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Top 25 Scariest Scary Movies Ever Made
29 Oct 2009 | Entertainment
First off, We would like to say that even though we loooooove the horror genre, we kind of hit a problem when trying to list the Scariest Scary Movies Ever Made…
It’s easy when you’re a kid, anything would scare the crap out of you. But now that we are all grown ups it’s a whole different story.
So, with this is mind we set out to list movies that actually scared us. We had to (sadly) turn down some really well made classics that, well, are just not scary anymore. We also banned gore movies from this list, if we had to pick a gore movie it would have to be for a pretty good reason.
#25 Audition
Tagline: She always gets a part
And by ‘part’ they don’t mean a play… From the twisted mind of Takashi Miike comes a tale of a widower that holds a fake audition to meet this actress (dancer?). The bitch turns out to be this psycho torture fetishist (not in a good way), she’s every man’s nightmare (unless you are into that, we don’t judge).
Shriek Factor: 6/10
#24 The House of 1000 Corpses
Tagline: The most shocking tale of carnage ever seen.
This movie is scary because of 1. Captain Spaulding, 2. The rest of the psycho Firefly family, 3. There’s murder, cannibalism and satanic rituals thoughout the whole thing… It’s not pretty. On the other side, the characters are incredibly unique and make this scary movie a must see.
Shriek Factor: 5/10
#23 Eraserhead
Tagline: In Heaven Everything Is Fine.
Like anything out of David Lynch’s mind, this totally fucked up movie is not really catalogued under the ‘horror’ genre but, that doens’t mean it’s not scary. Mr. Lynch definitely knows how to create a tense atmosphere and that mutant baby is ugly as hell.
Shriek Factor: 5/10
#22 The Entity
Tagline: There is no escape from something you cannot see.
The Entity makes it on our list because it’s based on actual events, that always elevates the scary factor by at least 50%. If you haven’t seen this one let us point out that it involves a lot of sex… with Satan.
Shriek Factor: 6/10
#21 The Others
Tagline: Sooner or later she’ll see them, then everything will be different.
A lot of you will give us crap for this pick, but The Others is a great scary movie, specially for beign so ‘new’. Alejandro Amenabar plays with your mind through the whole movie, scares the crap out of you and then gives you a great ending (we don’t care you didn’t like it, we did)
Shriek Factor: 6/10
#20 Friday the 13th
Tagline: On Friday The 13th, they began to die horribly, one……by one
We count all Friday the 13th movies here, they’re pretty much the same. Take your pick and watch Jason use sleeping bags, harpoons, arrows, axes, pitchforks, knives, road flares, beds, 2x4s, tree trunks, spears, machetes and a lot more things to kill his victims. You have to hand it out to the son of a bitch, he’s resourceful.
Shriek Factor: 6/10
#19 The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
Tagline: The idyllic summer’s day that became a nightmare of fear and blood…
The dude kills his victims with a chainsaw and wears their skin on his face!!!!!!!!!!! Ok?
Shriek Factor: 6/10
#18 Hellraiser(1987)
Tagline: Satan’s done waitin’
Another classic most of you have watched before, it features a lot of tortures, a gateway to hell and S&M loving demons (It sounds like a party, but it’s not)
Shriek Factor: 6/10
#17 Saw (The first one people, not any of the other crappy ones)
Tagline: Death is a shortcut
Another dark horse here that I know will get us lots of hate mail, but Saw is a pretty decent movie if you ignore the million that follow. The plot is damn original and it keeps you guessing all the way to the end, when you think you figured it out but you didn’t.
Shriek Factor: 6/10
#16 Halloween (1978)
Tagline: The trick was to stay alive.
The original slasher that started it all, Halloween still scared the crap out of us after all this years. Michael Myers is the original fucked-up-mother-f*cker you don’t want to come across on Halloween day.
Shriek Factor: 7/10
#15 Misery
Tagline: This Christmas there will be… Misery.
Stephen King manages to scare us, not with monsters but with pure evil in the shape of a kidnapping psycho that lives in the mountains… That bitch from Audition has nothing on Misery…
Shriek Factor: 7/10
#14 Evil Dead 2
Tagline: The Comedy/Horror of the Decayed
In order to understand this pick you must be familiar with the Evil Dead series. Evil Dead 2 is basically a remake of Evil Dead 1 but with a little better special effects. Don’t let the tagline fool you, this movie is actually scary… and yes, a little funny too.
Shriek Factor: 7/10
#13 Nightmare on Elm Street
Tagline: Sleep Kills
If anyone of you is reading this and thinking: “Freddy Krueger never scared me!”, YOU LIE!
Shriek Factor: 8/10
#12 Alien
Tagline: In space no one can hear you scream
Great suspense, great effects (even for modern standards), scary killer aliens and a spaceship. This movie will teach you a valuable lesson: When you see some weird looking egg lying around leave it the fuck alone.
Shriek Factor: 8/10
#11 The Thing
Tagline: Man is The Warmest Place to Hide
Another John Carpenter classic, The Thing is about a shapeshifting monster that takes the form of whoever it killed… picture that before you dismiss this movie.
Shriek factor: 8/10
#10 Rosemary’s Baby
Tagline: Pray for Rosemary’s Baby
This movie may or not make you scream, but it is definitely one of the best made horror flicks of all time. It keeps you on the edge of your seat until the very end (we love that!) and the screenplay is creepy and original. Probably a good idea to show it to your kids if you want to scare them shitless about getting pregnant.
Shriek factor: 6/10
#9 The Descent
Tagline: Scream your last breath
It’s nice to see an all-women cast (all very sexy by the way) featured in a horror movie. The story follows a group of women that decide to spend the day exploring a cave… big mistake. By the end of this movie you will be gasping for air, we promise.
Shriek factor: 8/10
#8 Suspiria
Tagline: Once You’ve Seen It, You Will Never Again Feel Safe In The Dark
After watching this all you can figure out is that Dario Argento has some serious issues.
Shriek factor: 8/10
#7 It
Tagline: Your every fear – all in one deadly enemy.
Pennywise the clown is the reason why everyone over the age of 25 is afraid of clowns. Granted, the first part of the movie is a little slow and has a small amount of really scary moment… but they are all worth it.
Shriek factor: 7/10
#6 [REC]
Tagline: One Witness. One Camera
This movie features that Blair Witch camera trick that I personally find really annoying, but this movie pulls it off incredibly well. It’s probably one of the scariest films we’ve seen in years and it features a zombie little girl, what’s scarier that that?
Shriek factor: 9/10
#5 28 Days Later
Tagline: His fear began when he woke up alone. His terror began when he realised he wasn’t.
In the words of Jay (from The 40 Year Old Virgin): BITCH GET OUT OF THE ROOM!!!! This movie is fast paced and incredibly creepy. After watching it you feel it’s necessary to sleep with a knive under your pillow… you know, just in case your dad ‘snaps’ one day or something.
Shriek factor: 10/10
#4 The Ring
Tagline: Before you die, you see the ring
A lot of you will disagree, but we thought the US version was a million times scarier than the Japanese originals. What is it with evil kids that make them so damn horrific?? This movie is so scary you hardly notice Naomi Watts is hot.
Shriek factor: 10/10
#3 The Exorcist
Tagline: The Devil Inside
We all knew this one would make the top 5. Considered one of the best in it’s genre, people actually fainted in movie theathers when it opened. The vomiting, the levitating, the head twirling, that horrible voice… gives us goosebumps just remembering.
Shriek factor: 10/10
#2 The Shining
Tagline: The Horror is driving him crazy
A #1 deserving flick, The Shining usually makes that spot in most lists. The psychological suspense quickly turns into a lunatic’s night of rage that will leave you breathing heavy until the very end. Jack Nicholson gives one of his best performances and aloong with with the dead twins, the stuffed animal lovers and the creepy bartender make this movie a winner.
Shriek factor: 10/10
#1 Dawn of the Dead
Tagline: When there’s no more room in hell, the dead will walk the earth.
The only reason that this movie beat The Shining for the #1 spot was the fact that it took less that 15 minutes to get a ‘WTF!’ out of us, after that scene with the little zombie girl you know you are in for a wild ride. Set on some kind of apocalyptic happening world, a group of people try to survive a zombie attack. Will they make it? Well, we can only say the action stops at the very, very end.
Shriek factor: 11/10
#1- NOSFERATU – 1922 {And it isn’t even close, this thing blows every other film away on the “scary” factor. It INSPIRED 50 “COPYCATS” AT LEAST INCLUDING FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA
#2- THE EXORCIST {TVYNS} – 1973 – {this version… is not just scary…it may be the most techincally perfect film ever made}
#3- 28 WEEKS LATER – 2007 {THE SCENE IN WHICH THE HUSBAND FINALY FINDS HIS WIFE AND THEN UPON THEIR REUNITING KISS…EATS HER TO DEATH…IS ONE OF THE MOST DISTURBING THINGS I HAVE EVER SEEN IN ANY MOVIE EVER.
#4- ANGEL HEART – 1987 {I REMEMBER WALKING OUT OF THE THEATER AND FEELING DEEPLY DEEPLY FRIGHTENED TO THE CORE BY IT- and that horrible feeling lasted for days after that – Deeply Intellectually frightening}
#5- ROSEMARY’S BABY – 1968 {FILMED IN SAME BUILDING JOHN LENNON WAS MURDERED IN FRONT OF AND WHERE HE LIVED WITH YOKO & SEAN WHEN IT HAPPENED- KNOWING THAT WHEN YOU WATCH IT TODAY SOMEHOW ADDS SOMETHING CHILLING TO IT.} WHEN I SAW IT THE FIRST TIME IN THE EARLY 70′S I COULDN’T SLEEP FOR DAYS.
#6- AUDITION – 1999 {HOLY CRAP- JUST HOLY F’N CRAP – all time most frightening ending to a movie ever}
#7-STRAW DOGS 1971 {DUSTIN HOFFMAN & SUSAN GEORGES BEST PERFOMRANCES EVER – PEKINPAH’S DIRECTION ON THIS ONE IS ONE OF THE BEST IMO IN THE HISTORY OF FLIM.- AND THE BEARTRAP SCENE MAY BE THE SINGLE MOST FRIGHTENING REFERENCE EVER IN A HORROR FILM}***
#8- ALIEN – 1979 {BRAUGHT TWO FRIENDS WHO HAD NO IDEA WHAT I WAS TAKING THEM TO SEE, AND WHEN THEY SAW IT THEY WENT INTO SHOCK- GROUNDBREAKING AT THE TIME, AND UNSTOPABLE ON THE SCARY SCALE!!!
LOOKING FORWARD TO ALIEN HARVEST WHICH HAS MORE POTENTIAL THAN THE ORIGINAL DID, I KNOW, I’VE READ THE REWORKED SCRIPT.}
#9- THE DESCENT{Parts 1 & 2} – 2005 {I WILL NEVER GO INTO A CAVE AGAIN}
#10- THE THING – 1982 {JOHN CARPENTER’S SCARIEST FILM BY FAR, & TEN TIMES MORE SO, AT LEAST, THAN “HALLOWEEN”}
***HONORABLE MENTION: WAIT UNTIL DARK – 1967 {I GREW UP IN MONTREAL, WHERE THE FILM STARTS} AND ALLAN ARKIN HAUNTED MY DREAMS AFTER I SAW THIS FOR A MONTH, ALSO, IT HAS ONE THE “SMARTEST” ENDINGS TO ANY MOVIE EVER MADE…SMART, AND SCARY AS ALL HELL.***
~STEVEN
reply to this post
[Rec] and descent must’nt be in any list of Scariest movies ever made……….
what about martyrs?
I agree with most of these (28 Days Later is severely underrated as one of the scariest movies ever), though I also agree with Spartacus on 28 Weeks Later. It wasn’t scary for the same reasons that 28 Days Later was, but it’s a pretty f’ed up movie. The opening six minutes are absolutely brilliant and the “Code Red” sequence is about one of the most horrifying 15 or so minutes of a movie I’ve ever seen. Then you’ve got the night-vision-only subway scene and that did it for me.
Another movie I consider to be one of the scariest I’ve ever watched is Funny Games. Whether it’s the original 1997 version from Austria or the 2004 US remake (which has Naomi Watts, yay!), the movie is unbelievably freaky because it deliberately messes with everything you’d ever expect from a horror film and causes all manner of psychological damage along the way. The worst part is that the outlandishly charming villains ENJOY every second of torturing both the characters as well as the audience.
[REC] does use that now completely overblown mockumentary style shaky cam, but like you guys said pulls it off really well. I thought the movie (as well as our “Quarantine” remake) were pretty rock solid all the way through, but it’s the last 5 minutes that had my heart pounding in my chest. Really one of the most incredible endings I’ve ever seen.
I also love that you guys appreciate the 2004 version of Dawn of the Dead. I’ve seen both versions and the remake is lightyears ahead of the original in terms of scares. It also has its moments of comedic brilliance, which I thought were done perfectly. The opening credits sequence is my favorite in a movie ever, and the ending is unreal. It’s brilliant mainly because they deliberately cut in and out of footage to show you the credits, partially to complete silence. It’s fantastic.
@blake, totally agree with everything sir… well done
I’ve seen a few of these movies…. House Of 1000 Corpses was really not scary at all but understandably it was 24th, but I can still think of scarier movies that aren’t on here, for example, The New Daughter. Didn’t scare me but came closer than HTC. and for the number four, the ring? this movie didn’t scare me in the least and I even watched the ring film after (where it played the movie the characters saw) and the only thing i could point out was every character but the little boy had blue eyes. now misery: i havent seen the movie but have read the book. If its anything as good as the book i’d LOVE to see it, Im sure it would be good but not so scary. I’ve seen all the saw movies and all i could say is they are well made but not quite a fright.
the last thing i can say is The Entity; still not scary. No where near…
come find me when you have a really scary movie to make me scared.
i think that the scariest one is it really..
i disagree with [REC] and it should be replaced with Jeepers Creepers…obviously
]
-no doubt about it.
quarantine – very scary
I am very suprised that the latest “Amityville house of horror’ hasnt made it! that movie still scares the crap out of me, not to mention its based off of true events!
Meh, the article chose a lot of overrated rubbish – Some of the choices I do agree with slightly, but others are just financially successful films that have rose to a high level of ”horror ” status despite not being particularly scary and just made the list due to their popularity.
My top ten scariest movies are:
10): Angel heart
9): Bram Stroker’s: Dracula
8): Silent Hill
7): Dead Birds
6): Mad House
5): Insidious
4): The Sixth Sense
3): The Exorcism Of Emily Rose
2): Beloved ( why not technically a horror movie, it still reached an astonishing level of creepy in a very disturbing way on my part)
1): Jacobs Ladder
I would add 1408 somewhere…not gory but a phycological scare
1. Dead Silence
2. Silent Hill
3. It
4. Nightmare On Elm St.
5. The Desent
My top 5
IT? really? that movie was exactly what you say in your opening paragraph in regards to scaring children and not adults. I had nightmares from the movie and the book when I was a kid. The clown is creepy and Curry does a damn good job, but if you watch that movie as an adult its pure rubbish. More laughs than scares.
Top 5 scariest (that i have seen)
1. It
2. Insidious
3. Quarantine
4. 28 Days Later
5. Jeepers Creepers 2
Im really surprised Dawn of the Dead got number one in this post. I’m not very good at watching horror movies at all. I jump really easily and look away at scary parts, but Dawn of the Dead is a movie I actually enjoy sitting down and watching all the way through
OMG, do you see whats taking place in Syria? In spite of a brutal government crackdown, the manifestations continue
MOST OF THEM I HAVE WATCHED…OTHERS I WILL
THANK YOU MR LOVELY FOR ANOTHER TOP 10 LIST OF YOURS
WHAT ABOUT ‘WAX HOUSE’ AND “HILLS HAVE EYES”?
So, uh, you don't live that far from me. You rellaly need to come down here so I can take you on a REAL horror house treat.
sorry people, but the scariest movie of all time, and still remains is the EXORCIST.
DONT FORGET TALES FROM THE HOOD ONE OF THE SCARIEST MOVIES EVER MADE NOT REALLY BLOOD AND GUTS JUST THE FEEL OF IT AND IM NOT TALKIN ABOUT THE ONE WITH SNOOP DOG IM TALKIN ABOUT THE ONE WITH THE GUY WHO PLAYED THE FATHER OF PRINCE ON PURPLE RAIN
I am a huge horror fan, cannot believe you dont have “The Exorcism of Emily Rose ” in amongst them. Super scary.
Best list ever
i am really fat and stupid
but i think that the movie the grave encounters should be in this list
What about the grudge? That movie has always scared me, and in my opinion is more frightening then the ring.
really good list I got to say I LOVE SCARY MOVIES and the one thing you should change is 28 weeks later. The storyline is miles better than days later! And it starts of really well with some slam-in-the-face scary stuff
I’m 13 and have seen mist of these movies. These are barely scary. I watched 28 days later and the exorcist and slept perfectly no diffrence in my life. So I think u might wann update this.
A few to add, candyman, a serbian film ( truly the sickest film ever made ), and the paranormals are mint for suspense! Im glad you didn’t include any of those diabolicle remakes for eg halloween, amytiville etc! They should just go straight in the bargin bin, and also all the ‘based on true story’ crap just doesnt do it for me,it should be ‘based loosely on a load of crap lies’. I agree with nick story also, grave encounters has a few brilliant moments!!
Ok The Thing sucked only one scene was good and Rosemary’s Baby was literally the most boring movie I ever saw I fell asleap watchin it and the exorcist was just friggin hilarious
the 3 scariest movies that actually gave me nightmares are Exorcism Of Emily Rose (well the dorm room scene that is), Amityville Horror remake (still lookin to see the original), and The 6th Sense (I think everyone who’se seen it knows which 2 scenes were scary as fuck) I would have put May as number 4 but that movie was more fucked up than scary. SEE IT
The Devil Inside and the Paranormal Activity movies are f***in creeping me out every time! There’s something about demons and stuff you cannot see that is really scary. And when i hear the real life stories of similar events it really makes me happy i have never experinced something like this.
I think Scary Movie should most deffinitely be in the list of scariest movies. probably like top 3.
my list of scary movies:
1.Scary Movie
2.the commercial for mcdonalds in 1994
3.winnie the pooh “the movie”
4.Monsters Inc.
5.Spongebob episode #78
wolf creek (not that scary just really messed up. probably scary if you were there lol.)
the hills have eyes (just creepy and makes you think wtf am i watching.)
dead space the video game(i know its not a movie chill your nipples. didnt want to finish the game just made me shit myself just walking through the dark not knowing what will come around each corner.)
that mutant guy off the goonies(just looked hell funny actually lol.)
and movies that play high piano keys when something creepy runs across the screen or when you see something for a split second and try figure out what the hell it is. I think knowing what the monster/scary villian looks like kind of ruins the intensity. Its good when you dont know what the hell it is. zombies do pull it off tho, but only when its dark i reckon. What would be awesome is if they made a movie from dead space but with actual real people and not cartoon and if they made the ending someone eating the main characters face off and then looking back at the screen at you and whispering i see you with no expression on their face and then credits and then during the credits they have some crazy mutant chick cutting into the credits screaming. and then cut back into credits. i dont like to brag but if quentin tarrantino was reading my material he would be jizzing his pants right now.
@kris and others alike i would like to add that paranormal activity etc and most movies with 1st person camera are so stupid and are not scary one bit. When i watch them i just think wtf is this, its all talking and interviewing people with mental problems and watching them shit their pants and pee blood or dislocate their limbs and lights flickering. And the ending is always the same. the main character dies, the camera cuts out. With these movies its all hyped up to be the scariest movie ever. Instead your like is that it… what a waste of 20 bucks. Dont know what some people want to see but i want to see gross, creepy, shivers on the back of your neck stuff. those movies just bore the crap out of you and when something scary happens your like wtf is this a weak comedy. Girls wont agree with me and Girly Guys but Guys will and maybe manly girls and mel gibson
The funny thing about horror films is that they often are not all that scary. And by scary I mean something which genuinely leaves the viewer disturbed. Watch the French film “irreversible”. Now that’s horror.
Event Horizon scared me,, great film
The Descent scared the crap outta me, and I’m a bit hard to scare. The Ring was a good movie, but not so much scary. 28 Weeks Later, again, good movie, but I wasn’t to much scared by it. REC wasn’t even in the thought of scary, more of a thriller. IT was scary when I was 8, and 7 years later, it’s nothing but a well written movie, and a good book.
Greetings! Very helpful advice within this post! It’s the little changes which will make the most important changes. Thanks for sharing!
1. The Ring…obviously.
2. Misery
3. The Others
4. The Haunting (the original, NOT the 90s version!)
5. The Crazies
6. Shutter (it had to grow on me; by the second time I really liked it)