Great Horror Movies
by cdc482 | created - 30 Nov 2015 | updated - 4 months ago | PublicThere's a lot of crap in this genre, but there are also many excellent stories.
This is a list some of the best, so you don't have to sift through the rest :)
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1. 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: 375,196 | Gross: $129.13M
2. The Babadook (2014)
Not Rated | 94 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
A single mother and her child fall into a deep well of paranoia when an eerie children's book titled "Mister Babadook" manifests in their home.
Director: Jennifer Kent | Stars: Essie Davis, Noah Wiseman, Daniel Henshall, Hayley McElhinney
Votes: 247,413 | Gross: $0.92M
3. The Lazarus Effect (2015)
PG-13 | 83 min | Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi
A group of medical researchers discover a way to bring dead patients back to life.
Director: David Gelb | Stars: Olivia Wilde, Mark Duplass, Evan Peters, Sarah Bolger
Votes: 46,179 | Gross: $25.80M
4. Oculus (2013)
R | 104 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A recently released inmate from a mental asylum learns from his sister that the murders he was convicted of committing were actually orchestrated by a supernatural entity, the Lasser Glass mirror.
Director: Mike Flanagan | Stars: Karen Gillan, Brenton Thwaites, Katee Sackhoff, Rory Cochrane
Votes: 139,796 | Gross: $27.70M
5. The Descent (2005)
R | 99 min | Adventure, Horror, Thriller
A caving expedition goes horribly wrong, as the explorers become trapped and ultimately pursued by a strange breed of predators.
Director: Neil Marshall | Stars: Shauna Macdonald, Natalie Mendoza, Alex Reid, Saskia Mulder
Votes: 247,084 | Gross: $26.02M
6. As Above, So Below (2014)
R | 93 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
When a team of explorers venture into the catacombs that lie beneath the streets of Paris, they uncover the dark secret that lies within this city of the dead.
Director: John Erick Dowdle | Stars: Perdita Weeks, Ben Feldman, Edwin Hodge, François Civil
Votes: 111,900 | Gross: $21.20M
7. The Exorcist (1973)
R | 122 min | Horror
When a young girl is possessed by a mysterious entity, her mother seeks the help of two Catholic priests to save her life.
Director: William Friedkin | Stars: Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Linda Blair, Lee J. Cobb
Votes: 455,231 | Gross: $232.91M
8. 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: 68,391 | Gross: $0.10M
9. The Omen (1976)
R | 111 min | Horror, Mystery
Mysterious deaths surround an American ambassador. Could the child that he is raising actually be the Antichrist? The Devil's own son?
Director: Richard Donner | Stars: Gregory Peck, Lee Remick, Harvey Stephens, David Warner
Votes: 132,681 | Gross: $4.27M
10. The Taking of Deborah Logan (2014)
R | 90 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
An elderly woman battling Alzheimer's disease agrees to let a film crew document her condition, but what they discover is something far more sinister going on.
Director: Adam Robitel | Stars: Jill Larson, Anne Ramsay, Michelle Ang, Brett Gentile
Votes: 40,208
11. REC (2007)
R | 78 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A television reporter and cameraman follow emergency workers into a dark apartment building and are quickly locked inside with something terrifying.
Directors: Jaume Balagueró, Paco Plaza | Stars: Manuela Velasco, Ferran Terraza, Jorge-Yamam Serrano, Pablo Rosso
Votes: 196,804
12. The Grudge (2004)
PG-13 | 91 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
An American nurse living and working in Tokyo is exposed to a mysterious supernatural curse, one that locks a person in a powerful rage before claiming their life and spreading to another victim.
Director: Takashi Shimizu | Stars: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jason Behr, Clea DuVall, William Mapother
Votes: 150,901 | Gross: $110.36M
13. Three... Extremes (2004)
R | 125 min | Horror
An Asian cross-cultural trilogy of horror films from accomplished indie directors.
Directors: Fruit Chan, Park Chan-wook, Takashi Miike | Stars: Bai Ling, Lee Byung-hun, Kyoko Hasegawa, Pauline Lau
Votes: 20,875 | Gross: $0.08M
14. Carriers (2009)
PG-13 | 84 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
As a lethal virus spreads globally, four friends seek a reputed plague-free haven. But while avoiding the infected, the travelers turn on one another.
Directors: David Pastor, Àlex Pastor | Stars: Chris Pine, Piper Perabo, Lou Taylor Pucci, Emily VanCamp
Votes: 49,665 | Gross: $0.09M
15. 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: 40,370 | Gross: $0.02M
16. 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: 202,034 | Gross: $40.46M
17. Hide and Seek (2005)
R | 101 min | Horror, Mystery
As a widower tries to piece together his life in the wake of his wife's suicide, his daughter finds solace, at first, in her imaginary friend.
Director: John Polson | Stars: Robert De Niro, Dakota Fanning, Famke Janssen, Elisabeth Shue
Votes: 88,809 | Gross: $51.10M
18. The Crazies (2010)
R | 101 min | Horror
After a strange and insecure plane crash, an unusual toxic virus enters a quaint farming town. A young couple are quarantined, but they fight for survival along with help from a couple of people.
Director: Breck Eisner | Stars: Radha Mitchell, Timothy Olyphant, Danielle Panabaker, Joe Anderson
Votes: 128,980 | Gross: $39.12M
19. Blindness (2008)
R | 121 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
A city is ravaged by an epidemic of instant white blindness.
Director: Fernando Meirelles | Stars: Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, Gael García Bernal, Yûsuke Iseya
Votes: 75,208 | Gross: $3.07M
20. Vile (2011)
R | 88 min | Horror, Mystery
Four friends are kidnapped by a madman and locked in a house with six other people. Each of the captives has to endure life-threatening torture to fill a device attached to their heads or they will be trapped inside forever.
Director: Taylor Sheridan | Stars: Eric Jay Beck, April Matson, Akeem Smith, Greg Cipes
Votes: 6,606
21. Funny Games (2007)
R | 111 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Two psychopathic young men take a family hostage in their cabin.
Director: Michael Haneke | Stars: Naomi Watts, Tim Roth, Michael Pitt, Brady Corbet
Votes: 103,875 | Gross: $1.29M
22. Mum & Dad (2008)
Not Rated | 84 min | Horror, Thriller
Lena, a young Polish immigrant working as a cleaner at an airport, is invited to the family home of a co-worker, which turns sinister quickly as the family intend to 'adopt' her.
Director: Steven Sheil | Stars: Perry Benson, Dido Miles, Olga Fedori, Ainsley Howard
Votes: 6,472
23. Frontier(s) (2007)
Unrated | 108 min | Horror
A gang of young thieves flee Paris during the violent aftermath of a political election, only to hole up at an Inn run by neo-Nazis.
Director: Xavier Gens | Stars: Karina Testa, Aurélien Wiik, Patrick Ligardes, Samuel Le Bihan
Votes: 28,809
24. The Poughkeepsie Tapes (2007)
R | 81 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
In an abandoned house in Poughkeepsie, New York murder investigators uncover hundreds of tapes showing decades of a serial killer's work.
Director: John Erick Dowdle | Stars: Stacy Chbosky, Ben Messmer, Samantha Robson, Ivar Brogger
Votes: 24,761
25. 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: 235,737 | Gross: $61.28M
26. Saw II (2005)
R | 93 min | Horror, Mystery
A detective and his team must rescue 8 people trapped in a factory by the twisted serial killer known as Jigsaw.
Director: Darren Lynn Bousman | Stars: Donnie Wahlberg, Beverley Mitchell, Franky G, Emmanuelle Vaugier
Votes: 276,556 | Gross: $87.04M
27. Countdown (IV) (2012)
Not Rated | 90 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Some young people invite a mysterious stranger to their home for a crazy night of fun on New Year's Eve. The drugs they take start to take effect, but the fun turns into real terror.
Director: Baz Poonpiriya | Stars: Pachara Chirathivat, Jarinporn Joonkiat, Pattarasaya Kreuasuwansri, David Asavanond
Votes: 776
28. The Vanishing (1988)
Not Rated | 107 min | Mystery, Thriller
Rex and Saskia, a young couple in love, are on vacation. They stop at a busy service station and Saskia is abducted. After three years and no sign of Saskia, Rex begins receiving letters from the abductor.
Director: George Sluizer | Stars: Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu, Gene Bervoets, Johanna ter Steege, Gwen Eckhaus
Votes: 44,280
29. Eden Lake (2008)
R | 91 min | Horror, Thriller
Refusing to let anything spoil their romantic weekend break, a young couple confront a gang of loutish youths with terrifyingly brutal consequences.
Director: James Watkins | Stars: Kelly Reilly, Michael Fassbender, Tara Ellis, Jack O'Connell
Votes: 94,913 | Gross: $0.01M
30. Kidnapped (2010)
Not Rated | 85 min | Action, Horror, Thriller
Three hooded Eastern-European criminals burst into a home in a Madrid gated community, holding the family hostage in its own home, and forcing the father to empty his credit cards.
Director: Miguel Ángel Vivas | Stars: Fernando Cayo, Manuela Vellés, Ana Wagener, Guillermo Barrientos
Votes: 8,477
31. Triangle (2009)
R | 99 min | Fantasy, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Five friends set sail and their yacht is overturned by a strange and sudden storm. A mysterious ship arrives to rescue them, and what happens next cannot be explained.
Director: Christopher Smith | Stars: Melissa George, Joshua McIvor, Jack Taylor, Michael Dorman
Votes: 129,905
32. Shutter (II) (2004)
Not Rated | 97 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A young photographer and his girlfriend discover mysterious shadows in their photographs after a tragic accident. They soon learn that you can not escape your past.
Directors: Banjong Pisanthanakun, Parkpoom Wongpoom | Stars: Ananda Everingham, Natthaweeranuch Thongmee, Achita Sikamana, Unnop Chanpaibool
Votes: 49,204
33. In My Skin (2002)
Unrated | 93 min | Drama, Horror
A woman grows increasingly fascinated with her body after suffering a disfiguring accident.
Director: Marina de Van | Stars: Marina de Van, Laurent Lucas, Léa Drucker, Thibault de Montalembert
Votes: 5,730 | Gross: $0.03M
34. Thirst (2009)
R | 134 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
Through a failed medical experiment, a priest is stricken with vampirism and is forced to abandon his ascetic ways.
Director: Park Chan-wook | Stars: Song Kang-ho, Kim Ok-bin, Choi Hee-jin, Seo Dong-soo
Votes: 51,426 | Gross: $0.30M
35. 10 Cloverfield Lane (2016)
PG-13 | 103 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
A young woman is held in an underground bunker by a man who insists that a hostile event has left the surface of the Earth uninhabitable.
Director: Dan Trachtenberg | Stars: John Goodman, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, John Gallagher Jr., Douglas M. Griffin
Votes: 354,963 | Gross: $72.08M
36. Pandorum (2009)
R | 108 min | Action, Horror, Mystery
Two crew members of a spaceship wake up from hypersleep to discover that all their colleagues are missing. Despite this, it appears that they are not alone.
Director: Christian Alvart | Stars: Dennis Quaid, Ben Foster, Cam Gigandet, Antje Traue
Votes: 159,588 | Gross: $10.33M
37. Julia's Eyes (2010)
Not Rated | 118 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
The story of a woman who is slowly losing her sight whilst trying to investigate the mysterious death of her twin sister.
Director: Guillem Morales | Stars: Belén Rueda, Lluís Homar, Pablo Derqui, Francesc Orella
Votes: 37,433
38. The Human Centipede (First Sequence) (2009)
R | 92 min | Horror
A mad scientist kidnaps and mutilates a trio of tourists in order to reassemble them into a human centipede, created by stitching their mouths to each others' rectums.
Director: Tom Six | Stars: Dieter Laser, Winter Williams, Ashlynn Yennie, Akihiro Kitamura
Votes: 87,318 | Gross: $0.18M
39. The Skin I Live In (2011)
R | 120 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
A brilliant plastic surgeon, haunted by past tragedies, creates a type of synthetic skin that withstands any kind of damage. His guinea pig: a mysterious and volatile woman who holds the key to his obsession.
Director: Pedro Almodóvar | Stars: Antonio Banderas, Elena Anaya, Jan Cornet, Marisa Paredes
Votes: 165,967 | Gross: $3.19M
40. Hostel: Part II (2007)
R | 94 min | Horror
Three American college students studying abroad are lured to a Slovakian hostel and discover the grim reality behind it.
Director: Eli Roth | Stars: Lauren German, Heather Matarazzo, Bijou Phillips, Roger Bart
Votes: 96,036 | Gross: $17.61M
41. A Tale of Two Sisters (2003)
R | 114 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
After being institutionalized in a mental hospital, Su-mi reunites with her sister, Su-yeon, and they return to live at their country home. But strange events plague the house, leading to surprising revelations and a shocking conclusion.
Director: Jee-woon Kim | Stars: Lim Soo-jung, Yum Jung-ah, Kim Kap-su, Moon Geun-young
Votes: 68,297
42. Goodnight Mommy (2014)
R | 99 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Twin boys move to a new house with their mother after she has face-changing cosmetic surgery, but under the bandages is someone the boys don't recognize.
Directors: Severin Fiala, Veronika Franz | Stars: Lukas Schwarz, Elias Schwarz, Susanne Wuest, Hans Escher
Votes: 59,807 | Gross: $1.17M
43. Southbound (2015)
R | 89 min | Horror
Five interlocking tales of terror follow the fates of a group of weary travellers who confront their worst nightmares - and darkest secrets - over one long night on a desolate stretch of desert highway.
Directors: Roxanne Benjamin, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, David Bruckner, Tyler Gillett, Patrick Horvath, Justin Martinez, Radio Silence, Chad Villella | Stars: Chad Villella, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Kristina Pesic, Fabianne Therese
Votes: 21,414 | Gross: $0.01M
44. The Conjuring 2 (2016)
R | 134 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Ed and Lorraine Warren travel to North London to help a single mother raising four children alone in a house plagued by a supernatural spirit.
Director: James Wan | Stars: Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Madison Wolfe, Frances O'Connor
Votes: 300,659 | Gross: $102.47M
45. The Autopsy of Jane Doe (2016)
R | 86 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A father and son, both coroners, are pulled into a complex mystery while attempting to identify the cause of death of a young woman who was apparently harboring dark secrets.
Director: André Øvredal | Stars: Brian Cox, Emile Hirsch, Ophelia Lovibond, Michael McElhatton
Votes: 139,424 | Gross: $0.01M
46. Candyman (1992)
R | 99 min | Horror, Thriller
The Candyman, a murderous soul with a hook for a hand, is accidentally summoned to reality by a skeptic grad student researching the monster's myth.
Director: Bernard Rose | Stars: Virginia Madsen, Xander Berkeley, Tony Todd, Kasi Lemmons
Votes: 100,198 | Gross: $25.79M
47. The Skeleton Key (2005)
PG-13 | 104 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
A hospice nurse working at a spooky New Orleans plantation home finds herself entangled in a mystery involving the house's dark past.
Director: Iain Softley | Stars: Kate Hudson, Peter Sarsgaard, Joy Bryant, Gena Rowlands
Votes: 123,051 | Gross: $47.81M
48. Last Shift (I) (2014)
R | 88 min | Horror, Mystery
A rookie cop is tasked with taking the last shift at a police station before it is permanently closed, but it turns into a living nightmare.
Director: Anthony DiBlasi | Stars: Juliana Harkavy, Joshua Mikel, Hank Stone, J. LaRose
Votes: 23,582
49. Raw (2016)
R | 99 min | Drama, Horror
A young woman, studying to be a vet, develops a craving for human flesh.
Director: Julia Ducournau | Stars: Garance Marillier, Ella Rumpf, Rabah Nait Oufella, Laurent Lucas
Votes: 89,179 | Gross: $0.51M
50. Land of the Dead (2005)
R | 93 min | Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller
The living dead have taken over the world, and the last humans live in a walled city to protect themselves as they come to grips with the situation.
Director: George A. Romero | Stars: John Leguizamo, Asia Argento, Simon Baker, Dennis Hopper
Votes: 100,827 | Gross: $20.70M
51. Train to Busan (2016)
Not Rated | 118 min | Action, Horror, Thriller
While a zombie virus breaks out in South Korea, passengers struggle to survive on the train from Seoul to Busan.
Director: Yeon Sang-ho | Stars: Gong Yoo, Jung Yu-mi, Ma Dong-seok, Kim Su-an
Votes: 258,992 | Gross: $2.13M
52. Come and See (1985)
Not Rated | 142 min | Drama, Thriller, War
After finding an old rifle, a young boy joins the Soviet resistance movement against ruthless German forces and experiences the horrors of World War II.
Director: Elem Klimov | Stars: Aleksey Kravchenko, Olga Mironova, Liubomiras Laucevicius, Vladas Bagdonas
Votes: 97,372
53. Ouija: Origin of Evil (2016)
PG-13 | 99 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
In 1967 Los Angeles, a widowed mother and her daughters add a new stunt to bolster their seance scam business by inviting an evil presence into their home, not realizing how dangerous it is.
Director: Mike Flanagan | Stars: Elizabeth Reaser, Lulu Wilson, Annalise Basso, Henry Thomas
Votes: 73,145 | Gross: $35.14M
54. The Perfection (2018)
TV-MA | 90 min | Drama, Horror, Music
When troubled musical prodigy Charlotte seeks out Elizabeth, the new star pupil of her former school, the encounter sends both musicians down a sinister path with shocking consequences.
Director: Richard Shepard | Stars: Marie Maskell, Allison Williams, Christina Jastrzembska, Glynis Davies
Votes: 49,479
55. The Platform (2019)
TV-MA | 94 min | Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller
A vertical prison with one cell per level. Two people per cell. Only one food platform and two minutes per day to feed. An endless nightmare trapped in The Hole.
Director: Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia | Stars: Ivan Massagué, Zorion Eguileor, Antonia San Juan, Emilio Buale
Votes: 272,782
56. 1BR (2019)
TV-MA | 90 min | Drama, Horror, Thriller
Sarah tries to start anew in LA, but her neighbours are not what they seem.
Director: David Marmor | Stars: Nicole Brydon Bloom, Giles Matthey, Taylor Nichols, Alan Blumenfeld
Votes: 15,498
57. I See You (II) (2019)
R | 98 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
A policeman and his doctor wife have some marriage problems and the son blames the mother. For his job, the policeman investigates a case of a missing boy. The possible kidnapping looks like some cases from a few years ago.
Director: Adam Randall | Stars: Helen Hunt, Jon Tenney, Owen Teague, Judah Lewis
Votes: 66,913
58. Level 16 (2018)
Not Rated | 102 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
In a highly regimented boarding school, a pair of students discover that things are not as they seem.
Director: Danishka Esterhazy | Stars: Katie Douglas, Celina Martin, Sara Canning, Peter Outerbridge
Votes: 16,240
59. Get Out (I) (2017)
R | 104 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A young African-American visits his white girlfriend's parents for the weekend, where his simmering uneasiness about their reception of him eventually reaches a boiling point.
Director: Jordan Peele | Stars: Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Bradley Whitford, Catherine Keener
Votes: 697,517 | Gross: $176.04M
60. Cobweb (2023)
R | 88 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
An eight-year-old boy tries to investigate the mysterious knocking sounds that are coming from inside the walls of his house, unveiling a dark secret that his sinister parents have kept hidden from him.
Director: Samuel Bodin | Stars: Lizzy Caplan, Antony Starr, Cleopatra Coleman, Woody Norman
Votes: 31,988
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