One of cinema’s most storied and successful genres,horrormovies are intended to terrify, disgust, and unsettle their audience by their very nature. Accordingly, it’s a deeply ironic state of affairs that this often proves to be easier said than done in practice. Played-out genre tropes like jump scares, CGI monsters, and industrial amounts of gore will only go so far in terrifying a film’s audience, particularly when they have seen similar offerings before. Given the genre’s over-saturation of media, this has become an increasingly likely state of affairs.
Fortunately, in spite of the seemingly endless list ofhorror movie flops, this is not always the case. Every once in a while, a rare offering comes along; a film so terrifying that it will make its viewers never want to leave the house again.Fromblood-curdling monster moviestohorror films where the heroes losein devastating fashion, the genre’s scariest films have an innate ability to leave their viewers checking under the bed and leaving the lights on for the foreseeable future once the credits roll.
Barbarian
Cast
Barbarian follows a young woman who discovers her Airbnb has been double-booked with a stranger already present. Despite initial hesitation, she decides to stay, only to uncover disturbing secrets within the unsettling rental. The film, released in 2022, explores themes of trust and unease in unexpected encounters.
The feature film debut fromdirector Zach Cregger, 2022’sBarbarianis unique in the sense that while it presents a terrifying viewing experience, it’s more likely to make viewers avoid rental properties as opposed to leaving their own homes. The film sees Georgina Campbell and Bill Skarsgård’s charges accidentally double book the same AirBnB, blissfully unaware of the horrors that lurk in the building’s sinister basement.
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Barbarianmakes for invariably terrifying viewing,from the claustrophobic sequences depicting the exploration of the catacombs beneath the home to the nightmarish visage of the movie’s monstrous"Mother.“Beginning with a slow burn pace, the filmsteadily cultivates an aura of white-knuckle tension through unsettling imagery like doors opening in the middle of the night. Kicking into overdrive with the creature’s discovery, the end result is one of the more frightening monster movies in recent years.
Evil Dead
Evil Dead is a 2013 horror film directed by Fede Álvarez. A group of friends discover a mysterious book in a remote cabin, unwittingly unleashing supernatural forces that lead to a night of terror and survival. This remake of Sam Raimi’s 1981 classic stars Jane Levy, Shiloh Fernandez, and Lou Taylor Pucci, delivering intense and gruesome scenes that redefine the horror genre for a new generation.
A movie labeling itself as"The Most Terrifying Film You Will Ever Experience"may have seemed like hyperbole to many fans, but that’s exactly what Fede Álvarez set out to achieve with 2013’sEvil Dead. Following a group of friends who are terrorized by demonic entities at a secluded cabin, the director’s reboot offering wasn’t far off his initial promise.Sacrificing much of the franchise’s trademark black humor in favor of upping the scare factor to maximum levels,Alvarez’s finished product is an unholy triumph of a horror movie.
Evil Dead’sblend of supremely graphic violence, heart-pounding jump scares, and disturbing source material is enough to tear even the most stoic viewers' nerves to ribbons. Afast-paced horror moviethat keeps viewers entertained and terrified in equal measure, the industrial amounts of gore and hellish demons that can be found in Alvarez’s outing have been prompting viewers to check their closets at night since it debuted more than a decade ago.
Insidious
When Josh (Patrick Wilson) and Renai (Rose Byrne) move into a new home, their son Dalton (Ty Simpkins) explores the attic and discovers a malevolent entity. After Dalton slips into an unexplained coma, Josh and Renai enlist the help of spiritual medium Elise (Lin Shaye) to enter the spirit world and recover Dalton’s consciousness, which they believe is being held by an unknown hostile force.
The brainchild of the mind behindThe ConjuringUniverse, James Wan’sInsidiousis one of the more stressful viewing experiences that horror has to offer. Following a family whose young son is possessed by a malevolent demon, the 2010 horror is renowned for its laundry list of terrifying moments, seamlessly blending nerve-racking psychological horror with enough jump-scares to make a marble statue leap out of its skin.
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Insidious: The Red Door(2023)
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The movie sees Wan expertly cultivate an atmosphere of nail-biting suspense, one that steadily builds in intensity across 101 petrifying minutes.Insidious’horror factor is ramped up even further by the fact that the majority of the film’s horrors occur within the alleged safety of the Lambert family homes, replacing the aura of comfort and safety typically associated with such dwellings with an unrelenting air of terror. Accordingly,Insidiouscan perhaps best be described asa terrifying horror movie that will make you never want to come home again.
The Thing
A team of researchers set out to study an alien spacecraft found in Antarctica, where they also discover an alien body on the site. The alien buried in ice is actually alive and has the ability to imitate human form. The group must find a way to distinguish who the real person is from The Thing and stay alive. John Carpenter’s 1982 film is a remake of 1951’s The Thing from Another World and stars Kurt Russel as the hero RJ MacReady.
Widely regarded as one of the greatest sci-fi horror movies ever made, John Carpenter’sThe Thingis the rare example of an older horror film that remains just as scary as it did upon release,despite debuting almost half a century ago. Following a group of researchers as they are plagued by a predatory entity capable of assuming its victims' appearances, the 1982 outing’s timeless themes and meticulous design mean that it retains the fear factor that rendered it such a classic in the first place.
…The Thing’scentral premise of a murderous creature capable of passing under one’s nose undetected is just as unnerving as it was in 1982.
The quintessential cinematic case study in paranoia and suspense,The Thing’scentral premise of a murderous creature capable of passing under one’s nose undetected is just as unnerving as it was in 1982. Speaking volumes to the inimitable talents oflegendary practical effects artist, Rob Bottin, the creature’s hellish visage has also lost none of its terrifying aura, rubber-stamping the movie’s credentials as a uniquely disturbing outing that will make fans want to stay home.
Eden Lake
A romantic weekend getaway turns into a horrific ordeal for a young couple when they encounter a group of unruly teenagers at a remote lake. What begins as a confrontation with the youths escalates into a terrifying fight for survival.
Placing a heavy emphasis on the alleged social decay associated with"Broken Britain,“2008’sEden Lakesees Kelly Reilly and Michael Fassbender star as a young couple on holiday in the English countryside, who find themselveslost and hunted through the woodsby a gang of murderous youths. While the movie’s subject matter is a far cry from British reality, the sheer horrors endured by the movie’s leading duo are likely more than enough to put paid to any upcoming holiday plans that viewers might have had.
Eden LakestarsSkinsalum Jack O’Connell as Brett, the gang’s psychopathic leader and the movie’s primary antagonist.
Eden Lake’sbrutal atmosphere of visceral authenticity is compounded by the realistic nature of our heroes' plight. While England is not widely patrolled by gangs of bloodthirsty hoodlums,there’s nothing implausible about the suffering on display in James Watkins' lauded outing, leading to a terrifyingly relatable viewing experience.Throw in one of the most desolating endings of all time, and this underrated outing could contentiously be British cinema’s most upsetting horror movie.
The Descent
The Descent is a horror film that follows a group of thrill-seeking friends who find themselves fractured after one of them loses their husband and daughter in a car accident. Attempting to rejuvenate her friend Sarah and bring her back to the group, Juno convinces her to follow her and their friends to a mysterious cave system they find in the mountains. However, when they find themselves traped with no way out, she reveals she took them to an uncharted region with no chance of rescue, hoping to give them the adventure of the life time. Angry, fearful, and low on supplies, the group travels further into the caves only to discover they’re not alone.
A front-runner in the debate over thegreatest horror movie of the 2000s, Neil Marshall’sThe Descenthas been scaring its viewers silly since debuting in 2005. Chronicling the unenviable plight of a trapped caving expedition as they are set upon in the subterranean gloom by predatory humanoids known as “crawlers,“The Descent’sclaustrophobic setting and the predicament the trapped group finds themselves in already makes for a living hell long before the monsters first appear.
The crawlers' horrifying appearance and erratic movements render them live-action nightmare fuel…
Utilizing some of the greatest jump scares that the genre has to offer,The Descent’suse of this played out trope is meticulously implemented in a manner that never feels repetitive or forced. The crawlers' horrifying appearance and erratic movements render them live-action nightmare fuel, a state of affairs that remains unchanged nearly two decades after the film was initially released. If one is to leave the house after watchingThe Descent, it certainly won’t be to go caving.
It Follows
It Follows is a horror-thriller film released in 2014 and follows a college student named Jay who is terrorized by a specter of a woman that follows her everywhere she goes. When Jay has sex with her new boyfriend, he ties her up and reveals that this mysterious woman will now haunt her until she passes it on to another or is killed by her. Now haunted by a woman that only she and those once afflicted by her can see, Jay will attempt to survive and find away to break the curse.
A criminally underrated staple of modern horror, 2014’sIt Followsrevolves around a sexually transmitted curse, one that sees the infected relentlessly pursued by an implacable supernatural entity. FeaturingLonglegsstar Maika Monroe in the leading role,It Followswas widely acclaimed, with many critics labeling it as the rare example of a quality horror movie that was still capable of scaring its viewers half to death.
A sequel toIt Follows, entitledThey Follow, is slated to begin production in 2025.
Intensely atmospheric and unrelentingly eerie, David Robert Mitchell’s picture is creepiest when it depicts the various forms of the movie’s monster. The director gleefully uses every upsetting piece of imagery in the book, from the naked man on Jay’s roof to the gargantuan, black-eyed form that the creature takes when invading the safety of her home. A nuanced testament to the importance of safe sex,It Followsis scary enough to make audiences nail their doors shut and never leave the house again.
Hereditary
The feature film debut of writer-director Ari Aster, Hereditary tells the story of the unwittingly cursed Graham family. Annie Graham (Toni Collette) lives with her husband Steve (Gabriel Byrne) and their children Peter (Alex Wolff) and Charlie (Milly Shapiro). After the death of Annie’s mother, the family is beset by disaster and stalked by a supernatural entity that dredges up a past that Annie had spent her life trying to overlook.
One of the most blood-curdling horror movies in recent memory, Ari Aster’sHereditarypresents an anomaly in the sense that it’s more likely to leave viewers never wanting to return to their family home again. The modern horror virtuoso’s feature film debut chronicles the abhorrent experiences of a family following the death of their mysterious grandmother, withAster producing what is likely the most terrifying family drama of all time.
Ari Aster’s feature films by year
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Beau Is Afraid(2023)
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From Charlie’s decapitation to Steve’s immolation,Hereditary’sscariest sceneshit home harder than usual because of the intimate bonds between family, adding an extra layer of emotional devastation to proceedings. Of course, that’s not to say that Aster skimps on more traditional methods of eliciting fear. The scenes revealing nightmarish figures lurking in the shadows number among the more unnerving moments that modern horror has to offer, made all the more terrifying by their location in the purported safety of the Graham family home.
The Exorcist
The Exorcist is a supernatural horror film based on the novel released in 1971 and was directed by William Friedkin. When a young girl is passed by a powerful demon, two Catholic priests are brought to her home to attempt an exorcism to expunge the demon.
A watershed moment for the horror genre and wider popular culture, it’s not hyperbole to suggest that cinema had never witnessed anything quite like 1973’sThe Exorcist. Chronicling a pair of priests' desperate attempts to save a young girl’s soul from demonic possession, William Friedkin’s offering is one of the most influential and celebrated horror movies of all time, serving to legitimize the genre after years of derision from critics.
In addition to its many accolades, it doesn’t hurt thatThe Exorcistretains its status as one of the most unnerving and terrifying horror movies ever conceived. Regan MacNeil’s possessed visage has lost none of its terrifying aura, to say nothing ofthe disturbing scenesdepicting the girl spider walking down the stairs or puking industrial amounts of green bile. Highlighting this state of affairs,vomiting and fainting were common occurrences throughout the film’s theatrical run,with rarer reports of miscarriages and spiritual crises also brought on by its harrowing subject matter.
Sinister
Sinister is a supernatural horror movie that centers around a washed-up true-crime writer named Ellison Oswalt, who finds a box of Super 8 home movies that suggest the murder he is currently researching is the work of a serial killer whose macabre work dates back to the 1960s. As he begins to write a biography about the case, terrifying images start to seep into his consciousness, making him question reality as the horrors of old are made new again.
A horrific tour de force from Scott Derrickson, 2012’sSinisterfollows Ethan Hawke’s Elliot Oswalt. A true crime author looking for fresh inspiration, the movie sees Oswalt’s family tormented by the demon Bughuul after moving into a house that has witnessed an array of gruesome murders over the years. Loaded with carefully selected jump scares and petrifying visuals, the acclaimed horror has a reputation for reducing grown adults to emotional puddles.
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Blumhouse CEO Jason Blum recalls firing crew members from Sinister after filming for one of the movie’s horrifying scenes went totally wrong.
Sinisteris a front-runner for the scariesthorrormovie ever made, a label that is backed up by legitimate science. Using heart rates as a metric, the Science of Scare Project has reaffirmed the supernatural horror as the most frightening movie of all time, despite briefly losing top spot to 2020’sHost. Literally every aspect of this nerve-jangling picture is designed to make viewers jump into bed and pull the covers up to their eyes, from the appalling snuff films depicting the murders to the nightmarish appearance of Bughuul himself.
