The Best-Horror-Movies.com Top 100 Horror Movies Updated for 2007
For the NEW 100 Greatest Horror Movies for 2008 Click Here!
***NOTE: This list was updated in January 2007 with a *NEW* list coming in a few days for 2008. In the mean time see The Top 10 Horror Movies of 2007 for the best of the year!
Whether you are a Horror Novice or a Seasoned Horror Aficionado, the BHM Top 100 Horror Movies List is the beginning and the end of your entertainment schedule for 2007.
Instructions for use:
Horror Novice:
Many of the following Top 100 Horror Movies entries may be too much for the fragile mind of one not accustomed to the gore, scares, jumps and “yell out loud” that we Horror Freaks crave. It is suggested that you begin your trek to Horror Freakdom with the Beginners Horror Shelf. This list includes beginner horror in several sub-genres as well as appropriate follow-up horror to acclimate you to the visual and experiential delights of horror. Once you are ready, jump into:
Horror Aficionado:
Many of the entries on the BHM Top 100 Horror Movies list are already part of your repertoire, of course. Still, the Top 100 Horror Movie list contains classics that warrant multiple viewings. Print the list and cross off those that you have seen recently, and work through the rest starting with number 100. When properly scheduled you should be in the top 20 by October in time for Halloween.
Late Start:
Coming across the definitive Top 100 Horror Movies late in the year? Starting at number 1 and working backwards is an option for those that don’t have all year to view the entire list, and is also good for those that peek at the last chapters of a book instead of starting at the beginning.
All:
Be sure and allow for a few horror new releases this year…or just wait until next year’s list and we’ll steer you to only the BEST.
Browse the *Top 100 Horror Movies
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MyWebAnd now, without further adieu, the BHM Top 100 Horror Movies List begins with…
100. Return of the living Dead 2 (1988, Directed by Ken Wiederhorn)
99. Silver Bullet (1985, Directed by Daniel Attias)
Mimic needs a serious exterminator
Mimic is one of those "movies with a message" and is a clear attempt to persuade us to avoid genetic tampering. It also has Mira Sorvino from Romy and Michelle's Highschool Reunion in it, so how could it NOT be on the Top 100 Horror Movies List?
98. Mimic (1997, Directed by Guillermo del Toro)
97. April Fools Day (1986, Directed by Fred Walton)
96. Deranged (1974, Directed by Jeff Gillen and Alan Ormsby)
95. Cabin Fever (2002, Directed by Eli Roth)
94. Fright Night (1985, Directed by Tom Holland)
93. Pumpkin Head (1989, Directed by Stan Winston)
Classic Vincent Price in 3-D
Several great and scary movies moved to the tail end of the Top 100 Horror Movies list for 2007 because of the new rating methodology. The result is EXCELLENT movies even at the bottom of the list, like April Fools Day and Cabin Fever. Vincent Price, by the way, makes his first appearance here in classic form, and 3-D!
92. House of Wax (1953, Directed by André De Toth)
91. Creepshow (1982, Directed by George A. Romero)
90. Cujo (1983, Directed by Lewis Teague)
89. The Blob (1958, Directed by Irvin S. Yeaworth Jr. and Russell S. Doughten Jr. (uncredited) )
88. Christine (1983, Directed by John Carpenter)
87. From Dusk Till Dawn (1996, Directed by Robert Rodriguez)
86. House on Haunted Hill (1959, Directed by William Castle)
Captain Spaulding is just like Bozo - except for the hygiene
Now we're getting to some real heavy-hitters, including the creature-feature classic The Blob. Horror Masters Romero and Carpenter also have their first (of many) appearances in the Top 100 Horror Movies list. Now about Rob Zombie...I am very interested to see his treatment of the remake of the classic Halloween...call it cautiously optimistic.
85. House of 1000 corpses (2003, Directed by Rob Zombie)
84. Children of the damned (1963, Directed by Anton Leader)
83. Manhunter (1986, Directed by Michael Mann)
82. Children of the Corn (1984, Directed by Fritz Kiersch)
This is one hot-as-heck-zombie-butt-kicking babe
81. Resident Evil (2002, Directed by Paul W.S. Anderson)
80. The People Under the Stairs (1991, Directed by Wes Craven)
79. Alone in the Dark (1982, Directed by Jack Sholder)
78. Candyman (1992, Directed by Bernard Rose)
77. The Fog (1980, Directed by John Carpenter)
Not quite the vision of Santa I had as a kid...
The last 25 on the Top 100 Horror Movies list include classic (Children of the Damned, House on Haunted Hill), the famous (People under the Stairs, The Fog), the action-packed (Resident Evil) and the cheesy (Children of the Corn). But in the final spot we see the downright WRONG (Silent Night, Deadly Night). This one is still banned in several countries, and remains the most disturbing of the "Santa Killer" films.
76. Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984, Directed by Charles E. Sellier Jr.)
75. Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954, Directed by Jack Arnold)
74. Phantom of the Opera (1925, Directed by Rupert Julian, Ernst Laemmle)
73. Child's Play (1988, Directed by Tom Holland)
72. The Hitcher (1986, Directed by Robert Harmon)
71. IT (1990, Directed by Tommy Lee Wallace)
70. When a Stranger Calls (1979, Directed by Fred Walton)
Creepy Samara comes out of the television in The Ring
Now we're seeing a couple of flicks that play on childish images with Childs's Play and IT in the Top 100 Horror Movies list. First Santa, and now children's toys and clowns? In horror nothing is sacred. By the way, the remake in 2006 of When a Stranger Calls was a disaster - I hope the 2007 remake of The Hitcher is better.
69. The Ring (2002, Directed by Gore Verbinski)
68. Return of the living dead (1985, Written & Directed by Dan O’Bannon)
67. Final Destination (2000, Directed by James Wong)
66. Nosferatu (1922, Directed by F.W. Murnau)
65. Frankenstein (1931, Directed by James Whale)
64. Scream (1996, Directed by Wes Craven)
63. Dracula (1992, Directed by Francis Ford Coppola)
62. The Lost Boys (1987, Directed by Joel Schumacher)
Scary re-animated boy from Pet Sematary
61. Pet Sematary (1989, Directed by Mary Lambert)
60. The Wolfman (1941, Directed by George Waggner)
59. The Mummy (1932, Directed by Karl Freund)
58. Darkness Falls (2003, Directed by Jonathan Liebesman)
57. Seven (1995, Directed by David Fincher)
56. Don't Look Now (1973, Directed by Nicolas Roeg)
This is a good comment point because there are a couple of HIGHLY UNDERRATED movies in this segment of the Top 100 Horror Movies. First, there's Darkness Falls, one of the scariest movies ever (in my humble opinion...). Then Don't Look Now, a movie that, in the opinion of BHM contributor Ronnie Angel, should in fact have the number 1 spot on the Top 100 Horror Movies list! Well, this is where they fell under the new rating system. That system is for the birds...ha ha...get it? The Birds? Sheesh...
Mother Nature has her vengeance in The Birds
55. The Birds (1963, Directed by Alfred Hitchcock)
54. Event Horizon (1997, Directed by Paul Anderson)
53. The Stepford Wives (1975, Directed by Bryan Forbes)
52. Salem's Lot (1979, Directed by Tobe Hooper)
Event Horizon is extremely popular with the "Horror Inteligencia" and was nominated several times for the 2007 version of the Top 100 Horror Movies list. The two offerings from the 70s are simple yet fantastic - Salem's Lot is responsible for many a child's nightmare, and The Stepford Wives has been re-done more times than Star Trek...
51. Prom Night (1980, Directed by Paul Lynch)
50. Puppet Master (1989, Directed by David Schmoeller)
49. Re-animator (1985, Directed by Stuart Gordon)
48. The Grudge - Ju-On (2004, Directed by Takashi Shimizu)
47. Phantasm (1979, Directed by Don Coscarelli)
Prom Night is classic Scream Queen Jamie Lee, and the second movie featuring Ms. Curtis that we've seen so far on the Top 100 Horror Movies list. Puppet Master is awesome if you can find a copy, and Re-animator is the most successful film adaptation of an H.P. Lovecraft novel. Another Asian horror remake with The Grudge and 70s cheese with Phantasm round out the entry to the Top 50 horror movies.
Horror comes to suburbia in Poltergeist
46. Poltergeist (1982, Directed by Tobe Hooper)
45. Amityville Horror (1979, Directed by Stuart Rosenberg)
44. The Invisible Man (1933, Directed by James Whale)
43. The Omen (1976, Directed by Richard Donner)
42. Rosemary's Baby (1968, Directed by Roman Polanski)
41. Misery (1990, Directed by Rob Reiner)
40. Day of the dead (1985, Written and directed by George A. Romero)
We are entering into the true classics at this point in the Top 100 Horror Movies list, with representatives from several popular horror sub-genres. Poltergeist and Amityville Horror (with Margot Kidder B.B. - before breakdown) cover the ghost story space, classics have The Invisible Man, religious horror with The Omen (and a bit with Rosemary's Baby as well), then Psychos with Misery and Zombies with Romero's Day of the Dead. Sounds like the perfect long weekend to me.
Cemetery Man has zombies, black comedy and depth
39. Cemetery Man (1994, Directed by Michele Soavi)
38. Hellraiser (1987, Directed by Clive Barker)
37. Bride of Frankenstein (1935, Directed by James Whale)
36. Ginger Snaps (2000, Directed by John Fawcett)
35. Hostel (2005, Directed by Eli Roth)
Hellraiser stands the test of time, and Bride of Frankenstein is a classic in every sense of the word. Gingersnaps is a great new twist on the traditional werewolf story, and Hostel may just be movie that solidifies a new "torture horror" genre.
Vincent Price in his "over-the-top" best as Dr. Phibes
34. The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971, Directed by Robert Fuest)
33. Dawn of the dead 2004 (2004, Directed by Zack Snyder)
32. The Serpent and the Rainbow (1988, Directed by Wes Craven)
31. Saw (2004, Written and Directed by James Wan)
30. Feast (2005, Directed by John Gulager)
29. 28 Days Later (2002, Directed by Danny Boyle)
28. Black Christmas (1974, Directed by Bob Clark)
27. Silence of the Lambs (1991, Directed by Jonathan Demme)
26. Audition (1999, Directed by Takashi Miike)
Great horror old and new as we approach the top of the heap. Classic 70s style in The Abominable Dr. Phibes contrasts with the intense monster mayhem of Feast. 28 Days Later is the best ever not-a-zombie-movie zombie movie, and Black Christmas is considered by many to be the precursor to the slasher sub-genre of film. And what Top 100 Horror Movies list would be complete without including Silence of the Lambs and The Serpent and the Rainbow?
And now, prepare yourself for...
The Top 25 Horror Movies
25. The Thing (1982, Directed by John Carpenter)
24. Aliens (1986, Directed by James Cameron)
23. Haute Tension (2005, Directed by Alexandre Aja)
22. Suspiria (1977, Directed by Dario Argento)
21. Jaws (1975, Directed by Steven Spielberg)
Shark attack from Jaws
John Carpenter again among the Top 100 Horror Movies with The Thing - one very scary monster movie. Aliens brought us back to space to cheer for Ripley, and Haute Tension (High Tension in the U.S.) is an intense horror movie with an incredible twist. Susperia is an intense shocker also, with a script that was written for school girls to play (this was vetoed by the studio and grown women played the roles). And then there's Jaws...I still think about this one when I'm in a swimming pool...
And now we enter...
The Top 20 Best Horror Movies
20. Zombi 2 (1980, Directed by Lucio Fulci)
19. The Eye (2002, Directed by the Pang Brothers)
18. Frailty (2001, Directed by Bill Paxton)
17. Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974, Directed by Tobe Hooper)
16. May (2002, Written and Directed by Lucky McKee)
15. White Zombie (1932, Directed by Victor Halperin)
14. Carrie (1976, Directed by Brian De Palma)
13. Shaun of the Dead (2004, Directed by Edgar Wright)
Summer Camp will never be the same after Friday the 13th
The debate will rage on as to whether Friday the 13th should be in the Top 10 of the Top 100 Horror Movies list...but according to the BHM rating methodology it falls at number 12. I guess, as I look at the top 10, I'm not sure what would be displaced to make room...
12. Friday the 13th (1980, Directed by Sean S. Cunningham)
11. Braindead/Dead Alive (1992, Directed by Peter Jackson)
Now Ladies and Gentlemen...The Top 10 Horror of all Time!
The horror movies that follow truly represent the EXCEPTIONAL of the horror genre. Although all of the inclusions in the Top 100 Horror Movies list are incredible, the best of the best are...
10. The Evil Dead (1981, Directed by Sam Raimi)
9. Psycho (1960, Directed by Alfred Hitchcock)
8. A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984, Directed by Wes Craven)
7. The Shining (1980, Directed by Stanley Kubrick)
6. Night of the living Dead (1968, Directed by Dean Lachiusa & George A. Romero)
5. Halloween (1978, Directed by John Carpenter)
4. Dawn of the Dead (1978, Written and Directed by George A. Romero)
3. The Descent (2005, Directed by Neil Marshall)
2. Alien (1979, Directed by Ridley Scott)
And...The Top Horror Movie of All Time is...
1. The Exorcist (1973, Directed by William Friedkin)
And there, friends and neighbors, you have it. The Top 100 Horror Movies of all time. This list was carefully crafted using the highly scientific:
BHM Horror Movie Rating Methodology
For the true Horror Aficionado many entries to this list of the Top 100 Horror Movies are already on your prized classic horror shelf. For the novice this list of the Top 100 Horror Movies can serve as a guide as you transform yourself to a true Horror Freak, after of course acclimating yourself to horror by utilizing the Horror Novice List. For those in the middle you can flesh out your horror knowledge with full confidence that you are watching the Best Horror Movies in existence.
Browse the *Top 100 Horror Movies
* on Amazon if you like the hard part done for you! We have done the searches, assembled the reviews and found the prices. Take a look!The Honorable Mentions are here, as always, to supplement the Top 100 Horror Movies list for those that feel a horror gem has been left out.
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