Andy’s Scariest Movies of All Time: My Cheeks Are Still Clenched

There’s a difference between a good horror movie and a movie that scares the living hell out of you. Sometimes they’re the same thing. Sometimes they’re not.

I’ve been watching scary movies since I was a kid, and while I’ve developed a pretty strong tolerance for things that go bump in the night, there are still movies that make me reconsider that late-night trip to the bathroom. You know the feeling. You’re a grown-ass adult, but suddenly the dark hallway between your bedroom and the toilet might as well be the final stretch of the Oregon Trail.

In honor of Halloween, I’ve put together my list of the scariest movies of all time. These aren’t necessarily the best horror movies ever made, although several would qualify. These are the movies that got under my skin, rattled my nerves, and occasionally made me wonder why I willingly subject myself to this stuff.

A few franchises get two entries because their first two installments belong together. And yes, there’s a television series on the list. My list. My rules.

Here we go, in no particular order.

SIGNS (August 2, 2002)

“There’s a monster outside my window. Can I have a glass of water?”

Peak M. Night Shyamalan. PEAK. Between the cornfields, the alien on the farmhouse roof, and that birthday party footage from Brazil, SIGNS is a masterclass in making audiences afraid of things lurking just outside the frame. Mel Gibson and Joaquin Phoenix are terrific, but the real star is Shyamalan’s ability to turn an ordinary farmhouse into a place I wouldn’t spend the night for a million dollars. The tension is suffocating, the jump scares are earned, and the atmosphere is absolutely terrifying. Unfortunately, Shyamalan has been on a rather bumpy downhill slide ever since. Also, who knew defeating an alien invasion would depend on a little girl who refuses to finish her water?

INSIDIOUS (April 1, 2011) & INSIDIOUS: CHAPTER 2 (September 13, 2013)

James Wan knows how to scare the living hell out of you with something as simple as moving a camera down a hallway. No monster necessary. Just a slow pan, a little silence, and suddenly you’re reconsidering every life choice that brought you to this moment. But if that doesn’t work, the Bride in Black will happily finish the job. Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne anchor these two films, which work beautifully as companion pieces about a family experiencing a particularly unpleasant supernatural crisis. The Further is one of the creepiest places in modern horror, and the demonic imagery is absolutely nightmarish. Unfortunately, the franchise went downhill after these two gems. Sometimes Hollywood needs to recognize when it’s time to turn off the lights and go home.

THE CONJURING (July 19, 2013) & THE CONJURING 2 (June 10, 2016)

James Wan, you magnificent bastard. Between Annabelle, the Nun, the hide-and-clap sequence, and that horrifying painting, my buttcheeks needed the Jaws of Life to unclench. Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga are wonderful as paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren, bringing a surprising amount of warmth and humanity to movies that otherwise exist to traumatize their audiences. Wan understands pacing better than just about anyone working in modern horror, and these two films are proof. Much like INSIDIOUS, the first two are easily the strongest entries in a franchise that eventually became more concerned with building a cinematic universe than delivering genuine terror. But these first two? Sweet merciful heaven.

PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 3 (October 21, 2011)

The first two PARANORMAL ACTIVITY movies are absolutely horrifying, so it’s saying something that the third installment is the best of the bunch. Going back to 1988 and embracing the grainy aesthetic of VHS home movies was a brilliant decision. But the real stroke of genius was mounting a camcorder on an oscillating fan. That slow, relentless movement back and forth across the kitchen and living room creates some of the most unbearable tension I’ve ever experienced. Throw in the babysitter sequence and the introduction of everyone’s least favorite imaginary friend, Toby, and you’ve got found-footage horror at its absolute finest. As far as I’m concerned, the franchise ends here. Everything after Part 3? Don’t know her.

IT FOLLOWS (March 13, 2011)

An absolute masterclass in horror filmmaking. David Robert Mitchell takes a deceptively simple premise, an entity that relentlessly follows its victim and can look like absolutely anyone, and turns it into one of the most unsettling movies I’ve ever seen. There’s something profoundly terrifying about an evil force that never stops coming. It doesn’t run. It doesn’t need to. It just walks. Watching that entity change appearances, move through a crowded school parking lot, or appear on a rooftop is scary AF. Mitchell’s decision to film in and around Detroit gives the movie an eerie, timeless quality, and the cinematography forces you to scrutinize every background character. Nobody is safe. Every stranger is suspicious. It’s brilliant, and it’s one of those rare horror movies that actually gets scarier the more you think about it.

THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE (October 12, 2018)

Yes, it’s a Netflix television series. No, I don’t care. Mike Flanagan’s ten-episode masterpiece deserves a place on any list celebrating great horror. From its terrifying opening to some of the most perfectly timed jump scares in the history of the genre (THAT car scene!), THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE is a masterclass in sustained dread. But what really elevates this series is its emotional punch. This isn’t just a story about a haunted house. It’s about grief, trauma, family, and the things that follow us long after we’ve left home. The ensemble cast is phenomenal, the writing is exceptional, and by the time the credits roll, you’ll have cried almost as much as you’ve screamed. A+ television. Just don’t watch it alone.

OBSESSION (May 15, 2026)

One of the most impressive theatrical horror debuts since Zach Cregger unleashed BARBARIAN on unsuspecting moviegoers. Curry Barker takes a simple premise, a lonely guy wishing that the girl of his dreams would fall in love with him, and transforms it into a horrifying cautionary tale about getting exactly what you ask for. Michael Johnston and Inde Navarrette are terrific, and Barker demonstrates an almost sadistic understanding of how to make an audience uncomfortable. What begins as an awkward romantic fantasy spirals into something deeply disturbing, with a sense of dread that just keeps tightening the screws. Be careful what you wish for? NO KIDDING. This is the kind of nasty, inventive little horror movie that reminds me why I love the genre so damn much.

BARBARIAN (September 9, 2022)

Zach Cregger has become one of the most exciting voices in modern horror, and BARBARIAN is the movie that started it all. His WEAPONS and RESIDENT EVIL are terrific, but there’s something special about the sheer unpredictability of this movie. Georgina Campbell arrives at a Detroit Airbnb only to discover it’s already occupied by Bill Skarsgård. Awkward? Sure. But that’s just the beginning. What follows is an absolutely insane series of developments that will have you asking, “WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING?” approximately every seven minutes. Just when you think you’ve figured things out, Cregger yanks the rug out from underneath you. The less you know going in, the better. All I’ll say is that I’ll never look at a basement or a measuring tape quite the same way again.

ALIEN (May 25, 1979)

Ridley Scott’s haunted house in space remains one of the greatest horror movies ever made, nearly five decades after its release. A small crew trapped aboard an industrial spaceship with the universe’s most unpleasant stowaway? HARD PASS. H.R. Giger’s terrifying creature design, the suffocating production design, and Scott’s impeccable direction create a movie that never lets you feel safe. Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley is one of cinema’s greatest heroes, and the legendary chestburster sequence remains as shocking today as it was in 1979. And can we acknowledge that Jonesy the cat caused an unreasonable amount of additional stress? Buddy, READ THE ROOM. ALIEN is proof that you don’t need a haunted house when you’ve got a spaceship and something with two sets of teeth.

JAWS (June 20, 1975)

Yes, JAWS is a horror movie. There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it. Steven Spielberg made an entire generation afraid to go into the ocean, and he accomplished it with a mechanical shark that barely worked. The opening attack, the severed head popping out of the boat, the Indianapolis speech, and John Williams’ legendary score are the stuff of cinematic nightmares. But what makes JAWS immortal is that it’s also a damn near perfect movie. Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss, and Robert Shaw are spectacular together, the screenplay is razor-sharp, and the suspense is practically unbearable. More than fifty years later, I still think twice before swimming in water I can’t see through. There’s something underneath you. You can’t see it. And you’re not at the top of the food chain anymore. That’s scary as hell. It’s also why JAWS remains my favorite movie of all time.

So there you have it. The movies that have cost me sleep, made me jump out of my seat, and occasionally convinced me that turning on every light in the house is a perfectly reasonable adult decision.

The best horror movies don’t just scare you while you’re watching them. They follow you home. They make ordinary places feel dangerous. A hallway. A bedroom. A basement. A swimming pool. Suddenly, nowhere feels quite as safe as it did two hours earlier.

And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Happy Halloween! Now go watch something terrifying. Just don’t blame me when you’re sleeping with the lights on.