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Scary Movies that Actually Riveted Me

by shmarie • Created 4 years ago • Modified 3 years ago
Some of the reactions to these films were when I was younger and had stayed with me, but as a frequent viewer of the genre, my tolerance to jump scares, gore, etc. as risen.
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  • 55 titles
  • Clare Foley in Sinister (2012)

    1. Sinister

    20121h 50mR53Metascore
    6.8 (302K)
    A controversial true-crime writer finds a box of Super 8 home movies in his new home, revealing that the murder case he is currently researching could be the work of an unknown serial killer whose legacy dates back to the 1960s.
    DirectorScott DerricksonStarsEthan HawkeJuliet RylanceJames Ransone
  • Jake Weary and Maika Monroe in It Follows (2014)

    2. It Follows

    20141h 40mR83Metascore
    6.8 (289K)
    A young woman is followed by an unknown supernatural force after a sexual encounter.
    DirectorDavid Robert MitchellStarsMaika MonroeKeir GilchristOlivia Luccardi
  • Geoffrey Rush, Taye Diggs, Ali Larter, Chris Kattan, and Bridgette Wilson-Sampras in House on Haunted Hill (1999)

    3. House on Haunted Hill

    19991h 33mR28Metascore
    5.6 (62K)
    An amusement park mogul offers a group of diverse people $1,000,000 to spend the night in a haunted house with a horrifying past.
    DirectorWilliam MaloneStarsGeoffrey RushFamke JanssenTaye Diggs
  • Rest Stop (2006)

    4. Rest Stop

    20061h 20mRVideo
    4.6 (12K)
    The film follows Nicole Carrow, a young woman who is threatened by a maniac serial killer after her boyfriend Jess is abducted in a rest stop.
    DirectorJohn ShibanStarsJaimie AlexanderMichael ChildersJennifer Cormack
  • The Possession of Michael King (2014)

    5. The Possession of Michael King

    20141h 23mR34Metascore
    5.7 (14K)
    After poor advice from a psychic leads to the death of his wife, a man vows to disprove the existence of the paranormal by allowing himself to be possessed by demons.
    DirectorDavid JungStarsShane JohnsonElla AndersonCara Pifko
  • Vinessa Shaw in The Hills Have Eyes (2006)

    6. The Hills Have Eyes

    20061h 47mR52Metascore
    6.4 (191K)
    A traveling family falls victim to a group of mutated cannibals in a desert far away from civilization.
    DirectorAlexandre AjaStarsTed LevineKathleen QuinlanDan Byrd
  • V/H/S (2012)

    7. V/H/S

    20121h 56mR54Metascore
    5.8 (73K)
    When a group of misfits are hired by an unknown third party to burglarize a desolate house and acquire a rare VHS tape, they discover more found footage than they bargained for.
    DirectorsMatt Bettinelli-OlpinDavid BrucknerTyler GillettStarsCalvin Lee ReederLane HughesAdam Wingard
  • Heather Langenkamp in A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

    8. A Nightmare on Elm Street

    19841h 31mR76Metascore
    7.4 (280K)
    Teenager Nancy Thompson must uncover the dark truth concealed by her parents after she and her friends become targets of the spirit of a serial killer with a bladed glove in their dreams, in which if they die, it kills them in real life.
    DirectorWes CravenStarsHeather LangenkampJohnny DeppRobert Englund
  • Sissy Spacek in Carrie (1976)

    9. Carrie

    19761h 38mR86Metascore
    7.4 (220K)
    Carrie White, a shy, friendless teenage girl who is sheltered by her domineering, religious mother, unleashes her telekinetic powers after being humiliated by her classmates at her senior prom.
    DirectorBrian De PalmaStarsSissy SpacekPiper LaurieAmy Irving
  • The Devil's Rejects (2005)

    10. The Devil's Rejects

    20051h 47mR54Metascore
    6.7 (109K)
    The murderous, backwoods Firefly family take to the road to escape the vengeful Sheriff Wydell, who is not afraid of being as ruthless as his target.
    DirectorRob ZombieStarsSid HaigSheri Moon ZombieBill Moseley
  • The Taking of Deborah Logan (2014)

    11. The Taking of Deborah Logan

    20141h 30mR
    6.0 (46K)
    An elderly woman battling Alzheimer's disease agrees to let a film crew document her condition, but what they discover is something far more sinister going on.
    DirectorAdam RobitelStarsJill LarsonAnne RamsayMichelle Ang
  • Sarah Bolger and Olivia Wilde in The Lazarus Effect (2015)

    12. The Lazarus Effect

    20151h 23mPG-1331Metascore
    5.2 (48K)
    A group of medical researchers discover a way to bring dead patients back to life.
    DirectorDavid GelbStarsOlivia WildeMark DuplassEvan Peters
  • Quinn Lord in Trick 'r Treat (2007)

    13. Trick 'r Treat

    20071h 22mR
    6.7 (110K)
    Five Halloween stories: A principal has a secret life, a virgin is looking for her first time, a group of kids pull a prank, a woman who loathes Halloween does not respect the rules and a mean old man meets a demonic trick-or-treater.
    DirectorMichael DoughertyStarsAnna PaquinBrian CoxDylan Baker
  • Always Watching: A Marble Hornets Story (2015)

    14. Always Watching: A Marble Hornets Story

    20151h 32mR
    4.7 (3.6K)
    A small town news team discovers a box of video tapes where a faceless figure dressed in a dark suit, haunts and torments a family... slowly driving them insane. Soon after, they realize that the "Operator" has begun to stalk them as well.
    DirectorJames MoranStarsAlexandra BreckenridgeChristopher Rodriguez MarquetteJake McDorman
  • The Dark Tapes (2016)

    15. The Dark Tapes

    20161h 38m
    4.6 (3.5K)
    A genre-defying mixture of horror, sci-fi, myth, mystery and thrills told as four interlocking tales in one intelligent anthology. Ghosts, spirits, creatures, demons and more from the paranormal world collide with rational curiosity.
    DirectorsMichael McQuownVincent J. GuastiniStarsDavid BanksSara AreyanoCortney Palm
  • Florence Pugh in Midsommar (2019)

    16. Midsommar

    20192h 28mR72Metascore
    7.1 (455K)
    A couple travels to Northern Europe to visit a rural hometown's fabled Swedish mid-summer festival. What begins as an idyllic retreat quickly devolves into an increasingly violent and bizarre competition at the hands of a pagan cult.
    DirectorAri AsterStarsFlorence PughJack ReynorVilhelm Blomgren
  • Anthony Sellers in The Crazies (2010)

    17. The Crazies

    20101h 41mR56Metascore
    6.5 (134K)
    After a strange and insecure plane crash, an unusual toxic virus enters a quaint farming town. A young couple are quarantined, but they fight for survival along with help from a couple of people.
    DirectorBreck EisnerStarsRadha MitchellTimothy OlyphantDanielle Panabaker
  • The Skeleton Key (2005)

    18. The Skeleton Key

    20051h 44mPG-1347Metascore
    6.5 (128K)
    A hospice nurse working at a New Orleans plantation home finds herself entangled in a mystery involving the house's dark past.
    DirectorIain SoftleyStarsKate HudsonPeter SarsgaardJoy Bryant
  • The Visit (2015)

    19. The Visit

    20151h 34mPG-1355Metascore
    6.3 (166K)
    Two siblings become increasingly frightened by their grandparents' disturbing behavior while visiting them on vacation.
    DirectorM. Night ShyamalanStarsOlivia DeJongeEd OxenbouldDeanna Dunagan
  • Savageland (2015)

    20. Savageland

    20151h 22mNot Rated
    6.0 (4.5K)
    When a small town near the Arizona-Mexico border is wiped out overnight, suspicion falls on the lone survivor. But a roll of photos the survivor took that night tells a different story.
    DirectorsPhil GuidrySimon HerbertDavid WhelanStarsHeather MooreLars NielsenJ.C. Carlos
  • Devil's Pass (2013)

    21. Devil's Pass

    20131h 40mR49Metascore
    5.7 (30K)
    A group of students go to the location of the infamous Dyatlov pass incident to make a documentary, but things take a turn for the worse as the secret of what happened there is revealed.
    DirectorRenny HarlinStarsHolly GossMatt StokoeLuke Albright
  • Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (2019)

    22. Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark

    20191h 48mPG-1361Metascore
    6.2 (90K)
    Pennsylvania, 1968. After playing a joke on a school bully, Stella and her friends decide to sneak into a haunted house that once belonged to the powerful Bellows family, unleashing dark forces that they will be unable to control.
    DirectorAndré ØvredalStarsZoe CollettiMichael GarzaGabriel Rush
  • The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)

    23. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre

    19741h 23mR91Metascore
    7.4 (200K)
    Five friends head out to rural Texas to visit the grave of a grandfather. On the way they stumble across what appears to be a deserted house, only to discover something sinister within. Something armed with a chainsaw.
    DirectorTobe HooperStarsMarilyn BurnsEdwin NealAllen Danziger
  • Inner Demons (2014)

    24. Inner Demons

    20141h 25mNot Rated35Metascore
    5.2 (2.8K)
    A reality television crew, whose show features stories about drug addicts, finds that their 16-year-old junkie for their latest episode might actually not be fighting addiction, but a demonic force gripping her soul.
    DirectorSeth GrossmanStarsLara VosburghKevan McClellanKate Whitney
  • The Houses October Built (2014)

    25. The Houses October Built

    20141h 31mNot Rated
    5.2 (11K)
    Five friends are stalked by a group of mysterious and disturbed individuals while on a road trip looking for the ultimate haunted house attraction.
    DirectorBobby RoeStarsBrandy SchaeferZack AndrewsBobby Roe

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