With Halloween upon us, we've come up with a round-up of our all-time favorite horror films. Abandon all hope (for a good night's sleep), ye who dare watch these flicks. (Note: The films below are listed in no particular order.)
1. The Orphanage / El Orfanato (Spain, 2007)
Why we love this: This has got to be one of the most intelligent and seriously creepy films we've seen in years. Trust us, that scene where the kids were playing "uno, dos, tres, toca la pared," will stay you forever and ever.
Director: Juan Antonio Bayona
Cast: Belén Rueda, Fernando Cayo, Roger Príncep
Synopsis: In a secluded home, that was once an orphanage, a young boy goes missing after arguing with his mother over an imaginary friend.
2. Epitaph / Gidam (South Korea, 2007)
Why we love this: Superb cinematography and scoring with plenty of jump scares from beginning to end
Director: Jung Sik Jung Beom-sik
Cast: Jin Goo, Kim Tae-woo, Kim Bo-kyung, Ko Joo-yeon
Synopsis: A Korean hospital sets the scene for three, mysterious interlocking stories.
3. Ring / Ringu (Japan, 1998)
Why we love this: Well, who doesn't?! We haven't met a person who says he/she wasn't scared, or at least creeped out, by the original, Japanese version of this modern classic. Okay, we have, but we're pretty sure, that person is lying!
Director: Hideo Nakata
Cast: Nanako Matsushima, Hiroyuki Sanada, Rikiya Ōtaka
Yoichi Numata
Synopsis: A TV-reporter investigates a series of deaths surrounding a cursed video tape.
4. Shutter (Thailand, 2004)
Why we love this: That plot twist.
Director: Banjong Pisanthanakun, Parkpoom Wongpoom
Cast: Ananda Everingham, Natthaweeranuch Thongmee
Synopsis: A photographer investigates what's causing the mysterious images in his developed photos.
5. The Eye / Gin Gwai (Hong Kong Singapore, 2002)
Why we love this: The elevator scene is unforgettable. People who live or work in buildings with faulty elevators should stay away from this movie.
Director: Pang brothers
Cast: Angelica Lee, Lawrence Chou, Chutcha Rujinanon
Synopsis: A woman gets her vision restored after a corneal transplant. Things go awry when she starts seeing mysterious figures that seem to foretell deaths.
6. The Curse / Noroi (Japan, 2005)
Why we love this: There are no jump scares in this found-footage film, but the atmosphere all throughout the movie sure is disturbing.
Director: Kôji Shiraishi
Cast: Jin Muraki, Rio Kanno, Tomono Kuga
Synopsis: A paranormal expert who produced a series of books and documentaries on supernatural activity around Japan has gone missing in the process of making his most disturbing documentary.
7. The Others (2001)
Why we love this: The plot twist was brilliant, at least in its time.
Director: Alejandro Amenábar
Cast: Nicole Kidman, Fionnula Flanagan, Christopher Eccleston
Synopsis: Grace and her two young children encounter unwanted guests in their mansion.
8. The Conjuring (2013)
Why we love this: Creepy dolls, things coming out of the shadows, unsettling children, exorcisms, bird attacks, things appearing in the mirror…they are all in this film.
Director: James Wan
Cast: Vera Farmiga , Patrick Wilson , Ron Livingston
Synopsis: The Perron family has just moved into a new house. Almost immediately, weird things start happening to them. The family turns to paranormal experts to investigate the odd phenomena, and dig into the property’s wicked and violent history.
9. World War Z (2013)
Why we love this: Solid direction, strong visual effects, a charismatic lead performance, and oh, those zombies on steroids! We were at the edge of our seats the whole time.
Director: Marc Forster
Cast: Brad Pitt, Mireille Enos
Synopsis: A sober telling of the aftermath of a war fought against a legion of humans who were inflicted with a virus, died and were re-animated into flesh-eating zombies.
10. Drag Me to Hell (2009)
Why we love this: Smartly constructed, teeming with memorable visuals, and most importantly, and unceasingly fun.
Director: Sam Raimi
Cast: Alison Lohman, Justin Long, Lorna Raver
Synopsis: A loan officer has been tasked to evict an old woman from her home. The old woman fights back by placing a supernatural curse on her, making her life a living hell. Now, she is running out of time as the curse threatens to destroy her completely, unless she finds a way to break out of it.
11. The Descent (2005)
Why we love this: This is a claustrophobic's nightmare. But for us who don't suffer the same phobia, the movie's quite an enjoyable ride.
Director: Neil Marshall
Cast: Shauna Macdonald, Natalie Mendoza, Alex Reid
Synopsis: Six adventurous women entered an unmapped cave system only to become trapped and are hunted by mysterious creatures.
12. Triangle (2009)
Why we love this: It starts out predictable, like all the rest of the films concerning a gang of friends set off to an adventure. But this came off a lot smarter than expected.
Cast: Melissa George, Michael Dorman, Rachael Carpani, Henry Nixon, Emma Lung, Liam Hemsworth
Director: Christopher Smith
Synopsis: The passengers of a yachting trip in the Bermuda Triangle are struck by mysterious weather and must jump to another ship only to experience greater havoc.
13. Audition (1999)
Why we love this: It's more disturbing than scary. Watch at your own risk.
Director: Takashi Miike
Cast: Ryo Ishibashi, Eihi Shiina
Synopsis: A widowed TV producer held an audition for his prospective wife. It doesn't take long before he meets the woman of his dreams. Or so he thinks.
14. Evil Dead 2 (1987)
Why we love this: Chainsaws+flying eyeballs = loads of fun
Director: Sam Raimi
Cast: Bruce Campbell, Sarah Berry, Dan Hicks, Kassie DePaiva, Richard Domeier
Synopsis: The sole survivor of the zombie onslaught, together with a new set of unfortunate people, battles a chainsaw-wielding demon horde.
15. Rosemary's Baby (1968)
Why we love this: Even sans violence or gore, Rosemary's Baby executes a chilling tale about satanism.
Director: Roman Polanski
Cast: Mia Farrow, John Cassavetes, Ruth Gordon
Synopsis: A woman becomes paranoid that her offspring is not of this world.
16. Psycho (1960)
Why we love this: The manipulation in this movie was masterful; it was definitely ahead of its time.
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Cast: Anthony Perkins, Vera Miles, John Gavin, Janet Leigh
Synopsis: A secretary steals from her employer's client, and goes into hiding in a remote motel run by a young man and his mother.
17. The Exorcist (1973)
Why we love this: Not one of its successors, even with the availability of special effects nowadays, can match the thrill of the original Exorcist.
Director: William Friedkin
Cast: Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Jason Miller, Linda Blair
Synopsis: A demon possesses the body of a 12-year-old girl. In an attempt to get her daughter back, a mother employs the help of two priests in an exorcism.
18. The Shining (1980)
Why we love this: There's terror in silence. This film has lots of that.
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Cast: Mia Farrow, John Cassavetes, Ruth Gordon
Synopsis: A writer takes a job as an off-season caretaker at a ski hotel. His terror begins when his young son starts to see ghosts who inhabit the hotel.
19. Changeling (1980)
Why we love this: One of our favorite creepy haunted house films.
Director: Peter Medak
Cast: George C. Scott, Trish Van Devere, Melvyn Douglas, John Colicos
Synopsis: A man staying at a remote mansion finds himself being haunted by supernatural presence.
20. Resolution (2012)
Why we love this: While this is more of a drama/thriller than pure horror, Resolution is one of the smartest stories out there that got us glued from beginning to end.
Director: Justin Benson, Aaron Scott Moorhead
Cast: Peter Cilella, Vinny Curran, Zahn McClarnon, Bill Oberst Jr.
Synopsis: A man attempts to save his best friend from drug addiction by tying him in an abandoned cabin. But what begins as an attempt to save a life takes an unexpected turn when ominous events start to happen.
Did we miss your favorite horror film? Recommend your best bets in the comments section!
