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My Top Scary Movies

This was a fairly difficult task, actually. To make it a bit easier, I divided things up into categories. There is, of course, a lot of overlap in terms of where certain movies can fit. I tried to put movies in the categories I thought they most belonged within. Feel free to disagree.

Serial Killers:
Purely human serial killers, to be precise. Most of these are working in the "psychological thriller" or "suspense" realms, though a couple are more black comedy.

10. Kiss The Girls

9. The Crush

8. Basic Instinct

7. The Cell

6. Death Proof

5. American Psycho

4. Funny Games

3. Se7en

2. Silence of the Lambs

1. Man Bites Dog

Comedy Horror:
Huge overlap category, but I think the primary objective of these films is laughter. The best, of course, being the ones that also offer some true terror with the laughs.

10. Dead Snow

9. The Burbs

8. Gremlins

7. Hocus Pocus

6. Dead Alive

5. Hausu

4. Shaun of the Dead

3. Arachnophobia

2. Cabin in the Woods

1. An American Werewolf in London

Straight Up Monsters:
Some of these are comedic, some are truly terrifying. All of them are creature features in my mind.

10. Brahm Stoker's Dracula

9. Jeepers Creepers

8. Creature from the Black Lagoon

7. Mimic

6. Aliens

5. Cloverfield

4. Evil Dead

3. The Descent

2. The Host

1. Gojira

Slashers and Gore:
Disclaimer: I don't like torture porn. Not that there is fundamentally no merit to it, but that I haven't ever seen a good one. So no "Saw," no "Wolf Creek," and no Rob Zombie bullshit. Sorry.

10. I Know What You Did Last Summer

9. Hellraiser

8. Candyman

7. Prom Night

6. Pet Sematary

5. Child's Play

4. Hellraiser II

3. Scream

2. Friday the 13th

1. A Nightmare on Elm Street

Aaaaaand Just Straight Up Scary As Hell:
Yes, these could all fit in other categories, but think of this as the premiere list. The list of the films that transcend categories and continue, to this day, to scare the crap out of me.

20. The Strangers