Favorite Horror Films
by FilmMuscle | created - 30 Oct 2013 | updated - 24 Oct 2022 | PublicThe horror films that I will always remember years and years ahead. Some of them utterly shocked me, others appalled me with disgusting images, and there were also the ones that kept me up at night, unable to erase the creepiest old guy I've ever seen from my head.
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1. The Thing (1982)
R | 109 min | Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi
A research team in Antarctica is hunted by a shape-shifting alien that assumes the appearance of its victims.
Director: John Carpenter | Stars: Kurt Russell, Wilford Brimley, Keith David, Richard Masur
Votes: 466,720 | Gross: $13.78M
Part of what makes a horror film that much more effective is placing yourself into the position of its characters; wondering how incredibly frightening and life-scarring such a experience would be. Filled with those disgusting images I mentioned and a completely terrifying concept, this one definitely won't be forgotten.
2. Alien (1979)
R | 117 min | Horror, Sci-Fi
The crew of a commercial spacecraft encounters a deadly lifeform after investigating a mysterious transmission of unknown origin.
Director: Ridley Scott | Stars: Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, John Hurt, Veronica Cartwright
Votes: 950,915 | Gross: $78.90M
One of the best build-ups in a horror film; it makes sure to wisely build the viewer's fear and expectations of the creatures' appearance and capability, ensuring that all the characters are properly fleshed out before meeting the terror of their dreams.
3. Psycho (1960)
R | 109 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A Phoenix secretary embezzles $40,000 from her employer's client, goes on the run and checks into a remote motel run by a young man under the domination of his mother.
Director: Alfred Hitchcock | Stars: Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, Vera Miles, John Gavin
Votes: 718,343 | Gross: $32.00M
Everyone's bound to have this on their lists, right? Alfred Hitchcock at his finest!
4. The Shining (1980)
R | 146 min | Drama, Horror
A family heads to an isolated hotel for the winter where a sinister presence influences the father into violence, while his psychic son sees horrific forebodings from both past and future.
Director: Stanley Kubrick | Stars: Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd, Scatman Crothers
Votes: 1,106,815 | Gross: $44.02M
One of the best psychological horror movies in existence. Also, we can't forget about Jack Nicholson's brilliant performance. Everything from its ominous cinematography to the best telling of a ghost story perfectly explains why Stanley Kubrick is widely revered.
5. Misery (1990)
R | 107 min | Drama, Thriller
After a famous author is rescued from a car crash by a fan of his novels, he comes to realize that the care he is receiving is only the beginning of a nightmare of captivity and abuse.
Director: Rob Reiner | Stars: James Caan, Kathy Bates, Richard Farnsworth, Frances Sternhagen
Votes: 235,608 | Gross: $61.28M
Definitely one of the more underrated horror flicks; Terrific performances from James Caan and Oscar-winning Kathy Bates, and an overall substantially creepy premise.
6. Sinister (I) (2012)
R | 110 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A controversial true-crime writer finds a box of Super 8 home movies in his new home, revealing that the murder case he is currently researching could be the work of an unknown serial killer whose legacy dates back to the 1960s.
Director: Scott Derrickson | Stars: Ethan Hawke, Juliet Rylance, James Ransone, Fred Thompson
Votes: 280,218 | Gross: $48.09M
For the sake of including a contemporary horror film (since there aren't a lot of good ones), this one definitely exceeded my expectations. A remarkably eerie atmosphere, and unusually exceptional performances from a horror film (though with Ethan Hawke's involvement, that's really not surprising). Although it has a very mediocre (from a generous standpoint) ending, the rest of it will definitely make you feel uncomfortable.
7. The Ring (2002)
PG-13 | 115 min | Horror, Mystery
A journalist must investigate a mysterious videotape which seems to cause the death of anyone one week to the day after they view it.
Director: Gore Verbinski | Stars: Naomi Watts, Martin Henderson, Brian Cox, David Dorfman
Votes: 375,074 | Gross: $129.13M
You can compare this its foreign original all you want, but without seeing the original and only the remake, its uniquely freaky premise will undoubtedly keep you up the following night.
8. Jaws (1975)
PG | 124 min | Adventure, Mystery, Thriller
When a killer shark unleashes chaos on a beach community off Cape Cod, it's up to a local sheriff, a marine biologist, and an old seafarer to hunt the beast down.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss, Lorraine Gary
Votes: 659,535 | Gross: $260.00M
Though I would consider this more of a thriller, Jaws will make you think about jumping into the ocean next time.
9. 28 Days Later (2002)
R | 113 min | Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi
Four weeks after a mysterious, incurable virus spreads throughout the UK, a handful of survivors try to find sanctuary.
Director: Danny Boyle | Stars: Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris, Christopher Eccleston, Alex Palmer
Votes: 445,833 | Gross: $45.06M
The peak of zombie films
10. The Sixth Sense (1999)
PG-13 | 107 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Malcolm Crowe, a child psychologist, starts treating a young boy, Cole, who encounters dead people and convinces him to help them. In turn, Cole helps Malcolm reconcile with his estranged wife.
Director: M. Night Shyamalan | Stars: Bruce Willis, Haley Joel Osment, Toni Collette, Olivia Williams
Votes: 1,051,493 | Gross: $293.51M
Nothing more to say than it is surely spine-tingling!
11. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
R | 118 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A young F.B.I. cadet must receive the help of an incarcerated and manipulative cannibal killer to help catch another serial killer, a madman who skins his victims.
Director: Jonathan Demme | Stars: Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, Scott Glenn, Ted Levine
Votes: 1,548,395 | Gross: $130.74M
How can anyone forget Anthony Hopkins' amazing portrayal of the sinister Hannibal? Well, here, he's competing with the bizarre and hair-raising (that's probably an understatement) Buffalo Bill.
12. The Others (2001)
PG-13 | 104 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
In 1945, immediately following the end of Second World War, a woman who lives with her two photosensitive children on her darkened old family estate in the Channel Islands becomes convinced that the home is haunted.
Director: Alejandro Amenábar | Stars: Nicole Kidman, Christopher Eccleston, Fionnula Flanagan, Alakina Mann
Votes: 393,275 | Gross: $96.52M
13. Black Christmas (1974)
R | 98 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
During their Christmas break, a group of sorority girls are stalked by a stranger.
Director: Bob Clark | Stars: Olivia Hussey, Keir Dullea, Margot Kidder, John Saxon
Votes: 48,359 | Gross: $4.05M
14. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)
PG | 115 min | Horror, Sci-Fi
When strange seeds drift to earth from space, mysterious pods begin to grow and invade San Francisco, replicating the city's residents one body at a time.
Director: Philip Kaufman | Stars: Donald Sutherland, Brooke Adams, Jeff Goldblum, Veronica Cartwright
Votes: 69,871 | Gross: $24.95M
15. The Fly (1986)
R | 96 min | Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi
A brilliant but eccentric scientist begins to transform into a giant man/fly hybrid after one of his experiments goes horribly wrong.
Director: David Cronenberg | Stars: Jeff Goldblum, Geena Davis, John Getz, Joy Boushel
Votes: 201,950 | Gross: $40.46M
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