October means one thing: Halloween. Halloween means one thing: scary movies. That might not be completely true, because Halloween also means candy, trick-or-treating, costumes, and haunted houses, but you know what I mean.
Halloween is the perfect time to get out the old DVDs and VHS tapes of your favorite scary movies and get in the mood for some spookiness. We’ve been fortunate to have some really great scary movies over the years, even though it seems like the classics are the best. Here’s our list of the 10 best, scare-tastic movies to binge this Halloween.
The Exorcist (1973)
The Exorcist is one of those movies where, once you see it, it’s forever etched into your mind. Some of the scenes are so disturbing that you’ll wish you’d never seen it. Heck, if you’re like me, you probably won’t ever have sweet dreams again. Sheesh.
The Shining (1980)
The Stanley Kubrick classic, this film adaptation of a Stephen King novel has enough scares to make anyone jump. Those twins gave me nightmares for weeks after watching this movie, and Jack Nicholson provides an incredible performance.
Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
1984 is when the world was introduced to the creepy freak, Freddy Krueger. He haunted kids’ dreams, killing them while they slept. This dude has made many appearances over the years, but this might be the spookiest.
Friday the 13th (1980)
The original unveiling of Jason was bloody, violent, and absolutely terrifying. Jason’s patented hockey mask costume has been a staple for kids’ costumes ever since. The writers of this franchise kind of went off the rails with Jason in Space, but hey, Hollywood wants to make money, and people still paid to see it.
Night of the Living Dead (1968)
People probably don’t know this, but George Romero basically invented the idea of zombies with this 1968 film. Zombies are a pop culture icon these days, and we have this classic film to thank.
Psycho (1960)
Maybe one of the most iconic scenes in all of cinema happens in this Alfred Hitchcock classic. This film isn’t just considered one of the best scary movies ever; it’s considered one of the best films of all time, period.
Saw (2004)
If I’m being honest, I don’t like the Saw franchise. The gratuitous violence is icky, in my opinion. With that being said, the first Saw movie was highly original, and it really played on the terror of being kept chained up in really freaky circumstances. It also spawned a whole new genre of films, for better or worse.
28 Days Later (2002)
Another zombie flick, this film starring Cilian Murphy took scary zombies to a whole new level. In this movie, they could sprint like regular people, and they were completely ravenous. I’ll never forget the unsettling feeling coming from Cilian Murphy’s character walking around a completely deserted London.
It (1990)
It was a TV miniseries that features a spooky clown named Pennywise. I’m sure that clowns were always creepy, but this Stephen King adaptation took that spook factor to a whole new level. Like most of these films, it’s gone through a recent remake, but the originals will always feel better.
Nosferatu (1922)
The original spooky vampire film, Nosferatu probably looks silly to viewers these days, but it changed the film medium forever. It was basically the first scary movie ever, and the makeup was cutting edge at the time. Count Orlak is definitely still spooky, and for a silent film, it’s still really suspenseful.
So there you have it! Those are our top 10 most iconic scary movies. I’m sure we’ve ruffled some feathers with our ranking, but that’s ok. You can let us know all about it in the comments!
