20 Best Horror Flicks

20) Monster House

Director: Gil Kenan

Actors: Mitchell Musso, Sam Lerner, Spencer Locke, Steve Buscemi, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Catherine O'Hara, Fred Willard, Jason Lee, Kevin James, Nick Cannon, Kathleen Turner, Jon Heder

Year: 2006

Perhaps the scariest kid's movie to date, Monster House comes from the brilliant mind of the great Steven Speilberg. Monster House is fun, witty, and, oh so frightening. 

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20 Best Horror Flicks

19) The Village

Director: M. Night Shyamalan

Actors: Bryce Dallas Howard, Joaquin Phoenix, Sigourney Weaver, William Hurt, Adrien Brody, Judy Greer, Brendan Gleeson,
Cherry Jones, Jessie Eisenberg, Michael Pitt

Year: 2004

M. Night Shyamalan has certainly proven that he can write a terrifically scary film, but it was 2004's The Village that kept audiences everywhere feeling unrelentless intensity and suspense. Another reason this film is so good: it introduced us to the amazingly talented Bryce Dallas Howard.

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20 Best Horror Flicks

18) Cloverfield

Director: Matt Reeves

Actors: Lizzy Caplan, Jessica Lucas, Mike Vogel,
TJ Miller, Odette Annable, Michael Stahl-David

Year: 2008

Producer JJ Abrams took an American approach to the classic Godzilla story and helped to create this gory, disgusting, scary-as-hell film. 

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20 Best Horror Flicks

17) Jeepers Creepers

Director: Victor Salva

Actors: Gina Philips, Justin Long, Jonathan Breck,
Eileen Brennan, Patricia Belcher, Brandon Smith

Year: 2001

Normally a movie about a murderous demon would be in the "bad horror flick" category, but Jeepers Creepers is one of the most original films in the 21st century. Watching this film will make anyone want to avoid the scenic route home.

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20 Best Horror Flicks

16) Psycho

Director: Alfred Hitchcock

Actors: Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh,
Vera Mills, John Gavin, Martin Balsam

Year: 1960

It's the serial-killer movie of ALL serial-killer movies. Even after half a century, it remains one of the most original films to come out of the warped mind of Alfred Hitchcock. 

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20 Best Horror Flicks

15) When a Stranger Calls

Director: Fred Walton

Actors: Carol Kane, Charles Durning, Rutanya Alda,
Colleen Dewhurst, Michael Champion, Ron O'Neal

Year: 1979

Although the remake was quite intense, the original
has a better story and a better leading actress. 

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20 Best Horror Flicks

14) The Amityville Horror

Director: Andrew Douglas

Actors: Ryan Reynolds, Melissa George, Jesse James,
Jimmy Bennett, Chloe Moretz, Philip Baker Hall, Rachel Nichols

Year: 2005

This was a tough call because the 1979 version was creepy
as hell... but in the end, this remake was the most terrifying. 

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20 Best Horror Flicks

13) The Strangers

Director: Bryan Bertino

Actors: Liv Tyler, Scott Speedman, Gemma Ward,
Kip Weeks, Laura Margolis, Glenn Howerton

Year: 2008

Perhaps the scariest home invasion ever imagined,
The Strangers has its audience horrified to the max.

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20 Best Horror Flicks

12) The Others

Director: Alejandro Amenabar

Actors: Nicole Kidman, Fionulla Flanagan, Alakina Mann, James Bentley,
Erik Sykes, Elaine Cassidy, Christopher Eccleston, Renee Asherson

Year: 2001

The Others is insanely haunting and terrifying and
Nicole Kidman's high shrill voice is finally put to good use.

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20 Best Horror Flicks

11) Halloween/Halloween

Director: John Carpenter/Rob Zombie

Actors (original): Jamie Lee Curtis, Donald Pleasence,
Nancy Kyes, PJ Soles, Charles Cyphers,
Tony Moran, Brian Andrews, Kyle Richards
Actors (remake): Scout Taylor-Compton, Malcolm McDowell,
Tyler Mane, Daeg Faerch, Sheri Moon Zombie,
William Forsythe, Danielle Harris, Hanna Hall

Year: 1978/2007

It was so difficult to choose which version of Halloween is best. Both have something special. The original was just that... original. It offered newbie Jamie Lee Curtis and lots of terror. The remake was great because it offered a look into the childhood of the murderous Michael Myers. We finally got to understand why Myers became a cold-blooded killer. So, we chose both because together they make one of the best scary serial-killer films.

1978

2007

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20 Best Horror Flicks

10) Paranormal Activity

Director: Oren Peli

Actors: Katie Featherston, Micah Sloat,
Mark Fredrichs, Amber Armstrong, Ashley Palmer

Year: 2007

It took a page from 1999's The Blair Witch Project by using amateur footage, but Paranormal Activity one-uped Blair by ditching the obnoxious actors and going about things in a more subtle way. Paranormal doesn't do the monster or serial-killer thing like most horror films. Instead it relies on strange noises and shadows, leaving most of the thrills to be thought up by the audience.

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20 Best Horror Flicks

9) An American Werewolf in London

Director: John Landis

Actors: David Naughton, Griffin Dunne,
Jenny Agutter, Jow Belcher, Frank Oz

Year: 1981

The only werewolf flick on the list is John Landis' witty masterpiece. This is the movie that encouraged Michael Jackson to hire Landis to create and direct the musical video for 'Thriller'.

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20 Best Horror Flicks

8) Jaws

Director: Steven Spielberg

Actors: Richard Dreyfuss, Roy Scheider,  Robert Shaw,
Lorainne Gray, Murray Hamilton, Chris Rebello, Jay Mello

Year: 1975

There's really only one movie responsible for invoking massive fear in all beach-goers... Jaws. Steven Spielberg brought this terrifying tale to the big screen and, honestly, it's one of the main reason I prefer the pool.

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20 Best Horror Flicks

7) Scream

Director: Wes Craven

Actors: Neve Campbell, David Arquette, Courteney Cox,
Rose McGowan, Skeet Ulrich, Jamie Kennedy,
Matthew Lillard, Henry Winkler, Drew Barrymore

Year: 1996

It was the funny and scary movie that captured the spirit of the 90's generation. It also revived the careers of Henry Winkler and Drew Barrymore.

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