25 of the Best Horror Films You Can Watch, Ranked by Scariness – The Atlantic

Watch it on: The Criterion Channel, Prime Video, or rent it

Wes Craven, who made classic horror films such as The Last House on the Left, The Hills Have Eyes, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and Scream, was the king of the slasher movie, introducing American audiences to shocking and imaginative levels of cinematic violence. This later work is one of his most underrated, and succeeds despite being low on gore. A tense thriller set on an airplane, it follows a woman (Rachel McAdams) who flirts with a stranger (Cillian Murphy) before a plane ride home; when she boards, she finds him sitting next to her and harboring sinister intentions. The cat-and-mouse story is enthralling because of its two talented leads, even though ridiculous action twists await in the third act.

Watch it on: DirecTV, or rent it

The low-budget black comedy that introduced Danny Boyle and Ewan McGregor to the cinema world is a Coen brothers homage shot through with a misanthropic sense of humor. What begins as a jokey indie movie about post-college friendship turns into a nightmare, as three pals (McGregor, Christopher Eccleston, and Kerry Fox) find their new roommate dead in his room with a suitcase full of money. They agree to chop up his corpse, bury it, and keep the money. Unsurprisingly, only terrible things follow from that decision. Boyle stretches his small budget to dial up the paranoia in flashy ways, and a key set piece set in an attic, which I wont spoil further, is an unforgettable, edge-of-your-seat moment.

Watch it on: Starz, or rent it

A spooky war fable, Kaneto Shindos masterpiece of Japanese cinema is laden with metaphor, gorgeously photographed, and terrifically unnerving. Onibaba is best known for the indelible image of the grinning Hannya mask, a demonic visage used in Noh theater that, in this film, is cursed to stick to characters faces. Set in the 14th century during a period of civil war, the movie follows two women who lure soldiers to their death in the weeds and plunder their armor. When they attack a soldier wearing a peculiar mask, supernatural repercussions follow. Though its set in medieval times, Shindos film is a treatise on the horrors of nuclear war, on the pitilessness of life in a land ravaged by catastrophe, and on the difficulty of distinguishing between heroes and villains.

Watch it on: HBO Max or The Criterion Channel

Hell is other people in The Invitation. Karyn Kusamas movie was a major comeback for a talented filmmaker who had toiled in so-called director jail for years; with a limited budget, she turned an awkward dinner party in the Hollywood Hills into an unbearably tense satire of modern self-help groups. The movie follows Will (Logan Marshall-Green), who attends a party hosted by his ex-wife that quickly turns into a pitch for a trendy new cult. As the night goes on, friendly pours of wine begin to feel a lot more menacing. Kusama builds the anxiety and fully realizes the storys heavier emotional material, driving home the final twist with real intensity.

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25 of the Best Horror Films You Can Watch, Ranked by Scariness - The Atlantic

Reviewed and Recommended by Erik Baquero