2020 Top 31 Horror Movies
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Our Favorite thing here at The Bloody Reel? HORROR MOVIES!!!
So for our Favorite Season of the year, we've put together a top countdown of top 31 Horror Movies.
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How did we determine this you ask? We pulled a group of our friends together and had them all provide us with their top 31 favorite horror movies. We did some Google searching and pulled top lists from IMDB's user ratings, Town and Country, Indiewire and a few more to do a not-so-technical count of the movies that dominate all the lists. The more times a movie was accounted for, the higher the rating. Super technical...
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If you land on this page before Halloween, you'll have to check back to find out the last movies on the top of the list! Or you can follow along on our Facebook page too! https://www.facebook.com/TheBloodyReel/
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So, zip up your yellow rain coat, avoid that black cat, Double Tap and enjoy the ride!
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#1 - The Exorcist
Time and time and time again, this movie tops the charts when it comes to the Horror Genre. It has scared the pants off viewers since it was released and faced intense criticism for its content in 1973. Scaring a nation and paving the way for more possession movies to come, The Exorcist still beats out new movies in the same sub-genre for its intensity and its ability to make you feel the terrifying horror and helplessness this family faces in light of a demonic taking over their lives.
Remains, after all these years, at the tip top of my top horror movies. One of two horror movies that I never watch alone. It scares me to think that someone so innocent could become victim to such a horrific possession, which in addition to how scary the movie is, makes it that much more terrifying. - Carissa
The absolute cream of the crop, always in the top 3 of all-time best Horror movies! And with good reason as the movie is the scariest, most disturbing, horrifying content ever made! – Mark
The horror movie that ended all horror movies, and the movie that ruined pea soup for everyone - Brian
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The Exorcist is the first horror film to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture. The only other one is Get Out (2017). Jaws (1975), The Silence of the Lambs (1991) and The Sixth Sense (1999) were all nominated, and "The Silence of the Lambs" won, but, these films are not designated as horror films on IMDb.
Tagline: Somewhere between science and superstition, there is another world. The world of darkness.
1973 - Director: William Friedkin
#2 - Aliens
My favorite movie ever! My son’s middle name is Hudson. Not sure what else I can say about this epic Horror Sci-Fi Action Funfest! After all, it’s just another bug hunt. – Mark
Speaking of Hudson, talk about an all time quotable character!!! Mark and I have been watching this movie since both of us can remember, we didn’t play cops and robbers, we played Aliens when we were younger! Between all 3 of us, we could probably act out the entire movie line by line!- Carissa
According to Bill Paxton, he improvised many of his lines including "Game over, man! Game over!" His famous line "We're on an express elevator to hell, going down!" was probably improvised as well, as it doesn't appear in the shooting script.
Tagline: There are some places in the universe you don't go alone.
1986 - Director: James Cameron
#3 - Alien
Such the classic Horror Sci-Fi movie where movies in the sub-genre made afterward tried to duplicate, with little success, how scary, well-made, and intense Alien was. Alien clearly is the most dominant Horror Sci-Fi movie overall - Mark
An absolute magnificent classic and a completely innovative movie of its time. It has stood the test of time and will continue to be one of the ultimate top horror movies for generations to come. - Carissa
In the chest bursting scene, Veronica Cartwright (Lambert) screams when blood splatters on her. Her screaming and horrified reaction were genuine, just as the shocked responses of the other cast members. They purposely weren't told how much blood would come out and which way it would splatter on purpose, knowing that they would have the best response if they didn't know what to expect.
Ridley Scott is quoted as saying "Star Wars was the space fairytale, Alien is the Horror story". Alien is the film for me that established the Horror Genre in the Science Fiction realm. - Brian
After the crew awakens from hypersleep, the navigator Lambert announces that the ship is "just short of Zeta 2 Reticuli." Zeta Reticuli is a real double-star system about thirty-nine light-years from Earth, and has figured prominently in U.F.O. lore.
Tagline: In space no one can hear you scream.
1979 - Director: Ridley Scott
#4 - The Shining
I know that King doesn’t care for this interpretation of his book, HOWEVER, I LOVE IT! Jack Nicholson is perfect for the character being drove mad by the hotel, Jack Torrance. This movie is terrifyingly disturbing and enjoyable, a slow burn to a fantastic ending. ICONIC, CLASSIC, and Brilliant. - Carissa
Say what you will about the differences between the book and the movie, Jack Nicholson and Stanley Kubrick made this movie one of the most epic ghost stories of all times. The crescendo of suspense and scare-factor from the first moment to the very last is one of the best Slow Burns of all time. So great! - Mark
The "snowy" maze near the conclusion of the movie consisted of nine hundred tons of salt and crushed Styrofoam. Author Stephen King visited the set, and many aspects of this movie affected King's later work. Director Irvin Kershner was nicknamed "Kersh" on the set. King's novel It (1990) features a character named Mrs. Kersh, who sounds like Yoda.
The role of Lloyd the Bartender was originally to have been played by Harry Dean Stanton, who was unable to take the role due to his commitment to Alien (1979).
Tagline: Stanley Kubrick's epic nightmare of horror
1980 - Director: Stanley Kubrick
#5 - The Exorcism of Emily Rose
Based on the true story of Anneliese Michel, a young German woman who suffered a similar fate to the fictional Emily Rose in the 1970s, and "The Exorcism of Anneliese Michel", an account of the subsequent court case by expert witness Felicitas D. Goodman, an anthropologist called in as an expert on possession.
There were two dolls constructed for this film. The first was where Emily Rose would lock her limbs. The other was during the dorm scene where she is on the floor in a twisted position. The director ultimately never used a doll in the dorm room scene because he found out that Jennifer Carpenter is incredibly flexible and decided that the positions she was able to contort herself into were more unsettling than what could be accomplished with the dummy. When Emily starts to bend over backwards in the church, Carpenter wore a harness to make the effect more inhuman.
I would rank this movie up on the top of the list for possession movies, and feel that Carpenter's performance is a key factor in that success, she embraces her role as a possessed teenager in a way that is so unsettling, this is one of the few horror movies that I will not watch alone. - Carissa
Along with an extremely unique way to tell a possession story, not to mention based off real life events (yeesh!), Emily Rose is freaky as hell, especially with the contortionist motions and positions completely to add to the creepy factor. So scary! - Mark
Tagline: What happened to Emily?
2005 - Director: Scott Derrickson
#6 - A Nightmare on Elm Street
One of the few horror movies that gave me nightmares! - Carissa
Freddy is the most iconic Horror Movie graphic one-liner killer, which makes him a lovable slasher!!….even though he’s the bad guy. - Mark
Tagline: 1, 2 Freddy's Coming For You!
1984 - Director: Wes Craven
#7 - The Ring
Based on the 1998 Japanese Horror movie "Ringu" this American version was super successful; until Stephen King's It (2017), this movie was the highest-grossing horror remake in history, with a total worldwide gross of over US $249 million.
The DVD video is like a modern version of reading Latin out of an old book to summon evil, it's a technical version of the book that you should never have read from in older movies - Brian.
Tagline: Before you die, you see the ring...... "7 Days"
2002 - Director: Gore Verbinski
#8 - 28 Days Later
"This modern day Zombie movie gives us a new look at the zombie. They're FAST! Imagine, waking up in a hospital and no one around. That in itself is terrifying!" - Reese
"Unsettled" is how I feel about this story - Brian.
Tagline:
Day 1: Exposure - Day 3: Infection - Day 8: Epidemic - Day 15: Evacuation - Day 20: Devastation
2003 - Director: Danny Boyle
#9 - A Quiet Place
Director and Actress play husband and wife and are married in real life, in the movie, the pictures used through the film are pictures of John and Emilys actual family. I think they make a great screen duo! - Carissa
Having a baby without making a sound would make me Stressed AF - Mark
Tagline:
Rule #1: Don't make a sound. Rule #2: Never leave the path. Rule #3: Red means run.
2018 - Director: John Krasinski
#10 - The Conjuring
I'm in love with this movie franchise. Another great duo: Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga as Ed and Lorraine Warren - Carissa.
This movie brought a modern look to a classic horror tale - Brian
"First Clap!"- Mark
Tagline: Evil Loves Innocence.
2013 - Director: James Wan (one of the Gods of Horror)
#11 - The Descent
2006 - Director: Neil Marshall
The film's poster art was borrowed from a portrait photograph by Philippe Halsman of Salvador Dalí, entitled "Salvador Dali In Voluptate Mors." (The photo itself was inspired by surrealist Dali's gouache "Female Bodies" as a Skull painting) This same imagery was also used for the poster for The Silence of the Lambs (1991). - IMDB
The most memorable (scene of this movie), is the one where Juno spins around and jams the climbing pick into Beths neck - oy! - Mark
Tagline: When you're trapped 2 miles underground there are many ways to lose your mind...Claustrophobia. Disorientation. Isolation. Paranoia. Terror.
#12 - The Thing
1982 - Director: John Carpenter
John Carpenter has stated that of all his films, this is his personal favorite.
An efficient, tight, no escape horror film. Colorful characters, Science Fiction, and an unhappy ending is a GREAT formula - Brian
Classic... this is a household go-to favorite movie. - Carissa
Isolation and not being to go anywhere or get additional help - and the unknown of who is the thing or not. It is just epic! - Mark
Tagline: Man is The Warmest Place to Hide.
#13 - Shaun of the Dead
2004 - Director: Edgar Wright
Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, what more needs to be said, right?
When asked by an interviewer why they chose to have slow moving zombies instead of running zombies, Simon Pegg simply replied, "Because death is not an energy drink." - IMDB
This is a Reinvented Zombie movie for me - Brian
One of the BEST Zombie movies ever made, funny as hell! - Mark
BRAIIIINNNNSSSSSS - Carissa
Tagline: In a time of crisis a hero must rise...from his sofa.
#14 - IT / IT Chapter II
2017 / 2019 - Director: Andy Muschietti
Simply put, BRILLIANT, just brilliant. The casting, the screenplay, the King cameo, the easter eggs, the homage paid to the novel and the 1990 TV series, and the absolute terrifying evil. Everything about these movies satisfies me to the bloody core! - Carissa
The closest film to a Steven King novel of such length. - Brian
As precise to the books as you can get and definitely did Stephen King justice! Oh, and very scary too! - Mark
Tagline: You'll float too...
Writer Joss Whedon and director Drew Goddard created over 60 different types of monsters that were created specifically for The Cabin in the Woods.
I enjoy this movie on so many levels for so many reasons. A different / new approach to a horror film with spooks, comedy, romance, and gore! - Carissa
The whiteboard!! All the different creatures - And the merman! Lol - just the awesome idea with this world behind the veil that was sort of controlling things and they knew the horrific endings coming to the victims but it was their job for a higher purpose - Mark
Taglines: If an old man warns you not to go there... make fun of him.... If the basement door swings open... go down there... If something is chasing you... split up...
#15 - The Cabin in the Woods
2011 - Director: Drew Goddard
There are certain RULES that one must abide by in order to survive a horror movie.
First, you can never have sex.
Second, you can never drink or do drugs.
BIG NO NO. It's a sin. It's an extension of number 1.
And last, you can never, ever, ever under any circumstances say "I'll be right back," 'Cause you won't be back.
It confirmed and established horror movie rules for generations to come - Brian
Tagline: Now everybody is a victim and everybody is a suspect!
#16 - Scream
1996 - Director: Wes Craven
In the documentary short, 'Halloween' Unmasked 2000' (1999), it was revealed that the crew had chosen two masks for Michael Myers to decide on. The first was a Don Post Emmett Kelly smiling clown mask that they put frizzy red hair on. This was an homage to how he killed his sister, Judith, in a clown costume. They tested it out and it appeared very demented and creepy. The other mask was a 1975 Captain James T. Kirk mask that was purchased for around a dollar. It had the eyebrows and sideburns ripped off, the face was painted fish belly white, and the hair was spray painted brown, and the eyes were opened up more. They tested out the Kirk mask and the crew decided that it was much more creepy because it was emotionless. This became the Michael Myers mask.
This movie is the introduction of the Queen of Scream! - Brian
Halloween is the classic of all classics!! Hangs the guy up on the wall with a large knife - slow moving but relentless and invincible - Mark
Tagline: The Trick Is To Stay Alive!
1978 - Director: John Carpenter
#17 - Halloween
A TERRIFYING horror movie created on a low budget paired with untraditional directing and filming styles. I love that the cast was directed by notes in the field and didn't know everything that was going to happen to them or their characters along the way. The movie that introduced the hand-held found footage style that has become a sub-genre in itself! - Carissa
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Tagline: The Trick Is To Stay Alive!
1999 - Directors: Daniel Myrick, Eduardo Sánchez
#18 - The Blair Witch Project
Gloriously Gory, and Hilarious! - Carissa
Favorite character was woody Harrelson... Twinkies!!!! - Mark
The Rules:
1 Cardio
2 The Double Tap
3 Beware of Bathrooms
4 Wear Seat Belts
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2009 - Director: Ruben Fleischer
#19 - Zombieland
2010 - Director: Eli Craig
#20 - Tucker and Dale vs Evil
Tucker and Dale is so witty and creative. It’s just a brilliant way to make a horror comedy, which really isn’t even a horror! - Mark
One of my personal favorite tidbits... towards the end of the movie, when Tucker & Dale are reminiscing about catching frogs at the creek. Dale mentions that he used to lick them. Tyler Labine actually did lick a Toad in a small role he had on The X-Files: Quagmire (1996) 14 years prior, it's a great episode! - Carissa
A new standard in comedic horror, creating a genre unto itself. - Brian
Tagline: When up against pure evil...just give'er.
The Others comes from a peculiar cross-section of production cultures. It stars an Australian woman playing an Englishwoman. It was written and directed by a Spaniard, backed by Americans, set in Jersey but filmed in Spain. - IMDB
A "mind-blown" movie with the best twists in the storyline. A slow-burn but worth every single second to the satisfying end! - Carissa
The Others was so creepy and spooky all the way through and became one of the great twists in ghost horror movies! - Mark
Tagline: Sometimes the world of the living gets mixed up with the world of the dead.
2001 - Director: Alejandro Amenábar
#21 - The Others
The real-life events in Enfield became the longest recorded paranormal case of poltergeist activity in history, according to star Vera Farmiga. - IMDB
It had the biggest opening weekend gross for a horror film in three years. The previous film being The Conjuring (2013). This just goes to show how perfectly splendidly fantastic these movies are! - Carissa
An incredible way of retelling a true story. - Brian
Tagline: The next true story from the case files of Ed and Lorraine Warren.
2016 - Director: James Wan
#22 - The Conjuring 2
For sure strange to see Kevin Bacons role so short! What a terrible way to die! - Carissa
An incredible way of retelling a true story. - Carissa - And, did you know, that the movie was filmed at an actual camp called Camp No-Be-Bo-Sco in New Jersey, so most of the 'set' was already there and the crew only had to build the bathroom set. While most of the cast and crew stayed at local hotels during filming, some of the most dedicated, including Tom Savini and Taso N. Stavrakis, stayed at the actual camp site. - IMDB
The Slasher film that started it all. - Brian
Tagline: Fridays will never be the same again.
1980 - Director: Sean S. Cunningham
#23 - Friday the 13th
Winner of 5 Oscars including Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published, Best Director, Best Actress in a Leading Roll, Best Actor in a Leading Roll, and BEST PICTURE. I wonder, if it had been tagged as a 'horror' genre (as it should be) would it have received the immediate attention from critics? Such a great film. - Carissa
Not generally considered a horror movie, however, Anthony Hopkins brings true horror to Hannibal creating one of the most unforgettable and possibly most frightening villains to the screen. - Brian
Silence of the Lambs has one of the best antagonists in any psychological thriller, and the movie has the best one on one interactions and conversations between Clarice and Hannibal - Mark
Tagline: Dr. Hannibal Lecter. Brilliant. Cunning. Psychotic. In his mind lies the clue to a ruthless killer. - Clarice Starling, FBI. Brilliant. Vulnerable. Alone. She must trust him to stop the killer.
1991 - Director: Jonathan Demme
#24 - The Silence of the Lambs
The opening of the film is partially inspired by the opening of Halloween (1978), which Jordan Peele described as a subversion of "the perfect white neighborhood." - IMDB
This movie is so intense and full of purpose behind the base story with a unique storyline and outcome - Mark
Lil Rel Howery (Chris' best friend Rod) ad-libbed the majority of his funny lines.
Tagline: Just because you're invited, doesn't mean you're welcome.
2017- Director: Jordan Peele
#25 - Get Out
I really wish they would make more of these, using SAM as the underlying tie to all the stories. It's just horror movie fun to watch and I just love how the stories are interlaced together. The 'battle' scene with Mr. Kreeg is just one of the best battle sequences in horror with that comical undertone to it. - Carissa
Best Horror Anthology with great stories, great production, wonderful tie-ins with each story, and then there’s…Sam! Love the little guy. - Mark
Most of the Jack O' Lanterns were made out of either foam or ceramic. An on-set joke was that no pumpkins were harmed during the making of this movie. - IMDB
Tagline: If you don't follow the rules tonight, you won't live to see tomorrow.
2007- Director: Michael Dougherty
#26 - Trick 'r Treat
You can really see Spielberg's hand in this movie. It also totally stands the test of time. I probably put this movie on at least 3 times a month ALL YEAR ROUND! Then there's are all the 'behind the scenes' tales that have created a culture all its own with the set or the movie being cursed. I can't help but think that it may have been given all the strange things that happened to those involved in the movie! - Carissa
​Spielberg hired Tobe Hooper after being impressed with his work on "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre"
Creepy Clowns, pissed off spirits, trees that pull kids from their rooms, melting face flesh, skeletons in the pool, terrifying scenes, kids abducted by ghosts, and more! What else could you ask for in a haunted house movie? So classic! - Mark
Tagline: They're here.
1982- Director: Tobe Hooper
#27 - Poltergeist
Complete construction of the werewolf costume took three months. After finalization of the shape and design, using three-dimensional clay heads, the entire costume was made of foam and polyurethane and was covered with actual bear hair. The head of the costume was mechanically operated by six people from a distance of up to thirty feet away. - IMDB
​Spielberg hired Tobe Hooper after being impressed with his work on "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)."
Some Steven King info: The movie is loosely based on Stephen King 1983 book Cycle Of The Werewolf. The film is the ninth Stephen King film adaptation released in the 1980s.
This film is the tenth Stephen King film adaptation. The bar that the mob gathers in before searching for the werewolf is called "Owen's Bar". Stephen King has a son named Owen.
King Universe: Brady's father mentions the cemetery Harmony Hill. This is another tie-in to other Stephen King adaptations, particularly Salem's Lot (1979). Tarker's Mills, where the action takes place, is a fictional town within the Stephen King universe. It borders locations of other King's works also adapted to film, such as Chester's Mill (Under the Dome (2013)), Derry (It (1990)) and Castle Rock (Needful Things (1993), Cujo (1983) and Pet Sematary (1989)), among others.
I love EVERYTHING about this movie, including the synthesizer - Carissa
One of the most iconic werewolf movies ever made right along with "American Werewolf in London, just one of the best in my opinion - Brian
Great 80’s story and one of the best werewolf movies out there, even to today, and with a highly epically unpredictable suspect as the werewolf. - Mark
Tagline: It started in May, in a small town. And every month after that, whenever the moon was full...it came back.
1985 - Director: Daniel Attias
#28 - Silver Bullet
Gary Oldman is just AMAZING in Dracula's character, and this movie is just so WELL DONE, there are so many fantastic things about it and I just can't focus in on just one or two!!! - Carissa
There is no better Dracula movie in regards to production value, acting, story, cinematography, Blood-letting, adaptation from a classic story than Bram Stoker’s Dracula. It is simply, hands down, the best Dracula movie ever made! - Mark
- Brian
Producer and director Francis Ford Coppola explains on the DVD commentary that Mina and Harker's wedding was a re-shoot done at a Los Angeles Greek Orthodox church. They filmed the entire ceremony with a genuine Romanian Orthodox minister, and realized afterwards that Winona Ryder and Keanu Reeves may have really been married to each other. Reeves has since confessed that he often gets text messages from Ryder that read "Hello, husband", and that they are both completely fine with it.
Tagline: Love Never Diese Never Dies
1992 - Director: Francis Ford Coppola
#29 - Bram Stroker's - Dracula
Brad Pitt said of his involvement in the film - "This whole thing started because I just wanted to do a film that my boys could see before they turned 18 - one that they would like, anyways. And they love a zombie." - IMDB
This was an exhilarating 'refresh' for zombie movies, I think the fast zombies, while not classic in the genre, are a fresh and horrific take and creates more fear and anxieties while watching the movie. This film from the moment the family is stuck in traffic in their car keeps you on your seat the remainder of the movie! - Carissa
Fast Zombies at their best! It was fun to see Brad Pitt in a horror movie and to follow his character through armageddon, which was very tense! - Mark
- Mother Nature is a Serial Killer - Dr. Fassbach
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2013 - Director: Marc Forster
#30 - World War Z
#31 - Ouija: Origin of Evil
Mike Flanagan has been dominating the horror genre over the past several years. Oculus, Hush, and this one which all came before the Netflix "A Haunting" franchise (Hill House and Bly Manor). I think that Ouija is a completely underrated horror movie and this one is creepy AF. This movie is in my top list for sure. I also love seeing these actors / actresses in other horror, time and time again, Elizabeth Reaser, Lulu Wilson, Henry Thomas... -Carissa
Tagline: When you talk to the other side, you never know who will be listening.
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