October 31st, 2012
12:39 PM ET
IMDb users pick top 10 horror movies of all timeJust in time for Halloween, IMDb.com published a list of the top 10 horror movies of all time as voted for and rated by the site's users, and you might be surprised at what made the cut. Instead of the typical horror staples like "Rosemary's Baby," "A Nightmare on Elm Street" or "Halloween," the list is populated with unexpected entries like 2009's "Zombieland" (No. 6), 2007's "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" (No. 10) and 2004's "Shaun of the Dead" (No. 3).
The list does include more oft-mentioned frightening fare, like 1960's "Psycho" (No. 4) and 1973's "The Exorcist" (No. 8). Jack Nicholson's 1980 creep-fest "The Shining" landed at No. 1, which we can agree with. Coming in second place to "The Shining" was Ridley Scott's 1979 classic, "Alien," and recently popular horror themes like found footage and torture are also represented with "Cloverfield" (No. 5) and "Saw" (No. 7). When we're talking top 10 horror movies ever, we're not sure if we would've had such a wide-ranging list. For our top five picks on scary movies, we kept it old-school with "Psycho," "The Shining," "The Exorcist," "The Silence of the Lambs" and "Cape Fear." What about you - do you think the user-generated list was really outside the box, or do you agree? What horror movies would make your top 10 of all time?
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Oh God too many to name!!! The Exorcist, Poltergeist, The Omen, Halloween, Nightmare on Elm's Street. I usally check out The Best Horror Movie List http://www.besthorrormovielist.com/ they list all of the top rated horror movies of all time. Most of the time they are right on the money.
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1.HALLOWEEN
2.FRIDAY THE 13TH
3.TEXAS CHAINSAW
4.A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET
5.POLTEGEIST
6.PET CEMENTARY
7.BLAIRE WITCH PROJECT
8.THE SHINING
9.THE HAUNTIN
10.EXORCIST
its too hard for me to watch full horror movie... but i love to read full reviews... so i must prefer horror novel.
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Col Needham (CEO) knows this for a fact.
I wish they would try to sue me for making this claim.
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Because that's exactly what they are.
The Boogen's
Hellraiser
Audition
Dumplings
Martyrs
Dawn of the Dead & Texas Chainsaw Massacre – NEVER THE REMAKES!!!
The Hills Have Eyes
Exorcist
House of 1,000 Corpses
Alien
Love them all!
-@Goretorium
I think Rob Zombie should be given some credit for House of a Thousand Corpses and the sequel, The Devil's Rejects, also The Hills Have Eyes both the original and re-make, good grief those were twisted, scary, and definitely horror filled
Old School:
Wait Until Dark, The Legend of Hell House, The Birds, The Omen, The Shining, The Exorcist
The Manitou scared the crap out of me.
1. The Shining(Jack Nichoson...need I say more. It moves slow, but the great scenes are great)
2. The Exorcist (First really terryifying possession movie)
3. Alien (Very scary space movie...sci-fi horror)
4. Dracula (First classic horror movie and helped create the genre...not really scary, but a clasic)
5. Psycho (Needs no comment)
6. Night of the Living Dead (First modern zombie movie)
7. Halloween (first modern slasher movie)
8. Evil Dead II (A redo of Evil Dead with a budget)
9. Poltergeist (Changed ghosts from B-movie fare into something really creepy)
10. Jaws (first majorblockbuster movie...totally changed hollywood)
I have no clue why so many people think The Shining is the #1 movie, while it was extremely creepy but it's plodding gait all buy killed it.
1. The Exorcist
2. Halloween (John Carpenter)
3. Evil Dead
4. The Thing (John Carpenter)
5. Evil Dead II
6.Silver Bullet
7.Poltergeist
8. The Shining
9. Jaws
10. Silence of the lambs
My Top 10
1. The Shining
2. The Ring
3. Halloween
4. Salem's Lot
5. Poltergeist
6. Saw
7. Jeepers Creepers
8. The Strangers
9. Jaws
10. Battle Royale
Honorable Mention to Silent Night, Deadly Night for awesome cross-holiday campy horror.
#1 Kazaam....what? haven't you see Shaq act? lol
For me The Exorsist and Poltergest I, and II are pretty scary.
List:
1. Halloween (1978)
2. Cujo
3. Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
4. The Amityville Horror (1979)
5. The Shining
6. Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer
7. I Spit On Your Grave
8. Friday the 13th (1980) the original (and the only one that should EVER have been made).
9. Candyman
10. Pyscho (1960)
Anyone ever seen "The Brood"? 1979. Only saw it once, but won't forget it.
Jacob's Ladder was pretty freaky
Shaun of the Dead? Zombieland?
You've got to be kidding me ... IMDB users should be ashamed
Sinister was such a good one...I know it's new but it should be added next year!!! Excellent scary movie!!!
lame list. shaun of the dead a horror? lol.. more like a comedy with blood in it. the horror genre should be more defined. Zombie land and cloverfield were not great horror movies. there are way better horror movies than these turds.
Check out this list published last month......Maxim's 66 Best Horror Flicks You've Never Seen
A lot of names I have never heard of
The problem with all lists on IMDB is that they are dominated by young people with short memories. Older people don't visit IMDB, and younger people haven't even seen many of the older horror movies. So you have to take all of these IMDB lists with a healthy grain of salt.
you nailed it. that's the problem always with "best of" lists in all entertainment. The reviewers seem to think music and film started around 1982, and before that, it was just silent films, I Love Lucy and Bach in the entertainment world.
NME magazine, which is a large very influential music magazine, recently had a list of the most influential English musicians. In the top 5 was the singer of the Arctic Monkeys. Who, you ask? exactly. And missing from the list were Elton John, McCartney and about 200 other people who are more influential than the Arctic Monkeys. Case in point
One is once again reminded of how many mostly younger people nowadays apparently haven't seen a black and white or foreign language film.
Come on people how bout a little love for Poltergeist!
how does sweeney todd, possibly beat Poltergeist? Poltergeist was the ET and the Breakfast Club of my generation in the horror genre
Poltergeist left me damaged for years...first saw it at 12 or 13 and couldnt watch it again until my late 20's.
whats the shinning–please
1. The Shinning
2. Texas Chainsaw Massacre
3. The Exorcist
4. Carrie (orginal)
5. Children of the Corn
6. Night of the Living Dead
7. 28 Days Later
8. Halloween
9. Evil Dead
10. Friday the 13th
11. Nightmare on Elm Street
12. Cabin in the Woods
13. Deliverance
14. People Under the Stairs
15. House of 1000 Corpses
I just cannot consider Saw to be what I would call scary in that it was more just gory to me. That and the movie Wolf Creek both of which just felt like spending time watching people be tortured and not so much surprising you and scaring you.
Everyone's list will be different considering the vast amount of great horror films. Zombieland is the only pick I don't agree with. Its a great movie but it was way more comedy than scary.
While I know it is not technically a movie in the sense that it wasn't played in the theatre, the TV movie/series IT scared the living daylights out of me even though the ending was crap. That Clown is freaky! Also the original Poltergeist movie seems kinda corny today, it certainly freaked me out when it first came out. Anytime I would find the TV still on in the living room with just snow it definitely creaped me out. I also was scared to death of the clown under the bed as well. Oh and the movie Ring was pretty scary.
Oh and I forgot about the Pet Cemetary (Not sure which one) where the little boy is hiding under the bed and slices the guy's achilles was super creepy to me.
1. The Shining
2. The Exorcist
3. Audition
4. High Tension
5. Inside
6. REC
7. Texas Chainsaw Massacre (Original)
8. Candyman
9. Nightmare on Elm Street (Original)
10. The Strangers
Honorable Mentions
1. Antichrist
2. The Descent
3. Halloween
4. The Blair Witch Project
5. Cannibal Holocaust
6. Paranormal Activity
7. House of 1000 Corpses
8. Sinister
9. Saw
10. Funhouse
another vomit movie...
My my my. People are confusing 'scary' with Horror. Horror is a genre, scary is an adjective that can apply to many things. Pet Cemetery is horror. Silence of the Lambs is suspense. Halloween is Horror. Alien is sci fi. Can't take any list serious that doesn't bother to make sure their films are even in the genre. Come on, is Fatal Attraction romance? Is Full Metal Jacket a comedy?
Jeeeeez...
Grouping movies is useful when talking about them in general terms like this or making lists. Of course many of them don't fit neatly into a genre. I always find it funny when people get bent out of shape over supposedly misapplied genre names. Who cares? It means people like "Shaun of the Dead." I'm guessing 99.9% of them get that it's a comedy, but since it spoofs horror, it's also kinda horror. Same for the "Alien" films. Sci-fi: yes. Horror: yes. Action: yes. Reason to get exasperated: no.
Top 10 horror films:
1. Night of the Living Dead original (started zombie genre)
2. Halloween
3. Salem's Lot
4. The Exorcist
5. Jaws
6. Hocus Pocus – not a scary movie but classic and always shown on Halloween
7. The Shining
8. The Strangers
9. 30 days of Night
10. The Ring
I noticed that people left of Salem's Lot (original one). That was a really scary movie and very well done. Cloverfield was dumb. The Grudge and the Ring deserve some credit as well.
This is just ignorant. Must be a bunch of kids voting on this one. Zombieland? Really? It was a pretty entertaining flick, but it is NOT a horror story. It's a comedy, for God's sake. About the same for Sweeny Todd.
Also, some of these others aren't really horror flicks either. Elm Street and Chansaw massacre are really just shock and gore suspense flicks, like Tarrantino's stuff. It might scare people, but it's not horror. Amityville should be on the list.
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For me "The Strangers" was the scariest movie ever...because something like that could happen...
Actually it was based on a true story. Agree good add.
I saw the Strangers in the theater and was unimpressed... then I thought about it more and realized how absolutely terrifying the movie's tag line is when it's stated in the movie... 'Why are you doing this?' 'Because you were home.' EEP!
i'm worried about anyone who found strangers scary . i thought it was stupid and far from entertaining . some stupid movies can be atleast entertaining ie . Vacancy
shining was IS most OVERRATED movie in the genre
Well, since you used all caps to spell OVERRATED, I guess you win. No, wait; the other thing . . you're completely wrong. "The Shining" is one of the most memorable horror films ever, and it justly gets a lot of love from film fans.
My 10+ list in no particular order:
The Evil Dead
Evil Dead II
Re-Animator
From Beyond
Pet Semetary
The Devil's Rejects
The Texas Chainsaw Masacre 2 (1986)
Dawn of the Dead (2004)
Drag Me to Hell
Dead Alive
Ichi the Killer
A Nightmare on Elm Street
A Nightmare on Elm Street 3
Sleepwalkers
The greatest of all time? From 1931, Frankenstein.
The ring
I would personally take off Shaun of the Dead, Cloverfield, Zombieland, and Sweeney Todd. I would replace then with Original Halloween, Friday the 13th pt.1, Event Horizon and the first Candyman had me scared to turn the lights off in my bathroom.
In no particular order...
Night of the Living Dead/Dawn of the Dead (originals)
Alien/Aliens
It!
Hellraiser/Hellraiser II
Evil Dead 2:Dead by Dawn
Frankenstein (1931)
Dracula (1931)
Event Horizon
Creepshow
Carrie
TV horror:
Trilogy of Terror, "He Who Kills"
Twilight Zone, "It's a Good Life"
Roald Dahl's Tales of the Unexpected, "Skin"
"Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark"
"The Walkng Dead" series
So glad to finally see someone mention Event Horizon. That movie, by the way, is a great one to show someone without letting them know it is meant to be a scary movie – let them think they are watching a sci-fi movie and they will leave disturbed.
What about "Freaks" & "Nosferatu"? Too old?
two of my favorites 🙂
The Exorcism of Emily Rose... creepy!
Yoda – couldn't agree more about The Exorcism of Emily Rose; can't understand why it isn't even mentioned. That movie was incredibly scary and disturbing.
Interesting there has been no mention of Candyman. Also I only see Poltergeist in the comments once. This was the first horror movie I ever saw and to this day I will not eat a fried chicken leg (maggots). I also am not a big fan of clowns solely because of this movie (remember the toy clown dragging the little boy under the bed?!!!). The Blair Witch Project is the only movie I have ever seen as an adult that truly freaked me out. Part of this is because I am from Maryland I and I have been to Burketsville (yes, it does look like that). The other reason is because I saw it a few days before having to complete Combat Survival Training in the military (8 straight days in the woods). The instructors made rock circles and hung weird stick figures everywhere. That was a very tough week...I barely slept!
I don't understand Silence of the Lambs as a horror...it really isn't. Thriller, maybe. Fine line between the two, I guess. In any event, Alien should have topped that list, not The Shining, IMHO. Hellraiser was good too, but the crap acting and some of the cheesy effects distract modern viewers. Hopefully the proposed remake won't suck a la Halloween or Elm Street.
stunk...i'd rather be out with my boyfriend
you have to have a personality–you cannot just speak and babble for sake of doing that...we read the stuff.
there isn't one.
Incredibly overlooked movie that would be on lots of lists if anyone had seen it is the original "The Hitcher" with Rutger Hauer. The remake is garbage, if you see the original you will not soon forget it.
Like someone else said, any list without Halloween is useless. Watch the original Halloween alone, at night, with the lights out and it will make your list for sure.
How about "The Changeling"? Great ghost movie with a few memorable scares and a great George C Scott performance. It's up there in the "haunted house" subgenre.
Great Movie. Looks a guy who threw me out of a store once.
The Thing with Kurt Russell
Agreed.
1) Jeepers Creepers
2) The Ring
3) The Thing
4) Bram Strocker's Dracular
2001: A Space Odyssey
HAL was a ruthless killer..
Agree with 'The Shining'. Rosemary's Baby also a classic. But for bone chilling horror watch the under-the-radar film 'The Descent' – pure horror.
Agree
The Birds. I still don't completely trust seagulls.
"Carnival of Souls." It's kinda cheesy, yet still manages to creep me out in a fun way.
Zombieland and Shaun of the Dead? What?
Don't get me wrong, I liked both movies. But they both are clearly comedies, not horror.
And Cloverfield? Seriously? My God.
yeah..i agree wiz u including cloverfield in the above list is a complete nonsense..
Cloverfield was pure junk.
Tucker and Dale vs Evil – hot college kids, a lake, a wood chipper, a nosy sheriff, rednecks... its got something for everyone
Race with the Devil- Don't look now- The Howling-The Wicker Man-Angel Heart-The Sentinel-The Fog.
I haven't seen the movie "Diabolique", the 1955 version. Very suspenseful and creepy.
TCM just had this on within the last week. Good movie and full of suspense.
"Eyes of Fire" (1983) and "The Bird with the Crystal Plumage" (1970)
Silence Of The Lambs, Children Of The Corn, Quarentine... Just to add
1. The Exorcist
2. The Changeling
3. Nightmare on Elm Street (original, not the remake garbage)
4. The Texas Chansaw Massacire (See above comment)
5. The Howling
6. Suspiria
7. Zombie
8. Night of the Living Dead
9. Hellraiser
10. The Legend of Hell House
Wow Flyye, you just listed some of my favorite movies! I heart you! I think The Changeling is#1 for me, gives me the creeps just thinking about it. I first saw it when I was a kid, doesn't help that I've always lived in old houses. Ugh, remembering that ball bouncing down the steps...creepy!
The Changeling is still #1 for me.
Wet. Bouncing. Ball...creeps me right out!
Thanks, the wet bouncing ball still makes me jump a little
Ummm...why has no one mentioned Children of the Corn? Not saying it's number 1 but no one has mentioned it in their comments.
Well, if we were going by film snob ratings, all the best horror movies would be anything made before 1970 because as is the truth of all that is good in movies, the majority if not all of the best films were made before 1970. Remember not considering older movies as the sheer greatest is faulty.
"Carrie" gave rise to many elements in some of today's "scary" movies and must not be forgotten!
Anything with Lindsey Lohan in it
When I was a kid, my sister & I would watch 'Big Movie Shocker' on late Friday nights in the South. Old b & w movies like The Mummy, The Invisible Man, The Werewolf were terrifying then & now. Don't care for all the blood & gore stuff marketed as horror now. Some on the list are fine, but what about these: Phantom of the Opera ("Sing, Christine, Sing!"), The 3 Faces of Eve, with Joanne Woodward, The Fly, both the original from the 1950's with Vincent Price & David Hedison, ("Help me, Help me") & the excellent & bloodcurdling remake with Jeff Goldblum & Geena Davis. I also think 'What Lies Beneath' with Michelle Pfieffer & Harrison Ford can induce nightmares. 'Ghost Story' which I think came out in the 1980's has been underrated. With a foursome of fine older actors, including Melvyn Douglas & Fred Astaire, it ought to make the cut, too.
no particular order:
Evil Dead 2: Dead By Dawn
Elm St. 1
Elm St. 2
Friday 1, 2, and 4
Halloween 1, 2, and 4
The Howling
You're kidding with all the lame, terrible sequels, right? In any order, these are some Worst Of list.
Hated Event Horizon not really scary just lame, loved I am Legend but not really all that scary. Here's the list of the scariest that I have seen: #1 Nightmare on Elm Street – saw it in college, scared the krap out of everyone that saw it. #2 Serpent and the Rainbow – scary, #3 True Believers – not well known but scary all the same #4 Children of the Corn – Stephen King can be very scary #5 Prince of Darkness – Sinister and Scary #6 The Exorcist – Bad Ass Old School Scary #7 Silence of the Lambs – Hannibal Lector is evil incarnate #8 Blair Witch Project – minimalism at it's best #9 Alien – Sci Fi but also scary and # 10 The Fog -Campy but the scariest movie I had ever seen at 14 years old, I don't remember but possibly the only movie that Adrien Barbeau didn't show her breasts in, or maybe not!
How did the 2005 Dawn of the Dead not make this list?
Shaun of the Dead is on there but not the movie it spoofed that was actually serious horror, and helped spawn tons of new games based around the zombie apocalypse genre?. SMH.
...anything with Barbara Streisand in it...
If Halloween isn't on here then the list is a complete and utter joke.
In no particular order:
The Exorcist (#1 all time)
Trick 'r Treat (2007)
Halloween (John Carpenter)
Halloween (Rob Zombie)
Friday the 13th Part 2
Rosemary's Baby
The Shining
A Nightmare On Elm Street
The Omen
The Amityville Horror
In my opinion, Alien should not be on this list because it's classfiied as Sci-Fi and not horror.
I would also include Hellraiser and Ed Wood (Johnny Depp) just for kicks.
i'll agree with some, but wow, some of the list is just horrible. here's mine for what it's worth
1. paranormal activity – for me the scariest thing is what's not on the screen, my imagination is almost always worse than what's on the screen. plus it played on my personal fears perfectly.
2. the exorcist – i'm 38 and can't stand to look at that f'd up face that pops up from time to time
3. the shining
4. nightmare on elm street (original) – the first horror movie i saw and had nightmares for a month.
5. the thing (1980)
6. the descent – so hard to watch when you're claustrophobic.
7. event horizon – i'm not sure what it is about this movie, creeps me out
8. jaws – every time i see this i can't go in the water for a while
9. alien – giger and ridley scott.. brilliant
10 – hellraiser 1&2. i can never decide between the two
Lists composed by people who choose what they do because they think other people expect them to choose those films. Urbanites who sit sipping lattes while they wax poetic about hidden meanings, etc.
If Friday the 13th and numerous Fulci movies aren't on it, it's a JOKE.
Although not a movie (1990 BBC TV series), I've always enjoyed "The Green Man" this time of year...
Jeepers Creepers (Francis Ford Coppola was an executive producer)
Attack the Block
The Thing (John Carpenter's version)
Abominable Dr. Phibes (with Vincent Price)
Theater of Blood (also with Vincent Price)
Student Bodies
JUST SHOW US THE LIST!!!! IN ORDER!!! Why do we have to click on a link to see it, while the author mentions some of the films in random order???
I'd definitely put The Haunting (1963 original) at number one. Nobody's mentioned The Bad Seed (1956), but I think it is one of the creepiest films I've ever seen.
Second that nominmation. The Haunting is a classic thriller and is best watched on a stormy night with no lights. Mwaaaaaaa
Totally agree on "The Haunting". Best line, "Who was that holding my hand?"
I love The Haunting (1963), a black and white classic with very few big name actors, directed by Robert Wise. It's set in New England, (and filmed in the less expensive Old England), and it is great. It's credible (for it's genre), intelligent, with excellent dialog, and special effects, and there might be houses that are really haunted. I like a lot of the other horror movies mentioned, but, The Haunting is my favorite. Stephen King and Stanley Kuberick had a disagreement about The Shinning, and I feel their conflict of interests does show on the screen. The ad lib 'Here's Johnny' is a bit over the top for me. A good film, but, not as good as Paths of Glory, (from Stanley Kubrick) or Carrie (from Brian de Palma and Stephen King).
the top horror filsm of ALL time is anything that Kevine James or Adam Sandler acted in,or anytthing George Lucas filmed,or any film that Tim Burton re-made.
I'm terrified just thinking about those messes!! The acting and directing is JUST TERRIFYING
How come no mentioned of "Friday the 13"?? Kill her mommy.
What about PHANTASM
Without a doubt.
The Howling.
1) The Haunting (1963)
2) The Innocents(1961)
3) Alien (1979)
4) The Exorcist
5) Night of the Living Dead (original)
6) The Lady in White
7) Psycho
8) The Others
9) Don't Look Back
10 The Thing (1951
Don't Look Back – great call....
Great choices, I mostly agree. I think that the later version of The Thing was scarier than the original.
I would have taken the list seriously until I read "Cloverfield". HORRIBLE movie. Shaun of the Dead was good/funny, but not a top 10 film at all.
5. Exorcist
4. Zombieland
3. Amityville Horror
2. Poltergeist
1. Gigli
How come no one mentioned Dead Calm?
Shaun Of The Dead may not be one of the best actual 'horror' movies, but, by far, it's the best tongue-in-cheek horror movie...
Two things: One, yes, this list is a travesty of justice but you have to remember this was voted on by kids, most of which grew up in the CGI era or were probably trolling the list for a laugh. Two, scary has changed, more than likely due to a desensitization to gore and violence. Psychological terror or suspense have become increasingly muted in favor of gore for gore action.
But, like you all, I feel compelled to give my 10:
10. The Shining
9. Halloween (the original)
8. The Hills Have Eyes (the original)
7. House of Wax (the original)
6. The Exorcist
5. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
4. Alien
3. Night of the Living Dead (the original)
2. Carrie
1. A Nightmare on Elm Street (the original)
Again, two things: First, of course I'm biased. Elm Street was the first horror movie I ever saw, it still scares the crap out of me, and I'm wearing a red and green sweater and brown fedora as we speak. Second, give the kids a break. They thought Scream was scary...
You can't blame this on "the kids". I would probably fall into that category, and I agree that the list is horrible.
1: The Exorcist
2: The Shining
3: Alien
4: Pet Cemetary
5: American Werewolf in Paris
6: Friday the 13th (My parents let me watch it when I was like 8 or 9. I thought the mother was going to come into my house and kill my family. I slept with my parents that night 😦 )
7: The Changeling
8: Creepshow
9: Nightmare on Elm Street
10: Night of the living Dead (original)
Yeah, I know I left off Halloween. Great movie, but it doesn't have "moments" that I can recall left me staring at my closet or afraid to go asleep as a kid.
OH! And the original "The Blob" with Steve McQueen. Another great horror flick.
I agree with The Shining being number one. I think IMDB users are a smart little bunch to avoid slasher films and go straight for the movies that are actually good. Good on them.
What about silent hill or 13 ghosts? The house on haunted hill?
Ooooooooh Silent Hill!! Great choice, i forgot about that one
Lets not forget Quarantine either. Very scary and a VERY real possiblity
Cutting Moments by director Douglas Buck. Look it up, not something for the squeamish
Rob Zombie's Halloween probably my #1
Blair Witch Project a close 2nd
When a Stranger Calls (original) #3
28 Days Later
The Shining
Paranormal Activity (1&2 only)
The Thing (1980)
Hostel
Hated the Ring, hated Saw, Freddy vs Jason (really? it suked), Cloverfield was a waste. The Exorcist was comical.
Paranormal Activity is the worst horror movie series of all time.... where is that movie scary....the best part was when the credits rolled....
Let me clarify. I should have put original after Village of the Damned. The remake is horrible.
this is probably dating me but how about Black Sunday (Italian 1960, directed by Mario Bava) or Roman Polanski's Repulsion? They go in my top ten....
Mario Bava did some great movies. Blood and Black Lace is another great one from him.
"Horror Hotel" with Christopher Lee. Now that was a creepy movie.
si?
Some good movies in these lists but I think there are two that no one mentioned and should be at or near the top. First on my list is Eraserhead, second is Doctor Strangelove which had its comedic moments but is really the ultimate horror story for the human race.
Here are my ten. Many i bet you guys have never heard of or seen. 1. Dead Girl. 2. Teeth. 3. Let's Scare Jessica to Death. 4. The Other. 5. When a Stranger Calls (original) 6. The Human Centipede. 7. The Abominable Dr. Phibes. 8.Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things. 9. Village of the Damned. 10. Burnt Offerings. Classics all.
Forgot about Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things. Now I have to go out and watch it again!
only 1 guy mentions a Karloff movie, who stands head and shoulders above the rest.. I'll take The Black Cat along with Frankenstein... Seven and Carrie were terrible movies
Try "Van Diemen's Land" (true story) about escapees in Tasmania who end up eating each other as they begin to starve with one person surviving (Alexander Pearce) – real fair dinkum horror...crikey!
I'm surprised The Omen (original) did not make the cut.
Exactly. The Omen is my favorite movie of all time and fully deserves to be included with the other classics. Oh well, times change I guess, we just cannot forget the originals that set the stage for all that came after, as crap as most of them are! lol
"Mitt Romney Running for President" is the scariest of all the horror movies combined!!
I totally agree
Truuuuu
No scarier than the last 4 years under the socialist piece of crap that is Obama.
That's #3 behind "Joe takes over" and "American Lenin, part 2"
So true
1. The Omen
2. Insidious
3. The Ring
4. A Nightmare On Elm Street
5. When A Stranger Calls (original)
6. The Town that Dreaded Sundown
7. The Shining
8. The Reef
9. Jeepers Creepers
10.Vacancy
Great List Shawn! I especially love that you included 'When A Stranger Calls'! (the original of course)
Yes, great list!
Have to agree with The Ring...that movie messed me up.
cloverfield? really?
Halloween was, is and will always be the number 1 horror flick of all time!!!
How about An American Warewolve in London? That movie is a classic, with its transformation scene into a warewolve setting the standard for special effects in that era.
Terrible list. This list is a great representation of people's generally bad taste for the arts. Explains why Jersey Shore and Justin Bieber are popular.
"It appears you've sent a duplicate post"... baloney.
Hit "post" 1 time, only !
Joe D'
I have to give it up for the old school. Vincent Price is by far the best and set the standards for todays horror.
What about the original Wicker Man with Edward Woodward?
It should be on someone's list.
Night of the Living Dead
The Little Girl Who Lived Down the Lane
The Changeling
Exorcist
Psycho
The Haunting (Julie Harris version)
Rosemary's Baby
Halloween
Scream
Dracula (with Christopher Lee)
By far the most scary movie of all time is JAWS . Think about it . It's real and can happen and still freaks people out today , just by makin a fin in the water or hummin a few bars of that music !
From a purely psychological standpoint (as in not a drop of blood shed), it's tough to beat the "New Horror" subgenre entry of Charlie Kaufman's "Synecdoche, New York". No one will agree with me though. And I'm ok with that.
What about "Event Horizon"?
Agreed. I saw that in the theater and was scared poopless. The film does rely upon sound cues though, so it is a bit less effective on video.
The Exorcist is the scariest. I can agree The Shining belongs in the top five. If you're gonna go psychological horror, with Silence of the Lambs, then Se7en needs very strong consideration, as we'll. I'd probably throw in one of the seminal slasher films, like Halloween or Friday the 13th, to round things out.
Blair Witch Project
BD
I am horror buff and other than the classics I thought "Event Horizon" was one of the great new horror movies.
Also, what about "The Thing"?
this list has to be a joke- shaun of the dead #3??? zombieland?? april fools early
While I would have the same number 1 and 2, number 3 should be The Omen (not even on the list) and 4 should be The Exorcist, 5 The Villiage of the Damned (the original and redux). 6 Rosemary's Baby 7. Carrie. 8. Night of the Living Dead. 9. Poltergeist. 10. Psycho
Honourable mention: The Thing (original and redux)
That would be my list anyhow.
When you combine Stephen King and Stanley Kubrick you get an unbeatable masterpiece. The Shining will always be the gold standard of horror films.
What about The Blair Witch Project? I honestly thought when I first saw it that it was based on a true story, and it scared the crap out of me! And Hush...Hush Sweet Charlotte, with Bette Davis, still gives me the creeps too.
It's hard to rate a horror or scary movie anymore; the more there are, the more people get de-sensitized to them. I'm sure the younger folks on here would be surprised at how many people pick good ol' "Jaws" as the scariest movie of all time. Remember: you had to go see this in a thater, not on your TV, so there was that familiar cavernous feel to the space around you as well as the sound quality. Plus, it was underwater-you couldn't see it coming, you didn't know where to go to be safe. Theatre goers were REALLY on the edge of their seats, just because subconsciously they felt they HAD to be able to bolt and run. People screamed bloody murder at the Jaws opening. AND-Honestly-NO ONE went in the ocean that year for a long time. Those that did stayed very close to the beach...
The original Alien is my favorite – a great film blending elements of both horror and sci-fi, and it's held up impressively well given that it's more than 3 decades old. I agree that films like Zombieland and Shaun of the Dead are more comedy than horror – surprised they would make it onto a list like this. My top 5, based purely on personal preference, are below. To each his or her own, though!
1. Alien
2. The Shining
3. The Exorcist
4. The Ring
5. 28 Days Later
the book was even more scary
What about the original "The Thing"?
OK Sam, you did mention a few good ones like: Near Dark, Dawn of the Dead, Henry, and the Thing.
But most important, I am the master of Horror, not you, me, not you....ME! And I don't know why Carrie is mentioned, that was just OK, and the "hand out of the grave at the end" was a cheap thrill, and would startle anyone with it's abruptness.
Carrie is there because I liked the movie it's just a very creepy movie because of the mother played by Piper Laurie. I'm a horror movie buff so I just named some movies that I liked. I could of named 1000 but I just wanted to name a few that I enjoyed over the years. I'm just giving my option so don't hate.
For some reason I thought "Exorcist: The Beginning" was real creepy. It's the one set in Africa where they discover the ancient church. The one where the priest goes down into the tunnel beneath the church to confront the demon. To me it was just really creepy.
Also some of the episodes of "The Masters of Horror". Most notably the "Cigarette Burns" episode.
And although not truly a horror movie, "8 mm".
Top Ten Horror Films of all time.
10.Carrie
9. Audition
8.Cannibal Holocaust
7.The Decent
6.The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
5.George A Romero's MARTIN
4. Near Dark
3. George A Romero's Dawn of the Dead
2.The Changeling
1. Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer
Also Good: Wes Cravens The Last House on the Left, Eden Lake,Canadian horror movie PIN, The Brood, Shivers, Rabid, Evil Dead 1,2,Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon,Inside,ills,Martyrs ,Lucio Fulci Zombie, The Beyond, Re-Animator , From Beyond, Night of the creeps, Return of the Living Dead, Dario Argento's Suspiria, Deep Red, John Carpenters Halloween, The Thing,Cronos, Let the right one in, REC,Julias Eyes,
So many more.
I'm the Horror Master.
"Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer" and "Cannibal Holocaust" were insane movies.
I didn't see those until I was in my 20s and they still made me uncomfortable.
Come on guys, here is the true horror list coming from an expert on horror
1) The Exorcist
2) Night of the living dead
3) The Shining
4) Psycho
5) The Haunting (old B&W version)
6) I am legend
7) Frankenstein (B&W)
8) Alien
9) Evil Dead
10) Halloween
Special mention – The Walking Dead – TV series
Pretty good list. As far as suspense goes, I'd have to work in a spot for The Orphanage...
..I am Legend? Seriously? The short story is amazing in its ideas but the movie not so scary... it is more a love story although a different type of one.
Definitely the original B & W Haunting!
That list is perfect..... FOR ME TO POOP ON! Seriously though that list is pretty bad. For me Psycho would be #1 with The Exorcist a close second.
I know, right? More than half the movies have no business being on that list. Shaun of the Dead is pure crap. Zombieland is a COMEDY. People don't know good horror films anymore!
Yeah and meanwhile classics like Poltergeist and The Omen are left off. Guess this what happens when ill educated teenies get to vote.
This list is stupid. Shaun of the Dead......Really tis is a comedy, not a horror movie. Here is my top 10 list:
10. From Dusk Til Dawn
9. Carrie
8. Freddy Vs. Jason
7. Night of the Living Dead
6. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre(with Jessica Biel)
5. See No Evil
4. Friday the 13th: Part 7
3. Urban Legend
2. The Exorcist
1. Rob Zombies: Halloween
With the exception of Carrie, The Exorcist, Chainsaw, and Night of the Living Dead this list SUCKS! Half those movies are awful !!! Freddy vs. Jason really??? Gross.
LOL
Most of those movies are trash. Only good ones are 9, 7, and 2. Original Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Original Halloween should replace the junk remakes.