These legendary films are as terrifying as anything you’ll see in theaters today.
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Everyone just wants to scream. And these days, there’s plenty to get people shrieking. But the horror genre, which has experienced a remarkable renaissance in the past decade thanks to the work of buzzy auteurs like Jordan Peele and M. Night Shyamalan, is full of super-realistic CGI and blood and guts splattered in every color of the rainbow onscreen. And while that’s all well and creepy, contemporary horror films, with their gimmickry and gore, are often no match for the classics.
There’s something startlingly horrific about black-and-white terrors from some of history’s most inventive and cunning filmmakers. So if you’re in the mood to have the living hell scared out of you, these timeless films—about psycho killers, supernatural hauntings, the everlasting terror of the undead, and more—are just as heart-stopping as anything that hits streamers today. Here are our fifty favorites of all time.
Suspiria
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Suspiria, which tells the story of an aspiring ballerina who Alice-in-Wonderlands her way into a coven (!), won’t shock you with big, unforgettable moments. No. It’ll slowly burrow under your skin, until all you hear is Goblin’s twinkling, eerie score—a full week later. The remake is very much worth a watch, too.
Sleepaway Camp
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Watch until the end. That’s all I’ll say.
The Tell-Tale Heart
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The Tell-Tale Heart was scary when Edgar Allan Poe published it in January 1843. It was scary when Laurence Payne starred in its 1960 adaptation, listed here. And yes, consuming it in any form is still damn scary today.
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Daughters of Darkness
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For some men, deep, creative emasculation is just about the most horrifying thing they could ever face. Add vampires to the mix and you have Daughters of Darkness.
Day of the Dead
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Don’t worry, George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead is elsewhere on this list. Are you really going to tell us that any other Romero zombie flick doesn’t deserve a spot in the horror-movie canon? That’s right. We had to lead off with Day of the Dead, which sees Romero level up all of his tricks: makeup, costumes, the groaaaans.
Frankenstein
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Dr. Frankenstein’s monster, assembled from the parts of dead bodies, is one of the most famous monsters ever created. Author Mary Shelley came up with the idea of a reanimated corpse when she was just eighteen years old, and he was made even more iconic as part of Universal Pictures’ monster pantheon.
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Halloween
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Murderer Michael Myers escapes on Halloween night and returns to his hometown, stalking his next victims and wreaking havoc on local teenagers.
The Thing
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In the John Carpenter classic, an alien that can copy and take the form of the humans it encounters is thawed out of an icy prison by scientists at an Arctic research stadium. The small crew, including star Kurt Russell, has no idea what it’s accidentally unleashed. Wow, what a plot.
The Blob
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The blob is a gelatinous mass that eats its victims alive, growing in size with each new meal. It’s a campy classic starring Steve McQueen—and featuring one of the most ridiculous monsters ever brought to the big screen.
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House on Haunted Hill
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Vincent Price had such a gift for suspenseful storytelling that his voice was used in Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.” Roles in films like House on Haunted Hill cemented the stage and television actor as a master.
M
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A terrifying early horror classic, M follows a serial killer who roams the streets of Germany and preys on young children. Scary! With the cops on his trail, the killer works himself into a petrified frenzy.
Bunny Lake Is Missing
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Bunny Lake Is Missing is the absolutely terrifying story of a woman who goes to her daughter’s school and can’t find the child anywhere. Even worse, none of the teachers even remember seeing her. As she scours the surroundings, the town starts to question her sanity.
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The Mummy
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In 1932, I think we can all agree, the stakes were quite a bit lower for what would shock audiences. Here, after one guy dresses up like an Egyptian mummy and hypnotizes with his spinning eyes, all hell breaks loose.
Vampyr
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Vampyr is a Danish telling of vampire folklore made in 1932, when sound films were still relatively new. The work also employed spooky shadows and visual effects.
The Man Who Laughs
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Conrad Veidt’s performance in The Man Who Laughs was one of the strangest of the silent-film era. When a corrupt surgeon carves a permanent smile onto a young boy's face, he grows up mocked and loveless until he meets the beautiful Dea, who is blind.
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Poltergeist
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Kids make everything scary, which is something Steven Spielberg knew when he wrote the screenplay for Poltergeist. A haunted house is one thing, but when children start communicating with spirits, it’s all over for the audience’s nerves.
The Phantom Carriage
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A silent-film classic, The Phantom Carriage retells the myth of the Grim Reaper. In this Swedish horror creation, the last person to die when the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s must become Death himself.
Jaws
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Shark Week meets the Hollywood blockbuster in Jaws. The original scourge of the deep sends the beach crowd running and the brave hunters in need of a bigger boat.
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The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
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The Texas Chainsaw Massacre established the modern, gory slasher genre thanks to Leatherface, his chainsaw, and his mask made from human flesh. Even worse, a group of terrorized friends stumbles upon his farmhouse—a treasure trove of deadly machines and tools.
Wait Until Dark
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In this 1967 thriller, which manages to take place entirely within the confines of a small apartment, Audrey Hepburn stars as a blind woman who becomes the victim of a home invasion.
