The Favourites of a Horror Whore
by NoirKatz | created - 09 Jun 2013 | updated - 01 Nov 2014 | PublicAn on-going list of one woman's favorite horror films. As you can see, my tastes are rather diverse, spanning through most horror sub-genres and several decades. I must admit, though, that I have a bias for demonic possession flicks and 1970's cinema.
If you share my tastes, that is awesome. If you don't, that's awesome, too. I'm not a horror "expert" nor do I claim to be. I simply enjoy horror and part of me hopes that perhaps my list will spark another person's interest in this fascinating film genre.
Have a suggestion for a film that might interest me? Let me know...
- Instant Watch Options
- Genres
- Movies or TV
- IMDb Rating
- In Theaters
- Release Year
- Keywords
1. 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: 457,117 | Gross: $232.91M
2. The Amityville Horror (1979)
R | 117 min | Horror
Newlyweds and their three children move into a large house where a mass murder was committed. They start to experience strange, inexplicable manifestations which have strong effects on everyone living in or visiting the house.
Director: Stuart Rosenberg | Stars: James Brolin, Margot Kidder, Rod Steiger, Don Stroud
Votes: 44,860 | Gross: $86.43M
3. Carrie (1976)
R | 98 min | Horror, Mystery
Carrie White, a shy, friendless teenage girl who is sheltered by her domineering, religious mother, unleashes her telekinetic powers after being humiliated by her classmates at her senior prom.
Director: Brian De Palma | Stars: Sissy Spacek, Piper Laurie, Amy Irving, John Travolta
Votes: 207,685 | Gross: $33.80M
4. 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: 133,110 | Gross: $4.27M
5. Diabolique (1955)
Not Rated | 117 min | Crime, Drama, Horror
The wife and mistress of a loathed school principal plan to murder him with what they believe is the perfect alibi.
Director: Henri-Georges Clouzot | Stars: Simone Signoret, Véra Clouzot, Paul Meurisse, Charles Vanel
Votes: 69,740 | Gross: $1.09M
6. Amityville II: The Possession (1982)
R | 104 min | Horror
A dysfunctional family moves into a new house, which proves to be satanic, resulting in the demonic possession of their teenage son.
Director: Damiano Damiani | Stars: James Olson, Burt Young, Rutanya Alda, Jack Magner
Votes: 12,942 | Gross: $12.53M
7. Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II (1987)
R | 97 min | Horror, Thriller
Thirty years after her accidental death at her 1957 senior prom, the tortured spirit of prom queen Mary Lou Maloney returns to seek revenge.
Director: Bruce Pittman | Stars: Lisa Schrage, Michael Ironside, Wendy Lyon, Louis Ferreira
Votes: 7,680 | Gross: $2.68M
8. 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: 308,217 | Gross: $47.00M
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: 721,928 | Gross: $32.00M
10. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
R | 83 min | Horror
Five friends head out to rural Texas to visit the grave of a grandfather. On the way they stumble across what appears to be a deserted house, only to discover something sinister within. Something armed with a chainsaw.
Director: Tobe Hooper | Stars: Marilyn Burns, Edwin Neal, Allen Danziger, Paul A. Partain
Votes: 184,480 | Gross: $30.86M
11. Black Christmas (1974)
R | 98 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
During their Christmas break, a group of sorority girls are stalked by a stranger.
Director: Bob Clark | Stars: Olivia Hussey, Keir Dullea, Margot Kidder, John Saxon
Votes: 48,607 | Gross: $4.05M
12. Asylum (I) (1972)
PG | 88 min | Horror
In order to secure a job at a mental institution, a young psychiatrist must interview four patients inside the asylum.
Director: Roy Ward Baker | Stars: Barbara Parkins, Richard Todd, Sylvia Syms, Peter Cushing
Votes: 8,255
13. The House That Dripped Blood (1971)
PG | 102 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
An anthology of four horror stories revolving around a mysterious rental house in the U.K.
Director: Peter Duffell | Stars: John Bryans, John Bennett, Denholm Elliott, Peter Cushing
Votes: 7,564
14. Zombie (1979)
R | 91 min | Horror
Strangers searching for a young woman's missing father arrive at a tropical island where a doctor desperately seeks the cause and cure of a recent epidemic of the undead.
Director: Lucio Fulci | Stars: Tisa Farrow, Ian McCulloch, Richard Johnson, Al Cliver
Votes: 30,840
15. Carnival of Souls (1962)
Approved | 78 min | Horror, Mystery
After a traumatic accident, a woman becomes drawn to a mysterious abandoned carnival.
Director: Herk Harvey | Stars: Candace Hilligoss, Frances Feist, Sidney Berger, Art Ellison
Votes: 27,975
16. Dementia 13 (1963)
Unrated | 75 min | Horror, Thriller
A scheming widow hatches a bold plan to acquire her late husband's inheritance, unaware that she is being targeted by an ax murderer who lurks in the family's estate.
Director: Francis Ford Coppola | Stars: William Campbell, Luana Anders, Bart Patton, Mary Mitchel
Votes: 9,068
17. The House by the Cemetery (1981)
Not Rated | 86 min | Horror
A New England home is terrorized by a series of murders, unbeknownst to the guests that a gruesome secret is hiding in the basement.
Director: Lucio Fulci | Stars: Catriona MacColl, Paolo Malco, Ania Pieroni, Giovanni Frezza
Votes: 16,352
18. The Last House on the Left (1972)
R | 84 min | Crime, Horror, Thriller
Two teenage girls heading to a rock concert for one's birthday try to score marijuana in the city, where they are kidnapped and brutalized by a gang of psychopathic convicts.
Director: Wes Craven | Stars: Sandra Peabody, Lucy Grantham, David Hess, Fred J. Lincoln
Votes: 40,478 | Gross: $3.10M
19. And Soon the Darkness (1970)
GP | 94 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Two young English women go on a cycling tour of the French countryside. When one of them goes missing, the other begins to search for her. But who can she trust?
Director: Robert Fuest | Stars: Pamela Franklin, Michele Dotrice, Sandor Elès, John Nettleton
Votes: 4,093
20. 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: 286,962 | Gross: $140.54M
21. Trilogy of Terror (1975 TV Movie)
Unrated | 72 min | Horror, Thriller
Three bizarre horror stories, all of which star Karen Black in four different roles playing four tormented women.
Director: Dan Curtis | Stars: Robert Burton, John Karlen, George Gaynes, Jim Storm
Votes: 8,734
22. House (1977)
Not Rated | 88 min | Comedy, Horror
A schoolgirl and six of her classmates travel to her aunt's country home, which turns out to be haunted.
Director: Nobuhiko Ôbayashi | Stars: Kimiko Ikegami, Miki Jinbo, Kumiko Ôba, Ai Matsubara
Votes: 33,844
23. 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: 68,572
24. Audition (1999)
R | 115 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
A widower takes an offer to screen girls at a special audition, arranged for him by a friend to find him a new wife. The one he fancies is not who she appears to be after all.
Director: Takashi Miike | Stars: Ryo Ishibashi, Eihi Shiina, Tetsu Sawaki, Jun Kunimura
Votes: 89,745
25. Storm of the Century (1999)
PG-13 | 86 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
A dangerous blizzard hits an isolated town and brings along a mysterious stranger intent on terrorizing people for his own desires.
Stars: Tim Daly, Colm Feore, Debrah Farentino, Jeffrey DeMunn
Votes: 24,483
26. Let's Scare Jessica to Death (1971)
GP | 89 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
A recently institutionalized woman has bizarre experiences after moving into a supposedly haunted country farmhouse and fears she may be losing her sanity once again.
Director: John D. Hancock | Stars: Zohra Lampert, Barton Heyman, Kevin O'Connor, Gretchen Corbett
Votes: 9,375
27. The Redeemer: Son of Satan! (1978)
R | 84 min | Horror
Six people are trapped within the confines of their old high school during their 10th high school reunion with a psychotic, masked preacher who kills them off for their sinful lives they have made for themselves.
Director: Constantine S. Gochis | Stars: Jerry Lazarus, Jeannetta Arnette, Nick Carter, Nikki Barthen
Votes: 1,178
28. Pin (1988)
R | 103 min | Horror, Thriller
Isolated by his strange parents, Leon finds solace in an imaginary friend, which happens to be an anatomy doll from his father's doctor office. Unfortunately, the doll begins to take over Leon's life, and his sister's life as well.
Director: Sandor Stern | Stars: David Hewlett, Cynthia Preston, Terry O'Quinn, Bronwen Mantel
Votes: 5,306
29. 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: 20,942 | Gross: $0.08M
30. Bijitâ Q (2001)
R | 84 min | Comedy, Drama, Horror
A troubled and perverted family find their lives intruded by a mysterious stranger who seems to help find a balance in their disturbing natures.
Director: Takashi Miike | Stars: Ken'ichi Endô, Shungiku Uchida, Kazushi Watanabe, Jun Mutô
Votes: 17,133
31. The Happiness of the Katakuris (2001)
R | 113 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Horror
A family moves to the country to run a rustic mountain inn when, to their horror, the customers begin befalling sudden and unlikely fates.
Director: Takashi Miike | Stars: Kenji Sawada, Keiko Matsuzaka, Shinji Takeda, Naomi Nishida
Votes: 10,089
32. Tomie (1998)
95 min | Crime, Drama, Horror
A traumatized young woman is trying to recover her memories with the help of a psychiatrist. During her hypnosis sessions, she repeats the name "Tomie" but is unable to recall where she knows it from.
Director: Ataru Oikawa | Stars: Miho Kanno, Mami Nakamura, Yoriko Dôguchi, Tomorô Taguchi
Votes: 1,978
33. Battle Royale (2000)
Not Rated | 114 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
In the future, the Japanese government captures a class of ninth-grade students and forces them to kill one another under the revolutionary "Battle Royale" act.
Director: Kinji Fukasaku | Stars: Tatsuya Fujiwara, Aki Maeda, Tarô Yamamoto, Chiaki Kuriyama
Votes: 195,345
34. Suicide Club (2001)
R | 99 min | Crime, Drama, Horror
A detective is trying to find the cause of a string of suicides.
Director: Sion Sono | Stars: Ryo Ishibashi, Masatoshi Nagase, Mai Hosho, Tamao Satô
Votes: 22,292
35. Demons (1985)
Not Rated | 88 min | Horror
A group of random people are invited to a screening of a mysterious movie, only to find themselves trapped in the theater with ravenous demons.
Director: Lamberto Bava | Stars: Urbano Barberini, Natasha Hovey, Karl Zinny, Fiore Argento
Votes: 26,670
36. Seytan (1974)
Not Rated | 101 min | Horror
The remake of The Exorcist.
Director: Metin Erksan | Stars: Canan Perver, Cihan Ünal, Meral Taygun, Agah Hün
Votes: 1,171
37. 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: 68,699 | Gross: $0.10M
38. Night School (1981)
R | 88 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Who's been decapitating the innocent girls at a local night school? The police are baffled.
Director: Ken Hughes | Stars: Leonard Mann, Rachel Ward, Drew Snyder, Joseph R. Sicari
Votes: 3,263 | Gross: $1.17M
39. Devil's Nightmare (1971)
R | 95 min | Fantasy, Horror
A group of tourists traveling on a bus take a detour to stay overnight in a castle owned by a family cursed with a history of Satanism and death.
Director: Jean Brismée | Stars: Erika Blanc, Jean Servais, Daniel Emilfork, Lucien Raimbourg
Votes: 2,198
40. What's the Matter with Helen? (1971)
R | 101 min | Crime, Horror, Musical
Two middle-aged women move to Hollywood, California after their sons are convicted of a notorious murder and open a dance school for children eager to tap their way to stardom.
Director: Curtis Harrington | Stars: Debbie Reynolds, Shelley Winters, Dennis Weaver, Micheál MacLiammóir
Votes: 2,318
41. Ghostwatch (1992 TV Movie)
Not Rated | 91 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
In a "live" broadcast on Halloween night, a BBC team investigate a reported poltergeist in an ordinary London home.
Director: Lesley Manning | Stars: Michael Parkinson, Sarah Greene, Mike Smith, Craig Charles
Votes: 5,983
42. The Wicker Man (1973)
R | 88 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A puritan police sergeant arrives in a Scottish island village in search of a missing girl, who the pagan locals claim never existed.
Director: Robin Hardy | Stars: Edward Woodward, Christopher Lee, Diane Cilento, Britt Ekland
Votes: 92,769 | Gross: $0.06M
43. Prom Night (1980)
R | 92 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
At a high-school senior prom, a masked killer stalks four teenagers who were responsible for the accidental death of a classmate six years previously.
Director: Paul Lynch | Stars: Leslie Nielsen, Jamie Lee Curtis, Casey Stevens, Anne-Marie Martin
Votes: 21,009 | Gross: $14.80M
44. The Loved Ones (2009)
R | 84 min | Crime, Horror
When Brent turns down his classmate Lola's invitation to the prom, she concocts a wildly violent plan for revenge.
Director: Sean Byrne | Stars: Xavier Samuel, Robin McLeavy, John Brumpton, Richard Wilson
Votes: 44,243
45. Don't Go to Sleep (1982 TV Movie)
93 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
A young girl begins seeing the ghost of her sister who died in an accident a year earlier.
Director: Richard Lang | Stars: Dennis Weaver, Valerie Harper, Robin Ignico, Kristin Cumming
Votes: 1,496
Tell Your Friends