Movies & TV
Horror Movies Tier List Maker
Rank horror movies, from Halloween, Scream and The Exorcist to Hereditary, Get Out and Smile.
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Meet every movie (31)
These 31 movies load into the maker above. Each write-up covers what the movie is and what to weigh when you rank it. Facts were last checked on .
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Halloween
A 1978 slasher directed and scored by John Carpenter, who co-wrote it with Debra Hill. It follows the escaped mental patient Michael Myers, and was Jamie Lee Curtis's film debut.
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Scream
A 1996 slasher directed by Wes Craven and written by Kevin Williamson, set in the fictional town of Woodsboro, California. High school student Sidney Prescott, played by Neve Campbell, is the lead.
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A Nightmare on Elm Street
Wes Craven wrote and directed this 1984 supernatural slasher, the first in its franchise. Robert Englund plays Freddy Krueger, and Johnny Depp made his film debut in it.
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Friday the 13th
A 1980 slasher produced and directed by Sean S. Cunningham, written by Victor Miller. Camp counselors are murdered one by one, and the cast includes a young Kevin Bacon.
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The Exorcist
William Friedkin directed this 1973 supernatural horror, produced by William Peter Blatty, who adapted his own 1971 novel. It follows the demonic possession of a young girl, played by Linda Blair.
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The Shining
A 1980 psychological horror produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick, co-written with Diane Johnson from Stephen King's 1977 novel. Jack Nicholson plays a recovering alcoholic who descends into insanity.
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Psycho
Alfred Hitchcock produced and directed this 1960 horror thriller, from a screenplay by Joseph Stefano based on Robert Bloch's 1959 novel. Anthony Perkins and Janet Leigh star.
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The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
A 1974 slasher produced, co-composed and directed by Tobe Hooper, who co-wrote it with Kim Henkel. A group of friends falls victim to a family of cannibals.
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Hereditary
Ari Aster wrote and directed this 2018 supernatural psychological horror in his feature debut. Toni Collette plays Annie Graham, a grieving miniature artist who uncovers disturbing secrets about her family.
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The Conjuring
A 2013 supernatural horror directed by James Wan, and the first film in The Conjuring Universe. Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga play the paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren.
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Get Out
A 2017 psychological horror written, co-produced and directed by Jordan Peele in his directorial debut. Daniel Kaluuya leads the cast, and the story follows a young Black man.
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It
Titled onscreen as It Chapter One, this 2017 supernatural horror is directed by Andy Muschietti. It is the first of a two-part adaptation of Stephen King's 1986 novel.
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Saw
A 2004 horror film directed by James Wan in his feature debut, from a screenplay by Leigh Whannell, who also stars alongside Cary Elwes. It tells a nonlinear story built around a mystery.
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Alien
Ridley Scott directed this 1979 science fiction horror, written by Dan O'Bannon. A commercial starship crew investigates a derelict vessel and is hunted by a deadly extraterrestrial creature, with Sigourney Weaver among the cast.
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The Thing
John Carpenter directed this 1982 science fiction horror from a screenplay by Bill Lancaster, based on John W. Campbell Jr.'s 1938 novella Who Goes There? Researchers in Antarctica meet an extraterrestrial life-form.
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Jaws
Steven Spielberg directed this 1975 thriller based on Peter Benchley's 1974 novel. Police chief Martin Brody, played by Roy Scheider, hunts a man-eating great white shark with a marine biologist and a shark hunter.
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The Ring
A 2002 supernatural horror directed by Gore Verbinski and written by Ehren Kruger. A journalist, played by Naomi Watts, discovers a cursed VHS tape that kills its viewers seven days later.
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Insidious
A 2010 supernatural horror directed by James Wan and written by Leigh Whannell, starring Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne. It is the first installment of its franchise and the third in story chronology.
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A Quiet Place
A 2018 post-apocalyptic horror directed by John Krasinski, who co-wrote it with Scott Beck and Bryan Woods. A mother and father, played by Emily Blunt and Krasinski, struggle to survive and raise their children.
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Midsommar
Ari Aster wrote and directed this 2019 folk horror, in which Florence Pugh and Jack Reynor play an American couple drawn into a violent cult in rural Sweden.
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Smile
A 2022 supernatural psychological horror written and directed by Parker Finn in his feature debut, as a follow-up to his short Laura Hasn't Slept. Sosie Bacon plays a therapist who witnesses a patient's suicide.
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Nope
Jordan Peele wrote, directed and produced this 2022 science fiction neo-Western horror. Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer play horse-wrangling siblings, Otis "OJ" Jr. and Emerald.
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Us
A 2019 psychological horror written and directed by Jordan Peele and starring Lupita Nyong'o. Adelaide Wilson and her family are attacked by menacing doppelgängers called the "Tethered."
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The Babadook
A 2014 Australian psychological horror written and directed by Jennifer Kent in her feature debut, based on her 2005 short film Monster. Essie Davis plays a widowed single mother.
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Paranormal Activity
A 2007 supernatural horror produced, written, directed, photographed and edited by Oren Peli. A young couple haunted by a presence in their home set up a camera to document it.
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Final Destination
A 2000 supernatural horror directed by James Wong in his directorial debut, with a story by Jeffrey Reddick. Devon Sawa plays a teenager who cheats death after a premonition.
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Child's Play
A 1988 supernatural slasher directed by Tom Holland from a screenplay by Holland, Don Mancini and John Lafia. Brad Dourif plays Charles Lee Ray and voices Chucky.
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The Omen
Richard Donner directed this 1976 supernatural horror, written by David Seltzer, as a UK and US co-production. Gregory Peck and Lee Remick star, with Harvey Spencer Stephens making his film debut.
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Rosemary's Baby
Roman Polanski wrote and directed this 1968 psychological horror based on Ira Levin's 1967 novel. Mia Farrow plays a Manhattan newlywed who suspects her neighbors have sinister intentions toward her baby.
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Evil Dead
A 1981 independent supernatural horror written and directed by Sam Raimi in his feature debut, and the first in the Evil Dead franchise. Bruce Campbell stars with college students vacationing in an isolated cabin.
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Sinners
Ryan Coogler produced, wrote and directed this 2025 horror set in 1932 in the Mississippi Delta. Michael B. Jordan plays twin brothers, criminals returning home, who face a supernatural evil.
Horror Movies tier list questions
Which horror subgenres are on this list?
The list mixes slashers such as Halloween and Scream, supernatural horror like The Exorcist and The Conjuring, psychological horror such as Hereditary and Get Out, and science fiction horror including Alien and The Thing.
What is the oldest film on this list?
Psycho, from 1960, is the oldest, followed by Rosemary's Baby in 1968 and The Exorcist in 1973. The newest is Sinners, released in 2025.
How should I rank horror movies?
Common criteria include scares, atmosphere, originality, rewatch value and influence on the genre. Because slashers, supernatural films and psychological horror work differently, many fans rank within a subgenre.
Sources
Facts on this page were checked against these references on .