Spooky Month Special: My Top 25 Favorite Horror Films of All Time, Part One

From 25 to 11, thrills and chills that still keep me up at night.

Happy Spooky Month, kids! Looking for some shudders and shivers over the next few days? This post may not be for everyone, but for those of you brave enough to revel in something to get you into the spooky mood, perhaps there will be some good ideas here. On Letterboxd I recently tried distilling down the movies categorized as “horror films” (as opposed to psychological thrillers and whatnot) and try to rank which ones have inspired me the most, given me the most enjoyment or stuck with me the most.

My love for horror cinema is partly nostalgic in nature, as I became a rampant horror movie fan as a teenager in the late ‘80s/early ‘90s. I decorated my house elaborately on Halloween, helped with elementary school spook houses, and regularly watched & enjoyed scary stories with my closest friends. But even before I was brave enough to watch them, I obsessed over the imagery from VHS tape covers and newspaper ads, intrigued by the darkest corners of entertainment. I love re-visiting these relics of terror, especially around this time of year.

Today my horror-fandom ranges from the trashy silliness of guilty-pleasure cult classics to legitimately horrific visions of spookiness found in modern-day elevated horror directors like Robert Eggers, Ari Aster, and others. My favorite types of horror films are not typically the most vicious splatter-fests of nihilistic violence, but rather the ones that delight in inventive imagery, revel in the eerie quality of a good ghost story, or especially have something poignant to say through their symbolic nature. I do believe, as a storyteller, that horror stories have value in their honest look at what’s at stake when it comes to the battle of good vs. evil, and that fictional horrors can help us cope with the real ones. So long as you balance shadows with light, there’s something liberating about looking at the darkness and coming out on the other side. The best horror films, from my perspective, are the ones that are either as fun & thrilling as a carnival’s haunted house or, at their best, are actually about something. Like it or not, the horror genre is at its best when it tells the truth.

So while this list may change over the years and ebb & flow with more entries to balance it, and there are still plenty of non-mentioned runners-up floating out there, these are my Top 25 as of this moment in time, if my life depended on me choosing today before I change my mind.

25. CARRIE (1976) - Directed by Brian De Palma

A staple of horror movies that often played on television growing up, if the first Stephen King film-adaptation wasn’t so iconic in its imagery and star power it could have been a terrible film. Admittedly by today’s standards it’s a bit cringey, dated and awkward, and the characters are a bit one-note and shallow….but maybe that’s what the film is saying to begin with? Especially about high school? 

If the whole point is that people are pigs and everything is awful, then the film works brilliantly at holding no punches to show it. But what keeps me thinking about it is the brutal morality play behind its climactic prom scene, with its suspenseful build-up, chilling soundtrack, split screens, and visceral images. It’s still an amazing sequence, and the end of the film still leaves you with a dreadful shiver.

24. EVIL DEAD 2 (1987) - Directed by Sam Raimi

This totally bonkers wacky horror-comedy stays on my list because it’s the kind of film that was such a mainstay of late ‘80s slumber parties and pizza-and-Coca Cola fests and there is still really nothing like it ever made since. The only film of its kind which is unhinged to this level of fine art while being simultaneously funny as hell, gory at ridiculous levels and yet, at the same time, legitimately scary. In short, a groovy classic unmatched.

23. NOSFERATU (1922) - Directed by F.W. Murnau

The oldest entry in my beloved list and almost certainly the most horrifying silent film ever made. The imagery is so good and effective, even the human actors are unsettling — but still not as unsettling as Count Orlock himself looking through the window. Yikes. If the highly-anticipated remake by Robert Eggers brings the same level of creepiness to modern elevated horror sensibilities, it’s sure to be amazing.

22. SALEM’S LOT (1979 — the original 3-hour mini-series version, not the theatrical cut) - Directed by Tobe Hooper

But wait….there’s a “vampire at the window” scene that’s even scarier!

The full original version, as seen on TV in 1979, is a slow burn in which its length and plodding pace help to give it this eerie impression that things are merely ‘happening’ in real time - and that sustains the suspense for a truly effective feeling of dread. Despite its clunky flaws here and there, it’s frightening as hell and certainly one of the best Stephen King adaptations. What a treat it would have been to see this on its original airing!

21. POLTERGEIST (1982) - Directed by Tobe Hooper

I love how freakishly twisted and weird the original Poltergeist is...so little is explained and there seems to be no logic between the moving furniture, the animated meat, the giant monsters, the child-eating tree, the explanation of the afterlife, or the ectoplasmic slime. Except perhaps that when you move a cemetery without moving the bodies, the dead really don’t like it. The clown sequence is brilliantly staged and still works, no matter how many imitators have come in its wake.

20. Stephen King’s IT (1990) - Directed by Tommy Lee Wallace

I watched the original airing of this TV mini-series when I was 15. The first half frightened me silly, while the second half was a bit of a clunker, which even its makers readily admit was outside of their control. Made on a meager budget, the acting is not always great, it tends to drag in a few places, and it ends rather anti-climactically with a rubber spider puppet, but I've always held a soft spot for the things about it that work. 

In addition to Tim Curry's frightening presence and the minimal "what you don't see is scarier" effects & editing, what I love most about this version of IT is the atmosphere, the chemistry between the characters, and especially the award-winning exceptional musical score. These things put together give it a strange sense of melancholy beauty amidst all the camp and creepiness. And there are many scenes which are still terrifying. 

I also love the story structure of the first half, how the main characters are introduced one at a time through the phone calls, flashbacks, and memory pangs of the horror they experienced together as kids. It creates a real sense of fear and dread, which doesn't quite build up to the same level of tension once they reunite, for some reason. But here and there the second half works as a pretty good adventure story, and I do really love the final scene where Bill brings his catatonic wife back to life by riding his bicycle. 

The film was shot in Vancouver, which I did not know at the time when I first watched it (living where I grew up, in Michigan). Realizing this later added the film to the myriad of other movies shot in the Pacific Northwest (like THE NEVERENDING STORY and THE GOONIES) which were subconsciously calling to me with a glimpse of my unknown future. To quote IT itself, "a force was guiding me" and drawing me in to the look and feel of those trees, streets, and houses. 

While this 1990 version is a little silly and could have had potential to go into some deeper, darker places, it may just be that the source material is problematic to begin with. I never read Stephen King's book from cover to cover, but I know enough about it to understand it's a little weird, juvenile, and messed up. Isn't God revealed to be a giant turtle or something? 

Anyway, there will always be room in my heart for this little low-budget creepy clown movie, and the music & memories that float in this film-lover's deadlights. I’m not a fan of the newer version, so we shan’t speak of it.

19. TRILOGY OF TERROR (Part Three, Amelia) - Directed by Dan Curtis

Made-for-television horror from the 1970s is full of fantastic stuff, from occasional glimmers of brilliance like Rod Serling’s NIGHT GALLERY (The Caterpillar and Green Fingers in particular) to the iconic Zuni Fetish doll from TRILOGY OF TERROR. It may be a trilogy of short stories, but the third one “Amelia” is the only one worth watching, and the only reason it’s still talked about today.

The most frightening thing ever made for television as a late-night movie in 1975, it’s also well-crafted from a filmmaking perspective. The tension builds with long takes that not only show off Karen Black’s acting skills, but properly set the mood and take the time to develop her character. The camera is always placed to heighten the suspense, and when the terror is finally unleashed, it never lets up or gives you a second to breathe, until the dreadful build up to that….one….final….image. Sweet merciful crap.

18. CARNIVAL OF SOULS (1962) - Directed by Herk Harvey

I only discovered this film a few years ago, but it impressed and frightened me enough to become a top favorite. Truly one of the most terrifying films I’ve ever seen, and nothing can prepare you for the shock of its imagery. The whole thing unfolds like a dream and has the same ambiance of David Lynch at his best. Probably the best horror film you’ve never heard of, so try it on for size.

17. PUMPKINHEAD (1988) - Directed by Stan Winston

This folk horror cult classic starring the great Lance Henriksen holds up surprisingly well. Inspired by a dark poem, the film itself is rather poetic and spiritual...a thoughtful meditation on the meaning and implications of vengeance itself. Though it may not be totally immune from ‘80s-horror symptoms of bad clothes and questionable acting, it stands out more as a dark fairy tale than a slasher movie. And Stan Winston’s frightening monster is one of his best creations.

16. HELLRAISER (1987) - Directed by Clive Barker

Is this the only horror film with a jump scare by a Jesus statue? 

The original Hellraiser may not be great literature and is questionable as great art, but it does have a certain naughty appeal despite it being kinda dumb, weird and gross.

The Cenobites, with that chilling BONG sound and lighting effects that usher in their entrance, have a certain beauty to their presence while being genuinely terrifying. Even if they’re not all that threatening, they look so damn cool it doesn’t really matter. The grand musical score in this film also gives it a timeless quality that elevates it past any ‘80s elements that otherwise date it, and Ashley Laurence is one of the best final girls of the era.

15. PSYCHO (1960) - Directed by Alfred Hitchcock

The Bates house, and by extension its adjacent motel, is the ultimate haunted house, and this is one of those films that changed the whole game. It’s still incredibly scary, especially the final shot of Norman Bates with the subliminal mother face. Yeeeesh! 

What makes the original Psycho a horror movie and JAWS more of a psychological thriller-action movie (hence the only reason it’s not on my list), is that it’s an exercise in human horror rather than symbolic terror through a real-life animal. While most American horror films before Psycho were set in Europe or evoked foreign horrors of “the other” be it supernatural monsters, aliens or supernatural beings, this story was based on real-life horrors that happened closer to home (i.e. the Ed Gein murders in Wisconsin).

And in true puritanical-American fashion, I love the fact that of all the groundbreaking controversial things this film showed on screen that had never been seen before 1960, one of the things people took issue with was a toilet flushing.

14. FRIDAY THE 13th PART 2 (1981) - Directed by Steve Miner

The FRIDAY THE 13th films, by and large, are crap — and aside from some nostalgic elements I’m not a huge fan of the franchise as a whole. But Part 2 is an exception, being the only one that actually has some skillful direction, effective editing & jump scares, and actual surprises with legitimate spookiness. I never found the big strongman Jason in the hockey mask all that scary — but something about the sack-head Jason, the vacant white bag with one eye skipping around the woods like an agile ferret, is genuinely creepy and unsettling. The teenagers in this one are nothing special, just regular kids in the wrong place at the wrong time, and the whole vibe of the film just feels like we’re watching everything “happen” rather than being led through a series of predictable slasher tropes. It’s much scarier when it’s less orchestrated and more complex, like this one is.

Amy Steel’s Ginny is undoubtedly the best final girl of the whole series, as she’s not a prude and she’s not helpless. She’s just as loose and feisty as the rest of the cast, which makes her clever ways of defending herself less part of a morality play and more of a cat-and-mouse game, which is more interesting. Jason’s shrine to his mother’s head is an image that’s creeped me out since I was a kid, and it adds an eerie feeling of folk horror that’s simply lacking in the dumb & dopey sequels that followed. Part 2 is a slasher classic and would have been great fun in theatres back in ‘81.

13. HALLOWEEN III: SEASON OF THE WITCH (1982) - Directed by Tommy Lee Wallace

The theatrical poster for this film has always haunted and fascinated me since I was a kid. The exact meaning behind the giant face and the silhouettes in the dark I always imagined was part of something far more sinister than what happens in the actual movie, which I finally watched many years later. It’s probably my favourite guilty pleasure and one of the dumbest movies I love anyway.

The whole anthology idea was a good concept, and it’s a shame it never materialized past the potential that HALLOWEEN III could have tapped into. It’s a ridiculous, stupid mess of a movie, but one that I enjoy a lot for its risk-taking, weirdness, and kitsch factor. It still delivers a few frightening moments, a great ending, an incredibly awesome John Carpenter synth score, and Cochrane’s silly monologue about the hills running red is all the more impressive for the fact that unlike Dr. Loomis in the original, he knows how to properly pronounce “SamHain” like a true Irish person would. Silver Shamrock!

12. INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (1978) - Directed by Philip Kaufman

A rare re-make that’s more effective than its original (from the 1950s), this sci-fi horror sleeper (Ha! see what I did there? They get you when you sleep!) is truly chilling, disturbing, and brilliant with sound design and frenetic editing to keep you constantly on edge. Great characters, clever writing and staging — and the dog man. Scary as all hell and too relevant for its own good. This one will keep you up at night.

11. THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT (1999) - Directed by Daniel Myrick & Eduardo Sanchez

I saw this twice in theaters when it came out and a few times at home since then, but a couple years ago I watched it on my phone with earbuds, so I could hear all the subtleties in the sound mix. I actually started trembling. It shook me to the core.

Over time and age, when so many things are full of sound and fury to keep our attention, it’s a bit of an a-ha moment to realize just how frightening and underrated the original Blair Witch Project really is. It gets a lot of flack for starting the over-used “found footage” franchise we’re all too familiar with now, but no other horror film of this ilk comes even close to the minimalism and dread that this film creates. It works because you never see anything and your imagination takes over.

Many horror films consist of a few likeable characters and a few vapid ones who get bumped off because they’re disposable, and in many cases the likeable ones might survive or defeat the boogeyman. What this film does is different — it starts with community in a small town: other characters, other voices, not just the three students. Gradually they move away from community into isolation, and the farther away they get, the more their arrogance and privilege is stripped away to nothing. You forget after awhile that the film actually starts with other actors, and the fact they are left behind makes the students’ plight that much more tragic and terrifying. They treat evil as a morbid fascination and a joke, but they go looking for it, and that’s exactly what they find. You find what you look for.

The main characters in this film are just as aggravating, self-absorbed, and naive as typical college students, but they are not disposable. They’re like us. All of that is stripped away as they slowly descend into madness and repent before the boogeyman wins. The Blair Witch Project may have sparked a bunch of imitators, but none of them come close to what this one achieves. It's lightning in a bottle.

See the link below for my Top 10!