13 Scariest Horror Movies of All Time via Dread Readers!
Mike Sprague
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What’s the scariest movie of all time. Hell, what are the top 10 scariest movies of all time? These things are debatable. So we decided to ask YOU guys what you think. Works out for everyone! So without further ado, here are the 13 Scariest Movies Ever as picked by our readers.
Check out the list below and make sure to follow us on Facebook for our next Dread Central Reader curated list!
13. Hereditary
When the matriarch of the Graham family passes away, her daughter and grandchildren begin to unravel cryptic and increasingly terrifying secrets about their ancestry, trying to outrun the sinister fate they have inherited.
12. Nightmare on Elm Street
In Wes Craven’s classic slasher film, several Midwestern teenagers fall prey to Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund), a disfigured midnight mangler who preys on the teenagers in their dreams — which, in turn, kills them in reality. After investigating the phenomenon, Nancy (Heather Langenkamp) begins to suspect that a dark secret kept by her and her friends’ parents may be the key to unraveling the mystery, but can Nancy and her boyfriend Glen (Johnny Depp) solve the puzzle before it’s too late?
11. Poltergeist
Strange and creepy happenings beset an average California family, the Freelings — Steve (Craig T. Nelson), Diane (JoBeth Williams), teenaged Dana (Dominique Dunne), eight-year-old Robbie (Oliver Robins), and five-year-old Carol Ann (Heather O’Rourke) — when ghosts commune with them through the television set. Initially friendly and playful, the spirits turn unexpectedly menacing, and, when Carol Ann goes missing, Steve and Diane turn to a parapsychologist and eventually an exorcist for help.
10. Ju-On The Grudge
Takashi Shimizu’s movie continues Asia’s increasingly fine tradition of modern horror films. The premise is that if a building has endured a singular horror, it absorbs it and returns it to those who visit. A series of seemingly unconnected vignettes, all with a suitably satisfying jolt (including a shower scene Hitchcock would have admired) are slowly pulled together by police investigating the strange events.
09. Night of the Living Dead
A disparate group of individuals takes refuge in an abandoned house when corpses begin to leave the graveyard in search of fresh human bodies to devour. The pragmatic Ben (Duane Jones) does his best to control the situation, but when the reanimated bodies surround the house, the other survivors begin to panic. As any semblance of order within the group begins to dissipate, the zombies start to find ways inside — and one by one, the living humans become the prey of the dead.
08. Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Sally (Marilyn Burns) hears that her grandfather’s grave may have been vandalized. So she and her paraplegic brother, Franklin (Paul A. Partain), set out with their friends to investigate. After a detour to their family’s old farmhouse, they discover a group of crazed, murderous outcasts living next door. The group is attacked one by one by the chainsaw-wielding Leatherface (Gunnar Hansen). He wears a mask of human skin, the survivors must do everything they can to escape.
07. The Shining
Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) becomes winter caretaker at the isolated Overlook Hotel in Colorado, hoping to cure his writer’s block. He settles in along with his wife, (Shelley Duvall), and his son, (Danny Lloyd), who is plagued by psychic premonitions. Jack’s writing goes nowhere and Danny’s visions become more disturbing. And Jack discovers the hotel’s dark secrets and begins to unravel into a homicidal maniac hell-bent on terrorizing his family.
06. Alien
In deep space, the crew of the commercial starship Nostromo is awakened from their cryo-sleep capsules halfway through their journey home to investigate a distress call from an alien vessel. The terror begins when the crew encounters a nest of eggs inside the alien ship. An organism from inside an egg leaps out and attaches itself to one of the crew. Causing him to fall into a coma.
05. REC
Late-night TV host Angela and her cinematographer follow the fire service on a call to an apartment building. But the Spanish police seal off the building after an old woman is infected by a virus which gives her inhuman strength.
04. Halloween
On a cold Halloween night in 1963, six year old Michael Myers brutally murdered his 17-year-old sister, Judith. He was sentenced and locked away for 15 years. But on October 30, 1978, while being transferred for a court date, a 21-year-old Michael Myers steals a car and escapes Smith’s Grove. He returns to his quiet hometown of Haddonfield, Illinois, where he looks for his next victims.
03. The Thing
In remote Antarctica, a group of American research scientists are disturbed at their base camp by a helicopter shooting at a sled dog. When they take in the dog, it brutally attacks both human beings and canines in the camp. And they discover that the beast can assume the shape of its victims. A resourceful helicopter pilot (Kurt Russell) and the camp doctor (Richard Dysart) lead the camp crew. All in a desperate, gory battle against the vicious creature before it picks them all off, one by one.
02. Jaws
A young woman is killed by a shark while skinny-dipping near the New England tourist town of Amity Island. Now police chief Martin Brody (Roy Scheider) wants to close the beaches. But mayor Larry Vaughn (Murray Hamilton) overrules him, fearing that the loss of tourist revenue will cripple the town. Ichthyologist Matt Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss) and grizzled ship captain Quint (Robert Shaw) offer to help Brody capture the killer beast. And the trio engage in an epic battle of man vs. nature.
01. The Exorcist
One of the most profitable horror movies ever made, this tale of an exorcism is based loosely on actual events. When young Regan (Linda Blair) starts acting odd — levitating, speaking in tongues. Her worried mother (Ellen Burstyn) seeks medical help, only to hit a dead end. A local priest (Jason Miller), however, thinks the girl may be seized by the devil. The priest makes a request to perform an exorcism. The church sends in an expert (Max von Sydow) to help with the difficult job.
BONUS:
IT Chapter 1
#1 Smart Ass (But 100% True) Pick:
Showgirls
What do YOU think is the scariest movie of all time?
Make sure to let us know in the comments below or on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram! You can also hit me up over on Twitter @MikeSpregg325.
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