My Personal Favorite Horror Movies Of All Time
With Halloween right around the corner (tomorrow as I am writing this), I thought it would be a great time to do a dive into some of my favorite horror flics! I have a bit of a rocky history with horror movies and just scary projects in general. Like a lot of people, I grew up terrified of scary movies and never really have memories of watching any of the classics. However, in the last few years I've made a genuine effort to get more into the genre and have really enjoyed expanding my palette in that way. Now that I'm at the age where I'm not frightened to watch them (although jumpscares do still get me badly), I've really become a bit of a new age horror fan. There's not really a horror movie I can't bring myself to watch and I'm slowly working my way through my watchlist.
That's why I thought, with the season, this would be a perfect time to give a little ranking of my favorite horror movies ever. I'll go through some honorable mentions then the top five, with a little blurb on my experience with each as well as my quick thoughts. I do want to make it clear that I am still very uneducated, and there's a million different movies still on my list. I'm sure I'll get a lot of the "watch more movies" comments since a lot of this is more modern horror. If you don't see your favorites on here, definitely let me know on Twitter or any other platform and I'll make sure to add it to my list. You can also click here to see my full Top 25 list. Let's get into this and Happy Halloween!
Honorable Mentions
I think there's a decent gap between these films and my top five, but they are all still outstanding. The first to miss was Heretic, the Hugh Grant-led thriller about two girls who stumble upon a man who is much more than he seems. This film takes a very classic horror concept and elevates it into a riveting two hours of actual impactful themes. Hugh Grant's character delves into many heavily debated topics and the outstanding screenplay makes you engaged on every bit of dialogue. I'll always be a huge Sophie Thatcher fan and it's also a movie that really gets you thinking after it ends about what really happened. There is one Jordan Peele film in this top five, but Get Out is one that just missed on this list. This is another situation where it's a pretty average plot on paper, but Daniel Kaluuya's gripping lead performance and Peele's insane vision make this an incredible film. You'll see another Cregger on this list very soon, and Barbarian is another one that nearly made the top five. The way he plays with his timelines is absolutely right up my alley and that film has some genuinely scary moments as well. I will admit to Gremlins being a bit outdated and a mess at certain points, but it was always one of my childhood favorites. I've loved revisiting it in recent years and it has to be up there for enjoyment factor. Call it recency bias, but I also have Obsession and Nosferatu rounding out the honorable mentions.
5: Us
I'm always an a huge fan of when new voices come in and take the horror world by storm. Jordan Peele is perhaps the best example of that in recent memory, establishing himself with Get Out and then finding his stride even more with Us. I remember this was one of those films that I watched very early on in my horror journey and I was almost terrified to watch It. Don't get me wrong, it did turn out to be scary in a lot of areas, but after the initial buzz wore off I remember just being completely enthralled by the story. With all his films, Peele does an amazing job of not only crafting a thriller/horror but also delving into a deeper social commentary. Even on top of that, there's plenty of other themes of family and control. Lupita Nyong'o in this movie is probably one of the best performances of all time. I can't even imagine how difficult it was for her to play her "tethered" self as well as the regular version, especially in the scenes where they are literally face to face. Those two are distinctly different characters but also similar in a way that almost feels uncanny. Add on two actors that I love to see always, Winston Duke and Elisabeth Moss, and this is one that I just loved from start to finish. I could really rewatch this at any time and every time I do I gain even more appreciation for it.
4: Weapons
Weapons is one of those movies where you almost immediately see the exact vision of why so many people have loved it. I, like most people, saw this film in theaters after following the insane hype it had before release. Peele himself apparently fired his team for not acquiring the screenplay, with it instead going to Cregger who is still a relatively new voice in the industry at this point. I've now become a huge fan of his after watching Barbarian and Resident Evil, but going into this one I wasn't really familiar with his work at all. From the instant I saw what he was doing with the format and flashing back between characters, I knew it would become one of my favorites of that year and maybe ever. What I really love about Cregger is not only that insane back-and-forth narrative storytelling, but also his directing style being such a good fit for horror. The way he composes his scenes are both eerie and comforting, literally placing you in the perspective of whatever character you are following. This style slightly shifts depending on what part of the story we are in and it allows the runtime to just flow so freely. I was genuinely lost on the mystery of it all and shocked when the reveal came into play. Obviously Amy Madigan has now received major recognition for her performance, but I'm also a sucker for the rest of the cast: Julia Garner, Josh Brolin, Austin Abrams, Alden Ehrenreich, and Benedict Wong. The story has so many amazing twists and turns, but it never gets old on rewatches even now that I know what happens. Its even got good humor! I actually was able to review this for the site last year, so make sure to check that out as well to see a more full breakdown!
3: Sinners
It's hard to even classify Ryan Coogler's film as a horror. Obviously it's about vampires and there's tons of blood/guts, but the actual film itself is so much more. It's an exploration of culture, mostly through music and other standards of the time period. I had already entered this film a huge Coogler fan, but this is very clearly his masterpiece for me. It's no wonder that it received so much awards love even as a horror film, as all those deep themes and the technical aspects of it just were impossible to ignore on a filmmaking level. This really does feel like one of those films that only Coogler could make, as he's explained many times that it's a personal story in a lot of ways about his family history. His direction is a standout the entire runtime, especially in the many different long one-shot sequences that really blend cultures. Michael B. Jordan in the lead role is one of the biggest Oscar campaigns I have personally got behind from the beginning. Not only is he a guy that has been deserving for so many years, but the way he was able to play two twins that have distinct personalities and quirks is just unbelievably impressive. I also felt that cast members like Hailee Steinfeld and Jack O'Connell went way underlooked in the awards season, but it was still nice to see at least Jordan and Wunmi Mosaku recognized. I watched this film four times in theaters and another few at home, with it really never getting old. It's entertaining, features some of the most standout filmmaking you'll ever see, and becomes a cultural moment of the time period that it's portraying. This film would be #1 on this list, but I had the next two narrow it out just because they are more straightforward horror flics. This is absolutely the best film on this list. Check out my full thoughts in last year's review!
2: Scream
I think I'll win a few more people over by putting one of the most iconic and classic horror films ever high up on this list. It's hard to even define what Scream meant to the genre and everything that came after. I actually watched this for the first time this year, in preparation for the newest film in the franchise, and I remember just genuinely being speechless when it finished. Obviously the film is just incredibly thrilling and well made, with awesome characters and a very well built out twist. However what impressed me the most watching it was the very quick realization that this film influenced literally every horror flic that came after. I had an odd sense of deja vu very early on and I was so confused on why I was feeling all these emotions, but then it hit me - every single modern slasher I'd seen is taking elements from the original Scream. It literally defined what a slasher film is and what the best ones do well is taken from this project. Once you start to realize that, this is not only an amazing horror film but also feels iconic beyond belief. I love all the social commentary, as we take a deep look at horror films and how silly they can really be. Neve Campbell has got to be my favorite "final girl" ever and Matthew Lillard is just having the best time throughout the whole thing. Wes Craven continues to be sorely missed, as his direction is one of the main reasons this has become as iconic as I've said. I don't think this film will ever get old on rewatches and it stands as not only the most iconic horror film of all time, but also just generally a cultural pillar that should never be forgotten for what it did for the genre.
1: Last Night in Soho
This is where we delve away from the general public and really praise a film that is widely mixed with critics. I didn't watch Last Night in Soho when it came out in theaters, largely because the reviews had been very mixed and I already wasn't a big horror guy. I decided to put it on randomly one night last year because I was going through Anya Taylor-Joy's filmography and knew this was one from a prominent director in Edgar Wright. The following watching experience was just unreal and I always love when a film captures me more than it does for most. My biggest love for this film always is the filmmaking style. A big part of the first hour is the blending of dream sequences with Thomasin McKenzie's character and Taylor-Joy. McKenzie seamlessly fills in for Taylor-Joy, a theme we see continue for the remainder of the film. But really just the way the sequences are shot are incredible, not only because of this blending but also the colors and costumes. It's really a visual masterpiece from start to finish. I'm a real sucker for a coming of age film, and this takes that trope and puts a horror spin on it. McKenzie is taken in by this city of London and completely chewed up, turning from shy loner to full out madness. The film features a standout score and even some twists that are pretty unexpected. This is actually the film that solidified Taylor-Joy as my favorite actress - her and McKenzie's performances reflect each other so well. I'll admit to having been mixed on Wright on the whole, but this film is a visual masterpiece that blends so many different genres. It's actually the 5th anniversary of the film this week, so I'll probably be revisiting it once again this weekend. I consider it as the most underrated film of all time and I really beg the people who haven't watched this because of the mixed reviews to really give it a fair chance.
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