Every genre has films that serve as the gold standard of style, and that's doubly true horror movies. The best horror movies are the ones that excel on the technical side in their own right, while conveying the best things about the genre. It's safe to say that some of them are even close to perfection, with no flaws holding them back no matter how many years have passed since they first debuted on cinema screens.
There are several aspects that horror films must succeed in order to be considered close to perfect. First, they have to be scary enough, capable of evoking genuine fear and terror without resorting to cheap jump scares or fakes. They must also be competent films as a whole, avoiding the usual pitfalls of bad films such as bad acting, poor writing, poor production design or cinematography, and poor editing or sound design. When a horror film can succeed in all of these categories and at the same time add something new to the formula, it makes for a truly legendary experience.
10 The Exorcist
1973
original ownership film, The Exorcist Decades after its first release, it's still hallowed for the enduring horror of its haunting portrayal of demonic possession. The film revolves around Regan, a young girl who finds herself in the grip of an evil malevolent entity, specifically a Christian demon. It falls to a single exorcist to free a young girl from her inner being, a dangerous job that is not supernaturally safe.
The demon inside Regan The Exorcist still one of the scariest movie monsters ever to hit the screen. The way young Linda Blair is able to disfigure her face and demeanor to match the jaw-dropping special effects and blood-curdling demonic voice is a sight that's hard to shake, making it one of the most enduring horror experiences ever. From the technical prowess behind the camera to the iconic soundtrack, The Exorcistits influence cannot be denied.
9 Jaws
1975
One of the greatest films of legendary director Steven Spielberg, Jaws not only was it crucial to the horror genre, but it helped invent the summer blockbuster as we know it. For as effective as it is, the film has a relatively simple premise. A bloodthirsty, man-eating Great White shark terrorizes a small beach town's quiet summer tourist season, and it's up to the town to assemble a team of experts to take it down.
Eliminating such a monster is not a simple matter of catching fish in a barrel, however Jaws It proved groundbreaking for the blood and gore achieved with a PG rating. It's telling that the film's gruesome visuals are powerful enough to inspire an entire series Jaws spin-offs, though none compare to the aquatic terror of the original. It is famous enough that the two simple notes of the theme song are synonymous with shark attacks, Jaws it has such a strong legacy for good reason.
8 Night of the Living Dead
1968
There was a time when the humble zombie movie was drowned in pop culture, and to this day the subgenre remains a massively popular touchstone for the horror film community. None of this would be possible without the legendary George A. Romero Night of the Living Deadit popularized the idea of slow, shuffling hordes of undead who could only be killed by a decisive blow to the head and transferred their state through a bite. The film follows the survivors of a town overrun by zombies trapped inside a barricaded house with little hope of survival.
Aside from popularizing many of the tropes that have come to define zombie media, Night of the Living Dead many other reasons are close to perfect. The tension between the survivors and the desperation conveyed by the menacing onslaught of the ghouls makes for an absolutely riveting experience. With gorgeous black-and-white shots that hide the wrinkles and flaws of the film's special effects, Romero really managed to strike gold with the film on a shoestring budget.
7 Hereditary
2018
The film that put eccentric horror director Ari Aster on the map, Hereditary It may be a relative newcomer to the horror hall of fame, but it's quickly cemented itself as one of the most brilliant horror films ever conceived. The film follows a dysfunctional family dealing with the emotional impact of the death of their matriarch, who has a mysterious past that none of the family members know about. It wasn't long before another tragedy and terror engulfed the family, heralding the arrival of a powerful demon lord.
Toni Collett's solo performance arguably ranks Hereditary one of the most brilliant horror films ever conceived, conveying sadness and despair with terrifying precision. Aster is also a master at his craft, planting the seeds for an uneasy ending with scraps of clues that require further viewings to fully understand. With killer performances, a haunting soundtrack, and some of the most haunting scenes of any horror film of the 2010s, Hereditary it's hard to find fault.
6 The Thing
1982
while Halloween It was a film that proved John Carpenter to be a terrible visionary to remember. The Thing it is undoubtedly his main work. A grand premise, the story revolves around the isolated crew of a research station deep in the windswept icy plains of Antarctica. When the station is invaded by a cunning shape-shifting alien, the crew, led by Kurt Russell's MacReady, must find a way to survive by separating friend from foe.
The Thing doesn't waste a moment of its runtime, wordlessly dropping the viewer into the hellish blizzards of Antarctica before deploying the creative and hideous creature. Practical special effects The Thing are some of the greatest of all time and create spectacular bloody mayhem that breaks the long-running tension of the claustrophobic research station. Although 80s audiences may not have appreciated it, The Thing It continues to be the greatest horror film of all time for a variety of reasons.
5 The Shining
1980
According to genius director Stanley Kubrick, one of the greatest adaptations of a Stephen King book of all time is coming. The Shining. Even if King himself wasn't a fan of Kubrick's film, it's hard for many to find anything to complain about with this masterclass in brilliantly crafted multi-genre horror. The story revolves around the Torrance family, whose young son Danny has an uncanny ability to communicate telepathically. This comes in handy when her father, Jack, brings her to the Overlook Hotel with her mother, where madness soon overcomes her.
In every performance The Shining From Nicholson's creepy smile to Shelley Duvall's screaming hysteria, it's almost impossible to believe there's an act. Every single frame of the film is an absolute painting, from the bone-chilling bathroom sequence to the legendary shot of Danny patrolling the corridors of the Overlook on his tricycle. It can be argued The Shining is one of the greatest films of all time, especially among horror films.
4 Alien
1979
It's rare for a multi-genre film to be so inspirational to its peers across different sectors, but Ridley Scott's Alien certainly monumental in both the horror and science fiction realms. Set on an isolated spaceship, the film follows Sigourney Weaver's Ellen Ripley as she awakens from cryogenic stasis and, along with the rest of her crew, encounters a monstrous alien life form terrorizing the confined ship alone. Before long, Ripley's crewmates are being picked off one by one by the apex predator, the Xenomorph.
as The Thing, Alien is also a groundbreaking film when it comes to conveying alien terror through the lens of practical effects. Each performance meanders thoughtfully through Scott's believable retro-future world of twisted black cables and thick digital screens that make up the bones of his bones. USCSS Nostromo. Even if none of the spin-offs or sequels manage to recapture the silent horror of the original, Alien it's very effective for good reason, with little or no real flaws.
3 Psycho
1960
Even if legendary thriller director Alfred Hitchcock is best known for his elaborate murder mysteries, it's the straight-laced horror that stands above the rest of his filmography. It owes its existence to many stories that are the forerunners of the modern slasher film Psycho. The story revolves around a trio of unlikely allies who team up to investigate the disappearance of a young woman at the mysterious Bates Motel, run by the brilliant bartender Norman Bates, who is soon suspected of murder.
As far as horror villains go, Norman Bates is the scariest with his sadistic grin in the final frame. According to his time, Psycho brilliantly edited, the infamous shower scene still remains a touchstone of pop culture 50 years after its conception. An old film that has aged quite gracefully, it's hard to find fault Psycho even by modern horror movie standards.
2 The Silence of the Lambs
1991
Based on the novel of the same name The Silence of the Lambs is one of those rare horror films that transcends its disturbing subject matter enough to be appreciated as true art. The film stars Jodie Foster as Clarice Starling, a new FBI agent tasked with apprehending a disturbing serial killer known as Buffalo Bill, who is suspected of kidnapping the daughter of a powerful senator. To help her in her quest, she enlists the help of the infamous Hannibal Lecter, an incarcerated serial killer and former licensed psychiatrist known for eating his victims.
Sir Anthony Hopkins' Hannibal Lecter is simply one of the greatest movie villains of all time, surpassing his role with his hypnotically watchable yet unsettling persona of intense violent tendencies clashing with an appreciation for the finer things in life. All other performances follow the same pattern, and the film's visuals and exciting moments of tension can have a physical effect on the viewer. As for horror movies, The Silence of the Lambs it just might be the perfect movie.
1 Get out
2017
Marrying the very real horror of racism with some existentially terrifying body horror consequences, Get out It was Jordan Peele's first horror film, quickly changing the public perception of the director as a former sketch comedy guru. The film follows a young African-American photographer who agrees to travel to an affluent suburb to meet the parents of his white girlfriend. Racial tension soon turns to something darker as Daniel Kaluuya's Chris Washington uncovers society's sinister secret.
It's rare for a horror movie to look this good Get out does, but it's the writing that really takes his debut film to another level. Few horror films offer political commentary as valuable as Peele's without overpowering or feeling too much of the story's more supernatural elements. Thought provoking, terrifying and expertly crafted in every technical category, Get out so perfect horror movies come on