Top 100 Horror Movies

No modern art form has the same cathartic power over human emotions as the cinema. For over 100 years, filmmakers have been honing their skill at manipulating audiences. Since the very beginning, horror movies have been a part of that development.

With the possibilities of editing, lighting, special effects, acting and other tools of the trade the medium of film is perfect for eliciting scares from audiences. The makers of horror movies continue to thrill us today with scares both physical and psychological.

For evidence just consider this list of the top 100 horror movies ever made. Don’t watch them alone!

Vampires

Vampires are both alive and dead, seduction and repulsion, flesh and decay. Both there and not there, fanged creatures of the night were subjects of some of the earliest horror films and, thanks to pop-culture phenomena like “Twilight,” continue to be highly popular today.

However, if you’re a real fan of vampire movies (or if you’re new to the genre and want to explore more deeply), you’ll want to skip the sparkly guys and go for these top ten bloodsuckers instead.

Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens (1922): F.W. Murnau’s silent classic has a rat-like Count Orlock haunting the streets of Germany, bringing disease, rot, fear, and some of the most haunting and horrifying cinematography ever put to film.
Vampyr - Der Traum des Allan Grey (1932): Dreamy and surreal, the first talking film by Danish director Carl Dreyer uses eerie, haunting atmospherics to tell the story of a farmer whose daughter has fallen under the unfortunate spell of vampires.
Dracula (1931): Universal’s horror classic stars a dapper Bela Lugosi as the mysteriously entrancing Count. Lugosi manages to create a character as attractive as he is repulsive, and the cinematography in this film is a work of art in itself.
Låt den rätte komma in (2008) Critically-acclaimed, Let the Right One In tells the story of the tragic misadventures of a little boy and his very unusual young friend. (Make sure the copy you watch has the highly superior theatrical subtitles included.)
The Hunger (1983): Stylish, very sexy, and ultimately tragic, the vampires of The Hunger (led by a smoking hot Catherine Deneuve) embody the perfect combination of eternal youth and eternal decay, and express the tragedy of “living” forever.
Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht (1979): Werner Herzog’s moody, atmospheric remake of the 1922 Murnau classic features an intense performance by Klaus Kinski as the brooding, tortured vampire.
The Lost Boys (1987): The original teen vampire flick, this 1980’s time capsule stars a brooding young Jason Patric, a very dangerous young Kiefer Sutherland, and both Corey Haim and Corey Feldman.
Nochnoy dozor (2004): The hyper-kinetic Night Watch features a modern Moscow filled with gangs of vampires, witches, and shape-shifters, and introduced the distinctly Russian style of director Timur Bekmambetov (who later helmed 2008’s Wanted).
Near Dark (1987): Not your glamorous vampire film, Near Dark features a cruel, brutal family of nomadic bloodsuckers. Watch for the final showdown where bullet holes riddle the family’s hideout, letting in deadly rays of sunshine.
Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994): Notable for a strong performance from Tom Cruise as the vampire Lestat, and also Antonio Banderas as Armand, leader of an ultra-decadent gang of Grand Guignol-style blood-suckers.

Ghost Stories

Usually more moody and cerebral than many other horror sub-genres, ghost stories rely heavily on the filmmaker’s craftsmanship to frighten their audiences. Taught editing, superb special effects, and great acting all add up to create an eerie atmosphere of psychological dread in these top ten ghost story films.

A good ghost story is about what might be there, what you thought you heard, and what you might have seen. As such, ghost stories are a natural subject for the medium of film, and the following ten films are no exception.

The Haunting (1963): Skip the tepid 1999 Liam Neeson remake and revisit instead this classic film, telling the story of a house that may or may not be haunted and the sad, lonely woman drawn to find a home within it.
The Innocents (1961): Based on the Henry James short story “The Turn of the Screw”, this tells the tale of a governess convinced two children have been corrupted by an evil that may or may not exist only in her mind.
Don't Look Now (1973): This profoundly sad film, shot on location in Venice, stars Donald Sutherland as a father who believes he is in pursuit of the ghost of his child. Notable for one of the most unusual love scenes ever filmed.
El orfanato (2007): The Orphanage achieves with suspense and sadness what Hollywood films attempt to achieve with mere gore, this dark Spanish masterpiece tells the story of an orphanage where the sins of the past are beginning to re-surface.
El espinazo del diablo (2001): Director Guillermo del Toro gets excellent performances out of his child actors in The Devil’s Backbone, a coming-of-age story dealing with themes of death and revenge set during the Spanish civil war.
Poltergeist (1982): Although directed by Tobe Hooper (of Texas Chainsaw Massacre fame), this film truly belongs to writer Stephen Spielberg, telling the tale of a typical suburban American family whose haunted house disrupts their lives.
Honogurai mizu no soko kara (2002): This deeply sad film, which touches on the difficulty single motherhood modern Japan, was remade as Dark Water starring Jennifer Connelly. Stick with this version, which will terrify you as it breaks your heart.
Ju-on (2002): This movie has a gaggle of undead Japanese teens in schoolgirl uniforms, perhaps the freakiest black cat ever, and a creepy ghost lady slithering down the stairs. ‘Nuff said. Skip the unnecessary Sarah Michelle Gellar remake The Grudge.
The Blair Witch Project (1999): Made with no-name actors on a shoestring budget, this movie about three filmmakers under attack by the ghost of a legendary witch is as notable for its brilliant viral marketing campaign as for the ultra-creepy ending.
Lady in White (1988): Although the special effects don’t quite stand the test of time, this evocative film visits themes of abuse, racism, and sexism set against the backdrop of a mid-century American small town, capturing the frustration of childhood helplessness.

Slasher Films

Usually the sub-genre people have in mind when discussing horror movies, a good slasher film is a little like a haiku. You’ve seen the form so many times that you know exactly what’s coming, but when it’s done correctly it can be a thing of beauty. Or, a thing of perversity, ugliness, and fear.

The villains of these films often cross over into heroes in the minds of their fans, as the most entertaining aspect of these films is not the overcoming of evil but, like a medieval morality play, the punishment of social deviance via creative slaughtering. Enjoy!

Psycho (1960): The original Hitchcock masterpiece that sets the stage for all slasher films to follow, Psycho still holds power. It’s impossible to grasp how shocking Janet Leigh’s sudden death in the shower would have been to audiences at the time.
A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984): Perhaps the greatest horror movie of the past 30 years, this film introduced Freddy Kruger, a monster who attacks when you’re the most vulnerable, into pop culture and into the nightmares of a generation of moviegoers.
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974): This brutal 1970s horror classic doesn't shy away from using gore or violence to batter its audience. An early scene includes a description of a slaughterhouse so disturbing you might contemplate vegetarianism.
Halloween (1978): Director John Carpenter uses suspenseful editing, a perfect score, and a suburban setting to weave the iconic tale of an unstoppable psychotic killer institutionalized since childhood who is now on a murderous rampage.
Candyman (1992): The phenomenon of urban legend combines the historical horrors of slavery with the modern realities of extreme urban poverty in this slasher film, whose seductive villain's call of "Be my victim…" is hard to ignore.
Saw (2004): Superior to Hostel, released the following year, this film is an exercise in claustrophobia, with most of the action taking place in a single room between two men. With a surprising twist ending, Saw offers a modern take on the slasher genre.
Friday the 13th (1980): Essentially the plot of this movie is merely a backdrop for the deaths of its characters, wayward teens being picked off for their sins. A modern morality play, the film features the gory effects work of Tom Savini and spawned a franchise.
Scream (1996): Reflexive and refreshing, Scream is the slasher movie where the characters know what kind of movie they’re in. Made in the context of 90s-era Gen-X irony, director Wes Craven proved he still could still terrify after all these years.
The Hills Have Eyes (1977): The peak of Wes Craven’s 70s-era, ultra-brutal, zero-budget filmmaking, this movie tells the story of a typical American family isolated in the desert, then savagely attacked by a marauding band of inbred cannibals.
Friday the 13th Part 3 (1981): Jason Voorhees and Camp Crystal Lake are a part of Americana, and this is the first film to feature him in all his hockey-masked, shambling, un-killable glory, murdering half-naked teens with relentless abandon.

Zombies!

Zombies are the ultimate metaphors. Iconic in their mindlessness, horror filmmakers have used zombies as allegories for racism, capitalism, communism, date rape, rage disorders, and cultural imperialism, among other social ills. Most zombie movies contain pointed political commentary of some kind or another.

Moreover, they’re really, really gory and gross! For those of us who like their cultural criticism with a dose of blood and guts (heavy on the guts), there are these ten great zombie films.

Night of the Living Dead (1968): Dark and brutal, George Romero’s unrelenting black and white film is original, harrowing, and savage. The film’s sudden, heartbreaking ending will horrify you and stick with you long after the credits roll.
Dawn of the Dead (1978): Mindless zombies fill a shopping mall (and no, they’re not Christmas shopping) in George Romero’s classic film. Tom Savini’s makeup effects bring the gore required to make this zombie film a must-see.
The Serpent and the Rainbow (1988): Another Wes Craven masterpiece, this film (based on an actual ethnographic study) explores the origin of real-life zombies, telling the story of a cultural anthropologist who takes participant observation too far.
28 Weeks Later (2007): Set six months after the destruction wrought by the Rage Virus in 28 Days Later, this film is more tense and depressing than the original, using the end of civilization to show the painful possibilities of human betrayal and helplessness.
28 Days Later... (2002): Danny Boyle’s elegant film recasts the zombie not as a staggering, shambling mass of decay but as mankind’s inner animal, creating a horde of fast-moving savage beasts infected by a man-made disease called the Rage Virus.
White Zombie (1932): Starring Bela Lugosi (Universal Studio’s Dracula), this film has a minimum of dialogue, was reportedly shot for a mere 800 dollars, and may have been partially directed by Lugosi himself, with a distinctly German Expressionist flavor.
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956): The spreading zombie infection, here represented by alien invaders taking over human bodies, is a thinly veiled metaphor for communists seeping into American society in this paranoid, suspenseful film.
The Stepford Wives (1975): The ultimate feminist nightmare, this movie tells the story of the transformation of a group of formerly interesting women into mindless, submissive, perfect housewives. (Avoid the recent remake like the plague.)
Deadgirl (2008): Two teenaged boys discover a girl who is utterly at their mercy in this disturbing exploration of male bonding by up-and-coming directors Marcel Sarmiento and Gadi Harel. The real monster of Deadgirl is not the zombie.
Zombieland (2009): Not a horror comedy so much as a hilarious zombie film, Zombieland really shines in the creatively awesome manner in which the heroes kill off the zombie baddies. Features a particularly inspired performance by Woody Harrelson.

Science Gone Wrong

Cautionary tales of scientific hubris run amok make for excellent horror films. Usually prevalent in the pop culture landscape after scientific advancements (such as the atomic warfare of World War II or the computing revolution of the 1980s) these movies express the collective anxieties that can emerge when things seem as though they’re changing too quickly.

As you watch these ten films, remember the old adage: just because you can do something, doesn’t mean you should.

Les yeux sans visage (1960): George Franju's Eyes Without a Face stars Pierre Brasseur as a surgeon driven mad with guilt over his daughter’s disfigurement, and commits a series of disturbing experiments to try to restore her once-beautiful face.
Altered States (1980): A more modern take on the classic Jekyll-and-Hyde fable, this film accurately captures the overly-earnest feel of post-graduate academia while providing some of the better trip-out scenes since 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Gojira (1954): Much darker than any giant-monster movie that followed, the scenes of a destroyed Tokyo, hospitals full of Godzilla's irradiated victims would have been very meaningful to a Japan still reeling from the nuclear devastation of World War II.
The Fly (1958): Surprisingly effective despite some outdated makeup effects, this classic film depicts the hubris of a scientist who feels free to experiment on himself, and the heartbreaking responsibilities he leaves to his family as a result.
Dead Ringers (1988): Jeremy Irons gives two excellent performances as identical twin gynecologists slowly losing their individual grips on their sanity. The "Tools for use on Mutant Women" will give female audience members chills.
Island of Lost Souls (1932): Based on H.G. Well’s novel The Island of Dr. Moreau and featuring Bela Lugosi and Charles Laughton, this film about a mad scientist conducting profane experiments on animals was banned for years in the U.K.
The Fly (1986): Cronenberg's gross-out remake of the 1958 classic is as much a tragic love story as it is a cautionary tale about the risks of playing with scientific fire. Geena Davis and Jeff Goldblum star as the ill-fated lovers in this makeup effects extravaganza.
Frankenstein (1931): Mary Shelly's monstrosity enters forever into horror iconography. Boris Karloff's elegant performance as a creature both frighteningly intimidating and heartbreakingly sensitive makes this film required viewing.
Bride of Frankenstein (1935): A more psychologically complex tale than its predecessor, this film expands on a subplot of the original novel Dr. Frankenstein creates a mate for his monster, who rejects him, demonstrating evil nature of his very existence.
Them! (1954): Atomic testing in the New Mexico desert creates a horde of giant, mutated insects in this 50s classic. The acting in this film is superb and saves it from being an artifact of mere kitsch, especially Sandy Descher as a traumatized child.

Creature Features

Monsters! The fear of monsters dates back to our childhoods, when we cowered under our blankets in terror of what may or may not be hiding under our beds or in our closets, ready to eat us up. The makers of the following ten films have created works that will reduce you to that childlike state, secretly crying for mommy.

The images contained in these films will stick with you for days, coming back to you as you again cower under your blankets, afraid of the creatures that go bump in the night.

Jaws (1975): Stephen Spielberg’s early masterpiece contains all the elements for which he’d later be well known: middle-class family dysfunction, deadly monsters, and taut, expert filmmaking. This movie created the summer blockbuster as we know it.
Alien (1979): A slasher film with a nightmare alien creature in the role of villain, this film made Sigourney Weaver a star and introduced a generation of audiences to the possibility of a badass female lead. H.R. Geiger’s alien design is a work of genius.
The Birds (1963): Nature turns on man in Alfred Hitchcock's classic film. Tippi Hedren joins a long list of icy blondes tortured into giving compelling performances by the master director. The final ominous scene is a piece of pop culture iconography.
Freaks (1932): Monstrous physical appearance contrasts with a monstrosity of the soul in Lon Cheney's classic cult film. A beautiful trapeze artist cons a member of the circus sideshow, but eventually gets her horrific comeuppance.
Aliens (1986): Ripley returns in this epic battle between forces human and alien. Sigourney Weaver plays the ultimate 80s super mom fighting another type of monstrous mother. The final showdown between Ripley and the Alien Queen is a must-see.
El laberinto del fauno (2006): Guillermo del Toro's exploration of the darkness that is part of childhood fantasy contrasts the evil of real-life monsters with imaginary ones. Pan's Labyrinth features an excellent performance by child actress Ivana Baquero.
The Thing (1982): Paranoia and isolation permeate this story of a group of scientists in Antarctica, under attack from an alien life form that takes the shape of anything it contacts. The special effects maintain their power to gross out audiences years later.
Cat People (1942): A naive immigrant woman is afraid of the power of her inner, beastly sexuality in this horror classic. The suspense is thick, as when our heroine stalks a woman down a dark alley, as well as enough gender politics to fuel a graduate thesis.
The Phantom of the Opera (1925): This is a story told frequently but usually poorly. Despite some outdated silent film conventions, Lon Cheney’s version remains the most evocative, thanks to his turn as the monstrous Phantom.
An American Werewolf in London (1981): Director John Landis brings this gory black comedy, one of the best werewolf films ever made. The human/werewolf transformation scene is unparalleled, unmatchable even with today’s cgi effects.

Human Monsters

Sometimes nothing is more frightening than what human beings are capable of doing to each other. No supernatural explanation is needed for these villains, no alien infestation or failed scientific experiment or evil haunting force.

These monsters are of the purely human variety, their only evil the one that lurks within us all, their only sin the willingness to unleash it upon their fellow man. The most terrifying aspect of the following ten films is their capability for coming true.

Peeping Tom (1960): A deeply disturbing film about a murderous cameraman whose likes to watch women watching themselves die. This film was considered so perverse by audiences upon its release it effectively ended the career of director Michael Powell.
The Night of the Hunter (1955): Robert Mitchum delivers an absolutely menacing performance as a demented preacher who has wormed his way into the lives of a naive widow and her two children. It’s as though a madman invaded a Frank Capra film.
Ôdishon (1999): Not as violent some of Takashi Miike's films, Audition is nonetheless the most riveting. The story of a seemingly sweet girl and the widower that falls for her, you’ll never look at canvas mailbags the same way after seeing this harrowing film.
The Silence of the Lambs (1991): Sir Anthony Hopkins chews the scenery up proper in this Oscar-winning classic, creating a nightmarish horror icon as frightening as Freddy or Jason but more powerful for his lack of supernatural powers.
The Devil's Rejects (2005): Rob Zombie’s sequel to House of 1000 Corpses, this film is superior to the original in acting, direction, and story. Zombie succeeds at recreating the 70s era Grindhouse movie in a way that Tarantino attempted several years later.
The Bad Seed (1956): Based on a play by Maxwell Anderson (in turn based on a book by William March), this film presents every parent’s nightmare, as a mother realizes her seemingly perfect 8 year-old daughter is in fact a cold-blooded murderer.
Misery (1990): Kathy Bates won an Oscar for her performance as Annie Wilkes, the number one fan of writer Paul Sheldon. Based on Stephen King’s novel and representing every celebrity’s nightmare, and worth watching for the “hobbling” scene alone.
The Last House on the Left (1972): Wes Craven’s directorial debut, this unapologetically brutal film is so desolate in its gritty portrayal of the lows to which people can sink in their treatment of each other it can be genuinely unpleasant to watch.
Deliverance (1972): This film is the story of overconfident city dwellers who head into a disappearing wilderness with hopes of playacting at survivalism, only to receive a horrific and humiliating comeuppance. Burt Reynolds, Ned Beatty, and Jon Voight star.
Day of the Woman (1978): Better known as I Spit on your Grave, this is a female Deliverance expanded to mythic proportions. Camille Keaton, granddaughter of Buster Keaton, stars as a woman who takes deadly revenge on men who attacked her.

Horror Comedy

While many horror movies are so terrible they approach comedy without meaning to, these films go straight for the hilarious jugular. Comedy and horror are a natural pair, for as comedian Mel Brooks famously stated, “Tragedy is when I cut my finger. Comedy is when you walk into an open sewer and die.”

In that case, Horror Comedy may be when you walk into an open sewer, get bitten on the hand by a mutant sewer zombie, your hand tries to kill you, you turn into a zombie yourself, chase me around for awhile, I cut your head off, and then you die.

Evil Dead II (1987): Director Sam Raimi again brings the gross-out hilarity in this sequel to his original, the best of the Evil Dead trilogy. Bruce Campbell’s performance is a sight to behold, especially the scene where he fights his own possessed hand.
The Evil Dead (1981): This ultra low-budget film about a lone group of survivors holed up in the woods fighting off a horde of flesh-possessing demons introduced the world to Bruce Campbell and the character of Ash.
Army of Darkness (1992): The most epic of the Evil Dead films, this is still a must-see. Nearly every line spoken by Bruce Campbell is quotable, including “This is my boom stick,” “Hail to the King, baby!” and especially “Klatuu verata *cough cough*…”
Braindead (1992): Better known in the U.S. as Dead Alive, Peter Jackson’s disgusting tale is the story of Lionel Cosgrove, who must come out from under the influence of his monstrous mother. The scene with zombies and a lawn mower is a must-see.
Young Frankenstein (1974): Mel Brooks and Gene Wilder team up for this hilarious spoof of 30s-era horror films, about the grandson of the original Dr. Viktor Frankenstein who must come to terms with his heritage and with his grandfather’s creation.
Shaun of the Dead (2004): Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright pen this story about a British lad who must come to terms with breaking up with his girlfriend, reconciling with his overbearing mother, and defending his town from a horde of zombies.
The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975): If you haven’t seen this film, don’t worry, it’s probably playing at a theater tonight somewhere in a hundred-mile radius from where you’re standing now. And no, renting it doesn’t count.
Beetle Juice (1988): Michael Keaton’s acting and Tim Burton’s direction combine to hilarious effect, creating a fully realized afterlife filled with a constant flow of death sight gags. Winona Ryder, Geena Davis and an unrecognizably young Alec Baldwin also star.
The Witches of Eastwick (1987): Jack Nicholson gives one of his funniest performances as an intriguing, charismatic stranger summoned to a gossip-ridden small town by an accidental coven of witches in this film based on a John Updike novel.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992): Joss Whedon’s big-screen writing debut originates the characters later immortalized in the popular television series. Paul Rubens’s death scene is so hilarious, it’s worth seeing this film for it alone.

Religious Horror

Western pop culture, however increasingly secular in practice, cannot separate itself from its Judeo-Christian origins. Especially in the United States, religious belief shapes our fears from an early age. Satanism, witchcraft, demonic possession, and Hell therefore have a special power almost to instinctually frighten us.

Images of evil built on religious iconography are some of the most powerful and gripping in the horror genre. These ten films are no exception, being among the most memorable and terrifying horror movies ever made.

Det sjunde inseglet (1957): The Seventh Seal is Ingmar Bergman’s literal dance with Death, exploring the real horrors of Europe during the Middle Ages, including witch burnings, the crusades, and the spread of the bubonic plague across the countryside.
The Exorcist (1973): A priest who has lost his faith in the power of God regains it after facing down the ultimate evil. Linda Blair stars as the tortured, possessed Reagan and Max von Sydow stars as the weary Father Merrin, who has faced this evil before.
Rosemary's Baby (1968): Roman Polanski’s telling of Ira Levin’s story about one woman’s horrific experience with childbearing is a surprisingly sensitive and accurate allegory of how Western medicine infantilizes and silences pregnant women.
Angel Heart (1987): Robert De Niro and a pre-plastic surgery Mickey Rourke deliver in this sinister, criminally underrated noir-inspired detective story about voodoo, Satanism, and a man’s slow discovery of his true identity.
The Omen (1976): Gregory Peck stars as an American diplomat who comes to terms with the fact that his adoptive son is the antichrist in this classic. Contains several compelling death scenes, particularly a gruesome decapitation on the streets of Jerusalem.
Jacob's Ladder (1990): Ostensibly a movie about drug experimentation on Vietnam War veterans, this film contains the most frightening, hopeless, and disgusting portrayal of a descent into hell ever to grace a movie screen.
Suspiria (1977): A young girl comes to an upscale ballet school only to discover that it's run by a coven of evil witches in Dario Argento's best film. The director's surreal use of color is effective here where in later films it is distracting and nonsensical.
The Wicker Man (1973): Skip Neil LaBute's curiously anti-women remake and instead rent this classic of British horror cinema, telling the story of one good man's doomed encounter with the population of a pastoral, idealized English village.
Hellraiser (1987): Clive Barker's tale of a man who has sold his soul to demons and the consequences that has for his family gets full realization in this film. Pinhead and the rest of the cenobites join the ranks of Freddy and Jason as horror movie icons.
Drag Me to Hell (2009): After achieving mainstream success with the Spiderman films, director Sam Raimi returns to his roots in this instant classic about a bank loan officer haunted by demons after falling under the spell of a gypsy curse.

Psychic Powers

The human mind is still largely a mystery to medical science. While we now know the old adage that the average person only uses ten percent of their brain is untrue, all it takes is a casual perusal of the evening news to see proof that not everyone is playing with a full deck. Perhaps it is for this reason that stories of supernatural mental powers excite us.

Knowing that there are those who can wreak havoc just with their thoughts when so few seems to process thoughts at all is titillating, even though so often those powers seem to turn to evil.

The Shining (1980): The ghosts of an empty luxury hotel emotionally torture a psychic boy and push his alcoholic father to madness in Stanley Kubrick’s claustrophobic horror classic. Jack Nicholson gives the performance of his career in this iconic film.
Carrie (1976): Brian De Palma and Stephen King illustrate how horrible girls can be to each other and how much damage mothers can do to their daughters. Sissy Spacek unleashes her telekinetic revenge on prom night, dripping in blood and summoning fire.
The Dead Zone (1983): David Cronenberg directs this film based on a Stephen King story. Christopher Walken stars as a man unwillingly isolated by the psychic powers he gains after a debilitating accident, driving him to make the ultimate sacrifice.
Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari (1920): German Expressionism is realized on film as Dr. Caligari psychically controls a sleepwalking man in this silent film classic, filled with eerie imagery and a twist ending that will stay with you long after the credits roll.
The Sixth Sense (1999): M. Night Shyamalan never quite topped his breakthrough film and its surprise ending. Haley Joel Osment and Bruce Willis give excellent performances as a boy who sees ghosts and the psychiatrist attempting to reach him.
Gin gwai (2002): The Eye, co-directed by Thai twins Oxide and Danny Pang, tells the story of a blind woman who receives the eyes of a dead psychic woman, and finds herself granted visions of terrifying ghosts and impending death.
Dark City (1998): Overlooked upon its release, this film plays like a noir The Matrix controlled by monsters half Nosferatu and half cenobite. Rufus Sewell stars as John Murdoch, who discovers his mental powers as he unleashes the truth about his reality.
Donnie Darko (2001): A troubled teen has terrifying visions of a man in a twisted rabbit costume and may or may not be traveling through time in this bizarre film that made a star out of Jake Gyllenhaal. Avoid the director’s cut, which explains too much.
The Ring (2002): One of the few American remakes of Japanese horror movies that’s actually superior to the original, this film tells the story of a woman who is supposedly saving a telekinetic girl’s ghost from eternal suffering, but all is not as it seems.
Scanners (1981): David Cronenberg’s usual heavy dose of splattery gore makes this story of an ultra-telepathic superhuman psychopath and his drive for world domination a visceral, gut-churning experience. Michael Ironside is effective as bad guy Darryl Revok.