1) The Exorcist (1973):
Runtime: 2 Hours 2 Minutes
The original, unquestionable, undisputed great grandpappy of “possession” horror, and one hell of a brutally good time, William Friedkin’s The Exorcist is not just one of the scariest films ever made: it’s also one of the most well-constructed horror movies of all time. The story of demon-inhabited Regan, her distraught mother, and the two priests working their religious mojo to save her life holds up to repeat viewings—partially because the horrific set pieces still hold up resoundingly well, and also because the actors create realistic, believable characters who are worthy of our empathy.
Director: William Friedkin
Starring: Ellen Burstyn, Linda Blair, Max Von Sydow, Lee J. Cobb, Kitty Winn
2) The Shining (1980):
Runtime: 2 Hours 22 Minutes
Stephen King may not be a huge fan of Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation of The Shining, but movie fans sure do seem to be. This tale of a family stuck in a snowbound hotel all alone features some of the most terrifying sequences ever, but it’s probably Jack Nicholson’s gloriously unhinged performance that movie buffs remember the most. Well, Nicholson and those freaky twin girls. And that hedge maze. And that bleeding elevator. And that woman in the shower.
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Starring: Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd, Scatman Crothers
3) Halloween (1978):
Runtime: 1 Hour 31 Minutes
John Carpenter set the bar high by naming his slasher Halloween. Luckily, it’s a film that millions of people want to revisit each and every October. This simple yet aggressively suspenseful tale of a plucky babysitter and a masked murderer has been ripped off and remade more times than one can count, but very few films come close to approaching its devious yet classy style of scariness. The ambiguity of resident boogeyman Michael Myers is part of what makes the original Halloween so damn creepy, and it’s Carpenter’s nerve-jangling musical score that amplifies the suspense to almost unbearable levels.
Director: John Carpender
Starring: Donald Pleasence, Jamie Lee Curtis, Nancy Kyes, P.J. Soles
4) Rosemary’s Baby (1968):
Runtime: 2 Hours 17 Minutes
This one bored me to tears when I saw it as a kid, and there’s a good reason for that: Rosemary’s Baby is made for grown-ups. Not only is Roman Polanski’s movie another one of those “drama!” horror films that makes you wait patiently for the scary stuff, but it also deals with decidedly adult themes like fear of commitment, fear of impending parenthood, and, of course, fear of freaky-ass neighbors who may or may not be members of an evil satanic cult.
Director: Roman Polanski
Starring: Mia Farrow, John Cassavetes, Ruth Gordon, Sidney Blackmer
5) The Orphanage (2007):
Runtime: 1 Hour 45 Minutes
Long before he graduated to Jurassic Park sequels, Spanish director Juan Antonio Bayona made a big splash with his directorial debut, a wonderfully classy, refined, and straight-up terrifying tale of a haunted, abandoned orphanage. What starts out as a very laid-back 1970s-style occult thriller slowly evolves into a legitimate horror story, thanks mainly to somewhat excellent actors—but also because of some sudden, shocking jolts you simply won’t see coming.
Director: J. A. Bayona
Starring: Belen Rueda, Fernando Cayo, Geraldine Chaplin, Mabel Rivera
Source: Best Horror Movies of All Time, Ranked: Scariest Movies Ever Made – Thrillist