Halloween season is upon us. The kids are out for trick or treat and the rest of the world crawl from one costume to the next. Us? We personally like staying in, turning the lights down low, prepping the popcorn and whipping out a horror movie marathon.
There are tons, tons of horror films that are enough to make all the hair in our body stand on end. However, there are the timeless ones that never go out of scary fashion.
If you’re looking to gather your friends for an indoor scream fest, we’ve lined up the best horror films of all time.
- The Exorcist (1973)
When a movie house issues their viewers a barf bag, you know you’re in for a real treat. To this day, The Exorcist is almost unanimously ranked as the scariest movie of all time. It tells of a story of a young girl possessed by a demon named Pazuzu and the attempts of her mother and two priests to bring the child back using exorcism. Just about every scene is iconic. It would be ridiculous not to watch it at least once.
- A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
Wes Craven is the horror genius to beat all horror geniuses. When he gave birth to the idea of our nightmares turning into reality, we didn’t get a good night’s sleep for quite some time. To say that this film is terrifying is a complete understatement. It’s so screwed up in so many ways but until now, we can’t get enough of it.
- Suspiria (1976)
Plenty of horror buffs would agree that this Argento masterpiece is among the best of the best. The story follows an American ballerina who goes to study in Black Forest, where she meets a peculiar shrink, two lesbian administrators and soon discovers that the school used to be a witches’ coven. Oh and the 1976 technicolor film coupled with a flawless score is still one to beat.
- Ring (1998)
Originally titled, Ringu, this Japanese horror film still sends shivers down our spine. After being murdered by her father, the ghost of a seer’s daughter haunts people after watching an eerie video and kills them after seven days. If you’ve watched the American remake but haven’t gotten on seeing the original version, we highly suggest you do it. Now.
- The Thing (1982)
This isn’t your typical ghostly horror film. It’s one of those genuine sci-fi scary movies that will give you the creeps days after watching it. The Thing is not everyone’s cup of tea. In fact, so many viewers have sworn over never watching because it’s flat out horrifying. As for us, we personally like punishing ourselves by watching it over and over again.
- Evil Dead (1981)
Sam Raimi is currently one of Hollywood’s biggest guns. His humble beginnings with fairly unknown filmmakers and producers with just a $350,000 budget became one of the finest horror films of all time. Sure, university students who ended up releasing demons and spirits from a book may sound silly. However, Evil Dead managed to blend it with more than enough horrific moments to get us covering our eyes.
- The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
If you ask us, this movie should’ve never had any sequel or remake. Like fine wine, the original, lo-fi 1974 version just gets better with age. Apart from Halloween, we’d like to think this film is one of the slasher film pioneers. It’s one unsettling, violent and merciless movie focused on a family of cannibals and a group of teenagers picked off by a chainsaw-wielding masked man fans have come to call Leatherface.
- Rosemary’s Baby (1968)
Thanks to the brilliance of Polanski, we’ve grown an affinity for demon baby movies. Rosemary’s Baby isn’t your typical supernatural horror film. However, it has a way of creeping up in our spin because it’s got a very human approach. The level of paranoia that transpires in this film is immeasurable. Think: Moving into a new apartment, befriending a Satanist and deciding to sacrifice your spouse and your baby just to finally bag an acting role.
- The Omen (1976)
Speaking of spawns of Satan, The Omen is yet another horror film that’s got us reaching for our blankets. This has got to be the only movie that’s managed to make the presence of the devil seems so real. To top it all off, it’s a kid that’s manifesting it. We have to admit: We haven’t stared at a child for quite some time after watching this.
- The Shining (1980)
What used to divide the horror cult industry has now hailed the film as indeed, one of the best in the genre. The Shining is among the finest in pop culture too. Perhaps what really drew us into this film is that the filth and terror that exists in the plot was shot beautifully. Kubrick’s obsession to detail proved to be more than just aesthetics.
- Insidious (2010)
It’s not as old as the films we’ve listed so far but we’re pretty sure it’s going to transcend time. Insidious works out the scare shocks flawlessly. Just when we think we could finally catch our breath, there goes another one to make us jump off the couch. We get the chills just thinking about it.