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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!

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Comments (41-60 of 199 posts) | Reply
And The Answer Is 42
And The Answer Is 42 writes:
on Oct 25 2008 06:40 PM

This is HORRIBLE!!! Aliens above a Nightmare on Elm Street, Silence of the Lambs and also not even ON the list a New Nightmare??!?!?! Terrible!! King Kong first? Jaws 7th? Plus, half these movies will be impossible to find if you want to (1919? Thanks guys, find it for me and I'll have some newfound respect for yall). Poorly done, RT.

(Reply to this)
And The Answer Is 42
And The Answer Is 42 writes:
on Oct 25 2008 06:50 PM

My Top Ten:
1. Silence of the Lambs
2. Nightmare on Elm Street
3. Exorcist (not on list)
4. Wes Craven's New Nightmare (not on list)
5. Poltergeist II (not on list)
6. Saw (not on list)
7. Halloween
8. Friday the 13th
9. Hannibal (not on list)
10. Freddy vs. Jason (not on list)


Six of my top ten favorite horror movies not on the list. Terrible. Take out 28 days later and ill be a ton happier.


(Reply to this)
Deluvian
Deluvian writes:
on Oct 25 2008 08:23 PM

King Kong number one...Um ok no problem.

This rating system needs to be reassessed, a movie from 80 years ago about a large gorilla DOES NOT belong in the number 1 spot.

Sad day indeed.


(Reply to this)
Deluvian
Deluvian writes:
on Oct 25 2008 08:23 PM

King Kong number one...Um ok no problem.

This rating system needs to be reassessed, a movie from 80 years ago about a large gorilla DOES NOT belong in the number 1 spot.

Sad day indeed.


(Reply to this)
khurram h.
khurram h. writes:
on Oct 25 2008 09:47 PM

i would say that list should have been categorized according to eras or decades.

i mean nowadays movies have such good special effects to scare that makes old horror movies look like a joke.i dont now King Kong can be on the top.Compare it with P.J's and you can just laugh about it.and how come there are no Asian Movies like Shutter,Grudge,Signal,Itchi


Out of old movies that have not been included

The Exorcist.(still very scary after so many years)
Nightmare of Elm Street
Friday the !3th
Halloween(i think its there but i am not really sure)
An American Werewolf In London
Poltergeist

Out of New Movies

Ringu
Audition
The Sixth Sense
The Fly
Pan Labyrinth
Jurassic Park
Orphanage
A Tale of Two Sisters
Teeth

and these movies do have good ratings (except Audition and Pan Labyrinth that is 70%) above 80%. i guess alot of movies were left out just for this one reason.


(Reply to this)
Tmurph824
Tmurph824 writes:
on Oct 25 2008 10:55 PM

How about the Omen? Exorcist? Shining? And why is Halloween ranked 39?

(Reply to this)
Andrew H.
Andrew H. writes:
on Oct 26 2008 12:13 AM

I'd have to say my favorite Horror movies are: (in no apparent order)...All Hitchcock, The Shining, Salem's Lot, Rosemary's Baby, The Exorcist, The Exorcist 3, White Zombie, Pet Sematery, Ju-On, The Tale of Two Sisters, 3 Extremes 1 & 2, American Werewolf in London, The Howling, The original Dracula, The original Frankenstein & The Bride of Frankenstein, Signs, 28 Days Later, Pumkinhead...God damn its hard to name them all...Well, these must be my favorites.

Oh yeah, "Garfield's Halloween Special" & "It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown"

Can't wait to see "Let The Right One In"!!!!!!!!


(Reply to this)
Andrew H.
Andrew H. writes:
on Oct 26 2008 12:20 AM

And on the sci/fi level...

The Thing
Alien
Aliens
Event Horizon & so on



(Reply to this)
khurram h.
khurram h. writes:
on Oct 26 2008 07:51 AM

well i was really happy to see 28 dyas later..infact i wanted it to be ranked higher...atleast the movie made zombies more scary otherwise zombies used to be duck hunts..

(Reply to this)
collex
collex writes:
on Oct 26 2008 10:35 AM

In reply to this comment (#2096004)
I don't agree that special effects of today makes better horror movie than in decades past. If a movie relies on special effect (something that doesn't age well) to be scary, than it is not one of the best horror movie. The movies who relies on atmosphere, acting and natural suspense to scare, wich don't get old or cheesy with advance in technology, are better horror movies.

The problem with this list is not the age of the movie, but their categorization. There are many movie in it that aren't horror movie.

And I don't understand the Tomatometer. Exorcist has 85% (or 88%, if you look at "The version you've never seen"), at least 20 good reviews and isn't there? I don't understand. It should, if all we go is by Tomatometer. RT, please explain.


(Reply to this)
ANTHONY M.
ANTHONY M. writes:
on Oct 26 2008 01:31 PM

WTF?
I love King Kong but not as a horror flick at all
I get the obvious picks on the horror classics(golden age)
But where was the exorcist?
and many,many more great horror flicks?
The Tomatometer should really be a guideline at best when it comes to this genre..

My short list of best terror/horror/scary movies would include

Re-animator
High tension
Halloween 1&2
Friday the 13th 1&2
Exorcist
The sentinel
Salem's Lot(cheesy but good)
and many more I wont bore you with!!


(Reply to this)
Eat.Before.We.Eat.You
Eat.Before.We.Eat.You writes:
on Oct 26 2008 03:22 PM

In reply to this comment (#2092973)
First, Jocorotten, I really hope that you're talking about the crappy Nic Cage remake of The Wicker Man and not the 1973 original. If you were disappointed by the original, then you have bad taste. It's that simple. The Wicker Man is amazing.

Second, how has no one mentioned the fact that the 1978 Invasion of the Body Snatchers wasn't on the list? What criteria could they possibly be using to leave IotBS off the list?

For instance, take Horror of Draculam (1958), which was ranked number 49:
Tomatometer: 88%
Reviews: 24
Average Rating: 7.4/10

Now, look at Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978), which wasn't on the list:
Tomatometer: 97%
Reviews: 35
Average Rating: 8/10

Could someone explain to me how this can be? What, do 1958 reviews count for more than 1978 reviews? Is there some kind of review inflation that I haven't been told about?


(Reply to this)
Neil T.
Neil T. writes:
on Oct 26 2008 05:22 PM

Wow, that list was bad. I really regret taking the time to read it. I know something was up when Halloween wasn't even in the top 20. It was a classic critics list...waste of time. Anyways everyone seemed to cover the good ones that were left out of this list but here a few of my favs.

The Exorcist
The Omen
The Fly
Blair Witch
Rosemary's Baby
Sixth Sense
Event Horizon
The Ring
The Mothman Prophecies
The Shinning
The Decent
Just to name a few...its really sad when like one or two of those were on the list.


(Reply to this)
collex
collex writes:
on Oct 26 2008 06:35 PM

In reply to this comment (#2096977)
I personally think Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) was a laughable horror movie and pretty lame, but I agree that by Tomatometer alone (wich this list claim to be based upon) it should be there. Like The Exorcist.

I don't understand how they made this list. They didn't even get their Tomatometer ratings right!


(Reply to this)
bluestar50
bluestar50 writes:
on Oct 26 2008 08:16 PM

How could The Shining not be included? King Kong is #1? Who came up with this list? The Shining deserves to be in the top 5 scary movies of all time

(Reply to this)
andrzej.banas@gmail.com
andrzej.banas@gmail.com writes:
on Oct 26 2008 09:42 PM

As much as Seconds and Targets and Night of the Hunter are, I never really thought of them as horror films. Much closer to Thrillers for me, but that's nitpicking.

I'm glad to see Vampyr, Eyes Without a face, Cat People, The Innocents, Cronos, I Walked With a Zombie, and such on the list.

Dead of Night really jumped up high from last year too! Wow. I tracked it down on VHS and found it good but a bit too Twilight Zoney for me.

But you missed a lot of good foreign horror films because they are labeled under the genre "Foreign" rather then "horror". You need to fix that! Also, perhaps next time make it based on the critical average, instead of the tomato meter.

Since people seem to be arguing about King Kong, I dont' consider it a horror film, but I wouldn't argue with it being a giant monster movie, gotta reach for the top on that one! Wouldn't it be awesome of Repulsion was picked number one however? That would boost some sales in the DVD market for that masterpiece.


(Reply to this)
bill s.
bill s. writes:
on Oct 26 2008 11:37 PM

yaaa im also wondering where is the exorcist????

(Reply to this)
lokicdn
lokicdn writes:
on Oct 27 2008 04:48 AM

Why even bother making these lists if they are going to discredit the process with glaring omissions and silly inclusions? King Kong a horror? Give me a break.

(Reply to this)
Travis S.
Travis S. writes:
on Oct 27 2008 06:31 AM

I think the biggest travesty was Halloween, at number 30. Pathetic! Also No "The Shining" and no "Exorcist", and I know most people don't like Romero's "Day of the Dead", but it deserves to make it on here somewhere if for nothing else other than Savini's ground breaking gore effects.

-PS- anyone notice how many vampire films were on here?


(Reply to this)
Travis S.
Travis S. writes:
on Oct 27 2008 06:33 AM

I think the biggest travesty was Halloween, at number 30. Pathetic! Also No "The Shining" and no "Exorcist", and I know most people don't like Romero's "Day of the Dead", but it deserves to make it on here somewhere if for nothing else other than Savini's ground breaking gore effects.

-PS- anyone notice how many vampire films were on here?


(Reply to this)
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