favourite horror/thriller movies
by lozzy_w | created - 28 Sep 2013 | updated - 23 Nov 2013 | PublicEnjoyable for various reasons whether it be because they are scary, a quality movie or a horror classic.
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1. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003)
R | 98 min | Horror
After picking up a traumatized young hitchhiker, five friends find themselves stalked and hunted by a deformed chainsaw-wielding loon and his family of equally psychopathic killers.
Director: Marcus Nispel | Stars: Jessica Biel, Jonathan Tucker, Andrew Bryniarski, Erica Leerhsen
Votes: 152,456 | Gross: $80.57M
2. Friday the 13th (1980)
R | 95 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A group of teenage camp counselors attempt to re-open an abandoned summer camp with a tragic past, but they are stalked by a mysterious, relentless killer.
Director: Sean S. Cunningham | Stars: Betsy Palmer, Adrienne King, Jeannine Taylor, Robbi Morgan
Votes: 157,567 | Gross: $39.75M
3. A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
R | 91 min | Horror
Teenager Nancy Thompson must uncover the dark truth concealed by her parents after she and her friends become targets of the spirit of a serial killer with a bladed glove in their dreams, in which if they die, it kills them in real life.
Director: Wes Craven | Stars: Heather Langenkamp, Johnny Depp, Robert Englund, John Saxon
Votes: 262,726 | Gross: $25.50M
4. 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: 150,916 | Gross: $110.36M
5. A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge (1985)
R | 87 min | Horror
A teenage boy is haunted in his dreams by deceased child murderer Freddy Krueger, who is out to possess him in order to continue his reign of terror in the real world.
Director: Jack Sholder | Stars: Robert Englund, Mark Patton, Kim Myers, Robert Rusler
Votes: 77,515 | Gross: $30.00M
6. 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: 247,165 | Gross: $26.02M
7. Halloween (2007)
R | 109 min | Horror
After being committed for 15 years, Michael Myers, now a grown man and still very dangerous, escapes from the mental institution and immediately returns to Haddonfield to find his baby sister, Laurie.
Director: Rob Zombie | Stars: Scout Taylor-Compton, Malcolm McDowell, Tyler Mane, Brad Dourif
Votes: 130,634 | Gross: $58.27M
8. 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: 455,330 | Gross: $232.91M
9. 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: 718,850 | Gross: $32.00M
10. 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: 1,107,676 | Gross: $44.02M
11. 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: 446,259 | Gross: $45.06M
12. 28 Weeks Later (2007)
R | 100 min | Horror, Sci-Fi
Six months after the rage virus was inflicted on the population of Great Britain, the US Army helps to secure a small area of London for the survivors to repopulate and start again. But not everything goes according to plan.
Director: Juan Carlos Fresnadillo | Stars: Jeremy Renner, Rose Byrne, Robert Carlyle, Harold Perrineau
Votes: 294,050 | Gross: $28.64M
13. Wrong Turn (I) (2003)
R | 84 min | Horror, Thriller
Chris and a group of five friends are left stranded deep in the middle of the woods after their cars collide. As they venture deeper into the woods, they face an uncertain and bloodcurdling fate.
Director: Rob Schmidt | Stars: Eliza Dushku, Jeremy Sisto, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Desmond Harrington
Votes: 131,652 | Gross: $15.42M
14. House of Wax (2005)
R | 113 min | Horror, Thriller
A group of teens are unwittingly stranded near a strange wax museum and soon must fight to survive and keep from becoming the next exhibit.
Director: Jaume Collet-Serra | Stars: Chad Michael Murray, Paris Hilton, Elisha Cuthbert, Brian Van Holt
Votes: 134,085 | Gross: $32.06M
15. Saw (2004)
R | 103 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Two strangers awaken in a room with no recollection of how they got there, and soon discover they're pawns in a deadly game perpetrated by a notorious serial killer.
Director: James Wan | Stars: Cary Elwes, Leigh Whannell, Danny Glover, Ken Leung
Votes: 467,085 | Gross: $56.00M
16. 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: 276,610 | Gross: $87.04M
17. Saw 3D (2010)
R | 90 min | Horror, Mystery
As a deadly battle rages over Jigsaw's brutal legacy, a group of Jigsaw survivors gathers to seek the support of self-help guru and fellow survivor Bobby Dagen, a man whose own dark secrets unleash a new wave of terror.
Director: Kevin Greutert | Stars: Tobin Bell, Costas Mandylor, Betsy Russell, Cary Elwes
Votes: 109,768 | Gross: $45.71M
18. The Conjuring (2013)
R | 112 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren work to help a family terrorized by a dark presence in their farmhouse.
Director: James Wan | Stars: Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga, Ron Livingston, Lili Taylor
Votes: 555,327 | Gross: $137.40M
19. The Devil's Rejects (2005)
R | 107 min | Crime, Drama, Horror
The murderous, backwoods Firefly family take to the road to escape the vengeful Sheriff Wydell, who is not afraid of being as ruthless as his target.
Director: Rob Zombie | Stars: Sid Haig, Sheri Moon Zombie, Bill Moseley, William Forsythe
Votes: 105,826 | Gross: $17.04M
20. The Uninvited (2009)
PG-13 | 87 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
Anna returns home after a stint in a mental hospital, but her recovery is jeopardized by her father's new girlfriend and ghastly visions of her dead mother.
Directors: Charles Guard, Thomas Guard | Stars: Emily Browning, Arielle Kebbel, Elizabeth Banks, David Strathairn
Votes: 85,109 | Gross: $28.57M
21. The Hills Have Eyes (2006)
R | 107 min | Horror, Thriller
A traveling family falls victim to a group of mutated cannibals in a desert far away from civilization.
Director: Alexandre Aja | Stars: Ted Levine, Kathleen Quinlan, Dan Byrd, Emilie de Ravin
Votes: 183,379 | Gross: $41.78M
22. The Hills Have Eyes 2 (2007)
R | 89 min | Horror, Thriller
A group of National Guard trainees find themselves battling against a vicious group of mutants on their last day of training in the desert.
Director: Martin Weisz | Stars: Daniella Alonso, Jacob Vargas, Michael Bailey Smith, Cécile Breccia
Votes: 67,674 | Gross: $20.80M
23. It (1990)
TV-14 | 96 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
In 1960, seven pre-teen outcasts fight an evil demon who poses as a child-killing clown. Thirty years later, they reunite to stop the demon once and for all when it returns to their hometown.
Stars: Richard Thomas, Tim Reid, Annette O'Toole, Harry Anderson
Votes: 140,954
24. Mirrors (I) (2008)
R | 110 min | Horror, Mystery
An ex-cop and his family are the target of an evil force that is using mirrors as a gateway into their home.
Director: Alexandre Aja | Stars: Kiefer Sutherland, Paula Patton, Amy Smart, Cameron Boyce
Votes: 113,766 | Gross: $30.69M
25. The Birds (1963)
PG-13 | 119 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
A wealthy San Francisco socialite pursues a potential boyfriend to a small Northern California town that slowly takes a turn for the bizarre when birds of all kinds suddenly begin to attack people.
Director: Alfred Hitchcock | Stars: Rod Taylor, Tippi Hedren, Jessica Tandy, Suzanne Pleshette
Votes: 204,675 | Gross: $11.40M
26. Jeepers Creepers (2001)
R | 90 min | Horror, Mystery
A brother and sister driving home through isolated countryside for spring break encounter a flesh-eating creature which is in the midst of its ritualistic eating spree.
Director: Victor Salva | Stars: Gina Philips, Justin Long, Jonathan Breck, Patricia Belcher
Votes: 142,664 | Gross: $37.90M
27. 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: 132,742 | Gross: $4.27M
28. 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: 1,052,153 | Gross: $293.51M
29. Rosemary's Baby (1968)
Approved | 137 min | Drama, Horror
A young couple trying for a baby moves into an aging, ornate apartment building on Central Park West, where they find themselves surrounded by peculiar neighbors.
Director: Roman Polanski | Stars: Mia Farrow, John Cassavetes, Ruth Gordon, Sidney Blackmer
Votes: 235,389
30. Donnie Darko (2001)
R | 113 min | Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
After narrowly escaping a bizarre accident, a troubled teenager is plagued by visions of a man in a large rabbit suit who manipulates him to commit a series of crimes.
Director: Richard Kelly | Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Jena Malone, Mary McDonnell, Holmes Osborne
Votes: 850,568 | Gross: $1.48M
31. 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: 1,549,540 | Gross: $130.74M
32. Dead Silence (2007)
R | 89 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
After his wife meets a grisly end, Jamie Ashen returns to his hometown of Ravens Fair to find answers. His investigation leads him to the ghost of a ventriloquist named Mary Shaw who seems to have ties to his entire family tree
Director: James Wan | Stars: Ryan Kwanten, Amber Valletta, Donnie Wahlberg, Michael Fairman
Votes: 101,916 | Gross: $16.81M
33. 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: 280,498 | Gross: $48.09M
34. The Strangers (2008)
R | 86 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A young couple staying in an isolated vacation home are terrorized by three unknown assailants.
Director: Bryan Bertino | Stars: Scott Speedman, Liv Tyler, Gemma Ward, Alex Fisher
Votes: 143,780 | Gross: $52.60M
35. Quarantine (2008)
R | 89 min | Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller
A television reporter and her cameraman are trapped inside a building quarantined by the CDC, after the outbreak of a mysterious virus which turns humans into bloodthirsty killers.
Director: John Erick Dowdle | Stars: Jennifer Carpenter, Steve Harris, Columbus Short, Jay Hernandez
Votes: 77,427 | Gross: $31.69M
36. The Blair Witch Project (1999)
R | 81 min | Horror, Mystery
Three film students vanish after traveling into a Maryland forest to film a documentary on the local Blair Witch legend, leaving only their footage behind.
Directors: Daniel Myrick, Eduardo Sánchez | Stars: Heather Donahue, Michael C. Williams, Joshua Leonard, Bob Griffin
Votes: 285,849 | Gross: $140.54M
37. Paranormal Activity (2007)
R | 86 min | Horror, Mystery
After moving into a suburban home, a couple becomes increasingly disturbed by a nightly demonic presence.
Director: Oren Peli | Stars: Katie Featherston, Micah Sloat, Mark Fredrichs, Amber Armstrong
Votes: 256,341 | Gross: $107.92M
38. 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: 192,713 | Gross: $54.33M
39. Sleepy Hollow (1999)
R | 105 min | Fantasy, Horror, Mystery
Ichabod Crane is sent to Sleepy Hollow to investigate the decapitations of three people; the culprit is legendary apparition The Headless Horseman.
Director: Tim Burton | Stars: Johnny Depp, Christina Ricci, Miranda Richardson, Michael Gambon
Votes: 384,107 | Gross: $101.07M
40. Halloween (1978)
R | 91 min | Horror, Thriller
Fifteen years after murdering his sister on Halloween night 1963, Michael Myers escapes from a mental hospital and returns to the small town of Haddonfield, Illinois to kill again.
Director: John Carpenter | Stars: Donald Pleasence, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tony Moran, Nancy Kyes
Votes: 306,992 | Gross: $47.00M
41. 30 Days of Night (2007)
R | 113 min | Action, Horror, Thriller
After an Alaskan town is plunged into darkness for a month, it is attacked by a bloodthirsty gang of vampires.
Director: David Slade | Stars: Josh Hartnett, Melissa George, Danny Huston, Ben Foster
Votes: 189,531 | Gross: $39.57M
42. The Devil's Advocate (1997)
R | 144 min | Drama, Fantasy, Mystery
An exceptionally-adept Florida lawyer is offered a job at a high-end New York City law firm with a high-end boss--the biggest opportunity of his career to date.
Director: Taylor Hackford | Stars: Keanu Reeves, Al Pacino, Charlize Theron, Jeffrey Jones
Votes: 402,240 | Gross: $60.98M
43. Devil (2010)
PG-13 | 80 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A group of people are trapped in an elevator and the Devil is mysteriously amongst them.
Director: John Erick Dowdle | Stars: Chris Messina, Caroline Dhavernas, Bokeem Woodbine, Logan Marshall-Green
Votes: 157,043 | Gross: $33.58M
44. 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: 68,651 | Gross: $18.12M
45. Child's Play (1988)
R | 87 min | Horror, Thriller
A struggling single mother unknowingly gifts her son a doll imbued with a serial killer's consciousness.
Director: Tom Holland | Stars: Catherine Hicks, Chris Sarandon, Alex Vincent, Brad Dourif
Votes: 116,853 | Gross: $33.24M
46. Dawn of the Dead (2004)
R | 101 min | Action, Horror
A nurse, a policeman, a young married couple, a salesman and other survivors of a worldwide plague that is producing aggressive, flesh-eating zombies, take refuge in a mega Midwestern shopping mall.
Director: Zack Snyder | Stars: Sarah Polley, Ving Rhames, Mekhi Phifer, Jake Weber
Votes: 272,648 | Gross: $59.02M
47. Don't Be Afraid of the Dark (2010)
R | 99 min | Fantasy, Horror, Thriller
A young girl sent to live with her father and his new girlfriend believes that she has released creatures from a sealed ash pit in the basement of her new home.
Director: Troy Nixey | Stars: Katie Holmes, Guy Pearce, Bailee Madison, Bruce Gleeson
Votes: 50,596 | Gross: $24.04M
48. Fear (1996)
R | 97 min | Drama, Thriller
When Nicole met David; handsome, charming, affectionate, he was everything. It seemed perfect, but soon she sees that David has a darker side. And his adoration turns to obsession, their dream into a nightmare, and her love into fear.
Director: James Foley | Stars: Mark Wahlberg, Reese Witherspoon, William Petersen, Amy Brenneman
Votes: 54,948 | Gross: $20.75M
49. Final Destination 5 (2011)
R | 92 min | Horror, Thriller
Death returns to claim the lucky survivors of a deadly bridge collapse in this fifth frightening installment in the series.
Director: Steven Quale | Stars: Nicholas D'Agosto, Emma Bell, Arlen Escarpeta, Miles Fisher
Votes: 125,081 | Gross: $42.59M
50. Hellraiser (1987)
R | 94 min | Horror, Thriller
A woman discovers the newly resurrected, partially formed, body of her brother-in-law and lover. She starts killing for him to revitalize his body and escape the demonic beings that are pursuing him after he escaped their underworld.
Director: Clive Barker | Stars: Andrew Robinson, Clare Higgins, Ashley Laurence, Sean Chapman
Votes: 140,639 | Gross: $14.56M
51. I Spit on Your Grave (2010)
R | 108 min | Horror, Thriller
A writer who is brutalized during her cabin retreat seeks revenge on her attackers, who left her for dead.
Director: Steven R. Monroe | Stars: Sarah Butler, Jeff Branson, Andrew Howard, Daniel Franzese
Votes: 93,237 | Gross: $0.09M
52. 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: 660,019 | Gross: $260.00M
53. Lovely Molly (2011)
R | 99 min | Drama, Horror
Newlywed Molly moves into her deceased father's house in the countryside, where painful memories soon begin to haunt her.
Director: Eduardo Sánchez | Stars: Gretchen Lodge, Johnny Lewis, Alexandra Holden, Field Blauvelt
Votes: 10,106
54. When a Stranger Calls (1979)
R | 97 min | Mystery, Thriller
A psychopathic killer terrorizes a babysitter, then returns seven years later to menace her again.
Director: Fred Walton | Stars: Carol Kane, Charles Durning, Rutanya Alda, Carmen Argenziano
Votes: 14,338 | Gross: $21.41M
55. Evil Dead (2013)
R | 91 min | Horror
Five friends head to a remote cabin, where the discovery of a Book of the Dead leads them to unwittingly summon up demons living in the nearby woods.
Director: Fede Alvarez | Stars: Jane Levy, Shiloh Fernandez, Jessica Lucas, Lou Taylor Pucci
Votes: 197,392 | Gross: $54.24M
56. Scream (1996)
R | 111 min | Horror, Mystery
A year after the murder of her mother, a teenage girl is terrorized by a masked killer who targets her and her friends by using scary movies as part of a deadly game.
Director: Wes Craven | Stars: Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, David Arquette, Skeet Ulrich
Votes: 388,770 | Gross: $103.05M
57. Silent House (2011)
R | 86 min | Horror, Thriller
A girl is trapped inside her family's lakeside retreat and becomes unable to contact the outside world as supernatural forces haunt the house with mysterious energy and consequences.
Directors: Chris Kentis, Laura Lau | Stars: Elizabeth Olsen, Adam Trese, Eric Sheffer Stevens, Julia Chan
Votes: 24,661 | Gross: $12.56M
58. Stay Alive (2006)
PG-13 | 85 min | Fantasy, Horror, Mystery
For a group of teens, the answer to the mysterious death of their old friend lies within the world of an online video game based on the true story of an ancient noblewoman known as the Blood Countess.
Director: William Brent Bell | Stars: Jon Foster, Samaire Armstrong, Frankie Muniz, Jimmi Simpson
Votes: 34,055 | Gross: $23.09M
59. The Fourth Kind (2009)
PG-13 | 98 min | Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi
A thriller involving an ongoing unsolved mystery in Alaska, where one town has seen an extraordinary number of unexplained disappearances during the past 40 years and there are accusations of a federal cover up.
Director: Olatunde Osunsanmi | Stars: Milla Jovovich, Elias Koteas, Will Patton, Hakeem Kae-Kazim
Votes: 81,875 | Gross: $25.46M
60. 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: 375,306 | Gross: $129.13M
61. The Eye (2008)
PG-13 | 98 min | Horror, Mystery
Violinist Sydney Wells was accidentally blinded by her sister Helen when she was five years old. She submits to a cornea transplantation, and while recovering from the operation, she realizes that she is seeing dead people.
Directors: David Moreau, Xavier Palud | Stars: Jessica Alba, Alessandro Nivola, Parker Posey, Rade Serbedzija
Votes: 56,148 | Gross: $31.42M
62. Fright Night (1985)
R | 106 min | Horror
"Fright Night" sees a teenager believing that the newcomer in his neighborhood is a vampire. He turns to an actor in a television hosted horror movie show for help to deal with the undead.
Director: Tom Holland | Stars: Chris Sarandon, William Ragsdale, Amanda Bearse, Roddy McDowall
Votes: 78,706 | Gross: $24.92M
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