5 Scariest Horror Movies of all Time

5 Scariest Horror Movies of all Time

In October I watch 1 horror movie per day. Usually I make a list of 30 movies, many I have never seen, but there are certain favorites that I always go back to every year. Some of the movies on my list are really scary, and some are not so scary. I just love watching horror films in October. This year I decided to find the movies I felt were really “scary,” and end the month with them. So I did some hard thinking. I went through 100s of horror movies to find what I feel are the 5 scariest.

Here is my list of the 5 scariest movies of all time. From October 27th-October 31st I will be watching these movies. I want to end on Halloween, so they are not in order. I believe The Exorcist is the scary movie of all time.

These movies have been around for so long you might feel like they are old news, but if you give them a watch, they are scary every time.

5. The Shining

The Shining is just scary. It’s claustrophobic and overwhelming, and just the sound of the movie makes you cringe. So many scenes in this movie have become part of our pop culture. Redrum, Here’s Johnny, and all work and no play….. they are so familiar you might forget how scary The Shining really is. It is a slow creepy build to terror. Jacks not the only thing you fear in this movie. It’s like you can feel the ghosts and devils acting on these characters.

The Shining is a must see every Halloween. If you haven’t seen it in a while, give it a watch. Try it in the dark by yourself, see how it goes.

4. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

If you haven’t seen it in awhile, you may be inclined to think of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre as a gore fest. It is not. It is full of disgusting images. It is claustrophobic. It is wrenching, but it is much more than a gore movie.

This movie gets under your skin. You just want to get away. From the hanging her on a hook, or hitting her with a hammer, the movie at times is almost too much. It is very realist, very gritty, and terrifying. I drove through the back roads of Texas this year, and thoughts of this movie completely freaked me out.

3. The Evil Dead

Most people do not think of The Evil Dead as being scary. This is mostly due to the fact that Evil Dead 2 is a higher budget remake, and most people see Evil Dead 2 and basically forget about The Evil Dead. Evil Dead 2 is hands down one of the best horror movies of all time, but it is not really all that scary. Evil Dead 2 has a great deal of comedy in it. Sam Rami, the genius, let go a little more in Evil Dead 2. He let his humor come through. It made it a great movie.

In The Evil Dead there is little to no comedy, and it is scary. It is gritty. It is gory, and it is really unnerving. You can feel the uncomfortable environment the actors are enduring. Rami uses all kinds of camera tricks to make you feel like The Evil Dead is all around you.

2. The Exorcist

The Exorcist is the most terrifying movie on this list. I think it is the most terrifying movie ever made. There is nothing about this movie that isn’t scary. Even the cinematography is creepy, that 1970s grit.

A little girl is possessed by the devil, and we have to watch her mother’s terror. I don’t know how they made this movie so unnerving, but every scene adds to the fear, including the makeup they used on Linda Blare. The movie is so scary, it’s hard to watch. To this day no horror movie has been able to recreate this level of fear. It is the gold standard.

1. Halloween

Halloween might be one of the best directed movies of all time. It is so iconic we forget that there is anything scary about it. The pace of the movie is painfully slow, but that is intentional. It’s a slow build up until the 3rd act.

When Laurie decides to go across the street to see what has happened to her friends, it’s 20 minutes of the most intense fear in movie history. It’s dramatic irony at its finest. You know he’s waiting in that house. You know everyone is dead, and the final most innocent, most vulnerable girl is left to walk right into the terror. You can’t sit still when Laurie walks across the street, or explores the house. You know he’s there. You are completely on the edge of your seat.

These are my scariest 5 I love to watch in the last 5 days up to Halloween, and I watch Halloween on Halloween night. It’s a fun tradition. You have time, Halloween is coming, try the list. Watch one movie a day and tell me in the comments if you think these are scary.