Even if you don’t consider yourself a horror movie fan, there are plenty of films in the genre that everyone should see. After all, plenty are great films in their own right, and the genre has always had a lot to say about the world. The following ten films are horror movies that are worth your time even if you generally avoid scary films. Make no mistake – this isn’t a list of the ten best horror films ever, which would be a nearly impossible task to judge. Consider these movies a primer to get you started in the genre.
10. The Exorcist(1973)
One of those rare movies that becomes scarier and scarier the more you watch it, The Exorcist is not only a great horror movie, but a great film in its own right. Even if you’ve never seen this classic tale of demonic possession, you’ve seen references or parodies of some of its creepiest moments, perhaps without realizing it. Like many of the other movies on this list, it forgoes sudden jump scares in favor of slow-building dread.
9. Dracula(1931)
Forget that Twilight garbage, Dracula is a real vampire movie. Few films have had the lasting cultural impact as this one – Bela Lugosi’s performance as Dracula is still the basis for the vampire myth today. You can’t walk into any Halloween-related store or event to this day without seeing a take on his iconic look. How many other movies can you say that about nearly 80 years after they come out?
8. The Blair Witch Project(1999)
The Blair Witch Project is one of the more polarizing films on this list, but even if you don’t like it, you have to admit the things it did right. Not only is it an impressive piece of semi-improvisational low-budget filmmaking, but its marketing campaign forever changed the way movie studios interact with their audience. This creepy tale of filmmakers lost in the woods became a smash hit thanks to its viral marketing campaign, which is now part of the promotional mix for nearly every major film. Without The Blair Witch Project, there never would have been blockbusters like Cloverfield or Paranormal Activity. Even mega-films like The Dark Night used techniques pioneered by Blair Witch to promote the film.
7. Frailty(2002)
A story of religious zealotry gone horribly awry, Frailty is about angels rather than demons, but that doesn’t make it any less creepy. Directed by and starring Bill Paxton, Frailty works so well because the actors really make you root for the characters, even when Paxton’s religious fanaticism starts tearing the central family apart. There’s a hackneyed twist or two along the way, but Frailty still works beautifully as a character-driven horror movie with a unique central concept.
6. Evil Dead/Evil Dead 2(1981/1987)
The original Evil Dead is a straight-up horror classic in its own right, but the remake-ish sequel has perhaps a more vocal fanbase, thanks to its pioneering combination of horror and comedy. Sure, it’s not the first film to mix the two elements, but few movies have combined scares with Three Stooges-style slapstick so brilliantly. The first two Evil Dead movies launched the careers of director Sam Raimi (who went on to blockbusters like the three Spider-Man movies) and fan-favorite actor Bruce Campbell. A lesser-known fact is that one of the original film’s assistant editors was Joel Coen of the Oscar-winning filmmaking duo the Coen Brothers.
5. A Nightmare on Elm Street(1984)
Forget the recent unnecessary remake, the original A Nightmare on Elm Street still holds up as a creepy, inventive horror movie. The sequels ultimately descended into silliness, but Freddy Kruger’s first movie proved why he’s one of the horror genre’s modern icons. It was also the first film appearance of a little-known actor named Johnny Depp.
4. Night of the Living Dead(1968)
The movie that invented a genre is still a tense, scary movie. Night of the Living Dead created the modern version of zombies, which were generally depicted as entranced voodoo slaves before this film. It’s easy to see why this movie spawned a new category of horror – its core concept of hungry animate corpses is simple, effective, and easy to imbue with deeper meaning. Much was made of the fact that this film featured a black protagonist in the 1960s, and the sequel, Dawn of the Dead, used zombies as a critique of consumer culture. Zombies have been used to make a variety of political statements, and it can all be traced back to this movie.
3. Halloween(1978)
The godfather of the slasher movie, Halloween is another movie that invented a genre. Without Halloween, there never would have been a Freddy or a Jason. There never would have been a Scream or any of the other teen horror films that followed in the wake of that movie. They all owe a debt to Michael Myers, the silent mask-wearing killer also known as “The Shape.” Although you’ve seen its formula imitated hundreds of times since, John Carpenter’s original slasher flick is every bit as scary as it once was.
2. The Shining(1980)
This creepy, artful horror movie from master director Stanley Kubrick did the unthinkable: it took a story from legendary writer Stephen King and tossed much of it out the window. While King never much liked the movie, audiences everywhere disagreed with him. This film about madness slowly infecting the caretaker of a haunted hotel is widely considered one of the best movies of all time – it’s in the top 50 of the Internet Movie Database’s Top 250 list. It’s easy to see why – with beautiful direction from Kubrick and powerhouse acting from Jack Nicholson and the rest of the cast, The Shining easily earns its place as a classic horror film.
1. Psycho(1960)
Even if you haven’t seen Psycho, you probably know the shocking twists in its plot. That’s no excuse not to watch it – even if you know what’s coming, Psycho will still suck you in. Perhaps more than any film in his phenomenal career, Psycho proved why Alfred Hitchcock was a master of suspense. Psycho created the modern horror film, and most practitioners of the genre can still learn from it. It’s much less violent and graphic than most of the films on this list, and it’s all the more effective for it. Psycho shows us the horrible things that lurk beneath the surface of the most mild-mannered people and terrifies us by pulling back that curtain. Not only is it one of the best horror movies ever, it’s a great film in its own right and one that every serious movie fan should see.