Most Important Horror Movies Ever Made
I'm a big horror movie fan, having watched hundreds of horror movies and I think that ANY REAL HORROR FAN in the world should have about, at least, 80% titles listed here on their ''Best horror movies'' list. 11 movies from this list are from Italy, 7 from Japan, 5 from France and South Korea, 4 from Spain, 3 from Germany, 2 from Thailand, and 1 from Sweden, Mexico and Hong Kong. Others are from the USA, Canada and the United Kingdom.
I have all types of horror movies here! So, here are the movies with/about: haunted houses, ghosts, vampires, werewolves, witches, zombies, aliens, monsters, satanism, serial killers, slashers, military horrors, psychological horrors & found footage movies (movies with ''shaky'' camera).
My criteria were:
There are eight sequels and three remakes listed here. The sequels are 28 Weeks Later, Saw 2 and 3, REC 2, Halloween 2 and 4, A Nightmare on Elm Street 3 and Friday the 13th 2. The remakes are The Thing, The Ring and Let Me In. They are great, so they deserve it.
P.S. I don't consider Orphan, The Bird with the Crystal Plumage and The Wicker Man to be horror movies! They are (mystery) thrillers, so that's why they are not on this list.
My other lists:
Asian Horror Movies
Best Horror Remakes
Best Movies with Phone Terror
Horror Antologies I Have Seen
I have all types of horror movies here! So, here are the movies with/about: haunted houses, ghosts, vampires, werewolves, witches, zombies, aliens, monsters, satanism, serial killers, slashers, military horrors, psychological horrors & found footage movies (movies with ''shaky'' camera).
My criteria were:
- intelligence
- tension
- atmosphere
- creepiness
- depth
- originality
- acting
- emotions
- good or great twists
- ending &
- influence on other movies
There are eight sequels and three remakes listed here. The sequels are 28 Weeks Later, Saw 2 and 3, REC 2, Halloween 2 and 4, A Nightmare on Elm Street 3 and Friday the 13th 2. The remakes are The Thing, The Ring and Let Me In. They are great, so they deserve it.
P.S. I don't consider Orphan, The Bird with the Crystal Plumage and The Wicker Man to be horror movies! They are (mystery) thrillers, so that's why they are not on this list.
My other lists:
Asian Horror Movies
Best Horror Remakes
Best Movies with Phone Terror
Horror Antologies I Have Seen
List activity
25K views
• 0 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
- 139 titles
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsAnthony PerkinsJanet LeighVera MilesA secretary on the run for embezzlement takes refuge at a secluded California motel owned by a repressed man and his overbearing mother.
- DirectorStanley KubrickStarsJack NicholsonShelley DuvallDanny LloydA family heads to an isolated hotel for the winter, where a sinister presence influences the father into violence. At the same time, his psychic son sees horrifying forebodings from both the past and the future.
- DirectorRidley ScottStarsSigourney WeaverTom SkerrittJohn HurtAfter investigating a mysterious transmission of unknown origin, the crew of a commercial spacecraft encounters a deadly lifeform.
- DirectorWilliam FriedkinStarsEllen BurstynMax von SydowLinda BlairWhen a mysterious entity possesses a young girl, her mother seeks the help of two Catholic priests to save her life.
- DirectorRoman PolanskiStarsMia FarrowJohn CassavetesRuth GordonA young couple trying for a baby moves into an aging, ornate apartment building on Central Park West, where they find themselves surrounded by peculiar neighbors.
- DirectorJohn CarpenterStarsDonald PleasenceJamie Lee CurtisTony MoranFifteen 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.
- DirectorF.W. MurnauStarsMax SchreckAlexander GranachGustav von WangenheimVampire Count Orlok expresses interest in a new residence and real estate agent Hutter's wife.
- DirectorGeorge A. RomeroStarsDuane JonesJudith O'DeaKarl HardmanA ragtag group of Pennsylvanians barricade themselves in an old farmhouse to remain safe from a horde of flesh-eating ghouls that are ravaging the Northeast of the United States.
- DirectorRichard DonnerStarsGregory PeckLee RemickHarvey StephensMysterious deaths surround an American ambassador. Could the child that he is raising actually be the Antichrist? The Devil's own son?
- DirectorM. Night ShyamalanStarsBruce WillisHaley Joel OsmentToni ColletteA child psychologist starts treating a young boy with a disturbing secret.
- DirectorJohn CarpenterStarsKurt RussellWilford BrimleyKeith DavidA research team in Antarctica is hunted by a shape-shifting alien that assumes the appearance of its victims.
- DirectorRobert WieneStarsWerner KraussConrad VeidtFriedrich FeherHypnotist Dr. Caligari uses a somnambulist, Cesare, to commit murders.
- DirectorTomas AlfredsonStarsKåre HedebrantLina LeanderssonPer RagnarOskar, an overlooked and bullied boy, finds love and revenge through Eli, a beautiful but peculiar girl.
- DirectorKim Jee-woonStarsLim Soo-jungYum Jung-ahKim Kap-suAfter being institutionalized in a mental hospital, Su-mi reunites with her sister, Su-yeon, and they return to live at their country home. But strange events plague the house, leading to surprising revelations and a shocking conclusion.
- DirectorJames WanStarsCary ElwesLeigh WhannellDanny GloverTwo men awaken to find themselves on the opposite sides of a dead body, each with specific instructions to kill the other or face consequences. These two are the latest victims of the Jigsaw Killer.
- DirectorJack ClaytonStarsDeborah KerrPeter WyngardeMegs JenkinsA young governess for two children becomes convinced that the house and grounds are haunted.
- DirectorTim BurtonStarsJohnny DeppChristina RicciMiranda RichardsonIchabod Crane is sent to Sleepy Hollow to investigate the decapitations of three people; the culprit is legendary apparition The Headless Horseman.
- DirectorBanjong PisanthanakunParkpoom WongpoomStarsAnanda EveringhamNatthaweeranuch ThongmeeAchita SikamanaWhen Jane and Tun run over a girl in a car accident, they speed away immediately from the crime scene. However, Tun, a photographer, soon discovers strange shadows in his photos, which unsettles them.
- DirectorAlejandro AmenábarStarsNicole KidmanChristopher EcclestonFionnula FlanaganIn 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.
- DirectorTakashi ShimizuStarsMegumi OkinaMisaki ItôMisa UeharaA mysterious and vengeful spirit marks and pursues anybody who dares enter the house in which it resides.
- DirectorDario ArgentoStarsDavid HemmingsDaria NicolodiGabriele LaviaA jazz pianist and a wisecracking journalist are pulled into a complex web of mystery after the former witnesses the brutal murder of a psychic.
- DirectorVincenzo NataliStarsNicole de BoerMaurice Dean WintDavid HewlettA group of strangers awaken to find themselves placed in a giant cube. Each one of them is gifted with a special skill and they must work together to escape an endless maze of deadly traps.
- DirectorJaume BalagueróPaco PlazaStarsManuela VelascoFerran TerrazaJorge-Yamam SerranoA television reporter and cameraman follow emergency workers into a dark apartment building and are quickly locked inside with something terrifying.
- DirectorHideo NakataStarsNanako MatsushimaMiki NakataniYûko TakeuchiWhen her niece is found dead along with three friends after viewing a supposedly cursed videotape, reporter Reiko sets out to investigate. She finds the tape, watches it and receives a phone call informing her that she'll die in a week.
- DirectorDanny BoyleStarsCillian MurphyNaomie HarrisChristopher EcclestonFour weeks after a mysterious, incurable virus spreads throughout the United Kingdom, a handful of survivors try to find sanctuary.
