• Juror #2 ****
• Anora ***1/2
• My Name Is Alfred Hitchcock ***1/2
• Venom: The Last Dance *1/2
• Goodrich ***1/2
• Smile 2 ***
• We Live in Time ***1/2
• Terrifier 3 ***
• Look Back ****
• The Apprentice ***1/2
• The Outrun ***
• Joker: Folie à Deux **
• V/H/S/Beyond ***
• Megalopolis ***1/2
• The Substance ***1/2
• Transformers One ***
• Close Your Eyes ****
• Beetlejuice Beetlejuice ***
• The Crow **
• Afraid *1/2
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• Gummo (Criterion) ****
• Hellraiser: Quartet of Torment ****
• Frogs **
• Kingdom of the Spiders ***
• All of Us Strangers (Criterion) ***1/2
• Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga ***1/2
• Arcadian ***
• The First Omen ***
• Girl on the Bridge ***
• The Linguini Incident ***1/2
• Sting ***1/2
• The Strangers: Chapter I *1/2
• Twisted ***
• Black God, White Devil (Criterion) ***1/2
• Challengers ***
• Macbeth (1948) ****
• Abigail ***
• The Boy and the Heron ****
• Civil War ***1/2
• Le Samourai (Criterion) ****
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• 2023: The Year in Review
• Book Review: Clint Eastwood: The Iconic Filmmaker and His Work
• Peter Nicks on Stephen Curry: Underrated
• Savanah Leaf on Earth Mama
• Peter Sohn on Elemental
• Kelly Reichardt on Showing Up
• Book Review: Once Upon a Rind In Hollywood
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• The 2022 San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle Awards
• 2022: The Year in Film
• Book Review: Escape Into Meaning: Essays on Superman, Public Benches, and Other Obsessions
• Book Review: It's Alive!
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• Book Review: Sam Wasson's The Big Goodbye: Chinatown and the Last Years of Hollywood
• Nisha Ganatra
• Anthony Daniels
• Will Forte
• Dan Scanlon
• The Decade in Review (2010-2019)
• Sam Mendes
• Book Review: Cult Filmmakers: 50 Movie Mavericks You Need to Know
• Gurinder Chadha
• Olivia Wilde
• Claire Denis
• Emilio Estevez
• My Top 100 Films
• Great Directors
• Essential Horror Movies
• Cult Movies

Scream and Scream Again...!

Combustible Celluloid's Essential Horror Movies

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

(Updated September 13, 2023) This is an expanded, chronological version of an original top 100 list, created for folks looking for good Halloween movies. The list was recently expanded to include over 450 titles! Keep checking back for more reviews and more additions to the list. And check here for my ranked Top 100 Horror Films List!

The Silent Era

Nosferatu

---

• The Avenging Conscience: or 'Thou Shalt Not Kill' (1914)
• The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)
• Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1920)
• The Golem (1920)
• The Penalty (1920)
• The Haunted Castle (1921)
• The Phantom Carriage (1921)
• Häxan (1922)
• Nosferatu (1922)
• The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923)
• Waxworks (1924)
• The Phantom of the Opera (1925)
• Faust (1926)
• The Cat and the Canary (1927)
• The Unknown (1927)
• The Man Who Laughs (1928)

The 1930s

The Black Cat

---

• Dracula (1931)
• Frankenstein (1931)
• Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931)
• Freaks (1932)
• Island of Lost Souls (1932)
• The Old Dark House (1932)
• The Mask of Fu Manchu (1932)
• The Mummy (1932)
• Vampyr (1932)
• White Zombie (1932)
• The Invisible Man (1933)
• King Kong (1933)
• The Black Cat (1934)
• Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
• Mad Love (1935)
• Mark of the Vampire (1935)
• The Raven (1935)
• The Devil-Doll (1936)
• Son of Frankenstein (1939)

The 1940s

Cat People

---

• The Devil Bat (1940)
• Invisible Ghost (1941)
• The Wolf Man (1941)
• Cat People (1942)
• The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942)
• The Ghost Ship (1943)
• Isle of the Dead (1943)
• I Walked with a Zombie (1943)
• The Leopard Man (1943)
• The Return of the Vampire (1943)
• The Seventh Victim (1943)
• Bluebeard (1944)
• The Curse of the Cat People (1944)
• The Uninvited (1944)
• Voodoo Man (1944)
• The Body Snatcher (1945)
• Dead of Night (1945)
• Bedlam (1946)
• The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947)
• Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)

The 1950s

House of Wax

---

• The Thing from Another World (1951)
• House of Wax (1953)
• The War of the Worlds (1953)
• Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954)
• Godzilla (1954)
• Diabolique (1955)
• The Quatermass Xperiment (1955)
• The Black Sleep (1956)
• Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
• Daughter of Dr. Jekyll (1957)
• Curse of the Demon (1957)
• The Unearthly (1957)
• The Blob (1958)
• Fiend Without a Face (1958)
• Horror of Dracula (1958)
• House on Haunted Hill (1958)
• I Married a Monster from Outer Space (1958)
• A Bucket of Blood (1959)
• Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959)
• The Tingler (1959)
• The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959)

The 1960s

Blood and Black Lace

---

• Black Sunday (1960)
• The City of the Dead (1960)
• Eyes Without a Face (1960)
• The Fall of the House of Usher (1960)
• The Little Shop of Horrors (1960)
• Peeping Tom (1960)
• Psycho (1960)
• Homicidal (1961)
• The Innocents (1961)
• Night Tide (1961)
• Pit and the Pendulum (1961)
• Burn Witch Burn (1962)
• Carnival of Souls (1962)
• Tales of Terror (1962)
• The Birds (1963)
• Black Sabbath (1963)
• Coffin Joe Trilogy (1963-69)
• Dementia 13 (1963)
• The Haunting (1963)
• The Whip and the Body (1963)
• Blood and Black Lace (1964)
• The Masque of the Red Death (1964)
• The Tomb of Ligeia (1964)
• Spider Baby (1964)
• Strait-Jacket (1964)
• The Collector (1965)
• Kwaidan (1965)
• Repulsion (1965)
• Kill, Baby... Kill! (1966)
• The Sorcerers (1967)
• Hour of the Wolf (1968)
• Night of the Living Dead (1968)
• Rosemary's Baby (1968)
• Targets (1968)
• Witchfinder General (1968)
• Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (1969)

The 1970s

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

---

• The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (1970)
• Hatchet for the Honeymoon (1970)
• Bay of Blood (1971)
• Duel (1971)
• Baron Blood (1972)
• Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things (1972)
• Images (1972)
• The Last House on the Left (1972)
• Vampire Circus (1972)
• The Asphyx (1973)
• The Crazies (1973)
• Don't Look Now (1973)
• The Exorcist (1973)
• Lisa and the Devil (1973)
• Sisters (1973)
• A Virgin Among the Living Dead (1973)
• The Wicker Man (1973)
• Black Christmas (1974)
• Frightmare (1974)
• It's Alive (1974)
• The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
• Young Frankenstein (1974)
• Deep Red (1975)
• Jaws (1975)
• Shivers (1975)
• Trilogy of Terror (1975)
• Alice, Sweet Alice (1976)
• Carrie (1976)
• The Tenant (1976)
• Eaten Alive (1977)
• Eraserhead (1977)
• Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977)
• The Hills Have Eyes (1977)
• Martin (1977)
• Rabid (1977)
• Shock (1977)
• Suspiria (1977)
• Dawn of the Dead (1978)
• The Fury (1978)
• Halloween (1978)
• Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)
• Piranha (1978)
• Alien (1979)
• The Brood (1979)
• Phantasm (1979)
• Salem's Lot (1979)

The 1980s

Evil Dead II

---

• The Fog (1980)
• Inferno (1980)
• The Shining (1980)
• An American Werewolf in London (1981)
• The Beyond (1981)
• Dark Night of the Scarecrow (1981)
• The Funhouse (1981)
• The Howling (1981)
• Possession (1981)
• Scanners (1981)
• Basket Case (1982)
• Cat People (1982)
• Creepshow (1982)
• Poltergeist (1982)
• The Sender (1982)
• The Slumber Party Massacre (1982)
• Tenebre (1982)
• The Thing (1982)
• The Dead Zone (1983)
• The Evil Dead (1983)
• Michael Jackson's Thriller (1983)
• Sleepaway Camp (1983)
• Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983)
• Videodrome (1983)
• Gremlins (1984)
• A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
• Day of the Dead (1985)
• Demons (1985)
• Fright Night (1985)
• Phenomena (1985)
• Re-Animator (1985)
• The Return of the Living Dead (1985)
• Demons 2 (1986)
• The Fly (1986)
• From Beyond (1986)
• Invaders from Mars (1986)
• Lifeforce (1986)
• Little Shop of Horrors (1986)
• Manhunter (1986)
• The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2 (1986)
• A Chinese Ghost Story (1987)
• Dolls (1987)
• Evil Dead II (1987)
• Hellraiser (1987)
• The Hidden (1987)
• Near Dark (1987)
• Opera (1987)
• Prince of Darkness (1987)
• The Stepfather (1987)
• The Blob (1988)
• Child's Play (1988)
• Dead Ringers (1988)
• Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988)
• Maniac Cop (1988)
• Monkey Shines (1988)
• Night of the Demons (1988)
• The Serpent and the Rainbow (1988)
• They Live (1988)
• The Vanishing (1988)

The 1990s

Cronos

---

• The Ambulance (1990)
• Child's Play 2 (1990)
• Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990)
• The Guardian (1990)
• Jacob's Ladder (1990)
• Misery (1990)
• Nightbreed (1990)
• Tales from the Darkside: The Movie (1990)
• Two Evil Eyes (1990)
• Cape Fear (1991)
• The People Under the Stairs (1991)
• The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
• Alien 3 (1992)
• Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992)
• Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992)
• Candyman (1992)
• Innocent Blood (1992)
• Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992)
• Waxwork II: Lost in Time (1992)
• Army of Darkness (1993)
• Body Snatchers (1993)
• Cronos (1993)
• The Dark Half (1993)
• Doppelganger (1993)
• Needful Things (1993)
• Ticks (1993)
• Cemetery Man (1994)
• Interview with the Vampire (1994)
• Phantasm III (1994)
• Wes Craven's New Nightmare (1994)
• The Addiction (1995)
• Castle Freak (1995)
• Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995)
• In the Mouth of Madness (1995)
• Lord of Illusions (1995)
• The Mangler (1995)
• 301/302 (1995)
• Village of the Damned (1995)
• From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)
• Scream (1996)
• Anaconda (1997)
• Cure (1997)
• Lost Highway (1997)
• Mimic (1997)
• Scream 2 (1997)
• Beloved (1998)
• Blade (1998)
• Bride of Chucky (1998)
• Halloween H20 (1998)
• Pi/π (1998)
• Psycho (1998)
• Vampires (1998)
• Audition (1999)
• The Blair Witch Project (1999)
• eXistenZ (1999)
• Lake Placid (1999)
• The Ninth Gate (1999)
• Ravenous (1999)
• The Sixth Sense (1999)
• Sleepy Hollow (1999)

The 2000s

Let the Right One In

---

• Final Destination (2000)
• The Gift (2000)
• Pitch Black (2000)
• Shadow of the Vampire (2000)
• Uzumaki (2000)
• Dagon (2001)
• The Devil's Backbone (2001)
• Ghosts of Mars (2001)
• Ginger Snaps (2001)
• The Others (2001)
• Pulse (2001)
• Session 9 (2001)
• Tell Me Something (2001)
• Below (2002)
• Blade II (2002)
• Jason X (2002)
• May (2002)
• Wendigo (2002)
• Bubba Ho-Tep (2003)
• Final Destination 2 (2003)
• Freddy vs. Jason (2003)
• Willard (2003)
• Marebito (2004)
• Saw (2004)
• Shaun of the Dead (2004)
• Toolbox Murders (2004)
• Cursed (2005)
• Dominion: The Prequel to the Exorcist (2005)
• Land of the Dead (2005)
• All the Boys Love Mandy Lane (2006)
• Black Sheep (2006)
• The Descent (2006)
• Final Destination 3 (2006)
• Slither (2006)
• Bug (2007)
• Hatchet (2007)
• The Host (2007)
• 1408 (2007)
• Mother of Tears (2007)
• The Orphanage (2007)
• [Rec] (2007)
• Trick 'r Treat (2007)
• 28 Weeks Later (2007)
• Cloverfield (2008)
• Diary of the Dead (2008)
• Let the Right One In (2008)
• Martyrs (2008)
• The Midnight Meat Train (2008)
• My Name Is Bruce (2008)
• Timecrimes (2008)
• Dead Snow (2009)
• Drag Me to Hell (2009)
• The House of the Devil (2009)
• Paranormal Activity (2009)
• Thirst (2009)
• The Uninvited (2009)
• Zombieland (2009)

The 2010s

The Innkeepers

---

• Daybreakers (2010)
• Let Me In (2010)
• My Soul to Take (2010)
• Paranormal Activity 2 (2010)
• Piranha 3D (2010)
• Splice (2010)
• Survival of the Dead (2010)
• The Ward (2010)


• Don't Be Afraid of the Dark (2011)
• Final Destination 5 (2011)
• Fright Night (2011)
• Insidious (2011)
• The Last Exorcism (2011)
• Paranormal Activity 3 (2011)
• Scream 4 (2011)
• Trollhunter (2011)
• Tucker and Dale vs. Evil (2011)


• The Cabin in the Woods (2012)
• Frankenweenie (2012)
• The Innkeepers (2012)
• The Loved Ones (2012)
• The Possession (2012)
• V/H/S (2012)


• Berberian Sound Studio (2013)
• Byzantium (2013)
• The Conjuring (2013)
• Curse of Chucky (2013)
• Djinn (2013)
• Insidious: Chapter 2 (2013)
• John Dies at the End (2013)
• V/H/S/2 (2013)
• Warm Bodies (2013)
• We Are What We Are (2013)


• As Above, So Below (2014)
• The Babadook (2014)
• A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014)
• Housebound (2014)
• Oculus (2014)
• Stonehearst Asylum (2014)
• Under the Skin (2014)


• The Blackcoat's Daughter (2015)
• Burying the Ex (2015)
• Crimson Peak (2015)
• The Final Girls (2015)
• Goodnight Mommy (2015)
• Insidious: Chapter 3 (2015)
• It Follows (2015)
• Maggie (2015)
• Tales of Halloween (2015)
• Unfriended (2015)


• The Autopsy of Jane Doe (2016)
• The Conjuring 2 (2016)
• Green Room (2016)
• I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House (2016)
• The Invitation (2016)
• Lights Out (2016)
• The Love Witch (2016)
• Ouija: Origin of Evil (2016)
• Train to Busan (2016)
• Under the Shadow (2016)
• The Wailing (2016)
• The Witch (2016)


• Annabelle: Creation (2017)
• The Babysitter (2017)
• Gerald's Game (2017)
• Get Out (2017)
• Happy Death Day (2017)
• It (2017)
• Personal Shopper (2017)
• Veronica (2017)


• Cam (2018)
• Dead Shack (2018)
• The Endless (2018)
• Halloween (2018)
• Hell Fest (2018)
• Hereditary (2018)
• Mandy (2018)
• A Quiet Place (2018)
• Revenge (2018)
• Suspiria (2018)


• Annabelle Comes Home (2019)
• Child's Play (2019)
• The Dead Don't Die (2019)
• Doctor Sleep (2019)
• Happy Death Day 2U (2019)
• The Hole in the Ground (2019)
• In Fabric (2019)
• It Chapter Two (2019)
• The Lighthouse (2019)
• Luz (2019)
• Midsommar (2019)
• The Nightingale (2019)
• One Cut of the Dead (2019)
• The Perfection (2019)
• Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (2019)
• Tigers Are Not Afraid (2019)
• Us (2019)

The 2020s

Color Out of Space

---

• Black Box (2020)
• Blood Quantum (2020)
• The Boy Behind the Door (2020)
• Color Out of Space (2020)
• The Dark and the Wicked (2020)
• Freaky (2020)
• Gretel & Hansel (2020)
• Host (2020)
• The Invisible Man (2020)
• La Llorona (2020)
• The Lodge (2020)
• The Mortuary Collection (2020)
• 1BR (2020)
• Possessor (2020)
• Relic (2020)
• The Rental (2020)
• Scare Me (2020)
• Scare Package (2020)
• Sea Fever (2020)
• She Dies Tomorrow (2020)
• Shortcut (2020)
• To Your Last Death (2020)
• Vivarium (2020)
• The Wolf House (2020)
• The Wretched (2020)
• Z (2020)


• Candyman (2021)
• Censor (2021)
• Come True (2021)
• The Djinn (2021)
• Last Night in Soho (2021)
• Malignant (2021)
• The Night (2021)
• The Night House (2021)
• The Old Ways (2021)
• A Quiet Place Part II (2021)
• Saint Maud (2021)
• Shadow in the Cloud (2021)
• The Vigil (2021)
• Werewolves Within (2021)


• Bodies Bodies Bodies (2022)
• Crimes of the Future (2022)
• Fresh (2022)
• Glorious (2022)
• Mad God (2022)
• Master (2022)
• Men (2022)
• Nanny (2022)
• Pearl (2022)
• The Sadness (2022)
• Scream (2022)
• V/H/S/99 (2022)
• We're All Going to the World's Fair (2022)
• X (2022)


• Birth/Rebirth (2023)
• Evil Dead Rise (2023)
• The Last Voyage of the Demeter (2023)
• M3GAN (2023)
• Scream VI (2023)
• Skinamarink (2023)


• Abigail (2024)
• The First Omen (2024)
• Immaculate (2024)
• In a Violent Nature (2024)
• Infested (2024)
• I Saw the TV Glow (2024)
• Late Night with the Devil (2024)
• Longlegs (2024)
• MaXXXine (2024)
• Night Shift (2024)
• Oddity (2024)
• A Quiet Place: Day One (2024)
• Sting (2024)
• Stopmotion (2024)