Best Horror
by f-rabit | created - 01 Jan 2015 | updated - 16 Apr 2023 | Public- 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: 455,149 | Gross: $232.91M
2. 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: 1,107,199 | Gross: $44.02M
3. Poltergeist (1982)
PG | 114 min | Horror, Thriller
A family's home is haunted by a host of demonic ghosts.
Director: Tobe Hooper | Stars: JoBeth Williams, Heather O'Rourke, Craig T. Nelson, Beatrice Straight
Votes: 179,645 | Gross: $76.61M
4. Phenomena (1985)
R | 116 min | Crime, Horror, Mystery
A young girl who has an amazing ability to communicate with insects is transferred to an exclusive Swiss boarding school, where her unusual capability might help solve a string of murders.
Director: Dario Argento | Stars: Jennifer Connelly, Donald Pleasence, Daria Nicolodi, Dalila Di Lazzaro
Votes: 30,066
5. 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: 555,102 | Gross: $137.40M
6. The Evil Dead (1981)
NC-17 | 85 min | Horror
Five friends travel to a cabin in the woods, where they unknowingly release flesh-possessing demons.
Director: Sam Raimi | Stars: Bruce Campbell, Ellen Sandweiss, Richard DeManincor, Betsy Baker
Votes: 232,472 | Gross: $2.40M
7. Darkness (2002)
PG-13 | 88 min | Horror
A teenage girl moves into a remote country house with her family, only to discover that their gloomy new home has a horrifying past that threatens to destroy the family.
Director: Jaume Balagueró | Stars: Anna Paquin, Lena Olin, Iain Glen, Giancarlo Giannini
Votes: 20,356 | Gross: $22.16M
8. The Thing (1982)
R | 109 min | Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi
A research team in Antarctica is hunted by a shape-shifting alien that assumes the appearance of its victims.
Director: John Carpenter | Stars: Kurt Russell, Wilford Brimley, Keith David, Richard Masur
Votes: 466,874 | Gross: $13.78M
9. The Thing (I) (2011)
R | 103 min | Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi
At an Antarctica research site, the discovery of an alien craft leads to a confrontation between graduate student Kate Lloyd and scientist Dr. Sander Halvorson.
Director: Matthijs van Heijningen Jr. | Stars: Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Joel Edgerton, Ulrich Thomsen, Eric Christian Olsen
Votes: 145,587 | Gross: $16.93M
10. Braindead (1992)
R | 104 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Horror
A young man's mother is bitten by a Sumatran rat-monkey. She gets sick and dies, at which time she comes back to life, killing and eating dogs, nurses, friends, and neighbors.
Director: Peter Jackson | Stars: Timothy Balme, Diana Peñalver, Elizabeth Moody, Ian Watkin
Votes: 103,332 | Gross: $0.24M
11. 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: 68,382 | Gross: $0.10M
12. 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: 659,697 | Gross: $260.00M
13. 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: 446,014 | Gross: $45.06M
14. Alien (1979)
R | 117 min | Horror, Sci-Fi
The crew of a commercial spacecraft encounters a deadly lifeform after investigating a mysterious transmission of unknown origin.
Director: Ridley Scott | Stars: Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, John Hurt, Veronica Cartwright
Votes: 951,329 | Gross: $78.90M
15. Signs (2002)
PG-13 | 106 min | Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
A widowed former reverend living with his children and brother on a Pennsylvania farm finds mysterious crop circles in their fields, which suggests something more frightening to come.
Director: M. Night Shyamalan | Stars: Mel Gibson, Joaquin Phoenix, Rory Culkin, Abigail Breslin
Votes: 385,838 | Gross: $227.97M
16. 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: 150,893 | Gross: $110.36M
17. 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: 375,161 | Gross: $129.13M
18. The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005)
PG-13 | 119 min | Drama, Horror, Thriller
A lawyer takes on a negligent homicide case involving a priest who performed an exorcism on a young girl.
Director: Scott Derrickson | Stars: Laura Linney, Tom Wilkinson, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Campbell Scott
Votes: 140,092 | Gross: $75.07M
19. 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: 44,611 | Gross: $86.43M
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: 285,697 | Gross: $140.54M
21. 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: 256,267 | Gross: $107.92M
22. Mama (I) (2013)
PG-13 | 100 min | Fantasy, Horror, Thriller
After a young couple take in their two nieces, they suspect that a supernatural spirit named Mama has latched onto their family.
Director: Andy Muschietti | Stars: Jessica Chastain, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Megan Charpentier, Isabelle Nélisse
Votes: 191,097 | Gross: $71.63M
23. 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: 159,568 | Gross: $10.33M
24. 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: 189,481 | Gross: $39.57M
25. The Mist (2007)
R | 126 min | Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller
A freak storm unleashes a species of bloodthirsty creatures on a small town, where a small band of citizens hole up in a supermarket and fight for their lives.
Director: Frank Darabont | Stars: Thomas Jane, Marcia Gay Harden, Laurie Holden, Andre Braugher
Votes: 340,584 | Gross: $25.59M
26. 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: 131,562 | Gross: $15.42M
27. 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: 1,051,701 | Gross: $293.51M
28. The Others (2001)
PG-13 | 104 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
In 1945, immediately following the end of Second World War, a woman who lives with her two photosensitive children on her darkened old family estate in the Channel Islands becomes convinced that the home is haunted.
Director: Alejandro Amenábar | Stars: Nicole Kidman, Christopher Eccleston, Fionnula Flanagan, Alakina Mann
Votes: 393,358 | Gross: $96.52M
29. I Am Legend (2007)
PG-13 | 101 min | Action, Drama, Horror
Years after a plague kills most of humanity and transforms the rest into monsters, the sole survivor in New York City struggles valiantly to find a cure.
Director: Francis Lawrence | Stars: Will Smith, Alice Braga, Charlie Tahan, Salli Richardson-Whitfield
Votes: 814,539 | Gross: $256.39M
30. Martyrs (2008)
R | 99 min | Horror
A young woman's quest for revenge against the people who kidnapped and tormented her as a child leads her and a friend, who is also a victim of child abuse, on a terrifying journey into a living hell of depravity.
Director: Pascal Laugier | Stars: Morjana Alaoui, Mylène Jampanoï, Catherine Bégin, Robert Toupin
Votes: 106,497
31. The Devil's Backbone (2001)
R | 106 min | Drama, Horror, Thriller
After Carlos - a 12-year-old whose father has died in the Spanish Civil War - arrives at an ominous boys' orphanage, he discovers the school is haunted and has many dark secrets which he must uncover.
Director: Guillermo del Toro | Stars: Marisa Paredes, Eduardo Noriega, Federico Luppi, Fernando Tielve
Votes: 71,024 | Gross: $0.75M
32. 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: 466,896 | Gross: $56.00M
33. Afflicted (2013)
R | 85 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Two best friends see their trip of a lifetime take a dark turn when one of them is struck by a mysterious affliction. Now, in a foreign land, they race to uncover the source before it consumes him completely.
Directors: Derek Lee, Clif Prowse | Stars: Clif Prowse, Derek Lee, Michael Gill, Baya Rehaz
Votes: 25,602 | Gross: $0.12M
34. Troll Hunter (2010)
PG-13 | 103 min | Drama, Fantasy, Thriller
A group of students investigates a series of mysterious bear killings, but learns that there are much more dangerous things going on. They start to follow a mysterious hunter, learning that he is actually a troll hunter.
Director: André Øvredal | Stars: Otto Jespersen, Robert Stoltenberg, Knut Nærum, Glenn Erland Tosterud
Votes: 79,572 | Gross: $0.25M
35. The Mothman Prophecies (2002)
PG-13 | 119 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
A reporter is drawn to a small West Virginia town to investigate a series of strange events, including psychic visions and the appearance of bizarre entities.
Director: Mark Pellington | Stars: Richard Gere, Laura Linney, David Eigenberg, Bob Tracey
Votes: 84,809 | Gross: $35.75M
36. High Tension (2003)
R | 91 min | Horror
Best friends Marie and Alexia decide to spend a quiet weekend at Alexia's parents' secluded farmhouse. But on the night of their arrival, the girls' idyllic getaway turns into an endless night of horror.
Director: Alexandre Aja | Stars: Cécile de France, Maïwenn, Philippe Nahon, Franck Khalfoun
Votes: 77,878 | Gross: $3.68M
37. Dead End (I) (2003)
R | 85 min | Adventure, Horror, Mystery
Christmas Eve. On his way to his in-laws with his family, Frank Harrington decides to try a shortcut, for the first time in 20 years. It turns out to be the biggest mistake of his life.
Directors: Jean-Baptiste Andrea, Fabrice Canepa | Stars: Ray Wise, Lin Shaye, Mick Cain, Alexandra Holden
Votes: 32,288
38. 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: 140,589 | Gross: $14.56M
39. 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: 94,897 | Gross: $0.01M
40. Monster Man (2003)
R | 95 min | Adventure, Comedy, Horror
Two guys and a female hitchhiker are terrorized by a monstrous looking man driving a giant monster truck.
Director: Michael Davis | Stars: Eric Jungmann, Justin Urich, Aimee Brooks, Michael Bailey Smith
Votes: 5,182
41. Inside (2007)
R | 82 min | Horror
Four months after the death of her husband, a woman on the brink of motherhood is tormented in her home by a strange woman who wants her unborn baby.
Directors: Alexandre Bustillo, Julien Maury | Stars: Alysson Paradis, Jean-Baptiste Tabourin, Claude Lulé, Dominique Frot
Votes: 44,716
42. 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: 306,893 | Gross: $47.00M
43. Orphan (2009)
R | 123 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A husband and wife who recently lost their baby adopt a 9-year-old girl who is not nearly as innocent as she appears.
Director: Jaume Collet-Serra | Stars: Vera Farmiga, Peter Sarsgaard, Isabelle Fuhrman, CCH Pounder
Votes: 252,517 | Gross: $41.60M
44. Cemetery Man (1994)
R | 105 min | Comedy, Horror
A cemetery man must kill the dead a second time when they become zombies.
Director: Michele Soavi | Stars: Rupert Everett, François Hadji-Lazaro, Anna Falchi, Mickey Knox
Votes: 23,350 | Gross: $0.25M
45. The Innkeepers (2011)
R | 101 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
During the final days at the Yankee Pedlar Inn, two employees determined to reveal the hotel's haunted past begin to experience disturbing events as old guests check in for a stay.
Director: Ti West | Stars: Sara Paxton, Pat Healy, Kelly McGillis, Alison Bartlett
Votes: 37,253 | Gross: $0.08M
46. Sleep Tight (2011)
Not Rated | 102 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Cesar, a miserable man who works as an apartment concierge, takes a special interest in an attractive woman who lives there. He goes to great lengths to trouble her.
Director: Jaume Balagueró | Stars: Luis Tosar, Marta Etura, Alberto San Juan, Petra Martínez
Votes: 46,705
47. 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: 280,336 | Gross: $48.09M
Tell Your Friends