In September 2021 Time Out writers and horror experts chose their list of the 100 best horror movies of all time. The list includes everything from slasher films, scary alien productions to monster features and silent cinema classics. Perhaps unsurprisingly its American cinema of the 1970s that receives the most recognition.
- 100. The Babadook (2014)
- 99. The Invisible Man (2020)
- 98. The Mist (2007)
- 97. God Told Me To (1976)
- 96. It Follows (2014)
- 95. Saint Maud (2020)
- 94. Scream (1996)
- 93. Re-Animator (1985)
- 92. It (2017)
- 91. Braindead (1992)
- 90. Dead Ringers (1988)
- 89. Day of the Dead (1985)
- 88. The Unknown (1927)
- 87. Session 9 (2001)
- 86. Saló, or the 120 Days of Sodom (1975)
- 85. Phantasm (1979)
- 84. Candyman (1992)
- 83. Dracula (1958)
- 82. Black Sabbath (1963)
- 81. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)
- 80. Midsommar (2019)
- 79. A Quiet Place (2018)
- 78. Ginger Snaps (2000)
- 77. The Fog (1979)
- 76. Get Out (2017)
- 75. Hellraiser (1987)
- 74. Black Sunday (aka The Mask of Satan, Revenge of the Vampire) (1960)
- 73. Black Christmas (1974)
- 72. The Old Dark House (1932)
- 71. Kill, Baby… Kill! (aka Operazione Paura, Curse of the Dead)
- 70. The Cabinet of Dr Caligari (1920)
- 69. 28 Days Later… (2002)
- 68. Night of the Demon (1957)
- 67. The Witch (2015)
- 66. Switchblade Romance (2003)
- 65. Pulse (Kairo) (2001)
- 64. The Beyond (1981)
- 63. Lake Mungo (2008)
- 62. The Night of the Hunter (1955)
- 61. Les Diaboliques (1955)
- 60. [Rec] (2007)
- 59. Vampyr (1932)
- 58. Kwaidan (1964)
- 57. The Vanishing (1988)
- 56. The Sixth Sense (1999)
- 55. The Wailing
- 54. Repulsion (1965)
- 53. Eraserhead (1977)
- 52. Deep Red (1975)
- 51. The Devils (1971)
- 50. The Descent (2005)
- 49. Peeping Tom (1960)
- 48. Ring (Ringu) (1998)
- 47. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1958)
- 46. Dead of Night (1945)
- 45. The Others (2001)
- 44. The Silence of the Lambs (1990)
- 43. The Tenant (1976)
- 42. Hour of the Wolf (1967)
- 41. The Devil’s Backbone (2001)
- 40. Possession (1981)
- 39. Jacob’s Ladder (1990)
- 38. Eyes Without a Face (1959)
- 37. Frankenstein (1931)
- 36. The Wicker Man (1973)
- 35. Carnival of Souls (1962)
- 34. Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
- 33. Hereditary (2018)
- 32. Cat People (1942)
- 31. Videodrome (1982)
- 30. The Changeling (1979)
- 29. The Birds (1963)
- 28. The Evil Dead (1981)
- 27. The Blair Witch Project (1999)
- 26. Poltergeist (1982)
- 25. The Omen (1976)
- 24. Freaks (1932)
- 23. Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror (1922)
- 22. The Haunting (1963)
- 21. Audition (1999)
- 20. A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
- 19. Let the Right One In (2008)
- 18. The Fly (1986)
- 17. Evil Dead II (1987)
- 16. An American Werewolf in London (1981)
- 15. Carrie (1982)
- 14. The Innocents (1961)
- 13. Don’t Look Now (1973)
- 12. Night of the Living Dead (1968)
- 11. Suspiria (1976)
- 10. Jaws (1975)
- 9. Dawn of the Dead (1974)
- 8. Halloween (1978)
- 7. Rosemary’s Baby (1968)
- 6. The Thing (1982)
- 5. Psycho (1960)
- 4. Alien (1979)
- 3. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
- 2. The Shining (1980)
- 1. The Exorcist (1973)
See Also –
For Halloween 2015, Daily Beast invited acclaimed filmmaker Martin Scorsese to name what he believes to be the scariest movies of all time. Perhaps unsurprisingly Scorsese doesn’t include the sort gratuitous horror of the 21st century and names nothing later than the early 1980s in his list of 11 films. Pleasing to see recognition from the Taxi Driver director for classic British horror such as Dead of Night and Jack Clayton’s atmospheric masterpiece The Innocents.
Martin Scorsese 10-Movie DVD & Blu-ray Collection: Goodfellas / Mean Streets / Aviator / Departed / Wolf of Wall Street / Shutter Island / Taxi Driver / Raging Bull / New York, New York
In October 2010, as part of the Guardian and Observer’s Film Season, The Guardian published a list of the 25 best horror films. Hitchcock’s Psycho finishes in top in a list that includes a number of classics from the early days of cinema, Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror, Vampyr, The Cabinet of Dr Caligari and Les Vampires.
In 2005, Total Film magazine carried out poll to find the greatest horror films of all time. Below is the top 10 films. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, made for $140,000 US dollars and inspired by the exploits of real-life serial killer Ed Gein topped the list ahead of Halloween.
The 100 Scariest Movie Moments list comes from an American television documentary miniseries that aired in late October 2004 on Bravo. In five 60-minute segments, the miniseries counts down what producer Anthony Timpone, writer Patrick Moses, and director Kevin Kaufman have determined as the 100 most frightening and disturbing moments in the history of movies. Each segment includes interviews from horror genre experts and other celebrities who experienced the listed films, as well as film clips and movie stills from the films covered. However, information on the list only includes details of specific moments in the films for the top 5 placings.
Having just enjoyed spectacular success with the lavishly scaled North by Northwest, with Psycho, Hitchcock surprisingly turned to a shooting schedule and black and white photography that was more commonly used in television. The grisly horror/thriller follows Marion Crane (Janet Leigh), who, while hiding at a motel after embezzling from her employer, encounters the the initially mild mannered motel owner, Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins). Unsettling and strange when compared to the director’s earlier romantic adventures, the film features a mix of brilliant montage, long mobile camera shots, complex characterisation and dramatic narrative shifts that play with the audience’s expectations. It’s here that Hitchcock’s collaboration with composer Bernard Herrmann arguably reaches its peak, particularly with one of cinema’s most acclaimed sequences, the famous shower scene. Derided at the time of release by critics who deemed it to have too much focus on the sort of seedy subject matter they thought was more at home in cheap horror, the film is now seen as one of Hithcock’s major works. Ultimately, while it’s sex and violence may seem tame and even predictable by 21st century standards, the film represents an important turning point in American film history as it brought such excesses into mainstream cinema but it was also such content, and particularly an increased tendency from Hitchcock towards violence against women, that would later cause a decline in his popularity.
Buy or Rent (Watch Online)
Lynch’s unsettling and provocative drama centres around a college student, Jeffrey Beaumont (Kyle MacLachlan), who, upon returning from visiting his ill father in hospital, comes across a human ear in a field in his idealised hometown of Lumberton. Intrigued by what he’s found, Jeffrey journeys behind the facade of middle American suburbia into the terrifying criminal world of the malevolent Frank Booth (Dennis Hopper). Initially disliked by some critics for the level of violence, the film’s reputation has grown from cult status to being considered one of the best films of the 1980s. With Lynch at the peak of his disorientating powers and Hopper giving a terrifying career best performance Blue Velvet remains, all these decades later, a uniquely troubling and exhilarating experience.
Buy or Rent (Watch Online)
Buy or Rent (Watch Online)
Nominated for 11 Academy Awards (including nominations in all four acting categories), the film stars William Holden as a naive and unsuccessful screenwriter and Gloria Swanson as a faded movie star who draws him into her demented fantasy world, in which she dreams of making a return to the screen. While transcending film noir tropes and featuring notable appearances from Erich von Stroheim and Cecil B. DeMille (playing himself), it’s Swanson’s legendary unsettling performance that propels Wilder’s deliciously cynical and melodramatic black comedy to greatness. Still probably the best critique of the inner workings of Hollywood and the destructive melancholy that comes with been trapped in the past.
Buy or Rent (Watch Online)
Alexander Walker was a British film critic who wrote for the London Evening Standard from 1960 to the end of his death in 2003. His most extended work was a book trilogy on the history of the British film industry: Hollywood England, National Heroes and Icons in the Fire. In addition, he was the author of an Elizabeth Taylor biography, a history of the impact made on Hollywood by the rise of the talkies (The Shattered Silents) and a study of the work of Stanley Kubrick. Below are his top 10 choices for