Masterpieces of Horror Cinema
by ultron77 | created - 08 Oct 2012 | updated - 24 Sep 2017 | PublicThis list contains all the horror films that I for one believe are the greatest of their genre. More may be listed at a later time.
(in order of release)
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1. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)
Not Rated | 67 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Hypnotist Dr. Caligari uses a somnambulist, Cesare, to commit murders.
Director: Robert Wiene | Stars: Werner Krauss, Conrad Veidt, Friedrich Feher, Lil Dagover
Votes: 70,016
The life of a young man, Francis, is turned upside down when a mysterious showman begins to exhibit his prophetic sleepwalker at the local fair and a series of murders commence.
2. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (I) (1920)
Unrated | 69 min | Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi
Dr. Henry Jekyll experiments with scientific means of revealing the hidden, dark side of man and releases a murderer from within himself.
Director: John S. Robertson | Stars: John Barrymore, Martha Mansfield, Brandon Hurst, Charles Lane
Votes: 6,043
Robert Louis Stevenson's literary classic comes alive in this masterpiece of an adaptation. Dr. Jekyll invents a formula and upon testing it on himself finds that he can give his dark side full control over his own body. This entity names itself as Mr. Hyde., and when given control he leads a life of debauchery and greed that will ultimately cost both his and Jekyll's existence.
3. Nosferatu (1922)
Not Rated | 94 min | Fantasy, Horror
Vampire Count Orlok expresses interest in a new residence and real estate agent Hutter's wife.
Director: F.W. Murnau | Stars: Max Schreck, Alexander Granach, Gustav von Wangenheim, Greta Schröder
Votes: 105,361
Is this Dracula? I think not! Say 'Greetings' to Count Orlock, the first notorious vampire of motion pictures. This bloodsucking demon sets himself very far from his Bram Stoker counterpart in many ways. Although the story itself seems similar at the beginning, Orlock (not a handsome devil to say the least) instead of searching the world for beautiful brides intends to poison the world by causing a new spread of the Black Plague.
4. The Phantom of the Opera (1925)
Passed | 93 min | Horror
A mad, disfigured composer seeks love with a lovely young opera singer.
Directors: Rupert Julian, Lon Chaney, Ernst Laemmle, Edward Sedgwick | Stars: Lon Chaney, Mary Philbin, Norman Kerry, Arthur Edmund Carewe
Votes: 20,084 | Gross: $3.75M
Lon Chaney in his greatest performance! In the first adaptation of Gaston Leroux's novel of the same name, a disfigured madman named Erik falls in love with the understudy of the Paris Opera's prima donna, and he intends to have her no matter the cost!!!
5. Dracula (1931)
Passed | 75 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
Transylvanian vampire Count Dracula bends a naive real estate agent to his will, then takes up residence at a London estate where he sleeps in his coffin by day and searches for potential victims by night.
Directors: Tod Browning, Karl Freund | Stars: Bela Lugosi, Helen Chandler, David Manners, Dwight Frye
Votes: 58,587
"I am Dracula." "Listen to them, the children of the night." No man has ever played Bram Stoker's fearsome vampire character than that of the man in this film: Bela Lugosi.
In this version, the evil Count travels from his homeland of Transylvannia to London to prey upon the innocent women there. He takes a special interest in one: Mina Seward. Little does he know however that a friend of Mina's father has taken a special interest in him. Doctor Abraham Van Helsing!
6. Frankenstein (1931)
Passed | 70 min | Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi
Dr Henry Frankenstein is obsessed with assembling a living being from parts of several exhumed corpses.
Director: James Whale | Stars: Colin Clive, Mae Clarke, Boris Karloff, John Boles
Votes: 79,658
There have been Frankenstein films before this one and many more after it, but this is the one that will remain the most immortal. Featuring the unforgettable Boris Karloff in his starmaking role, this version of Mary Shelley's ghastly tale follows Doctor Henry Frankenstein on his mad quest to create life. He succeeds, but once he has done so, it is too late for him to realise that he has created a monster that would unleash havoc around those that he loves.
7. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931)
Passed | 98 min | Horror, Sci-Fi
Dr. Jekyll faces horrible consequences when he lets his dark side run wild with a potion that transforms him into the animalistic Mr. Hyde.
Director: Rouben Mamoulian | Stars: Fredric March, Miriam Hopkins, Rose Hobart, Holmes Herbert
Votes: 15,802 | Gross: $2.79M
No Jekyll/Hyde makeup has ever been as memorable in film or television history than the one they sculpted onto the face of Frederic March. In this version of Robert Louis Stevenson's story, Dr. Jekyll is respected by both the rich and poor people of society for his generosity and good nature. However, when is made fun of one night for being too pure, he engages in an experiment to unlock the darkness in his heart and release it to its full potential. The result is a hideous and lecherous being that would come to call itself Edward Hyde, a man who would know only greed and lust.
Soon however the Hyde figure vies for complete control as he begins to appear at will, instead of Jekyll needing to consume his formula to attain the transformation. And it becomes apparent that this inner battle of wills may end up costing them both their lives.
8. Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932)
Passed | 61 min | Crime, Horror, Mystery
A mad scientist seeks to mingle human blood with that of an ape, and resorts to kidnapping women for his experiments.
Director: Robert Florey | Stars: Bela Lugosi, Sidney Fox, Leon Ames, Bert Roach
Votes: 5,256
Set during the time where the theory of evolution was in complete doubt, Murders in the Rue Morgue features Bela Lugosi as Doctor Mirakle, a man who aims to prove that humanity has a kinship to apes by carrying out unethical and fatal experiments on young women determined to mix their blood with that of his pet gorilla Erik.
9. The Mummy (1932)
Approved | 73 min | Fantasy, Horror
A resurrected Egyptian mummy searches Cairo for the girl he believes to be his long-lost princess.
Director: Karl Freund | Stars: Boris Karloff, Zita Johann, David Manners, Arthur Byron
Votes: 30,102
The first of its kind! Before this film, the world had already been filled with tales and stories of vampires, man-made monsters and other supernatural beasts of the night. But this was the first time that the idea of an undead mummy entered the realm of popular culture.
Featuring Boris Karloff as the title character, the Mummy known as Imhotep is awoken from the dead thanks to an expedition from the British Museum in 1922. Ten years later he returns, in search of his lost love the Princess Ankhsenamon only to find that her spirit had left its original body behind and reincarnated into the form of a young woman named Helen. With this in mind, he determines to sacrifice Helen and restore Ankhsenamon as an undead mummy like himself.
10. The Invisible Man (1933)
TV-PG | 71 min | Horror, Sci-Fi
A scientist finds a way of becoming invisible, but in doing so, he becomes murderously insane.
Director: James Whale | Stars: Claude Rains, Gloria Stuart, William Harrigan, Henry Travers
Votes: 39,909
When an impetuous scientist named Griffin creates a potion that one can use to turn himself invisible and tests it on himself, the experiment at first seems to be a success, but as events take their turn, the formula turns him insane and he terrorises the countryside in his madness. This brings the entire populace down upon him, and they are determined to hunt him to the death!
11. The Black Cat (1934)
Not Rated | 65 min | Crime, Horror, Romance
American honeymooners in Hungary become trapped in the home of a Satan-worshipping priest when the bride is taken there for medical help following a road accident.
Director: Edgar G. Ulmer | Stars: Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, David Manners, Julie Bishop
Votes: 12,981 | Gross: $0.51M
A newlywed couple travelling to their honeymoon destination are caught up in what seems to be a personal vendetta between Vitus Werdegast (Bela Lugosi) and Hjalmar Poelzig (Boris Karloff), but what they do not know is that Poelzig is a Satanist and has made the decision to sacrifice the young bride in a pagan ritual.
12. Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
Not Rated | 75 min | Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi
Mary Shelley reveals the main characters of her novel survived: Baron Henry Frankenstein, goaded by an even madder scientist, builds his monster a mate.
Director: James Whale | Stars: Boris Karloff, Elsa Lanchester, Colin Clive, Valerie Hobson
Votes: 53,218 | Gross: $4.36M
HE'S ALIVE!!! Boris Karloff returns as Frankenstein's monster in this fantastic sequel to the 1931 masterpiece. This time however instead of seeking revenge on his creator he searches for companionship. A mad doctor even more immoral than what Henry Frankenstein had originally been, Pretorius, seems to offer him that by creating a bride for him, but will the Bride even want him?
13. The Raven (1935)
Approved | 61 min | Crime, Horror
A brilliant surgeon with a morbid obsession for instruments of torture grows dangerously obsessed with a young socialite whose life he's saved.
Director: Lew Landers | Stars: Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Lester Matthews, Irene Ware
Votes: 6,649
Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff team up once again in this madness of horror loosely based on the works of Edgar Allan Poe. Lugosi's character, Dr. Vollin, helps to save the life of a young girl and afterwards becomes infatuated with her. But when he realises that he cannot have her, he turns murderous and enlists a known criminal to help him take his revenge in a slow and torturing manner.
14. Son of Frankenstein (1939)
Approved | 99 min | Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi
Returning to the ancestral castle long after the death of the monster, the son of Dr. Frankenstein meets a mad shepherd who is hiding the comatose creature. To clear the family name, he revives the creature and tries to rehabilitate him.
Director: Rowland V. Lee | Stars: Boris Karloff, Basil Rathbone, Bela Lugosi, Lionel Atwill
Votes: 11,685
HE'S ALIVE...again! Boris Karloff makes his third and final journey in this film as the Frankenstein monster. It has been many years since the events of the previous entry, Bride. Henry Frankenstein is dead. He now has two grown up sons, one of which has returned to his home village with his wife and child. He is greeted sourly by the townspeople who fear the monster and hate the name of Frankenstein.
Frankenstein's son Wolf believes the monster to have been killed years ago, but as an evil hunchbacked blacksmith named Ygor reveals, the Monster is still alive. Wolf is determined to repeat his father's experiment finally become successful and restores the Monster to full life, but the machinations of Ygor interfere and Wolf is forced to choose between the legacy of his father or the future of the family of Frankenstein...
15. The Wolf Man (1941)
Passed | 70 min | Horror, Mystery, Romance
Larry Talbot returns to his father's castle in Wales and meets a beautiful woman. One fateful night, Talbot escorts her to a local carnival where they meet a mysterious gypsy fortune teller.
Director: George Waggner | Stars: Claude Rains, Warren William, Lon Chaney Jr., Ralph Bellamy
Votes: 30,678
Larry Talbot, played by Lon Chaney Jr, returns to his ancestral home upon the news that his brother has recently died. As it has been years since he has been home, he tries to fit in with the townspeople. One night, he sees a wolf attacking a young woman and he battles the beast, killing it with his cane. But the wolf has bitten him.
And that one bite sentences poor Larry to his doom, bringing him a life of pure unending terror and fear. The wolf that he killed, that had wounded him, was a werewolf. And n ow, he was becoming one as well!!!
16. Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954)
G | 79 min | Horror, Sci-Fi
A strange prehistoric beast lurks in the depths of the Amazonian jungle. A group of scientists try to capture the animal and bring it back to civilization for study.
Director: Jack Arnold | Stars: Richard Carlson, Julie Adams, Richard Denning, Antonio Moreno
Votes: 34,378 | Gross: $1.30M
17. The Curse of Frankenstein (1957)
Approved | 82 min | Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller
While awaiting execution for murder, Baron Victor Frankenstein tells the story of a creature he built and brought to life - only for it to behave not as he intended.
Director: Terence Fisher | Stars: Peter Cushing, Hazel Court, Robert Urquhart, Christopher Lee
Votes: 12,637 | Gross: $17.44M
The horror films of America were at their lowest point in the mid 1950s, but over in England, at a small studio called Hammer, it was being revolutionised in this film.
The Curse of Frankenstein, the first in a series of horror classics done by Hammer Studios, featuring the legendary Peter Cushing as Victor Frankenstein and the equally prominent Sir Christopher Lee as the Monster. Frankenstein aims to create life in this adaptation of Mary Shelley's chilling literary masterpiece, and is obsessed with seeing it succeed even when all the odds of the Monster turning against him are obvious.
Eventually, Victor becomes as evil as his creation, determining that no one, not even the people he is close to, will stop him or his ghastly creation.
18. Horror of Dracula (1958)
Not Rated | 82 min | Drama, Horror
When Jonathan Harker rouses the ire of Count Dracula for accepting a job at the vampire's castle under false pretenses, his friend Dr. Van Helsing pursues the predatory villain.
Director: Terence Fisher | Stars: Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Michael Gough, Melissa Stribling
Votes: 27,956
The thunderous flavour of Hammer Horror continued as Sir Christopher Lee donned the red and black cape and the fangs to give moviegoers a new taste of Bram Stoker's perennial vampire character. In this version, Jonathan Harker comes to the vampire's castle, not for a real estate deal, but to slay Dracula. He fails and is turned into a vampire himself. And so, it is solely up to Doctor Van Helsing to face the demon and destroy him before the whole world can become enslaved to Dracula's menace.
19. The Revenge of Frankenstein (1958)
Not Rated | 90 min | Horror, Sci-Fi
Having escaped execution and assumed an alias, Baron Frankenstein transplants his deformed underling's brain into a perfect body, but the result proves to be mortally perilous.
Director: Terence Fisher | Stars: Peter Cushing, Francis Matthews, Eunice Gayson, Michael Gwynn
Votes: 6,119
20. The Blob (1958)
Approved | 86 min | Horror, Sci-Fi
An alien lifeform consumes everything in its path as it grows and grows.
Directors: Irvin S. Yeaworth Jr., Russell S. Doughten Jr. | Stars: Steve McQueen, Aneta Corsaut, Earl Rowe, Olin Howland
Votes: 29,366
21. Psycho (1960)
R | 109 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A Phoenix secretary embezzles $40,000 from her employer's client, goes on the run and checks into a remote motel run by a young man under the domination of his mother.
Director: Alfred Hitchcock | Stars: Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, Vera Miles, John Gavin
Votes: 717,851 | Gross: $32.00M
22. The Birds (1963)
PG-13 | 119 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
A wealthy San Francisco socialite pursues a potential boyfriend to a small Northern California town that slowly takes a turn for the bizarre when birds of all kinds suddenly begin to attack people.
Director: Alfred Hitchcock | Stars: Rod Taylor, Tippi Hedren, Jessica Tandy, Suzanne Pleshette
Votes: 204,390 | Gross: $11.40M
The little community of Bodega Bay is a quiet and peaceful place, so tranquil that they easily welcome a young stranger such as Melanie Daniels, played by Tippi Hedren, when she is on her way to visit (well, play a prank really) on local lawyer Mitch Brenner.
But suddenly when flocks of birds begin to attack the town and the people have no idea why, they began to associate this unnatural phenomenon with Melanie's arrival. Whatever the cause however no one is safe as the townspeople, the Brenner family, and Melanie must make a choice: one of two risks. Stay sheltered in their houses and fend off the birds, or flee the town and hope that the birds don't follow.
23. The Day of the Triffids (1963)
Approved | 93 min | Horror, Sci-Fi
After an unusual meteor shower leaves most of the human population blind, a merchant navy officer must find a way to conquer tall, aggressive plants which are feeding on people and animals.
Directors: Steve Sekely, Freddie Francis | Stars: Howard Keel, Nicole Maurey, Janette Scott, Kieron Moore
Votes: 8,916
24. The Evil of Frankenstein (1964)
Unrated | 84 min | Horror
Upon returning to his home village to continue his experimental research, the destitute Dr. Frankenstein revives his old creature, but a hypnotist wants the monster to control for himself.
Director: Freddie Francis | Stars: Peter Cushing, Peter Woodthorpe, Duncan Lamont, Sandor Elès
Votes: 4,635
25. Frankenstein Created Woman (1967)
Unrated | 92 min | Horror, Sci-Fi
After being reanimated, Baron Frankenstein transfers the soul of an executed young man into the body of his lover, prompting her to kill the men who wronged them.
Director: Terence Fisher | Stars: Peter Cushing, Susan Denberg, Thorley Walters, Robert Morris
Votes: 5,447
26. Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (1969)
PG-13 | 101 min | Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi
Baron Frankenstein, with the aid of a young doctor and his fiancée, kidnaps the mentally sick Dr. Brandt in order to perform the first brain transplant operation.
Director: Terence Fisher | Stars: Peter Cushing, Veronica Carlson, Freddie Jones, Simon Ward
Votes: 5,288 | Gross: $0.10M
27. Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell (1974)
R | 93 min | Horror, Sci-Fi
Baron Frankenstein works with a mental patient to reanimate the dead.
Director: Terence Fisher | Stars: Peter Cushing, Shane Briant, Madeline Smith, David Prowse
Votes: 4,348 | Gross: $0.12M
28. Jaws (1975)
PG | 124 min | Adventure, Mystery, Thriller
When a killer shark unleashes chaos on a beach community off Cape Cod, it's up to a local sheriff, a marine biologist, and an old seafarer to hunt the beast down.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss, Lorraine Gary
Votes: 659,064 | Gross: $260.00M
DAHDUM! DAHDUM! That was the first thing audiences heard in 1975 when they went to see this film, and felt the chill of impending danger. As they watched the screen, a story unfolded of a great white shark attacking the beachgoers on a small island community, and of the local police chief teaming up with a shark hunter and marine expert to hunt the beast down.
Steven Spielberg's chilling masterpiece, Jaws! See it before you go swimming...
29. Halloween (1978)
R | 91 min | Horror, Thriller
Fifteen years after murdering his sister on Halloween night 1963, Michael Myers escapes from a mental hospital and returns to the small town of Haddonfield, Illinois to kill again.
Director: John Carpenter | Stars: Donald Pleasence, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tony Moran, Nancy Kyes
Votes: 306,634 | Gross: $47.00M
30. A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
R | 91 min | Horror
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: 262,293 | Gross: $25.50M
31. Deep Blue Sea (1999)
R | 105 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Searching for a cure to Alzheimer's disease, a group of scientists on an isolated research facility become the prey, as a trio of intelligent sharks fight back.
Director: Renny Harlin | Stars: Thomas Jane, Saffron Burrows, Samuel L. Jackson, Jacqueline McKenzie
Votes: 142,516 | Gross: $73.65M
32. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)
PG | 161 min | Adventure, Family, Fantasy
Harry Potter lives his second year at Hogwarts with Ron and Hermione when a message on the wall announces that the legendary Chamber of Secrets has been opened. The trio soon realize that, to save the school, it will take a lot of courage.
Director: Chris Columbus | Stars: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Richard Harris
Votes: 691,946 | Gross: $261.99M
33. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
PG | 142 min | Adventure, Family, Fantasy
Harry Potter, Ron and Hermione return to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for their third year of study, where they delve into the mystery surrounding an escaped prisoner who poses a dangerous threat to the young wizard.
Director: Alfonso Cuarón | Stars: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Richard Griffiths
Votes: 691,159 | Gross: $249.36M
34. The Reef (2010)
R | 94 min | Adventure, Horror, Thriller
A great white shark hunts the crew of a capsized sailboat along the Great Barrier Reef.
Director: Andrew Traucki | Stars: Damian Walshe-Howling, Gyton Grantley, Adrienne Pickering, Zoe Naylor
Votes: 20,928
35. Insidious (I) (2010)
PG-13 | 103 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A family looks to prevent evil spirits from trapping their comatose child in a realm called The Further.
Director: James Wan | Stars: Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Ty Simpkins, Lin Shaye
Votes: 338,862 | Gross: $54.01M
36. Bait (III) (2012)
R | 93 min | Action, Fantasy, Horror
A freak tsunami traps shoppers at a coastal Australian supermarket inside the building - along with 12-foot Great White Sharks.
Director: Kimble Rendall | Stars: Xavier Samuel, Sharni Vinson, Adrian Pang, Yuwu Qi
Votes: 19,437
37. The Woman in Black (2012)
PG-13 | 95 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
A young solicitor travels to a remote village where he discovers that the vengeful ghost of a scorned woman is terrorizing the locals.
Director: James Watkins | Stars: Daniel Radcliffe, Janet McTeer, Ciarán Hinds, Emma Shorey
Votes: 192,574 | Gross: $54.33M
38. Insidious: Chapter 2 (2013)
PG-13 | 106 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
The Lamberts believe that they have defeated the spirits that have haunted their family, but they soon discover that evil is not beaten so easily.
Director: James Wan | Stars: Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Barbara Hershey, Lin Shaye
Votes: 188,706 | Gross: $83.59M
39. The Conjuring (2013)
R | 112 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren work to help a family terrorized by a dark presence in their farmhouse.
Director: James Wan | Stars: Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga, Ron Livingston, Lili Taylor
Votes: 554,470 | Gross: $137.40M
40. Annabelle (I) (2014)
R | 99 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A couple begins to experience terrifying supernatural occurrences involving a vintage doll shortly after their home is invaded by satanic cultists.
Director: John R. Leonetti | Stars: Ward Horton, Annabelle Wallis, Alfre Woodard, Tony Amendola
Votes: 175,189 | Gross: $84.27M
41. The Gallows (2015)
R | 81 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
20 years after a horrific accident during a small town school play, students at the school resurrect the failed show in a misguided attempt to honor the anniversary of the tragedy - but soon discover that some things are better left alone.
Directors: Travis Cluff, Chris Lofing | Stars: Reese Mishler, Pfeifer Brown, Ryan Shoos, Cassidy Gifford
Votes: 21,570 | Gross: $22.76M
42. The Shallows (2016)
PG-13 | 86 min | Action, Drama, Horror
A mere 200 yards from shore, surfer Nancy is attacked by a great white shark, with her short journey to safety becoming the ultimate contest of wills.
Director: Jaume Collet-Serra | Stars: Blake Lively, Óscar Jaenada, Angelo Josue Lozano Corzo, Joseph Salas
Votes: 143,355 | Gross: $55.12M
43. The Mummy (2017)
PG-13 | 110 min | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
An ancient Egyptian princess is awakened from her crypt beneath the desert, bringing with her malevolence grown over millennia and terrors that defy human comprehension.
Director: Alex Kurtzman | Stars: Tom Cruise, Sofia Boutella, Annabelle Wallis, Russell Crowe
Votes: 206,070 | Gross: $80.10M
44. It (I) (2017)
R | 135 min | Fantasy, Horror
In the summer of 1989, a group of bullied kids band together to destroy a shape-shifting monster, which disguises itself as a clown and preys on the children of Derry, their small Maine town.
Director: Andy Muschietti | Stars: Bill Skarsgård, Jaeden Martell, Finn Wolfhard, Sophia Lillis
Votes: 605,743 | Gross: $327.48M
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