25 Top Horror Movies

by Chris Bloodworth
(Detroit, MI USA)

Film Geek

25. White Zombie (1932, Directed by Victor Halperin)
To quote Lisa Marie as Vampira in “Ed Wood,” about Bela Lugosi: “ooh those eyes; they give me the willies.”

24. Scream (1996, Directed by Wes Craven)
It put the horror film genre back on the map; one of the few that effectively balances jump-out-of-your-seat scares with self-depreciating humor.

23. Salem's Lot (1979, Directed by Tobe Hooper)
I was in the 5th grade when this made-for-TV movie aired; definitely made it hard for me to sleep at night

22. The Brood (1979, Directed by David Cronenberg)
Cronenberg has made his share of disturbing movies; by far, this one I found most shocking and disturbing, especially when nasty-looking fetuses develop on Samantha Eggar’s body and she bites into one of them.

21. Seven (1995, Directed by David Fincher)
More gripping crime detective thriller than horror flick but scary nonetheless. You don’t want to know what’s in that box!

20. Don't Look Now (1973, Directed by Nicholas Roeg)
Haunting and mesmerizing film by a brilliant filmmaker; ranks as one of my 3 favorites of Roeg’s, the others are Walkabout (1971) and Bad Timing (1980).

19. Nosferatu (1922, Directed by F.W. Murnau)
Can’t believe it’s been 87 years since this movie was made and still creeps me out each time I watch it.

18. The Birds (1963, Directed by Alfred Hitchcock)
After seeing this movie, it’s easy to understand why some people have bird phobia.

17. Frankenstein (1931, Directed by James Whale)
Fine childhood memories of Saturday afternoons watching this and other Universal monster movies.

16. Alone In the Dark (1982, Directed by Jack Sholder)
Can’t believe I overlooked this one back in ’82, the height of the slasher film genre. I saw it one night on IFC and was hooked. Jack Palance, Martin Landau and Donald Pleasance were eerily convincing as escaped psycho crazies.

15. Black Christmas (1974, Directed by Bob Clark)
Definitely got to give props to the original heavy-breather slasher flick; the fact that you never find out who actually was the killer and that there’s no conclusive ending to the movie makes it so scary.

14. Phantasm (1979, Directed by Don Coscarelli)
The weirdest and scariest flick I’ve seen; you can’t really explain what it’s really about and maybe that’s why it’s so scary; that’s also why you need to look on all sides of the bed before going to sleep.

13. Rosemary's Baby (1968, Directed by Roman Polanski)
Disturbingly claustrophobic and frightening; even tragic considering Sharon Tate, Polanski’s wife at the time, was pregnant shortly after the film was made and brutally murdered by the Manson family a year later.

12. Evil Dead (1981, Directed by Sam Raimi)
Not a huge fan of gorefests, but this one’s a classic and best of the bunch. There’s nothing like Karo corn syrup and red food dye as a recipe for real blood.

11. Friday the 13th (1980, Directed by Sean S. Cunningham)
Nothing matches the original; it effectively balances over-the-top violence and gore with suspense and genuine scares.

10. The Exorcist (1973, Directed by William Friedken)
One of the scariest films ever made because it touches raw nerves of sex and religion.

9. Silence of the Lambs (1991, Directed by Jonathan Demme)
Buffalo Bob and Hannibal Lecter; ‘nuff said.

8. Alien (1979, Directed by Ridley Scott)
By far the most mysterious and scariest sci-fi flick ever made.

7. Jaws (1975, Directed by Steven Spielberg)
As a kid, it made me scared to go back in the bathtub.

6. The Shining (1980, Directed by Stanley Kubrick)
I dare anyone to watch this movie at night, home alone and complete darkness (that includes no lights outside your home) and afterward start hearing/seeing things.

5. Suspiria (1977, Directed by Dario Argento)
See above comment re: The Shining

4. Night of the Living Dead (1968, Directed by George A. Romero)
Any movie that can mesmerize, frighten and make you think all at the same time gets high marks on my list.

3. Freaks (1932, Directed by Tod Browning)
“One of us, one of us, gooble gabble gooble gabble!” Just as shocking and disturbing today as it was back in 1932.

2. Psycho (1960, Directed by Alfred Hitchcock)
This ranks high on my all-time favorite movie lists. I usually watch it every time it airs on TCM. The ending is more disturbing and shocking than the famous shower scene.

1. Halloween (1978, Directed by John Carpenter)
To me, the best independent horror flick ever made; and scariest at that. It is an outright relentless thriller that goes for the jugular and doesn’t let go. The beauty of it is that there’s less emphasis on violence and gore and more on suspense and narrative.