While horror is incredibly subjective, and it is important to note that ideas that terrify can vary greatly from one person to another, it is also true that not all scary movies are created equal. Given that everyone has seen their fair share of sloppy spooky flicks, there is no greater testament to this fact than a reflective look at the best and most effective films the genre has produced over the past 75 years.

Delivering scream-worthy scares and sickening suspense in a manner that can get even the most seasoned horror movie lovers peeping through their fingers, these 10 trying terrors are the pinnacle of celluloid thrills. Ranging from maniacal monster movies to serial killer classics, and from modern-day chillers to decades-old delights of darkness, these movies are sure to have you sleeping with the lights on.

10

‘The Texas Chain Saw Massacre’ (1974)

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One of the pioneering titles of slasher cinema as we know it today, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre endures as a horrifically demented deep dive into the hysterical madness of evil set amid the feverish atmospheric intensity of a sun-scorched Southern summer. Offering 83 minutes of sheer terror, the notorious flick follows five friends stranded without gas in rural Texas as they find themselves being hunted down by a sadistic, chainsaw-wielding killer who wears a mask of human flesh.

Using a succinct approach that is best embodied by its harsh documentary-style camerawork, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre dedicates every moment of its runtime to either building suspense or delivering scares, an attitude that is well-supported by its creepy backwoods setting and Marilyn Burns’ dedicated lead performances. Its influence on the genre is impossible to deny, with its brutality groundbreaking for its time, and it has endured for over 50 years as one of the most terrifying movies ever made.

9

‘The Wailing’ (2016)

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An eerie mosaic of different horror inspirations and styles, The Wailing is a masterclass in horror versatility and impact. The South Korean movie juggles several different horror styles as it explores the outbreak of a deadly virus in a small village following the arrival of a mysterious stranger. Police officer Jong-goo (Kwak Do-won) is compelled to investigate the mystifying scenario as he strives to save his daughter who has been infected by the sickness.

Using its expansive 156-minute runtime incredibly well, director Na Hong-jin keeps audiences immersed in the carnage by incorporating intelligent tonal shifts that keep the story unpredictable as it progresses. Not only does it blend Eastern and Western storytelling norms, but it also exhibits everything from demonic possession dread to zombie mayhem, folk horror chills, mystery suspense, and psychological paranoia. Incorporating such a variety of styles in one seamless chiller makes The Wailing not only a picture of profound terror, but an expertly crafted and audacious feat in genre narrative as well.

8

‘[REC]’ (2007)

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An international gem of modern horror, [REC] is an imposing highlight of the found-footage phenomenon that took the genre by storm through the early part of the 21st century, marrying the subgenre’s gritty intensity with the graphic nature of zombie horror. The Spanish film follows reporter Ángela Vidal (Manuela Velasco) and her cameraman as their filming of a fire station’s night shift in Barcelona turns into a first-hand documentation of the outbreak of a deadly and highly contagious virus that turns people into cannibalistic savages in an apartment complex.

Wielding claustrophobia and confusion as two of its strongest assets, [REC] plunges viewers into a nightmarish tale of chaos and frenzied panic that is only amplified by the shaky camerawork and hand-held disarray. Sharp, succinct, and suspenseful from start to finish, the Spanish zombie chiller is 78 minutes of anguish and angst that grabs the audience by the scruff of the neck and thrusts them on a rollercoaster of tension and terror that lingers long after the credits have rolled.

7

‘The Descent’ (2005)

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Graphically gory and rife with a palpable sense of claustrophobic angst, The Descent is an absolute gem of 2000s horror that sees blood-and-guts maestro Neil Marshall in outstanding form as writer-director. It follows a group of six girlfriends as they embark on a cave expedition in North Carolina only to find themselves trapped in the dark and being relentlessly pursued by bloodthirsty, humanoid creatures.

While its premise may seem unexceptional in the grand scheme of horror cinema, its execution is nothing short of chilling. From its expert use of meaningful jump scares to its viscerally terrifying creature design, its controlled use of its suffocating setting, and the heart-stopping thrill of life-and-death pursuit complemented by its realistic, gruesome gore, The Descent presents an all-round masterclass in horror filmmaking. While it hasn’t had quite the same mainstream impact as some other titles on this list, horror lovers the world over laud it as one of the most intense horror films of the 21st century so far.

6

‘Alien’ (1979)

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The 1970s was a decade of pioneering excellence for horror cinema, and it is appropriate that it closed out with one of the most iconic and beloved movies, not only in the genre’s history, but in all film as well. From the mastermind Ridley Scott, Alien famously follows the crew of a space cargo vessel as their detour to respond to a distress beacon leads to a frantic fight for survival when a savage, predatory alien starts prowling their ship, hunting them down one-by-one.

Scintillating with its atmospheric intensity, Alien emits an imposing feeling of cold hostility and helpless damnation, with its setting aboard a ship in deep space perfectly complementing H. R. Giger’s chilling design of the xenomorph and Scott’s steady, precise direction. Defined by sequences like the notorious chest-burster scene, Dallas’ (Tom Skerritt) agonizing voyage through the air vents, and Ripley’s (Sigourney Weaver) petrifying final showdown with the xenomorph, Alien is a feat of cinematic suspense that stands, even nearly 50 years on from its release, as one of the most engaging and terrifying horror movies ever made.

5

‘The Thing’ (1982)

Image via Universal Pictures

There are few filmmakers in horror cinema as iconic and accomplished as John Carpenter, who has delivered such classics as Halloween, The Fog, and In the Mouth of Madness throughout his career which spans back to the early 70s. However, his most adored and viscerally terrifying chiller has to be The Thing, with its story of isolation and rampant distrust feeding into its atmospheric wrath of cosmic horror and simmering dread. Set at an American research base in Antarctica, it unfolds as an assimilating alien life form infiltrates the crew and starts killing them off one-by-one. With their numbers dwindling, the survivors are forced into uneasy truces as they scramble to determine who is still human while fighting for their lives.

Marrying grotesque visual body horror with ideas of an unknowable threat that stokes a festering sense of paranoia, The Thing is an assault on the senses on all fronts that leaves viewers rattled with both growing suspense and its shocking outbursts of horror. A brilliant combination of psychological angst and visual frightfulness, it has overcome its initial box office and critical failure to be heralded as one of the greatest and most suspenseful horror movies ever made.

4

‘The Shining’ (1980)

Image via Warner Bros.

Few movies can build and sustain sheer dread like The Shining. While its haunted house ghost stories are undeniably eerie, it is Stanley Kubrick’s ability to conjure a sense of imposing danger and relentless unease that lingers heavily on the shoulders of viewers that makes his 1980 horror classic such a terrifying watch. Based on Stephen King’s novel of the same name, it follows the Torrance family as they work as the winter caretakers of the Overlook Hotel. As young Danny’s (Danny Lloyd) finds his unsettling psychic abilities developing, the malevolent evil of the hotel prays on his father’s explosive instability.

Methodical and measured with its 146-minute runtime, The Shining is a masterpiece of atmospheric malignance, one that uses psychological depth and dazzling yet disorientating visuals to impose a sickening sense of doom on viewers. Also armed with powerhouse performances from Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall, The Shining stands as one of the most iconic and chilling movies in horror history.

3

‘Hereditary’ (2018)

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Marking one of the most astonishing directorial debuts of all time as well as one of the most disturbing and traumatizing horror movies ever released, Ari Aster’s Hereditary is a defining masterpiece of horror that has become emblematic of the genre’s resurgence as a mainstream form of cinematic storytelling in the back half of the 2010s. Combining supernatural terror with psychological dread, it focuses on the grieving Grahams as a series of unsettling occurrences inspires the family to investigate the ancestry of their recently deceased matriarch. As terror mounts with every discovery, the Grahams struggle to elude their sinister fate.

Bolstered by its collection of exceptional performances, particularly by Toni Collette, as well as Aster’s focus on family dynamics and realistic characters rather than absurd jump scares, Hereditary excels as a grounded and resonant horror of human beings stranded in a helpless situation. Also flaunting several sequences of striking and distressing imagery and a focus on trauma and grief, the film is a genre gem of uncommon brilliance that immediately established itself as one of the most terrifying movies ever made.

2

‘Sinister’ (2012)

Summit Entertainment

A cunning combination of supernatural horror, mystery suspense, and even a character study on ambition and desperation, Sinister worms its way into the viewers’ psyche with a calculated sense of suspense and a penchant for nerve-wracking jump scares. Ethan Hawke stars as Ellison Oswalt, a true crime author who, having fallen on hard times, moves his family into a house where the last tenants were gruesomely murdered, hoping to reignite his career. He even thinks he has struck gold when he finds a series of home videos depicting different family slayings, but his macabre interest in a potential serial killer soon reveals itself to be something far more dangerous.

While its story is flawed, often relying on impractical character decisions and recycled tropes to function, its execution as a visceral horror experience can’t be denied. The mere sighting of the frightful Babylonian god Bughuul (Nicholas King) is enough to make one’s blood run cold, but the film amplifies the terror with a chilling and grim atmosphere, plenty of disturbing imagery, and Ellison’s own immoral drive. The scene where he watches the recordings alone makes Sinister one of the most horrifying movies ever made, while its bleak ending and effective use of jump scares elevate it to be a masterpiece of lingering terror.

1

‘The Exorcist’ (1973)

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Often heralded as a movie with an air of evil weaved into every single frame of its two-hour runtime, The Exorcist made an immediate impact with its confronting terror in 1973, and its horrifying qualities haven’t waned one bit in the 50+ years since. The grueling picture unfolds as young Regan MacNeil (Linda Blair) falls under the possession of a demon. After failed efforts to diagnose the illness, Chris (Ellen Burstyn) turns to two priests to perform an exorcism in a desperate bid to help her ailing daughter.

Its genius resides in its ability to take supernatural horror and integrate it into everyday life, to infect the innocence of a little girl’s bedroom with the embodiment of pure evil. This predatory and victimizing notion elevates The Exorcist beyond mere supernatural horror, with its most graphic and invasive sequences conjuring an air of helpless damnation that feels violating and vindictive. Buoyed by great performances all around and William Friedkin’s masterful use of subliminal terror, The Exorcist disturbs audiences to the core, cementing its status as the most terrifying movie ever made with supreme technical prowess and a venomous knack for cerebral chills.

The Exorcist

Release Date

December 26, 1973

Runtime

122 minutes

Writers

William Peter Blatty