35. Scream (2022)
Taking place 25 years after the events of the originalScream, the 2022 film—the first in the franchise that wasn’t directed by Wes Craven—centers on a group of teenagers who are being killed off by another Ghostface.
Related:The Best Movies About Psychopaths, Sociopaths, and Maniacs
34. Hostel (2005)
Hostelcenters on a group of tourists traveling through Slovakia, who are heading to a particular hostel on the promise that they’ll encounter lots of beautiful women there. Nothing could’ve prepared them for the nightmarish hell they actually encounter.
Related:The Scariest Horror Movies That Were Banned (And Why)
33. It Follows (2014)
After a sexual encounter with her new boyfriend, Jaime learns that she’s now the target of a supernatural killer—and the only way she can free herself is to pass the curse on to someone else by having sex with them.
Related:The Best Horror Movies Without Much Blood or Gore
32. The Babadook (2014)
Amelia is a single mother to her six-year-old son Samuel. Over time, Samuel grows unable to sleep as he develops a paranoid fear of an imaginary monster called The Babadook—and as she tries to comfort him, Amelia also begins to develop the same paranoia.
Related:The Best Movies About Mother-Son Relationships
31. The Blackcoat’s Daughter (2015)
Two girls are left behind as the only ones at Bramford Academy, a Catholic boarding school, over winter break. During that time, one of them begins to display all kinds of odd behaviors caused by a mysterious evil force.
Related:The Best School Horror Movies Set in High School and College
30. Host (2020)
Presented entirely in the form of a Zoom video call,Hosttakes place during the COVID-19 lockdown and features a group of friends who hire a medium to host a virtual seance. When the medium is disconnected from the call, the group begins to experience strange happenings.
Related:The Best Horror Movies About Hauntings and Demonic Possession
29. The Hills Have Eyes (2006)
A remake of the 1977 film,The Hills Have Eyesfollows a family on vacation. While driving through the New Mexico desert, their car breaks down, causing them to become the targets of mutant cannibals.
Related:The Best Cannibalism Movies Where People Eat People
28. Maniac (2012)
A remake of the 1980 film,Maniaccenters on a schizophrenic man named Frank Zeto, who recently took over his family’s mannequin restoration business. Having suffered trauma as a child, he now murders women, takes their scalps, and puts them on his mannequins.
Related:The Best Movies Filmed (Almost) Entirely in POV Shots, Ranked
27. Oculus (2013)
Eleven years ago, a family was torn apart after they unknowingly purchased an antique mirror that causes intense hallucinations. Now, in the present, the daughter of the family tracks down the mirror and aims to document its supernatural powers before destroying it.
Related:The Best Horror Movie Directors of All Time, Ranked
26. Suspiria (2018)
Susie leaves her family in Ohio to audition for a prestigious dance company in Berlin, which coincides with the recent disappearance of one of their dancers—and rumors come to light that the dance company is actually run by a coven of witches.
Related:The Best Horror Movies About Witches and the Occult
25. Lake Mungo (2008)
When Alice Palmer disappears while swimming at a dam and turns up drowned, her family has trouble coming to terms with her death—and as they wrestle to find closure, they learn of disturbing circumstances that haunted Alice up until her drowning.
Related:The Best Movies About Grief and Loss, Ranked
24. 1408 (2007)
Based on a short story by Stephen King,1408centers on an author who investigates houses that are supposedly haunted. One such place is Room 1408 at the Dolphin Hotel in New York City, where he starts to experiece strange events that keep him trapped there.
23. The Strangers (2008)
During their stay in a vacation home, James and Kristen find themselves terrorized by three masked strangers who keep them trapped—and no matter how hard they fight, escape seems unlikely.
Related:The Best Movies About Hostages and Captives, Ranked
22. Titane (2021)
When a young girl named Alexia winds up in a car accident, her skull is damaged to the point that she needs a titanium plate placed in her head. Now, not only is she sexually attracted to cars, but she’s also a showgirl-turned-murderer on the run.
Related:The Best Female Killers and Murderers in Movies, Ranked
21. Barbarian (2022)
It’s one thing to show up at the Airbnb you’ve booked only to find out that it’s been double-booked. It’s worse when you’re a young woman and the one who’s double-booked is a man. But it’s just the worst when that Airbnb houses a dark secret within.
Related:The Best Psychological Horror Movies That Are Disturbing & Twisted
20. The Woman in Black (2012)
Set in England during the early 1900s,The Woman in Blackcenters on a recently widowed lawyer who travels to a remote village to pick up some documents, only to find that a vengeful spirit is haunting the lands.
Related:The Best Folk Horror Movies (What Is Folk Horror? Explained)
19. Paranormal Activity (2007)
When Katie and Micah discover that they’re being haunted by a paranormal presence in their home, they set up cameras to capture all of the strange occurrences—and it only gets worse over time.
Related:The Best Haunted House Movies, Ranked
18. Smile (2022)
Based on the short filmLaura Hasn’t Slept,Smilecenters on a therapist named Rose Cotter whose mentally unwell patient calmly slits her own throat before her. Ever since then, she begins to experience increasingly disturbing events that threaten her sanity.
Related:The Best Movies About Trauma and PTSD, Ranked
17. V/H/S (2012)
When a criminal gang is approached by a mysterious person who offers a lot of money in exchange for stealing a VHS tape, they agree. But when they break in, they find a dead man in front of a TV playing white noise, and they decide to watch some of the tapes.
Related:The Best Found Footage Movies of All Time, Ranked
16. Session 9 (2001)
In need of business, the owner of an asbestos abatement company secures a bid to clean up asbestos in an abandoned mental asylum. While working, the crew uncovers a set of audio tapes that document the psychiatric treatment sessions of a former patient.
Related:The Best Movies About Split and Multiple Personalities
15. Lights Out (2016)
When her little brother starts having unusual experiences with a supernatural entity that makes him fearful, Rebecca must face her own fears to help him—by investigating and resolving the spirit’s strange attachment with their mother.
Related:The Best Horror Movies With Toys
14. Evil Dead Rise (2023)
Evil Dead Riseis a standalone film with its own self-contained story, but also has references to otherEvil Deadmovies that deepen it for fans. This one centers on two estranged sisters who must survive against deadites, the undead demonic spirits that drive most of the horror in the franchise.
Related:The Best Movies About Angels and Demons, Ranked
13. The Conjuring (2013)
In this classic film that kicked off the Conjuring Universe, two paranormal investigators are hired to help the Perron family, who are being terrorized by a dark presence and strange happenings.
Related:The Most Common Horror Movie Tropes and Clichés, Explained
12. The Last House on the Left (2009)
In this modern remake of the 1972 film, a gang kidnaps and brutalizes a young woman. Later, during a storm, the same gang unknowingly shelters in a vacation home owned by the victim’s parents—who get revenge on them through increasingly wicked acts.
Related:The Best Movies About Kidnappings, Ranked
11. Insidious (2010)
After a married couple and their son move into a new house, the son falls into a coma with no signs of recovery. Over time, disturbing paranormal events terrorize the parents, who discover that evil spirits have trapped their son in another dimension called The Further.
Related:The Best Horror Movies on Netflix With Jump Scares
10. Grave Encounters (2011)
InGrave Encounters, the production crew of a ghost hunting reality TV show lock themselves in an abandoned mental asylum while they hunt for proof of paranormal activity—and they find it.
Related:The Best Insane Asylum Movies
9. I Spit on Your Grave (2010)
I Spit on Your Graveis a modern remake of a 1978 film, in which a novelist goes on an isolated retreat to work on her next book. After she’s brutally gang-raped by five locals, she stalks her attackers and seeks revenge.
Related:The Best Revenge Movies About Vengeance and Payback
8. The Wailing (2016)
In a remote Korean village, a policeman is tasked with investigating a strange phenomenon to save his daughter: after the recent arrival of a stranger, a mysterious sickness began spreading amongst them.
Related:The Best Movies About Pandemics and Diseases, Ranked
7. The Autopsy of Jane Doe (2016)
When an unidentified body lands on the autopsy table, a father-and-son coroner duo are tasked with figuring out who the woman was. But as they investigate the body, they’re disturbed by supernatural events that point to dark secrets around her identity.
Related:The Best Movies About Father-Son Relationships
6. Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum (2018)
Based on the real-life mental hospital of the same name,Gonjiam: Haunted Asylumcenters on the crew of a horror web series who visit the eponymous asylum with plans for a livestream. But as they venture deeper into the building, they discover more than they expected.
Related:The Best Korean Horror Movies of All Time, Ranked
5. The Descent (2005)
A group of six thrill-seeking women go on a spelunking adventure, only to be trapped when the cave entrance collapses behind them. As they venture deeper inside in hopes of finding an exit, they learn that they aren’t the only ones within this complex cave system.
Related:The Best Wilderness Survival Movies, Ranked
4. REC (2007)
When a TV reporter and her cameraman follow a group of emergency workers into an apartment building, they end up locked inside with an unusual infection that’s rapidly spreading.
Related:The Scariest Cursed and Haunted Items in Horror Movies
3. Sinister (2012)
When a true crime writer moves with his family into a new home, he discovers a box of Super 8 films that depict gruesome murders by a serial killer from decades ago—and as he investigates further, he learns of a much darker influence behind it all.
Related:The Best Serial Killer Movies of All Time, Ranked
2. Hereditary (2018)
After the death of their grandmother, the Graham family is torn apart by grief and a mysterious presence that haunts them. As they try to find ways to deal with their grief, they uncover disturbing truths about their grandmother and what’s happening to the family.
Related:The Best Movies About Cults and Creepy Religious Groups
1. Ju-On: The Grudge (2002)
In what has become one of the most internationally famous horror movies of all time,Ju-On: The Grudgefeatures a vengeful spirit who curses and haunts anyone that enters the house they reside in—and that curse follows them to their eventual deaths.
Read next:The Best Horror Movies With Clowns, Ranked
