2012's Top Horror Films
by columbusbuck | created - 09 Sep 2019 | updated - 30 Oct 2019 | PublicA listing of the top horror films from best to worst based on critical ratings, user rantings, and personal rankings.
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1. The Collection (II) (2012)
R | 82 min | Horror, Thriller
A man who escapes from the vicious grips of the serial killer known as "The Collector" is then forced to help rescue an innocent girl from the killer's booby-trapped lair.
Director: Marcus Dunstan | Stars: Josh Stewart, Emma Fitzpatrick, Christopher McDonald, Randall Archer
Votes: 54,050 | Gross: $12.84M
2. Prometheus (I) (2012)
R | 124 min | Adventure, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Following clues to the origin of mankind, a team finds a structure on a distant moon, but they soon realize they are not alone.
Director: Ridley Scott | Stars: Noomi Rapace, Logan Marshall-Green, Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron
Votes: 643,941 | Gross: $126.48M
3. 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: 280,017 | Gross: $48.09M
4. V/H/S (2012)
R | 116 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
When a group of misfits are hired by an unknown third party to burglarize a desolate house and acquire a rare VHS tape, they discover more found footage than they bargained for.
Directors: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, David Bruckner, Tyler Gillett, Justin Martinez, Glenn McQuaid, Radio Silence, Joe Swanberg, Chad Villella, Ti West, Adam Wingard | Stars: Calvin Lee Reeder, Lane Hughes, Adam Wingard, Hannah Fierman
Votes: 68,325 | Gross: $0.10M
5. The Tall Man (2012)
R | 106 min | Crime, Drama, Horror
When her child goes missing, a mother looks to unravel the legend of the Tall Man, an entity who allegedly abducts children.
Director: Pascal Laugier | Stars: Jessica Biel, Jodelle Ferland, William B. Davis, Stephen McHattie
Votes: 43,218
6. The Pact (II) (2012)
R | 89 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
As a woman struggles to come to grips with her past in the wake of her mother's death and the disappearance of her sister, an unsettling presence emerges in her childhood home.
Director: Nicholas McCarthy | Stars: Caity Lotz, Casper Van Dien, Mark Steger, Agnes Bruckner
Votes: 25,334
7. Truth or Die (II) (2012)
Not Rated | 96 min | Horror, Mystery
Young British boys and girls travel to an isolated cabin after being promised a night of heavy partying. Instead of the fun they hoped for, they meet a killer out to reap vengeance on them for the death of his brother.
Director: Robert Heath | Stars: Tom Kane, Liam Boyle, Jack Gordon, Florence Hall
Votes: 10,200
8. The Battery (2012)
Not Rated | 101 min | Adventure, Drama, Horror
The personalities of two former baseball players clash as they traverse the rural back roads of a post-plague New England teeming with the undead.
Director: Jeremy Gardner | Stars: Jeremy Gardner, Adam Cronheim, Niels Bolle, Alana O'Brien
Votes: 10,361
9. The Woman in Black (2012)
PG-13 | 95 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
A young solicitor travels to a remote village where he discovers that the vengeful ghost of a scorned woman is terrorizing the locals.
Director: James Watkins | Stars: Daniel Radcliffe, Janet McTeer, Ciarán Hinds, Emma Shorey
Votes: 192,588 | Gross: $54.33M
10. The Apparition (2012)
PG-13 | 82 min | Horror, Thriller
A couple is haunted by a supernatural presence that is unleashed during a college experiment.
Director: Todd Lincoln | Stars: Ashley Greene, Sebastian Stan, Tom Felton, Julianna Guill
Votes: 20,630 | Gross: $4.93M
11. Aftershock (2012)
R | 89 min | Action, Adventure, Horror
In Chile, a group of travelers who are in an underground nightclub when a massive earthquake hits quickly learn that reaching the surface is just the beginning of their nightmare.
Director: Nicolás López | Stars: Eli Roth, Ariel Levy, Nicolás Martínez, Andrea Osvárt
Votes: 12,439 | Gross: $0.04M
12. Underworld: Awakening (2012)
R | 88 min | Action, Fantasy, Thriller
When human forces discover the existence of the Vampire and Lycan clans, a war to eradicate both species commences. The vampire warrior Selene leads the battle against humankind.
Directors: Måns Mårlind, Björn Stein | Stars: Kate Beckinsale, Michael Ealy, India Eisley, Stephen Rea
Votes: 161,172 | Gross: $62.32M
13. The Bay (II) (2012)
R | 85 min | Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Chaos breaks out in a small Maryland town after an ecological disaster occurs.
Director: Barry Levinson | Stars: Will Rogers, Kristen Connolly, Kether Donohue, Frank Deal
Votes: 29,590 | Gross: $0.03M
14. Here Comes the Devil (2012)
Not Rated | 97 min | Horror, Thriller
A couple loses their children near some caves in Tijuana. The children return to their parents the next day, unharmed. However, something has happened to them.
Director: Adrian Garcia Bogliano | Stars: Laura Caro, Francisco Barreiro, Michele García, Alan Martínez
Votes: 4,450 | Gross: $0.00M
15. Citadel (I) (2012)
R | 84 min | Drama, Horror, Thriller
An agoraphobic father teams up with a renegade priest to save his daughter from the clutches of a gang of twisted feral children who committed an act of violence against his family years earlier.
Director: Ciarán Foy | Stars: Aneurin Barnard, James Cosmo, Wunmi Mosaku, Jake Wilson
Votes: 7,333
16. The Lords of Salem (2012)
R | 101 min | Horror, Thriller
Radio DJ Heidi is sent a box containing a record--a "gift from the Lords". The sounds within the grooves trigger flashbacks of her town's violent past. Is Heidi going mad, or are the Lords back to take revenge on Salem, Massachusetts?
Director: Rob Zombie | Stars: Sheri Moon Zombie, Meg Foster, Bruce Davison, Jeff Daniel Phillips
Votes: 32,303 | Gross: $1.16M
17. Excision (2012)
Not Rated | 81 min | Comedy, Drama, Horror
A disturbed, delusional high-school student with aspirations of a career in medicine goes to extremes to earn the approval of her controlling mother.
Director: Richard Bates Jr. | Stars: AnnaLynne McCord, Roger Bart, Ariel Winter, Traci Lords
Votes: 24,602
18. The Seasoning House (2012)
Not Rated | 90 min | Drama, Horror, Thriller
Sold at a brothel deep in the woods to work as a caretaker, a hapless deaf girl must summon the courage to fight for her life.
Director: Paul Hyett | Stars: Rosie Day, Sean Pertwee, Kevin Howarth, Anna Walton
Votes: 11,027
19. Grave Encounters 2 (2012)
Not Rated | 98 min | Horror, Mystery
A film student who is obsessed with the movie Grave Encounters sets out with his friends to visit the psychiatric hospital depicted in the original film.
Director: John Poliquin | Stars: Richard Harmon, Shawn C. Phillips, Jennica Fulton, Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman
Votes: 27,342
20. No One Lives (2012)
R | 86 min | Horror, Thriller
A gang of ruthless highway killers kidnap a wealthy couple traveling cross country only to shockingly discover that things are not what they seem.
Director: Ryûhei Kitamura | Stars: Luke Evans, Gary Grubbs, Adelaide Clemens, Derek Magyar
Votes: 24,275 | Gross: $0.07M
21. The Possession (I) (2012)
PG-13 | 92 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A young girl buys an antique box at a yard sale, unaware that inside the collectible lives a malicious ancient spirit. The girl's father teams with his ex-wife to find a way to end the curse upon their child.
Director: Ole Bornedal | Stars: Natasha Calis, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Kyra Sedgwick, Madison Davenport
Votes: 63,199 | Gross: $49.13M
22. ATM (I) (2012)
R | 90 min | Horror, Thriller
On a late night visit to an ATM, three co-workers end up in a desperate fight for their lives when they become trapped by an unknown man.
Director: David Brooks | Stars: Alice Eve, Josh Peck, Brian Geraghty, Mike O'Brian
Votes: 25,376 | Gross: $0.00M
23. Would You Rather (2012)
Not Rated | 93 min | Horror, Thriller
Desperate to help her ailing brother, a young woman unknowingly agrees to compete in a deadly game of "Would You Rather," hosted by a sadistic aristocrat.
Director: David Guy Levy | Stars: Brittany Snow, June Squibb, Jeffrey Combs, Jonny Coyne
Votes: 45,389
24. Stitches (I) (2012)
R | 86 min | Comedy, Horror
A clown comes back from the dead to haunt those who took his life during a fatal party mishap.
Director: Conor McMahon | Stars: Ross Noble, Tommy Knight, Eoghan McQuinn, Gemma-Leah Devereux
Votes: 10,491
25. Resident Evil: Retribution (2012)
R | 95 min | Action, Horror, Sci-Fi
Alice fights alongside a resistance movement to regain her freedom from an Umbrella Corporation testing facility.
Director: Paul W.S. Anderson | Stars: Milla Jovovich, Sienna Guillory, Michelle Rodriguez, Aryana Engineer
Votes: 150,083 | Gross: $42.35M
26. Red Lights (2012)
R | 114 min | Drama, Fantasy, Mystery
Psychologist Margaret Matheson and her assistant debunk paranormal activity, which leads them to investigate a world-renowned psychic who has resurfaced after many years out of the limelight following the suspicious death of his toughest critic.
Director: Rodrigo Cortés | Stars: Sigourney Weaver, Robert De Niro, Cillian Murphy, Elizabeth Olsen
Votes: 66,060 | Gross: $0.05M
27. Mine Games (2012)
TV-14 | 92 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A group of young friends make an incomprehensible discovery in an abandoned mine, but the more they try to change the future, the more they seal their fate.
Director: Richard Gray | Stars: Joseph Cross, Briana Evigan, Rafi Gavron, Julianna Guill
Votes: 4,369
28. Cockneys vs Zombies (2012)
Not Rated | 88 min | Action, Comedy, Horror
A gang of bank robbers fight their way out of a zombie-infested London.
Director: Matthias Hoene | Stars: Rasmus Hardiker, Harry Treadaway, Michelle Ryan, Ashley Thomas
Votes: 20,268
29. House at the End of the Street (2012)
PG-13 | 101 min | Drama, Horror, Thriller
After moving with her mother to a small town, a teenager finds that an accident happened in the house at the end of the street. Things get more complicated when she befriends a boy. A double murder is not an accident.
Director: Mark Tonderai | Stars: Jennifer Lawrence, Elisabeth Shue, Max Thieriot, Gil Bellows
Votes: 81,298 | Gross: $31.61M
30. John Dies at the End (2012)
R | 99 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Horror
A new street drug that sends its users across time and dimensions has one drawback: some people return no longer human. Can two college drop-outs save humanity from this silent, otherworldly invasion?
Director: Don Coscarelli | Stars: Chase Williamson, Rob Mayes, Paul Giamatti, Clancy Brown
Votes: 40,349 | Gross: $0.14M
31. Maniac (2012)
Not Rated | 89 min | Horror, Thriller
As he helps a young artist with her upcoming exhibition, the owner of a mannequin shop's deadly, suppressed desires come to the surface.
Director: Franck Khalfoun | Stars: Elijah Wood, Nora Arnezeder, America Olivo, Megan Duffy
Votes: 40,337 | Gross: $0.02M
I did not like this, Resolution, or American Mary.
32. An American Ghost Story (I) (2012)
Not Rated | 95 min | Horror
When Paul, an unemployed writer, decides to rent and live in a house that's rumored to be haunted, he puts his life and his relationships in grave danger as he obsessively attempts to get the story that will finally make his career.
Director: Derek Cole | Stars: Stephen Twardokus, Liesel Kopp, Jon Gale, Wendy Haines
Votes: 1,328
33. The Conspiracy (2012)
Not Rated | 84 min | Horror, Thriller
A documentary about conspiracy theories takes a horrific turn after the filmmakers uncover an ancient and dangerous secret society.
Director: Christopher MacBride | Stars: Aaron Poole, James Gilbert, Ian Anderson, Peter Apostolopoulos
Votes: 13,100
34. Playback (II) (2012)
R | 98 min | Horror, Thriller
A teenager investigates the case of a missing local baby, though he discovers a dark secret that has been unleashed in his town, and an evil spirit that will stop at nothing to find its heir.
Director: Michael A. Nickles | Stars: Christian Slater, Ambyr Childers, Toby Hemingway, Jonathan Keltz
Votes: 5,099 | Gross: $0.00M
35. The Devil Inside (2012)
R | 83 min | Horror
In Italy, a woman becomes involved in a series of unauthorized exorcisms during her mission to discover what happened to her mother, who allegedly murdered three people during her own exorcism.
Director: William Brent Bell | Stars: Fernanda Andrade, Simon Quarterman, Evan Helmuth, Ionut Grama
Votes: 37,497 | Gross: $53.26M
36. Devoured (2012)
Not Rated | 89 min | Drama, Horror, Thriller
Lourdes is a young woman that works at night cleaning a restaurant. All the money she made is for her son that lives in her hometown with her mother. We know very little about Lourdes son, ... See full summary »
Director: Greg Olliver | Stars: Marta Milans, Kara Jackson, Bruno Gunn, Tyler Hollinger
Votes: 1,752
37. American Mary (2012)
R | 103 min | Drama, Horror
The allure of easy money sends Mary Mason, a medical student, into the world of underground surgeries which ends up leaving more marks on her than her so-called "freakish" clients.
Directors: Jen Soska, Sylvia Soska | Stars: Katharine Isabelle, Antonio Cupo, Tristan Risk, David Lovgren
Votes: 28,311
38. Resolution (III) (2012)
Not Rated | 93 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
A man imprisons his estranged junkie friend in an isolated cabin in the boonies of San Diego to force him through a week of sobriety, but the events of that week are being mysteriously manipulated.
Directors: Justin Benson, Aaron Moorhead | Stars: Peter Cilella, Vinny Curran, Emily Montague, Kurt David Anderson
Votes: 19,508
39. Outpost: Black Sun (2012)
Not Rated | 101 min | Action, Horror, Sci-Fi
The year is 1945, the closing stages of WW2, and a German scientist by the name of Klausener is working on a frightening new technology that has the power to create an immortal Nazi army. ... See full summary »
Director: Steve Barker | Stars: Catherine Steadman, Richard Coyle, Ali Craig, Nick Nevern
Votes: 5,692
40. Chernobyl Diaries (2012)
R | 86 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Six tourists hire an extreme tour guide who takes them to the abandoned city Pripyat, the former home to the workers of the Chernobyl nuclear reactor. During their exploration, they soon discover they are not alone.
Director: Bradley Parker | Stars: Jesse McCartney, Jonathan Sadowski, Olivia Taylor Dudley, Nathan Phillips
Votes: 68,621 | Gross: $18.12M
41. Paranormal Activity 4 (2012)
R | 88 min | Horror, Mystery
It has been five years since the disappearance of Katie and Hunter, and a suburban family witness strange events in their neighborhood when a woman and a mysterious child move in.
Directors: Henry Joost, Ariel Schulman | Stars: Stephen Dunham, Katie Featherston, Matt Shively, Brendon Eggertsen
Votes: 70,244 | Gross: $53.92M
42. The Mooring (2012)
R | 90 min | Horror, Thriller
Every 40 seconds a person goes missing. In northern Idaho, a group of teenage girls attended a summer camp. They were told it would be a summer of change. It was.
Director: Glenn Withrow | Stars: Hallie Todd, Thomas Wilson Brown, Karli Blalock, Anna Goodwin
Votes: 1,139
43. Alien Uprising (2012)
R | 101 min | Comedy, Horror, Sci-Fi
The real "battle" is the insurgence within mankind itself.
Director: Dominic Burns | Stars: Bianca Van Damme, Andrew Shim, Sean Brosnan, Simon Phillips
Votes: 3,712
44. Bloodwork (2012)
R | 100 min | Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Two college students volunteer for pharmaceutical testing to make some extra cash.
Director: Eric Wostenberg | Stars: Travis Van Winkle, John Bregar, Tricia Helfer, James Purcell
Votes: 2,460
45. [REC] 3: Genesis (2012)
R | 80 min | Comedy, Horror, Thriller
A couple's wedding day turns horrific as some of the guests start showing signs of a strange illness.
Director: Paco Plaza | Stars: Leticia Dolera, Diego Martín, Ismael Martínez, Àlex Monner
Votes: 38,105 | Gross: $0.01M
46. Silent Hill: Revelation (2012)
R | 95 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
When her adoptive father disappears, Sharon Da Silva is drawn into a strange and terrifying alternate reality that holds answers to the horrific nightmares that have plagued her since childhood.
Director: M.J. Bassett | Stars: Adelaide Clemens, Kit Harington, Sean Bean, Carrie-Anne Moss
Votes: 66,690 | Gross: $17.53M
47. The Black Dahlia Haunting (2012)
TV-14 | 80 min | Crime, Drama, Horror
While investigating the murder of her father by her blind younger brother, a young woman disturbs the vengeful spirit of Elizabeth Short, known in legend as "The Black Dahlia".
Director: Brandon Slagle | Stars: Devanny Pinn, Britt Griffith, Noah Dahl, Alexis Iacono
Votes: 858
48. Storage 24 (2012)
R | 87 min | Horror, Sci-Fi
In London, a military plane crashes leaving its highly classified contents strewn across the city. Completely unaware that the city is in lockdown, a group of people become trapped inside a storage facility with a highly unwelcome guest.
Director: Johannes Roberts | Stars: Noel Clarke, Colin O'Donoghue, Antonia Campbell-Hughes, Laura Haddock
Votes: 7,459
49. Devil Seed (2012)
Not Rated | 108 min | Horror
This movie is about Alex, a returning college student who moves in with her girlfriends after the holidays. They go out and have quite a few drinks and on the way home Alex and her friend ... See full summary »
Director: Greg A. Sager | Stars: Michelle Argyris, Shantelle Canzanese, Vanessa Broze, Kevin Walker
Votes: 2,397
50. Black Rock (2012)
R | 83 min | Horror, Thriller
Three childhood friends set aside their personal issues and reunite for a girls' weekend on a remote island off the coast of Maine. One wrong move turns their weekend getaway into a deadly fight for survival.
Director: Katie Aselton | Stars: Katie Aselton, Lake Bell, Kate Bosworth, Will Bouvier
Votes: 9,870
51. Airborne (II) (2013)
TV-14 | 81 min | Comedy, Crime, Horror
With Britain battered by a storm, one last plane takes off. Shortly after, passengers start disappearing one by one. Those that remain frantically try to discover who - or what - is behind it before they share the same fate.
Directors: Dominic Burns, Simon Phillips | Stars: Craig Conway, Simon Phillips, Gemma Atkinson, Alan Ford
Votes: 2,575
52. The ABCs of Death (2012)
Not Rated | 129 min | Comedy, Horror
A 26-chapter anthology that showcases death in all its vicious wonder and brutal beauty.
Directors: Kaare Andrews, Angela Bettis, Hélène Cattet, Ernesto Díaz Espinoza, Jason Eisener, Bruno Forzani, Adrian Garcia Bogliano, Xavier Gens, Jorge Michel Grau, Lee Hardcastle, Noboru Iguchi, Thomas Cappelen Malling, Anders Morgenthaler, Yoshihiro Nishimura, Banjong Pisanthanakun, Simon Rumley, Marcel Sarmiento, Jon Schnepp, Srdjan Spasojevic, Timo Tjahjanto, Andrew Traucki, Nacho Vigalondo, Jake West, Ti West, Ben Wheatley, Adam Wingard, Yûdai Yamaguchi | Stars: Ingrid Bolsø Berdal, Iván González, Kyra Zagorsky, Lucy Clements
Votes: 20,397 | Gross: $0.02M
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