So, have you seen a good horror movie lately?

The following is a comprehensive list of recommendations for our favorite horror films of all time. I remember perhaps ten years ago where there was a fantastic website that had a master list of their greatest horror films, and Mike Campbell and I used to use that list as a reference to make sure we were catching all the essentials.

In order to create this list, we selected a committee of expert jurors to participate in creating this list. It has film directors, festival directors, fellow podcasters, and ride-or-die horror movie fans all contributing their top 25 lists. These weighted lists ended up delivering over 500 movies for us to compile, and we did a series of podcasts unveiling our top 100 films.

If you would like to see how the “sausage gets made” you can check out our post that describes the voting selections and each of the ballots for the selection. We are a very open book here at the Scariest Things! And, if you want to hear our reactions to the list in general, you can listen to Episode 158, where we talk about our insights and observations to the list, the jury, and the future of great horror movies.

Our list spans the decades from the 1920s to Current releases up to 2022. Over a hundred year’s worth of films to pick from. All ages and sub-genres are represented, and we think our committee really nailed it. There are, of course, a few movies that we wish made it into the TOP 100, but that’s just quibbling.

I think it would be fair to guess that NOBODY has seen all 500 of these films. Very few of you have seen the full TOP 100. But that’s why we have the list. If you’re looking for something good to stream, browse the list. I’m sure there’s something here that just might scare you!

One recommendation: This list is much easier to review using a tablet, laptop, or desktop computer. The phone version graphics of the list gets a little choppy looking. We broke the list into sets of 10 so it’s easier for you to browse. Happy hunting! Let us know what you think at info@scariesthings.com. Where is your favorite horror movie ranked? Do you have a film that for some reason is NOT on the list?

1-50

101-150

101	You’re Next		USA
102	Beetlejuice	1988	USA
103	Behind the Mask: Rise of Leslie Vernon	2006	USA
104	Santa Sangre	2000	MEX
105	Ginger Snaps	2000	CAN
106	King Kong	1933	USA
107	Don’t Look Now	1973	UK
108	Raw	2016	FRA
109	The Birds	1963	USA
110	Zombi 2 (Zombie)	1979	ITA
111	Burnt Offerings	1976	USA
112	Goodnight Mommy	2014	AUT
113	Friday the 13th IV: The Final Chapter	1984	USA
114	The Invitation	2015	USA
115	Bride of Chucky	1998	USA
116	Dracula	1931	USA
117	Hostel	2006	USA
118	Black Christmas	1974	USA
119	Pan’s Labyrinth	2007	MEX
120	Twins of Evil	2009	UK
121	Drag Me to Hell	2009	USA
122	It	2017	USA
123	Profondo Rosso (Deep Red)	1975	ITA
124	Annihilation	2018	USA
125	The Brood	1979	CAN
126	Sinister	2012	USA
127	Final Destination	2000	USA
128	Coraline	2009	USA
129	A Tale of Two Sisters	2003	KOR
130	Hell Night	1981	USA
131	The Strangers	2008	USA
132	The Legend of Hell House	1973	USA
133	Videodrome	1983	CAN
134	Altered States	1980	USA
135	Green Room	2016	USA
136	The Innocents	1961	UK
137	Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me	1992	USA
138	Kill List	2011	UK
139	Troll Hunter	2010	SWE
140	Let’s Scare Jessica to Death	1971	USA
141	Salem’s Lot	1979	USA
142	Dead Alive (Braindead)	1993	NZL
143	Frankenstein	1931	USA
144	Repulsion	1965	UK
145	The Wailing	2016	KOR
146	Dead Ringers	1988	CAN
147	Baskin	2016	TUR
148	Child’s Play	1988	USA
149	The Blob	1988	USA
150	The Frighteners	1996	NZL

151-200

151	The Ritual	2018	UK
152	Us	2019	USA
153	Nightmare on Elm Street3:Dream Warriors	1987	USA
154	Kairo (Pulse)	2001	JPN
155	Vargtimmen (Hour of the Wolf)	1968	SWE
156	Near Dark	1987	USA
157	Dr. Caligari	1989	USA
158	The Mummy	1932	USA
159	From Dusk Til Dawn	1996	USA
160	Thi13en Ghosts	2001	USA
161	Demons	1985	ITA
162	Interview with the Vampire	1994	USA
163	Spooky Encounters	1980	HK
164	Pieces	1983	ESP
165	The Exorcism of Emily Rose	2005	USA
166	The Haunting of Julia	1976	CAN
167	The Stepfather	1987	USA
168	Dr. Sleep	2019	USA
169	Lord of Illusions	1995	USA
170	Lovely Molly	2112	USA
171	Quatermass and the Pit	1968	UK
172	Slugs	1988	USA
173	The Convent	2000	USA
174	The Ninth Gate	2000	FRA
175	Who Could Kill a Child?	1976	ITA
176	The Devils	1971	UK
177	Ghostbusters	1984	USA
178	The Rocky Horror Picture Show	1975	USA
179	Alice, Sweet Alice	1976	USA
180	As Above, So Below	2014	FRA
181	Mandy	2018	USA
182	The Gate	1987	USA
183	The Pact	1977	USA
184	Cure	1997	JPN
185	Amityville 2: The Possession	1982	USA
186	Split	2017	USA
187	Ravenous	1999	USA
188	Starry Eyes	2014	USA
189	City of the Living Dead	1983	ITA
190	House of Wax	2005	USA
191	Buffy the Vampire Slayer	1992	USA
192	Tarantula	1956	USA
193	Host	2020	USA
194	Horror Of Dracula	1958	UK
195	Poltergeist 2	1986	USA
196	The Devil’s Backbone	2001	MEX
197	The Hitcher	1986	USA
198	The People Under the Stairs	1991	USA
199	Carnival of Souls	1962	USA
200	My Bloody Valentine	1981	USA

201-250

201	The Abominable Doctor Phibes	1971	UK
202	Night of the Comet	1984	USA
203	1408	2007	USA
204	Black Sunday	1960	ITA
205	Black Swan	2010	USA
206	The Company of Wolves	1984	UK
207	Invasion of the Body Snatchers	1956	USA
208	Scream 2	1997	USA
209	Death Proof	2007	USA
210	Silent Hill	2006	USA
211	Return of Godzilla	1984	JPN
212	Tremors	1990	USA
213	Wes Craven’s New Nightmare	1994	USA
214	The Dunwich Horror	1970	USA
215	Valerie and her Week of Wonders	1970	CZE
216	Scarecrows	1980	USA
217	Hounds of Love	2017	AUS
218	Wake in Fright	1971	AUS
219	Welcome to Mercy	2018	USA
220	The Crawling Eye	1956	UK
221	Ready or Not	2019	USA
222	The Skin I Live In	2011	ESP
223	It	1990	USA
224	Killer Klowns from Outer Space	1988	USA
225	Phantasm II	1988	USA
226	The Happiness of the Katakuris	2001	JPN
227	White Coffin	2016	ARG
228	Undocumented	2010	USA
229	Kill Baby Kill	1983	ITA
230	Sole Survivor	1984	USA
231	Shivers	1975	CAN
232	The Broken	2008	UK
233	Psycho Goreman	2020	USA
234	The Stepfather 2	1989	USA
235	The Legend of Boggy Creek	1972	USA
236	Possession	1981	FRA
237	Sleepy Hollow	1999	USA
238	Kwaidan	1964	JPN
239	Bloody Hell	2020	AUS
240	Christine	1983	USA
241	Children of the Corn	1984	USA
242	The Phantom of the Paradise	1974	USA
243	Piranha	1978	USA
244	Creepshow 2	1987	USA
245	The Fearless Vampire Killers	1967	UK
246	Pumpkinhead	1988	USA
247	A Mata Negra (The Black Forest)	2018	BRA
248	Night of the Demons	1988	USA
249	Wolf Cop	2014	CAN
250	The Prowler	2014	USA

251-300

251	Prometheus	2012	USA
252	The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2	1986	USA
253	Oculus	2006	USA
254	Climax	2018	FRA
255	Suspiria	2018	ITA
256	Battle Royale	2000	JPN
257	Basket Case	1982	USA
258	X	2022	USA
259	The Others	2001	ESP
260	V/H/S 2	2013	USA
261	Ichi The Killer	2001	JPN
262	Arachnophobia	1990	USA
263	World War Z	2013	USA
264	Frontiere(s)	2007	FRA
265	Mother!	2017	USA
266	Madman	1981	USA
267	The Monster that Challenged the World	1957	USA
268	The Last House on the Left	1972	USA
269	Hocus Pocus	1993	USA
270	Incident in a Ghost Land	2018	CAN
271	The Tenant	1976	FRA
272	Bone Tomahawk	2015	USA
273	Veronica	2017	ESP
274	Wind Chill	2007	USA
275	Blood of the Vampire	1958	UK
276	The Conjuring 2	2016	USA
277	Ms. 45	1981	USA
278	Terror Creatures from the Grave	1965	ITA
279	Mimesis	2011	USA
280	Suicide Club	2001	JPN
281	Funny Games	1996	AUT
282	Messiah of Evil	1973	USA
283	The Vanishing	1988	NED
284	Tales from the Crypt	1972	USA
285	Angel Heart	1987	USA
286	She Who Must Burn	2015	CAN
287	Young Frankenstein	1975	USA
288	War of the Gargantuas	1964	JPN
289	Maniac	2012	USA
290	Cube	1997	CAN
291	Apostle	2018	UK
292	Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale	2010	SWE
293	The Borderlands	2013	UK
294	From Beyond	1986	USA
295	Halloween H2O	1998	USA
296	Sweetie, You Won’t Believe It	2020	KAZ
297	First Born	2016	UK
298	Curse of the Crying Woman	1963	MEX
299	The Night Stalker	1972	USA
300	Take Shelter	2011	USA

301-350

301	Apostle	2018	UK
302	The Borderlands (Final Prayer)	2013	UK
303	She Who Must Burn	2015	CAN
304	The Lighthouse	2019	USA
305	Maniac	1980	USA
306	House on Haunted Hill	1959	USA
307	Paranorman	2012	USA
308	The Black Cat	1934	USA
309	Contracted	2013	USA
310	The Nightmare Before Christmas	1993	USA
311	Plague of the Zombies	1966	UK
312	The Uninvited	1944	USA
313	The Night Strangler	1973	USA
314	Hellbender	2021	USA
315	Antichrist	2009	DEN
316	The Sentinel	2006	USA
317	High Tension	2001	FRA
318	The Blackcoat’s Daughter	2015	CAN
319	Dog Soldiers	2002	UK
320	The House on Haunted Hill	1999	USA
321	The Masque of Red Death	1964	USA
322	Inferno	1980	ITA
323	Lake Mungo	2008	AUS
324	Predator	1987	USA
325	Overlord	2018	USA
326	The Orphanage	2007	ESP
327	The Thing From Another World	1951	USA
328	They Live	1988	USA
329	Jacob’s Ladder	1990	USA
330	Shock Waves	1977	USA
331	Tigers Are Not Afraid	2019	MEX
332	Lair of the White Worm	1988	UK
333	Cat O’ Nine Tales	1971	ITA
334	Henry, Portrait of a Serial Killer	1986	USA
335	The Void	2016	CAN
336	The Hunger	1983	UK
337	The Witchfinder General	1968	UK
338	Silent Night, Deadly Night	1984	USA
339	Hell House LLC	2015	USA
340	Crimson Peak	2015	USA
341	Bliss	2019	USA
342	Curse of the Doll People	1961	MEX
343	Tetsuo, The Iron Man	1989	JPN
344	The Spine of Night	2021	USA
345	The Girl With All the Gifts	2016	UK
346	Anna and the Apocalypse	2017	USA
347	Little Shop of Horrors	1986	USA
348	The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari	1922	GER
349	The Feast	2021	UK
350	Tenebrae	1982	ITA

351-400

351	Triangle	2009	AUS
352	The Shrine	2010	CAN
353	Child’s Play 2	1990	USA
354	Stagefright	1987	ITA
355	The Boxer’s Omen	1983	HNK
356	The Howling	1981	USA
357	The Transfiguration	2016	USA
358	Flesh for Frankenstein in 3D	1973	USA
359	The Evil Dead	2013	USA
360	The Last Will and Testament of Rosalind Leigh	2012	CAN
361	Child’s Play 3	1991	USA
362	The Handmaiden	2016	KOR
363	The Wicker Tree	2011	UK
364	Trouble Every Day	2001	FRA
365	Tesis	1996	ESP
366	Gargoyles	1972	USA
367	Cabin Fever	2002	USA
368	Diabolique	1955	FRA
369	REPO: The Genetic Opera	2008	USA
370	Attack the Block	2011	UK
371	Absentia	2011	USA
372	Puppet Master	1989	USA
373	C.H.U.D.	1984	USA
374	Mayhem	2017	USA
375	Alucarda	1977	USA
376	Blood Rage	1987	USA
377	The Loved Ones	2009	AUS
378	Fiend Without a Face	1957	UK
379	Dead Silence	2007	USA
380	The Wolf Man	1941	USA
381	I’ll Drink Your Blood	1971	USA
382	A Quiet Place Part 2	2021	USA
383	Open Water	2003	USA
384	Pontypool	2008	CAN
385	The Screw Fly Solution (Masters of Horror)	2002	USA
386	Anthropophagus	1980	ITA
387	Ab-Normal Beauty	2004	HNK
388	Excision	2012	USA
389	The Burning	1981	USA
390	It Comes at Night	2017	USA
391	Maneater of Hydra (Island of the Doomed)	1967	GER
392	Dead End	2003	FRA
393	Vampire’s Kiss	1988	USA
394	Duel	1971	USA
395	Mars Attacks!	1996	USA
396	Antlers	2022	USA
397	Cloverfield	2008	USA
398	Deathgasm	2015	NZL
399	Day of the Triffids	1963	UK
400	Happy Death Day	2017	USA

401-450

401	Race with the Devil	1975	USA
402	House	1985	USA
403	The Dead Zone	1983	CAN
404	When a Stranger Calls	1979	USA
405	Incident on and off a Mountain Road	2005	USA
406	The Fearless Vampire Killers	1967	UK
407	House of 1000 Corpses	2003	USA
408	Red State	2011	USA
409	This House Possessed	1981	USA
410	Dead Birds	2004	USA
411	Parents	1989	USA
412	The Funhouse	1981	USA
413	Michael Jackson’s Thriller	1983	USA
414	Cannibal Holocaust	1980	ITA
415	Hatchet	2006	USA
416	Bad Taste	1987	NZL
417	Night of the Hunter	1955	USA
418	Frozen	2010	USA
419	Splinter	2008	USA
420	One Cut of the Dead	2019	JPN
421	The Blood on Satan’s Claw	1971	UK
422	The Love Witch	2016	USA
423	The Toxic Avenger	1984	USA
424	The Curse of Frankenstein	1957	UK
425	The Burrowers	2008	USA
426	Friday the 13th Part III in 3D	1982	USA
427	The Hand that Rocks the Cradle	1992	USA
428	The Invisible Man	2020	USA
429	The Host	2006	KOR
430	Uzumaki (Spiral)	2000	JPN
431	The Final Girls	2015	USA
432	St John’s Wort	2001	JPN
433	The Human Centipede: First Sequence	2009	USA
434	Mill of the Stone Woman	1960	ITA
435	Hiruko the Goblin	1991	JPN
436	Slither	2006	USA
437	The Ruins	2008	USA
438	The Purge	2013	USA
439	Ghost Story	1981	UK
440	NightBreed	1990	USA
441	The Tingler	1959	USA
442	Love and Monsters	2020	USA
443	Rawhead Rex	1986	USA
444	The Fourth Kind	2009	USA
445	The Village	2004	USA
446	The Woman in Black	2012	UK
447	[REC] 3: Genesis	2003	ESP
448	Cat’s Eye	1985	USA
449	Dracula Has Risen from the Grave	1968	UK
450	Krampus	2015	USA

451-500

Note: Selections 472-500 are additions that were not voted in. There were a number of non-horror movies that were in some cases close but not quite qualifying as horror films (Particularly the David Lynch Catalog) and some were obviously NOT horror: (Forrest Gump and Apocalypse Now). IMDB is a handy resource in identifying whether a movie could be considered horror, and they are pretty generous. Consider the last 28 films in the list as honorable mentions. Films that probably should have been included, and were added in by the Scariest Things Editorial selection… plus Zombeavers, because we couldn’t resist.

451	Vacancy	2007	USA
452	Dagon	2001	ESP
453	The Church	1989	ITA
454	V/H/S	2112	USA
455	Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein	1948	USA
456	Frankenhooker	1990	USA
457	Kong: Skull Island	2018	USA
458	Promising Young Woman	2021	USA
459	The Call of Cthulhu	2005	USA
460	Turistas	2006	USA
461	Friday the 13th Part 2	1981	USA
462	Mama	2013	CAN
463	Pandora’s Box	1929	GER
464	All Monsters Attack	1969	JPN
465	Baxter	1989	FRA
466	The Nameless	1999	ESP
467	Doctor Blood’s Coffin	1961	UK
468	Father’s Day	2011	USA
469	Fear Inc.	2016	USA
470	Doomsday	1008	UK
471	Willy’s Wonderland	2021	USA
472*	Freaks	1932	USA
473*	Contagion	2011	USA
474*	Wait Until Dark	1967	USA
475*	Motel Hell	1980	USA
476*	Cujo	1983	USA
477*	Peeping Tom	1960	UK
478*	The Hills Have Eyes	1977	USA
479*	Dawn of the Dead	2004	USA
480*	The Island of Lost Souls	1932	USA
481*	Mothra	1961	JPN
482*	Aterrados (Terrified)	2017	ARG
483*	Monkey Shines	1988	USA
484*	Cat People	1984	USA
485*	Spider Baby	1967	USA
486*	The Relic	1997	USA
487*	Revenge	2019	FRA
488*	It’s Alive	1974	USA
489*	Straw Dogs	1971	UK
490*	Wolf Creek	2005	AUS
491*	Satan’s Slaves	2018	IDO
492*	Bay of Blood (Twitch of the Death Nerve)	1971	ITA
493*	The Platform	2019	ESP
494*	Scanners	1981	CAN
495*	Terrifier	2016	USA
496*	Hush	2016	USA
497*	The Lodge	2019	USA
498*	The Stuff	1985	USA
499*	Barbarian	2022	USA
500*	Zombeavers	2014	USA