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News / Guides / Best Horror Movies / Comments
Best Horror Movies
October 24, 2008
Discuss Article

Well, would you look at that? It's almost Halloween again. But before you have to fill up the candy bowl and set the plastic cauldron of dry ice out on the porch, your good friends at RT have taken the time to refresh our list of the best horror movies of all time!

What makes a horror movie? The definition is open to interpretation, but if it made a sizeable portion of its audience scream, jump involuntarily, or dive for the covers, then you'll probably find it on this list. (Notable exception: The Hottie and the Nottie.) We've assembled all the usual suspects -- Freddy, Dracula, that cat with the leathery face -- and, as always, have taken care to add a few choices you may not expect.

As you'll know if you've read any of our previous lists, each entry has 20 reviews or more to back up its inclusion here, and the final rankings were devised using a weighted system that takes into account both the movies' Tomatometers and number of reviews.

Now that we've established the parameters and laid out the ground rules, there's nothing left to do but start the scariest countdown of the year!

Back to Guide
Comments (21-40 of 199 posts) | Reply
sbaltys
sbaltys writes:
on Oct 24 2008 05:54 PM

The Shining?!?!?!?

(Reply to this)
Will H.
Will H. writes:
on Oct 24 2008 06:14 PM

I get how this may be based on % but the categorizing must be jazzed up...
Some that come to mind (some I haven't seen in years so maybe they suck, but they scared me back in the day).

The Ring, Lost Boys, Saw, Amityville, Cat's Eye, Critters, The Omen, Blair Witch, Emily Rose, Creepshow, Predator, 28 Weeks Later


(Reply to this)
tomwaitsjr
tomwaitsjr writes:
on Oct 24 2008 06:40 PM

The thing that scared the hell out of me and everyone I knew that saw Creepshow when we were kids. . and I was real young, was that monster in some crate that was chained up.

I saw Creepshow again 3-4 years ago. . . and it wasn't even remotely scary to me anymore.

I guess what scares you is subjective, unless you are scared by King Kong, then you need to go to the happy room with the fluffy walls. . .

RT, in case you haven't noticed, we all hate this list. SOrry you put any time into it.


(Reply to this)
RLK
RLK writes:
on Oct 24 2008 07:55 PM


Yeap,while the criteria for %u201CHorror Film%u201D is subjective, some obvious omissions make me question the criteria at RT.

Absurd Omissions:

The Exorcist
The Omen
The Shining
The 6th Sense

Just some movies (alpha betical)more suited than some of the action and/or suspense films on the list;

An American Werewolf in London
Army of Darkness
Audition
Black Sabbath
The Changling
Creature form the Black Lagoon
Dark City
Dead Alive
Dead of Night
Exorcism of Emily Rose
Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte
Hell raiser
John Carpenter%u2019s the Thing (maybe)
Last House on the Left
Masque of the Red Death
Picture of Dorian Gray
Poltergeist
Prince of Darkness
Whatever happened to baby Jane?


(Reply to this)
DarkShines2063
DarkShines2063 writes:
on Oct 24 2008 08:19 PM

Most of these movies are not even horror movies.why is 'the exorcist or 'halloween' not there??

(Reply to this)
John W.
John W. writes:
on Oct 24 2008 08:41 PM

Granted there are some pretty lame movies on this list, but the glaring omissions are the nightmare movies:
%u2022 Blair Witch
%u2022 Exorcist
%u2022 Jacob's Ladder
%u2022 Angel Heart
%u2022 8 mm
%u2022 Shining


(Reply to this)
Shastanna D.
Shastanna D. writes:
on Oct 24 2008 09:51 PM

I understand paying homage to older movies, but at some point the old has to make room for the new.

No Hellraiser? No Scream? No Grudge?

Ok, my tastes probably aren't your tastes, and that's cool, but c'mon, Rottentomatoes! Have a separate list for older movies and make a new list with more current horror films, please!


(Reply to this)
omelette
omelette writes:
on Oct 24 2008 11:10 PM

Meh. I'm not loving this list. There's some cool picks in there, but I definitely don't think that King Kong and Night of the Hunter are horror movies.

And no The Shining? I, and many other people, believe that's the single greatest horror movie ever, yet it's not even here. Boo, I say.


(Reply to this)
the magic dentist
the magic dentist writes:
on Oct 25 2008 12:33 AM

Yes, this is a bad list.

It's almost as if they just used a search program to find all the movies with 'suspense' or 'horror' tags, then just sorted them out based on critics' ratings instead of actually putting any time or thought into compiling a decent list.



(Reply to this)
georgeking2001
georgeking2001 writes:
on Oct 25 2008 02:19 AM

oh my...,a countdown that doesnt include exorcist or even the recent del toro masterpiece pans labyrinth. and you are saying 20 good reviews to back up. then what is pans labyrinth ( more than 30 good revs and 96%). what a shame....

(Reply to this)
Confounded
Confounded writes:
on Oct 25 2008 06:10 AM

RT Lists: How it works:

We dont put any time or effort into actually thinking about what we feel is a good or viable entry. We type in a keyword and sort list according to percent of Tomatometer, even though mathematically a movie with a 93% meter and an average score of 7.5/10 is not as good as a movie with an 87% meter and an average 8.7/10. Add some graphics, a photoshopped montage of movie characters, and we're done. Pat ourselves on the back and go home.


Guys, I love you, I truly do. But I remember when you were movie geeks like us. Most of the time anything now just seems like it's all just a collection and arrangement of information, and no longer a passion for the cinema. Come back from the dark side.


(Reply to this)
supermanofsteel
supermanofsteel writes:
on Oct 25 2008 06:50 AM

RT, I can understand if there are a few people who may disagree with your choices. Obviously, you can't satisfy everyone.

But from the looks of things, you haven't satisfied ANYONE. I mean, is there anyone here who even remotely agrees with your list? Hell, do YOU guys agree with your list?

I mean come on! Even you have to admit there are some horrible choices on it.


(Reply to this)
Analogkid09
Analogkid09 writes:
on Oct 25 2008 07:27 AM

This list is ridiculous. King Kong is a classic...but not horror. And how do you list Aliens higher than Alien. Night of Living Dead or Texas Chainsaw not in the top ten!?!...on that note Texas Chainsaw is not a "splatter" film. Have you seen it...almost no blood!?!



(Reply to this)
ErroneJLAP
ErroneJLAP writes:
on Oct 25 2008 08:20 AM

Well we have heard from the CGI followers but is that really a horror movie or just some ones computer in-sight??? Horror movies are not about Macs and Microsoft they are about the horrors that are possible....
My generation saw movies about the horrors of crazy peoples...Pyscho is a classic...In Cold Blood...The Onion Fields...they shocked and they rang truth and the probability of happening...Dawn of the Dead came and it scared the willies out of us...GrindHouse sure was a throw back and it was one to mention...if I may tell of a movie that started the horrors of the Atomic Age it had to be THEM...black and white with actors long gone but it moved the studios into a new eara...The attack of the 50 foot man..the incredibly shrinking man..they had a field day plopping these things out.
The original KING KONG was messmerizing but laughable as was the re-make...Moby Dick was far better...I have to concur with the addition of ALIEN is just rocked...the directors of DARK STAR,another calssic went on to direct ALIEN and Bishops knife move was copied from that movie look it up it is great fun...Andy Warhol three dimensional story about FRANKY (Sheelys)is a hoot to watch it is very good...so many horror movies and so little time to put them all down...Horrors movies rock and hopfully they never go to past...Be Good and Be Happy.
JOHN


(Reply to this)
headmonkeys
headmonkeys writes:
on Oct 25 2008 09:39 AM

Maybe people, they didn't put top of the list obvious choices on there for a reason...If everyone knew the films that were to be put on there, what would be the point in making a list. It's not being made to rationalize your choices, or prove your picks and tastes right, it's to expose you to new films and make you think.

And while The Shining is a superbly crafted horror film, it's probably one of the most boring, and dry horror films I've ever seen. Shelley Duvall is a terrible actress, and Jack Nicholson can't play straight. His transformation from normal to crazy was absolutely appalling and befuddling, not to mention ridiculously sudden.


(Reply to this)
ashleyholwerda
ashleyholwerda writes:
on Oct 25 2008 12:07 PM

this is in no way the 50 best horror movies. hello, where is john carpenters the thing? that is definitley one of the scariest movies of all time. they could also add a few more b movies like the re-animator. maybe not the scariest but definitley one of my favorites.

(Reply to this)
the train
the train writes:
on Oct 25 2008 12:33 PM

RT: you should change the title of this list to "best reviewed horror movies." it wouldn't be quite accurate (since i agree that a movie with a high score) but a low number of reviews isn't necessarily better reviewed than a movie with a lower score but a higher number of reviews.

to echo some of the sentiments expressed above:

i don't understand how "king kong" is a better horror film than night of the living dead.

i don't understand how the exorcist doesn't make it on this list!

this illustrates that your methodology is flawed.


(Reply to this)
supermanofsteel
supermanofsteel writes:
on Oct 25 2008 01:08 PM

In reply to this comment (#2094771)
[b]HEADMONKEYS WROTE: It's not being made to rationalize your choices, or prove your picks and tastes right, it's to expose you to new films and make you think.[/b]

It's called "Best Horror Films" meaning the greatest of the genre, not "Horror you should see." And if it were called that, then thank god! They've finally EXPOSED the general public to UNKNOWN movies like King Kong, Aliens, Evil Dead, Frankenstein and Jaws. God knows, those movies have never gotten the attention they deserved.


(Reply to this)
tomwaitsjr
tomwaitsjr writes:
on Oct 25 2008 03:19 PM

Hmmmm. . . King Kong you say? HOW COME BOTH KING KONG NOT ON LIST THEN?!?!?!?


It's a lot like time travel. . .

THIS LIST SUCKS. Do yourself a favor, RT, and banish it! Don't do this again!


(Reply to this)
tomwaitsjr
tomwaitsjr writes:
on Oct 25 2008 03:20 PM

Oh, I just made a huge mistake.

HOW COME THREE KING KONG NOT ON LIST THEN?!?!?!?!

Or Godzilla?

or High School Musical 3?


(Reply to this)
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