Peeping behind a pillow or squinting before horror scenes while sweating buckets is one of the common ways people watch horror movies. Horror movies are not for the faint of heart, but if you like the good adrenaline rush that a horror movie gives, you are at the right place.
Be it classics like Swan Lake and The Silence of the Lambs or the new Conjuring franchise movies. Horror flicks are the best counterparts for movie dates in the silence of the night with friends, partners, or family. The scare factor of movies can be measured by how memorable the scenes still are after days or years when we watched them.
Looking at a number of horror movies that have come out in the last few decades, only a few have left their mark of terror and may be considered one of the best to watch. So, here is a list of the top 25 horror movies of all time for one to browse and pick for a movie night.
Black Swan (2010)
Between a controlling mother who lives vicariously through her ballerina career and an obsessive perfectionist of an artistic director, Nina, under pressure to perform to perfection and defeat her rival Lily, slowly loses grasp on her reality, giving more of herself to an unknown dark side of hers. Starring Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, and Vincent Cassel, Black Swan is a psychological horror movie.
Stream on: Disney +, Amazon Prime Video
Haunted Mansion (2023)
After a mother and son move into a mansion where they plan to start their new business of bed and breakfast, they come to realize that the mansion is haunted. They invite a priest, a scientist, and an astrophysicist to help them get rid of these supernatural entities. Starring LaKeith Stanfield, Rosario Dawson, and Owen Wilson, the movie Haunted Mansion is a horror comedy.
Stream on: Disney +
Conjuring (2013)
![The Conjuring - Official Main Trailer [HD]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/k10ETZ41q5o/0.jpg "Top 25 horror movies of all time 4")
Lorraine and Ed Warren are a couple who are experts in paranormal activities. They are invited by a couple with five daughters who had just moved into a new house and have been experiencing unusual and abnormal situations since then. Starring Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, and Joey King, the movie Conjuring is the first in the series of the Conjuring franchise.
Stream on: Amazon Prime Video
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
An FBI agent seeks the help of a serial killer, Hannibal Lecter, in order to catch a new serial killer on the street who is targeting innocent women. Starring Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, and Ted Levine, The Silence of the Lambs is one of the best cinematic horror thrillers of all time.
Stream on: Amazon Prime Video
The Exorcist: Believer (2023)
On a normal day, Victor Fielding, who is a single father to his daughter Angela, drops her off at school and sees her walk in with her best friend, Katherine. But the girls suddenly disappear, sending the parents and police into a frenzy to look for them. Three days later, the girls return with cuts and bruises but otherwise unharmed, and both families try to move on from this sudden incident. But a change in their daughters’ behavior signals a demonic possession, leading them to ask for Chris MacNeil’s help.
Stream on: Apple TV
Annabelle: Creation (2017)
A spin-off of the Conjuring series, Annabelle: Creation, explains the story behind one of the most terrifying and possessed dolls and how it came to be. A dollmaker, out of grief over his dead daughter, makes a porcelain doll in remembrance of her, which to their disbelieve becomes a possessed object. Starring Talitha Bateman, Lulu Wilson, and Anthony LaPaglia, the movie is a horror drama.
Stream on: Netflix
Scream (1996)
After a creepy call by someone unknown, Sydney finds that all her close friends are being murdered one by one, and she is the final target. Starring Courtney Cox, Neve Campbell, and David Arquette, the movie Scream is the first in the franchise of four movies and is considered a classic.
Stream on: Amazon Prime Video
The Nun (2018)
In a monastery in Romania, two nuns die under suspicious circumstances. Looking to investigate, the Vatican employs a priest and a novice nun for the job. Upon reaching the monastery, the two start to experience harmful attacks by an unknown entity. Starring Demian Bichir, Taissa Farmiga, and Jonas Bloquet, The Nun is a gothic supernatural horror movie.
Stream on: Amazon Prime Video
Saw (2004)
Jigsaw, a sadistic killer, imprisons two men and gives them horrible and brutal choices to pick as a game of survival and asks the question of whether they would choose to save themselves or humanity. Starring Tobin Bell, Leigh Whannell, and Cary Lewis, Saw is a graphic horror movie.
Stream on: Apple TV
Pearl (2022)
Pearl yearns for the life of the girls she watches in movies, but the reality couldn’t be further than her wishes. She is stuck at home, looking after her wheelchair-bound father, who she has to take everywhere. But when a crew comes calling for an audition, looking for someone with an x-factor to them, Pearl is ready to take her one shot at fulfilling her dreams of becoming a movie star at any cost. Starring Mia Goth, David Corenswet, and Alistair Sewell, Pearl is a bloody horror movie.
Stream on: Amazon Prime Video
The Shining (1980)
After a writer’s family moves into an empty hotel as caretakers, it is closed for the winter season. But as their days of long stay start in a lonely hotel, the family starts to see ghosts. Starring Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, and Danny Lloyd, The Shining is one of the best horror movies of all time.
Stream on: Amazon Prime Video
Get Out (2017)
A young photographer’s Caucasian girlfriend invites him to meet her parents, who are also holding a part to which their relatives will be invited. Hesitant at first because he is an African American, he agrees after his girlfriend’s repeated assurances. But after reaching the girl’s parent’s house, he starts to notice strange things and gets suspicious of the family maid and groundskeeper, who unnaturally loathe him. Starring Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, and LaKeith Stanfield, Get Out is a psychological thriller and horror movie.
Stream on: Netflix
The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
A trip to Transexual Transylvania, which is headed by Rocky, a hedonistic transvestite introduces a musical and horrifying style of living to an unsuspecting couple, Brad and Janet, who come across him for help after they are stranded on the road. Starring Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon, and Barry Bostwick, The Rocky Horror Picture Show is an irreverent horror movie considered to be a classic.
Stream on: YouTube
Midsommar (2019)
A couple tries to solve their relationship problems by visiting an age-old festival that only happens once in 90 years in the ancestral tribe of Sweden. The movie’s bright and flowery cinematography stands in juxtaposition with its dark and intense tonality throughout the movie, which makes it really different from gloomy, black-and-white horror movies. It stars Florence Pugh, Will Poulter, and Jack Reynor.
Stream on: Netflix
Case 39 (2009)
A social worker, Emily, comes across an abused girl child, Lilith, whose parents attempted to burn her. Sympathizing with the little girl, she takes her in, hoping to provide her warmth and home. But as their daily conversations progress, she starts to find a darker and sinister side to the girl. Starring Renee Zellweger, Bradley Cooper, and Ian McShane.
Stream on: Amazon Prime Video
It (2017)
In the small town of Derry, Maine, seven children start to get haunted by a terrifying clown called Pennywise. The children band together to defeat the clown before he eats them like he did many other helpless children after tormenting and playing with them. Starring Finn Wolfhard, Bill Skarsgard, Jaeden Martell.
Stream on: Amazon Prime Video
The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005)
An ambitious but atheist lawyer takes up the case of Emily Rose’s homicide, who is claimed to have died after a priest performed a deadly exorcism upon her. Delving down the life and case of Emily Rose to defend her client, the priest, the lawyer herself starts to experience the haunting past of Emily. It stars Jennifer Carpenter, Laura Linney, and Campbell Scott.
Stream on: Hulu
The Ring (2002)
Rachel Keller gets involved in investigating a case of unusual but horrific deaths with no explanation. With a rumored DVD movie doing the rounds about its haunted aftermath, anyone who watches it will be killed within seven days. Rachel finds herself the target of these unseen and sinister forces. It stars Naomi Watts, David Dorfman and Daveigh Chase.
Stream on: Amazon Prime Video
A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
When your nightmares come real in the form of a serial killer who is after you in your sleep, and once he kills you, you might not ever wake up again. Nancy and her friends who live on Elm Street start to experience creepy and chilling accidents where they are stalked by a ghost called Freddy Krueger. It stars Johnny Depp, Robert Englund, and Heather Langenkamp.
Stream on: Amazon Prime Video
Hereditary (2018)
When Annie’s mother passes away, she and her family try to grieve their losses, but the secrets of their family’s hereditary mental illness start to haunt them as they start experiencing disturbing and supernatural things around them. It stars Toni Collette, Gabriel Byrne, Alex Wolff, and Milly Shapiro.
Stream on: Amazon Prime Video
Barbarian (2022)
A job interviewer rents a house near her workplace but finds out that she has accidentally double-booked with another man. The other man is friendly, and she decides to stay the night in the house. But her stay leads her to find tragic and horrible secrets hiding inside the house, waiting for the next victim to kill. Starring Bill Skarsgard, Justin Long, and Georgina Campbell.
Stream on: Amazon Prime Video
A Quiet Place (2018)
A family is trying to survive in the time of an alien creature’s invasion and finds its next victim with the power of sound. Eerie, quiet, and intense, A Quiet Place keeps one at the edge of the seat. Starring Emily Blunt, John Krasinski, and Millicent Simmonds.
Stream on: Netflix, Prime Video
The Invisible Man (2020)
![The Invisible Man - Official Trailer [HD]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/WO_FJdiY9dA/0.jpg "Top 25 horror movies of all time 24")
Cecelia finally gets her freedom after running from her controlling and obsessive ex-boyfriend when the news of his death catches her off guard. Her friends reassure her that this time she is really free, but Cecilia starts to get paranoid that her boyfriend is still out there when she starts to feel his presence around her. Starring Elizabeth Moss, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, and Aldis Hodge, The Invisible Man is a science fiction and horror movie.
Stream on: Amazon Prime Video
The Babadook (2014)
A sinister being hiding in the shadows and going by the name of Mr. Babadook in a children’s storybook starts to haunt a pair of mother and son who start to experience paranoia and disturbing incidents around them. Starring Essie Davis, Noah Wiseman and Daniel Henshall.
Stream on: Amazon Prime Video
Orphan (2009)
Kate Coleman decided to adopt a child after losing a child in a miscarriage. She picks up a 9-year-old girl called Esther and brings her back home. Esther is an artistic and quiet girl who, on the surface, gets along with her other two siblings. But Kate’s young and deaf daughter discovers the truth behind Esther’s sweet and innocent smile, which triggers a chain of dark and chill-raising events to unfold in the family.
Stream on: Amazon Prime Video
