Horror fans know the genre has all sorts of sub-genres. While exploring these can be a blast, sometimes, viewers just want a pure scare. Here are the 10 scariest horror movies of all time.
Hereditary
Released in 2018 by A24, Hereditary reinvented the horror genre and became the defining standard for the elevated horror” sub-genre. Hereditary has garnered massive critical praise and a huge following – and for good reason.
Hereditary is a deeply unsettling story that sees a family uncover its own sinister history after the death of Annie’s (Toni Collette) mother. As the Graham family learns the truth about the darkness attached to them, viewers are treated with some of the most terrifying images ever put to screen. Ari Aster’s defining film is full of tension, unforgettably disturbing shots, and incredible performances as the Grahams unravel from the horrors they face.
Hereditary is streaming now on Hulu.
Longlegs
The most recent release on this list, Longlegs is one of the best horror movies of 2024. It’s a nostalgic killer-hunting thriller mixed with the best of contemporary horror.
Longlegs takes inspiration from Silence of the Lambs, but what makes it unique from that film is the supernatural element at play. It has a fascinating mystery, which holds up on rewatch, as the film is full of clues and subliminal imagery. This masterful tension-building has an incredible payoff when viewers are finally treated to a haunting performance from the film’s titular character, played by Nicholas Cage.
Longlegs is available to rent or buy digitally on Apple TV, Prime Video, and more.
Midsommar
Midsommar is another fantastic Ari Aster horror film. This terrifying movie is admittedly a slow burn but maintains a gripping tension throughout the journey to its unforgettable finale.
Midsommar follows Dani and her boyfriend Christian, played by Florence Pugh and Jack Reynor, respectively. The couple join their group of friends and travel to Sweden to visit their friend’s hometown for a famous festival. Throughout Midsommar‘s runtime, the initially pleasant townsfolk become progressively more unsettling.
What makes this film unique in its terror is its bright aesthetic. Whereas much of the horror genre relies on the dark to build tension, nearly all of Midsommar takes place on sunny Summer days. Midsommar almost never disguises itself. Rather, the film lets you view its progressive horrors clear as day, building a sense of tension that makes you fearful alongside Dani, even when the characters around her downplay the danger.
Midsommar is streaming now on Max.
Nosferatu (1922)
The original Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horrors is one of the earliest examples of scary movies on the silver screen. Released in 1922, Nosferatu is an essential classic of the horror genre, as this German expressionist film paved the way for much of what followed.
As a silent black-and-white film, Nosferatu relies purely on its imagery to unsettle audiences. While it has certainly aged in the century since its release, its unsettling visuals are timelessly terrifying. The disturbing character design and masterful use of light and shadow alone make Nosferatu an essential watch for horror fans.
Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horrors is streaming free on Tubi.
Rec
Rec is a cult-classic Spanish film from 2007. This found footage zombie movie follows a news reporter in Barcelona doing a late-night special on the life of the city’s firefighters. When she follows them to an emergency call to an apartment building, they and all of the building’s residents soon find themselves sectioned off from the city during a zombie outbreak.
Rec’s fast-moving zombies behave erratically and are truly terrifying in the building’s tight hallways and cramped apartments. Due to the nature of its particular found-footage premise, Rec takes place just about in real-time with very few cuts.
The camera itself becomes a character in the film, as Pablo – its operator – tries to document everything that occurs while also fighting to survive. The choices made in Rec are more than just a gimmick; they’re truly terrifying because they feel so authentic and real. This film is a highlight in both the zombie and found footage genre, as it is relentless and immersive.
Rec is streaming for free on Tubi.
Skinamarink
Skinamarink is one of the most unique and inventive horror films ever made. It follows two young children as they wake up in the middle of the night to find their father is gone and all the windows and doors in their home are missing.
Being shot with an incredibly low budget of $15,000, director Kyle Edward Ball made use of these constraints to make an experimental film with an abundance of darkness, low audio quality, and depth and distance to its camera work. While Skinamarink‘s unique approach to horror won’t be for everybody, folks who are able to get into it will find it truly terrifying. It captures the uniquely powerless fear felt by an isolated child, where familiar objects become monsters in the absence of light.
Skinamarink is streaming now on Hulu and Shudder.
The Blair Witch Project
The Blair Witch Project is the horror movie responsible for the found footage genre skyrocketing in popularity. This terrifying film from 1999 sees a trio of film students heading to a small town to document a local legend of a witch. While The Blair Witch Project begins with fairly documentary footage and interviews, the terror truly kicks off as the group finds themselves in the woods.
Several critics and fans claim The Blair Witch Project is the scariest film ever made – and for good reason. Through its camera work and performances, The Blair Witch Project feels truly real and is still the gold standard for an effective and immersive found footage movie.
The Blair Witch Project is streaming now on Peacock.
The Exorcist
The Exorcist was once considered the scariest film of all time. While it may have been surpassed in the 50 years since its release, it will still scare modern audiences. In the movie, a young girl named Regan becomes progressively less like herself, until it becomes apparent she has fully succumbed to a demonic possession. In response, a priest is sent in to exorcise the demon.
The practical effects and makeup are what still make The Exorcist terrifying. Regan looks barely human at the peak of her possession and moves in such violent and unnatural ways that the imagery of the possessed little girl is still haunting a half-century later.
The Exorcist is streaming now on Max.
The Ring
The Ring is a horror classic from the early 2000s. As a remake of a Japanese Horror movie, The Ring also has a cursed videotape at the center of its story. The video is said to be cursed, containing disturbing imagery and sealing the fate of any who watches it so that they die in seven days.
The movie is perhaps most famous for the scary little girl in the video who literally crawls out of the television within the film. The lingering sense of death looms over viewers through the film’s entire runtime. Not to mention, The Ring has some flashes of truly disturbing gore and horrific imagery, which will linger with viewers long after watching.
The Ring is streaming for free on Pluto TV.
The Shining
The Shining is among the best scary movies of all time and perhaps the genre’s most iconic and terrifying. Granted, this is a massive reputation to live up to. However, this psychological horror masterpiece lives up to the hype.
It’s one of those rare films where audiences can look back on it and simply be blown away by the combination of cast and crew. This seminal 1980 classic sees Stanley Kubrick adapt the Stephen King novel of the same name, albeit loosely. Jack Nicholson stars as a recovering alcoholic author with a history of violent outbursts opposite Shelly Duvall as his wife, who tries to stay by his side and support him while protecting their son Danny from his violent nature.
The Shining is a gripping psychological Horror that flies by in spite of its epic runtime of 144 minutes. Set in winter at the remote Overlook Hotel, this film has an incredible sense of scale and isolation in the massive building’s empty halls. The Shining features a looming sense of dread throughout, thanks in no small part to its iconic imagery and haunting score. This tale of what isolation does to an already troubled family is timeless but hits harder than ever now with the isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic in recent memory.
The Shining is streaming now on Max.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is the slasher that popularized the genre. While many have followed and paid homage, none have been able to capture the unique terror of this ‘seventies ’70s classic. The film is set in a small town and has a certain indie-horror charm as the filmmakers got incredibly creative on an extremely low budget.
What makes The Texas Chainsaw Massacre so scary is its graphic nature. As the title suggests, a film following a slasher with a chainsaw as his weapon of choice is especially gory. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre has some timelessly terrifying practical effects, with all sorts of realistic graphic violence that’s sure to shock even seasoned horror fans. A big part of the scares come from the iconic slasher Leatherface, who wears a mask made of human skin.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is streaming for free on Tubi.
And those are the 10 scariest horror movies of all time.
Published: Oct 8, 2024 07:53 am