50 best HORROR MOVIES of all time
Be sure to let us know what you think about this ranking.
30. Carrie (1976)
Carrie is a masterpiece in the category of purely visual storytelling. Brian De Palma took the most important lesson from Hitchcock – film is an image. Not dialogue, but image, taking on the most significant narrative role. This intricately woven story is a visual masterpiece that goes beyond the confines of feats of camera operator circus skills. De Palma, in staging the very human drama of a rejected girl, shot it with an almost comic book-like visual poetics, most notably showcased in the famous split-screen sequence. It’s hard to expect anything that could take away Brian De Palma’s film from its place among the top achievements of horror cinema. A horror that’s not even the sole objective. Carrie is also a bitter episode from the life of youth taking its first steps into adulthood, a study of loneliness, rejection, and the main character’s maturing into control of her troublesome gift. All of this, served on a silver platter of masterful staging, places this unassuming film among the most important achievements of cinematic art.
29. The Fly (1986)
The best body horror? Certainly, David Cronenberg’s The Fly deserves that title. Beauty and the beast in a deformed formula, a melodrama in the makeup of organic horror cinema. Interpreted as an allegory of AIDS and a caution against meddling with Mother Nature. The makeup still stings the eyes even in a slightly trimmed version today, where three unused scenes are missing, which would have given the film an even more repulsive aspect during the fusion of the baboon with the cat, the tearing of limbs from the chest on the rooftop, and the licking of the shoe in the nearly final stage of the human-insect transformation. Back in those times, they were perhaps too intense and made Jeff Goldblum’s character more of a villain than someone affected by irreparable mutation.
28. Midsommar (2019)
With his debut titled Hereditary, Ari Aster proved himself to be a master of horror like no other. When he announced that he would be making a film inspired by the cult classic The Wicker Man, no one anticipated that it would be a terrifying spectacle about the separation of two individuals and the community that emerges as the unsettling “other.” However, it’s essential to remember that in accordance with the principles of folk horror, to which the film belongs, it’s not the bloody rituals that constitute the most crucial narrative element, but the community practicing them. This is where the terror stems from, which the viewer experiences alongside the main character. This genre is built upon a kind of dichotomy between what is “normal” and what is “monstrous” – seemingly normal protagonists transform into “monstrous” antagonists, leading to a climactic bloodshed.
27. The Birds (1963)
For the third time, Daphne du Maurier provided Hitchcock with material for a film. Drawing from her intriguing short story, the director aimed to create an apocalyptic horror about a threat emerging from an unexpected source. Just as he did with Psycho, he intended to elicit a strong impact, almost shock, on the audience, but using entirely different techniques. This time, it’s not the human that poses a threat, but nature in the seemingly innocuous form of birds. Hitchcock’s The Birds is a film of monumental significance in the history of cinema – especially in the 1970s, one could feel its influence as more and more films about aggressive animals were being produced.
26. Saw (2004)
It probably won’t be an exaggeration to say that Saw is one of the most iconic horror film series ever created. And even though over the span of 20 years, various sequels of differing quality were produced, it’s the first installment from 2004 that stands out on that list. This doesn’t surprise me at all, even though the film isn’t perfect. A relatively small budget was allocated for its production – the majority of the action takes place in one confined space, and you can see that some shots required doubles. Nonetheless, Saw was something truly fresh in its year of release; it had its own atmosphere, kept the audience in suspense, and presented an interesting and highly controversial perspective on serial killer psychopaths who invite others to play a bloody game. In 2004, no one really expected that a group of relatively unknown filmmakers with limited funds would create a hit that would become renowned worldwide. Yet, Saw became a phenomenon, and its appeal didn’t solely revolve around the dismemberment and body manipulation scenes.
25. Evil Dead II (1987)
The second installment of Evil Dead is not a traditional sequel. Many of the same patterns from Evil Dead were copied, creating moments where it almost feels like the director wanted to make the same film in a different way. Once again, we have a cabin in the woods. This time, a young couple arrives, who also come across the Necronomicon and a tape recorder. The nightmare begins anew. It’s another brilliant display of Raimi’s imagination, this time introducing elements of grotesque and comedy within the framework of horror.
24. Nosferatu (1922)
This is perhaps the most well-known work from the German Expressionist movement, although at times it goes beyond its boundaries. It was supposed to be an adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, but F.W. Murnau didn’t secure the rights. So, he changed some names and presented it as Nosferatu – A Symphony of Horror. Interestingly, it’s from this point onward that vampires started to disintegrate into dust when exposed to sunlight, even though this wasn’t mentioned in the books. This film continues to leave an impression on audiences to this day, especially during screenings in castle ruins with live music. After the screening, you’ll definitely be afraid of shadows.
23. The VVitch: A New-England Folktale (2015)
A contemporary horror masterpiece. In his debut, Robert Eggers stripped the genre of extravagant embellishments, leaving behind the pure essence of horror – fear of the unknown, terror of the incomprehensible, and the demonization of what escapes societal boundaries. Within this minimalist framework lies an intriguing reflection on femininity and the cultural production of evil. The Witch is a stimulating spectacle, serving both as a horror experience and an intellectual puzzle.
22. Sinister (2012)
If I were to assess Sinister based on the amount of adrenaline jumps, it would receive a fairly high score, but Derrickson might feel offended by such a method. He is more interested in evoking a feeling of dread than mere fear – from the beginning, the viewer senses that the protagonist of the film is facing something he cannot comprehend or overcome, and this remains true until the very end. The finale won’t be a surprise, but a consistent and terrifying consequence of everything we’ve seen so far. But what did Ellison expect when he moved into the house previously owned by a family murdered by an unknown perpetrator? Instead of pondering the identity of the killer, he should ask himself about the killer’s current whereabouts.
21. The Others (2001)
One of those films that from the very first scenes keeps the viewer on the edge of their seat in an indeterminate unease. At first glance, the Grace family (Nicole Kidman) is dealing with a wholly human, though no less terrifying, tragedy. A child’s illness is something that automatically triggers discomfort even in an averagely sensitive person. This discomfort is not diminished in any way by Grace’s statuesquely cold yet simultaneously fiery-determined behavior. That something will happen is known. What, however, is impossible to predict. The strength of The Others does not lie in the few jump scares provided to us by Amenábar, but in the madness hidden at the depths of Nicole Kidman’s blue eyes. A masterpiece.
EDITORIAL team