List of Scary Movies

Tap to Read ➤ Girija Shinde

With over 100 films, this list of horror movies starting from the 1950s, includes movies that cover all the subgenres of horror. These include action horror, psychological horror, slasher film, etc. If you're planning to rent a movie this weekend, these scary movies are a good option! Check them out.

"Do you have to open graves to find girls to fall in love with?" - The Mummy (1932)

"When there's no more room in Hell, the dead will walk the Earth." - Dawn of the Dead (1978)

"...and remember, the next scream you hear may be your own!" - The Birds (1963)

The genre of horror is like none other. It can challenge your definition of fear on parameters you never thought existed. Vampires, werewolves, ghosts, zombies, serial killers, aliens and cannibals; they've scared all of us.

The characters in horror movies have sometimes portrayed evil so perfectly that even after years, we get goose bumps just thinking of them. Here is our list of the top 10 scary movies ever, followed by a decade-wise list of the best movies in this genre.

Disclaimer : Even though Zombieland and Shaun of the Dead aren't meant to scare the audience, they still make it to the top 10 list because, both come under the genre of scary movies.

Top 10 Horror Movies of All Time

Sometimes solely, and sometimes along with other genres such as supernatural and thriller, these movies have horrified people with their extremely well-written characters, plots and usage of the macabre. The movies are listed in no particular order.

Top 10 horror movies of all time

Psycho (1960) by Alfred Hitchcock The Exorcist (1973) by William Friedkin Alien (1979) by Ridley Scott The Shining (1980) by Stanley Kubrick The Evil Dead (1981) by Sam Raimi Saw (2004) by James Wan Cloverfield (2008) by Matt Reeves Zombieland (2009) by Ruben Fleischer

28 Days Later... (2002) by Danny Boyle Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007) by Tim Burton Shaun of the Dead (2004) by Edgar Wright

Horror Movies from 1950 Onwards

This list of scary movies starts from the 1950s. Around this time, after the end of the Second World War, global cinema had suddenly become prosperous. This led to the production of more movies in all genres.

1950 - 1959

Vertigo (1958) by Alfred Hitchcock Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) by Don Siegel The Night of the Hunter (1955) by Charles Laughton Diabolique (1955) by Henri-Georges Clouzot The Thing from Another World (1951) by Christian Nyby, Howard Hawks The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) by Robert Wise

Curse of the Demon (1957) by Jacques Tourneur Them! (1954) by Gordon Douglas The Fly (1958) by Kurt Neumann Horror of Dracula (1958) by Terence Fisher The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959) by Terence Fisher The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) by Terence Fisher The Bad Seed (1956) by Mervyn LeRoy House of Wax (1953) by André De Toth

1960 - 1969

Peeping Tom (1960) by Michael Powell The Sinners of Hell (1960) by Nobuo Nakagawa House of Usher (1960) by Roger Corman Village of the Damned (1960) by Wolf Rilla Black Sunday (1960) by Mario Bava Eyes Without a Face (1960) by Georges Franju Scream of Fear (1961) by Seth Holt

Pit and the Pendulum (1961) by Roger Corman The Innocents (1961) by Jack Clayton Carnival of Souls (1962) by Herk Harvey What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962) by Robert Aldrich The Evil Eye (1963) by Mario Bava Black Sabbath (1963) by Mario Bava, Salvatore Billitteri The Haunting (1963) by Robert Wise Blood and Black Lace (1964) by Mario Bava

The Birds (1963) by Alfred Hitchcock The Masque of the Red Death (1964) by Roger Corman Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964) by Robert Aldrich Castle of Blood (1964) by Antonio Margheriti, Sergio Corbucci Kwaidan (1964) by Masaki Kobayashi Onibaba (1964) by Kaneto Shindo Repulsion (1965) by Roman Polanski Kill Baby, Kill (1966) by Mario Bava

Five Million Years to Earth (1967) by Roy Ward Baker The Fearless Vampire Killers (1967) by Roman Polanski Twisted Nerve (1968) by Roy Boulting Kuroneko (1968) by Kaneto Shindo The Devil Rides Out (1968) by Terence Fisher Hour of the Wolf (1968) by Ingmar Bergman Rosemary's Baby (1968) by Roman Polanski

Night of the Living Dead (1968) by George A. Romero The Cremator (1969) by Juraj Herz What Ever Happened to Aunt Alice? (1969) by Lee H. Katzin Horror of a Deformed Man (1969) by Teruo Ishii

1970 - 1979

Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979) by Werner Herzog The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (1970) by Dario Argento The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971) by Robert Fuest Blade of the Ripper (1971) by Sergio Martino The Devils (1971) by Ken Russell Images (1972) by Robert Altman What Have You Done to Solange? (1972) by Massimo Dallamano

Don't Torture a Duckling (1972) by Lucio Fulci The Last House on the Left (1972) by Wes Craven The Devil (1972) by Andrzej Zulawski An Evening of Edgar Allan Poe (1970) by Kenneth Johnson Theatre of Blood (1973) by Douglas Hickox The Wicker Man (1973) by Robin Hardy Don't Look Now (1973) by Nicolas Roeg The Legend of Doom House (1971) by Harry Kümel

Phantom of the Paradise (1974) by Brian De Palma Black Christmas (1974) by Bob Clark The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) by Tobe Hooper Deep Red (1975) by Dario Argento Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975) by Peter Weir Who Can Kill a Child? (1976) by Narciso Ibáñez Serrador Burnt Offerings (1976) by Dan Curtis Carrie (1976) by Brian De Palma

The Omen (1976) by Richard Donner Martin (1978) by George A. Romero Suspiria (1977) by Dario Argento Eraserhead (1977) by David Lynch Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) by Philip Kaufman Halloween (1978) by John Carpenter Dawn of the Dead (1978) by George A. Romero

1980 - 1989

The Changeling (1980) by Peter Medak Possession (1981) by Andrzej Zulawski The Evil Dead (1981) by Sam Raimi An American Werewolf in London (1981) by John Landis White Dog (1982) by Samuel Fuller Tenebre (1982) by Dario Argento The Thing (1982) by John Carpenter Poltergeist (1982) by Tobe Hooper Angst (1983) by Gerald Kargl

A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) by Wes Craven Day of the Dead (1985) by George A. Romero The Return of the Living Dead (1985) by Dan O'Bannon Re-Animator (1985) by Stuart Gordon Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986) by John McNaughton The Fly (1986) by David Cronenberg Opera (1987) by Dario Argento Hellraiser (1987) by Clive Barker

Angel Heart (1987) by Alan Parker Evil Dead II (1987) by Sam Raimi Near Dark (1987) by Kathryn Bigelow They Live (1988) by John Carpenter Santa Sangre (1989) by Alejandro Jodorowsky

1990 - 1999

Misery (1990) by Rob Reiner The Reflecting Skin (1990) by Philip Ridley Jacob's Ladder (1990) by Adrian Lyne Tremors (1990) by Ron Underwood The Silence of the Lambs (1991) by Jonathan Demme Dracula (1992) by Francis Ford Coppola Army of Darkness (1992) by Sam Raimi Dead Alive (1992) by Peter Jackson Nightwatch (1994) by Ole Bornedal

Cemetery Man (1994) by Michele Soavi In the Mouth of Madness (1994) by John Carpenter The Day of the Beast (1995) by Álex de la Iglesia Scream (1996) by Wes Craven Tesis (1996) by Alejandro Amenábar From Dusk Till Dawn (1996) by Robert Rodriguez The Frighteners (1996) by Peter Jackson Cure (1997) by Kiyoshi Kurosawa

Cube (1997) by Vincenzo Natali Lost Highway (1997) by David Lynch Ring (1998) by Hideo Nakata Audition (1999) by Takashi Miike Stir of Echoes (1999) by David Koepp

2000 - 2009

Battle Royale (2000) by Kinji Fukasaku The Devil's Backbone (2001) by Guillermo del Toro Ichi the Killer (2001) by Takashi Miike The Others (2001) by Alejandro Amenábar Bubba Ho-Tep (2002) by Don Coscarelli The Ring (2002) by Gore Verbinski Thirst (2002) by Chan-wook Park Gozu (2003) by Takashi Miike A Tale of Two Sisters (2003) by Jee-woon Kim

The Grudge ( 2004) by Takashi Shimizu Dawn of the Dead (2004) by Zack Snyder Three... Extremes (2004) by Fruit Chan, Takashi Miike The Descent (2005) by Neil Marshall Lunacy (2005) by Jan Svankmajer Noriko's Dinner Table (2005) by Shion Sono Noroi: The Curse (2005) by Kôji Shiraishi Strange Circus (2005) by Shion Sono Zoo (2005) by Masaki Adachi, Ryu Kaneda

Asudem (2006) by Daryush Shokof The Host (2006) by Joon-ho Bong The Grudge 2 (2006) by Takashi Shimizu Grindhouse (2007) by Robert Rodriguez, Eli Roth The Mist (2007) by Frank Darabont The Orphanage (2007) by Juan Antonio Bayona Planet Terror (2007) by Robert Rodriguez Paranormal Activity (2007) by Oren Peli [Rec] (2007) by Jaume Balagueró, Paco Plaza

Let the Right One In (2008) by Tomas Alfredson Martyrs (2008) by Pascal Laugier Shutter (2008) by Masayuki Ochiai The Grudge 3 (2009) by Toby Wilkins

2010 onwards

Bedevilled (2010) by Chul-soo Jang Cold Fish (2010) by Shion Sono Confessions (2010) by Tetsuya Nakashima I Saw the Devil (2010) by Jee-woon Kim Trollhunter (2010) by André Øvredal Tucker and Dale vs Evil (2010) by Eli Craig The Cabin in the Woods (2012) by Drew Goddard Sinister (2012) by Scott Derrickson

Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (2013) by Tommy Wirkola Mama (2013) by Andrés Muschietti Dark Circles (2013) by Paul Soter Texas Chainsaw 3D (2013) by John Luessenhop The Conjuring (2013) by James Wan The Babadook (2014) by Jennifer Kent, Taera Shroff What We Do in the Shadows (2014) by Taika Waititi, Jemaine Clement Annabelle (2014) by John R. Leonetti

Crimson Peak (2015) by Guillermo del Toro, Dug Rotstein Bone Tomahawk (2015) by S. Craig Zahler, Barbara Abelar The Conjuring 2 (2016) by James Wan The Girl with All the Gifts (2016) by Sam Donovan, Colm McCarthy The Shallows (2016) Jaume Collet-Serra, Carolina Häggström Get Out (2017) by Jordan Peele, Rhona Rubio, Gerard DiNardi

Split (2017) M. Night Shyamalan, John Rusk, Charles S. Rowe Annabelle: Creation ( 2017) by David F. Sandberg The Cloverfield Paradox (2018) by Jean-Paul Chreky, Julius Onah, Mark Anthony Little A Quiet Place (2018) by John Krasinski

With this extensive list of scary movies, choosing just one is surely going to be difficult, isn't it? To avoid confusion, you might want to start with the latest ones and then watch the old ones. Have fun !