- From classics like “Psycho” to modern masterpieces like “Hereditary” and “Get Out,” horror movies are a popular part of popular culture.
- And while not every spooky film is well-received, some, like “The Birds” and “A Nightmare on Elm Street,” have garnered lots of critical acclaim and still hold up even years after their original releases.
- Recent years have also seen standout films like “The Conjuring” make waves in Hollywood and beyond.
- Here are the best horror movies of all time, ranked by critics.
- Visit Insider’s homepage for more stories.
Recent years have seen standout horror films like “Hereditary” and “Get Out” make waves in Hollywood and beyond, but they’re not the only movies to be universally adored by critics.
Classic horror flicks like “A Nightmare on Elm Street” and “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” also received mostly positive reviews from critics.
Even though not every spooky film is well-received, some have received critical acclaim and are still just as great years after they were originally released.
Here are the best horror movies of all time, ranked by critics.
50. A group of female spelunkers get more than they bargained for in 2006's "The Descent."
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 85%
In "The Descent," a group of friends become trapped in an ominous cave filled with terrifying monsters.
49. 1982's "Poltergeist" is considered a modern horror classic.
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 85%
A group of evil spirits infiltrate one family's home in "Poltergeist."
48. 1973's "The Exorcist" focuses on a girl possessed by a demon.
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 85%
A teenage girl becomes possessed by a vulgar and dangerous demon in "The Exorcist."
47. 2013's "The Conjuring" is based on true events.
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 85%
In "The Conjuring," paranormal experts Ed and Lorraine Warren try to stop a family from being haunted by the vicious spirit of a witch.
46. "The Shining" is a classic horror film from 1980.
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 85%
Stanley Kubrick's horror classic follows Jack Torrance as he moves to a remote hotel with his wife and son to start a new job - only to descend into paranoia, madness, and eventually, murder.
45. "28 Days Later" was released in 2002.
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 86%
Survivors of a global outbreak fight for shelter in "28 Days Later."
44. A Stephen King novel provided the inspiration for 2017's "It."
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 86%
Pennywise is the main villain in "It," which follows a group of kids in the 1980s as they struggle to defeat the evil clown.
43. 1999's "The Blair Witch Project" is known for originating the "found footage" genre of horror movies.
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 87%
"The Blair Witch Project" is a pioneer of the found-footage genre, and follows three film school students filming a documentary about a witch in the Maryland wilderness - only to end up lost, hunted, and eventually killed.
42. 2017's "It Comes at Night" is set during an apocalypse.
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 87%
A deadly outbreak sweeps the globe, and one family just tries to survive in "It Comes At Night."
41. Classic horror film "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre" was released in 1974.
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 88%
This horror classic follows a family of cannibals as they track down and kill a new batch of victims.
40. A Swedish horror film provided the inspiration for 2010's "Let Me In."
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 88%
This adaptation of the Swedish original also follows a lonely young boy as he befriends a vampire.
39. 2019's "Ready or Not" follows a new bride as she's forced to partake in a twisted game.
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 88%
On her wedding night, a newlywed is forced to participate in a horrific and violent game that involves murder.
38. Ari Aster directed 2018's "Hereditary," which focuses on a broken family haunted by demons.
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 89%
Following the death of their grandmother, a family must come to terms with her disturbing past and their tragic future in "Hereditary."
37. Katy Bates stars in the 1990 film "Misery," based on a Stephen King novel.
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 90%
Kathy Bates stars in this Stephen King adaptation, which focuses on an obsessive, violent woman named Annie Wilkes as she holds a famous author hostage at her home.
36. 1977's "Eraserhead" is a bleak and terrifying horror film.
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 90%
David Lynch's trippy horror film "Eraserhead" follows a forlorn young man trying to keep it together amidst relationship troubles and a seriously disturbing newborn.
35. A teenage girl possessed by the devil is the focus of 2015's "The Witch."
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 90%
A devout Puritan family in 1600s New England must fight off a bloodthirsty witch and even the devil himself in "The Witch."
34. "Starfish" (2019) is a sci-fi/horror mash-up.
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 90%
The end of the world is merely the setting for "Starfish," which follows a young woman coming to terms with the death of her friend.
33. 2017 film "Gerald's Game" is based on a Stephen King novel.
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 91%
In "Gerald's Game," a woman trapped in bed after a sex game gone wrong starts to hallucinate, encountering people who may or may not be real.
32. "The Cabin in the Woods" is a zombie horror film with a twist.
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 91%
A bloodthirsty deity, horny teenagers, and a young Chris Hemsworth are all featured in "Cabin in the Woods," which follows a group of friends as they struggle to survive terrifying attacks.
31. 2009's "Drag Me to Hell" was directed by "Spider-Man" filmmaker Sam Raimi.
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 92%
An old woman evicted from her home makes the loan officer's life a living hell in "Drag Me to Hell."
30. Film icons Bette Davis and Joan Crawford star in 1962's "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?"
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 92%
Two sisters' decaying relationship is the focus of "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?"
29. In 1976's "Carrie," Sissy Spacek plays a telekinetic teenager.
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 92%
A quiet young girl named Carrie uses her latent telekinetic powers for evil in this heartbreaking horror film.
28. Jeff Goldblum stars in the 1986 sci-fi horror film "The Fly."
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 92%
Jeff Goldblum is the victim of an insect experiment gone terribly, terribly wrong in "The Fly."
27. 2004's "Shaun of the Dead" is a parody of zombie horror film "Dawn of the Dead."
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 92%
"Shaun of the Dead" follows an ordinary man in the midst of a zombie apocalypse, and doesn't hesitate to poke fun at horror tropes.
26. Korean monster film "The Host," released in 2007, was directed by "Parasite" filmmaker Boon Jong-Ho.
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 93%
A vicious river monster threatens a South Korean community in "The Host."
25. 1979's "Dawn of the Dead" combines horror with social commentary.
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 93%
This horror classic follows survivors of a zombie outbreak as they shelter in a shopping mall.
24. "Us" was a major hit when it premiered in 2019.
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 93%
In "Us," a woman (Lupita Nyong'o) with past trauma is on vacation with her family when their doppelgängers show up and begin killing people.
23. 2016 Korean thriller "Train to Busan" follows a dad and his daughter as they try to escape zombies.
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 93%
This Korean zombie thriller follows a father and his young daughter as they try to fight off the undead on a high-speed train.
22. 1977's "Suspiria" was recently remade, although the original is still critically acclaimed.
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 93%
A young American dancer gets more than she bargained for after she joins a German ballet school plagued by murders in "Suspiria."
21. Freddy Krueger is the infamous villain in 1984's "A Nightmare on Elm Street."
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 94%
Murdered by a vindictive group of parents, the ghost of child killer Freddy Kruger returns via dreams to kill again in "A Nightmare on Elm Street."
20. "Pan's Labyrinth" is a surreal take on the Spanish civil war.
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 95%
This surreal film follows Ofelia, an isolated young girl who finds solace amongst forest monsters during the horrors of the Spanish Civil War.
19. A critically acclaimed version of sci-fi horror film "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" was released in 1978.
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 95%
Aliens invade a small town and slowly begin to replace all of the residents in "Invasion of the Body Snatchers."
18. Tippi Hedren stars in 1963's "The Birds."
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 95%
Tippi Hedren fends off killer birds in "The Birds," another horror staple by Alfred Hitchcock.
17. 2016 film "The Love Witch" satirizes 1960s horror films.
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 95%
A dangerously cunning but lonely witch tries to find true love in this campy, Technicolor film.
16. "Evil Dead" spawned several sequels after its release in 1981.
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 95%
Things go terribly awry for a group of friends alone in the woods after they summon bloodthirsty demons in "Evil Dead."
15. "The Office" star John Krasinksi wrote and directed 2018's "A Quiet Place."
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 95%
John Krasinski's horror masterpiece focuses on the Abbott family as they attempt to survive in a world overrun with monsters who hunt by sound.
14. "A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night" is an Iranian vampire western from 2014 with a feminist message.
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 96%
This Iranian horror movie follows a lonely, skateboarding vampire in the fictional Bad City.
13. Most of "Harpoon" (2019) takes place on the open ocean.
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 96%
In "Harpoon," three friends stuck on a boat in the middle of the ocean struggle to overcome underlying tensions and hidden dangers.
12. Jamie Lee Curtis stars in 1978's "Halloween."
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 96%
A deranged and violent young man escapes from a mental hospital and returns to his hometown to wreak havoc on unsuspecting, horny teenagers in this horror classic.
11. A ruthless cannibal is the focus of 1991's "The Silence of the Lambs."
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 96%
Anthony Hopkins stars as a cannibalistic but cultured murderer in this quintessential horror film.
10. Some think that the 2014 film "It Follows" is a parable about HIV/AIDs.
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 96%
After an unprotected sexual encounter, a young woman is haunted by an eerie spirit, who will only leave her alone if she has unprotected sex with someone else.
9. One of Alfred Hitchcock's most famous movies is 1960's "Psycho."
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 96%
Alfred Hitchock's horror classic focuses on a young professional on the lam who winds up in a motel run by a very disturbed mama's boy.
8. 1968's "Night of the Living Dead" is a classic zombie film.
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 97%
Zombies roam the east coast and the uninfected are left to fend for themselves in George Romero's horror classic.
7. 1973's "Don't Look Now" is an occult thriller with a controversial sex scene.
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 97%
Set in Venice, "Don't Look Now" follows two parents who befriend an elderly pair of psychic sisters - one of whom might have a warning from the parents' recently-deceased daughter.
6. "Rosemary's Baby" is a quintessential horror film from 1968.
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 97%
Cults and devil-worship abound in "Rosemary's Baby," which follows a young, pregnant mother as she grows more and more paranoid about the wellbeing of her baby.
5. Grief and loss are the central themes of 2014's "The Babadook."
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 98%
After the death of her husband, an overworked and exhausted single mother struggles to keep it together after she and her young child begin to be tormented by a mysterious entity called "The Babadook."
4. "Let the Right One In" is a Swedish vampire film from 2008.
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 98%
This heartwarming yet terrifying Swedish film follows a young, socially-awkward boy named Oskar as he befriends a mysterious girl with a terrible secret.
3. Roman Polanski's first film was "Repulsion" in 1965.
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 98%
Polanski's movie follows a repressed young woman who's tormented by images of violent sexual assault after her sister starts dating a new man.
2. "Get Out" was an overnight success when it was released in 2017.
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 98%
Timely, thrilling, and unforgettable, "Get Out" follows a young Black man (Daniel Kaluuya) as he visits his white girlfriend's family for the first time, only to become entrenched in a trippy and violent experiment.
1. "Aliens" is the 1986 sequel to "Alien."
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 99%
This follow-up to the 1980s sci-fi hit follows Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) as she's rescued in deep space - only to find that her run-ins with the titular alien might not be over after all.