10. The Conjuring
It was a close race for figuring out what to put at my number ten spot, but then it occurred to me. Should my number ten be shunned for being too new of a horror movie against some of the "classics"? Well here's the thing, The Conjuring will be considered a classic in due time. This might just be the best horror movie I've seen in the past ten years. Of course that's entirely arguable since horror movies might just be my least favorite genre not just because of the bad rep being true, but not only is The Conjuring scary, it's entertaining and smart. James Wan is one of the best modern directors to work the horror genre and for a good reason too. He's good at it.
9. The Birds
Huh? A movie about birds attacking people? Why would this be on your Top 10 list? I get it. The premise doesn't sound scary. But it just goes to show how damn good a director Alfred Hitchcock really was. He's the master of horror and watching birds attack and kill really is legitimately scary when watching it. For the longest time, this was the scariest movie I've ever seen. I highly recommend it today even if the quality isn't as good as the rest of this list personally.
8. Carrie
Repeat viewings still don't help the fact that the last forty five minutes or so where Carrie completely snaps and her telekinesis tortures everyone around her is still some of the scariest moments of any movie ever. It makes it solely on here alone. Sissy Spacek does a brilliant job here as the title character and makes me really appreciate it more and more as the recent remake keeps leaving me less and less scared. Because seeing everything that leads up to Carrie's infamous freak out really makes you feel an emotional connection that horror movies rarely get right.
7. Friday the 13th
For all extensive purposes, the Friday the 13th franchise is a laughingstock. Not that all of them are bad, but when it comes to franchises running the well dry, people can easily point to this franchise as a key example of shameless sequels. However, don't say anything bad about the original. The original plays off of your fears so well and you are kept glued to the screen to see when Jason will hack off the next one. Great slasher flick....mediocre to shit sequels and remakes follow it.
6. Alien
I was kind of on the fence if I should include this on here or not, but when it comes down to it, the Alien franchise started off as a pure horror movie more than action. Of course everyone knows how famous a director Ridley Scott is. This was where he got his big break. Of course everyone knows how much of a badass Sigourney Weaver is. This is where she got her big break. The praise seriously writes itself as well as endless amounts of sequels and whatever the hell Prometheus is....prequel? Reboot?
5. Poltergeist
If any of you are thinking about the 2015 version...get out. You have no idea how disappointing that remake was. Made me go home and rewatch the original again and man. I absolutely love the original Poltergeist. The jump scares, the classic quotes "They're here."....seriously. If anyone actually paid to go see the remake and want the bad taste washed out of their mouths, go locate the original. Timeless.
4. Evil Dead
You know before Sam Raimi became chastised for becoming a big budget blockbuster director who may or may not make laughable films, Sam Raimi was a horror genius. His Evil Dead franchise is glorified for all the right reasons. They are just too good for words. The two sequels were definitely in consideration for my list, but the first one just holds a special place in my heart. It defines the usual conventions horror movies use to go for around that time frame and that's why it became the cult classic that it is today. Oh and Bruce Campbell. Got to show love for Ash for being amazing.
3. The Shining
This movie makes it this high just because of Jack Nicholson. It's honestly his one man performance that makes this truly great. It's what lead him onto the path of being the legend he is today. Also, rewatching this makes me appreciate Stanley Kubrick's direction more and more. Of course making the classic A Clockwork Orange is impossible to top in my honest opinion, but The Shining comes pretty damn close.
2. The Rocky Horror Picture Show
Ok so I'm willing to admit that out of all my choices, this would be the most arguable over whether this is even classified as a horror movie. This classifies itself as a horror comedy musical. But even then, that doesn't prevent it from being amazing. I watch this at least once a year. It's campy. It's stupid. It's insanely catchy. You just can't keep your eyes off of this movie. It's so bizarre, different, and endlessly amusing to the point that you don't want this to end. I adore this movie for it just being fantastically different than what you expect it to be.
1. Psycho (1960)
But at the end of the day, nothing beats this as the best horror movie for me. Psycho is just too damn good and Hitchcock is just a once in a lifetime director to come along and set a genre to impossible standards to surpass. Sure some movies may be better "reviewed" than Psycho, but no director has a more consistent track record for any genre than Hitchcock has with horror movies. Watch this trailer and be amazed at Hitchcock showing everything that will happen in this movie. You can't watch that and wonder for yourself what exactly is going to happen, even if you already know from the amount of times you've seen the movie or remakes or parodies. The original for this is just way too damn good to ever be done this right. I love everything about this movie and it will be damn near impossible to surpass this anytime in the future for me.
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