10 Greatest Horror Movies

Making a list of the greatest horror Movies/ films ever made is a smart method to separate the fear mongers from the seasoned horror moviegoers. They’re easily identifiable if there’s a jump scare, a female crab possessed by the devil strolls upstairs, or an alien blasts out of a hapless victim’s chest.

Alright, so when creating this list, we were afraid more often than not. Sue us! We put together a list of Movies that will make you want to stay up late watching, based on a variety of factors, including overall Movies quality, influence on the genre, legacy potential, fright/creep factor, and that enigmatic quality known as Editor’s Choice.

Horror Movies :

1. The Shining (1980)

Director: Stanley Kubrick
Stars: Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd
Runtime: 146 mins

Perhaps Stephen King’s most well-known horror book is The Shining. The most well-known Stephen King Movies is most likely the one adapted by Stanley Kubrick. Despite being an exceptionally commercially-focused production for Kubrick, it nevertheless had many of the same stylistic characteristics that characterized his previous works, and it is still a frightening and unsettling account of a family man’s psychological collapse.

Famous for playing the role of struggling writer Jack Torrance, who takes a job as winter caretaker at the Overlook Hotel in the Colorado Mountains, is Jack Nicholson. Jack isn’t deterred despite knowing that the previous caregiver killed his family and went wild. However, things rapidly get worse when Jack and his son, who is psychically attuned, start communicating with the numerous ghosts who roam the Overlook. Blood-filled elevators, deadly hedge mazes, and the horrific Room 237 are just a few of the horrors in store for visitors.

The Shining is not just a really terrifying movie; it has also influenced contemporary pop culture. Who hasn’t seen the scene where Nicholson shouts, “Here’s Johnny!” while sticking his head through a doorway? One of the greatest “Treehouse of Horror” segments in The Simpsons’ history was inspired by The Shining.

Any fan of horror should see this movie, but don’t expect to sleep well that night. It’s also our choice for the greatest horror film ever made.

2. The Exorcist (1973)

Director: William Friedkin
Stars: Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Linda Blair
Runtime: 122 mins

The most spooky musical arrangement ever created is “Tubular Bells”. When we hear it, we react like Pavlov’s Dog—shaking in our boots.

The idea of the film—a young girl who is possessed by a demon—is frightening enough to read on paper. However, filmmaker William Friedkin treats the remarkable of it all as if it were actually happening next door to us, in addition to demonstrating that he has a seriously strong (or frighteningly off) constitution for this kind of material.

The fear originates from a religious realm where the existence of Heaven and Hell is determined by your personal ideas. Despite all the research on the topic, faith is associated with the intangible; it is not something that science can categorize or predict. More potent than a Freddy or a Jason, the demon that emerges from The Exorcist’s interpretation of the concept. Something not susceptible to being shot, stabbed, or exploded.

It must first be believed in, as terrifying and soul-threatening as this may be to the young priest and elderly priest tasked with performing the last exorcism, before it can be assaulted, much less vanquished. The final act of the film is devoted to Fathers Karras and Merrin battling the devil to win back young Regan’s soul. And in doing so, Karras—who for most of the film was a man whose faith wavered—finally comes to trust in the one genuine good he knows—by giving his life to save that little child.

Cinema school If you choose, you can further study this film. In summary, it is the best horror Movies ever created about the effects of belief.

3. Psycho (1960)

Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Stars: Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, Vera Miles
Runtime: 109 mins

Psycho is a classic thriller as well as one of the best Movies on Alfred Hitchcock’s illustrious CV. With a small cast and even smaller budget, Hitchcock—a real master of suspense and tension—created an unforgettable horror Movies. Psycho, like many great horror Movies, has scares that are far more intense than its small scope.

The story of eccentric elder Norman Bates and his much more eccentric mother is told in the movies. A young woman on the run from the law is murdered by a knife-wielding assailant when she arrives at the isolated Bates Motel. Before the Bates family’s entire secret is made public, a number of other victims are named.

Psycho’s content hasn’t been as startling since it was released in 1960. After all, contemporary horror Movies frequently include girls being stabbed while taking a shower. However, Psycho’s ability to maintain tension and anxiety is a credit to Hitchcock’s direction abilities. One of the most well-known scenes in Hollywood history is the murder of Janet Leigh’s character, complete with Bernard Herrmann’s accompanying melody.

A 1998 shot-for-shot recreation of Psycho was made possible by its legendary status in the genre. There are also follow-ups and a television adaptation of the story.

4. Halloween (1978)

Director: John Carpenter
Stars: Donald Pleasance, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tony Moran
Runtime: 91 mins

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre was a crucial development in the slasher genre, contributing to its viscerality. Psycho is often regarded as the movie that gave rise to the subgenre. But Halloween was the event that really brought this horror subgenre to life, spawning countless sequels, parodies, homages, and imitations. Halloween—and all the movies that followed it—comes from taking an instantly recognizable holiday, adding a masked killer who is unstoppable and eerie silence, and a strong, resourceful heroine.

As we watched Michael Myers follow Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) from a distance before embarking on his eventual killing rampage, John Carpenter created a sense of tension and suspense that few previous slasher Movies could match.

Michael makes a fantastic antagonist; his emotionless, blank mask aptly encapsulated the dark soul of a man who seemed incapable of being stopped no matter what was done to him. It makes sense that Michael rose to fame in the horror genre and that fans were upset when he was absent from Halloween III. After all, Halloween—the movie as well as the real holiday—and Michael Myers are now inextricably linked.

5. The Bride of Frankenstein (1935)

Director: James Whale
Stars: Boris Karloff, Elsa Lanchester, Colin Clive
Runtime: 75 mins

Some of us on the IGN staff definitely felt that this James Whale classic ought to have been closer to the top of the list. However, due to compromises, Boris Karloff, Colin Clive, director James Whale, and the others had to make do with fifth place.

In terms of quality, the movie is the pinnacle of the Universal cycle of legendary monster movies. Whale chose to, uh, fill out the tale and characters of the first Frankenstein (which he also directed) rather than merely rehashing a cheap variant on the original (which is basically what many of the Universal sequels would go on to do). Here, Karloff gave his most well-known invention the ability to speak, as well as friendship and even love, during his second appearance as the Monster. In addition, Bride of Frankenstein is a comedy in addition to a horror movie.

Packed with creepy imagery (Jesus H. Christ, did they just crucify the Monster?) and amazing supporting characters (oh, Doctor Pretorius, how we miss you). Even though the movie is more than 80 years old, we still adore and discuss about it. As Dr. Pretorius put it, “It is our only weakness.”

6. Alien (1979)

Director: Ridley Scott
Stars: Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, John Hurt
Runtime: 117 mins

Most people believe that science fiction is where alien movies belong. But at least in the original, Alien was as much a horror movies as a science fiction movies. Alien, with its small cast under threat from a lone, scary creature, was a far cry from Hollywood’s Star Wars and Star Trek.

The movie takes place hundreds of years after humanity has traveled to the stars. One by one, the crew of the mining ship Nostromo is taken prisoner by a ferocious extraterrestrial organism that lurks in the shadows and emerges from above. The only person smart enough to withstand the alien’s onslaught is Ripley (Sigourney Weaver). Unfortunately for her, this was just the first round.

Alien is not like most science fiction Movies from that era. The world created by artist H.R. Giger is comprised of chilly passageways, twisted tubes, and enveloping gloom. Pop culture never forewarned us before Alien about how ominous, filthy, and terrifying the chilly depths of space could be. Modern directors can load as many Aliens, Predators, and Michael Fassbender androids as they want into their Movies, but none can match the pure claustrophobic fear evoked in the original picture. Director Ridley Scott took a “less is more” strategy that later sequels unfortunately abandoned.

7. Jaws (1975)

Director: Steven Spielberg
Stars: Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss
Runtime: 124 mins

Jaws, the first blockbuster ever and the scariest (possibly even the best) Movies that Spielberg has ever made, is a character study as well as a shark movies. It takes place on an island called Amity and tells the story of a creature that eats teeth the size of shot glasses out of boat hulls, leaving its victims decapitated flotsam. The late Roy Scheider plays Chief Brody, the local sheriff assigned to hunt down the killer fish who has a dread of water. It is a performance that defines his career.

Robert “Find ‘im for three, catch ‘im and kill ‘im for ten” and Richard Dreyfuss’ Hooper will be going on the search with him in the orca. Quint, played by Shaw, is the main reason why aquatic life dies.

However, you are well aware of that. Thanks to cable, VHS, DVD, Blu-ray, and streaming, you should have seen this movie ten times or more by now. Most likely, you’ve thought of setting John Williams’ theme as your ring tone. It’s composed of the kind of cinematic enchantment that demands multiple viewings.

8. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

Director: Jonathan Demme
Stars: Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, Lawrence A. Bonney
Runtime: 118 mins

As basic as you can go with this Best Picture Oscar winner is using a doctorate-holding cannibal serial killer to assist in the capture of another serial killer. However, the Movies is far more than that. It’s the scariest Movies ever created, based on the application of psychology and deduction as both instruments of murder and crime solving. Yes, you may point all the blame you want at this Movies for your friend’s terrible Hannibal Lecter impression that never seems to end, but it also gave us one of the most famous villains ever seen on screen and the role of a lifetime for Anthony Hopkins. .

As FBI Agent Clarice Starling, following the Buffalo “It Puts the Lotion in the Basket” Bill, Jodie Foster is equally remarkable. By keeping Lecter less of a horrific caricature and more of a believable monster, director Jonathan Demme succeeds where Ridley Scott failed in his 2001 sequel, Hannibal. Demme masterfully and relentlessly builds tension throughout the Movies.

9. Evil Dead II (1987)

Director: Sam Raimi
Stars: Bruce Campbell, Sarah Berry, Dan Hicks
Runtime: 84 mins

Evil Dead II is essentially an enhanced version of the first game, more of a “remix” than a follow-up. More blood, humor, more, more, more…

With Evil Dead II, director Sam Raimi and actors Bruce Campbell and Ash returned to the woods after a six-year break. The film plays on the gory excess of its predecessor but goes overboard (this was the one where an eyeball falls into a person’s open mouth). While it wasn’t the first comic gross-out, Evil Dead II certainly made splat-sticks better and went on to inspire many others.

Despite the entertaining grotesqueries on display, Raimi still manages to entertain and terrify his audience with a variety of chic and outrageous pranks. See Henrietta snooping around the basement, or Ash’s brief stint as a Deadite (until a perfectly timed rising sun saves him). Cool.

10. Night of the Living Dead (1968)

Director: George A. Romero
Stars: Duane Jones
Runtime: 96 mins

The horrifying concept of “zombification,” which had hitherto been limited to eerie voodoo tales and extra-dimensional Lovecraftian legends, was transformed into a terrifying new genre of horror films in 1968 by director George Romero with the help of the zombie apocalypse film. Poor Judith O’Dea had to escape a cemetery as the dead have somehow come back to life and are now prowling the planet in search of human flesh. This led to the phrase “They’re coming to get you Barbara” being the first official “I’ll be back” of horror.

With The Birds (1963), Hitchcock found that the most terrifying aspect of a story might often be the sheer fear of “not knowing” the causes of the massive worldwide breakout of evil. Thanks to its persistent nature, the “Zombocalypse” genre is still popular today (hey, Walking Dead lovers!). It’s okay that some movies have made their zombies run quickly and attempted to use a virus to explain the entire dead-alive thing. But the fundamentals will always come first.

Romero was able to explore a wide range of our fears in only one movie, including cannibalism, death, degradation of the flesh, indoctrination, illness, and hopelessness. A biting undercurrent of racism, hatred, and paranoia also teaches viewers that they might be just as vicious and dangerous as the stupid hordes of undead they were running from.

11. Rosemary’s Baby (1968)

Director: Roman Polanski
Stars: Mia Farrow, John Cassavetes, Ruth Gordon
Runtime: 137 mins

Let go of Mia Farrow’s unflattering hairstyle and enjoy this film. You’ll be shocked at how much of this eerie 1968 creepshow gets away with just being a 1968 production. The slow-burn tale of a young New York couple who move into an apartment building—which also happens to be home to several Satan worshipers who want to use Rosemary’s spawn as a means for Mr. Devil McBrimstone to enter our mortal realm—is told in one of Roman Polanski’s best “conventional” films outside of Chinatown.

In the part of Rosemary, played by Farrow, she gradually loses her mind as she learns more about the dubious cult activities taking place around her. Rosemary breaks down, and it appears as though the entire world is working against the most helpless of individuals here. The devil is watching from the wings.

Polanski’s economical use of chills reinforces the storytelling maxim that the more that is kept out of frame, the more the viewer must imagine—and therefore, the scarier.