These horror movies don’t use cheap thrills to get scares.
They rely on atmosphere and suspense rather than gore and jump-scares.
Creepy isnt the same as scary.
Creepy stays with you.
It gives you goosebumps.
Here are 85 of the best horror movies (in no particular order) to chill your bones.
Us (2019)
Jordan Peeles follow up to his award winnerGet Outis another social horror.
But when a man, his wife and their young child arrive seeking shelter his family life is disrupted.
A coming-of-age horror with one of the bleakest endings around.
Mr. Jones (2013)
Nobody knows who Mr. Jones is.
The artist is a recluse, but his bizarre sculptures have made him world famous.
Also, those scarecrows are petrifying.
Not many films could make a sheet of printed fabric terrifying, butUnder the Shadowmanages it.
Gaslight (1940)
Bella (Diana Wynyard) thinks shes losing her mind.
Walbrook does sinister like no-one else.
But one night, he meets Christine (Jane Baxter), and his abilities become real.
He really can predict the future.
If youve already guessed thatll turn out to be more of a burden than a gift, youre right.
Gorgeously shot, wonderfully acted, this is a creepy delight.
The ending will have you shuddering in your seat.
Just excellent, all round.
In fact at times,Hereditaryis almost too scary, so oppressive is its escalating anguish and dread.
This one is pure nightmare fodder.
Nina Forever (2015)
Rob (Cian Barry) cant get over his ex-girlfriend.
Creepy doesnt feel like a strong enough word to describe this film devastating might do it.
Brilliant, but not one for the faint-hearted.
Its a little bitWicker Man, a little bitRosemarys Baby, and a lot of creepiness.
Its a brilliantly over the top concept, and the way it plays out is incredibly eerie.
Suspend your disbelief andlet it freak you out.
According to the police, they were murdered by their 10-year-old son.
According to their daughter, the mirror is haunted, and something supernatural caused their deaths.
But inadvertently puts both of them in danger all over again.
A24 Horror Movies Ranked From Worst to Best
Its chilling.
The Amityville Horror (1979)
The Amityville Horroristhehaunted house story.
If youve moved house in recent memory, this onell hit you where it hurts.
Youll probably need to sleep with a nightlight for a week afterwards.
Turns out the house has got secrets, and, yeah, a ghost.
Best enjoyed with a glass of sherry.
Shot in Scarborough everything aboutSaint Maudis unsettling right up to the indelible finale.
An absolute must watch.
That doesnt mean that it isnt creepy as all get-out, though.
You should be innocent and receptive.
(The old dog.)
Once the horror kicks in, though, youll be too scared to notice much more of the cleverness.
Where would horror films be without photographic dark rooms?
Even in the digital age, the dim red light and slowly emerging pictures remain classic tools of terror.
Not to mention the room with rows of jars containing pickled animals, and the surprise homage toPsycho.
This story has it all.
The mystery deepens as more sinister evidence comes to light and the climax is truly chilling.
This is one which will stay with you long after Halloween.
When Claire starts seeing faces in the bathtub (where else?)
she goes to talk it over with a psychiatrist.
Hes kind and attentive and they soon fall in love, despite Irenas lack of physical affection.
Oliver is initially patient but eventually finds himself falling for his much more reasonable colleague, Alice.
A female voice claims to be Angela, and begs her mother to save her.
Obviously, that turns out to be a bad idea.
And creepy, of course.
The tension builds to almost unbearable heights before a truly haunting ending.
The Walking Dead vs. Its gory, grimy, and really quite disturbing.
He might have a sack over his head, but whats a little creepy mask between pals?
Its slightly more odd that shes snooping around in the shed at night.
Director JA Bayona makes every shot count; the movie is visually beautiful as well as fantastically sinister.
Its a bona fide horror film but the ending might make you cry.
Ring (1998)
Ringisnt a perfect film.
Its a bit too long and ponderous and theres a bit too much irrelevant mysticism in there.
But in terms of pure creepiness, its pretty damned effective.
and that climactic scene where the image on the screen crossed over into reality is bloodcurdling.
Sneaky, too, since it managed to suggest that no one was safe.
Especially not you, gentle viewer, because didnt you just watch that cursed tape, too?
Either way, though, the film is terrifying.
Is the old man actually under a spell?
Why does he seem so terrified of his wife?
Still, most films dont go to the extremes thatUzumakidoes.
Rex dedicates his time to trying to find her, but to no avail.
Its a simple yet eerie story with an utterly devastating ending.
But somehow its still really creepy.
The premise is that, as the title suggests, teenagers are receiving missed calls on their mobile phones.
The mystery caller leaves a horrifying voicemail: the sound of the phones owner screaming in agony.
Sure enough, the kids all die just as the missed call predicted.
Its a dismal way to live, and a depressingly eerie film.
Its based onRichard Mathesons novelI Am Legend so skip the Will Smith adaptation and watch this instead.
The nightly visitations from a blood-dripping ghost dont help, either.
Robert Mitchums singing voice isnt half bad, either.
Anthony Perkins final twitchy, smirky scene is seriously creepy though.
Its definitely creepy enough to be worth watching on its own merits.
For hours, no one can get near Midwich without passing out.
When they wake up, every woman in the village finds herself mysteriously pregnant.
Youll never look at Toys R Us in the same way again.
The wonderfully named Mimsy Farmer plays Sylvia, a scientist haunted by melancholy and hallucinations.
But are her problems really all in her head, or is there something else going on?
The film doesnt reveal its secrets until the very end, when all that creepiness pays off spectacularly.
Dark and twisted and incredibly gory,Mayis as sad and sweet as it is creepy.
A lot of that is attributable to Angela Bettis, whose performance is adorably unnerving.
Which turns out to be soon.
It has a fairly straightforward,Dracula-esque story, but the plots not the point.
Nope, that honor goes to Dwight Fryes portrayal of Renfield, the lunatic spider-eater under Draculas control.
Hes amazing, all awkward body language and hysterical laughter.
The zombies here arent flesh-eating ghouls but obedient slaves, working tirelessly in Legendres mill.
Even when one of them tumbles into a grinder, work doesnt stop.
Lugosi is suitably menacing, and the drone-like zombies are properly eerie.
Its atmospheric, lovingly photographed and, of course, Elmi is awesome in the lead role.
Watch it in a darkened room to make the most of its wonderfully claustrophobic atmosphere.
Rewatching it now, even knowing when all the scares are coming, its still chilling.
And most of them are terrifying.
The ending is vaguely preposterous, but the rest of the film is creepy enough that its forgivable.
Its atmosphere elevates it above your average exploitation movie, though; theres something really melancholy about it.
Lonely tween Owen doesnt have any friends until the equally strange Abby moves in next door.
They embark on an odd friendship/proto-romance, but Abby has a secret: shes a vampire.
Carnival Of Souls (1962)
After a traumatic accident, weird things start happening to Mary.
The climactic scenes at the carnival are pure nightmare fuel.
Is Caligari a hypnotist, a murderer, or both?
The Exorcist (1973)
An obvious choice, butThe Exorcistis genuinely scary.
But the film makes every scary moment count.
Its atmosphere is oppressive, claustrophobic theres an ever-present sense of dread throughout.
The Omen (1976)
Damien is probably the ultimate creepy child.
Ghostwatch (1992)
Originally shown on UK TV at Halloween,Ghostwatchscared a whole generation shitless.
It frequently teeters on the edge of absurdity.
But at heart, its deeply creepy.
But as his investigation continues, it becomes clear that something entirely different is going on.
Howie runs headlong to his doom, and its final scene is downright spine-chilling.
Suspiria (1977)
Suspiriais Dario Argentos finest hour.
If you havent seenSuspiriain a while, treat yourself to the Blu-ray.
