13 Horror Films You Should Watch This Halloween

The Exorcist (1973)

The gnawing fear that an increasingly secular world has done nothing to eliminate the reality of evil was brought to the front in this fantastic (in every sense of the word) film about an actress whose 12-year-old daughter begins to behave … oddly. The Washington D.C. setting adds to the creep factor.

Freaks (1932)

Almost indescribable and certainly unremakeable, Todd Browning’s tale of love and jealousy at the circus employed actual carnival performers, and the visual results are far more disturbing than the plot.

The Shining (1980)

It’s a both a terrible adaption of the Steven King novel and a wonderfully surreal horror movie. Jack Nicholson’s descent into madness may be preordained, but it is a creepy, nail-biting ride … and the blood usually gets off at the second floor.

The Thing (1982)

This remake of a fairly cheesy 1950’s sci-fi film is a masterpiece of suspense. A group of scientists in the Antarctic are trapped by an alien that can mimic any of their forms. The tension is unbearable, and the movie features what may be the greatest jump scare in film history.

Let the Right One In (2008)

A counterpoint to all of the vampire romances of the new millennium, this chilly Swedish film focuses on a bullied tween and his friendship with the neighborhood vampire. The show-stopping swimming pool scene is both viscerally thrilling and emotionally complicated. If anyone tells you the end is romantic, ignore them completely. The American remake is also pretty good.

Night of the Living Dead (1968)

Legendarily produced as a side project by a group of industrial filmmakers in Pittsburgh, Living Dead codified the zombie movie (and later TV show) and showed independent filmmakers how to use horror as a gateway to Hollywood. Danny Boyle revived the zombie genre 30 years later with faster zombies in 28 Days Later.

Psycho (1960)

As the language and insights of psychology became more prevalent in modern life, mystical forces were no longer needed to explain evil behavior. Sometimes awful people do bad things. Partially inspired by real-life murder Ed Gein, Hitchcock gave us the first killer who was just plain insane. John Carpenter later codified the slasher genre in 1978’s Halloween.

Alien (1979)

The first movie to effectively mix sci-fi and horror while deploying Star Wars-level special effects and more permissive standards of sex and violence, Alien remains a claustrophobic nightmare that’s equal parts haunted house, slasher film and space adventure.

Nosferatu (1922)

Yes, it’s black and white, silent and German, but this first (and unauthorized) adaptation of Dracula remains creepy to this day and every vampire movie owes it a creative debt. Lead actor Max Schreck’s stunning features will never be topped. For a more traditional take on the tale, see Christopher Lee’s more charming version of the Count in 1958’s Horror of Dracula.

Scream (1996)

By the mid-90s, the horror genre was in danger of becoming as passé as the western, but Wes Craven found that a healthy dose of self-awareness could provide a new jolt. Ignore the many sequels and imitators, the original is still a squirm-inducing horror movie behind the laughs. (See Evil Dead II for an earlier version of the horror/comedy mix that works by turning everything up to 11.)

American Werewolf in London (1981)

Another mix of horror and comedy that doesn’t skimp on the thrills, it tells the story of a hapless American who is either slowly losing his mind while backpacking through Europe or actually turning into a werewolf. The transformation scenes were groundbreaking at the time and still have bite. (See the 2000 Canadian Ginger Snaps for a gender-flipped version of the tale that is just as good, if not better.)

Angel Heart (1987)

Remembered as the film that caused Lisa Bonet to leave the Cosby show, this film noir/horror mashup still manages to bring both the thrills and the creeps. There’s plenty of weirdness to go around in this one, but De Niro’s Satan steals the show.

The Blair Witch Project (1999)

The degree to which this movie scares you depends largely on how creeped out you are by the woods (city folks seem especially susceptible). But both for its influence, launching the found footage vogue, and for its crackerjack closing sequence, Blair Witch can’t be ignored.