Top 50 Scariest Horror Movies of All-Time

[thirty-two]

http://www.boston.com/ae/movies/gallery/top_50_scary_movies/

Click for the full list, but here's their top 10:

10. "Quartermass and the Pit" (1968)
Workers building a new London subway station discover a suspicious metal object buried in the earth. A German rocket from WWII? No such luck. It’s an ancient Martian space craft responsible for the neighborhood’s reputation for being haunted. Take our word for it; this flick is way scarier than it sounds.


9. "The Shining" (1980)
It goes without saying that a haunted hotel is going to feature lots of frights and director Stanley Kubrick doesn’t disappoint. Sure, Jack Nicholson trotting around the empty halls sporting an axe and demented look in his eyes is pretty scary, but for us, the biggest jolt comes when Shelley Duval discovers his new novel consists of the line "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy" written over and over and over.


8. "Halloween" (1978)
It was all downhill from here on out for Jamie Lee Curtis. And we mean that. Would she ever scream like this again? Hide in a closet while a very persistant Michael Myers spent about oh, say, 78 minutes trying to hack through the door? Did we mention she's related to the killer? Little known fact: John Carpenter wrote the theme song himself. Genius like that doesn't come along many times in a lifetime, folks.


7. "Evil Dead II" (1987)
Sam Raimi is now a famous Hollywood director, but long before he directed 'Spiderman' he all but invented the horror/comedy genre with this 1987 classic. The film features cult-movie icon Bruce Campbell as a hapless hero defending himself from hordes of demons. Ever been on roller coaster? That's what watching 'Evil Dead II' is like -- lots of screams.


6. "Dawn of the Dead" (1978)
Director George Romero single handedly created the zombie genre with 'Night of the Living Dead.' But it was the sequel, 'Dawn of the Dead' that he really cranked the scares up exponentially by featuring some of the goriest scenes ever committed to film. It's no wonder the film was banned in 17 counties.


5. "Alien" (1979)
Sigourney Weaver: hot. Alien monster: ugly. Throw them together in a futuristic, highly stylized space battleground: beautiful. And terrifying. "Alien" was important not least because it showed that the science-fiction horror genre was one of possibility -- this movie was also intelligently rendered, psychologically powerful, and, well, gross. Where else can find a bloody creature being birthed from a human surrogate? (for the answer, see number 39, "The Brood")


4. "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" (1978)
Why is my family acting so strangely? Why do they keep insisting that I go to sleep? What are these strange plants I see suddenly sprouting up? These are the important questions dealt with in this classic sci-fi thriller. Incidentally, if you are a big fan of uplifting endings (like the one tacked on to the original 1956 version) . . . consider a different flick.


3. "The Ring" (2002)
Naomi Watts. Very good looking, yes. Sassy? Yep. Try squaring her off against a weird chick who really wants to climb out of a well and kill people and eat their guts. OK, well maybe she doesn't want to eat their guts. But she does a good job of killing a lot of people in this cinematically beautiful horror romp - and she scares the bejeezus out of Naomi Watts in the process. Hey, that little kid playing the doomed son is cute, but kinda freaky. Extra points for that.


2. "Ju-on" (2000)
Dateline, Japan: Jealous of his wife's love for another man, a man brutally kills his wife and young son. Better than the Sarah-Michelle Gellar slog-fest ('The Grudge') that followed this flick, 'Ju-on' is edgy - it even allows you some time to get comfortable before the heavy breathing, black blood and phantasmagoric pre-schoolers start popping out of the woodwork like drunk termites. Put on a helmet, and dive in.


1. "The Thing" (1982)
"Scariest movie . . . ever!" We mean it. The film follows a crew stationed at an Antarctic base stalked by a shape-shifting alien. Which member of the crew is the alien? The crew doesn’t know, and neither does the audience until the creature begins one of its stomach churning transformations. If the scene where the guy’s head sprouting insect legs to escape doesn’t give you nightmares consult a therapist immediately.

 

[Chaplin]

Awful, awful, awful. The Thing #1? The Ring #3??? And NO Exorcist in the top 10 (It's #11)? And Event Horizon is #20 on their list. Just awful list. I loved Evil Dead II, but whoever decided it was one of the top 10 scariest movies ever needs to go watch some Disney movies or something.

 

[D-Dogg]

I remember the Thing being scary, but top scariest of all time? I don't think so.

 

[coyoteshockeyfan]

The Ring? What in the world?

 

[NMCard]

Not a good list.

 

[Burg72]

The movie that freaked me out the most was "The Blair Witch Project". Your imagination of what you don't see but hear freaks me out.

 

[Renz]

Awful, awful, awful. The Thing #1? The Ring #3??? And NO Exorcist in the top 10 (It's #11)? And Event Horizon is #20 on their list. Just awful list. I loved Evil Dead II, but whoever decided it was one of the top 10 scariest movies ever needs to go watch some Disney movies or something.

I agree. That list is a joke.

The Exorcist is still #1 as far as I'm concerned. Evil Dead II is more camp than horror. Dawn of the Dead isn't scary at all, although it's entertaining.

The Thing is scary, but it probably isn't even in the Top 10 all time.

 

[D-Dogg]

I thought the ring was damn scary, but not top 3 scary. Top 15 maybe.

 

[D-Dogg]

Exorcist is the scariest movie I've ever seen.

 

[Bada0Bing]

A Nightmare on Elm Street would make my top 10, one of the few movies to actually give me nightmares.

 

[Assface]

Where's Arizona Cardinals: 2006 season?

 

[Jersey Girl]

Where's Arizona Cardinals: 2006 season?

Damn it, Assface, you beat me to it!

Definitely in the top 5.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

Any top 50 list without Poltergeist is not worthy. The ring is really good, but not top 3 scary. I'd put it in my top 10 though. I have yet to see Ju-On. Nightmare on Elm Street did give me nightmares as a kid.

 

[Renz]

I was pretty freaked out by Phantasm back in the day.

 

[Mulli]

The movie that freaked me out the most was "The Blair Witch Project". Your imagination of what you don't see but hear freaks me out.

I agree. It freaked me out so much I couldn't even watch the DVD even though I had already seen the movie.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

I was pretty freaked out by Phantasm back in the day.

Agreed. I dont remember if Psycho was on the list.... was it?

 

[schutd]

Blair Witch was awesome.
Psycho, best of all time.
The Ring? Jeesus, it was creepy, but truly scary? Naw.
I drank myself to sleep after seeing Nightmare on Elm St. I was 13, don' tell my mom.
Halloween? Holy CRAP.

 

[Mulli]

I ran from the room when the commercial for "Magic" came on.

 

[Cardinals.Ken]

45. ‘Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory’ (1971)

You have got to be joking me!

 

[ArizonaSportsFan]

You have got to be joking me!

I don't know, I am being serious when I say that as a kid i hated the Oompa Loompas. They scared the crap outta me, and I didn't even watch the remake. Kids turning blue and blowing up and..... It was scary to me.

 

[Cardinals.Ken]

I don't know, I am being serious when I say that as a kid i hated the Oompa Loompas. They scared the crap outta me, and I didn't even watch the remake. Kids turning blue and blowing up and..... It was scary to me.

To me (looking back upon my childhood reaction) the only part that could be even remotely construed as "scary" would have to be the boat trip through the tunnel. Certainly not enough to warrant a top 50 spot on a list such as this, in my opinion.

 

[Pariah]

The Excorsist and The Omen top the list for me.