My best horror\thriller movies of all time

by rachelgaruka | created - 24 May 2011 | updated - 29 Sep 2012 | Public

This is my personal selection, whatever I haven't included I haven't watched.

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1. The Cabin in the Woods (2011)

R | 95 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller

72 Metascore

Five college friends head out to a remote cabin for a getaway, but things don't go as planned when they start getting killed. They soon discover that there is more to the cabin than it seems.

Director: Drew Goddard | Stars: Kristen Connolly, Chris Hemsworth, Anna Hutchison, Fran Kranz

Votes: 450,645 | Gross: $42.07M

2. The Hills Have Eyes (2006)

R | 107 min | Horror, Thriller

52 Metascore

A traveling family falls victim to a group of mutated cannibals in a desert far away from civilization.

Director: Alexandre Aja | Stars: Ted Levine, Kathleen Quinlan, Dan Byrd, Emilie de Ravin

Votes: 183,242 | Gross: $41.78M

Scary as hell...especially when you are in the middle of nowhere!

3. The Last House on the Left (2009)

R | 110 min | Horror, Thriller

42 Metascore

After kidnapping and brutally assaulting two young women, a gang unknowingly finds refuge at a vacation home belonging to the parents of one of the victims: a mother and father who devise an increasingly gruesome series of revenge tactics.

Director: Dennis Iliadis | Stars: Garret Dillahunt, Monica Potter, Tony Goldwyn, Michael Bowen

Votes: 100,373 | Gross: $32.75M

The dads vengeance makes it worth the watch.

4. Scream (1996)

R | 111 min | Horror, Mystery

66 Metascore

A year after the murder of her mother, a teenage girl is terrorized by a masked killer who targets her and her friends by using scary movies as part of a deadly game.

Director: Wes Craven | Stars: Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, David Arquette, Skeet Ulrich

Votes: 388,375 | Gross: $103.05M

A classic. Funny, scary and clever.

5. The Sixth Sense (1999)

PG-13 | 107 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller

64 Metascore

Malcolm Crowe, a child psychologist, starts treating a young boy, Cole, who encounters dead people and convinces him to help them. In turn, Cole helps Malcolm reconcile with his estranged wife.

Director: M. Night Shyamalan | Stars: Bruce Willis, Haley Joel Osment, Toni Collette, Olivia Williams

Votes: 1,051,216 | Gross: $293.51M

'I see dead people!!!'

6. The Strangers (2008)

R | 86 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller

47 Metascore

A young couple staying in an isolated vacation home are terrorized by three unknown assailants.

Director: Bryan Bertino | Stars: Scott Speedman, Liv Tyler, Gemma Ward, Alex Fisher

Votes: 143,567 | Gross: $52.60M

A bit of Charles Manson and The Cabin 28 Keddie Murders put together. Horrifying!!

7. Psycho (1998)

R | 105 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller

47 Metascore

A young female embezzler arrives at the Bates Motel, which has terrible secrets of its own.

Director: Gus Van Sant | Stars: Vince Vaughn, Anne Heche, Julianne Moore, Viggo Mortensen

Votes: 50,704 | Gross: $21.46M

Always lock the door when your in the shower in a strange motel!!!!

8. Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995)

R | 87 min | Horror, Thriller

10 Metascore

Six years after Michael Myers last terrorized Haddonfield, he returns there in pursuit of his niece, Jamie Lloyd, who has escaped with her newborn child, for which Michael and a mysterious cult have sinister plans.

Director: Joe Chappelle | Stars: Donald Pleasence, Paul Rudd, Marianne Hagan, Mitchell Ryan

Votes: 42,043 | Gross: $15.12M

Just Michael doing what he does best...killing!!

9. A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

R | 91 min | Horror

76 Metascore

Teenager Nancy Thompson must uncover the dark truth concealed by her parents after she and her friends become targets of the spirit of a serial killer with a bladed glove in their dreams, in which if they die, it kills them in real life.

Director: Wes Craven | Stars: Heather Langenkamp, Johnny Depp, Robert Englund, John Saxon

Votes: 262,456 | Gross: $25.50M

Whatever you do, do not fall asleep!!!!

10. Hollow Man (2000)

R | 112 min | Action, Horror, Sci-Fi

24 Metascore

A brilliant scientist's discovery renders him invisible, but transforms him into an omnipotent, dangerous megalomaniac.

Director: Paul Verhoeven | Stars: Kevin Bacon, Elisabeth Shue, Josh Brolin, Kim Dickens

Votes: 138,397 | Gross: $73.21M

It's scary what people can do if they can't be seen!

11. Friday the 13th (1980)

R | 95 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller

22 Metascore

A group of teenage camp counselors attempt to re-open an abandoned summer camp with a tragic past, but they are stalked by a mysterious, relentless killer.

Director: Sean S. Cunningham | Stars: Betsy Palmer, Adrienne King, Jeannine Taylor, Robbi Morgan

Votes: 157,423 | Gross: $39.75M

Mrs Voorhees puts the V in villain!

12. Saw II (2005)

R | 93 min | Horror, Mystery

40 Metascore

A detective and his team must rescue 8 people trapped in a factory by the twisted serial killer known as Jigsaw.

Director: Darren Lynn Bousman | Stars: Donnie Wahlberg, Beverley Mitchell, Franky G, Emmanuelle Vaugier

Votes: 276,392 | Gross: $87.04M

Jigsaw is up to his 'games' like he calls them again...only this time, a detective is unaware that to get to his son, he must become the latest pawn in jigsaw's sick games!!

13. The Collector (I) (2009)

R | 90 min | Horror, Thriller

29 Metascore

Desperate to repay his debt to his ex-wife, an ex-con plots a heist at his new employer's country home, unaware that a second criminal has also targeted the property, and rigged it with a series of deadly traps.

Director: Marcus Dunstan | Stars: Josh Stewart, Andrea Roth, Juan Fernández, William Prael

Votes: 72,202 | Gross: $7.71M

A house rigged with deadly traps???? Need I say more??

14. Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1966)

Unrated | 90 min | Horror

Ten years after his demise, Count Dracula is resurrected by his servant and preys on four unsuspecting English tourists who have taken shelter in his castle.

Director: Terence Fisher | Stars: Christopher Lee, Barbara Shelley, Andrew Keir, Francis Matthews

Votes: 10,869 | Gross: $0.80M

Christopher Lee as the blood thirsty vamp that left us afraid to switch the lights off at night!

15. I Spit on Your Grave (2010)

R | 108 min | Horror, Thriller

27 Metascore

A writer who is brutalized during her cabin retreat seeks revenge on her attackers, who left her for dead.

Director: Steven R. Monroe | Stars: Sarah Butler, Jeff Branson, Andrew Howard, Daniel Franzese

Votes: 93,136 | Gross: $0.09M

It's payback time!!

16. I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997)

R | 101 min | Horror, Mystery

52 Metascore

Four young friends bound by a tragic accident are reunited when they find themselves being stalked by a hook-wielding maniac in their small seaside town.

Director: Jim Gillespie | Stars: Jennifer Love Hewitt, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Anne Heche, Ryan Phillippe

Votes: 158,089 | Gross: $72.59M

Great slasher flick even though the plot is a bit unrealistic..I mean he never really was mad about being left for dead..he pretty much just liked to kill..lol

17. Paranormal Activity (2007)

R | 86 min | Horror, Mystery

68 Metascore

After moving into a suburban home, a couple becomes increasingly disturbed by a nightly demonic presence.

Director: Oren Peli | Stars: Katie Featherston, Micah Sloat, Mark Fredrichs, Amber Armstrong

Votes: 256,173 | Gross: $107.92M

I don't know about you, but this had me literally scared *beep*

18. The Blair Witch Project (1999)

R | 81 min | Horror, Mystery

80 Metascore

Three film students vanish after traveling into a Maryland forest to film a documentary on the local Blair Witch legend, leaving only their footage behind.

Directors: Daniel Myrick, Eduardo Sánchez | Stars: Heather Donahue, Michael C. Williams, Joshua Leonard, Bob Griffin

Votes: 285,494 | Gross: $140.54M

Creepy...very creepy!!!

19. Final Destination (2000)

R | 98 min | Horror, Thriller

39 Metascore

After getting a premonition about a plane crash on his school trip, Alex, a student saves a few of his classmates. However, their situation gets complicated when death starts chasing them.

Director: James Wong | Stars: Devon Sawa, Ali Larter, Kerr Smith, Kristen Cloke

Votes: 279,450 | Gross: $53.33M

I absolutely loved this. The plot was fresh and not your everyday horror movie with some killer killing kids..lol..

20. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003)

R | 98 min | Horror

38 Metascore

After picking up a traumatized young hitchhiker, five friends find themselves stalked and hunted by a deformed chainsaw-wielding loon and his family of equally psychopathic killers.

Director: Marcus Nispel | Stars: Jessica Biel, Jonathan Tucker, Andrew Bryniarski, Erica Leerhsen

Votes: 152,377 | Gross: $80.57M

There is something about a hideously faced, chainsaw wielding retard that leaves you terrified to your very soul!!!

21. Cabin Fever (2002)

R | 93 min | Horror

56 Metascore

Five college graduates rent a cabin in the woods and begin to fall victim to a horrifying flesh-eating virus, which attracts the unwanted attention of the homicidal locals.

Director: Eli Roth | Stars: Jordan Ladd, Rider Strong, James DeBello, Cerina Vincent

Votes: 83,691 | Gross: $21.16M

Another good one that doesn't involve a psycho killer...

22. The Ring Two (2005)

PG-13 | 110 min | Horror, Mystery

44 Metascore

6 months after the incidents involving the lethal videotape, new clues prove that there is a new evil lurking in the darkness.

Director: Hideo Nakata | Stars: Naomi Watts, David Dorfman, Sissy Spacek, Simon Baker

Votes: 100,972 | Gross: $76.23M

You could literally be scared to watch any videotape after this!

23. Wolf Creek (2005)

R | 99 min | Horror, Thriller

56 Metascore

Three backpackers stranded in the Australian outback are plunged inside a hellish nightmare of insufferable torture by a sadistic psychopathic local.

Director: Greg McLean | Stars: Nathan Phillips, Cassandra Magrath, Kestie Morassi, John Jarratt

Votes: 78,347 | Gross: $16.19M

Back packing sometimes just isn't a good idea.

24. Hostel (2005)

R | 94 min | Horror

55 Metascore

Three backpackers head to a Slovak city that promises to meet their hedonistic expectations, with no idea of the hell that awaits them.

Director: Eli Roth | Stars: Jay Hernandez, Derek Richardson, Eythor Gudjonsson, Barbara Nedeljakova

Votes: 190,955 | Gross: $47.33M

Slovakia huh? Going to look for hotties turns out to be the death of you!

25. Mirrors (I) (2008)

R | 110 min | Horror, Mystery

35 Metascore

An ex-cop and his family are the target of an evil force that is using mirrors as a gateway into their home.

Director: Alexandre Aja | Stars: Kiefer Sutherland, Paula Patton, Amy Smart, Cameron Boyce

Votes: 113,720 | Gross: $30.69M

I loved this movie. The end when Keifer finds himself in the mirrors is the winner!

26. Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994)

R | 123 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror

62 Metascore

A vampire tells his epic life story: love, betrayal, loneliness, and hunger.

Director: Neil Jordan | Stars: Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, Antonio Banderas, Kirsten Dunst

Votes: 347,437 | Gross: $105.26M

Classic!

27. Identity (2003)

R | 90 min | Mystery, Thriller

64 Metascore

Stranded at a desolate Nevada motel during a nasty rain storm, ten strangers become acquainted with each other when they realize that they're being killed off one by one.

Director: James Mangold | Stars: John Cusack, Ray Liotta, Amanda Peet, John Hawkes

Votes: 267,169 | Gross: $52.16M

2 thumbs up!

28. Fright Night (1985)

R | 106 min | Horror

62 Metascore

"Fright Night" sees a teenager believing that the newcomer in his neighborhood is a vampire. He turns to an actor in a television hosted horror movie show for help to deal with the undead.

Director: Tom Holland | Stars: Chris Sarandon, William Ragsdale, Amanda Bearse, Roddy McDowall

Votes: 78,635 | Gross: $24.92M

Scary...really scary

29. The Lost Boys (1987)

R | 97 min | Comedy, Horror

63 Metascore

After moving to a new town, two brothers discover that the area is a haven for vampires.

Director: Joel Schumacher | Stars: Jason Patric, Corey Haim, Dianne Wiest, Barnard Hughes

Votes: 161,124 | Gross: $32.22M

30. Saw 3D (2010)

R | 90 min | Horror, Mystery

24 Metascore

As a deadly battle rages over Jigsaw's brutal legacy, a group of Jigsaw survivors gathers to seek the support of self-help guru and fellow survivor Bobby Dagen, a man whose own dark secrets unleash a new wave of terror.

Director: Kevin Greutert | Stars: Tobin Bell, Costas Mandylor, Betsy Russell, Cary Elwes

Votes: 109,668 | Gross: $45.71M

31. Orphan (2009)

R | 123 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller

42 Metascore

A husband and wife who recently lost their baby adopt a 9-year-old girl who is not nearly as innocent as she appears.

Director: Jaume Collet-Serra | Stars: Vera Farmiga, Peter Sarsgaard, Isabelle Fuhrman, CCH Pounder

Votes: 252,345 | Gross: $41.60M

32. Scream 4 (2011)

R | 111 min | Comedy, Horror, Mystery

52 Metascore

Ten years have passed, and Sidney Prescott, who has put herself back together thanks in part to her writing, is visited by the Ghostface Killer.

Director: Wes Craven | Stars: Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, David Arquette, Lucy Hale

Votes: 171,172 | Gross: $38.18M

33. The Exorcist (1973)

R | 122 min | Horror

83 Metascore

When a young girl is possessed by a mysterious entity, her mother seeks the help of two Catholic priests to save her life.

Director: William Friedkin | Stars: Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Linda Blair, Lee J. Cobb

Votes: 454,899 | Gross: $232.91M

34. Sleepy Hollow (1999)

R | 105 min | Fantasy, Horror, Mystery

65 Metascore

Ichabod Crane is sent to Sleepy Hollow to investigate the decapitations of three people; the culprit is legendary apparition The Headless Horseman.

Director: Tim Burton | Stars: Johnny Depp, Christina Ricci, Miranda Richardson, Michael Gambon

Votes: 383,871 | Gross: $101.07M

35. Hostel: Part II (2007)

R | 94 min | Horror

46 Metascore

Three American college students studying abroad are lured to a Slovakian hostel and discover the grim reality behind it.

Director: Eli Roth | Stars: Lauren German, Heather Matarazzo, Bijou Phillips, Roger Bart

Votes: 95,995 | Gross: $17.61M

36. Wrong Turn (I) (2003)

R | 84 min | Horror, Thriller

32 Metascore

Chris and a group of five friends are left stranded deep in the middle of the woods after their cars collide. As they venture deeper into the woods, they face an uncertain and bloodcurdling fate.

Director: Rob Schmidt | Stars: Eliza Dushku, Jeremy Sisto, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Desmond Harrington

Votes: 131,463 | Gross: $15.42M

37. The Ring (2002)

PG-13 | 115 min | Horror, Mystery

57 Metascore

A journalist must investigate a mysterious videotape which seems to cause the death of anyone one week to the day after they view it.

Director: Gore Verbinski | Stars: Naomi Watts, Martin Henderson, Brian Cox, David Dorfman

Votes: 374,985 | Gross: $129.13M



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