Best Horror Movies
The best horror movies, listed by order of the year when they were released. Not necessarily the best, but arguably the most iconic horror movies of all time, also taking horror comedies into account.
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- DirectorRobert WieneStarsWerner KraussConrad VeidtFriedrich FeherHypnotist Dr. Caligari uses a somnambulist, Cesare, to commit murders.Both a masterpiece and landmark of German expressionist cinema, arguably laying the groundwork for modern horror.
- DirectorF.W. MurnauStarsMax SchreckAlexander GranachGustav von WangenheimVampire Count Orlok expresses interest in a new residence and real estate agent Hutter's wife.The first noteworthy vampire movie, and another masterpiece of German expressionist cinema. The influence of this movie, as well as the performance by Max Schreck, cannot be overstated.
- DirectorRupert JulianLon ChaneyErnst LaemmleStarsLon ChaneyMary PhilbinNorman KerryA mad, disfigured composer seeks love with a lovely young opera singer.
- DirectorTod BrowningKarl FreundStarsBela LugosiHelen ChandlerDavid MannersTransylvanian vampire Count Dracula bends a naive real estate agent to his will, then takes up residence at a London estate where he sleeps in his coffin by day and searches for potential victims by night.The first big success of Universal's legendary monster pictures, as well as the first sound film adaptation of Bram Stoker's novel. An undeniable classic and an extremely important movie.
- DirectorJames WhaleStarsColin CliveMae ClarkeBoris KarloffDr Henry Frankenstein is obsessed with assembling a living being from parts of several exhumed corpses.Another one of Universal's monster pictures, featuring yet another now classic horror movie monster. The tale and tragedy of Frankenstein's monster is now legendary, and both the movie's themes and technical achievements were breaking new ground for the horror genre.
- DirectorRouben MamoulianStarsFredric MarchMiriam HopkinsRose HobartDr. Jekyll faces horrible consequences when he lets his dark side run wild with a potion that transforms him into the animalistic Mr. Hyde.
- DirectorTod BrowningStarsWallace FordLeila HyamsOlga BaclanovaA circus' beautiful trapeze artist agrees to marry the leader of side-show performers, but his deformed friends discover she is only marrying him for his inheritance.After Dracula, Tod Browning was given free reign to make another movie. What he came up with is still considered one of the most unsettling and controversial movies ever made. Still a classic in every sense.
- DirectorJames WhaleStarsClaude RainsGloria StuartWilliam HarriganA scientist finds a way of becoming invisible, but in doing so, he becomes murderously insane.
- DirectorGeorge WaggnerStarsClaude RainsWarren WilliamLon Chaney Jr.Larry Talbot returns to his father's castle in Wales and meets a beautiful woman. One fateful night, Talbot escorts her to a local carnival where they meet a mysterious gypsy fortune teller.Completing the big three of classic horror movie monsters, this movie gave us the werewolf. Simply because of that, it has justly gone down in history.
- DirectorJacques TourneurStarsSimone SimonTom ConwayKent SmithAn American man marries a Serbian immigrant who fears that she will turn into the cat person of her homeland's fables if they are intimate together.
- DirectorAlberto CavalcantiCharles CrichtonBasil DeardenStarsMervyn JohnsMichael RedgraveRoland CulverGuests invited to a weekend in the country share their supernatural stories, beginning with Walter Craig, who senses impending doom as his half-remembered recurring dream turns into reality.
- DirectorAndré De TothStarsVincent PriceFrank LovejoyPhyllis KirkAn associate burns down a wax museum with the owner inside, but he survives only to become vengeful and murderous.
- DirectorJack ArnoldStarsRichard CarlsonJulie AdamsRichard DenningA strange prehistoric beast lurks in the depths of the Amazonian jungle. A group of scientists try to capture the animal and bring it back to civilization for study.
- DirectorDon SiegelStarsKevin McCarthyDana WynterLarry GatesA small-town doctor learns that the population of his community is being replaced by emotionless alien duplicates.Made in the midst of cold war paranoia, this movie initially really makes you question the protagonist's sanity, before turning everything on its head with one of cinema's scariest ever plots.
- DirectorKurt NeumannStarsDavid HedisonPatricia OwensVincent PriceA scientist has a horrific accident when he tries to use his newly invented teleportation device.
- DirectorTerence FisherStarsPeter CushingChristopher LeeMichael GoughWhen Jonathan Harker rouses the ire of Count Dracula for accepting a job at the vampire's castle under false pretenses, his friend Dr. Van Helsing pursues the predatory villain.It had to have been difficult to follow up Béla Legosi's legendary portrayal of the titular monster, but there are few finer thespians than the late Christopher Lee to pull it off. Where the original 1931 movie laid the groundwork, this film arguably refined the modern image of a vampire.
- DirectorWilliam CastleStarsVincent PriceCarol OhmartRichard LongA millionaire offers $10,000 to five people who agree to be locked in a large, spooky, rented house overnight with him and his wife.
- DirectorMichael PowellStarsKarlheinz BöhmAnna MasseyMoira ShearerA young man murders women, using a movie camera to film their dying expressions of terror.Voyeuristic and extremely controversial at its release, Peeping Tom is now widely regarded as an important classic. Shortly before Alfred Hitchcock's 'Psycho', this film already showed off gruesome deeds from the killer's perspective. Arguably the first slasher movie.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsAnthony PerkinsJanet LeighVera MilesA Phoenix secretary embezzles $40,000 from her employer's client, goes on the run and checks into a remote motel run by a young man under the domination of his mother.Not just a legendary and classic horror movie, but a legendary and classic movie, period. Everything about this movie has been ingrained in popular culture; from the shower scene, to the score, to the amazing twist ending. Alfred Hitchcock as director, and a terrifying performace from Anthony Perkins make this a must watch for any movie buff.
- DirectorWolf RillaStarsGeorge SandersBarbara ShelleyMartin StephensIn the English village of Midwich, the blonde-haired, glowing-eyed children of uncertain paternity prove to have frightening powers.
- DirectorJack ClaytonStarsDeborah KerrPeter WyngardeMegs JenkinsA young governess for two children becomes convinced that the house and grounds are haunted.Adapted from Henry James's 'The Turn of the Screw', this movie again tampers with the idea that it's our protagonist's mind that might harbor the real danger. A classic haunted house movie, with creepy kids to boot.
- DirectorGeorges FranjuStarsPierre BrasseurAlida ValliJuliette MaynielA surgeon causes an accident which leaves his daughter disfigured and goes to extreme lengths to give her a new face.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsRod TaylorTippi HedrenJessica TandyA wealthy San Francisco socialite pursues a potential boyfriend to a small Northern California town that slowly takes a turn for the bizarre when birds of all kinds suddenly begin to attack people.Hitchcock's other foray into horror, but wildly different from Psycho. A highly original creature feature, which made cinema goers worldwide avoid any featured creature like the plague. Any movie that can accomplish that deserves praise.
- DirectorMario BavaStarsMichèle MercierLidia AlfonsiBoris KarloffBoris Karloff hosts a trio of horror stories concerning a stalked call girl, a vampire-like monster who preys on his family, and a nurse who is haunted by her ring's rightful owner.
- DirectorRobert WiseStarsJulie HarrisClaire BloomRichard JohnsonHill House has stood for about 90 years and appears haunted: its inhabitants have always met strange, tragic ends. Now Dr. John Markway has assembled a team of people who he thinks will prove whether or not the house is haunted.Adapted from Shirley Jackson's classic horror novel, 'The Haunting of Hill House', this is yet another well-known haunted house story, laying the groundwork for many such adaptations to follow.