15. Candyman in Candyman (1992) Back in 1988, Tim Burton’sBeetlejuicetaught us that nothing good can come from summoning a malicious spirit. In 1992, Bernard Rose’sCandymanput a different spin on a similiar idea. Based on Clive Barker’s short story “The Forbidden,“Candymanrevolves around the legend ofCandyman, who was actually an African-American man named Daniel Robitaille. After pursuing an interracial love affair, his father sends a lynch mob after him. With a hook for a hand and a swarm of bees following him, Candyman is a classic boogeyman and an urban legend that speaks volumes....

15. Zombieland (2009) Number of major jump scares: 2 Zombielandis a great horror comedy movie that’s palatable even to those who don’t normally like horror. It’s never too serious with it. Sure, it’s a zombie movie, but the characters in the movie operate with such little fear of the zombies that it makes them feel much less scary. There are a total of nine jump scares in the movie, but only two of them are considered major....

15. Midnight Mass (2021) If you’re a horror fan, you already know the maestro of modern-day horror: Mike Flanagan. From one hit horror project to the next, he’s been turning heads ever since he debuted withAbsentiain 2011. Midnight Massbegan as a fictional novel that was being written in-world by the protagonist of Flanagan’s 2016 thriller filmHush. That story led to this gothic tale of a mysterious priest who arrives on an island with a community that’s stirring towards supernatural chaos....

15. Like Crazy (2011) Love stories can often benefit from that natural improvised quality, as we’ll see inBefore SunriseandBlue Valentinebelow. Taking away the restrictions of a script allows the chemistry to bubble freely, as it did between Anton Yelchin and Felicity Jones inLike Crazy. Rather than recreating his own past relationship moment-by-moment, director Drake Doremus used his personal experience as more of a guideline that organically droveLike Crazy’s narrative. A 50-page outline was given to the actors, and that’s it....

15. Friday (1995) Hood films thrived in the 90s, with many black directors finding success through hard-hitting dramas and stoner comedies.Fridaywas mostly the latter, centering on two friends Craig (played by Ice Cube) and Smokey (played by Chris Tucker) who needed to pay their dealer. While aimless in execution,Fridaysucceeded in being a lighthearted portrayal of hood culture. To this day, everyone knows the movie as the origin of both “Bye Felicia” and “Daaamn!...