Horror films are having their moment right now, particularly with Halloween being just around the corner. It’s been a massive year for the genre, with huge releases such as 28 Years Later and Sinners being met with critical acclaim and an epic return from the Final Destination franchise. However, not every release has been met with the same reception. More recently, I Know What You Did Last Summer received mixed reviews along with M3GAN 2.0. But, thankfully, we’ll always have the classics to fall back on when we are in the mood to be frightened out of our skin. Time Out, the entertainment magazine, has compiled a list of the 10 best Halloween movies of all time for us to choose from. Here are the winners, ranked from 10 to one.
10. Alien
Alien is a 1979 science fiction horror film directed by Ridley Scott and written by Dan O’Bannon. It is based on a story by O’Bannon and Ronald Shusett, and stars Tom Skerritt, Sigourney Weaver, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton, John Hurt, Ian Holm, and Yaphet Kotto. The film’s synopsis reads: “The crew of a spacecraft, Nostromo, intercept a distress signal from a planet and set out to investigate it. However, to their horror, they are attacked by an alien, which later invades their ship.”
9. The Exorcist
The Exorcist is a supernatural horror film directed by William Friedkin from a screenplay by William Peter Blatty, based on his 1971 novel. The film stars Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Jason Miller, and Linda Blair. The Exorcist’s synopsis reads: “This tale of an exorcism is based loosely on actual events. When young Regan (Blair) starts acting odd – levitating, speaking in tongues – her worried mother (Burstyn) seeks medical help, only to hit a dead end. A local priest (Jason Miller), however, thinks the devil may seize the girl. The priest requests to perform an exorcism, and the church sends in an expert (Sydow) to help with the difficult job.”
8. Hereditary
The supernatural psychological horror drama film was written and directed by Ari Aster in his feature directorial debut. Starring Toni Collette, Alex Wolff, Milly Shapiro, Ann Dowd, and Gabriel Byrne, the film’s synopsis reads: “When the matriarch of the Graham family passes away, her daughter and grandchildren begin to unravel cryptic and increasingly terrifying secrets about their ancestry, trying to outrun the sinister fate they have inherited.”
7. Creepshow
Creepshow is a 1982 American horror comedy anthology film directed by George A. Romero and written by Stephen King in his screenwriting debut. The film’s plot reads: “An anthology series where a monstrous creature escapes from captivity, a husband gets back at his cheating wife in an unusual way and a businessman is punished by cockroaches for his deeds.”
6. The Thing
The Thing is a 1982 American science fiction horror film directed by John Carpenter from a screenplay by Bill Lancaster. It is based on the 1938 John W. Campbell Jr. novella Who Goes There? It stars Kurt Russell as the team’s helicopter pilot R. J. MacReady. The film’s plot reads: “A research team finds an alien being that has fallen from the sky and is starting to hunt them down. Things take a sinister turn when they realise that the creature can take the shape of its victims.”
5. Poltergeist
Poltergeist is a 1982 American supernatural horror film directed by Tobe Hooper and written by Steven Spielberg, Michael Grais, and Mark Victor from a story by Spielberg. It stars JoBeth Williams, Craig T. Nelson, and Beatrice Straight. The film’s synopsis reads: “A family’s dream home turns into their worst nightmare when evil spirits rise up to torment them and possess the soul of their innocent daughter.”
4. The Blair Witch Project
The Blair Witch Project is a 1999 American psychological horror film written, directed, and edited by Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez. The film’s plot reads: “Three students decide to go into the Maryland backwoods to cover the mystery behind the Blair Witch incidents. However, they lose their map and things take an unexpected turn.”
3. The Shining
This psychological horror was directed by Stanley Kubrick and was based on the novel written by Stephen King. The film stars Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd, and Scatman Crothers. It depicts the descent into insanity and the synopsis reads: “Jack Torrance (Nicholson) becomes winter caretaker at the isolated Overlook Hotel in Colorado, hoping to cure his writer’s block. He settles in along with his wife, Wendy (Duvall), and his son, Danny (Lloyd), who is plagued by psychic premonitions. As Jack’s writing goes nowhere and Danny’s visions become more disturbing, Jack discovers the hotel’s dark secrets and begins to unravel into a homicidal maniac hell-bent on terrorising his family.”
2. Suspiria
Suspiria is a 1977 Italian supernatural horror film directed by Dario Argento, who co-wrote the screenplay with Daria Nicolodi, partly based on Thomas De Quincey’s 1845 essay Suspiria de Profundis. A summary of the film reads: “When she arrives in Germany to attend a ballet school, Suzy realises that students are dying mysteriously. Soon, she discovers a terrifying secret about the academy.”
1. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
The American indie horror film The Texas Chainsaw Massacre was produced, co-composed, and directed by Tobe Hooper, who co-wrote it with Kim Henkel, and was released in 1974. The film stars Marilyn Burns, Paul A. Partain, Edwin Neal, Jim Siedow, and Gunnar Hansen. The film was marketed as being based on true events, particularly on the crimes of murderer Ed Gein, but it is largely fictional. “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre tells the story of five friends travelling through rural Texas who encounter a family of cannibalistic murderers. The group falls victim to the deranged Sawyer family, including the iconic Leatherface, who wields a chainsaw.”