The rating of the best horror films compiled by Rolling Stone magazine includes the most interesting and frightening slashers, horror films, thrillers and even comedies.
30. You’re Next
- Directed by Adam Wingard.
- USA, UK, 2013.
- Duration: 94 minutes.
- IMDb: 6.5.
A gang of maniacs in animal masks attack the Davidson family’s country house. The relatives are trapped and become part of a sophisticated manhunt.
29. Antichrist
- Directed by: Lars von Trier.
- Denmark, Germany, France, Sweden, Italy, Poland, 2009.
- Duration: 108 minutes.
- IMDb: 6.6.
The famous provocateur director has created a thriller in which genital mutilation and a child falling out of a window are not the scariest scenes. The atmosphere of madness and despair, coupled with superb staging, is what makes Antichrist worth watching.
28. Martyrs
- Director: Pascal Logier.
- France, Canada, 2008.
- Duration: 99 minutes.
- IMDb: 7.1.
Can subtle torture unveil the mystery of existence? The answer to this question can be found in Pascal Logier’s film. Just don’t expect to see a quiet existential drama: ‘Martyrs’ is not for the faint-hearted.
27. The Strangers
- Director: Bryan Bertino.
- USA, 2008.
- Duration: 86 minutes.
- IMDb: 6.2.
The film is about a young couple who, secluded in a cabin in the woods, are subjected to an unexpected intrusion. Despite the commonplace plot, the director managed to make a really scary film, the atmosphere in which is pressurised to the limit. The tension builds up steadily, much like the thrill of chasing big wins in an online casino. And if you’re looking for a great place to play slots, grab bonuses, and have a great time, then Crusino Casino with its exclusive Crusino Casino bonus is the perfect choice!
By the way, the film was released with the note ‘Based on true events’, but the plot is completely fictional and contains only some references to the actions of Charles Manson’s gang.
26. The Grudge
- Directed by: Takashi Shimizu.
- Japan, 2002.
- Duration: 92 minutes.
- IMDb: 6.7.
Japanese people are very fond of spirits and ghosts. This film ‘Curse’ is about them. The plot is based on the legend that if a person dies in a state of rage, a curse is born and the spirit of the deceased begins to take revenge.
25. Trouble Every Day
- Directed by Claire Denis.
- France, Germany, Japan, 2001.
- Duration: 97 minutes.
- IMDb: 6.1.
An unusual film about cannibalism and desire. The plot revolves around the newly married Shane Brown, who, because of his experiments on sexual desire, dreams of eating his spouse. But unexpectedly meets the wife of the ill-fated experimenter, who is subject to a similar affliction.
24. I Saw the Devil
- Directed by Kim Ji-eun.
- South Korea, 2010.
- Duration: 141 minutes.
- IMDb: 7.8.
South Korean thriller with a twisted plot. After the murder of his wife, a secret service agent decides to take revenge on a maniac. But not just to put him behind bars or kill him, but to implant a bug in his body and torture him with constant attacks in an attempt to drive the killer to exhaustion.
23. Drag me to hell
- Directed by: Sam Raimi.
- USA, 2009.
- Duration: 99 minutes.
- IMDb: 6.6.
A film about how dangerous the job of a bank teller can be. Christine Brown, a bank employee, refuses one of her clients to postpone a loan repayment. In response, she puts a terrible curse on the girl, which threatens her with eternal torment in hell.
22. Inside
- Directed by Alexandre Bustillo, Julien Maury.
- France, 2007.
- Duration: 75 minutes.
- IMDb: 6,9.
The film is considered one of the most daring, brutal and ruthless horror films ever made in France. The pregnant heroine Sarah loses her husband in a car accident. But this is where the woman’s misfortunes only begin. Now she will have to go through hell to preserve her life and the life of her child.
21. Kill List
- Directed by Ben Wheatley.
- UK, 2011.
- Duration: 95 minutes.
- IMDb: 6.3.
The film starts as a drama and gradually develops into a thriller. The plot revolves around a British soldier, who after being wounded turns into an assassin. But to fulfil the order for him turns out to be not so easy….
20. The Host
- Directed by: Bong Joon-ho.
- South Korea, 2006.
- Duration: 120 minutes.
- IMDb: 7.0.
A variation on the theme of ‘Godzilla’, but with a more intelligent and dramatic approach. In the story, a mutated river monster attacks a town and drags a grocer’s little granddaughter with it. The family can’t accept the loss and sets out to find the girl.
19. Crimson Peak
- Directed by: Guillermo del Toro.
- USA, Canada, 2015.
- Duration: 120 minutes.
- IMDb: 6.6.
A very beautiful gothic thriller with an ancient castle, ghosts and litres of blood. And of course, a drop of fairytale: after all, the film was shot by Guillermo del Toro, director of ‘The Labyrinth of Faunus’.
18. The Others
- Director: Alejandro Amenabar.
- USA, Spain, France, Italy, 2001.
- Duration: 104 minutes.
- IMDb: 7.6.
This cult film starring Nicole Kidman tells the story of a strange house and its strange inhabitants. Eight Goya Awards and three Saturn Awards.
17. Berberian Sound Studio
- Directed by Peter Strickland.
- United Kingdom, 2012.
- Duration: 92 minutes.
- IMDb: 6.2.
Scoring a horror film can be a truly frightening process. The main character, a humble sound engineer named Gilderoy, has to experience it first hand.
16. High Tension
- Director: Alexandre Aja.
- France, Italy, Romania, 2003.
- Duration: 91 minutes.
- IMDb: 6.8.
A country house, two young girlfriends and a bloodthirsty killer. This film starts as a standard American horror film, but gradually develops into a psychopathic thriller.
15. The Orphanage
- Director: Juan Antonio Bayona.
- Spain, 2007.
- Duration: 105 minutes.
- IMDb: 7.5.
To find her missing son, protagonist Laura will have to uncover the mystery of an old orphanage. But the truth may prove too shocking….
14. A Tale of Two Sisters
- Directed by Kim Ji-eun.
- South Korea, 2003.
- Duration: 115 minutes.
- IMDb: 7.3.
A psychological horror film inspired by an ancient Korean fairy tale. In the story, two sisters return from a mental institution and begin to notice strange things happening in their house and with their stepmother.
13. It Follows
- Directed by David Robert Mitchell.
- USA, 2014.
- Duration: 100 minutes.
- IMDb: 6.9.
Venereal disease and unplanned pregnancy are not the worst consequences of casual sex. The protagonist Jay gets a curse through it: now she is being chased by a certain creature, and if It catches up with her, it will kill her.
12. The House of the Devil
- Directed by: Ty West.
- USA, 2009.
- Duration: 95 minutes.
- IMDb: 6.4.
Retro story set in the spirit of the 80s, tells about a naive girl who gets a job as a nanny. At a house of satanists. On a full moon. And instead of a bonus, she’s forced to participate in a devil’s ritual.
11. The Devil’s Backbone
- Directed by Guillermo del Toro.
- Spain, Mexico, France, Argentina, 2001.
- Duration: 106 minutes.
- IMDb: 7.5.
Del Toro wrote the script of this mystical drama 15 years before the film was shot, while still in college, based on his own memories and experiences. The plot revolves around a boy Carlos, who enters an orphanage and encounters strange phenomena. The film won many awards, and the director himself considers it his most personal work.
10. Under the Skin
- Directed by Jonathan Glazer.
- UK, USA, Switzerland, 2013.
- Duration: 108 minutes.
- IMDb: 6.3.
Fantastic thriller with the inimitable Scarlett Johansson tells the story of a mysterious girl who drives along the Scottish motorway and seduces men. True, not for sexual pleasure at all.
9. The Descent
- Director: Neil Marshall.
- UK, 2005.
- Duration: 99 minutes.
- IMDb: 7.2.
Long before Game of Thrones, British director Neil Marshall earned his place in the horror pantheon with this very film. It tells of a group of girls trying to survive in a deep cave where they are far from the only inhabitants.
8. Shaun of the Dead
- Directed by Edgar Wright.
- UK, France, 2004.
- Duration: 100 minutes.
- IMDb: 8.0.
A hilarious zombie horror comedy about a mediocre salesman who joins a friend on a hunt for the walking dead.
7. The Witch
- Directed by Robert Eggers.
- USA, UK, Canada, Brazil, 2015.
- Duration: 92 minutes.
- IMDb: 6.7.
Robert Eggers’ brilliant directorial debut is set in 17th century New England. A farming family, banished from the community, lives a secluded life on the edge of the woods. The measured course of events is disturbed by the disappearance of their child, still an infant, which is not at all the fault of an ordinary man or a wild animal.
6. Pulse
- Directed by: Kiyoshi Kurosawa.
- Japan, 2001.
- Duration: 118 minutes.
- IMDb: 6.6.
A horror film about ghosts trying to take over the world using modern technology. Prophetic in some ways and undoubtedly frightening, beautiful and memorable.
5. Cabin in the Woods
- Directed by: Drew Goddard.
- USA, 2012.
- Duration: 95 minutes.
- IMDb: 7.0.
A group of young people throw a party in a cabin in the woods and encounter a real nightmare. Sounds like the makings of a corny horror film, but that’s exactly the genre that Cabin in the Woods mocks. In fact, everything in the film is much more convoluted.
4. The Conjuring
- Directed by: James Wan.
- USA, 2013.
- Duration: 112 minutes.
- IMDb: 7.5.
The film is based on real events and describes the most terrifying case of paranormal researchers Ed and Lorraine Warren. The couple try to help a family whose house is haunted.
3 The Babadook
- Directed by Jennifer Kent.
- Australia, Canada, 2014.
- Duration: 93 minutes.
- IMDb: 6.8.
Rolling Stone gave third place to Jennifer Kent’s directorial debut, describing how scary children’s fairy tales can be and how powerful parental love and hate can be.
2. Let the Right One In
- Directed by Thomas Alfredson.
- Sweden, 2008.
- Duration: 115 minutes.
- IMDb: 8.0.
Second place goes to the Swedish melodramatic thriller Let Me In. Child cruelty, Scandinavian longing and absolutely not ‘twilight’ vampirism – all this is present in the film story about the friendship between a 12-year-old boy and a vampire girl.
1. 28 Days Later
- Directed by: Danny Boyle.
- UK, 2002.
- Duration: 113 minutes.
- IMDb: 7.6.
The leader of the rating, the post-apocalyptic film 28 Days Later is at once a horror film, a thriller and a drama. The creators also consider it a tribute to the zombie genre, although there are no classic zombies in the film.
The plot centres on a London plagued by an epidemic that turns people into crazed killers, and four uninfected heroes trying to survive.