My Top 10 Scariest Films

Submitted by Maniac Mansion on Sat, 05/23/2009 - 20:33
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  • TOP TEN SCARIEST FILMS

  • These are films that have genuinely frightened me. I find that what scares people is incredibly subjective, so odds are there are some films here that you may not have found scary at all.

  • The Ring (2002)
  • So I realize this gets groans from a lot of people who despise remakes and PG-13 horror films, but this film defies both of those conventions (bettering the original and using suspense and atmosphere instead of violence). When it comes to hands down the most I've ever been scared, the Ring wins it, and gets all the votes. Nothing else comes close. I still can't watch it alone, and 6 years later I still often lie in bed dreading seeing Samara standing at the end of it. So, for me, this one hits all the right buttons.

  • Black Christmas (1974)
  • The final sequence of this classic slasher film is just about as pulse-pounding terrifying as my heart can handle. As many times as I've seen it, it still manages to send chills down my spine. The phone calls are so intensely psychotic, its hard to believe they aren't real.

  • Maniac! (1980)
  • No other film can put you into the shoes of a serial killer quite like Maniac! Joe Spinell's killer is so realistic, so eerily genuine, you have to wonder if the guy wasn't leading a double life (he even wrote the incredibly dark script). Maniac! is a film that is unsettling in so many ways: its extremely graphic violence (provided by Tom Savini without the constraints of a MPAA rating) without an ounce of humor, is shocking. But its not only a splatterfest, its psychologically haunting. Maniac! is not a film I can recommend to most people, but if you can take it, its worth the ride, just don't be surprised if you want to take a shower afterwards.

  • The Blair Witch Project (1999)
  • I can think of no better example of the principle "its what you don't see that's scary" than the BWP. Although not a single frame (of video at least) is given to the "it" the terrifying mystery of what it is and what it will do to our protagonists is so intense, that nothing on screen could ever live up to the expectations. The final 30 seconds of this film are among the most brilliant and scary of any film ever made.

  • A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
  • The best original premise for a horror film... ever! A monster who kills you in your dreams. Oh and the monster happens to be horribly burned child murderer with a glove of razor blades. No, that's not scary. Not at all.

  • Halloween (1978)
  • Its rare that one can walk away from John Carpenter's masterpiece and not be at least a little scared. Michael Myers' haunting white mask is an image that is hard to shake. Not to mention its one of the most nail-bitingly suspenseful flicks ever made! If this doesn't make your heart pound... check your pulse.

  • The Shining (1980)
  • Jack Nicholson's immortal performance anchors this slow burning ghost story, that begs you to think about how insanely scary it would be if you were locked in a haunted hotel with your alcoholic dad, and he suddenly decided he was going to murder you and your mom... with an axe.

  • The Descent (2006)
  • The building dread of the Descent is so strong, you almost want to turn it off before the situation gets inevitably worse. The claustrophobia of the caves, the fear of what lurks in the dark, the bad blood between old friends... Great setup, and a very scary flick.

  • Dead End (2003)
  • This is my dark horse entry, and probably wouldn't make too many other lists, but as an unsuspecting viewer this one managed to surprise me. Ultra-low budget horror film takes place in a car with a fighting family who end up on a strange highway that may be haunted. The whole thing feels like a David Lynch horror film (it even has Ray Wise of Twin Peaks!), and that's definitely a good thing.

  • Poltergeist (1982)
  • PG? Hah! Watch the face melting scene and tell me it doesn't compare to any hard-R horror film. But violence aside this is still a very effective horror film, and the best of the haunted house genre. Maybe the MPAA found it suitable for all ages, but that doesn't mean it won't scare the bejeezus out of everyone.

  • Honorable Mentions:
  • The Exorcist (1973), Candyman (1992), Alien (1979), The Haunting (1963), and Cannibal Holocaust (1980).