Horror films have been criticized for their graphic violence and are often dismissed as low budget B-movies and exploitation films. Nonetheless, some major studios and respected directors have made forays into the genre. This is a list of the ten greatest horror films of all time.
10. Ringu
After the death of her cousin Tomoko, reporter Reiko hears stories of a videotape that kills everyone who sees it exactly one week after viewing. At first she discounts the rumors, but when she learns that Tomoko’s friend (who watched the video with her) died at exactly the same time, she begins to investigate. After viewing the tape herself, strange things start happening, and so she teams up with her ex-husband to try to stop the death clock that has once again begun ticking.
9. Jaws
A Great White Shark decides to make the small beach resort town of Amity his private feeding grounds. This greatly frustrates the town police chief who wants to close the beaches to chase the shark away. He is thwarted in his efforts by the town’s mayor who finally relents when nothing else seems to work and the chief, a scientist, and an old fisherman with revenge on his mind take to the sea to kill the beast.
8. Poltergeist
While living an an average family house in a pleasant neighborhood, the youngest daughter of the Freeling family, Carol Anne (Heather O’Rourke), seems to be connecting with the supernatural through a dead channel on the televison. It is not for long when the mysterious beings enter the house’s walls. At first seeming like harmless ghosts, they play tricks and amuse the family, but they take a nasty turn- they horrify the family to death with angry trees and murderous dolls, and finally abduct Carol Anne into her bedroom closet, which seems like the entrance to the other side
7. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
En route to visit their grandfather’s grave (which has apparently been ritualistically desecrated), five teenagers drive past a slaughterhouse, pick up (and quickly drop) a sinister hitch-hiker, eat some delicious home-cured meat at a roadside gas station, before ending up at the old family home… where they’re plunged into a never-ending nightmare as they meet a family of cannibals who more than make up in power tools what they lack in social skills…
6. Carrie
Carrie White is a shy young girl who doesn’t make friends easily. After her class mates taunt her about her horrified reaction to her totally unexpected first period one of them takes pity on her and gets Tommy Ross, her boyfriend and class hunk to invite Carrie to the senior prom. Meanwhile another girl who has been banned from the prom for her continued aggressive behaviour is not as forgiving and plans a trick to embarrass Carrie in front of the whole school. What she doesn’t realise is that Carrie is … gifted, and you really don’t want to get her angry.
5. Les Diaboliques
The wife and mistress of a sadistic boarding school headmaster plot to kill him. They drown him in the bathtub and dump the body in the school’s filthy swimming pool… but when the pool is drained, the body has disappeared – and subsequent reported sightings of the headmaster slowly drive his ‘killers’ (and the audience) up the wall with almost unbearable suspense…
4. Rosemary’s Baby
Rosemary and Guy Woodhouse move into an apartment in a building with a bad reputation. They discover that their neighbours are a very friendly elderly couple named Roman and Minnie Castevet, and Guy begins to spend a lot of time with them. Strange things start to happen: a woman Rosemary meets in the washroom dies a mysterious death, Rosemary has strange dreams and hears strange noises and Guy becomes remote and distant. Then Rosemary falls pregnant and begins to suspect that her neighbours have special plans for her child.
3. Psycho
Marion Crane is a Phoenix, Arizona working girl fed up with having to sneak away during lunch breaks to meet her lover, Sam Loomis, who cannot get married because most of his money goes towards alimony. One Friday, Marion’s employer asks her to take $40,000 in cash to a local bank for deposit. Desperate to make a change in her life, she impulsively leaves town with the money, determined to start a new life with Sam in California. As night falls and a torrential rain obscures the road ahead of her, Marion turns off the main highway. Exhausted from the long drive and the stress of her criminal act, she decides to spend the night at the desolate Bates Motel. The motel is run by Norman Bates, a peculiar young man dominated by his invalid mother. After Norman fixes her a light dinner, Marion goes back to her room for a shower…
2. The Exorcist
Blatty’s novelization of a real case of possession that happened in a Washington Suburb (Mt. Ranier, MD) puts Regan, an adolescent girl, Living with her mother in Georgetown in Washington, into a more and more difficult situation. She exhibits strange symptoms, including levitation and great strength. When all medical possibilities are exhausted, her mother is sent to a priest who is also a psychiatrist. He becomes convinced that Regan is possessed and he and a second priest experienced in exorcism try to drive the spirit from Regan before she dies. Very graphic for its time.
1. The Shining
Jack Torrance becomes the caretaker of the Overlook Hotel up in the secluded mountains of Colorado. Jack, being a family man, takes his wife and son to the hotel to keep him company throughout the long and isolated nights. During their stay strange things occur when Jack’s son Danny sees gruesome images powered by a force called “The Shining” and Jack is heavily affected by this. Along with writer’s block and the demons of the hotel haunting him Jack has a complete mental breakdown and the situation takes a sinister turn for the worse.
Notable Others: Nosferatu, Dawn of the Dead, The Birds
I saw the original wickerman. It isnt exactly scary, more creepy the way that it is sinister stuff is so light hearted.
Im From Romania end I havent do 1 hour of english . Y hawe learn from Cartoon’s end mouvie’s
)) . sooo if y make alots of mistakes . dont boter y wont see dis formum again in my life. So y wil list my horor mouvies 
1—The best is DAWN OF THE DEAD maibe it wasnt soo scarie but you got to admit that it was GOOOOODDD!!
stupid names but cooooooool mouvies man !
- Texas ceinsaw masacre
- Saw — All of them
- ewriting whit ZOMBIE’S —- OLD & NEW –sens Mouvies war invented.
-The Ring I . II . III — III is the Best !
-Alien : I . II was Superrrr Cooool .III .IV was a failiure f…g Suckt alsoo AVP . Maibe AVPR —- That was cood . Good stori , maked sense , end Aliens & Predators warent fithing in a montezuma egiptean wat the ***** was it , in the midle of noord poool or where the ***** was it . Jesssus !!!!!!
-THE EYE —- Ooooo YA!!!
-THE GRUDGE — !!The most idiotic horror ever ! goood story bad killer or demon !!! what the fuuck was that bich .
-The Thing
-Dead Birds
-The Exorcist the first end original — the rest …hmmmmm
-Pulse – im not in god relation whit my pc wrom when y sennd the mouvie
-Underworld – God !! & 2 was wery wery wery god !
-THE FOG
-Scream 1,2,3 worck’s whit a beeer whit your friends
-Rose Red [The Series]
-Old but good : Blairwich project . The second part it wass god but before y seeen part too i realy belive that part 1 was real
-Land of the dead
-Day of the dead
-most of the mouvies like …bla bla OF THE DEAD
- the last my favorite the scariest is ICE AGE !
Sooory wor words that y routh rong “ALMOST EVRITHING” … end bye !! se you in other life . :p Or in HELL
the exorcist is soooo soooo cool but a little scary but still cool
no Halloween, Nightmare on Elm Street, or Night or the Living Dead? i’m very disappointed in this one.
omfg, the exorcist is not scary AT ALL…whenever I watch it, I just laugh my ass off…
The Ring (Japan)
Juon (Japan)
The Eye (Original)
Dark Water (Japan)
Shutter (Thai)
Nang Nak (Thai)
I have to agree with the others. Where’s the Omen [original], Halloween, Nightmare on Elm Street etc.
The Grudge was incredibly stupid.
Poltergeist was just bad acting, but still ok.
The Exorcist, Texas Chainsaw and Jaws deserve to be in there coz I believe if a movie is based on a true story it’s more scary and appealing because it could happen to anyone.
Next time If there’s another top 10 Halloween should definantly be in there.
And also, that ICE_ULTIMATE guy is too weird..
If you want a movie that will scare you to death i recoment the movie [REC] the last 5 mins is the scarriest thing i have ever seen ind not much scares me.
it will be hard to find cause its a spanish movie with subtitles but it is so worth it
PS. dont plan on sleeping…seriously
I haven’t seen Poltergeist in 10 or 9 years. I watched it when I was really young and it totally freaked me out.
I still remember the clown and the branches.
*shivers*
Emily: I read the Pet Semetary and I was really strange.
Ever seen Red Rose?
Sorry other way around Rose Red ^^
Oh ***** I cant write anything right. I give up *sobs*
“And I was really strange?”
Jfrater please delete that comment
The Shining scared the hell out of me, and I didn’t see it until I was an adult. The Grudge really freaked me out, I think it was the kid that meowed and maybe the girl with no lower jaw. My kids like to mess with me by making that sound the long haired ghost/spirit/whatever made. Gives me chills!
Oh man, what about Evil Dead? That’s like the measuring stick of the horror genre.
he should’ve added halloween and friday the 13th
I just saw Rosemary’s Baby with my dad last night. Within 10 minutes of the movie ending, I had made two semi- creepy jokes relating to the movie. First, my mom said something smelled bad. I suggested it was Tannis root. A few minutes later, my dad couldn’t find his phone. I then said that he might go blind. My dad actually yelled at me after the second one, I guess he was still a little scared.
Carrie is such an amazing movie, especially because I can relate to it.
The Shining is really great too, although I prefer the book.
The first Childtren of the Corn movie, I think was a realistic and creepy concept. How orndinary young kids slaughter people. It made it scary to think what could happen when you arrive or past through a quiet town.
Oh, I almost forgot “IT” was scary ass hell. Never saw a clown the same again.
man, i loved the scene in the shining where jack nicholson is all frozen. i saw that movie when i was 11 and the exorcist when i was 12… didnt negativly affect me that much, just had some nightmares for a few days.
The Omen?????
Good choices, I don’t know about Jaws, I was bored all the way through it. Someone mentioned The Beyond, I have bought 3 different versions of it and it’s good but it’s also too disjointed, maybe it’s just bad editing on the DVDs. If you haven’t seen Argento’s new movie, Mother of tears, GET IT! It’s Argento the way you remember him.
Movies I guess everyone missed: Night of the living dead and Last house on the left
no scilence of the lambs?
hmm
southparklovr: Silence of the Lambs is more a thriller than a horror.
oh well, ok
Ur oppinion I guess
i think the gruge is not scary only a little ah!the gruge not
This is one hot list, although I think Poltergeist n jaws shouln’t be in it. The excorcist still freaks me out when I picture that girl’s face!!!! And now I just saw it again- lord have Mercy :-O
“i think the gruge is not scary only a little ah!the gruge not”
The Grudge isn’t on this list.
im going CAMPING this weekend, and im trying to find a good scary/horror film that my friends and I could watch together in a crowded tent. at night. more specifically, with ghosts and not a lot of gore. Preferably with color (recent, but not that much). i’ve only seen parts of jaws, ringu, and texas chainsaw massacre. Carrie was good, but I don’t think it’s a great film to scare me horribly. down to the nitty gritty: don’t like ringu and the grudge nor freddy and jason movies.
I’m thinking about poltergeist or rosemary’s baby… Shining seems too scary for me so I’m gonna save that more later. Suggestions/Recommendations? Sorry if I’m too specific…..
Nice list, but come on…Halloween is incredible and deserves a spot on the list.
I definately agree with the top three, but I’m not sure about the rest of the list.
What, no Silence of the Lambs?
What about “Wicker Man”?
Old-Wizard will be with you…always.
1.The shining
2.Exorcist
3.1408
4.saw all series
5.ring 1 n 2
6.The Omen
7.Silent hill
8.Viraana
9.zeepers creepers 1 n 2
10.Doom
I recently ordered The Omega Man (Charlton Heston)on DVD.
As a child it scared me senseless, still a brillant horror movie worth watching.
I still love the hit 70′s tv series The Night Stalker.
I would still garantee it’s appeal to anyone who dares to believe in supernatural horror !! Darin McGavin was brillant as Kolshack a news paper columist who always managed to find the most bizzare and spine chilling stories..I’ve read somewhere that it was the fore runner for the x files tv series.
Really glad Entity and Omen weren’t up there. More annoying films than frightening. I agree with LordCalvert that the Changling is a fantastic film.
1*The Shining (agree as #1)
2*Exorcist (up there)
3*Halloween (I was 13′ish the first time I saw this and walked home alone at 1am in the middle of the road, ran the last 2k flat out…pretty scared is an understatement!)
4*Pet Cemetery (very up there)
5*Salem’s Lot (saw that early too…very scary)
6*Blair Witch Project (good concept, looked past the hype)
7*Evil Dead (wow)
8*The Thing (double wow)
9*Event Horizon (bit of SciFi doesn’t hurt)
10*28 Days Later (I was impressed!)
Special mention: Omen/Nightmare on Elm St/The Deep/Poltergeist/Ringu
Still think Evil Dead is great as is The Exorist and Thing.
But also remember watching Basket Case when i was young it scared the crap out of me slept with the light on for days after. Also remember Motel Hell being good haven’t seen either though for years.
hmm jaws is not suposed tobe here dunno why you all forgget candyman i think it must be here too,,
Yes! Motel Hell is a classic. But who among you has seen Mother’s Day? One of my absolute fave *****ed up don’t go camping cause you’re gonna get kidnapped and raped by psycho woodspeople movies.
C’mon. Get wif the times.
I’ve never seen Les Diaboliques, or Rosemary’s Baby for that matter, but I definitely agree with The Shining and the Exorcist as the top two.
Although The Shining is very scary, I actually find the Japanese horror films (The Ring, The Grudge, Dark Water, etc.) the most frightening. But taking everything into account, such as plot/storyline, acting, directing, gore, scariness, etc. The Shining is the ultimate horror film.
And the scene with the two girls in the blue dresses in the hallway is quite simply the most chilling scene in cinema history!
Yawn, couldn’t have been more predictable. Now don’t get me wrong I’m a big horror fan (and by big I don’t mean fat) but this is basically just a list of the most well-known horror films. Apart from Les Diaboliques I have seen them all, and while most of them are good I most certainly would not put them in the top 10. Okay, yeah Jaws scared the crap out of me when I was about 8 and I had to check the toilet for sharks, but I was 8!
Wow dude, are you serious about this list? You call this mainstream garbage horror? Wheres Dawn of the Dead? Wheres Hellraiser? Evil Dead? The Thing? A Nightmare on Elm Street?
You got the *****ing Ring. The least scariest piece of crap movie you could think of. Jaws? Stick to Sci Fi Spielberg. Exorcist is Numero Uno, until you figure that out…
This list fails soo hard, Benoit yourself.
p.s. Quit sucking Stephen King’s *****soo much, he’s the most overated horror writer of his time. Although he is quite imaginative, the *****er could never put an ending to his novels.
Domms (166) I love Stephen KIng, one of my fave writers. But I agree 100% with you. I have been disappointed on many occasions at the ending of his stories.
Jaws is so not scary to me. I don’t know why.
Child’s Play scared the hell out of me as a kid. I even stopped watching Rugrats because of “Chucky”.
i like most of them but i wouldnt count jaws as horror.
dunno i found it a bit boring.
i think thirteen gohsts should be there.
thats a gooood movie.
Hands down, The Exorcist is the scariest movie I have ever seen. That little girl’s face still gives me nightmares! My sister and I watched the re-released version when it came out in theaters several years ago. There was 11 minutes of previously cut material in it and there was this one scene…let’s just say it is so unnatural and so freaky everyone in the theater screamed…
I loved Poltergeist, I could watch it over and over. Candyman scared the crap outta me. And The Orphanage is a really good ghost story. It’s Spanish, so if you don’t speak the language, you’ll have to read subtitles.
The Shining great read the book it’s well better
The Shining never made it into my top 10, simply because i never found the film scary what so ever. Note that a few of these films sh!t me up because i watched them when i was around 10-11yrs old and are classics!
1) Halloween
2) The Exorcist
3) Amityville 2 (The one where the son gets possessed and kills his whole family with a shotgun, scary *****!)
4) Childs Play
5) Friday The 13th
6) Nightmare On Elm Street
7) The Descent (Simply in top 10 because this film made me jump a few times)
8) The Ring
9) Demons (Lamberto Bava)
10) Maximum Overdrive (Dont know why these scared me when i was younger but it was a cool film!)
worked on Maximun OD not scary at alll
see MY posts
omg no zombie movies? Agreed most of them were cheesy but Return of The Living Dead traumatized me for weeks, and 28 Days Later had a heart stopping chase scene, great music score. Also, 28 Weeks Later had a terrifying beginning!
I am glad someone mentioned The Changeling. That movie rocks. No blood, George C. Scott, super creepy, a classic.
I can’t stand that I’ve seen all these movies (own most of them, in fact). Really good horror movies are so rare, and I’m so in love with them, that I’ve probably seen them all
Why do they make so many crappy scary movies? Maybe a list of great horror movies you’ve probably never seen? I should start working on that, but then I would have seen all of them.
you know, i’m really suprised that Halloween isn’t on this list. In America that film is iconic!!! it’s wasn’t really gory or anything, but it scared the living daylights out of everyone who saw it for the first time.
nightmare on elm street[freddy],friday the 13th[jason],wrong turn 1&2,night of the living deads,saw series[mr.jigsaw]halloween[michael myers],joyride1&2,hatchet,chucky[doll],the hills have eyes series[cannibalism],final destination series,scream series,hitchikers series,texas chainsaw massacre series[leatherface],traces and faces of death series[documentary],jaws1&2,omen,hellraiser,cildren of the corn,poltergeist,and wishmaster series.
watch Poltergeist the movie free!!!
http://www.megavideo.com/?v=CK7BCZ3G
1.Suspiria
2.Evil dead 2
3.The taxes chainsaw massacre
4.Venom
5.28 Days later
6.1408
7.Dawn of the dead
8.House of 1000 corpses
damn you.Just been looking through the comments and no i havent seen The Wicker man.Just like this one time i waited all week to watch a film at a cinema andi was really looking forward to it.Turned out my friend had already seen it and she said” oh,ive lready seen thatand this happens etc etc ” .I ve never forgiven her since