The Top 50 Horror Movies of All Time – Film.com

Possessed children, ghost-faced killers, burn victims with knives for fingers these are a few of our favorite things! Horror movie lovers are some of the most devoted, most loyal, most fanatical fans that a film could ever hope to snag. Were like big, lovable Labrador puppies with a taste for blood.

Now that the air is turning chilly and pumpkins are appearing on doorsteps, its time to start planning a ghoulishly good movie marathon. Max Evry, Bryan Enk and Jenni Miller rended their flesh and bled all over their keyboards to bring you this list of the best horror movies ever made. Is yours on here? Leave your accursed mark in the comments.

50. Candyman (1992) Tony Todd is terrifying as the Candyman, a ghoulish figure who is tormenting the residents of a dangerous Chicago housing project. Helen (Virginia Madsen) is researching urban legends for her thesis when she starts investigating rumors of the hook-handed man and goes into the projects to see for herself. Sure, its a horror movie about an urban legend, but its based on a short story by horror maestro Clive Barker, an expert at making people want to pee their pants. The bees, the bees! Jenni Miller

49. Audition (1999) Takashi Miikes gonzo revenge fantasy introduced the madman of subversive Japanese cinema to a wider American audience thanks to its run in a handful of arthouse theaters. Audition tells the story of a middle-aged widower whos encouraged by his teenage son to start dating again; his film producer friend helps him get over his initial reluctance with a mock casting session in which young women audition for the part of his new wife. Such a misogynist endeavor practically begs for feminist retaliation and, oh boy, it comes raining down, in the form of a supposed former ballerina who turns the widowers life into a living hell of torture and other stuff. One of the all-time great dare movies do you have the stomach to watch it? Bryan Enk

48. A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987) The first Nightmare sequel where Freddy Krueger started being well, kind of fun, Dream Warriors trades the houses of Elm Street for the halls of the Westin Hills psychiatric hospital, where Kristen Parker (Patricia Arquette), committed after a Freddy attack that was interpreted as a suicide attempt, and her fellow patients become terrorized by the great gloved one. The film is silly (boy, is it ever) but its definitely got showmanship, with Robert Englund and his young co-stars pulling out all the stops as they put on a pretty decent 80s horror show; Wes Craven wanted this to be the final installment in the series, but its box office success made that inconceivable. Dick Cavett and Zsa Zsa Gabor appear as themselves (hey, why not?), with heavy metal band Dokken providing the totally awesome theme song. BE

47. Childs Play (1988) The first chapter in the tragicomic saga of serial killer-turned-malevolent-doll Charles Lee Ray (Brad Dourif yeah!!) is actually quite scary, which is certainly not the case with the series many sequels (both unintentionally and, later, very much intentionally). Before Chucky screamed Ill be back I always come back! with equal amounts anger, exhaustion and self-awareness in Bride of Chucky (1998), he was a full-blown movie monster whose small size and benign (-ish) appearance made him all the more frightening and dangerous. Chucky can squeeze into places a grown-up cant, and he has the advantage of being able to get away with almost anything after all, who would believe a damn doll is throwing hammers at the babysitters head and blowing his former partner sky high after messing around with the gas stove? Certainly not Mom (Catherine Hicks) and Cop (Chris Sarandon). Wanna plaaaaaaay? BE

46. House of Wax (1953) Vincent Price may be a Saturday Night Live staple today thanks to Bill Hader, but back in the mid-fifties he was the prince of the horror genre. This spooky tale of perverted wax sculptor who takes the lazy way out and just starts killing people and coating them with wax (CHEATING!) is one of the best examples of Prices fiendish ways. Its also the first color 3-D film, so when you pay $18 to see The Last Airbender, get mad at this movie. This was itself a remake of 1933s Mystery of the Wax Museum, and was itself later remade with none other than Paris Hilton now thats scary! Max Evry

45. The Haunting (1963) Director Robert Wises personal all-time favorite moviemaking experience (and its easy to see why), The Haunting is considered one of the all-time great haunted house movies and one of the first horror films of the 60s to demonstrate that the genre didnt need to be so well, cheesy. Wise incorporates innovative camera angles (that would go on to influence such cinematic showmen as Sam Raimi and Peter Jackson) to create a sense of voyeuristic dread as Julie Harris, Claire Bloom, Richard Johnson and Russ Tamblyn traverse the screen adaptation of Shirley Jacksons terrific horror novel, The Haunting of Hill House, braving the creaks, moans, cryptic messages and bedroom doors that bend inward as something tries to gain entry. A terrific example of how sound, performance and cinematography can make for as good (if not better) a horror movie as one chock full of pyrotechnics and other special effects. BE

44. Suspiria (1977) Dario Argentos loud, maddening, brain-smushing thingamabob says the hell with passive entertainment as its out to assault and hurl you over a cliff from the get-go. Watch (and live, live!) this bizarro fairy tale about an American student at a prestigious Euro ballet school who soon discovers that the place is run by a bunch of freakin witches. Part I of Argentos Three Mothers trilogy (followed by Inferno in 1980 and Mother of Tears in 2007), Suspiria is an exhausting exercise in sheer overkill in every possible department; the colors (dear lord, the COLORS) in particular are so extreme and outlandish that youll think youre going insane, though the endless clanging Goblin score may send you spiraling down first. Dont get us wrong, this flick rocks you may just want to lock yourself in a room for a day or two after experiencing it to come back down to a world where things arent so, uh, red and green. BE

43. The Birds (1963) The most remarkable thing about Alfred Hitchcocks biggest cinematic magic trick is that it was actually made. How did they get the birds to do all that crazy stuff? Sheesh, theres a scene where they all peck and flap around Tippi Hedren so much that she passes out! Theres some true old-school movie magic going on in The Birds, the kind that we imagine tested even Hitchs seemingly endless patience more than once (and we wonder how many times Hedren, Rod Taylor, Jessica Tandy and the rest of the cast threatened to walk off this bats**t or, rather birds**t insane project). Today, The Birds would be made all with computers. Back in 1963, Hitchcock had to find innovative ways to trick dozens of real birds to do his bidding in order to make what would become one of the all-time best man (or woman, rather, for the most part) versus nature thrillers. BE

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The Top 50 Horror Movies of All Time - Film.com