The best horror movies are from the minds of great storytellers. Throughout its history, the horror genre has seen some of the most remarkable filmmakers who’ve left a lasting impression, creating some of the most captivating, iconic, and enjoyable movies ever to be brought to the big screen.
Horror movies can not work without a competent director, plain and simple.Some of the most revered horror classics that have endured throughout history have done so because they were perfectly shot and told through the direction of a visionary storyteller who wanted their tales to be told.Many directors have claimed the title of best in the horror genre, but they’ve all left an incredible mark, and their films are a testament to the talents behind the camera. FromM. Night Shyamalan’sThe Sixth SensetoStanley Kubrick’sThe Shining, here are the ten most perfectly directed horror movies ranked.
10’The Sixth Sense' (1999)
Directed by M. Night Shyamalan
The Sixth Senseis a 1999 supernatural horror drama starringBruce WillisandHaley Joel Osment, directed by American filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan. After barely surviving an attempt on his life by a disturbed former patient, renowned child psychologist Malcolm Crowe seeks redemption in himself by helping Cole Sear, a troubled young boy claiming to be able to see and communicate with spirits who haven’t moved on.
The Sixth Senseis a mixed blend of drama and psychological horror. Behind the iconic scares is a powerful character-driven story with beautiful performances from the main cast.Shyamalan strove to tell the story he wanted and, in doing so, created a unique modern horror classic with great suspense, thrilling tension, and powerful acting.Though he’s mostly known today for his twist endings, this one features his most effective ending, as it’s both satisfying and well set up. It’s undoubtedlyShyamalan’s magnum opus.
The Sixth Sense
Directed by M. Night Shyamalan, The Sixth Sense is a psychological thriller about a young boy who can see and communicate with ghosts. Bruce Willis as Dr. Malcolm Crowe, a child psychologist who tries to help Cole, played by Haley Joel Osment, while grappling with his own personal demons. The movie features a twist ending that has become iconic in pop culture.
9’The Haunting' (1963)
Directed by Robert Wise
FromRobert Wise, director ofWest Side StoryandThe Sound of Music, comes The Haunting, an eerie 1963 haunted house mystery thriller starring the lateJulie HarrisandClaire Bloom. To prove the existence of ghosts in the infamous Hill House, ambitious Dr. John Markway (Richard Johnson) brings along several associates to investigate what may be lurking behind its many walls. But for one investigator, Eleanor, terrible supernatural encounters soon begin to chip away at her sanity.
For great suspense and a dark tone, Wise’s version ofThe Hauntinghas it all and even more. It’s an effectively creepy andiconic haunted house flickthat never clearly states whether it’s more psychological or supernatural. Wise knew the best fear comes from the unknown and powerfully expresses that within the story.It perfectly unsettles the viewers, making them question whether the ghosts are real or not and if it’s all in the main character’s head.It’s a powerfully directed chiller that never lets up on the suspense. It’ll keep people on edge from beginning to end.
The Haunting
Dr. John Markway, an anthropologist fascinated by psychic phenomena, assembles a small team to investigate the eerie Hill House, notorious for its tragic and violent history. Among the group are Eleanor, a fragile woman with a troubled past; Theodora, a mysterious and perceptive artist; and Luke, the skeptical future heir of the mansion. As they delve deeper into the house’s dark secrets, supernatural occurrences escalate, challenging their sanity and pushing Eleanor to the brink.
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8’Black Swan' (2010)
Directed by Darren Aronofsky
Darren Aronofskyis an ambitious filmmakerresponsible for some of the most mind-boggling and visually intense psychological films of the 21st century. One of his most remarkable projects,Black Swan, features the magnificentNatalie Portmanin her Oscar-winning role as an obsessed ballerina named Nina, whose desire for greatness causes her to suffer a violent mental breakdown.
It’s a chilling psychological delve into the human mind, following a woman’s tragic descent into instability after her need for perfection goes too far.Aronofsky paints a surreal nightmare by using unique camera work and angles to visually show Nina’s perspective as she slowly loses grasp on reality.There’s a looming scene of impending doom as the story builds to Nina’s eventual downfall as her drive pushes her to extreme measures. It all culminates in a shocking finale that perfectly ends everything building up to that point. It’s a bold and incredibly intense thriller masterpiece that knows how to effectively freak out audiences.
Black Swan
Nina is a talented but unstable ballerina on the verge of stardom. Pushed to the breaking point by her artistic director and a seductive rival, Nina’s grip on reality slips, plunging her into a waking nightmare.
7’The Thing' (1982)
Directed by John Carpenter
From the master of horror,John Carpenter, comes his glorious masterpieceThe Thing, one of the most recognizable andscariest movies of the acclaimed director’s career. Starring his long-time collaboratorKurt Russell, it tells the story of a U.S. research outpost stationed in Antarctica under siege by a nightmarish alien parasite able to infect and disguise itself as other human beings.
Suspense and dread are at the forefront ofThe Thing. It’s a claustrophobic and paranoia-inducing film that never lets up on the intensity.Carpenter makes excellent use of the setting’s isolated Antarctic environment, shooting beautiful landscape shots of the empty snow-covered landscape and then filming in a cramped, dimly light research base where the story’s main events occur. It’s a perfect visual representation of how trapped and alone the characters are.Over the years, The Thing has become seen as an unsettling horror masterpiece, dripping with such unrelenting terror. It’s wildly regarded as Carpenter’s best work, other than Halloween, and certainly hasn’t lost its scare factor.
A team of researchers set out to study an alien spacecraft found in Antarctica, where they also discover an alien body on the site. The alien buried in ice is actually alive and has the ability to imitate human form. The group must find a way to distinguish who the real person is from The Thing and stay alive. John Carpenter’s 1982 film is a remake of 1951’s The Thing from Another World and stars Kurt Russel as the hero RJ MacReady.
6’The Exorcist' (1973)
Directed by William Friedkin
The marvelousWilliam Friedkingarnered a respectable legacy in the entertainment industry,directing some truly remarkable films. But few are as iconic, and none more terrifying, than his 1973 masterpieceThe Exorcist, a supernatural horror thriller that follows the story of a poor young girl slowly becoming corrupted by a formidable demon that violently wants to collect her soul.
There’s a great sense of foreboding and dread throughout the film.Friedkin chose to unravel the main horror elements of the plot slowly to build up the suspense and allow audiences to get a better feel for the characters and their struggles.It’s a powerfully acted story with riveting performances, especially from the youngLinda Blair, who delivers a magnificent and haunting portrayal of a possessed little girl who physically and mentally changes into a frightening supernatural monster.The Exorcistwould becomeone of the most acclaimed horror movies in history, even earning William Friedkin his second Best Director nomination afterThe French Connection.
The Exorcist
When a young girl is possessed by a mysterious entity, her mother seeks the help of two Catholic priests to save her life.
5’Psycho' (1960)
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock
When it comes to suspense, no other filmmaker can top whatSir Alfred Hitchcockcould create. Arguably one of the most iconic directors of the 20th century, he’s been responsible for some notable thrillers that knew how to creep out the audience. The most shining example of talent wasPsycho. This early slasher thriller stars the lateAnthony Perkinsin a captivating performance as a mysterious motel operator secretly harboring a murderous dark side.
Psycho’s terror comes not from jump scares or gore, but from what the audience can imagine with their minds. It’s an edge-of-your-seat thriller with shocking turns and one of the most horrifying twist endings in cinema history.Hitchcock was a master of keeping the audience guessing, allowing them to feel fully immersed in the suspense and unsettled until the very end.Psycho remains Hitchcock’s legacy, his most revered classic and the film he’ll often be the most remembered for.
A Phoenix secretary embezzles $40,000 from her employer’s client, goes on the run and checks into a remote motel run by a young man under the domination of his mother.
4’Jaws' (1975)
Directed by Steven Spielberg
No movie that screams summer fun more thanJaws, directed by legendary filmmakerSteven Spielberg. Speilberg, responsible for some of themost enjoyable and iconic films of all time, delivers a wonderful and terrifying story about a massive great white shark that terrorizes a local beach community. As bodies start piling, the local sheriff, Chief Martin Brody (Roy Scheider), sets off alongside several others to hunt down and kill the beast at all costs.
Jawsis one of the most iconic and enduring horror movies in history. The performances are spectacular. John William’s score continues to be epic. And Spielberg’s flawless direction continues to be a massive influence on cinema. Being one of his first major film projects, he told a powerful tale despite everything going against him.Most fans know by now that the mechanical shark used throughout production infamously broke down several times, forcing Spielberg to get creative with POV shots, which ultimately worked in his favoras the fact that audiences couldn’t see the shark only elevated the suspense. Through his determination, he created a marvelous horror classic that continues to be beloved by horror fans.
3’Alien' (1979)
Directed by Ridley Scott
Sir Ridley Scott’sAlienis one of themost iconic and scariest science fiction horror moviesin history. StarringSigourney Weaverand the lateJohn Hurt, it’s a frightening slasher in space about a group of astronauts as they respond to a distress call from an unknown alien planet. Only there do they encounter a fearsome extraterrestrial beast that threatens to kill them all.
Alien takes viewers through a nightmarish journey where tension and dread build at every moment.Through Scott’s impeachable talents, he can direct a suspenseful thriller masterpiece with some of the most disturbing visuals and scenes imaginable.The claustrophobic interior of the ship is the perfect setting for this type of film, allowing audiences to get a feel of just how dark and cramped the characters are. Once the alien finally arrives in the second act, the suspense and terror are elevated to eleven, making them worry about what terrible things will happen next. Scott created a timeless horror classic that hasn’t lost its intensity over the years.It’s still a visually stunning and unimaginably frightening film that keeps the heart racing.
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.
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2’The Silence of the Lambs' (1991)
Directed by Jonathan Demme
Since its inception, only one film from the horror genre has ever won Best Picture, and that’sThe Silence of the Lambs. Directed byJonathan Demme, this Oscar-winning masterpiece is an icon of horror cinema. Perfectly shot, powerfully acted, and expertly edited, it’s a work of art. It’s an intense thriller about an FBI trainee who uses the advice of a convicted cannibalistic serial killer to track down another murderer before he strikes again.
The Silence of the Lambsisan intense thrillerwith mounting suspense and a chilling atmosphere.Demme knew how to terrify his audience by using inventive camera movements and insisted on using close-ups of his actors to boost their performances but also add a sense of uneasiness to draw them in and make them feel unsettled.As a result of this film’s critical and commercial success,Demme won his first and only Best Director award, the only filmmaker in history to do so for a horror picture.
The Silence of the Lambs
A young F.B.I. cadet must receive the help of an incarcerated and manipulative cannibal killer to help catch another serial killer, a madman who skins his victims.
1’The Shining' (1980)
Directed by Stanley Kubrick
It might seem bizarre to think that any other film could topThe Silence of the Lambswhen it comes to the best direction, but what Stanley Kubrick did when creatingThe Shiningis nothing short of spectacular. A loose adaptation of aStephen Kingbestseller, it tells the chilling tale of a family terrorized by supernatural spirits while being the caretakers of an isolated mountain resort.
Kubrick’s horror masterpiece is a thought-provoking, thrilling delve into psychological and supernatural terror.It’s one of the most iconic and revered films in the acclaimed director’s arsenal, a powerful example of his visual and storytelling techniques.Being a perfectionist, both in front of the camera and in the writing chair, he strove for excellence and, in doing so, created a film that is still honored and talked about today.He expected the best from his entire crew and cast to deliver his own vision of King’s work. Though initially a commercial flop andfamously hated by the author,Kubrick’s version ofThe Shiningremains a timeless classic in the horror genre, a benchmark for other filmmakers to aspire to create.
The Shining
A family heads to an isolated hotel for the winter where a sinister presence influences the father into violence, while his psychic son sees horrific forebodings from both past and future.
