It’s difficult to find anything in this chaotic world that can compare to the spine-tingling sensation when a horror movie absolutely terrifies you beyond belief. From jaw-dropping sequences involving paranormal entities such as demons and ghosts, to the more real-life-adjacent situations depicted in 2022’s Fall, the horror community is crawling with an overabundance of genuinely scary flicks, to consistently keep viewers on their toes and wondering when the next jump scare will happen.
With the horror genre growing more popular and stronger over the last decade, it’s certainly not hard to understand why several movies from the category continue to horrify folks on the daily. Of course, a handful of these unforgettable cinematic projects immediately come to mind, although a large portion of moviegoers might be oblivious to which movies those are, exactly. So, let’s dive in directly during the middle of spooky season to reveal the 10 scariest movies of all time.
The Conjuring
Very few full-length features out there can masterfully recreate the jaw-dropping effect The Conjuring had on the horror community. Introducing demonologists Ed and Lorraine Warren (based on a real-life couple, authors of multiple books if you’re into that kind of thing) to the silver screen, the influential horror extravaganza chock-full of jump scares and pulse-pounding moments eventually spawned an entire horror universe of sequels and conjoining movies focusing on similar narratives. We don’t tolerate any Conjuring slander in this house.
Hereditary
This one might lean a little more on the controversial side, but let me cook. As one of the most promising filmmakers in modern-day horror, Ari Aster completely shook up the spooky realm by crafting one of the most jaw-dropping horror movies of the last decade. But while it might not be a classic horror venture which will live in infamy as the greatest of all time, it’s certainly worthy of a spot on this list, thanks to its head-spinning story and out-of-this-world performances.
The Ring / Ringu
Whether it’s the American adaptation or the Japanese original, the hauntingly perfect narrative in both flicks embodies exactly what a horror movie is supposed to make you feel — genuinely afraid. Teetering on the narrow line of too scary to even watch, most of us witnessed the horror movie when we were way too young. Seriously, where were our parents?! Nevertheless, The Ring is easily one of the scariest movies to ever hit the big screen.
Sinister
Bughuul might be a BuDaddy to some (I’m looking at you, fellow WGTC staffers), but there’s absolutely no denying that he’s downright terrifying and one of the scariest villains in the horror realm. Of course, having a narrative as bone-chilling as Sinister certainly helped his case, with the movie still resonating in the minds of horror fanatics everywhere. Fun fact: My friend’s cell phone would glitch and immediately shut off every single time we watched this movie as teenagers, so let that sink in.
Paranormal Activity
This one is probably going to ruffle some feathers, but it’s hard to deny the original Paranormal Activity as one of the scariest movies ever crafted within the horror genre. As the movie that completely reinvigorated the found footage sub-genre, the horror flick captured various bouts of ghostly and demonic possession throughout the house of a couple who eventually call upon outsiders for necessary help. Much like 1999’s Blair Witch Project, it wasn’t exactly known whether the events in this film were real or not — and isn’t that the scariest part of a movie?
Rosemary’s Baby
It might be hard for a plethora of modern-day horror fans to truly understand the sheer terror that was felt when classic projects such as Psycho and Rosemary’s Baby were first released to the public. Sure, this film might seem old and haggard to those who actually think vaping is a smart idea, but it’s impossible to deny just how impactful Roman Polanski’s gut-wrenching feature was in the land of all things spooky. And while he’s totally controversial, I’ll be damned if that final scene isn’t one of the scariest I’ve ever witnessed.
The Strangers
There’s arguably no element in horror more terrifying than a real-life scenario accurately depicted on the big screen. In doing so, home invasion horror is definitely a sub-genre which has been burned in the brains of thrill-seeking viewers for years now. In this particular venture, three masked strangers target a sole couple during their night at an isolated summer cabin. The scariest part about this movie? It’s when the masked strangers insist they only attacked the couple simply because they were home.
The Blair Witch Project
If you aren’t already familiar with The Blair Witch Project, then you’ll never comprehend how terrifying this movie truly was at the time of its release in theaters. The concrete reason? It’s been revealed over time that early audiences didn’t know whether or not the movie was depicting real-life events when they were watching it in real time in theaters. Truth be told, there’s arguably nothing scarier than watching found footage of people dying and not knowing if it’s real or fake.
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
Speaking of influential and impactful, you certainly have to look no further than Tobe Hooper’s The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Released back in the ‘70s, moviegoers were undoubtedly terrified out of their minds as they all witnessed a family of psychopathic cannibals wreaking havoc and terrorizing unsuspecting victims. I wasn’t even alive when the horror flick was first released, but even now I slightly flinch and need to shield my eyes a few times whenever I watch the movie during the modern day.
The Exorcist
Was there ever any actual doubt? If I’m being completely honest with myself here, I personally don’t find the original Exorcist scary in the way that most modern-day horror films are considered. And yet, William Friedkin’s 1973 masterpiece remains as the scariest horror movie of all time thanks to its jaw-dropping sequences involving a young Linda Blair, which were undoubtedly the first of their kind. The Exorcist was so scary upon release, in fact, that moviegoers were throwing up and fainting in theaters, while some even left early.