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Horror bites. It eats you alive. It goes bump in the night. It watches you when you sleep. It haunts you. And it finds you just when you finally feel safe. And if you’re interested in any of that, you’re probably interested in a list of the best—or at least our favorite—horror movies of all time.
We here at Men’s Health have an affinity for all things horror. The creepier, the freakier, the grislier, the more violent, the more utterly shocking… the better! To us, a killer horror movie is about your subverting expectations. Take a movie like Jordan Peele’s Get Out. On the surface, it’s your typical horror flick—that quickly spirals into a complex critique of race in America. His latest movie, Nope, continues his streak of shock—at no point do you have any idea what will happen next.
Also consider Ari Aster’s Midsommar, a horror movie that takes place in the idyllic setting of a Swedish commune, and still, something seriously sinister lurks around the corner. Or what about a classic, like the Stephen King-adapted Carrie, which posits that the real hell exists on earth: high school. And that’s not even to think about obvious genre classics like Halloween, Friday the 13th, and Scream. These are just movies that make you feel something, even if that something can sometimes chill you to your bones, and other times be a mix of terror and cheesy camp.
Above all else, though, a true, chill-inducing horror flick finds the thing you were never scared about, something you’d maybe never even considered in your worst nightmares, and forces you to confront it head on, be it flesh-eating zombies, blood-thirsty sharks or even ourselves. They might not be terrifying on the outset, but they’re enough to make you question swimming or even looking in the mirror for too long. Below, a few of our horror movie favorites, from familiar classics to newer, frightening flicks.
A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
If you are a Stranger Things fan who somehow hasn’t seen A Nightmare on Elm Street…you are missing the prime inspiration. If you want to see a truly terrifying film, with a truly terrifying villain, from a truly terrific horror director in Wes Craven…this is your pick. An absolute must for any horror fanatic.
Speaking of Wes Craven, he (along with screenwriter Kevin Williamson) was the mastermind behind another all-time great horror franchise: the meta-horror world of Scream. While we could (and maybe should!) include all five installments in the franchise so far (and a sixth is due in 2023), if we’re limiting it to just one entry on the list, you’ve got to go with the original. Scream is funny, surprising, and most of all, scary. Another absolute essential.
The villain in this one isn’t who you think it is—but it doesn’t matter. The original Friday the 13th is the gold standard in the “dumb teenagers get picked off one at a time” slasher subgenre. And a young Kevin Bacon is there too.
Goodness, we could put just about every movie from director John Carpenter’s hey day on this list. And we could put a handful of others from the long-running Halloween franchise on here too (2018’s Halloween is also exceptional). But you’ve got to go with 1978’s original Halloween if given the choice, right? The battle between Michael Myers and Laurie Strode has been raging for nearly 45 years at this point, and this is where it all started. A horror masterpiece.
One of the pristine horror films—and we’re talking captial F-FIlm—of the ’70s was Don’t Look Now, which finds Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie as parents reeling and greiving after the death of their daughter. The movie turns 50 years old next year and was wildly ahead of its time in its stunning horror portrayal of grief.
Directed by Texas Chain Saw Massacre‘s Tobe Hooper and written/produced by Steven Spielberg (and maybe co-directed by him too, depending on who you talk to), Poltergeist is a horror classic regardless of who got credited behind the scenes. When we first meet a perfect family in a cute little development, we really have no idea what kinds of haunting chaos is coming over the next hour and 54 minutes.
If you love modern cult horror films like Hereditary or Midsommar, you’ll need to look back to 1973’s The Wicker Man—and don’t get it confused with the 2006 Nicolas Cage remake!—to see where it all really came from. Wicker Man is a disturbing, wonderfully-crafted, slow-burn of a horror film. The story follows a police sergeant who makes his way to a remote Scottish island in search of a young girl. What he finds is nothing anyone could’ve expected.
Picking favorite John Carpenter horror movies is a lot like picking favorite children—how can you possibly be expected to make such a choice? Still, by any metric, the horror master’s 1982 version of The Thing has got to be up there with the best. The movie—about a terrifying shapeshifting monster—has got basically every type of horror you could want, with dread around any corner and the practical effects of a truly wild beast throughout the film. Kurt Russell is also at his badass, charming best.
There are so many David Cronenberg movies that could be on this list, but we’ve got to start with his version of The Fly, which balances spectacle and horror with romance and charisma. Jeff Goldblum gives one of his best performances at the film’s center, but Geena Davis also gives a great horror turn as his love interest, who can’t help but see the terrifying transformation he’s undergoing in more ways than one.
While Alien probably veers more sci-fi than horror, we’ve still got to include it in this list. Why? Because Ridley Scott, when making Alien, basically invented dread. You will watch this movie and constantly feel like something bad is going to happen—and that is absolutely by design. You’ll come for the chest-burster, and you’ll stick around for Sigourney Weaver’s iconic first turn as Ripley.
Alfred Hitchcock eventually invented the formula of the modern slasher with Psycho, which features iconic performances from both Janet Leigh and Anthony Perkins. The shower scene, yada yada. If somehow you haven’t seen Psycho yet, it’s highly unlikely that we’re the first ones telling you to change that.
Man, if we’re gonna talk about dread we should also talk about Rosemary’s Baby. Mia Farrow stars as the titular Rosemary, who starts to get the feeling that something funny is going on with her neighbors—and it doesn’t take long for the viewers to agree with her.
Like John Carpenter, like Tobe Hooper, like David Cronenberg, Sam Raimi is another director who we could probably put just about all of his movies on a list like this. But we’ve got to start with Evil Dead II, which is basically a hybrid sequel/reboot to his original Evil Dead and creates a new genre in and of itself: the zombie horror dark comedy. Bruce Campbell is in pristine form and the movie goes in directions you couldn’t see coming even if you’ve seen 1,000 other zombie movies. Raimi being Raimi!
Rob Reiner had a legendary run from the ’80s into the ’90s, and that included a stab at a Stephen King horror adaptation, Misery. And on the backs of a tight, simple story and superstar performances from Kathy Bates (winning her an Oscar) and James Caan, Misery became a bona fide horror classic.
While Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation of Stephen King’s The Shining doesn’t count the author himself as one of its many, many fans, the case for his movie as the greatest horror film of all time is fairly overwhelming. Let’s look at the data: he’s got great source material. He’s got a legendary performance from his lead in Jack Nicholson and stellar work from the rest of his cast. And he’s got a mood and scenes that you really can’t find anywhere else. The Shining deserves every bit of the praise it’s gotten over the last 42 years, and if you haven’t seen it then you need to change that immediately.
A new one, but one we’re confident will earn its place in the pantheon. Honestly, best going into this knowing as little as possible! Jordan Peele’s latest is a little more Jaws than Get Out, and that’s great stuff; a great director can do all sorts of great movies. And that’s what the former Key & Peele star is.
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
Another absolute classic, the super low-budgeted Texas Chain Saw Massacre is just plain creepy. You’ll definitely remember this one if you ever find yourself considering picking up a hitchhiker.
Attempts to recreate the magic of the original Texas Chain Saw Massacre have been ongoing for almost 50 years at this point. And while the Michael Bay-produced Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake of 2003 is not as bad as you might remember (and even has its moments of greatness), the majority of the rest of the franchise’s official installments are quite bad, and a 2022-released Netflix movie is particularly terrible.
Luckily, director Ti West seems to be a similarly huge Texas Chain Saw fan and made his own homage to it with 2022’s wonderful X, which combines the tension and intrigue of Tobe Hooper’s original against the backdrop of a group of people making a low-budget porn movie. The cast—which includes Brittany Snow, Kid Cudi, Jenna Ortega, and a star-making turn from Mia Goth—is exceptional, and the filmmaking matches. One of the best horrors of the decade already.
Picture this: You wake up in a hospital bed, stark naked, and in the middle of a deserted London, only to find out the city has been evacuated because of an unstoppable virus that turns people into violent, blood-thirsty animals. That’s how 28 Days Later starts and we can’t say there are other movies that make you feel as unsettled as this.
There’s a moment during Ari Aster’s Midsommar when you aren’t sure what’s happening, but you know it’s bad. That moment happens when a pair of elders are led to the top of a mountain, overlooking the group of Swedes from the commune and our three American tourists. Then, shit goes down. (Spoiler alert: literally.) Watch this if only because Florence Pugh gives a career-making performance.
There’s a lot that’s already been said about just how good Jordan Peele’s directorial debut, Get Out, is, a story that employs common horror movie tropes to criticize racism in America. Still, it’s worth writing about because, well, it really is just that good. It’s a movie you wish you could watch for the first time all over again, and we would willingly enter the sunken place (for a brief time, that is) just to experience it.
We’ll say it: A lot of recent zombie films and shows amid its recent craze have been complete BS. But the 2004 remake of the George A. Romero Dawn of the Dead was different. In this flick, zombies weren’t the slow-moving creatures we knew and loved (and secretly thought we could outrun or outsmart). Instead, they were frighteningly fast marathon runners and twice as violent as ever before. Dawn of the Dead makes the Walking Dead look like an episode of Sesame Street.
There’s a reason we argue the best kind of horror movies are the ones that make you afraid of things you’d never even realized. The Descent is one of those. The movie opens innocently enough; a group of six girlfriends descend upon an ultra-narrow cavern system, only to discover their being chased and hunted by things that aren’t entirely human. We’re not sure if we’re scared more by them or the film’s sheer claustrophobia-inducing tension.
Speaking of things you’d maybe never realized you were scared of, enter Jaws, the movie that single-handedly launched our collective fear of what’s lurking in the ocean. Until this point, few horror movies had re-envisioned “scary” as something in a sunny, beach-side setting, proving that scary things can go bump in the night at any time of year (and even if you don’t live anywhere even remotely close to water).
Night of the Living Dead (1968)
Set in a farmhouse outside of Pennsylvania, this black-and-white film is a classic for a reason. In fact, it’s because of this film, George A. Romero’s first, that the zombie craze took off like it did. (Technically, the first ever zombie film predates this one by a few decades; still, it left a major impact on horror film forever.) The film was also radical for starring the first ever Black male actor in a mostly white cast.
Not to be too on the nose with things, but here’s the gist of this film: A news reporter in Barcelona, Spain is called upon to investigate an apartment building; soon, the building is sealed off and, uh, put on quarantine lockdown as the building’s tenants struggle to figure out what’s happening around them. (Unsurprisingly, the real threat is coming from inside the building.) The rest of the found-footage film is movie magic, and massively better than the 2008 American remake.
In this festive Christmas classic, a masked killer stalks a 17-year-old babysitter and the tween she’s watching over from inside their home. But the real horror begins when you doubt who exactly to root for.
The Cabin in the Woods (2011)
It’s really hard to talk about the Cabin in the Woods without spoiling it, so we’ll leave it at this: Five college students rent an RV to spend time at a…cabin in the woods. And things do not go as planned. It’s a Joss Whedon-special, which means nothing is ever what it seems in this movie.
“The Blair Witch Project” (1999)
There’s a reason this movie is so damn frightening: It’s what you can’t see that’s more terrifying. Giving rise to the found-footage horror sub-genre, the Blair Witch Project uses your imagination to concoct a villain made from your worst nightmares, which is a hell of a lot scarier than any clown, zombie or masked killer.
There’s a lot to love about Us, Jordan Peele’s follow-up to Get Out. Incredible performances by Lupita Nyong’o and Winston Duke, for one. A villain (or group of villains, rather) you wouldn’t expect. And much like Peele’s first film, Us is a rich social commentary on race in America. (Peele says the film is based on our fear of outsiders, something that makes a lot of sense once you’ve seen it.)
Train to Busan/Busanhaeng (2016)
Few zombie movies take chances these days. Fortunately, the Korean Train to Busan is a literal thrill-ride, with most of the movie taking place in the confines of a train as an ongoing zombie plague rages on. It begins as a story of a disconnected dad doing his best by his daughter that quickly turns into absolute madness—and we wouldn’t have it any other way.
You might know Dan Stevens best for Downton Abbey or his starring role on FX’s Legion, but we argue his standout was in this 2014 horror flick. In The Guest, Stevens plays the role of a military vet who visits a deceased friend and fellow vet’s family in New Mexico. The family invites him to stay, and as things naturally do in a horror movie, their world begins to crumble as they discover the true origin of their houseguest. Stranger danger, people!
As far as horror staples go, The Exorcist is near the top of our list. One of the first horror franchises to use religion as a backdrop, the film is a terrifying one that explores the demonic possession of a young girl (who contorts, swears, and is generally really creepy). It became the first horror film ever to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture. (Only five other horror films would follow in its path, including Get Out.)
There’s a lot to choose from the James Wan universe, comprised of the Saw franchise, the Conjuring franchise, the Annabelle franchise, and so on and so forth. We argue Insidious (and its 2013 sequel) is the best, and just good old-fashioned ghost story fun. Following a family dealing with their son’s comatose state, the franchise explores personal tragedy, family tension, and lots and lots of ghosts. (Check out the dude to the left for evidence.)
High school sucked for a lot of us. That’s what we learned from Carrie. It’s Sissy Spacek’s eery portrayal of our titular character, though, that’ll keep you watching the teen horror classic.
There’s a lot you can say about M. Night Shyamalan’s work and some of that probably isn’t all that positive if you’ve ever seen The Happening, starring a very confused Mark Wahlberg. But the Sixth Sense is a masterpiece, no matter how you slice it. We don’t want to give too much away, but it’s a great entry-level horror flick as well as an intro to Shyamalan’s movies. (For other worthy movies of his, try The Visit and, of course, Unbreakable.)
This classic begins with an urban legend: A figure known as the “Candyman” will appear before you if you summon his name five times in a mirror. Sounds like your standard horror flick, except it’s not. Not even close. In fact, the movie explores subjects of both race relations and social class, set in a housing project in Chicago. A Nia DaCosta-directed, Jordan Peele-produced sequel/reboot starring Yahya Abdul-Mateen II hit theaters in 2021.
We hate to make this comparison because there truly is none, but this is what The Hunger Games would’ve looked like if it didn’t have PG-13 rating. In the movie, dozens of students are dropped off at a mysterious island by boat and must fight to the death. It’s very bloody (as seen in the photo to the left) and just one of many Japanese horror classics.
Our least favorite horror movie trope is the naive, accident-prone protagonist who you find difficult to even root for. How can you be that dumb? Well, You’re Next’s Erin is precisely not that. She’s a bonafide badass and we stan her and other kickass final girls.
Speaking of kickass final girls, let’s discuss the most recent film on our list: Ready or Not. A young couple gets married and our bride must prove her worth to her new in-laws through a game of life-or-death. (No pressure!) It’s a nice departure from horror movies that take themselves too seriously and Samara Weaving is a scream queen in the making.
Joshua Ocampo
Josh Ocampo is the Senior Editor at Men’s Health.
Evan Romano
Evan is the culture editor for Men’s Health, with bylines in The New York Times, MTV News, Brooklyn Magazine, and VICE.
