The 14 Scariest Movies of All Time: ‘Halloween,’ ‘Hereditary’ and More

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The 14 Scariest Movies of All Time: ‘Halloween,’ ‘Hereditary’ and More

To quote Ghostface, “What’s your favorite scary movie?” If it reflects the realms of the supernatural, the evil, the slasher, or even the meta, grab the popcorn and settle in for a night of fright. While horror movies first terrified audiences decades earlier, some of the most iconic films in the genre — Psycho, The Exorcist, The Omen, Halloween — hit the silver screen in the ‘60s and ‘70s. It was the success of these groundbreaking flicks that paved the way for many more slasher films (Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre) and helped cement the “haunted kids” trope (as seen in The Shining, Poltergeist, The Ring). The ’80s and ‘90s saw a continuation — or formation — of the classic “serial killer comes after teens” story line, with Michael Myers, Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees leading the pack. The Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer movies soon followed suit, all culminating in the early ‘00s Scary Movie franchise that parodies the entire genre. [sendtonews type="float" key="gbFg4AXKzd-2835904-14453"] The mid-2000s saw a resurgence in the popularity of the jump-scare increased exponentially in movies like The Ring, The Grudge, Paranormal Activity and many more. The Conjuring franchise, which began with the inaugural film in 2013, put a new spin on the supernatural, while 2018’s Hereditary gave a different meaning to the phrase “family film.” Midsommar, for its part, not only put Florence Pugh on the map but sparked a renewed interest in creepy cults for horror fans across the world. While not every scary movie can be included on the list — honorable mentions go to The Babadook, Candyman, Saw, A Quiet Place, Jaws, The Strangers, 28 Days Later, Night of the Living Dead — the below are 14 of the most frightening films viewers will ever come across (in Us Weekly's humble opinion). Instead of getting involved in a séance, crossing a serial killer, being trapped inside with no escape or getting possessed by the devil, let the movies’ characters handle all of that. With horror icons like Jamie Lee Curtis, Jack Nicholson, Toni Collette and Daniel Kaluuya coming face to face with such monstrosities, all audiences need to do is sit back and relax — if you can. Keep scrolling for some of the scariest films in movie history:

Credit: ITV/Shutterstock

The 14 Scariest Movies of All Time: ‘Halloween,’ ‘Hereditary’ and More

To quote Ghostface, “What’s your favorite scary movie?” If it reflects the realms of the supernatural, the evil, the slasher, or even the meta, grab the popcorn and settle in for a night of fright. While horror movies first terrified audiences decades earlier, some of the most iconic films in the genre — Psycho, The Exorcist, The Omen, Halloween — hit the silver screen in the ‘60s and ‘70s. It was the success of these groundbreaking flicks that paved the way for many more slasher films (Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre) and helped cement the “haunted kids” trope (as seen in The Shining, Poltergeist, The Ring). The ’80s and ‘90s saw a continuation — or formation — of the classic “serial killer comes after teens” story line, with Michael Myers, Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees leading the pack. The Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer movies soon followed suit, all culminating in the early ‘00s Scary Movie franchise that parodies the entire genre. [sendtonews type="float" key="gbFg4AXKzd-2835904-14453"] The mid-2000s saw a resurgence in the popularity of the jump-scare increased exponentially in movies like The Ring, The Grudge, Paranormal Activity and many more. The Conjuring franchise, which began with the inaugural film in 2013, put a new spin on the supernatural, while 2018’s Hereditary gave a different meaning to the phrase “family film.” Midsommar, for its part, not only put Florence Pugh on the map but sparked a renewed interest in creepy cults for horror fans across the world. While not every scary movie can be included on the list — honorable mentions go to The Babadook, Candyman, Saw, A Quiet Place, Jaws, The Strangers, 28 Days Later, Night of the Living Dead — the below are 14 of the most frightening films viewers will ever come across (in Us Weekly's humble opinion). Instead of getting involved in a séance, crossing a serial killer, being trapped inside with no escape or getting possessed by the devil, let the movies’ characters handle all of that. With horror icons like Jamie Lee Curtis, Jack Nicholson, Toni Collette and Daniel Kaluuya coming face to face with such monstrosities, all audiences need to do is sit back and relax — if you can. Keep scrolling for some of the scariest films in movie history:

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'The Exorcist'

Directed by William Friedkin, the reason this movie gets so much genre clout is that it’s about the demonic possession of a 12-year-old girl, Reagan (Linda Blair). Possession is a common belief throughout world religions, so the layer of spiritual and religious undertones throughout the movie make it especially eerie.

While the effects won’t elicit the same shock and awe they did back in the ‘70s — though the head-spinning scene will forever be iconic — the rumor that’s its based on a real exorcism from the 1940s will definitely spark some chills.

Stream The Exorcist on HBO Max and AMC.

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'The Shining'

Stanley Kubrick delivers an eerie Stephen King novel-turned-Hollywood classic with this movie. In this adaptation, Jack Torrance (Nicholson) moves his family into a creepy, isolated hotel in the dead of winter. Soon, his son, Danny, begins seeing scary glimpses into the future, and evil forces start to harass the family.

Like in The Exorcist, a haunted child can really up the ante for a horror movie. The slow ebb into insanity on Jack’s part leaves viewers trembling, delivering some iconic lines and imagery that have earned a place in cinematic history.

Stream The Shining on HBO Max.

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'Hereditary'

Even after their initial trauma, Hereditary — which is often considered one of the scariest films of the 2000s — never gives its primary family a break. Directed by Midsommar auteur Ari Aster, be prepared to feel sad and frightened all at once — and more than a little impressed by Collette’s performance. You’ll never hear tongue clicking the same way again.

Stream Hereditary on Showtime.

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'Halloween'

John Carpenter’s Halloween is a classic gory slasher film and an essential watch once October hits. When a murderer ditches the psychiatric ward on October 31, a slaughter ensues when he returns to where it all began: his (fictional) hometown of Haddonfield, Illinois. The man’s name is a familiar one — Michael Myers — and he’s there to hunt down his sister, Laurie Strode (Curtis), killing everyone in his path.

Stream Halloween on Shudder, AMC+ and Roku.

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'The Conjuring'

This sinister movie redefined “supernatural horror” for modern audiences when not even the professional paranormal investigators (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga) could help the family being haunted by an evil entity.

Stream The Conjuring on HBO Max.

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'A Nightmare on Elm Street'

Before directing Scream, Wes Craven created a horror hit with 1984’s A Nightmare on Elm Street, in which Johnny Depp made his movie debut.

Elm Street turned nightmares into reality as the teens on the quiet, suburban block attempted to escape from Freddy Krueger’s clutches.

Stream A Nightmare on Elm Street on HBO Max and Syfy.

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'Paranormal Activity'

Released in 2007, Paranormal Activity made documentary-style ghost story movies popular again by following in The Blair Witch Project’s realistic footsteps.

The “found-footage” approach its creators took paved the way for the supernatural film to become a franchise with six sequels already out and more on the way.

Stream Paranormal Activity on Amazon Prime, Paramount+ and Epix.

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'The Ring'

The Ring, based on the Japanese horror Ringu, is a slow-burn that keeps you on your toes — and away from your TV screen, lest a ghostly girl crawls out if it. The plot all comes back to a creepy little videotape: if you watch it, you’ll die in seven days.

Stream The Ring on Paramount+ and The Roku Channel.

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'Scream'

Craven delivered another classic when he brought Scream to the big screen. Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) is the Scream Queen of this franchise, and her shrill will make you shudder.

Scream revitalized the slasher film as fans know it. Made by one of the godfathers of slasher filmmaking, the self-aware film gently pokes fun at the genre while expertly manipulating its conventions to make for some truly shocking twists and turns.

Stream Scream on Showtime and FuboTV.

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'Psycho'

Released in 1960, Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho is the oldest movie of the bunch. Paving the way for slasher films, the black and white movie follows a young woman (original Scream Queen — and Curtis’ late mother — Janet Leigh) who runs away after impulsively stealing from the bank where she works. When she holes up at a rundown motel, she meets Norman Bates … and showers quickly became terrifying.

Psycho typically has special showings on the big screen around Halloween and is also available for streaming on Peacock.

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'Let the Right One In'

2008’s Let the Right One In is a Swedish film featuring a traumatized young boy as the protagonist — and the mass murderer he accidentally befriends.

Stream Let the Right One In on Amazon Prime, Showtime and more.

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'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre'

This essential horror film is a must-see for anyone new to the genre. The real catcher of this gory movie — which birthed horror icon Leatherface — is that it is a little bit too much like real life. It’s allegedly based on not one but several true stories, and it’s the grossest film on the list by far. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is reason enough to never go on a long road trip — if you want to keep your limbs.

Stream The Texas Chainsaw Massacre on Showtime, Syfy and more.

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'The Omen'

What happens when someone adopts a child after losing their first-born during birth? In the case of an American ambassador in 1976’s The Omen (Gregory Peck), the kid is a literal curse to the family.

The score of the film won an Oscar — and a movie that sounds scary might just be the most frightening of the bunch.

Stream The Omen on HBO, HBO Max and AMC.

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'Get Out'

Director Jordan Peele’s Get Out — which is made up of psychological horrors intertwined with significant cultural themes and social issues — keeps viewers enraptured for the entire duration of the film. Find out what happens to Chris Washington (Kaluuya) when a simple trip to visit his girlfriend’s family goes completely awry.

With a debut as strong as Get Out — and follow-ups like Us and Nope — Peele is quickly becoming the defining voice of this generation of horror.

Stream Get Out on FX.