The 155 Greatest Horror Movies of All Time

Why do horror movies still seem underrated? One thing is certain: in this age where geek and craft reign supreme, critics and scholars no longer dismiss the genre as unsavory with the instinctive regularity that some once did. But even now there is talk of "high horror" (see the beating of this concept in "Scream 5") appearing in more artistic explorations of dread and dread - Ari Aster's "Midsommar", "Suspiria" by Luca Guadagnino, "Saint Maud" by Rose Glass - which clearly stand out from the non-elevated horror. The idea being that they engage your brain more than just showing brains… eaten by zombies or splattered against the wall.

How can movies that fire up your adrenal glands, send shivers down your spine, give you goosebumps, and quicken your breath—which inspire such an intense physical response—can also be brain experiences? We always forget that, as Marianne Renoir says in "Pierrot Le Fou" by Anna Karina, "there can be ideas in feelings".

What scares people says a lot about them, as debates over 'Get Out', 'Men' and similar titles have revealed. What scares people, and makes them laugh, says even more; see "Ready or not" or "What we do behind the scenes". These two genres are most often meant to elicit an immediate and visceral reaction from the audience. Perhaps some viewers' aversion to both is a fear of losing control: laughing so hard you growl or having to turn away in fear, embarrassment. Many people just don't want to lose control no matter what. The funny thing is that horror, like comedy, is a genre where every filmmaker has to assert their total control over the material, have to calibrate the storytelling perfectly, so that the audience for their art can lose it. Extreme control so the audience can lose control: that seems to be the key.

To celebrate these intensely primitive home movies, the team at IndieWire have compiled this list of the 155 greatest horror movies of all time. Our writers and editors suggested over 155 titles, then voted on a list of finalists to determine the final ranking of the top 100 titles. Many additions have been made since. It's a list that captures the wide range and diversity of the genre, from underseen vehicles by Laird Cregar to a Russian cooler based on a story by Nikolai Gogol, from J-Horror to the Mexican gem "Alucarda". Get ready for those movies: losing control has never been so much fun.

Eric Kohn, Anne Thompson, David Ehrlich, Jamie Righetti, Michael Nordine, Chris O'Falt, Tambay Obenson, Steve Greene, Zack Sharf, Jude Dry, Chris Lindahl, Kate Erbland, Ryan Lattanzio, Noel Murray, and Christian Blauvelt also contributed to this story.

"The Invitation"

Everett Collection

Paintingly slow at first, but backed by a uniquely effective final act, “The Invitation” is your staple mystery dinner invitation movie. But with a realistic cast of characters and a serpentine plot, director Karyn Kusama's 2015 film makes a lasting impression in a crowded horror category. Following the death of...