Top Ten Scary Movies

Despite how fun haunted houses and costume parties are, what I am most excited about for Halloween is snuggling up in my warmest blanket to watch my favorite horror flicks with some great friends. “Accidentally” throwing popcorn into people’s faces when a jump scare pops up and laughing at cheesy gory animations in old slasher films is one of the best ways to celebrate the most frightening holiday of the year.

Here is a list of the top ten scary movies that received a stamp of approval from students at MHS:

1. Halloween (1978)

This movie isn’t number one just for the perfectly fitting title! The classic involves an unfortunate Halloween night in 1963, when a young Michael Myers dressed in a clown costume murders his older sister. Fifteen years later, Michael escapes from a psychiatric hospital and wreaks havoc on his home town. Halloween receives constant praise from critics who believe it to have set the standard for modern horror films.

2. The Exorcist (1973)

Inspired by the 1949 exorcism of Roland Doe, the movie deals with the demonic possession of a 12-year-old girl and her mother’s attempts to win back her child through an exorcism conducted by two priests. I definitely recommend watching this movie if you love horror films for the amazing plot and story, instead of graphic imagery.

3. The Shining (1980)

“Here’s Johnny!” One of the most quotable movies on the list, the film follows Jack Torrance, a writer and recovering alcoholic, who takes a job as an off-season caretaker at an isolated hotel. Isolated hotel. That was his first problem. Some time after settling in, his family is trapped in the hotel by a snowstorm, and Jack gradually becomes influenced by a supernatural presence, descends into madness, and attempts to murder his wife and son.

4. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)

The film follows a group of friends who fall victim to a family of cannibals while on their way to visit an old homestead. It was marketed as a true story that took place in Texas, which is why I have been too scared to see it. Although the plot was revealed to be pure fiction, the character Leatherface was inspired by the real-life murderer Ed Gein. Even though I’m too much of a scaredy cat to watch this popular movie, many of our students love it, so it’s worth a try!

5. Psycho (1960)

The film centers on the aftermath of the murder of Marion Crane by a disturbed motel owner, Norman Bates. It is considered one of Alfred Hitchcock’s best films and praised as a work of cinematic art by film critics and scholars. It was ranked as one of the GREATEST FILMS OF ALL TIME. The twist ending will make you lose your mind if the suspense throughout the whole movie doesn’t get to you first.

6. A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

The plot revolves around several teenagers who are stalked and killed in their dreams by Freddy Krueger. The teenagers are unaware of the cause of this strange phenomenon, but they will discover that their parents hold a dark secret from long ago. While the film has some comedic scenes (it is an 80’s horror flick, after all), it is still overall a chilling movie that will literally keep you up at night. I recommend this movie for a light scare and classic cheesy lines.

7. The Conjuring (2013)

Although I have never seen The Conjuring, numerous students that I questioned for this article praised it and called it one of the scariest movies they have ever seen! The newest movie on the list follows Ed and Lorraine Warren who are paranormal investigators and authors associated with prominent cases of haunting. The Warrens come to the assistance of the Perron family, who are experiencing increasingly disturbing events in their farmhouse in Rhode Island in 1971. Be prepared for a real scare when watching this!

8. Silence of the Lambs (1991)

Clarice Starling, a young FBI trainee, is assigned to interview the imprisoned Dr. Hannibal Lecter, a former psychiatrist and cannibalistic serial killer, in order to catch another serial killer, known as “Buffalo Bill” who murders and skins his victims. This movie, although scary, is more of a crime flick than a horror film, which allows for momentary breaks from the more frightening scenes. It can definitely be watched by those who typically would not love scary movies, making Silence of the Lambs an amazing and intriguing movie for everyone.

9. The Ring (2002)

This movie is on my personal list of top scary movies and it will leave you scared for EXACTLY seven days. In the film, a disturbing videotape full of haunting images appears to hold the power of life and death over those who view it. Seven days after watching the tape, the person who watches it will receive a strange phone call that warns them of their soon occurring death. Rachel Keller is a journalist who has decided to investigate the matter. Rachel must solve the puzzle of the video within a week or she and others who have watched the tape will not survive. After watching this, don’t be like my friends who decided it would be funny to call me on a disguised number and recite lines from the movie. I may or may not have cried.

10. Sinister (2012)

Also one of my all time favorite scary movies, Sinister’s plot is intriguing and leaves you pondering what the outcome of the story could be. The suspense causes you to be eager for the truth to all the mystery throughout the film, which is centered on washed-up true-crime writer Ellison Oswalt who discovers a box of super eight home movies in his attic that puts his family in danger.  The movies he finds contain images of past murders and suggest the murder he is currently researching is the work of a serial killer whose work dates back to the 1960s.

*Students were surveyed and the most popular responses are listed above.