An old-fashioned haunted house film for the 2010s. A ghost-hunting couple find their most terrifying case yet in a spooky flick that has spawned two sequels.

Beautiful, Creepy Cinematography Ghost-Hunters Become The Ghost-Hunted Haunted House

Many of Ingmar Bergman’s relationship dramas already feel like horror films. Hour of the Wolf is largely incomprehensible; its style is a gothic surrealism of sorts.

Bizarre Swedish With Subtitles Gothic Surrealism

Guillermo Del Toro was still on his way to fame when he made The Devil’s Backbone. Critical acclaim followed. The ghost story is set during the Spanish Civil War – five years before the setting of Pan’s Labyrinth.

Spanish-Language Horror Creepy Orphanage Child Protagonist

The Orphanage earns its scares. The Spanish-language film was received by an enthusiastic audience in the U.S. despite a limited release.

Another Spanish-Language Film About A Creepy Orphanage Disturbing Children’s Drawings Missing Kid

The iconic demonic-child movie. Production was legendarily cursed. Gregory Peck shines in the type of movie you’d never expect him to take.

Demon Child 666 Encourages Viewers To Read Their Bibles

Nicole Kidman stars as the mother of two young children, shut up in a home on the English coast. The girl begins to see ghosts, and the haunted atmosphere makes this a movie *not* to see at home before bed.

Isolated Small Family Twist Ending Haunted House

One of the best psychological horror films ever made. Think of it as a horror version of Grey Gardens. Bette Davis and Joan Crawford are two of the most talented actresses in history, and they get the chance to ham it up here.

Legendary Cast ‘Psycho-Biddy’ Genre Genesis Watch Bette Davis and Joan Crawford Chew The Scenery – In The Best Way Possible

At first we overlook the protagonists misogyny. He seems so lonely that we might be tricked into forgiving him. But we can’t overlook what happens after the slow, patient setup.

Surprising Twist Casual Misogyny Exposed Modern Japanese-Horror Classic

The low-budget film is praised for depicting murder as the grotesque act of violence it is, rather than stylizing or sensationalizing it. Hollywood serial killers are usually geniuses… Henry might be closer to the truth.

Low-Budget Realistic Premise And Character Not Pretty

20 years later, The Sixth Sense remains M. Night Shyamalan’s best work. It has his spirituality, his ability to create and maintain atmosphere and tension — and has one of the most celebrated twists in Hollywood history.

THE Most Famous Horror Twist Ever Bruce Willis In His Best Non-Die Hard Role Academy Award Best Picture Nominee

In the genre of Christmas horror movies, Black Christmas has no peers. (Two others made this list: Dead of Night at #113 and Gremlins at #124) But this wasn’t even Bob Clark’s best Christmas movie — he directed A Christmas Story nine years later.

Holiday Horror By The Director Of A Christmas Story Creepy Phone Calls

Pennywise the clown was already famous, thanks to a 1990 miniseries version of Stephen King’s novel. This adaptation scared a new generation, and cost many real-world clowns a lot of money.

Creepy Clown Avoid Sewers, Balloons Shockingly Violent

The Dutch film is known in that language as Spoorloos. The story of a woman who disappears at a rest stop is horrifying — Stanley Kubrick thought it was the scariest movie he’d ever seen, and called director George Sluizer on the phone to discuss editing.

Missing Woman “The Original Gone Girl” Skip The American Remake

Horror movies aren’t always known for their acting performances, but Alison Lohman shines as a loan officer who is cursed to Hell by a woman whose home she forecloses on. Clever and frightening, the film is a gem to watch.

Clever, With A Sense Of Humor Banks Are Evil Clueless Boyfriend

The plot is a little hazy, and the real fear comes from the atmosphere.  The sounds and the cuts and the washed out lights. What is Allan Gray seeing?  Who is that creepy man? Is the pale woman already past saving? In some ways, Vampyr is most suitable for background at a haunted house or Halloween party.  It’s not necessarily a popcorn sit-and-watch movie like Dracula.

Influential Early Sound Film Creepy Atmosphere Background Noise For A Halloween Party

Bela Lugosi’s performance forever cemented the image of Count Dracula into our cultural memory. His Hungarian accent and slicked-back hair is what we think of when we imagine a vampire – not the Count Orlock of Nosferatu or Edward Cullen of Twilight.

Where Your Vampire Stereotypes Come From Character-Defining Performance OG Goths Still Creepy Today

An essentially invisible monster stalks and kills a group of special ops in the Central American jungle. Most famous line: “Get to the choppa.”

Action-Horror Arnold Schwarzenegger The Best Of The Franchise

The Spanish-language found footage film takes us inside a mysterious apartment building in Barcelona. It was remade in English a year later and released as Quarantine.

Remade As Quarantine Slow Reveal ‘Found Footage’ Film

It’s in the debate with Shaun of the Dead as the funniest zombie movie ever made. It certainly has the best surprise cameo in horror history.

Hilarious Surprise Cameo Zombie-Killing Adventure

Many horror films forget there are things worse than death. Hellraiser threatens its hapless victims with a portal to a dimension of eternal pain… or is it pleasure?

Disturbing Unique Premise BDSM Unique Villain

It takes a lot of hubris to remake an all-time classic, and Werner Herzog felt he was up to the task.

Original Take On Vampire Myths Hearkens Back To German Expressionism

The psychological drama explores the horror of divorce — it’s been compared to Antichrist, The Brood and Scenes from a Marriage. Be sure to get the “uncut” version, and not the chopped-up one first released in the U.S.

Might Make Your Divorce Not Seem So Bad Emotionally Intense “Ingmar Bergman On Bad Acid”

This was based on The Haunting of Hill House, the same novel the 2018 Netflix series comes from. Martin Scorsese once called it “the scariest movie of all time.”

Haunted House? Or Haunted Family? Modern Gothic Drama Effects Are Scary, But Not Gross

This is the ghostly story of a strange, glowing fog invading a coastal California town. John Carpenter cast many actors from his magnum opus Halloween, which he made two years earlier.

Jamie Lee Curtis Hidden Monsters

Also known as ‘Deep Red’ or ‘The Hatchet Murders.’ One of the best known Italian giallo films, the story behind its gruesome murders are investigated by a pianist.

Italian-Language Horror Musician Protagonist Same Director As Suspiria

Three thieves break into a blind man’s home… but things don’t exactly go according to plan. The movie thrilled audiences when it came out in 2016, and it’s amazingly remained spoiler-free years later.

Avoid Spoilers Twist Ending Home Invasion Genre

There have been a lot of zombie apocalypse movies over the past 20 years. Train to Busan is one of the most inventive. The outbreak spreads from car to car, as terrified passengers try to flee and avoid the walking dead.

Well-Crafted Characters Zombie Apocalypse Korean-Language Horror

David Cronenberg’s Videodrome explores the disorienting ways that new media technology ruthlessly transforms not only our shared cultures, but also our very bodies and minds.

Body Horror Television As New Technological Danger Marshall McLuhan

A Vietnam War veteran experiences strange visions upon returning home to the States. (The title takes its name from the vision in Genesis 28:12) It turns out, so do some of the men he fought with. The bizarre film has influenced horror movies and video games made into the 21st Century.

Veteran Protagonist Psychological Horror Inspired By Painter Francis Bacon

Scarlett Johansson plays an alien vampire who seduces men and kills them. The score helps give the film an otherworldly atmosphere that makes Scotland seem as alien to Johansson’s character as her homeland might seem to us.

Sex Horror Alien Vampire Scarlett Johansson

The extremely low budget ($33,000) independent horror film wasn’t recognized as a classic until decades after its release. A woman survives a car wreck and moves to Salt Lake City to become a church organist. But what is that strange abandoned pavilion on the shores of the lake?

Low-Budget Indie Church Organist Protagonist Mysterious, Ambiguous Narrative

Endlessly re-interpreted, the Cold War classic is usually said to have something to do with communism.Whether the “pod people” are the reds or the McCarthyites is besides the point; the film tapped into contemporary (and current!) fears of conformity.

The Original Of Many Remakes Political – But Whose Side Is It On? Attack Of The Pod People

Two boys discover bizarre happenings in their local funeral home. The low-budget indie film has become a cult classic and spawned several sequels. Why isn’t it more widely known?

Underappreciated Classic Set In A Funeral Home Low-Budget Indie

Released near the beginning of the 1950s 3-D craze, House of Wax features Vincent Price as the creepy owner of a wax museum.

Somewhat Cheesy Feels Very 50s Starring Vincent Price

A story of witchhunting and exorcism, set in 17th Century France. If you’re at all uncomfortable with blasphemy, skip this one. Several scenes were excised from the film before release in 1971, and they’ve been missing from every DVD/Blu-Ray and streaming release even in the 21st Century.

Polarizing With Critics Blasphemous Use Of Religious Symbols And Characters Witchhunting And Exorcism Period Piece

Francis Ford Coppola gave us “the horror!” in Apocalypse Now, and tried his hand at horror here. The beautiful gothic costumes and sets make up for Keanu Reeves’ acting.

Gorgeous Gothic Costumes And Sets Keanu Reeves A No-Camp Take On Vampires

Michael Powell was best known for Technicolor fantasies like The Thief of Bagdad and A Matter of Life and Death when his Peeping Tom surprised and disturbed audiences who were expecting something in his more usual style. His reputation suffered, but the ‘slasher’ later became a more mainstream genre and his film is now lauded as a horror classic.

The Male Gaze Early Slasher Film Not Appreciated In Its Own Time

Lucio Fulci’s surreal, supernatural story takes place in New Orleans, at a gate to the afterworld. Fulci said he considered it an “absolute film,” with the bizarre, haunting images taking priority over a traditional narrative.

Set In New Orleans Italian-Language Film Surrealism

Lon Chaney famously devised his own ghastly appearance for this film, keeping it a secret until the premiere. Released just 15 years after Gaston Leroux’s novel, it’s a silent film — something almost unthinkable after Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Silent Movie Lon Chaney’s Masterpiece of Makeup Romantic And Horrifying

Before Freaks, Tod Browning made a circus horror classic with The Unknown, featuring Lon Chaney and Joan Crawford. It’s short – its running time is just 50 minutes – but every minute is well-spent.

Silent Film Under A Minute Long Circus Horror Classic

Also known as ‘The Mask of Satan’ and ‘Revenge of the Vampire.’ These 17th Century witchfinders actually burned themselves a real witch – but will they curse their own success? Director Mario Bava’s first feature film, and an early exemplar of classic Italian horror.

Revenge Of The Witch Early Italian Horror

The last entry in Roman Polanski’s “Apartment Trilogy.” The plot of the psychological horror is better left unstated here. Any progressive readings of the film are neutered by knowledge of Polanski’s true predatory nature.

Critically-Acclaimed If You Know Much About Roman Polanski, This Film Is Ruined For You

A haunted house classic, with George C. Scott as a mourning composer who may be tasked with solving a mystery.

Elegiac Protagonist Is A Composer Psychological Horror Haunted House

The longest-running movie franchise in history got its start here. Godzilla is the best known kaiju film, and *everyone* knows the image of the giant, dinosaur-like monster trampling cities underfoot.

Ultimate Monster Movie Danger Of Atomic Weapons Destruction Of Cities

This is for the 2001 Japanese original, not the later American remake of the same name. You may find it listed as Kairo. Widely regarded by horror critics as one of the most frightening films ever made, especially the first half-hour. It hasn’t gotten as much of an American cult following as it deserves.

Underappreciated J-Horror Critically-Acclaimed Skip The American Remake

An unknown, mysterious mist covers the town. Survivors find themselves trapped inside a grocery store. This is the premise for one of the most interesting horror movies of the decade — and the setup for one of its most divisive endings.

Controversial Ending Premise Is Similar To “The Fog” Are We The Real Monsters?

A “biting” satire on teenage life that uses lycanthropy as a stand-in for menstruation. One of the few werewolf movies on the list, and easily the most creative of the bunch.

Teen Wolves “Biting” Satire