For over 100 years, the movie industry has continuously pushed the boundaries of what is likely to scare audiences with horror movies. From the depiction of eerie supernatural forces, demonic possession, cults, and masked killers, experimentation with fear in these movies is what makes them so compelling, and has contributed to them being cemented in cinematic history.

What makes these movies so scary is not just the use of blood, gore, and violence, but the deeply unsettling atmosphere that they can create. Through sound design and dark visuals, a movie may be able to create a greater atmosphere of fear than the goriest of movies. This list has been compiled by looking at how scary these movies are by contemporary standards (as some controversial movies in their time are considered tame today), and how scary they were when they were first released. Many of these movies were unprecedentedly horrifying in their era, and all of them deserve a spot in the pantheon of scariest of all time.

20 The Babadook (2014)

Directed By Jennifer Kent

The Babadook is a truly chilling tale about parenthood and grief, while a sinister demonic entity lurks in the shadows. Amelia, a single mother, is struggling to raise her troubled son, Samuel, who becomes more and more obsessed with a pop-up book about a creature called the Babadook.

The film takes a horrifying turn when the creature begins to manifest itself into their lives, with both Amelia and Samuel being seemingly helpless to stop it. It's an incredibly tense exploration of unresolved trauma that builds a sense of dread likely to linger on in the hearts of any who watch it, long after The Babadook's horrifying ending.

While not as bone-chilling as some of the other movies on this list, The Babadook stands out in other ways as a staple of horror movie history. Essie Davis' incredible portrayal of Amelia as she faces the Babadooks wrath is a particular highlight, bringing such emotion to a genre where the scares are normally the priority. It is Davis' performance, along with the omnipresent feeling of dread in the movie, that makes The Babadook such a scary movie.

19 Alien (1979)

Directed By Ridley Scott

Ridley Scott's Alien is a true titan of sci-fi horror. The movie follows the crew of the spaceship Nostromo as they encounter a terrifying extra-terrestrial creature that begins to hunt them down one by one. Alien's deaths are gruesome, from the iconic and gruesome "chest-burster" scene, to Ripley's final standoff with the Xenomorph. The 1979 classic is as scary to watch now as it was when it first released.

Alien simply has to feature on any list ranking scary movies. Not only was the "chest-burster" scene an unprecedented depiction of gore and violence, but it is Alien's very atmosphere that elevates the scare factor. The movie is a true masterclass in how to build a sense of hopeless tension - the audience knows that nobody can stop the Xenomorph, and that no help is coming. After all, in space, no one can hear you scream.

18 Saw (2004)

Directed By James Wan

The first installment in the Saw franchise was an unprecedented feat of sadism and horror when it first released. Of course, every Saw movie since the original has been gorier than the last, but there is something truly bone-chilling about the first. It tells the story of the Jigsaw Killer as he traps two men in a dilapidated bathroom, forcing them to inflict great pain upon themselves in order to escape.

The obvious source of much of Saw's scares comes from the gore on display. In particular, the scene where Dr. Gordon has to saw off his own foot to escape stands out as an extremely gruesome highlight. While it is less psychologically scarring than some of the higher movies on this list, it is Saw's sheer brutality that earns its place here. The grim, claustrophobic setting of the bathroom, as well as the intense scenes of body horror and blood, make 2004's Saw and its twist ending a visceral, horrifying addition to the genre.

17 Longlegs (2024)

Directed By Oz Perkins

While the well-reviewed Longlegs is a recent movie, it still earns its spot as one of the scariest movies of all time. It follows a detective who is attempting to track down the titular serial killer, following a series of satanic clues as she does so. Nicolas Cage as Longlegs is the true highlight here, as he gives one of the most unsettling performances of his career.

Longlegs is a movie that knows it doesn't have to rely on cheap jumpscares to strike fear into the heart of its audience, as just the presence of the killer is enough to make anyone's skin crawl.

Longlegs is a movie that knows it doesn't have to rely on cheap jumpscares to strike fear into the heart of its audience, as just the presence of the killer is enough to make anyone's skin crawl. What makes it so scary is how it explores religion and faith (two concepts often used in horror movies) through a serial killer story, rather than a more typical supernatural horror movie such as The Conjuring. The brutality of the killings, and the deeply unsettling fear of the Devil combine to make Longlegs a masterclass in how to scare an audience.

16 Threads (1984)

Directed By Mick Jackson

While not a horror movie in the traditional sense of the word, the horrifying impact that Threads had on the British public when it first released is still being felt today. Threads is a harrowing portrayal of Sheffield, England, as its citizens have their lives torn apart by nuclear war. The movie is beyond bleak in its depiction of life in a nuclear winter, and has only been shown by the BBC four times in 40 years as a result of this horror (via The Independent).

The context in which Threads was released is crucial when looking at how scary the movie truly was. Released in 1984, with tensions rising between East and West, Threads' depiction of nuclear war has literally scarred people for life over the past 40 years. Threads' true horror doesn't lie in the fictional story it tells, but in how realistic the movie feels in its analysis of society's fragility. It may be one of the lesser known movies on this list, but this by no means harms its case for being here.

15 The Zone Of Interest (2023)

Directed By Jonathan Glazer

The Zone Of Interest is another movie that eschews the traditional tropes of the horror genre, focusing on what audiences can't see, rather than what they can. The movie follows Rudolf Höss, the commander of Auschwitz, and his family as they try and build the "perfect" life in a house just outside the walls of the death camp.

This unique premise, right through The Zone of Interest's ending, makes it one of the most compelling and horrifying movies ever made. Of course, much of the fear surrounding The Zone of Interest comes from the fact that it is based on true events. The horrors of the Holocaust should never be trivialized or sensationalized on screen, and The Zone of Interest adheres to these roles exceptionally well.

The movie earned five Oscar nominations in 2024, and won the award for Best International Feature Film.

And ultimately, it is this banal look at evil that earns its spot on this list. True evil, the kind that affects real life and real history, doesn't necessarily come from supernatural malevolent forces, but from some deep-seated cruelty within humanity itself. And that is probably more terrifying than the premise of any scary movie.

14 Ringu (1998)

Directed By Hideo Nakata

When Ringu was released in 1998, it was a watershed moment for the horror genre. Not only did Ringu spawn a successful franchise, including the famous 2002 movie, The Ring, but it also popularized the concept of cursed media in movies. Ringu tells the story of a journalist who watches a cursed videotape and begins to investigate deaths linked to it, before she becomes the next victim.

Ringu is a terrifying masterpiece of horror, building upon a perpetual atmosphere of creeping dread in the form of the movie's antagonist, Sadako, who has since become one of horror's biggest icons. The movie manages to make audiences well aware that, while the curse can be lifted, Sadako herself can not be overcome. Hopelessness is one of the scariest parts of any horror movies, and Ringu manages to convey this superbly, easily making it one of the scariest movies of all time.

13 The Shining (1980)

Directed By Stanley Kubrick

Potentially the most famous horror movie of all time, The Shining earns this title for a reason. It is truly bone-chilling. Stanley Kubrick's adaptation of Stephen King's work is widely considered one of the best movies of all time, a title that it shares along with its dedication to terrifying the audience. It follows the story of a writer and his family who looks after the remote Overlook Hotel during the winter, and depicts his slow descent into madness as a result of the hotel's malevolent demons.

While The Shining's story itself is terrifying enough on its own, it is Kubrick's direction that adds the movie to a true pantheon of fear. From unsettling symmetrical scenes to the iconic one-shot of Danny riding on his tricycle, every camera shot was meticulously crafted to make the movie as scary as possible, and it certainly achieves this. Combining Jack's descent into madness with this unnerving direction is a true masterclass in how to instill fear in the hearts of any audience.

12 The Omen (1976)

Directed By Richard Donner

The Omen's story centers on an American diplomat and his wife, who unknowingly adopt the Antichrist, a child they name Damien. As Damien grows, a series of gruesome and mysterious deaths begin to happen all around him, prompting his father to investigate his son's heritage. The tension is suffocating as the diplomat grapples with the moral dilemma - does he kill the Antichrist, even though it is his son?

Religious iconography has become a staple of the horror genre, but The Omen uses this particularly effectively to build fear and tension and earn itself a spot on this list. Damien's convulsions whenever he comes near a church is a particular highlight here, with his writhing being incredibly unsettling to watch.

The Omen is also relentless in its building of tension and consistently lets audiences know that the Antichrist is always there. To make things even spookier, 's production was rumored to be cursed, with numerous real-life incidents occurring that were similar to the deaths presented in the movie.

11 Hereditary (2018)

Directed By Ari Aster

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The feature film debut of writer-director Ari Aster, Hereditary tells the story of the unwittingly cursed Graham family. Annie Graham (Toni Collette) lives with her husband Steve (Gabriel Byrne) and their children Peter (Alex Wolff) and Charlie (Milly Shapiro). After the death of Annie's mother, the family is beset by disaster and stalked by a supernatural entity that dredges up a past that Annie had spent her life trying to overlook.

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Ari Aster's Hereditary changed the horror genre when it was released in 2018. It follows the Graham family, particularly the mother, Annie, as they cope with the loss of her mother. Strange events begin to unfold in the wake of her death, leading Annie to discover disturbing facts about her ancestry, forcing her to confront demonic forces out of her control. The buildup of tension and dread is truly agonizing, and Toni Collette's performance of Annie is truly haunting.

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The brutal realism that Collette brings to the role, particularly the intensity of her grief, makes Hereditary one of the scariest movies of all time. Indeed, the movie's premise of a family trying to keep themselves together is an ideal way to build fear, as Hereditary is able to weaponize this rather relatable scenario in its exploration of malevolent forces. Hereditary's ending scene is haunting enough to keep even the deepest sleeper awake at night, and plays a major role in earning the movie's spot here.