Spookiness Abounds
My Favourite Scary Movies. I tend to favour scares and atmosphere over gore, but not always. Most of the movies on this list have a supernatural component to them as well, but there are a few that achieve scares without it.
A few of these also have comedy in the mix as well, and some are just straight-up "kids" scary movies.
I love them all.
Oh, and they're not in any particular order, just the one in which they came to mind.
A few of these also have comedy in the mix as well, and some are just straight-up "kids" scary movies.
I love them all.
Oh, and they're not in any particular order, just the one in which they came to mind.
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- DirectorTi WestStarsSara PaxtonPat HealyKelly McGillisDuring the final days at the Yankee Pedlar Inn, two employees determined to reveal the hotel's haunted past begin to experience disturbing events as old guests check in for a stay.
- DirectorTobe HooperStarsJoBeth WilliamsHeather O'RourkeCraig T. NelsonA family's home is haunted by a host of demonic ghosts.
- DirectorDavid TwohyStarsRadha MitchellCole HauserVin DieselA transport ship crashes and leaves its crew stranded on a desert planet inhabited by bloodthirsty creatures that come out during an eclipse.
- DirectorJames WatkinsStarsDaniel RadcliffeJanet McTeerCiarán HindsA young solicitor travels to a remote village where he discovers that the vengeful ghost of a scorned woman is terrorizing the locals.
- DirectorAlex ProyasStarsBrandon LeeMichael WincottRochelle DavisA man brutally murdered comes back to life as an undead avenger of his and his fiancée's murder.
- DirectorPeter WeirStarsRachel RobertsAnne-Louise LambertVivean GrayDuring a rural summer picnic, a few students and a teacher from an Australian girls' school vanish without a trace. Their absence frustrates and haunts the people left behind.
- DirectorRobert WiseStarsJulie HarrisClaire BloomRichard JohnsonHill House has stood for about 90 years and appears haunted: its inhabitants have always met strange, tragic ends. Now Dr. John Markway has assembled a team of people who he thinks will prove whether or not the house is haunted.
- DirectorAndy MuschiettiStarsJessica ChastainNikolaj Coster-WaldauMegan CharpentierAfter a young couple take in their two nieces, they suspect that a supernatural spirit named Mama has latched onto their family.
- StarsNancy TravisMatt KeeslarKimberly J. BrownA college professor and a team of psychics investigate mysterious deaths and disappearances at an old abandoned mansion.
- DirectorJ.A. BayonaStarsBelén RuedaFernando CayoRoger PríncepA woman brings her family back to her childhood home, which used to be an orphanage for handicapped children. Before long, her son starts to communicate with an invisible new friend.
- DirectorPeter JacksonStarsMichael J. FoxTrini AlvaradoPeter DobsonAfter a tragic car accident that kills his wife, a man discovers he can communicate with the dead, and he uses that gift to con people. However, when a demonic spirit appears, he may be the only one who can stop it from killing the living and the dead.
- DirectorBrad AndersonStarsDavid CarusoStephen GevedonPaul GuilfoyleTensions rise within an asbestos cleaning crew as they work in an abandoned mental hospital with a horrific past that seems to be coming back.
- DirectorHideo NakataStarsHitomi KurokiRio KannoMirei OguchiA mother and her 6-year-old daughter move into a creepy apartment whose every surface is permeated by water.This is the original Japanese version of "Dark Water".
- DirectorBanjong PisanthanakunParkpoom WongpoomStarsAnanda EveringhamNatthaweeranuch ThongmeeAchita SikamanaA young photographer and his girlfriend discover mysterious shadows in their photographs after a tragic accident. They soon learn that you can not escape your past.This is the original Thai version of the film.
- DirectorJames WanStarsPatrick WilsonRose ByrneTy SimpkinsA family looks to prevent evil spirits from trapping their comatose child in a realm called The Further.
- DirectorColin MinihanStuart OrtizThe Vicious BrothersStarsBenjamin WilkinsonSean RogersonAshleigh GryzkoFor their ghost hunting reality show, a production crew locks themselves inside an abandoned mental hospital that's supposedly haunted - and it might prove to be all too true.
- DirectorJohn PoliquinStarsRichard HarmonShawn C. PhillipsJennica FultonA film student who is obsessed with the movie Grave Encounters sets out with his friends to visit the psychiatric hospital depicted in the original film.
- DirectorGuillermo del ToroStarsMarisa ParedesEduardo NoriegaFederico LuppiAfter Carlos - a 12-year-old whose father has died in the Spanish Civil War - arrives at an ominous boys' orphanage, he discovers the school is haunted and has many dark secrets which he must uncover.
- DirectorJohn HoughStarsRoddy McDowallGayle HunnicuttPamela FranklinA physicist, his wife and two mediums are hired to investigate the Belasco House, where 27 guests had inexplicably died in 1927, along with most of a team of paranormal investigators that was sent in the early 1950s.
- DirectorWilliam CastleStarsCharles HerbertJo MorrowMartin MilnerA family inherits what proves to be a haunted house, but a special pair of goggles allows them to see their ghostly tormentors.
- DirectorScott DerricksonStarsEthan HawkeJuliet RylanceJames RansoneA controversial true-crime writer finds a box of Super 8 home movies in his new home, revealing that the murder case he is currently researching could be the work of an unknown serial killer whose legacy dates back to the 1960s.
- DirectorNick MurphyStarsRebecca HallDominic WestImelda StauntonIn 1921, England is overwhelmed by the loss and grief of World War I. Hoax exposer Florence Cathcart visits a boarding school to explain sightings of a child ghost. Everything she believes unravels as the 'missing' begin to show themselves.
- DirectorMark PellingtonStarsRichard GereLaura LinneyDavid EigenbergA reporter is drawn to a small West Virginia town to investigate a series of strange events, including psychic visions and the appearance of bizarre entities.
- DirectorMikael HåfströmStarsJohn CusackSamuel L. JacksonMary McCormackA man who specialises in debunking paranormal occurrences checks into the fabled room 1408 in the Dolphin Hotel. Soon after settling in, he confronts genuine terror.
- DirectorMichael DoughertyStarsAnna PaquinBrian CoxDylan BakerFive interwoven stories that occur on Halloween: an everyday high school principal has a secret life as a serial killer; a college virgin might have just met the guy for her; a group of teenagers pull a mean prank; a woman who loathes the night has to contend with her holiday-obsessed husband; and a mean old man meets his match with a demonic, supernatural trick-or-treater.
- DirectorAdrian LyneStarsTim RobbinsElizabeth PeñaDanny AielloMourning his dead child, a haunted Vietnam War veteran attempts to uncover his past while suffering from a severe case of dissociation. To do so, he must decipher reality and life from his own dreams, delusions, and perceptions of death.
- DirectorRoman PolanskiStarsMia FarrowJohn CassavetesRuth GordonA young couple trying for a baby moves into an aging, ornate apartment building on Central Park West, where they find themselves surrounded by peculiar neighbors.
- DirectorDavid KoeppStarsJohnny DeppMaria BelloJohn TurturroA successful writer in the midst of a painful divorce is stalked at his remote lake house by a would-be scribe who accuses him of plagiarism.
- DirectorDan CurtisStarsRobert BurtonJohn KarlenGeorge GaynesThree bizarre horror stories, all of which star Karen Black in four different roles playing four tormented women.
- DirectorAntonia BirdStarsGuy PearceRobert CarlyleDavid ArquetteIn a remote military outpost in the 19th century, Captain John Boyd and his regiment embark on a rescue mission which takes a dark turn when they are ambushed by a sadistic cannibal.
- DirectorJalmari HelanderStarsJorma TommilaOnni TommilaPeeter JakobiIn the depths of the Korvatunturi mountains, 486 meters deep, lies the closest ever guarded secret of Christmas. The time has come to dig it up. This Christmas everyone will believe in Santa Claus.
- DirectorDrew GoddardStarsKristen ConnollyChris HemsworthAnna HutchisonFive 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.
- DirectorDavid KeatingStarsAidan GillenEva BirthistleTimothy SpallThe parents of a girl who was killed by a savage dog are granted the opportunity to spend three days with their deceased daughter.
- DirectorRobin HardyStarsEdward WoodwardChristopher LeeDiane CilentoA puritan police sergeant arrives in a Scottish island village in search of a missing girl, who the pagan locals claim never existed.
- DirectorDan CurtisStarsKaren BlackOliver ReedBurgess MeredithA family moves into a large old mansion in the countryside which seems to have a mysterious and sinister power over its new residents.
- DirectorTod BrowningStarsWallace FordLeila HyamsOlga BaclanovaA circus' beautiful trapeze artist agrees to marry the leader of side-show performers, but his deformed friends discover she is only marrying him for his inheritance.
- DirectorJohn McTiernanMichael CrichtonStarsAntonio BanderasDiane VenoraDennis StorhøiA man, having fallen in love with the wrong woman, is sent by the sultan himself on a diplomatic mission to a distant land as an ambassador. Stopping at a Viking village port to restock on supplies, he finds himself unwittingly embroiled in a quest to banish a mysterious threat in a distant Viking land.
- DirectorChristophe GansStarsSamuel Le BihanMark DacascosJérémie RenierIn 18th-century France, the Chevalier de Fronsac and his Native American friend Mani are sent to the Gevaudan province at the king's behest to investigate the killings of hundreds by a mysterious beast.
- DirectorHenry SelickStarsDakota FanningTeri HatcherJohn HodgmanWandering her rambling old house in her boring new town, an 11-year-old Coraline discovers a hidden door to a strangely idealized version of her life. In order to stay in the fantasy, she must make a frighteningly real sacrifice.
- DirectorLuiso BerdejoStarsKevin CostnerIvana BaqueroSamantha MathisA single father moves his two children to rural South Carolina, only to watch his daughter exhibit increasingly strange behavior.
- DirectorJohn NewlandStarsKim DarbyJim HuttonBarbara AndersonA young couple inherits an old mansion inhabited by small demon-like creatures who are determined to make the wife one of their own.
- DirectorCraig GillespieStarsAnton YelchinColin FarrellDavid Tennant"Fright Night" - A new neighbor moves in next to Charley, who discovers that he is an ancient vampire who preys on the community. Can he save his neighborhood from the creature with the help of the famous "vampire killer", Peter Vincent?
- DirectorWes CravenStarsNeve CampbellCourteney CoxDavid ArquetteA 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.
- DirectorWes CravenStarsNeve CampbellCourteney CoxDavid ArquetteTwo years after the first series of murders, as Sidney acclimates to college life, someone donning the Ghostface costume begins a new string of killings.
- DirectorWes CravenStarsDavid ArquetteNeve CampbellCourteney CoxWhile Sidney and her friends visit the Hollywood set of Stab 3, the third film based on the Woodsboro murders, another Ghostface killer rises to terrorize them.
- DirectorWes CravenStarsNeve CampbellCourteney CoxDavid ArquetteTen years have passed, and Sidney Prescott, who has put herself back together thanks in part to her writing, is visited by the Ghostface Killer.
- DirectorChris ButlerSam FellStarsKodi Smit-McPheeAnna KendrickChristopher Mintz-PlasseA misunderstood boy takes on ghosts, zombies and grown-ups to save his town from a centuries-old curse.
- DirectorTim BurtonStarsJohnny DeppChristina RicciMiranda RichardsonIchabod Crane is sent to Sleepy Hollow to investigate the decapitations of three people; the culprit is legendary apparition The Headless Horseman.
- StarsRebecca De MornaySteven WeberWil HorneffA recovering alcoholic must wrestle with demons within and without when he and his family move into a haunted hotel as caretakers.
- DirectorChristophe GansStarsRadha MitchellLaurie HoldenSean BeanA woman, Rose, goes in search for her adopted daughter within the confines of a strange, desolate town called Silent Hill.
- DirectorLarry CohenStarsJohn P. RyanSharon FarrellAndrew DugganThe Davises are expecting a baby, which turns out to be a monster with a nasty habit of killing people whenever it is scared. And it is easily scared.
- DirectorJohn CarpenterStarsKurt RussellWilford BrimleyKeith DavidA research team in Antarctica is hunted by a shape-shifting alien that assumes the appearance of its victims.
- DirectorJohn FawcettStarsEmily PerkinsKatharine IsabelleKris LemcheTwo death-obsessed sisters, outcasts in their suburban neighborhood, must deal with the tragic consequences when one of them is bitten by a deadly werewolf.
- DirectorBrett SullivanStarsEmily PerkinsBrendan FletcherKatharine IsabelleGinger's sister Brigitte, now a werewolf herself, must try to find a cure for her blood lust before the next full moon while hiding out in a rehab clinic from a relentless werewolf.
- DirectorGrant HarveyStarsKatharine IsabelleEmily PerkinsNathaniel ArcandSet in 19th Century Canada, Brigette and her sister Ginger take refuge in a Traders' Fort which later becomes under siege by some savage werewolves.
- DirectorAndrew FlemingStarsRobin TunneyFairuza BalkNeve CampbellA newcomer to a Catholic prep high school falls in with a trio of outcast teenage girls who practice witchcraft, and they all soon conjure up various spells and curses against those who anger them.
- DirectorRoger CormanStarsVincent PriceHazel CourtJane AsherA European prince terrorizes the local peasantry while using his castle as a refuge against the "Red Death" plague that stalks the land.
- DirectorJack ClaytonStarsMary Grace CanfieldRichard DavalosJake DengelIn a small American town, a diabolical circus and its demonic proprietor prey on the townsfolk.
- DirectorNeil MarshallStarsSean PertweeKevin McKiddEmma CleasbyA routine military exercise turns into a nightmare in the Scottish wilderness.
- DirectorDanny BoyleStarsCillian MurphyNaomie HarrisChristopher EcclestonFour weeks after a mysterious, incurable virus spreads throughout the UK, a handful of survivors try to find sanctuary.
- DirectorZack SnyderStarsSarah PolleyVing RhamesMekhi PhiferA nurse, a policeman, a young married couple, a salesman and other survivors of a worldwide plague that is producing aggressive, flesh-eating zombies, take refuge in a mega Midwestern shopping mall.
- DirectorJames GunnStarsNathan FillionElizabeth BanksMichael RookerA small town is taken over by an alien plague, turning residents into zombies and all forms of mutant monsters.
- DirectorKenny OrtegaStarsBette MidlerSarah Jessica ParkerKathy NajimyA teenage boy named Max and his little sister move to Salem, where he struggles to fit in before awakening a trio of diabolical witches that were executed in the 17th century.
- DirectorGil KenanStarsMitchel MussoSam LernerSpencer LockeThree teens discover that their neighbor's house is really a living, breathing, scary monster.
- DirectorSteve MinerStarsBridget FondaBill PullmanOliver PlattFour people attempt to stop a gigantic crocodile, who is terrorizing residents in Black Lake, Maine.
- DirectorTimur BekmambetovStarsKonstantin KhabenskiyVladimir MenshovMariya PoroshinaA fantasy-horror set in present-day Moscow where the respective forces that control daytime and nighttime do battle.
- DirectorDavid BenulloStarsJaimie AlexanderBrian McNamaraEthan PhillipsWhen her car breaks down in a small town, Liz Chambers (Jaimie Alexander) meets journalist Sarah Austin (Hudson Leick), who tells her about the town's bloodthirsty past. A hundred years ago, the town preacher nailed people to crosses, sacrificing them as living scarecrows
- DirectorLance W. DreesenClint HutchisonStarsJohn RitterDavid DeLuiseAllison SmithA real estate agent terrifies a couple with the grim fates of the previous owners of a house they're looking at.
- DirectorEli CraigStarsTyler LabineAlan TudykKatrina BowdenAffable hillbillies Tucker and Dale are on vacation at their dilapidated mountain cabin when they are mistaken for murderers by a group of preppy college students.
- DirectorDon CoscarelliStarsBruce CampbellOssie DavisBob IvyWhen residents of their nursing home start dying of dubious causes, an aged Elvis and an African-American senior who claims to be President John F. Kennedy discover that the perpetrator is an Egyptian mummy with murderous intentions.
- DirectorFrank DarabontStarsThomas JaneMarcia Gay HardenLaurie HoldenA freak storm unleashes a species of bloodthirsty creatures on a small town, where a small band of citizens hole up in a supermarket and fight for their lives.
- StarsErnst-Hugo JäregårdKirsten RolffesGhita NørbyDoctors at an ultramodern hospital in Denmark become convinced, by way of weird, inexplicable happenings, that the place is haunted.
- CreatorStephen KingStarsJamie HarroldDiane LaddBruce DavisonThe quirky staff and patients of an ultramodern (albeit increasingly dilapidated) Maine hospital gradually become familiar with the supernatural occurrences that take place there, uncovering a dark secret in the process.
- DirectorPaul W.S. AndersonStarsLaurence FishburneSam NeillKathleen QuinlanA rescue crew is tasked with investigating the mysterious reappearance of a spaceship that had been lost for seven years.
- DirectorRidley ScottStarsSigourney WeaverTom SkerrittJohn HurtThe crew of a commercial spacecraft encounters a deadly lifeform after investigating a mysterious transmission of unknown origin.
- DirectorJacques TourneurStarsSimone SimonTom ConwayKent SmithAn American man marries a Serbian immigrant who fears that she will turn into the cat person of her homeland's fables if they are intimate together.
- DirectorKarl FreundStarsBoris KarloffZita JohannDavid MannersA resurrected Egyptian mummy searches Cairo for the girl he believes to be his long-lost princess.
- DirectorBryan ForbesStarsKim StanleyRichard AttenboroughMargaret LaceyA medium and her husband stage a kidnapping in order for her to pretend to solve the crime and achieve fame.
- DirectorPeter DuffellStarsJohn BryansJohn BennettDenholm ElliottAn anthology of four horror stories revolving around a mysterious rental house in the U.K.
- DirectorFrancis Ford CoppolaStarsWilliam CampbellLuana AndersBart PattonA scheming widow hatches a bold plan to acquire her late husband's inheritance, unaware that she is being targeted by an ax murderer who lurks in the family's estate.
- DirectorJoel SchumacherStarsJason PatricCorey HaimDianne WiestAfter moving to a new town, two brothers discover that the area is a haven for vampires.
- DirectorFrancis Ford CoppolaStarsGary OldmanWinona RyderAnthony HopkinsThe centuries old vampire Count Dracula comes to England to seduce his barrister Jonathan Harker's fiancée Mina Murray and inflict havoc in the foreign land.
- DirectorDanny SteinmannStarsBarbara BachSydney LassickLelia GoldoniThree female reporters find themselves staying overnight in a house occupied by a hostile being that lurks in the basement.
- DirectorDavid SchmoellerStarsChuck ConnorsJocelyn JonesJon Van NessA group of young friends stranded at a secluded roadside museum are stalked by a masked assailant who uses his telekinetic powers to control the attraction's mannequins.
- DirectorRobert RodriguezStarsHarvey KeitelGeorge ClooneyJuliette LewisTwo criminals and their hostages unknowingly seek temporary refuge in a truck stop populated by vampires, with chaotic results.
- DirectorMick GarrisStarsTom SkerrittSteven WeberAnnabeth GishWhen a sheriff arrests a writer, a family, a couple, and a hitchiker and throws them in a jail cell in the deserted town of Desperation, they must fight for their lives.
- StarsDavid SoulJames MasonLance KerwinA novelist and a young horror fan attempt to save a small New England town which has been invaded by vampires.
- DirectorMatthew LeutwylerStarsJeremy SistoErik PalladinoBianca LawsonA night at a local bed and breakfast turns into a bloody supernatural fight to the death.
- DirectorJonathan KingStarsOliver DriverNathan MeisterTammy DavisAn experiment in genetic engineering turns harmless sheep into bloodthirsty killers that terrorize a sprawling New Zealand farm.
- DirectorQuentin DupieuxStarsStephen SpinellaRoxane MesquidaWings HauserA homicidal car tire, discovering it has destructive psionic power, sets its sights on a desert town once a mysterious woman becomes its obsession.
- DirectorBarry SonnenfeldStarsAnjelica HustonRaul JuliaChristopher LloydCon artists plan to fleece an eccentric family using an accomplice who claims to be their long-lost uncle.
- DirectorRusty CundieffStarsClarence Williams IIICorbin BernsenJoe TorryA funeral director tells four strange tales of horror with an African American focus to three drug dealers he traps in his place of business.
- DirectorErnest R. DickersonStarsSnoop DoggPam GrierMichael T. WeissOver 20 years after his death by a gunshot, Jimmy Bones comes back as a ghost to wreak revenge on those who killed him and to clean up his neighborhood.
- DirectorVincenzo NataliStarsNicole de BoerMaurice Dean WintDavid HewlettA group of strangers awaken to find themselves placed in a giant cube. Each one of them is gifted with a special skill and they must work together to escape an endless maze of deadly traps.
- DirectorTom MooreStarsDawn WellsDana PlatoDavid SobieskTwo men travel deep into the woods to search for a Bigfoot-like creature called "Big Bay-Ty" which has recently been sighted near Boggy Creek. Three children secretly follow. Little do they know a hurricane is about to commence.
- DirectorJohn D. HancockStarsZohra LampertBarton HeymanKevin O'ConnorA recently institutionalized woman has bizarre experiences after moving into a supposedly haunted country farmhouse and fears she may be losing her sanity once again.
- DirectorRobert WieneStarsWerner KraussConrad VeidtFriedrich FeherHypnotist Dr. Caligari uses a somnambulist, Cesare, to commit murders.
- DirectorF.W. MurnauStarsMax SchreckAlexander GranachGustav von WangenheimVampire Count Orlok expresses interest in a new residence and real estate agent Hutter's wife.
- DirectorClive BarkerStarsCraig ShefferDavid CronenbergAnne BobbyA troubled young man is drawn to a mythical place called Midian where a variety of friendly monsters are hiding from humanity. Meanwhile, a sadistic serial killer is looking for a patsy.
- DirectorBert I. GordonStarsMarjoe GortnerPamela FranklinRalph MeekerA group of friends travel to a remote Canadian island to hunt, only to be attacked by giant killer animals which have populated the place.