Across 101 films, this list traces horror in all its forms: the slashers and the slow burns, the supernatural and the existential, the bodily grotesque and the baroque gothic, the high‑style Grand Guignol and the unnerving psychological chamber pieces. Some hover in those liminal fantasy-horror and thriller–horror spaces, but each one earns its place through sheer, pulse‑tightening power.
Be afraid. Be very afraid.
1.
Psycho A+
(Alfred Hitchcock)
(1960)
2.
Midsommar A+
(Ari Aster)
(2019)
3.
The Exorcist A+
(William Friedkin)
(1973)
4.
The Shining A+
(Stanley Kubrick)
(1980)
5.
Alien A+
(Ridley Scott)
(1979)
6.
Dead Ringers A+
(David Cronenberg)
(1988)
7.
The Substance A+
(Coralie Fargeat)
(2024)
8.
Take Shelter A+
(Jeff Nichols)
(2011)
9.
Under the Skin A+
(Jonathan Glazer)
(2014)
10.
Carrie A+
(Brian De Palma)
(1976)
11.
Halloween A+
(John Carpenter)
(1978)
12.
Rosemary’s Baby A+
(Roman Polanski)
(1968)
13.
Hereditary A+
(Ari Aster)
(2018)
14.
Don’t Look Now A+
(Nicholas Roeg)
(1973)
15.
The Innocents A+
(Jack Clayton)
(1961)
16.
The Night of the Hunter A+
(Charles Laughton)
(1955)
17.
Bram Stoker’s Dracula A+
(Francis Ford Coppola)
(1982)
18.
Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? A+
(Robert Aldrich)
(1962)
19.
Get Out A+
(Jordan Peel)
(2017)
20.
Carnival of Souls A+
(Herk Harvey)
(1962)
21.
Invasion of the Body Snatchers A+
(Philip Kaufman)
(1978)
22.
Invasion of the Body Snatchers A+
(Don Siegel)
(1956)
23.
The Thing A+
(John Carpenter)
(1982)
24.
The Ugly Stepsister A+
(Emile Blichfeldt)
(2025)
25.
Picnic at Hanging Rock A+
(Peter Weir)
(1975)
26.
Dawn of the Dead A+
(George A. Romero)
(1978)
27.
The Mask of the Red Death A+
(Roger Corman)
(1964)
28.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre A+
(Tobe Hooper)
(1974)
29.
Duel A+
(Steven Spielberg)
(1971)
30.
The Night of the Living Dead A+
(George A. Romero)
(1968)
31.
The Descent A+
(Neil Marshall)
(2005)
32.
The Lighthouse A+
(David Eggers)
(2019)
33.
Jaws A+
(Steven Spielberg)
(1975)
34.
A Quiet Place A+
(John Krasinski)
(2018)
35.
The Spirit of the Beehive A+
(Victor Erice)
(1973)
36.
The Evil Dead A+
(Sam Raimi)
(1981)
37.
The Sixth Sense A+
(M. Night Shyamalan)
(1999)
38.
Pan’s Labyrinth A+
(Guillermo del Toro)
(2006)
39.
The Others A+
(Alejandro Amenabar)
(2001)
40.
Dressed to Kill (A)
Brian De Palma
(1980)
41.
Suspiria (A)
(Dario Argento)
(1977)
42.
The Haunting (A)
(Robert Wise)
(1963)
43.
The Vanishing (A)
(George Sluizer)
(1988)
44.
The Fly (A)
(David Cronenberg)
(1986)
45.
Nosferatu (A)
(Robert Eggers)
(2024)
46.
Vampyr (A)
(Carl Theodor Dreyer)
(1932)
47.
Martin (A)
(George A. Romero)
(1977)
48.
The Wicker Man (A)
(Robin Hardy)
(1974)
49.
Dead of Night (A)
(Dearden/Hamer/Crichton/Cavalcanti)
(1945)
50.
An American Werewolf in London (A)
(John Landis)
(1981)
51.
The Omen (A)
(Richard Donner)
(1976)
52.
28 Weeks Later... (A)
(Carlo Fresnadillo)
(2007)
53.
The Mummy (A)
(Karl Freund)
(1932)
54.
Ringu (A)
(Hideo Nakata)
(1998)
55.
Repulsion (A)
(Roman Polanski)
(1965)
56.
Eyes Without a Face (A)
(Georges Franju)
(1960)
57.
Nosferatu the Vampyr (A)
(Werner Herzog)
(1979)
58.
Near Dark A-
(Kathryn Bigelow)
(1987)
59.
Jacob’s Ladder A-
(Adrian Lyne)
(1990)
60.
Bodies Bodies Bodies A-
(Halina Reijn)
(2022)
61.
Quatermass and the Pitt A-
(Roy Ward Baker)
(1967)
62.
Les Diaboliques A-
(Henri-Georges Clouzot)
(1955)
63.
Shaun of the Dead A-
(Edgar Wright)
(2004)
64.
Audition A-
Takaski Miike
1999
65.
Freaks A-
(Tod Browning)
(1932)
66.
28 Days Later…A-
(Danny Boyle)
(2002)
67.
The Birds A-
(Alfred Hitchcock)
(1963)
68.
Bride of Frankenstein A-
(James Whale)
(1935)
69.
Frankenstein A-
(James Whale)
(1931)
70.
Possession A-
(Andrzej Zulawski)
(1981)
71.
Pearl A-
(Ty West)
(2023)
72.
The Appointment A-
(Lindsey C. Vickers)
(1982)
73.
The Howling A-
(Joe Dante)
(1981)
74.
Scream A-
(Wes Craven)
(1996)
75.
Poltergeist A-
(Tobe Hooper)
(1982)
76.
Immaculate A-
(Michael Mohan)
(2024)
77.
Sinners A-
Ryan Coogler
2025
78.
Braindead (Dead Alive) A-
(Peter Jackson)
(1992)
79.
The Spiral Staircase A-
(Robert Siodmak)
(1946)
80.
The Rental A-
(Dave Franco)
(2020)
81.
1408 A-
(Mikael Hafstrom)
(2007)
82.
Cat People B+
(Jacques Tourneur)
(1942)
83.
The Invisible Man B+
(James Whale)
(1933)
84.
A Nightmare on Elm Street B+
(Wes Craven)
(1984)
85.
The Body Snatcher B+
(Robert Wise)
(1945)
86.
The Tenant B+
(Roman Polanski)
(1976)
87.
The Wolf Man B+
(Curt Siodmak)
(1941)
88.
And Soon the Darkness B+
(Robert Fuest)
(1970)
89.
Companion B+
(Drew Hancock)
(2025)
90.
Whatever Happened to Aunt Alice B+
(Lee H. Katzin)
(1969)
91.
The Black Cat B+
(Edgar G. Ulmar)
(1934)
92.
The Hunger B+
(Tony Scott)
(1983)
93.
The Reflecting Skin B+
(Philip Ridley)
(1990)
94.
The Old Dark House B+
(James Whale)
(1932)
95.
Together B+
(Michael Shanks)
2025
96.
It Follows B+
(David Robert Mitchell)
(2014)
97.
Don’t Move B+
(Adam Schindler and Brian Netto)
(2024)
98.
Revenge B+
(Coralie Fargeat)
(2017)
99.
Wolfen B+
(Michael Wadleigh)
(1982)
100.
The Day of the Triffids (B)
(Steve Sekely)
(1962)
101.
Black Sheep (B)
(Jonathan king)
(2006)
The Bride of Frankenstein (1935) Film Review A- TheBrownees
Cat People (1942) Queer Film B+: A Critical Review – TheBrownees
https://thebrownees.net/les-diaboliques-1955-queer-film/
Psycho (1960) Film Review A+ – TheBrownee
Whatever Happened Baby Jane? (1962) Film Review A+ – TheBrownees
The Haunting (1963) Film Review A- – TheBrownees
Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975) Film Review A+ TheBrownees
Carrie (1976) Film Review A+ – TheBrownees
https://thebrownees.net/suspiria-1977-dario-argentos-cabal-of-lesbian-witches/
https://thebrownees.net/dressed-to-kill-1980-queer-film/
https://thebrownees.net/take-shelter-2011-horror-masterpiece/
Under The Skin (2014) Film Review A+ – TheBrownees
Bodies, Bodies, Bodies (2022) Film Review A- TheBrownees
The Ugly Stepsister (2025) Queer Film A+ – TheBrownees
