With it being October, that means it’s spooky season! The perfect time to reflect and think about one’s favorite horror movies. These are my top ten, and the criteria will be acting, production, and most importantly, the kills. With everything laid out like candy on a porch, let’s get to the top ten horror movies.
(Sony Pictures)
10. Halloween
Halloween is a monumental movie, but it doesn’t quite measure up to today’s standards with a low kill count, an easily avoidable killer, and no really bloody kills. Nevertheless, it’s still a great movie with the start of John Carpenter’s beautiful score combined with one of the most iconic killers in the slasher genre; Michael Myers has certainly earned the right to stand next to Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhes, and Ghostface. It holds well on its own but has not aged well with a low budget leading to fewer kills and a very homemade feeling to it. This isn’t entirely a bad thing, there are a lot of great homemade movies but the popularity might make you think it would have been bigger and better.
(Miramax)
9. Scary Movie
Scary Movie is no horror movie but is kinda of one. Based on Scream, it follows a similar premise of a masked killer hunting high school students, but with a lot more humor and references to the horror genre itself. Being a very self-aware movie can be a hard thing to pull off, but Scary Movie does it perfectly. Unlike its counterpart, it follows no rules, and characters come and go whenever, making for a funny time seeing characters’ bodies lay lifeless and come back like nothing happened. With these very funny moments where the rules of horror are entirely ignored, it is honestly very hard to not enjoy or laugh at the least.
(RLJE Flims)
8. Spree
Spree is a movie with a great message starring Stranger Things’ Joe Keery. With the rise of YouTubers and influencers, Kurt wants to be one too, with him trying for years on end with no success. He decides to join a ride-share app called Spree and goes on a killing spree while live-streaming it all. It shows a message of what lengths people will go to achieve what they want. It’s a very unique movie with a thrilling plot, and I believe carries a great message for today’s youth.
(New Line Cinema)
7. Final Destination
Final Destination is a very great and distinctive movie. This movie features a unique premise where the characters avoid a life-ending experience through a vision, but death still needs them to die, and keeps providing absurd situations to make sure they do. Methods of death include shower curtains, computer explosions, and pieces of flying metal, so you’re left just as clueless as the characters about where the next threat comes from. With no face to this killer, they rely on others and their senses with very creative kills that shouldn’t be possible; they never disappoint with brutal, realistic, kills, along with a cameo from Tony Todd (From Candyman and Night of the Living Dead) is absolutely awesome but just as terrifying with his low and rumbly voice with unique creative and kills that make you look away in fear of the reality, Final Destination is a must-watch.
(Radio Silence Productions)
6. Ready or Not
Ready or Not is a spectacular movie with a lot of funny, memorable quotes and is overall very creative. Made by a small YouTube group called Radio Silence, they chose a stunning idea for a movie: the characters are playing hide and seek, but instead of just playing regular hide and seek, the protagonist is hunted. Because of a supposed curse that the great-grandfather of her new husband made with the devil to help his sales for his store, the protagonist must survive until the sun rises. There are so many twists and turns. It’s a phenomenal story that keeps you till the very end over a supposed curse with Samara Weaving doing a great job at being a final girl protagonist. A very common horror trope overall, the blend of old, new, original, and used ideas creates a great movie out of a simple concept.
(Lionsgate)
5. American Psycho
American Psycho, is a movie so well known for all the wrong reasons. Despite constant criticism and claims of the film being “anti-men,” Mary Harron and Morgan J. Freeman create a groundbreaking movie; however, there is so much left unexplained that you have to create your own version of what Patrick Bateman was actually doing through memorable moments, kills, and memes. The most iconic part of the film is the spectacular acting from all cast members, the best being William Dafoe and Christian Bale both absolutely giving it their all in one of the best movies of their career.
(Paramount Pictures)
4. Scream (2022)
Scream 2022 both follows the formula and breaks it through how it treats both its main character and who is revealed to be the killer. It completely sets you up for a new movie, even though it’s the same premise. It ties everything together with exciting and special returns from past characters. With Wes Craven dead almost everyone thought a decent Scream movie couldn’t happen without its creator. But Radio Science watched all the movies on set with all of the cast and took what worked well, while following the formula of requels reboots that follow the same story but with a whole new cast. This movie is great for any Scream fan. It’s not stupid or confusing like most sequels to great movies. I love how much it gives you the old without feeling tacky or unoriginal. It’s so good and a must-watch.
(Paramount Pictures)
3. A Quiet Place
A Quiet Place stars John Kranzinki as director and actor, along with his wife Emily Blunt. This movie is spectacular with its unique idea of creatures that are blind and only use echolocation and that are terrifying to look at and even more when hunting you. It’s a great movie with actual sign language and a real hearing-impaired actor. It’s the most accurately portrayed movie for a deaf person, even having moments of the film that are entirely silent to give their perspective. A phenomenal movie was crafted with this script and I hope to see the third installment carry it forward.
(Paramount Pictures)
2. Scream 6
Scream 6 takes Ghostface to the Big Apple, AKA New York. With the latest setting, Ghostface has a new challenge of public crowds and a new terrain. It connects every single movie into one even across the country. With new scares, kills, and twists that are all off the rails, it’s a must-watch for any fan of horror or Scream, It never disappoints with samara weaving creating an excellent opening kill and twist and radio silence recreating everything perfectly. This movie never seems to get anything wrong.
(Miramax)
1. Scream (1996)
What other movie to put at number one than the original Scream? This movie reawakened the slasher genre in the 90s and gave birth to one of the most iconic killers in all horror: Ghostface, who stands right next to classics like Jason and Freddy. This movie made caller ID numbers skyrocket with the prank calls going around and Ghostface’s charming but murderous voice. This movie is a memorable one for me since I watched all four with my parents and it’s what got me into horror itself. This movie means a lot to me and has to go to my number one spot.
