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Scariest Films

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Top Ten Scariest Movies

We asked our members to rank the scary movies they thought were the Scariest Movies of all time. These are not necessarily the best horror movies, but rather the movies that scared them the most. Interestingly, most of the horror films on the lists are classics that have endured over the years. It also includes a wide variety of Directors and in fact no Director has more than one horror film on the Scariest Movies list.

Horror movies come in many different shapes and sizes; paranormal films such as The Exorcist, serial killer films like Silence of the Lambs, crazy murdering clans such as Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Many of these different horror sub-genres are represented on this scariest films list.

We have actually added an eleventh selection since it was so influential. This list of the best scary movies is a blended average of all the mamber rankings on Rankography best movies. While you have likely heard of most of these, you can discover many lesser known horror films on the full list.

If you want to browse through the full list of scariest films or the rankings of others, then click through to the scariest movies category on Rankography.

You may also want to check out our lens on the best Vampire Films.

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11. Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)

A Shocking and Edgy Horror Classic

texas chainsaw massacre scary moviesIn 1974, an unknown Director named Tobe Hooper shocked the world with a twisted and terrifying tale of a crazy backwoods clan of cannibal killers. At the time, many felt Texas Chainsaw Massacre was too graphic and edgy for its R rating and some argued it should not be allowed in theaters. Naturally a cult classic was born.

The film is grisly and the opening narration gives it the feel of a true story. What's more, the reality that a twisted group of crazy cannibals could live near you intensified the terror and made this one of the best scary movies of all time.

Buy a limited edition original movie poster or you could get a framed replica poster of one of the top scary movies.

You may also want to check out this autographed Texas Chainsaw Massacre photo
Powers Collectibles Texas Chainsaw Massacre 13689

10. 28 Days Later (2003)

What if you Woke up in a World Full of Zombie Plague Victims?

28 Days Later scariest movies28 Days Later provides the most terrifying take on the Zombie concept. Jim, the film's protagonist, awakes from a Coma on an empty floor in an empty hospital. That alone is a chilling premise. As he explores the cityscape he encounters demented plague victims that want to kill (and theoretically eat him). The start of this film is particularly disturbing because Jim is so alone. it is a nightmare that none of us would want to encounter.

Later when he meets up with other survivors, the movie becomes more of an action thriller with them racing against the Zombie horde to find the source of a radio transmission that promises salvation. 28 Days Later executed a different spin on the Zombie movie and created a deeper sense of fear than its Zombie movie predecessors.

Buy a framed replica movie poster of one of the scariest movies in the past 10 years.

9. The Omen (1976)

A Haunting Representation of the Devil as a 10 Year Old Damien

The Omen horror moviesThe Omen (1976) was not a classic horror movie in the sense that you are worried about a killer lurking in the closet. Rather, The Omen is one of those mental horror movies that spent chills down your spine and shocked you into fear. Childhood is supposed to be so innocent, so when it is coupled with pure evil our heads are sent spinning while trying process with what we are seeing. Damien's chilling birthday party scene is forever etched in my memory as the representation of pure evil!

Throughout the film you are continually confronted with the thought, "what would I do if this was my child". How can you harm your own child, and yet how could your child be responsible for the monstrosities being committed. It is this mental struggle between what we believe and what we are seeing that makes this 1970s film so chilling and one of the scariest films ever.

Buy this original limited edition poster or get this framed replica poster from one of the best horror movies.

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8. Psycho (1960)

Hitchcock Creates the Standard for Horror Movies

psycho movie image hitchcock bates motelIn 1960, Alfred Hitchcock scared the world with the ultimate psychological thriller. The 1950s had been a period of great prosperity in the US. Most families now could afford to vacation in automobiles and America had become mobile. Fast food restaurants, such as McDonald's, and roadside motels sprang up across the country. Hitchcock brilliantly saw the opportunity to exploit the American's mobile psyche with a Horror film set against the backdrop on a lonely, isolated roadside motel.

Anthony Perkins is brilliant as the psychotic Norman Bates holding on to the memory of a overbearing mother. The shower scene was so terrifyingly real that it continues to be copied by other horror Directors to this day. This film endures after 50 years as one of the scariest films of all time.

Buy an original 1939 Movie Poster here, original, linen-backed, rolled.

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7. Alien (1979)

But those eggs looked so peaceful...

alien movie poster ridley scott sigourney weaverIn his 1979 classic, Ridley Scott takes us to a new place for horror, outer space, and what results is a riveting sci fi horror thriller. While horror is not Mr. Scott's main genre, he is masterful at contrasting peaceful calm periods with terrifying periods of sheer chaos. This continual contrast throughout the film creates incredible emotional and physiological changes in your body as you watch this scay film.

As you learn, the magnatude of capabilities of the beast that the crew is up against, you are sent down a road of sheer hopelessness. And yet you rally around the human instinct for survival. This film was so groundbreaking in its concept that it would have been entirely enjoyable as a simple thriller film, but when you combine fear to the equation it becomes one of the all time great movies of our generation.

You can purchase an Original movie poster of the scariest film ever set in space.

Get an autographed Sigourney Weaver photo from Alien

or buy the limited edition original poster pictured here or simply get a replica poster from one of the scariest films ever.

6. A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

You May Never Go to Sleep Again.

Nightmare on Elm Street horror moviesWes Craven created a horror masterpiece in the first Nightmare installment. Sleep has always been our refuge from fear. When we were afraid as children, we hoped to fall asleep because the fear would be gone when we awoke. This is part of what makes A Nightmare on Elm Street so disturbingly scary -- "what if you could not go to sleep, because that is where the danger lies..." Having a serial killer invade our dreams is a terrifying concept. What's more, we all know that eventually we all must sleep so there is no way to escape Freddy Krueger forever -- that creates a backdrop of fear throughout this scary movie.

Couple that backdrop with a hideously scary monster in Freddy (with his scarred face and 10 inch finger blades) and a motive for revenge and makes this one of the scariest films ever. It truly changed the game in Horror with its completely unique storyline and bizarre twist on the sleep refuge.

Buy this limited edition original movie poster from this classic horror film.

Or you could buy a movie poster Autographed by Freddy and Jason Vorhees from Freddy vs. Jason

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5. The Blair Witch Project

Trailblazer in the Documentary Horror Genre

Blair Witch Project scary moviesAnother genre defining horror movie makes the list in The Blair Witch Project. It was the first film to use a brilliant internet-based viral marketing campaign to build a following before the film was released. The campaign gave the impression of being a "true story" and that was the brilliance that really made this one of the scariest movies. After the fact, many have ridiculed it as not being very scary, but in the moment it was brilliant in creating doubt about the authenticity of the story.

The terror in this horror film is in the documentary feel of the film (later copied to very good effect in Cloverfield). Are we witnessing an actual videotaping of kids deep in the woods chasing the legends of ghosts and witches. It was a groundbreaking film that later opened the doors for the docudrama approach that has been often copied since in both movies and TV shows.

Buy a framed movie poster from this documentary style horror film.

4. Silence of the Lambs

Creepy, Creepy, Creepy.

Silence of the Lambs scariest moviesSilence of the Lambs had a major impact on me when it first came out. For a few years after this scary movie, I would not see any horror films. While it did not have a lot of the suspenseful horror of a Halloween or Nightmare, it had the creepy factor that just sticks with you. I think this was the first major movie that portrayed the serial killer as a seemingly normal guy that could live next door, and that by itself was jarring. But then you add in the sadistic cannibal, Dr. Hannibal Lechter, and your skin begins to crawl. Anthony Hopkins is brilliant in his Academy Award winning performance as Lechter.

This is the ultimate "psychotic" horror film and has firmly established itself at the atop the scary movies list. Mentally this horror movie will grab you and stick with you long after it has ended.

Buy this original limited edition poster or get a less expensive framed replica poster of one of the scariest films of all time.

You may also want to check out this autographed Jodie Foster photo from Silence
Jodie Foster Autographed Silence of the Lambs 8 x 10 Photograph (Unframed)

3. Halloween (1978)

The Grandaddy of all Psycho Killer Horror Films

Halloween scariest films horrorFor me, Halloween (1978) is the number one scariest film of all time. This classic horror movie scared me to the very core. John Carpenter is a master of suspense and many of his techniques have been copied by other horror directors since. He blends suspense with an absolutely chilling soundtrack that has you grabbing the arms of your chair every time the eerie melody starts up. The escaped mental patient is a startling premise and combined with "parentless" houses creates a terrifying horror backdrop.

This was probably one of the first horror films with the chilling voyeurism that had you screaming (in your mind), "Get out of the house!", over and over again. Few will forget the name Michael Myers and we all look at the Halloween holiday a little bit different since this alarming scary film.

Buy a Rare Original poster from Japan - Very Cool or you can buy a replica of this creepy photo of Michael Myers

or this autographed Jamie Lee Curtis photo.
Powers Collectibles Curtis Jamie Lee Curtis Jamie Lee 3681

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2. The Exorcist

A Parent's Worst Nightmare

The Exorcist scariest moviesEvery parent fears losing a child to death or abduction. In The Exorcist, Chris MacNeil (Ellen Burstyn) must come to grips with losing her daughter, Regan (Linda Blair), to the devil in a demonic possession. What is so alarming about this scary movie, besides the visual effects, is the total lack of control. There is nothing Chris could have done as a parent to prevent this demonic possession. This lack of control is so disturbing that it pervades the entire film.

There are moments of suspense throughout the film, but it is not the typical horror film in that respect. Rather The Exorcist scares us by preying on our fear of the unknown. We ask ourselves,"could this happen to us or someone we know". That complete lack of control is the truly disturbing aspect of the movie and why members have ranked it as one of the scariest movies of all time.

Buy a limited edition original Exorcist poster or get this framed replica poster of this very scary horror movie.

1. The Shining (1980)

Terrifying Look into the Slow Descent into Madness

The Shining movie image ghost twinsThe Shining was another terrifying pschological horror thriller and probably Stanley Kubrick's finest film. This movie scares us on many levels. First, the setting is unnerving; the huge Overlook Hotel building, completely isolated from other people and occupied by 3 people for the entire winter. I'll pass, thank you very much. The setting alone scared me to death. We have all been home alone and been frightened by a sound or sounds. Imagine the number of creepy sounds in an empty 300+ room Resort.

Second, we see most of this horror film through the eyes of a 7 year old child, Danny Torrance, which intensifies the creepiness especially when he is wandering the Hotel alone. Third, the things that young Danny sees throughout the Hotel are truly disturbing and enough to make us all curl up into a ball and cry for our mommy. The scene with the two twins girls (ghosts) standing in the empty hallway is one of the most memorable and chiling horror scenes that I have ever seen.

Finally, there is Jack Nicholson as Jack Torrance, the father who is slowly slipping into mental illness. His performance is stunning throughout the film and he is completely convincing as a deranged psychopath killer at the end of the film. All these reasons combine to create a terrifying movie that members ranked as the scariest movie ever.

Buy an original limited edition Shining poster or get a replica of the movie poster

or get this autographed Jack Nicholson Shining photo
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