Art is subjective, no matter what the box office numbers or Rotten Tomatoes may try to sell you. A film critic doesn’t have to write “in my opinion” because as soon as they start talking about whether something is good or not, it’s automatically an opinion. True, there are certain things that many people agree on. Fear is not one of them.
So for this Halloween season I asked my fellow CraveOnline Film Channel writers Witney Seibold and Fred Topel to collaborate with me on a project that would highlight the horror movies we actually thought were scary, whether or not they were actually any good. There’s a lot of overlap between “good” and “scary” in our estimation, but they don’t necessarily go hand-in-hand. All three of us contributed a highly personal list of our Top 50 Scariest Horror Movies, ranked from absolute scariest to merely very scary. Points were assigned based on each film’s rankings, and a master list soon formed. As film critics we were trusted to define “scary” however we saw fit: existential terror, nail-biting suspense, startling “Gotcha!” moments, or the kind of fear that makes you curl up into a ball after the final scene, wondering if there was any good left in the universe whatsoever.
The result is what follows… Part 1 of it at least. Every writer was invited to write whatever they wanted to say about the films they themselves nominated as the scariest horror movies ever made, and I have attributed their writings to them with a link to their Twitter accounts, in case you want to start an argument about the film’s placement on the list, its scariness or lack thereof. I’ve learned a lot about what scares the staff here at CraveOnline. We’d certainly like to know what scares you too.
Enjoy today’s list, presenting #50-26 of CraveOnline’s 50 Scariest Horror Movies Ever Made, and come back tomorrow for a full overview of our picks and – of course – the vaunted Top 25.
Check Out #25-1 of CraveOnline’s Scariest Horror Movies Ever Made!
William Bibbiani is the editor of CraveOnline’s Film Channel and co-host of The B-Movies Podcast. Follow him on Twitter at @WilliamBibbiani.
The 50 Scariest Horror Movies Ever Made - Part 1
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50. Gremlins (1984)
The fact that PG-13 was invented because of this movie should tell you how scary those little monsters are. For me as a kid, it was actually the needle in the science teacher’s leg that got me worse than anything. ~ Fred Topel
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49. Carrie (1976)
Great horror films tap into real-life fears, and wallflower Carrie White's biggest fears are her overbearing mother, and the mixture of shame and power she feels upon growing into a sexual adolescent. Brian De Palma's amazing 1976 film captures teen anxiety like few others, and Sissy Spacek amazingly portrays both the innocent naïveté of the awkward age, and the hidden frustrated wrath of teen-hood. And that climax; hoo boy. ~ Witney Seibold
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48. Paranormal Activity (2007)
The story goes that Steven Spielberg watched Paranormal Activity at home, and then brought the DVD into the office the next day in a garbage bag, convinced it was haunted. I sympathize. Oren Peli's found-footage ghost story rediscovers the terrors of little bumps in the night as a mysterious entity stalks a young woman (Katie Featherston) and her boyfriend (Micah Sloat), who refuses to take her fears seriously until it's far, far too late. Paranormal Activity is so eerie I can almost forgive the glut of inferior microbudget found-footage knockoffs that it spawned. ~ William Bibbiani
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47. Jaws (1975)
This is the ultimate case in point for: Don’t show the monster. The shark was scariest when we didn’t see him, when it was just barrels bobbing on the water or an underwater point of view. ~ Fred Topel
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46. Wes Craven's New Nightmare (1994)
Wes Craven returned to the franchise he spawned ten years earlier with a gimmick that, really, should have been too clever to be scary: Freddy Krueger is real, and he's coming after the cast and crew of the Nightmare on Elm Street series. But Craven turns the idea into something primordial, and centers his story on original Nightmare star Heather Langenkamp's unwillingness to believe her own son is fighting the boogeyman, which completely recontextualizes the first film. After all, imagine how scary the events of Nightmare must have been to Nancy's parents. ~ William Bibbiani
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45. Sleepaway Camp (1983)
On the surface, a straightforward summer camp slasher, clearly a rip-off of Friday the 13th. In reality, a nightmarish exaggeration of sexual coming of age and pubescent emotional confusion. Robert Hiltzik's naïve direction only makes Sleepaway Camp's subtext more disturbing. Sadly, the motive for the murders is anything but P.C., and seems frighteningly backward today, but it leads to a final reveal that is guaranteed to shock. (Avoid all the sequels. ALL OF THEM.) ~ William Bibbiani
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44. Shivers (1975)
David Cronenberg's first feature hides its low, low budget in an uncomfortable visual aesthetic: Shivers plays like a hygiene film gone horribly awry. Worm-like parasites have run amok in an isolated apartment complex, turning all the residents into amoral fiends with unnatural predilections to violence and forbidden (and I do mean forbidden) sex. Are the creepy-crawlies controlling their victims, or just unleashing the true, antisocial monsters that were always lurking within? I don't like to think about it. ~ William Bibbiani
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43. What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)
A camp-lover's delight, Robert Aldrich's infamous 1962 Hag Film pits the wicked ex-child star “Baby” Jane Hudson (Bette Davis) against her beatific and oft-suffering wheelchair-bound sister Blanche (Joan Crawford) in a struggle that eventually makes Blanche a tortured prisoner in her own house as Jane becomes more and more unhinged. Deliciously overwrought, and full of twisted horrors (Jane tries to feed a dead rat to Blanche), Baby Jane is further colored by the real-life off-screen rivalry of the two actresses. ~ Witney Seibold
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42. An American Werewolf in London (1981)
The epic transformation by Rick Baker is so real it’s terrifying, and it looks painful too, conveyed by the tragic performance of David Naughton. ~ Fred Topel
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41. The Mist (2007)
One of the best Stephen King adaptations finds the residents of a sleepy town trapped in a grocery store when a mysterious mist crawls over the whole town. There are unspeakable monsters in the mist, but the true dangers lie inside as a religious zealot (Marcia Gay Harden) gradually convinces her neighbors that this is God's wrath. And maybe, just maybe, she's on to something. Keep that in mind as The Mist winds down to one of the most nightmarish conclusions in film history. I like to think The Mist was tailor-made just to freak out atheists. Director Frank Darabont recommends you watch it in black and white; I thoroughly agree. ~ William Bibbiani
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40. The Exorcist III (1990)
The most underrated horror sequel ever? I think so, and I think you'll agree. George C. Scott stars as a homicide detective investigating a string of gruesome, impossible murders, and tracks the culprits to a group of disabled elderly patients at a hospital. They couldn't have... could they? Original Exorcist screenwriter William Peter Blatty wrote and directed this installment, which features some of the most unexpected scares imaginable. Don't take your eyes off that hallway! ~ William Bibbiani
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39. Hostel (2005)
At its heart, Hostel is about a truly terrifying idea. What if we are so numbed by our privileged lives that the only thrill left for us is murdering human beings? Eli Roth was skillful at executing that premise with escalating tensions and misdirects that kept us uncomfortable and shocked us with big kills. ~ Fred Topel
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38. Dracula (1931)
Balletic, classical, stagey, and even a little bit corny, Tod Browning's 1931 Dracula is an indelible classic that taught the world exactly how vampires are supposed to act. It is full of twisted Victorian haunted house mannerisms, and a twisted, deliberately old-fashioned grand guignol sensibility that still approaches the feeling of a genuine nightmare. Bela Lugosi remains, to this day, the best Dracula. His sideways approach to English only makes the character all the more scary. Chill-dlen... ov DiNight. Waht myoozik deymayk. ~ Witney Seibold
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37. The Vanishing (1988)
The real monster in this movie is a man’s own obsession, although what he finds out firsthand is one of the all time great fears. I even like the American remake with the happy ending. ~ Fred Topel
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36. Re-Animator (1985)
Barbara Crampton doesn’t like that I was 11 when I saw Re-Animator, but it was a rite of passage over which I triumphed. The violence and gore was relentless and had to make you think that maybe it’s better to just stay dead, if bringing people back was just going to turn them into violent murderers. ~ Fred Topel
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35. In the Mouth of Madness (1994)
Toying playfully with the influence an author can have on their readers, John Carpenter's oft-underrated 1995 film follows a cynical insurance investigator (Sam Neill) as he somehow stumbles into a fictional town concocted by a missing pop horror author (Jürgen Prochnow) whose readers have been going mad in the streets. A fitting homage to H.P. Lovecraft, and a bonkers existentialist examination of what counts as “real,” this one will leave you terrifyingly unsure of everything. ~ Witney Seibold
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34. Who Can Kill a Child? (1976)
If you thought Children of the Corn was scary, then you haven't seen Who Can Kill a Child? This Spanish shocker finds two innocent tourists visiting an island commnity where all the children have turned the adults into human piñatas, meaning their survival rests entirely on their answer to the title question. There is nothing whatsoever safe about this movie. It's as chilling as the "killer kid" genre gets, times five. ~ William Bibbiani
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33. Cape Fear (1991)
Granted, I was a bit too young, but when I saw Robert DeNiro in Cape Fear he was the scariest human being I’d ever seen. He just keeps coming relentlessly, and when he hid under the car, oh my God! ~ Fred Topel
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32. The Tingler (1959)
No one knew about the theatrical experience better than William Castle, the master of the movie theater gimmick. His 1959 masterpiece The Tingler featured vibrating seats for certain unexpecting patrons. While certainly goofy and a lot of fun, there is also an unpleasantly weird edge to The Tingler, as mad scientist Vincent Price spikes himself with LSD to frighten himself. There is also a full-color scene wherein a deaf woman is frightened nearly to death by ghouls and corpse hands. ~ Witney Seibold
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31. Saw (2004)
I love the whole Saw series but nothing will probably ever shock me as much as the man lying in the middle of the floor the whole movie. Jigsaw’s test is really palpable. Do we have it in us to mutilate ourselves for survival? ~ Fred Topel
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30. Scream (1996)
Wes Craven pretty much saved the largely moribund slasher genre in 1996 with his witty and self-referential Scream, a horror movie about teenagers who are well-versed in horror movies. Characters speak horror movie tropes aloud, and openly recite lines of clichéd dialogue, knowing they are clichéd. The cleverness would only be a gimmick, though, if the film weren't also a surprisingly effective slasher in itself. Which it is. Scream is perhaps one of the most important films in the 1990s. ~ Witney Seibold
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29. Final Destination 2 (2003)
The whole series has a wonderful premise, but the first sequel is the one that really made me fear for every household object that could conspire to get me. Like literally, not even airbags, elevators or amputees are safe now! ~ Fred Topel
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28. The People Under The Stairs (1991)
This is my favorite horror movie of all time, though it’s not quite the scariest. The house of horrors is an exciting thrill ride, but the idea of an inbred yuppy couple keeping kidnapped children prisoner is terrifying. ~ Fred Topel
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27. Nosferatu (1922)
The original and the best. No horror fan can count their horror education as complete until they have seen F.W. Murnau's 1922 classic Nosferatu, still one of the scariest vampire films ever made. Based loosely on the Dracula story, Nosferatu stars Max Schreck as Count Orlock, a fetid rat-like disease-carrier whose very appearance strikes the viewer with unease. Unease lingers over Nosferatu like the very plague that strikes the small German town that Count Orlock visits. This is the true soul of vampire movies. Filthy, ancient, and disturbing. ~ Witney Seibold
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26. Pet Sematary (1989)
The idea and tone of this movie was so strong I couldn’t even get through the trailers before walking out of the theater. When I finally saw it on video, the relentless carnage from Pascow to little Gage slicing the achilles tendon still got me. ~ Fred Topel
