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you watch and want to watch.

Horror.
Letterboxd presents our community�s 25 top rated horror films of all time.
With the release this month of the newest Halloween, and an embarrassment of riches
in the form of thousands of new horror film reviews thanks to all the Hoop-tober /
Shocktober / 31 Days of Horror challenges, we are feeling brave enough to open the
crypt and pull out the Letterboxd community�s 25 Highest Rated Horror Films of All
Time.

Don�t @ or stab us, these are computed from your ratings of all feature-length
films tagged in our horror genre, as at 24 October 2018. It�s a wide-ranging list,
with some perhaps surprising omissions�for example, the original Halloween, Night
of the Living Dead and Evil Dead 2 all just missed the cut. See the full list or
read on for data insights and member reviews of our highest rated horrors.

Strangling the numbers:

Though there is some genre crossover (into comedy with Young Frankenstein,
mockumentary with What We Do in the Shadows and One Cut of the Dead, and zom-rom-
com with Shaun of the Dead), these films are all categorized as horrors by us (and
IMDb).
In the battle of great horror decades, the scary sixties wins with seven films,
over five films from the slasher seventies and three from the evil eighties. Shout
out to the terror twenties, with three films.
By country, USA has most films in the list, but Japan comes in strong second with
four, Germany has three and France, Sweden and the UK are represented with two
each. India, New Zealand and the Czech Republic also make the cut.
The most obscure film on the list (from a Western perspective) is Manichitrathazhu,
from Kerala-born director Fazil, watched by just over 250 members.
All the directors are dudes. We can�t make any excuses for that, but we can point
out that, behind-the-scenes and on-screen, women played important roles in these
films. The Phantom Carriage, for example, is based on the novel by Sweden�s Selma
Lagerl�f, who in 1909 was the first woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. And
what would Jaws be without the editing prowess of Verna Fields?
There are five films on the list from this century, some by directors of color,
including Jordan Peele, Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi. Roll on the 21st century
of horror.
On that note: this top 25 is based on member ratings, but we also have a popularity
index�based on the sheer amount of activity for each film regardless of
rating�which produces quite a different list, heavily favoring the 21st century.
Letterboxd�s 25 Highest Rated Horror Films (as at October 2018):

1. Psycho (1960, USA)

Directed by Alfred Hitchcock

�Throughout his career, director Alfred Hitchcock has enriched the world of cinema
with some truly groundbreaking thrillers and despite that, Psycho feels like
something of a first from him. It�s his first stint with the genre of horror, it
breaks through the barriers of censorship unlike any film before and over the
years, it has played a major role in influencing not only films but pop-culture as
well.� �CinemaClown

2. Alien (1979, USA)

Directed by Ridley Scott

�When shit hits the fan it comes with the best first impression of any monster.
PERIOD.� �TKettle

3. The Shining (1980, USA)

Directed by Stanley Kubrick

�As soon as Jack Torrance is in frame, that uneasy feeling takes over. I feel as
though I wish I could warn all of the other characters in the movie to walk on
eggshells, don�t upset him! Maybe you shouldn�t talk to him right now! Can�t you
see it! Just leave him alone! There has never been another character to give me
such all-consuming anxiety.� �HollieHorror

4. The Thing (1982, USA)

Directed by John Carpenter

�The man responsible for the movie�s stomach-churning physical effects deserves
most of the credit for its appeal and success. Rob Bottin worked so hard he was
hospitalized for exhaustion, pneumonia and a bleeding ulcer! And he was only 21 at
the time! Pure underrated genius.� �Josh Stoddard

5. Rosemary�s Baby (1968, USA)

Directed by Roman Polanski

�I�m awestruck by how good this is. Every little detail from the very beginning
means something and you really experience exactly what Rosemary experiences.
Masterful spectatorship alignment.� �Sean Upton

6. Get Out (2017, USA)

Directed by Jordan Peele

�When you prod underneath the surface here there�s so much just waiting to be
unpacked. As a piece of writing it�s a masterclass in foreshadowing and subtext.�
�Alex Secker

7. Jaws (1975, USA)

Directed by Steven Spielberg

�Bruce, the mechanical shark, still works today. Even with all the VFX-heavy films
that are commonplace now, the shark is [as] scary and compelling now as it was in
1975. The camerawork is masterful, and it feels like films now are still trying to
catch up to what was happening behind the camera on this movie.� �EJ Moreno

8. ?? (Demons) (1971, Japan)

Directed by Toshio Matsumoto

�Matsumoto � stato uno dei pi� grandi innovatori del cinema giapponese e fonte di
ispirazione di grandi registi del cinema mondiale. Quest�opera non fa che
confermarne l�importanza e la genialit�.�

Translation: �Matsumoto was one of the greatest innovators of Japanese cinema and a
source of inspiration for great world cinema directors. This work confirms his
importance and genius.� �Tonino Mannella

9. Les Diaboliques (Diabolique) (1955, France)

Directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot

�It was extremely suspenseful and you can see how this film had such a huge impact
on Hitchcock when he made Psycho� Five out of five overly dramatic heart attacks.�
�Libby Ajayi

10. Possession (1981, Germany, France)

Directed by Andrzej Zulawski

�Ana�s spectral screams as she flows and dances like a ghoul in the subway. All I
could do was cry at it, with her, for her.� �Claire Diane

11. ?? (Kwaidan) (1964, Japan)

Directed by Masaki Kobayashi

�Every frame of this movie is a piece of art� To ask for more would be greedy.�
�Gabe

12. ???????????????? (Manichitrathazhu) (1993, India)

Directed by Fazil

�Perhaps the most popular film to come out of Kerala in this generation. The
screenplay, the performance, and the plot are worth a study in [themselves].
Fantastic package of thrilling entertainment and storytelling.� �Vinay Warrier

13. Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962, USA)

Directed by Robert Aldrich

�Normally my heart really aches for �crazy� characters who have been brutalized by
the concept of womanhood but� it�s very hard for me to feel bad for Baby Jane.�
�Caroline

14. The Innocents (1961, UK)

Directed by Jack Clayton

�Exquisite and captivating� it�s the only movie I�ve watched this Hooptober that
has genuinely scared me. Squirming, nail biting, chills down the back, all of it.�
�Xebeche

15. L�t den r�tte komma in (Let the Right One In) (2008, Sweden)
Directed by Tomas Alfredson

�Deep down, it�s just a story about human misunderstanding, but it is gracefully
put together to give you a thrilling ride that will make you root for an evil
you�re not really sure is there. It makes you question your moral standards and
puts you in a nice grey area.� �Charlie Bluu

16. ????????! (One Cut of the Dead) (2017, Japan)

Directed by Shin'ichir� Ueda

�The film starts as a Z-list zombie movie and looks cheesy as hell, but when we
discover we are watching more of a mockumentary of this film being made and the
director on the verge of a breakdown, the fun really begins. The first 37 minutes
are completely one cut� one cut, that actually blows my mind.� �Coles84

17. ?? (Onibaba) (1964, Japan)

Directed by Kaneto Shindo

�In good ol� black and white, Onibaba is a visually stunning erotic horror film
painted in deep shadows and flesh� it�s less a ghost or monster tale and more of a
morality play about the passions and desperation that arise in splintered, war-torn
communities, and how no matter what we fear, we are ultimately our own demons.
Creepy, sensual and effective.� �Doug Bellak

18. Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari (The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari) (1920, Germany)
Directed by Robert Wiene

�From Murnau�s Nosferatu and the American noir of the 1940s, to contemporary horror
films and every piece of work where Tim Burton asks Johnny Depp to dab black around
the actor�s eyes, the influence of Wiene�s film can be felt� it is the stuff of
nightmares that still has power nearly a century after it was made.� �Travis Lytle

19. Spalovac mrtvol (The Cremator) (1968, Czechia)

Directed by Juraj Herz

�I find it hard to fathom a film as stylish and mesmerizing as this is, 45 years
old! It was obviously way ahead of its time! The cinematography is as captivating
as the film is deliciously macabre!� �Juli Norwood

20. The Exorcist (1973, USA)

Directed by William Friedkin

�The Exorcist remains one of the greatest achievements of the horror genre. The
things they were able to accomplish with sound mixing at the time have yet to be
outdone. The makeup department deserves a heap of credit, and the effects still
look great. Acting is something that typically gets sacrificed in most horror
movies, but this is one exception where every actor delivers a quality
performance.� �Sean

21. K�rkarlen (The Phantom Carriage) (1921, Sweden)

Directed by Victor Sj�str�m

�It was not for nothing that Selma Lagerl�f became the first woman to get the Nobel
Prize. She�s a great storyteller, and there�s a melody in her writings that is hard
to not get sucked into� Victor Sj�str�m has really understood the tone of the novel
and the music that comes with it is in tune with the melody of Lagerl�f�s
writings.� �Ter�se Flynn
22. Faust � Eine deutsche Volkssage (Faust) (1926, Germany)
Directed by F. W. Murnau

�I watch this, and cannot fathom how this one man could make the cinematic medium
look so relentlessly groundbreaking in its mere infancy. It�s obscene that he died
so young� in a sense, Faust�s quest for the ur-truth becomes Murnau�s own quest for
his own epic cinema: one that maximizes the potential for awe at every turn,
leaving behind mundane methods for totalizing ones.� �Darkness Lingers

23. Shaun of the Dead (2004, UK)

Directed by Edgar Wright

�I understand tossing Batman when your other options are [Prince�s] two biggest
contributions to the world of music, but it still saddens me that Shaun and Ed so
carelessly tossed away a truly undervalued record. Perhaps, we all do crazy things
when we�re trying to survive.� �Willow Maclay

24. Young Frankenstein (1974, USA)

Directed by Mel Brooks

�When Mel hits, he hits big� [he] may not employ nuance often, but he�s got broad
comedy and wordplay down pat, and some of his best examples of this are in Young
Frankenstein.� �Joe Campbell

25. What We Do in the Shadows (2014, New Zealand)

Directed by Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi

�An absolute must-watch for fans of horror comedy, horror, vampires, brilliant
comedy in general, and great improvization. According to their IMDb trivia, Taika
Waititi, Jemaine Clement and co. shot over 125 hours of improv for this film before
finally whittling it down to 90 minutes of the best stuff.� �Voidember

Right. Now that that�s all done with, we are ready to go into town and party.

BY GEMMA GRACEWOOD ON OCTOBER 24, 2018

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� Letterboxd Limited. Made by fans in Auckland, New Zealand. Film data from TMDb.