig at a remote bar in the Pacific Northwest, run afoul of neo-nazi skinheads.
23. THE ORPHANAGE
A family takes up residence in a former orphanage where their young son makes a most unusual friend.
22. I SAW THE DEVIL
A secret service agent exacts a brutal revenge on the serial killer who murdered his wife.
21. JAWS
“Don’t go into the water” was this movie’s tag line, and after seeing this movie about a man-eating shark terrorizing the beaches of a quaint New England community, I heeded that advice.
20. REC
One of the best entries in the found footage horror sub-genre is this Spanish film about a news crew who end up trapped in quarantine while investigating a viral outbreak in a residential building.
19. SPOORLOOS
A young man embarks on a journey to find out what fate befell his missing girlfriend. In the end, he wishes he hadn’t.
18. SCREAM
A tribute to the classic horror movies of the 70’s has become a classic in its own right.
17. DON’T LOOK NOW
Following the death of their young daughter, a couple visit Venice where a serial killer stalks the canals of the old city.
16. SESSION 9
An asbestos removal crew stumble upon some dark secrets when they are hired to clean up an abandoned mental hospital.
15. THE SIXTH SENSE
A child psychologist makes a connection with a young boy who presumably communicates with the dead.
14. AUDITION
A lonely widower falls for a mysterious young woman.
13. 28 DAYS LATER
Fast-moving zombies stalk the streets of London in this post-apocalyptic thriller.
12. LET THE RIGHT ONE IN
A shy young boy makes the acquaintance of his new neighbor, a mysterious young girl possessed of a harrowing secret.
11. HALLOWEEN
The grandaddy of slasher pics sees an escaped mental patient return to his hometown on Halloween Eve.
10. TRAIN TO BUSAN
Zombies on a train. High octane horror!
9. CARRIE
A young teen, bullied by her classmates, manifests a supernatural revenge on prom night.
8. IT FOLLOWS
A supernatural entity stalks the victims of a sexual curse.
7. ALIEN
A crew on a deep space mission answer a distress call – and invite an unwelcome guest aboard their ship.
6. THE BABADOOK
A widow and her young son are stalked by a monster in a children’s book.
5. THE DESCENT
A group of female spelunkers encounter flesh-eating predators deep underground.
4. RINGU
A cursed videotape delivers a death sentence to all who watch.
3. THE THING
On a remote base in Antarctica, a group of research scientists uncover the frozen remains of an alien entity.
2. THE SHINING
A struggling author experiences writer’s block, in addition to other assorted psychological breaks, while the winter caretaker of the Overlook Hotel.
- MISERY
Following a car accident, famed author Paul Sheldon is nursed back to health by a woman who professes to be his #1 fan.
What about The Tall Man? Even if Fiver wasn’t in it, it would still be among the best horror movies ever made. Such an amazing film.
Love the Thing ! That movie scared the heck out of me when i was a kid.
Great picks all! At least of the ones I’ve seen which is surprisingly a lot of the list.
Off to hike down in the Canyon tomorrow for 6 days. Wish us luck!
Safe travels. Don’t forget to bring back your wonderful photos to share with us!
I am still sad and angry about Dark Matter. Generally when a show I like gets cancelled, I have to admit they weren’t unfair. With Dark Matter, that’s not the case. So I’m bitter. Just sayin’.
Next… no. Really. Babadook.. everyone and their brother recommended it. So we started watching it. About half way in, I asked “and why are we watching this?” We turned it off. What a disappointment. Stressful (maybe being a mother made it worse), but also damned nearly unwatchable.
I was surprised that I have seen 13 of your faves because I am absolutely not a horror type of viewer (or slasher). (I do like vampires, lol.)
21. JAWS … lol was in the Virgin Islands not long after and they assured me sharks didn’t get over the reef often … Often? Ugh
18. SCREAM … okay, but unlike Jaws and the others, I wouldn’t rewatch it.
17. DON’T LOOK NOW… I was a Daphne du Maurier fan, so I tended to buy her books without really checking them out. I get this book and I read “Don’t Look Now”… imagine my surprise when I turned the page to discover the damned thing was short stories. Anyway, yes on the film version.
15. THE SIXTH SENSE: I’d honestly put it in my top 10 of scary shows. Brilliantly done.
13. 28 DAYS LATER … yep
12. LET THE RIGHT ONE IN … sounds great but I hate subtitles generally. May have to check it out.
11. HALLOWEEN… hate
9. CARRIE … more psychological than horror but wonderful
7. ALIEN: classic
5. THE DESCENT… lol I saw the previews. I have claustrophobia. Not if you PAID me, but my daughter had a halloween party and they watched it and were all pretty freaked. So I guess if you like Horror, this one would be great.
3. THE THING… I like it okay.
2. THE SHINING .. I don’t like most of Stephen King’s work because I generally yawn at ghosts and things… but book and original were fantastic. The remake.. which King preferrred..meh.
1. MISERY.. honestly thought just okay. I’m not into torture.
I think a few that may not have been “brilliant” but still had moments that freaked me out were The Exorcist, Magic (turning the head around.. see a pattern?), and. how could you leave out Night of the Living Dead?
I love horror!! Not the blood and guts kind, but the creepy, hair on the back of your neck stands up kind. I’ve seen 11 of those above. But look here Mr. Man! Other equally creepy movies you should check out are The Conjuring, and Spielberg’s Poltergeist. Sinister and The Changeling with George C. Scott. The Others and the terrifying Exorcism of Emily Rose. And the 1960’s The Ghost and Mr. Chicken which I saw as a young one. A goofy comedy but pretty darn scary to a little kid. That’a boy Luther!
I love Don Knotts! The Ghost and Mr. Chicken was a childhood favorite. That organ was so creepy, and still is!
Vudu has “The Ghost and Mr. Chicken” on sale for 6.99. 🙂
I may not like horror as a genre, but I do not see the classic Nosferatu on your list. Saw Martin’s Blindside. Have you and Gero exchanged note? I don’t see how his show was worthy and Dark Matter was not. I felt the latest show had some suspension of belief issues. I remember your caveat on tattoos associated with Four but I have no tattoos and never plan to get any. They are not my thing.
follback please….
Some great spookys there but I would definitely add
ANGEL HEART
Of the 25, I’ve seen 13 and heard of several others. I think Jaws will make everyone’s list who seen it. It took me 3 showings to watch the entire movie, what’s amazing is that my mom took me all three times. I was 9 yrs old. The first showing I was almost under the theater seat and watched it with eyes closed for half the movie. Happy memories!!
I have a list of campy horror flicks:
Night of the Creeps
Night of the Comet
The Return of the Living Dead
Fright Night, the original
House on Haunted Hill, not the original
Re-Animator
The Frightners
Tales From The Crypt: Demon Night
Army of Darkness
Happy 🎃 Halloween
I still watch Jaws/The Thing regularly. I bought them on Vudu for late nights. (FYI, VUDU has a Halloween sale going on) I prefer the “The Thing” with Kurt Russell.
Alien/Aliens are both late night favorites for me too. The other Alien sequels aren’t so great.
I agree with Ponytail in that I don’t like the blood/guts, but I do like the suspense. Has anyone here seen “Super 8”? It’s similar to “Stranger Things”. “Shudder Island” is pretty good too. Yes, on the “Sixth Sense”. It was captivating!
Figures Misery would be your favorite, Mr. Man. LOL.
I’ve seen a couple of the older movies on the list. Never watch the modern slasher types with too much graphic detail of blood and guts.
To this day, Scariest movie I’ve ever seen is Alfred Hitchcock’s -The Birds.
Still gives me the creeps just thinking about it.
The Birds is a classic!
My mom said in her day, Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho and Rosemary’s Baby were terrifying.
Anyone watch old horror comedies?
Just remembered one of my favs that always lent a good giggle.
1958: The Blob
with Steve McQueen
The Blob is classic! The remake was fun too but who can pass up a young Steve McQueen?
I’m not a fan of horror movies.
Never enjoyed jump scares, and most other horror flicks seemed somewhat boring to me.
But something about Ringu grabbed my attention.
That, 2 and 0 are all great.. Rasen’s.. um.. Well, it’s part of the story, I guess!!
And it has to be the proper one.
“She got annoyed ‘cos a horsey was noisy.” is not a good enough reason to start killing people!!
Blindspot returned at a series low 0.7 18-49 rating. Not great but it was up against a 3.3 18-49 rated World Series game on Fox, a 1.1 Michael Jackson special on CBS, and a Once Upon a Time 0.5 on ABC. The final ratings are out on Monday.
I would honestly write this week off and see how it fairs next week when Fox has Hell’s Kitchen instead of Baseball.
I think I would add “Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?” A truly scary, psychological film
Great choices!! Some I’ve never heard of, will have to look them up.
I own 12 out of the 25. Gonna start looking for the rest. I think that “The Evil Dead” belongs on this list. Gave me nightmares!!
Excellent list. Of all the thriller/horror movies my favorite is Misery. And, in my opinion, it shows how well a good screenplay and cast of two excellent actors can carry an audience from start to finish.
Lots of scares here, 28 Days Later is still my fave. Some day I will work up the courage to watch Train to Busan.
There are a few in that list I’ve seen, but I don’t enjoy scary movies generally.