21 Incredible Horror Movies. Extreme Scariness Guaranteed.

This list contains a little gore, but nothing excessive.

1. Trick ‘r Treat

A good anthology telling tales of Halloween horror. Really good around the holiday with awesome visuals and some over-the-top gore.

2. American Mary

The allure of easy money sends Mary Mason, a medical student, into the world of underground surgeries. It’s sleek and sexy body horror with a great female lead.

3. You’re Next

When the Davison family comes under attack during their wedding anniversary getaway, the gang of killers soon learns that one of the victims harbors a secret talent for fighting back. It’s much better than your average home invasion flick.

4. Splinter

This is one of those lesser known ones that deserves so much more recognition. A group gets trapped in an isolated gas station by a voracious Splinter parasite that transforms its still living victims into deadly hosts.

5. Pontypool

A deadly virus that causes anger and violence traps radio DJs in their studio, where they fight to survive and learn the true origin of the outbreak. NOT A TYPICAL ZOMBIE MOVIE! It’s so much different and smarter.

6. Slither

Hands down, one of the funniest, and weirdest horror comedies ever made. A small town is taken over by an alien plague, turning residents into zombies and all forms of mutant monsters.

7. The Loved Ones

Probably my second favorite horror film of all time. When Brent turns down his classmate Lola’s invitation to the prom, she concocts a wildly violent plan for revenge.

8. The Descent

Holy shit, this one is scary. If you’re claustrophobic or afraid of the dark, this is not the film for you. A group of friends go spelunking in a cave, only to find out the cave isn’t as empty as they thought.

9. Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon

Set in a world where the supernatural killers depicted in famous slasher films (Freddy, Jason, etc.) are real, and Leslie Vernon is a rising star. If you like slashers like Friday the 13th and Nightmare on Elm street you’ll love this one.

10. Dread

Three college students set out to document what other people dread most, forcing some to live out these experiences. Hard to watch at points but it really is a great film.

11. High Tension

A man enters a home late at night and kidnaps a woman. Her friend sets out to rescue her, and comes face-to-face with true evil. This film has such a great twist ending you’ll never see coming.

12. The Innkeepers

Two desk clerks at an inn are interested in the paranormal, but soon find that the paranormal are also interested in them. Good buildup with some funny moments and genuine scares.

13. Martyrs

My absolute all time favorite. I recommend this to everyone. A girl returns with her best friend to the place where she was held and tortured as a child. I can’t explain anymore, just watch. WARNING: It is fucking brutal.

14. The Mist

A mist overcomes a small town and the citizens hide from the deadly creatures within it in a small convenience store. One of the most gut wrenching endings to a film I have ever seen.

15. Pan’s Labyrinth

One of my all time favorites. A mix of drama, fantasy and horror, the bookish young stepdaughter of a sadistic army officer escapes into an eerie but captivating fantasy world.

16. The Re-Animator

A classic. A med student concocts a serum that can re-animate dead flesh, old school gore and some decapitated cunnilingus ensue. 

17. Tucker and Dale vs Evil

Hillbillies are accused of being the stereotypical horror movie backwoods psychopaths when a series of accidents cause the deaths of people around their cabin. Fun and gory!

18. V/H/S

I know I’ll get shit for this one, but fuck it. A group of friends find video tapes in an abandon house and each one has a chilling story to tell. It’s one of the better American horror anthologies out there.

19. Inside (À l’intérieur)

A french horror about a woman obsessed with stealing a pregnant woman’s unborn child. One of the most talked about and highest rated french horror films ever made.

20. Maniac (Remake)

The best horror remake ever made. As he helps a young artist with her upcoming exhibition, the owner of a mannequin shop’s deadly, suppressed desires come to the surface. Very disturbing.

21. Audition

A widower takes an offer to screen girls at a special audition, arranged for him by a friend to find him a new wife. The one he fancies is not who she appears to be after all. Hailed as one of the most disturbing horror films ever made.