50 Best Classic Horror Movies You Will Regret Watching Alone

There’s just something about watching a horror movie late at midnight, your eyes glued to the screen while your mind prepares to get terrified once again. But this isn’t just limited to movies only. From books to shows, horror is intrinsic to us.

Anything is. H.P. Lovecraft gave us cosmic horror, and Edgar Allan Poe showed the horrors of the macabre. Be it movies or books, horror has always been a way to express our fears and human eccentricity.

Horror is simply not making your audience jump using cheap loud music and shitty jumpscare. Anyone can do that. An effective horror is when the director naturally makes the other party uncomfortable without using such obnoxious tropes. Even if you use jumpscares, you gotta use them tactfully rather than just inserting them willy-nilly.

In 1896 the movie industry saw the release of House of the Devil. This was the first horror movie in history. Since then, the genre hasn’t seen any signs of low interest. Each decade is packed with some of the most amazing and innovative horror movies directed by equally exemplary directors. 

Some of those directors were also responsible for making new sub-genres of horror such as slasher, found-footage, techno-horror, body horror, and many, many more. Horror has also given many great villains and characters in movies. Micheal Myers, Ash Williams, Freddy Krueger, and Ellen Ripley are just some from a list of many iconic horror characters. 

Now with so many horror movies coming out every year along with already released ones, it can be hard to find the best ones. And so, we have created this list of the 50 best classic horror movies which you can watch to scare yourself.   

50 Best Classic Horror Movies You Must Watch, starting with first in our list:

The Thing

Seriously if you haven’t watched this 1982 cult classic, you need to do it right now. You will not be disappointed. That’s a guarantee. Directed by legendary director John Carpenter, who was also responsible for directing another cult-classic horror movie called Halloween, The Thing is a sci-fi horror movie.

While the movie was on the receiving end of a large amount of negative criticism upon its original release in 1982, it went on to achieve classic cult status once it got released on DVDs. We follow a group of scientists in a remote base in Antarctica.

After they rescue a dog from getting killed, the group soon realizes that they are under attack from an alien. This creature has the ability to take anyone’s form and uses it to kill scientists one by one. With no one to contact and get help, these individuals must now do their best to survive and kill the alien.

• Director – John Carpenter
  
• Cast – Kurt Russell, T.K. Carter, Wilford Brimley, Richard Masur
  
• Languages – English
  
• Run Time – 1hr 48m
  
• Rating -R

Event Horizon

It’s a shame that we haven’t got a live-action Warhammer 40k movie so far. Although soon enough, we might have our wish fulfilled as Amazon Studios acquired the global rights for Warhammer 40k in December of last year. Along with that, Henry Cavill has also been roped in as an executive producer. But why are we talking about Warhammer 40k rather than Event Horizon?

Well, for starters, many among the Warhammer 40k fan base consider Event Horizon to be an unofficial movie thanks to its themes and overall plot. But what seals the deal here is that Philip Eisner, who served as the screenwriter for Event Horizon, has admitted that Warhammer 40k was a big inspiration behind the film.

Taking place in the not-so-distant future year of 2047, a group of astronauts encounters a once-missing starship called Event Horizon. As they investigate why and how the ship’s current condition, the astronauts themselves start becoming victims of unknown terrors. 

• Director – Paul W.S. Anderson
  
• Cast – Lawrence Fisher, Sam Neil, Richard T. Jones, Joely Richardson, Kathleen Quinlan
  
• Languages – English
  
• Run Time – 1hr 35m
  
• Rating – R
  

Alien

Not mentioning Alien in this list would be akin to saying that TiAlien is not a classic. Stupid would be the word here if we did that. Thankfully we did not!! Alien was “the” film that put Sir Ridley Scott on the list of most talented and respected directors in the industry.

Although since then, he has been behind many more equally great films such as Blade Runner, Gladiator, and The Martian, Alien is certainly his best or at least top three. While the subsequent films massively expanded the storyline as the film turned into a franchise.

The first installment still holds up very well to this day. One major reason behind it is that the movie doesn’t try to bite more than it can chew. It’s a nice and contained story about a group of people trying to save themselves from an alien. 

Sigourney Weaver plays the role of Ellen Ripley, who, along with her crew, discovers a derelict spaceship on the moon. Things start going out of control when one of the members of the crew is attacked by an unknown creature. Soon, tensions rise along with something much more deadly. 

• Director – Ridley Scott
  
• Cast – Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, John Hurt, Ian Holm, Veronica Cartwright
  
• Languages – English
  
• Run Time – 1hr 57m
  
• Rating – R
  

Audition

If there’s one thing that Takashi Miike knows and has mastered, it’s his ability to make his audience squirm in disgust and shock. His 1999 film and this list’s 4th suggested movie – Audition is a very good example of that. 

The plot of the movie revolves around Shigeharu Aoyama, who happens to be a widower. On the insistence of his son, he decides to search for a new wife through a series of mock auditions for a farcical film. A plan suggested by his film producer friend. Shigeharu has his eyes drawn to a girl named Asami. But Asami has demons of her own. And Shigeharu is unaware of all this. 

• Director – Takashi Miike
  
• Cast – Eihi Shiina, Miyuki Matsuda, jun Kunimura, Ren Osugi, Ryo Ishibashi
  
• Languages – Japanese
  
• Run Time – 1hr 53m
  
• Rating – R
  

The Exorcist

The sheer amount of love and praise this movie got upon its release in 1973 was unprecedented at the time, especially for a horror movie, no less. The book that it was adapted from was a huge success in itself. But when The Exorcist debuted on the silver screen, the reception around it was just something else.

The story itself isn’t that much unique compared to today’s standard. But the performances of the cast here and Friedkin’s direction were enough to make this a blockbuster hit and an important piece of art. 

The Exorcist deals with the possession of actress Chris MacNeil’s teenage daughter, Regan. Out of desperation, she enlists the help of Father Karras, a counselor for the church. Now you may not faint or vomit as many people did during its original run, but one thing you can be sure of is that this movie will certainly be an enjoyable experience for you. 

• Director – William Friedkin
  
• Cast – Linda Blair, Max Von Sydow, Ellen Burstyn, Lee J. Cobb
  
• Languages – English
  
• Run Time – 2hr 2m
  
• Rating – R
  

Lake Mungo

Lake Mungo will not disappoint. Words cannot describe just how incredible this movie is. From the acting to the way the story is told, it’s an indie masterpiece. Even that word doesn’t do justice to it. To someone unaware that it’s a movie, Lake Mungo will look and feel straight up like a documentary.

Joel Anderson, the director and writer behind this movie, shot the movie in a mockumentary style to evoke that “real” feel of the events. Moreover, most of the lines in Lake Mungo were improvised by the actors, as they were only given a simple outline of the overall story. As said earlier, Lake Mungo is entirely shot in a mockumentary style, and thus the entire movie’s story unfolds through the interviews and found footage.

The subject of this “documentary” is the Palmer family and, more specifically, the deceased daughter of June and Russell Palmer – Alice. Unexplainable supernatural events soon start taking place; meanwhile, more secret stuff about Alice is revealed to both the family and the viewers. Give this one a watch. It more than deserves it. 

• Director – Joel Anderson
  
• Cast – Talia Zucker, Rosie Traynor, David Pledger, Martin Sharpe, Steve Jodrell
  
• Languages – English
  
• Run Time – 1hr 29m
  
• Rating – R
  

Kwaidan

Based on Lafcadio Hearn’s Stories and Studies of Strange Things, Kwaidan is an anthology horror released in 1964. It features a total of four individual stories, all directed by famous Director Masaki Kobayashi. Kwaidan is a classic in Japanese movie history and a recommended watch for horror lovers. 

The four separate stories are – The Black Hair, The Woman of the Snow, Hoichi the Earless, and In a Cup of Tea. These stories range from a man’s desire to become rich and abandon his wife to a tale of Yuki-onna and a woodcutter’s promise.

Kwaidan is a perfect blend of horror and folklore. Something which many people appreciated as it was the recipient of the Cannes Film Festival’s 1965 Special Jury Prize. It was also nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 38th Academy Award. 

• Director – Masaki Kobayashi
  
• Cast – Tetsuro Tanba, Keiko Kishi, Rentaro Mikuni, Michiyo Aratama
  
• Languages – Japanese
  
• Run Time – 2hr 44m
  
• Rating – Unrated
  

Ju-on: The Grudge

Takashi Shimizu’s Ju-On franchise is one of the most recognized horror series both in Japan and internationally. That iconic gargle can’t be forgotten by someone who has seen the movie. It’s too damn scary!!

Ju-On: The Grudge was released during the “golden age” of J-horror cinema. This one tells the story of several people who are all haunted by a vengeful spirit called Kayako and her child. It’s peak J-horror. It has got an American remake, but in all honesty, the original is miles better. 

• Director – Takashi Shimizu
  
• Cast – Misaki Ito, Kayoko Shibata, Megumi Okina, Yui Ichikawa
  
• Languages – Japanese
  
• Run Time – 1hr 32m
  
• Rating – R
  

Noroi: The Curse

Told in a pseudo-documentary style, Noroi: The Curse is a 2005 J-horror movie. Koji Shiraishi served as the director behind the film and wrote its screenplay along with Naoyuki Yokota. There’s another film called Occult made by Shiraishi, which you should watch if you love this one. 

The movie opens with a narration saying that the following are clips from a documentary made by a paranormal researcher – Masafumi Kobayashi. We are told that Kobayashi disappeared when he was making a documentary called – The Curse, and what we will be seeing are the events leading up to it. 

• Director – Koji Shiraishi
  
• Cast – Rio Kanno, Jin Muraki, Tomono Kuga
  
• Languages – Japanese
  
• Run Time – 1hr 55m
  
• Rating – Unrated
  

Rosemary’s Baby

It’s at times like these when the question of separating the art from the artist becomes prevalent. H.P. Lovecraft was responsible for creating the cosmic horror genre, and without his writing, horror would be a lot different today. And while he was certainly a talented writer, he was also a raging racist who never shied away from making racist remarks in his writing. 

Roman Polanski is also another one of those “artists” whose name invokes that same question. His crime is as vile as anything can be, and it’s honestly surprising to see him thriving today. Based on Ira Levin’s horror novel of the same name, Rosemary’s Baby is often cited as one of the most popular and best horror movies of all Time.

The plot revolves around a pregnant woman named Rosemary and her yet-to-be-born child. As the story progresses, so does the creepiness. Neighbors start getting heavily invested in Rosemary’s pregnancy, and her husband becomes more controlling than ever. Suffice it to say things are about to get out of hand.   

• Director – Roman Polanski
  
• Cast – Mia Farrow, Ruth Gordon, John Cassavetes, Sidney Blackmer
  
• Languages – English
  
• Run Time – 2hr 16m
  
• Rating – R
  

The Blair Witch Project

No one would have thought that an indie horror movie, made with a bunch of amateur actors and filmed to be as realistic as possible, would go on to shake the very foundations of modern horror cinema. It was the first time that a movie like this had managed to do what big-budget horror movies were struggling to do at that time – scare the audience to their core.

The Blair Witch Project’s success can be attributed to two major factors. First and most obvious of all, the way it was shot, i.e., found-footage style. In fact, it basically made way for a new genre of movies that were shot with a handy camera and nothing else.

The second factor was its viral marketing campaign. Websites and documentaries were made to make the audience believe that what they were seeing was authentic as hell. And it worked. TBWP would go on to make $248.6 million in terms of financial revenue and receive high praise from critics.

The storied movie revolves around three individuals named Heather, Mike, and Josh. The three go to the town of Blair, where they would shoot their documentary on the local legend of a witch. Tension starts to rise when they encounter weird happenings in the forest.

• Director – Daniel Myrick, Eduardo Sanchez
  
• Cast – Heather Donahue, Joshua Leonard, Micheal C. Williams
  
• Languages – English
  
• Run Time – 1hr 27m
  
• Rating – R
  

Night of the Living Dead

Don’t worry! We didn’t ignore Night of the Living Dead. Even if we wanted to(which we don’t), not mentioning George Romero’s greatest work would be a disservice to his legacy and the many individuals he had and continues to inspire. 

The plot here revolves around a group of seven people who take shelter in a farmhouse to survive flesh-eating ghouls. As you may have guessed already, Night of the Living Dead is one of the first highly successful movies which features “zombies.” Although there were some movies before it that had zombies in them, it was NOTLD that popularized them. 

• Director – George A. Romero
  
• Cast – Judith O’Dea, Karl Hardman, Duane Jones
  
• Languages – English
  
• Run Time – 1hr 36m
  
• Rating – Unrated
  

The Shining

Can’t talk about horror movies without mentioning The Shining. A movie is so great that fans of the film still theorize about the ending and the overall plot. Adapted from Stephen King’s novel of the same name, the adaption was helmed by none other than legendary director – Stanley Kubrick.

Although lots of people consider The Shining to be one of the best adaptations of Stephen King’s books, up there with Shawshank Redemption, It, and The Green Mile, King himself wrote it. 

Now whether you like the movie or not, The Shining set an example for how a great horror movie, or any movie in general, should be directed. It isn’t filled to the brim with cheap jumpscares and obnoxious music but rather slowly and steadily builds the tension as the movie progresses.

The actors, especially Nicholson and Shelley Duvall, give such an amazing performance here that the movie just warrants a watch, even if you prefer the books. Jack Torrance is an aspiring writer who, out of necessity, takes a job as a caretaker at the Overlook Hotel during its off-season.

He is accompanied by his wife, Wendy, and his son, Danny. The hotel is a mysterious and sinister place. Jack, over the course of the movie, starts losing his sanity; meanwhile, Danny notices ghosts and other supernatural occurrences. 

• Director – Stanley Kubrick
  
• Cast – Shelley Duvall, Jack Nicholson, Scatman Crothers, Danny Lloyd
  
• Languages – English
  
• Run Time – 2hr 22m
  
• Rating – R
  

Psycho

In 1960 Hollywood witnessed a cinematic masterpiece called Psycho. Made by legendary director Alfred Hitchcock, the movie was based on Robert Bloch’s novel of the same name. Psycho revolves around Norman Bates and his mother.

The duo runs a motel together, but things are not all going fine here. And when a woman goes missing during her stay, everything starts spiraling out of control. This movie will always be remembered as Hitchcock’s best work, along with Anthony Perkins’s own. The sequels were not that great, to be honest, but the first one still holds to this day. This is the peak classic horror movie.

• Director – Alfred Hitchcock
  
• Cast – Vera Miles, Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, John Gavin
  
• Languages – English
  
• Run Time – 1hr 49m
  
• Rating – R
  

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

The 70s to 90s were the best period for slasher films. We got iconic villains like Freddie, Leatherface, Jason, and Micheal Myers. Even today, these four have remained a great example of horror icons. Released in 1974, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is an American horror slasher.

We follow a group of five friends who unknowingly become prey for a family of cannibals. It’s from here that we first meet the character of the chainsaw-wielding Leatherface. Today, Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a massive franchise with remakes, games, and comic books. Though they are less successful than, say, Halloween or Nightmare on Elm Street, it’s still influential pieces of media.

• Director – Tobe Hooper
  
• Cast – Paul A. Partain, Allen Danziger, Gunnar Hansen, Marilyn Burns
  
• Languages – English
  
• Run Time – 1hr 23m
  
• Rating – R
  

Paranormal Activity

The Blair Witch Project was so convincing and successful in its narrative style that there was bound to be a film that would refine that style and make it more successful. Paranormal Activity was that movie. Nowadays, the found-footage genre is filled with sub-par garbage, but at the time of Paranormal Activity’s release, it was still new and being experimented with. 

As said earlier, Paranormal Activity uses that found-footage type of narrative. Katie and Micah are a couple who decide to set up a set of cameras in their home to document their haunting by an unknown entity. Convincing will be the word to describe this movie.

During its original run, people were walking out of theatres due to how convincing and real it looked. Now we don’t know if it will be the same for you so many years later, but nonetheless, it deserves a watch. 

• Director – Oren Peli
  
• Cast – Micah Sloat, Katie Featherston, Ashley Palmer
  
• Languages – English
  
• Run Time – 1hr 26m
  
• Rating – R
  

Halloween

Halloween is the first movie in the larger Halloween series of movies. Created by John Carpenter and Debra Hill, it was a successful venture as it went on to earn 70 million worldwide against a measly 325,000 dollar budget. It was also responsible for launching the career of Jamie Lee Curtis. 

Michael Myers is a silent and pure evil individual who murdered his sister when he was just six on Halloween night. Fifteen or so years later, he remains silent but escapes confinement when he is about to be escorted for a court hearing. Now back in his hometown, he targets Laurie Strode as his next major victim. 

• Director – John Carpenter
  
• Cast – Jamie Lee Curtis, Donald Pleasence, Nancy Kyes
  
• Languages – English
  
• Run Time – 1hr 31m
  
• Rating – R
  

A Tale of Two Sisters

Before we got heavy hitters like Train To Busan and The Wailing, South Korea gave the horror community – A Tale of Two Sisters. Directed by Kim Jee-woon, the movie was released in 2003. Reception around it was very positive, with critics praising its direction and story. A Tale of Two Sisters tells the story of Su-mi, who finally gets back to her home after spending some time in a mental institute.

Su-mi is particularly protective of her sister Su-Yeon. On the other hand, she is very distant from her stepmother, Eun-Joo. As the family tensions rise, Su-mi starts seeing ghosts, and her mental health starts to deteriorate again. Plus, there’s a secret Su-mi doesn’t know, which is bound to change her life. 

• Director – Kim Jee-woon
  
• Cast – Yum Jung-ah, Moon Geun-young, Im Soo-jung, Kim Kap-soo, Woo Gi-hong
  
• Languages – Korean
  
• Run Time – 1hr 54m
  
• Rating – R
  

Nightmare on Elm Street

You have met Leatherface and Micheal Myers. Now meet Freddy Krueger. While both Leatherface and Micheal Myers are humans with suspiciously supernatural strength and endurance, Freddy, on the other hand, is full of supernatural killers. He stalks people’s dreams and kills them there.

Written and directed by horror master Wes Craven, Nightmare on Elm Street saw its release in November 1984. It also happens to be the debut movie of Johnny Depp. The film centers mainly around Nancy Thompson and her teenage friends.

They all have the same nightmares about a disfigured man with sharp claws. Soon one by one, Nancy’s friends start getting murdered, and she realizes that she is also a target of this supernatural entity. Will she be able to survive? Well, you gotta see the movie for that. 

• Director – Wes Craven
  
• Cast – Johnny Depp, Ronee Blakley, Heather Langenkamp, John Saxon, Robert Englund
  
• Languages – English
  
• Run Time – 1hr 31m
  
• Rating – R
  

Ringu

Known more famously as The Ring, Ringu is the 1998 adaptation of Koji Suzuki’s novel – Ring. Although there was a 1995 television film before this one, it didn’t manage to garner much attention.

This 1998 adaptation, on the other hand, laid the foundation for the popularization of J-Horror (short for Japanese Horror) worldwide. Ringu or Ring centers around a journalist called Reiko Asakawa and her son, Yoichi Asakawa. When Reiko’s niece dies for mysterious reasons, she starts investigating for any clues that might give her some answers.

Soon she learns that three of her niece’s friends were met with the same fate after they all watched a strange videotape and then promptly received an ominous phone call. Reiko herself watches the video later on and decides to uncover the mystery behind it.  

• Director – Hideo Nakata
  
• Cast – Nanako Matsushima, Hitomi Sato, Hiroyuki Sanada
  
• Languages – Japanese
  
• Run Time – 1hr 36m
  
• Rating – Unrated
  

Poltergeist

Directed by Tobe Hooper, who also made The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Poltergeist is an important part of the horror cinema of the 1980s. After the release of the film in 1982, critics were very impressed by it and already started calling it a classic. 

Poltergeist tells the simple tale of a family being terrorized by ghosts. These entities up the ante when they kidnap the family’s youngest child – Carol Anne. Unable to cope with the loss of their daughter, her parents employ the help of certain people who might be able to help them. 

• Director – Tobe Hooper
  
• Cast – Craig T. Nelson, Oliver Robins, JoBeth Williams, Beatrice Straight
  
• Languages – English
  
• Run Time – 1hr 54m
  
• Rating – PG
  

Suspiria

The golden age of Dario Argento may be long gone, but the man has made a legacy that will at least not be forgotten for many years in the annals of horror history. Suspiria is his best work to date, and by the looks of it, it is evident that it will remain his best. Suspiria saw its release in 1977 and is the first installment in Argento’s The Three Mothers trilogy of movies.

Suzy Bannion is a new student of the prestigious Tanz Akademie in Germany. The school is the go-to dream for any aspiring ballet dancer and thus is highly pursued after. But the faculty and the headmistress here are not what people think.

Furthermore, a series of mysterious murders are one of the many worries for Suzy. Luca Guadagnino, the director behind Call Me By Your Name and recently released Bones and All, made a remake of the movie in 2018. And that movie is also named Suspiria.   

• Director – Dario Argento
  
• Cast – Joan Bennett, Jessica Harper, Eva Axen
  
• Languages – English
  
• Run Time – 1hr 32m
  
• Rating – R
  

The Descent

Released in 2005 and directed by Neil Marshall, The Descent is a British creature horror starring Shauna Macdonald, Natalie Mendoza, MyAnna Buring, and others. The plot revolves around a group of six women who decide to go for spelunking in the Appalachian Mountains.

Unfortunately, the group gets stuck when they realize that they are in an unexplored cave rather than an explored one, something that they had prepared for. Dangers lurk inside the cave as they discover that they are not the only ones there. 

• Director – Neil Marshall
  
• Cast – Shauna Macdonald, Alex Reid, Natalie Mendoza, Saskia Mulder, MyAnna Buring
  
• Languages – English
  
• Run Time – 1hr 39m
  
• Rating – R
  

The Devil’s Backbone

The Devil’s Backbone is Guillermo del Toro’s 2001 gothic-horror movie. It was his third major feature film directorial, and its success of it opened new doors for him. After this, he went on to direct Blade II, Hellboy, Pan’s Labyrinth, and more.

Since The Devil’s Backbone, his career hasn’t seen any downward trends, as evidenced by the varying amount of success his films got. Set against the backdrop of the Spanish Civil War, the movie takes place largely in an orphanage.

Like any other part of Spain, the orphanage to has not been excused from the effects of the war. In its courtyard, a dud missile bomb remains stuck in the ground. Meanwhile, Carlos, the newly arrived orphan, starts seeing the ghost of a boy drenched in water. As the war nears its end, an unfortunate event leads to lives being taken in the orphanage, courtesy of one man’s greed. 

• Director – Guillermo Del Toro
  
• Cast – Eduardo Noriega, Marisa Paredes, Fedrico Luppi, Fernando Tielve
  
• Languages – Spanish
  
• Run Time – 1hr 46m
  
• Rating – R
  

Saw

Directed by James Wan of The Conjuring fame, Saw is an American horror film and the first installment in the long-running Saw franchise. Like his other venture – The Conjuring, James Wan decided not to come back for the sequel and instead went on to direct 2007’s Dead Silence. Although in 2006, he returned as a writer and producer for Saw III. 

Almost all films besides one in the Saw franchise focus on the serial killer Jigsaw. Saw introduced Jigsaw to the fans of the series. Somewhere unknown, two men wake up in a bathroom tied and unable to escape. They soon realize that they have been captured by the serial killer Jigsaw, who captures his victims and plays a literal deadly game with them. 

• Director – James Wan
  
• Cast – Cary Elwes, Monica Porter, Danny Glover, Tobin Bell
  
• Languages – English
  
• Run Time – 1hr 43m
  
• Rating – R
  

The Evil Dead

Before Sam Raimi got his hands on Spiderman, he made the Evil Dead movies. Today, the original trilogy is considered to be a cult-classic horror movie. Bruce Campbell’s portrayal of the series hero, Ash Williams, is especially loved by the fans of the series, something which they have been begging him to see for one last time ever since Ash Vs. Evil Dead got canned.

Although the subsequent two movies leaned more on the horror comedy side, the first one focused heavily on horror. Moreover, The Evil Dead was Raimi’s directorial debut, and he absolutely killed it. 

The first installment centers around five young people who decide to spend their vacation in a cabin in the woods. But chaos takes hold of the group when four members are possessed by demons, leaving the fifth member – Ash Williams, trying to survive the murderous assault. 

• Director – Sam Raimi
  
• Cast – Bruce Campbell, Betsy Baker, Theresa Tilly, Ellen Sandweiss
  
• Languages – English
  
• Run Time – 1hr 25m
  
• Rating – R
  

Rec

Rec is one of the better ones found footage film. Released in 2007, it’s a Spanish horror movie directed by Jaume Balaguero and Paco Plaza. After the success of Rec, it evolved into a franchise with three more movies – Rec 2, Rec 3: Genesis, and Rec 4: Apocalypse. An American remake of Rec was also done called Quarantine, but it’s not as good as the original here.

The first film deals with a bunch of people locked in a quarantined building after an unknown virus turns some of the residents into mindless killers. Furthermore, a secret lies in a locked room which may explain what led to all this. However, there’s something more malicious in there. 

• Director – Jaume Balaguero, Paco Plaza
  
• Cast – Manuela Velasco, Carlos Lasarte, Ferran Terraza
  
• Languages – Spanish
  
• Run Time – 1hr 18m
  
• Rating – Unrated
  

The Omen

Released in 1976, The Omen is a supernatural horror movie directed by Richard Donner. He was also responsible for some of the most loved movies like Lethal Weapon, Superman, and The Goonies. After Robert Thorn replaces his son, who died at childbirth, with another boy, he starts to notice that something is not right with his son.

A series of mysterious deaths, the unannounced arrival of new people, and such lead Robert to believe that his son is the antichrist. Regretful of his actions, he decides to take matters into his own hands and do what must be done. 

• Director – Richard Donner
  
• Cast – David Warner, Gregory Peck, Lee Remick
  
• Languages – English
  
• Run Time – 1hr 51m
  
• Rating – R
  

Trick ‘r Treat

Consisting of four individual segments, Trick’ r Treat is an anthology horror comedy released in 2007. All segments were directed and written by Micheal Dougherty of the Godzilla: King of the Monsters fame. Although it had a short run in the theatres, it managed to become a well-loved Halloween movie and is often called one of the best horror anthologies out there. 

Every story takes place on Halloween night in a fictional town in Ohio called Warren Valley. Although not all stories are interconnected to each other, there is a single character called Sam who is present in all those segments. Donning a burlap sack over his head and a footie pajama, Sam comes out every Halloween to ensure that the rules of this particular holiday are followed. 

• Director – Michael Dougherty
  
• Cast – Brian Cox, Anna Paquin, Dylan Baker, Leslie Bibb
  
• Languages – English
  
• Run Time – 1hr 22m
  
• Rating – R

The Sixth Sense

M. Night Shyamalan and his movies are an enigma. The man has created some of the best and worst movies simultaneously. The Last Airbender adaptation was so bad that the fandom refuses to acknowledge its presence, going so far as to jokingly say that the movie doesn’t even exist. Then there’s After Earth and The Happening. While not as bad as The Last Airbender, they aren’t exactly peak cinema either. 

In recent years, however, M.Night has been trying to get his groove back with films like Split, Glass, and Old. And by judging the reaction of critics and fans around these movies, it looks like he is getting back to his rhythm.

The split was an astounding success, commercially and critically. Both Glass and Old were ok. Now with his new movie – Knock At the Cabin, coming out later this year, it will be interesting to see what new things he does with it.

Sixth Sense was Shyamalan’s breakout movie. It put him in the limelight for better or worse. And while your opinion on his subsequent movies may differ, no one can’t deny that Sixth Sense was a banger of a film. That ending still manages to get talked about to this day. 

The plot revolves around a kid named Cole and psychologist Malcolm Crowe, played by Bruce Willis. Cole claims to see ghosts which makes it hard for him to fit in with others, so Malcolm decides to help him. Scared but hopeful, the boy accepts, and from then on, things start to unfold. 

• Director – M. Night Shyamalan
  
• Cast – Haley Joel Osment, Bruce Willis, Toni Collette
  
• Languages – English
  
• Run Time – 1hr 47m
  
• Rating – PG-13
  

Pulse

Another J-horror chef d’oeuvre. Also known as Kairo, it was directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa, a prominent personality in Japanese horror. Without even using any jumpscares, Pulse manages to scare its viewers all through its imagery and style. 

Pulse is a techno-horror film, like David Cronenberg’s Videodrome. In it, ghosts have started to invade our world through the internet, leading to the deaths of many. Slowly the numbers begin to rise, and it turns into a full-on invasion.

There’s a particular scene in the movie where one of the characters encounters a ghost for the first time, and it is, without a doubt, the greatest scene in a horror movie. Pulse is a no-brainer watch. 

• Director – Kiyoshi Kurosawa
  
• Cast – Koyuki, Kumiko Aso, Haruhiko Kato
  
• Languages – Japanese
  
• Run Time – 1hr 59m
  
• Rating – R
  

28 Days Later

In 2002 we got a movie that would reinvent the zombie genre by establishing new tropes and features. Before 28 Days Later, almost every zombie flick took inspiration from the George Romero Night of the Living Dead film ones.

These were your usual slow-moving zombies. 28 Day Later reversed the formula and made them fast. After he wakes up from his coma, Jim discovers that the city of London isn’t what it used to be. A virus called “Rage” has taken hold of almost everybody.

The few survivors that are left are struggling to survive as the virus also happens to be highly contagious. Later on, Jim meets with other survivors, and all of them try to take shelter at a blockade in Manchester. But human depravity still survives, and danger looms over this new group. 

• Director – Danny Boyle
  
• Cast – Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris, Brendan Gleeson, Noah Huntley
  
• Languages – English
  
• Run Time – 1hr 52m
  
• Rating – R
  

Get Out

It was surprising, to say the least, when Jordan Peele went from being a great comic actor to an equally great horror movie director. Till now, he has made three films, all of which happen to be horror. And by god, he doesn’t miss.

Each of those three – Get Out, Us and Nope have been critically praised for its direction and story while garnering an obscene amount of revenue for a horror movie. Although it may not seem like it, Get Out was Peele’s directorial debut. Shot in less than a month, it went on to win an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and received numerous nominations.

Also written by Peele himself, Get Out tells the story of a black photographer named Chris Washington and the strange weekend he had at his girlfriend Rose’s house. Though her family is not opposed to this interracial relationship, they do express an unhealthy amount of interest in his race. An interest that will soon reveal an uncomfortable secret. 

• Director – Jordan Peele
  
• Cast – Allison Williams, Daniel Kaluuya, Bradley Whitford, Catherine Keener
  
• Languages – English
  
• Run Time – 1hr 44m
  
• Rating – R
  

Hellraiser

Hellraiser is what happens when an author gets so disappointed with adaptations of his work that he decides to do one himself. And unsurprisingly, it was a major success, earning about 14 million dollars against a production budget of 1 million dollars. 

Adapted from his novella, The Hellbound Heart, Barker made Hellraiser one year after its publishing. The main watch factor of the movie and the franchise as a whole are the Cenobites. These are beings from another dimension who are extremely sadomasochistic. They have forgotten what pain feels like and revel in it instead. In 2022, Hulu released a reboot of the franchise, which was directed by David Bruckner. 

• Director – Clive Barker
  
• Cast – Sean Chapman, Andrew Robinson, Robert Hines, Clare Higgins, Ashley Laurence, Doug Bradley
  
• Languages – English
  
• Run Time – 1hr 33m
  
• Rating – R
  

Scream

Directed by one of the greatest horror directors, Wes Craven, Scream was released in 1996. It’s an American horror slasher and is a major influential movie to come out from the 1990s. It’s got a well-known cast consisting of actors like David Arquette, Drew Barrymore, Courtney Cox, Matthew Lillard, and more. 

We follow a group of friends who are being hunted by a serial killer wearing a Ghostface mask. Suspicions rise from one person to another as the killer continues his killing spree. Scream saved the slasher genre when it was released. Before it, the genre was seeing a decline in quality thanks to all the direct-to-DVD movies.  

And with a new installment of the franchise releasing later this year called Scream VI, fans of the franchise are more than excited. And a cast consisting of Jenna Ortega, Courtney Cox, and Samara Weaving, among others, we can’t wait to see what’s in store for Scream fans. 

• Director – Wes Craven
  
• Cast – Courtney Cox, Neve Campbell, David Arquette, Matthew Lillard, Rose McGowan
  
• Languages – English
  
• Run Time – 1hr 51m
  
• Rating – R
  

Re-Animator

The Re-Animator franchise is a pretty obscure one unless you happen to be a big H.P. Lovecraft fan. It consists of three movies starting from Re-Animator in 1985, Bride of Re-Animator in 1990, and Beyond Re-Animator in 2003. There were two other sequels, too, but these remained unproduced. 

Re-Animator is the first film of the franchise, directed by Stuart Gordon. The movie centers around a talented medical student named Herbert West, who, along with his classmate Dan Cain starts re-animating dead bodies by using Herbert’s serum. But their actions lead to dire consequences for better or worse. 

• Director – Stuart Gordon
  
• Cast – Jeffrey Combs, Barbara Crampton, Bruce Abbott
  
• Languages – English
  
• Run Time – 1hr 26m
  
• Rating – Unrated
  

It

Let’s talk about another Stephen King adaptation. This Time it’s 2017’s It. We could also talk about the 1990s Tim Curry adaptation, but that one is a show, and this list is strictly centered around movies. Both are excellent adaptations, though. 

Now, if you have read the book, you already know how uncomfortable some of the parts are. Those were King’s wild days. Leaving some questionable things aside, It is a good book in terms of story and its antagonist – Pennywise.

The factor that the new adaptation would try to replicate. They did succeed, though. IT went on to bag multiple awards, including an Academy and Emmy. Critics and fans especially were going gaga over the incredible performance of Bill Skarsgard as Pennywise, the Clown.

Success also came in the form of financial gain as the movie garnered over 701.8 million worldwide. The story is set in the town of Derry, a common town for many of King’s novels. Derry is not an ideal place to live as children here go missing all the Time.

Something or someone is abducting people here, and no one has been able to find them except for our five protagonists, who come to know about this mysterious being. Known as Pennywise, the clown, he awakes every 25 years to eat kids. Once done, he promptly goes back to sleep and repeats the cycle. But this time, we have a group of kids who aren’t going down without a fight.

• Director – Andy Muschietti
  
• Cast – Sophia Lillis, Finn Wolfhard, Jaeden Martell, Jack Dylan Grazer, Chosen Jacobs, Bill Skarsgard, Wyatt Oleff, Jeremy Ray Taylor, Nicholas Hamilton
  
• Languages – English
  
• Run Time – 2hr 15m
  
• Rating -R

Friday The 13th

No worries! We haven’t forgotten Jason. Released in 1980, Friday the 13th is a horror slasher movie. It is also the film that gave birth to a horror franchise and an iconic villain in the form of Jason Voorhees. Friday the 13th was a huge box-office success, generating 59.8 million dollars against a budget of 550,000 dollars. 

The movie takes place in an abandoned summer camp, where several teenage camp counselors start getting murdered by a mysterious killer. As they try to survive against this unstoppable force, they uncover past secrets about the camp. 

• Director – Sean S. Cunningham
  
• Cast – Kevin Bacon, Harry Crosby, Betsy Palmer, Adrienne King
  
• Languages – English
  
• Run Time – 1hr 35m
  
• Rating – R
  

Hereditary

This is the film that would thrust Ari Aster’s career into the spotlight and establish him as a modern horror master. The American director has only directed two films so far and has managed to achieve so much through the popularity of those two films only. 

Hereditary was Aster’s first feature film, as before, he had only done short films. However, even his shorts were great, with 2011’s The Strange Thing About the Johnsons being his best of the bunch. Aster directed Hereditary, with A24 backing him as the movie’s production company.

The film is a family drama as much as it is a psychological horror. The plot centers around the Graham family, who start experiencing strange happenings after the death of Ellen Graham, mother of Annie Graham and grandmother of her two children. Death and despair take hold of the family as something sinister waits around.

• Director – Ari Aster
  
• Cast – Toni Collette, Alex Wolff, Ann Dowd, Gabriel Byrne, Milly Shapiro
  
• Languages – English
  
• Run Time – 2hr 7m
  
• Rating – R
  

The Silence of the Lambs

Silence of the Lambs is one of those rare examples where the adaptation is much greater than the source. This isn’t to say that the 1988 novel of the same name by Thomas Harris is mediocre or something. It’s a rather good book. But the movie here elevates the characters and stories to a whole nother level. 

One major reason behind why this is so is the excellent performances given by Sir Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster. Hopkins especially left such a remarkable impression on everyone as Hannibal Lecter that the character is often counted in the list of greatest villains of all Time.

Clarice Starling is an FBI trainee who gets recruited by Jack Crawford, agent-in-charge for the Behavioral Science Unit of the FBI. She is tasked with interviewing the cannibal psychiatrist, Dr. Hannibal Lecter, so that Crawford can use him to catch another serial killer known as Buffalo Bill. Refusing to help her at first, Hannibal agrees once Clarice is met with a filthy act from another prisoner. 

• Director – Jonathan Demme
  
• Cast – Sir Anthony Hopkins, Jodie Foster, Ted Levine, Scott Glenn, Anthony Heald
  
• Languages – English
  
• Run Time -1hr 59m
  
• Rating – R
  

Train To Busan

Let’s be honest here! Peninsula was shit compared to Train To Busan. But then again, it’s hard to top a movie like that. The success of Train To Busan still rings to this day, with critics and horror aficionados praising it as one of the best zombie movies to ever come out. 

Most of the movie takes place inside a high-speed train as several survivors try to save themselves from the ongoing zombie infection. On Rotten Tomatoes, Train To Busan sits at a great 94% from a total of 125 critic reviews. Meanwhile, the audience score is at an impressive 89% from more than ten thousand total reviews. 

• Director – Yeon Sang-ho
  
• Cast – Gong Yoo, Ma Dong-seok, Choi Woo-sik, Jung Yu-mi, Kim Su-an, Kim Euo-sung
  
• Languages – Korean
  
• Run Time – 1hr 58min
  
• Rating – Unrated
  

The Wailing

Seems like 2016 was a particularly good year for South Korean horror flicks. Besides Train To Busan, audiences were also given another horror classic – The Wailing. Jong-goo is a policeman who lives and works in the village of Gokseong.

All is well in his family and village, but suddenly, murders start happening after the arrival of a Japanese man. Soon even his daughter becomes “infected,” and Jong-goo decides to save his daughter no matter what. Fun fact, The Wailing is one of the few movies which has a 99% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Watch this one if you want to see some amazing acting and an incredible story.

• Director – Na Hong-jin
  
• Cast – Chun Woo-hee, Jun Kunimura, Hwang Jung-min, Kwak Do-won
  
• Languages – Korean
  
• Run Time – 2hr 36m
  
• Rating – Unrated
  

V/H/S

The V/H/S series is probably the most consistent horror anthology in recent years. Starting from V/H/S in 2012, it has so far been able to receive five more sequels, with the newest one being called – V/H/S 99. The upcoming V/H/S 85 will see its release this year on Shudder.

As the first film in the franchise, V/H/S was experimenting a lot with its stories. In total, we have four stories, with another one setting up the background of how and why someone is watching the tapes. Each segment is directed by a different director with a separate cast. From a story dealing with sirens to another one about alien incubators, V/H/S is as wild as it can get. 

• Director – Ti West, Adam Wingard, David Bruckner, Glenn McQuaid, Joe Swanberg
  
• Cast – Hannah Fierman, Adam Wingard, Calvin Reeder, Lane Hughes, Joe Sykes
  
• Languages – English
  
• Run Time – 1hr 55m
  
• Rating – R
  

Martyrs

This one is certainly not for the faint of heart. The director made sure of that. Made as a joint production between France and Canada, Martyrs is a 2008 psychological horror movie. And boy, oh boy, the psychological part of this movie is something. The movie centers around Lucie Jurin and her friend Anna Assaoui. 

Lucy was one of the countless subjects of torture from some mysterious people during her childhood. Those terrible memories haven’t left her, and due to that, her mental health is not so good. Anna herself becomes a new subject to this mysterious person who explains that they torture and imprison young women whom they call – Martyrs to know about the afterlife.

Now Anna is their newest subject and is subsequently “experimented” on by being beaten and flayed, all the while she suffers. If you are still planning to watch this one, make sure to keep a bucket ready by your side in case you want to vomit. 

• Director – Pascal Laugier
  
• Cast – Mylene Jampanoi, Morjana Alaoui, Robert Toupin, Catherine Begin
  
• Languages – French
  
• Run Time – 1hr 37m
  
• Rating – R
  

Tumbbad

The best, if not one of the best, Bollywood horror movies. Horror movies, in general, are seldom seen these days in Bollywood as the genre often gets paired with comedy due to the popularity of Bhool Bhulaiya, Stree, and Bhool Bhulaiya 2. Pure horror movies these days are a rarity.

The release of Tumbaad was a much-needed breath of fresh air for fans of Hindi horror films. Before it, almost all movies in the genre were simply dogshit. We did see some good ones, but they weren’t able to achieve the success that Tumbaad got. 

Vinayak Rao is a determined individual who is hellbent on getting his hands on the treasure hidden in his village. However, danger lurks beneath to get what he desires so much. He will have to come face to face with a long-shunned god whose touch will curse him to eternal pain. 

• Director – Rahi Anil Barve, Adesh Prasad
  
• Cast – Sohum Shah, Jyoti Malshe, Deepak Damle, Ronjini Chakraborty, Anita Date
  
• Languages – Hindi
  
• Run Time – 1hr 44m
  
• Rating – Unrated
  

Hausu

Directed by Nobuhiko Obayashi, Hausu or House is a Japanese horror comedy movie from 1977. During the production of the film, Obayashi took several notes from his young daughter and included them. That’s why she is credited as a writer in it. 

Consisting of mostly amateur actors, it’s about a group of friends traveling to the home of one of the girl’s aunt’s house in the countryside. There in her house, everyone encounters bizarre ghosts as they get killed one by one. Hausu is weird, random, and funny. If you haven’t seen it yet, give it a watch. 

• Director – Nobuhiko Obayashi
  
• Cast – Haruko Wanibuchi, Kimiko Ikegami, Miki Jinbo, Ai Matsubara
  
• Languages – Japanese
  
• Run Time – 1hr 27m
  
• Rating – Unrated
  

Shutter

There’s just something about horror movies from South Asia that feels more ‘folkloric” and less commercialized. And even more, the early 2000s were the best time for such horror flicks. From Japan to Thailand, that decade gave us some of the most influential and great horror art. 

The shutter is a 2004 supernatural horror from Thailand. Tun is a photographer who lives with his girlfriend, Jane. After a hit and run in which Jane is behind the driving wheel, Tun starts to see some “glitches” with his photographs.

Soon after, his friends start committing suicide one by one, and he starts experiencing neck pains. Meanwhile, Jane has convinced something or someone is haunting them. And the answer lies in Tun’s past. 

• Director – Banjong Pisanthanakun, Parkpoom Wongpoom
  
• Cast – Feawfoaw Sudswingringo, Ananda Everingham, Unnop Chanapaibool, Natthaweeranu Thongmee
  
• Languages – Thai
  
• Run Time – 1hr 35m
  
• Rating – Unrated
  

The Poughkeepsie Tapes

If you are a horror aficionado, you must have heard about this John Erick Dowdle-directed 2007 movie. It’s an indie horror film that is miles better than most horror flicks that come out every year. It’s disturbing, “enjoyable,” and most of all, very distressing. Suffice it to say if you happen to be someone who is easily scared, seeing this movie will certainly leave a lasting impression on you. 

The Poughkeepsie Tapes is shot in a pseudo-documentary style. Unlike most of the films in this list, it doesn’t have any kind of supernatural or demonic element in it. But rather, what it deals with is human depravity. The subject of this pseudo-documentary is a serial killer and his victims.

We hear testimonies from some of the victim’s families, doctors, and investigating officers. What leads to all this is the 800 or so videotapes this serial killer recorded when committing his crime. And they are downright horrendous. Once again, if you are planning to watch this movie, keep yourself ready for anything. 

• Director – John Erick Dowdle
  
• Cast – Ben Messmer, Stacy Chbosky, Samantha Robson, Ivar Brogger
  
• Languages – English
  
• Run Time – 1hr 26m
  
• Rating – R
  

The Conjuring

We can’t really deny the impact James Wan’s The Conjuring had on horror in the 2010s. While it has now turned into a massive movie franchise, the first installment is still considered to be the best of all. Revolving around the real-life supernatural exploits of Ed and Lorraine Warren, the movie deals with the Perron family and the events they had to endure in their home.

Reception around the film was highly positive, with critics praising the performance of the cast and James Wan’s directing. It even went on to gross $319 million worldwide against a small $20 million production budget. 

• Director – James Wan
  
• Cast – Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Ron Livingston, Lili Taylor, Shanley Caswell
  
• Languages – English
  
• Run Time – 1hr 51m
  
• Rating – R
  

Three…Extremes

What happens when you bring three talented directors to make short horror segments for an anthology movie? Well, you get what may be one of the most enjoyable and terrifying horror anthologies ever. Seriously, Three Extremes doesn’t waste your time with jumpscares and other annoying bullshit! Each segment gets right to the point from the start, which is to leave you horrified. 

Three…Extremes are the sequel to the 2002 horror anthology movie – Three. Just like its predecessor, it features three individual segments from three directors. This Time we are exposed to the work of Fruit Chan, Park Chan-wook, and Takashi Miike. 

Dumplings by Fruit Chan tells the story of a woman who wants to become youthful. And she finds someone who can help her. How will she achieve such a feat?? By eating delicious dumplings cooked by this “someone.”

But the ingredients here are not your usual type. Something which you can only find by watching this incredible first segment. And if you are not satisfied by it and want more, consider yourself lucky because Dumplings also saw a full-on movie the same year. 

The cut is directed by South Korean director Park Chan-wook. This one is about a successful director who, on an unfortunate night, becomes the victim of a deadly game. A game where he and his wife are captured by a man who despises the director’s success.

To save his wife, he has to strangle a little girl who was also captured by the captivator. If he doesn’t do so, his wife’s fingers will be chopped off one by one. What would our “protagonist” do? Will he kill the girl, or will he let his wife’s finger be chopped off??

The last and probably the most unhinged segment of Three…Extremes are directed by Takashi Miike. Now, if you are familiar with Miike’s work, you know how “extreme” he can get. And in this segment, too, he doesn’t pull his punches.

Box revolves around a young novelist Kyoko. Before becoming a novelist, Kyoko, during her childhood, used to be a circus performer along with her sister, Shoko. However, her jealousy of her sister led her to do something which she still regrets to this day.

Now years later, she is invited back to that same circus and meets someone who was a big part of her and Shoko’s life. If you have a list of movies that you want to see before you die, include Three…Extremes in that list. This one is not to be missed. 

• Director – Fruit Chan, Park Chan-wook, Takashi Miike
  
• Cast – Lee Byung-hun, Bai Ling, Yum Jung-ah, Kang Hye-jung, Atsuro Watabe
  
• Languages – Cantonese, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin
  
• Run Time – 2hr 5m
  
• Rating – R

Also Read: 38 Horror Movies Based On True Stories To Watch