The 30 best horror movies on Max right now
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Reid Chavis/A24; EVERETT COLLECTION (2) Toni Collette in 'Hereditary'; Anthony Hopkins in 'The Silence of the Lambs'; Megan Fox in 'Jennifer's Body'
Looking for movies to give you the chills? Max (the rebranded streaming service that now houses content previously available on HBO Max and Discovery+) is the home for many of the scariest horror movies in cinema history. From genre-defining classics like A Nightmare on Elm Street to modern favorites like Malignant, here's our guide to the best horror films on Max, as of October 2023.
<i>Poltergeist</i> (1982)
They're here. This declaration by little Carol Anne (Heather O'Rourke) became an instantly iconic line in this classic spooker, which was developed from a story by Steven Spielberg. The film follows the suburban Freeling family, whose lives are tormented by ghostly forces. The Freelings come to discover that their house was built on a former cemetery, with the graves having been moved — which caused a spiritual disruption. Hailed by EW as one of the best haunted house films of all time, Poltergeist is a dazzlingly effective thriller that features floating skeletons and a nightmare-inducing clown doll. —Kevin Jacobsen
Where to watch Poltergeist: Max
Director: Tobe Hooper
Cast: Craig T. Nelson, JoBeth Williams, Beatrice Straight, Dominique Dunne, Oliver Robins, Heather O'Rourke, Michael McManus
Related content: Poltergeist director Tobe Hooper 'deserved' directing credit, not Steven Spielberg, says filmmaker
<i>Scream</i> (1996)
"What's your favorite scary movie?" For many horror fans it's this loving satire of the genre, which has since spawned various sequels in classic horror movie fashion. But it's hard not to be nostalgic for the 1996 original, which centers on the inhabitants of the small town Woodsboro as they contend with a Ghostface mask-wearing serial killer. Featuring one of the most iconic openings in horror movie history, as well as the debut of ultimate "final girl" Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell), the original Scream has cemented its place in the pop culture pantheon, but its brilliance also lies in just how rewatchable it is. From the garage incident with Tatum (Rose McGowan) to its killer reveal, it still doesn't lose its punch, which is more than can be said for some horror movies that rely solely on jump scares without making you really care about the characters. —K.J.
Director: Wes Craven
Cast: Neve Campbell, David Arquette, Courteney Cox, Matthew Lillard, Rose McGowan, Skeet Ulrich, Drew Barrymore
Related content: Scream: Why Wes Craven movie is perfect to watch this Halloween
<i>The Shining</i> (1980)
Regardless of Stephen King's personal feelings on this adaptation of his 1977 novel, it's still one of the most terrifying, memorable horror movies ever made. Jack Nicholson is Jack Torrance, a writer who suffers a mental breakdown while working as a temporary caretaker for the swanky Overlook Hotel. Meanwhile, his young son, Danny (Danny Lloyd), experiences violent premonitions, brought about by ghosts that haunt the hotel. Packed with traumatizing sequences aplenty and highly debated symbology, The Shining is arguably Stanley Kubrick's most fascinating movie to dissect, which is saying something in a filmography that also includes 2001: A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange, and Eyes Wide Shut. —K.J.
Where to watch The Shining: Max
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Cast: Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Scatman Crothers, Danny Lloyd
Related content: The Shining producer explains ending changes
<i>Carrie</i> (1976)
Shy outcast Carrie White (Sissy Spacek) is mercilessly mocked by her high-school peers in this horror classic, adapted from Stephen King's first novel. Little do they know that she possesses telekinetic powers, and when she finally uses them to seek revenge on the bullies who wronged her, she makes their prom a night to remember, indeed. Featuring a sensitive turn from Spacek and a haunting Piper Laurie as Carrie's dangerously religious mother, Carrie remains a classic not only for its fiery prom scene and horror imagery but for its allegory of a girl growing up in small-town America. After all, discovering you have telekinetic powers is nothing compared to the terrors of high school — and those that await you at home. —K.J.
Director: Brian De Palma
Cast: Sissy Spacek, Piper Laurie, Amy Irving, Betty Buckley, Nancy Allen, William Katt, John Travolta, P.J. Soles
Related content: The original Carrie is the movie that made me want to be a critic
<i>Cat People</i> (1942)
One of the more influential classic horror films proved to be a B-movie whose initial critical reception was mixed at best. This low-budget gem centers on Irena (Simone Simon), a fashion illustrator who believes she is a descendant of cat people who are able to transform into black panthers if aroused. Irena tries to contain the beast within after getting into a relationship with a man, though things become complicated when she fears he's cheating on her. Shrouded in atmospheric tension, Cat People finds its horror in blending then-contemporary life with the supernatural. As horror director Mickey Keating told EW, "Cat People creates the ultimate fear of walking home alone at night, but it's also magical and has this fantastic mythology." —K.J.
Where to watch Cat People: Max
Director: Jacques Tourneur
Cast: Simone Simon, Kent Smith, Tom Conway, Jane Randolph, Jack Holt
Related content: Why Cat People is the perfect Halloween movie
<i>The Exorcist</i> (1973)
Based on the novel by William Peter Blatty, William Friedkin's The Exorcist follows an actress (Ellen Burstyn) as she goes to extreme lengths to cure her young daughter (Linda Blair) of apparent demonic possession. The film also stars Max von Sydow and Jason Miller as Catholic priests who attempt to exorcise the evil within. The Exorcist marked a turning point for explicitly grotesque material in mainstream American entertainment. With infamously nasty flashes of gore, bodily fluids, and profanity, the film provided unprecedented disgust for morbidly curious audiences. "What The Exorcist really gave rise to was a demon of entertainment, an impulse of titillating blatancy that has bedeviled and outraged audiences ever since," an EW critic wrote in a 2000 retrospective. —Wesley Stenzel
Where to watch The Exorcist: Max
EW grade: N/A (read the review)
Director: William Friedkin
Cast: Ellen Burstyn, Linda Blair, Jason Miller, Max von Sydow, Lee J. Cobb, Kitty Winn, Jack MacGowran
Related content: Exorcist star Ellen Burstyn to reprise role in sequel, first film in planned trilogy
<i>Hereditary</i> (2018)
Family trauma is taken to extreme new levels in Ari Aster's auspicious horror debut. Toni Collette stars as Annie, a miniaturist grieving the death of her mother and whose family is subsequently haunted by a demonic presence. As she and her loved ones are plagued by misfortune after misfortune, Annie comes to understand how her deceased mother may have something to do with this curse. Filled with a perpetual state of dread, Hereditary is a genuinely unnerving experience, with Collette delivering a master class, should-have-been-Oscar-nominated performance at its center. As EW's critic wrote, "She's amazing, grounding what most people might dismiss as just a 'scary movie' with real dramatic power and force." —K.J.
Where to watch Hereditary: Max
EW grade: A– (read the review)
Director: Ari Aster
Cast: Toni Collette, Alex Wolff, Milly Shapiro, Ann Dowd, Gabriel Byrne
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<i>A Nightmare on Elm Street</i> (1984)
One of the defining slasher movies of all time, A Nightmare on Elm Street expertly dwells in the hazy state between dreams and reality. This is where Robert Englund cemented his legacy as Freddy Krueger, an undead child-murdering entity who haunts the dreams of teenagers with the intent of killing them in the real world. His metal-claw glove and disfigured face remain burnt in the brains of generations of moviegoers, as do the gnarly deaths throughout the film, including a bloody dragging across the ceiling and a hanging by bedsheets. EW ranked it as the best film of the franchise, observing, "It cuts deep, tapping into our subconscious fears — and clawing long marks that will last forever." —K.J.
Where to watch A Nightmare on Elm Street: Max
Director: Wes Craven
Cast: Heather Langenkamp, Robert Englund, Johnny Depp, Ronee Blakley, John Saxon, Amanda Wyss, Nick Corri
Related content: A Nightmare on Elm Street star Heather Langenkamp would 'love' to reprise role of Nancy Thompson in another Freddy movie
<i>The Conjuring</i> (2013)
Despite positive reviews upon its release, few could have predicted that this supernatural horror film would launch a billion-dollar franchise. At the same time, the first Conjuring film has a winning formula for modern-day horror, combining demonic spirits, jump scares, and a chilling based-on-a-true-story hook. Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga play real-life paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren, who are summoned to a seemingly haunted Rhode Island farmhouse in the hope of warding off a demon. While multiple sequels and spin-offs have spawned in the years since, nothing matches The Conjuring in providing genuine, classic horror for an era of jaded moviegoers. —K.J.
Where to watch The Conjuring: Max
EW grade: B (read the review)
Director: James Wan
Cast: Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Ron Livingston, Lili Taylor
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<i>Green Room</i> (2015)
The eternal battle of ideologues vs. rebels is represented in bloody fashion in Jeremy Saulnier's underrated horror-thriller. After a down-on-their-luck punk band plays at a seedy venue that turns out to be a bar for neo-Nazis, they quickly find themselves fighting for their lives. Confined to the bar's titular green room, the band is forced to use their limited resources to find a way out. Anton Yelchin, Alia Shawkat, Joe Cole, and Callum Turner make up the band, the cleverly named Ain't Rights, but it's Patrick Stewart who steals the show as the eerily calm skinhead leader. As EW's Chris Nashawaty wrote in his review, "Stewart is way scarier when he's neither barking nor biting but just purring controlled threats. Who knew he was so good being so bad?" —K.J.
Where to watch Green Room: Max
EW grade: A– (read the review)
Director: Jeremy Saulnier
Cast: Anton Yelchin, Imogen Poots, Alia Shawkat, Joe Cole, Callum Turner, Patrick Stewart
Related content: The 19 best A24 films to date
<i>The Brood</i> (1979)
David Cronenberg's spin on the rise of psychotherapy in the late-'70s is a body horror classic. Samantha Eggar plays Nola, a mentally disturbed woman who is undergoing a controversial form of therapy under Dr. Hal Raglan (Oliver Reed). Nola's ex-husband is concerned with the doctor's techniques, especially when their young daughter is harmed after a visit with her mother. What unfolds from there is a wild trip through Cronenberg's imagination, with the writer-director penning the film following his own divorce. The Brood was released the same year as the Oscar-winning divorce drama Kramer vs. Kramer, and while the former film plays within the world of science fiction, it may be even more illuminating about the discourse at the time surrounding the dissolution of marriage. —K.J.
Director: David Cronenberg
Cast: Oliver Reed, Samantha Eggar, Art Hindle Nuala Fitzgerald, Henry Beckman, Susan Hogan, Cindy Hinds
Related content: David Cronenberg says there is 'no such thing as body horror'
<i>The Cabin in the Woods</i> (2012)
This clever deconstruction of slasher horror tropes plays like the best Scream movies, serving thrills of its own as much as it satirizes its genre. A quintet of college students staying at a remote cabin find themselves unwilling participants in a ritual beyond their control. Little do they know that they are being watched by engineers in an underground lab, who have assigned them classic horror character archetypes (the Virgin, the Athlete, the Whore, the Fool, the Scholar) and are able to surreptitiously manipulate the group's environment. As the friends are picked off one by one, the mystery of why this is all taking place comes into focus. The Cabin in the Woods received very positive reviews upon its release, with praise for its committed cast, unpredictable twists, and commentary on the state of horror in the early-2010s. —K.J.
Where to watch The Cabin in the Woods: Max
EW grade: B– (read the review)
Director: Drew Goddard
Cast: Kristen Connolly, Chris Hemsworth, Anna Hutchison, Fran Kranz, Jesse Williams, Richard Jenkins, Bradley Whitford
Related content: Cabin in the Woods: Making the monsters
<i>Eyes Without a Face</i> (1960)
As most fans of the genre know, critical reception for horror films doesn't always get it right initially. Such is the case with Eyes Without a Face, which met a chilly response in its initial release in 1960 but has since earned a reputation as one of the best French horror films ever made. Pierre Brasseur plays Dr. Génessier, a physician racked with guilt over causing his daughter's disfigurement in a car accident. His guilt manifests in kidnapping young women, removing their faces through surgery, and attempting to transplant them onto his daughter. The haunting film may not have traditional jump scares but its disturbing plot is straight out of a Gothic fairy tale. No wonder Guillermo del Toro rates it as his favorite horror movie. —K.J.
Where to watch Eyes Without a Face: Max
Director: Georges Franju
Cast: Pierre Brasseur, Alida Valli, Juliette Mayniel, Alexandre Rignault, Béatrice Altariba, François Guérin, Édith Scob
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<i>Jennifer's Body</i> (2009)
Speaking of films that were misunderstood at the time, Karyn Kusama's horror comedy has aged remarkably well since its 2009 release. Amanda Seyfried stars as Needy, a high school student whose popular best friend, Jennifer (a never-better Megan Fox), becomes possessed by a demon. After Jennifer kills multiple male classmates, Needy hopes to put an end to the violence, while also trying to get to the bottom of what exactly happened to her best friend. Though critics largely dismissed Jennifer's Body as disposable in 2009 (and audiences weren't much kinder), it has since earned cult classic status for its feminist themes; what was marketed at the time as a sexy dark comedy for teen boys to ogle at is actually an ahead-of-its-time revenge thriller. —K.J.
Where to watch Jennifer's Body: Max
Director: Karyn Kusama
Cast: Megan Fox, Amanda Seyfried, Johnny Simmons, J.K. Simmons, Amy Sedaris, Adam Brody
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<i>The Silence of the Lambs</i> (1991)
All these years later, the lambs still haven't stopped screaming, even if they have for Clarice. Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins each deservedly won Oscars for their performances in this unforgettable psychological thriller, with their Clarice Starling and Hannibal Lecter ranking as one of the best heroes and villains, respectively, in movie history. The film follows FBI trainee Clarice as she interviews notorious criminal mastermind/cannibal Hannibal Lecter for help in tracking down another serial killer, Buffalo Bill (Ted Levine). The Silence of the Lambs got under the skin of moviegoers in 1991 and it still finds a way to do so with audiences today, thanks to Hopkins' chilling portrayal and the disturbing nature of its story. —K.J.
Where to watch The Silence of the Lambs: Max
EW grade: N/A (read the review)
Director: Jonathan Demme
Cast: Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, Scott Glenn, Ted Levine
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<i>We're All Going to the World's Fair</i> (2022)
While most of Max's horror offerings contain old-school terrors, We're All Going to the World's Fair is of a decidedly newer age. Anyone who's spent too much time browsing the dark corners of the internet will recognize in this low-budget film the unique feeling of dread from which you can't look away, telling the story of Casey (Anna Cobb), a teenage girl who takes the online World's Fair Challenge. The challenge requires her to record herself reciting "I want to go to the World's Fair" three times, smear blood on her computer screen, and wait to see the effect it will have on her in the days to come. As she starts to exhibit strange behavior, she posts videos online that get the attention of a concerned user. Like the best online creepypasta, the line between fact and fiction is blurred, leaving it up to the viewer to decide what's really going on with Casey. —K.J.
Where to watch We're All Going to the World's Fair: Max
Director: Jane Schoenbrun
Cast: Anna Cobb, Michael J. Rogers
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<i>The Fly</i> (1986)
David Cronenberg's remake of 1958's The Fly contains some of the director's most gruesome body horror — and it continues to be one of his most popular works to date. The film explores the tragic romance between scientist Seth (Jeff Goldblum) and journalist Ronnie (Geena Davis), whose relationship becomes complicated when Seth accidentally fuses himself with a housefly while experimenting with a teleportation device. The strength of The Fly hinges on Goldblum's multifaceted performance. He naturally evolves from a socially awkward brainiac to a twitchy superhuman and eventually to a terrifying monster, all without losing the audience's sympathy despite his many flaws. Meanwhile, Cronenberg's direction successfully invests the audience in the central romance, presenting a bittersweet, melodramatic vision of human relationships, one where both parties are constantly craving complete connection but never fully attain it. It's a heartbreaking nightmare not fit for the faint of heart (or the weak of stomach). —W.S.
Director: David Cronenberg
Cast: Jeff Goldblum, Geena Davis, John Getz
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<i>Malignant</i> (2021)
Saw and The Conjuring filmmaker James Wan returns to his horror roots with this underseen gem, in which a woman (Annabelle Wallis) investigates a mysterious string of killings around Seattle. The film teases elements from numerous horror subgenres, including haunted house stories, psychological thrillers, and slashers, before eventually delivering a gonzo third-act twist that transforms the movie into a bloody action spectacle. Wan created Malignant to cleanse his palette after making two billion-dollar blockbusters in a row — Furious 7 and Aquaman. "There's only so many PG-13 movies I can make before I get bored of that," Wan told EW. "I wanted to go back to the kind of movies I used to make." —W.S.
Director: James Wan
Cast: Annabelle Wallis, Maddie Hasson, George Young, Michole Briana White
Related content: Why James Wan's Malignant was too sick for the Oscars
<i>Vampyr</i> (1932)
Danish filmmaker Carl Theodor Dreyer followed up his acclaimed The Passion of Joan of Arc with this transfixing early vampire film. Vampyr focuses on a young man and occultist (Nicolas de Gunzburg) who attempts to free a French village from the curse of a bloodthirsty fiend. Though the project was produced during the sound era, Dreyer still employed many silent film techniques to make it more accessible. The film features very little dialogue and still uses title cards. This also isn't a plot-heavy movie — instead, it elegantly builds a terrifying, dreamlike atmosphere through a series of hauntingly gorgeous images and surreal shots that'll stick with you long after the film ends. It's an exemplary mood piece that lulls you into a confounding trance as you try to make sense of its brooding imagery. —W.S.
Director: Carl Theodor Dreyer
Cast: Julian West, Maurice Schutz, Rena Mandel, Jan Hieronimko, Sybille Schmitz, Henriette Gerard
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<i>Invasion of the Body Snatchers</i> (1978)
Being a bureaucrat is confounding enough, but when a San Francisco Health Department worker (Donald Sutherland) notices unusual changes in his peers' behavior, things only get more puzzling as he sets out to learn the truth. As the title implies, all signs in Philip Kaufman's Invasion of the Body Snatchers point to aliens, who have been systemically replacing the people of Earth with otherworldly doppelgängers. Kaufman's tense alien paranoia film is based on Jack Finney's 1955 novel The Body Snatchers, which has proven to be popular source material. The book has spawned numerous cinematic adaptations, including a 1956 version by Don Siegel, though EW's Glenn Kenny asserted that the 1978 film is the best of the bunch. "Kaufman's remake is more specifically satiric, placing the pods in groovy San Francisco and implying that Me Generation self-absorption has created a race of zombies without any alien intervention." —W.S.
Where to watch Invasion of the Body Snatchers: Max
Director: Philip Kaufman
Cast: Donald Sutherland, Brooke Adams, Leonard Nimoy, Jeff Goldblum, Veronica Cartwright
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<i>Kwaidan</i> (1964)
Masaki Kobayashi, director of Harakiri and The Human Condition trilogy, crafted this three-hour anthology film, which tells four unrelated ghost stories based on the collections of writer Lafcadio Hearn. They're mysterious folktales that meditate on love, loyalty, and storytelling, where clear moral lessons are extracted from puzzling worlds. Kwaidan has a lot to offer besides its nightmarish atmosphere, delving into romantic tragedy, war narratives, and fantasy. It boasts incredible, hyper-stylized production design, with surreal backdrops and painterly attention to detail in every frame, and is scored by fantastic, disorienting music from composer Tōru Takemitsu, which, at its best moments, makes you feel as though you're being hypnotized. —W.S.
Director: Masaki Kobayashi
Cast: Tatsuya Nakadai, Rentarō Mikuni, Tetsurō Tamba, Keiko Kishi, Michiyo Aratama, Misako Watanabe, Yoichi Hayashi, Katsuo Nakamura, Osamu Takizawa, Haruko Sugimura, Nakamura Kan'emon, Nakamura Ganjirō II
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<i>Child's Play</i> (1988)
The film, which introduced the world to Chucky the killer doll with a plot that's as delightfully asinine as its antagonist, stars Catherine Hicks as a desperate mother trying to convince a detective (Chris Sarandon) that her young son (Alex Vincent) was framed for murder by his inanimate playmate. Brad Dourif provides the voice of Chucky, and also briefly appears as the human serial killer who transfers his spirit into the doll. Child's Play is as funny as it is scary thanks to the ridiculous image of its fun-sized killer. "All the long-repressed fears from sleepless childhood nights in my stuffed-animal-packed bedroom (is there something sinister behind Raggedy Ann's smile?) surge to the surface as Chucky morphs from cherubic toy to scowling sociopath and back again," wrote EW's Kristen Baldwin. —W.S.
Where to watch Child's Play: Max
Director: Tom Holland
Cast: Catherine Hicks, Chris Sarandon, Brad Dourif
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<i>Häxan</i> (1922)
This Swedish silent film examines the history of witchcraft through a combination of documentary-style explanation and dramatized segments. It's partially inspired by director Benjamin Christensen's research on the German text Malleus Maleficarum, a guide to witchcraft for inquisitors looking to persecute its perpetrators. Häxan is so informative that it plays out like a brilliant college lecture, yet there's also immense artistry in all of its narrative moments. Thanks largely to gorgeous costumes and set designs, the beautifully grotesque renderings of witches and demons during the film's surreal moments are absolutely jaw-dropping, even if you think you're averse to silent movies (or the occult). The whole project ties together as a powerful critique of modern mental health stigmas and sexism, as history's witch hunts were byproducts of multiple layers of prejudice and misunderstanding. —W.S.
Director: Benjamin Christensen
Cast: Benjamin Christensen, Clara Pontoppidan, Oscar Stribolt, Astrid Holm, Maren Pedersen
Related content: New report: 70 percent of America's silent films are gone forever
<i>Sisters</i> (1972)
When a Staten Island journalist (Jennifer Salt) witnesses a murder next door, she unfurls a dizzying mystery involving conjoined twins, a mental hospital, and a corpse stuffed in a couch. Sisters is an excellent showcase for director Brian De Palma's unmistakable filmmaking style, as he employs dazzling split-screen compositions, impressive long takes, and complex camerawork to maximize the precision and clarity of the on-screen action. Like many of De Palma's other films, it feels heavily indebted to Alfred Hitchcock, drawing inspiration from Psycho, Rope, and Rear Window, while also featuring a score from Bernard Herrmann. Yet, its scariest scene — inspired by the unforgettable dream sequence in Rosemary's Baby — is a surreal flashback/hallucination that'll make your skin crawl. —W.S.
Director: Brian De Palma
Cast: Margot Kidder, Jennifer Salt, Charles Durning, William Finley, Lisle Wilson
Related content: The movies of Brian De Palma
<i>Carnival of Souls</i> (1962)
After surviving a near-fatal car accident, a young church organist (Candace Hilligoss) tries to move on with her life, but remains haunted by visions of the undead. She also navigates an awkward romance, a strange employer, and an inconsistent but intense feeling that she doesn't exist at all. In the years since its release, Carnival of Souls has become one of the most influential and beloved independent horror films ever made. "Souls offers elegant black-and-white cinematography (by the director), a canny use of locations, a leading lady with an offbeat, saucer-eyed beauty, and a script that sustains its Twilight Zone-style mystery," EW's Steve Simels wrote. "[It] ultimately benefits from its rough-hewn amateurism. The fact that it couldn't look less Hollywood serves to make the supernatural elements that much more resonant. The picture finally draws you in; it's like watching someone else's nightmare." —W.S.
Where to watch Carnival of Souls: Max
EW grade: N/A (read the review)
Director: Herk Harvey
Cast: Candace Hilligoss, Sidney Berger
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<i>Cronos</i> (1993)
The debut feature from Guillermo del Toro, Cronos tells the story of an older man (Federico Luppi) who discovers a mystical amulet that gives him a more energized, youthful demeanor — at a cost. The film explores mortality, addiction, and family with a story that fuses vampirism with Cronenbergian body horror. Cronos marries crowd-pleasing horror elements with highbrow filmmaking sensibilities into "an art-house flick that would be equally at home in the grind house," as EW's Chris Nashawaty wrote in his review. "Part Hellraiser, part The Name of the Rose… Cronos' shocks may be few, but its raw, bare-bones F/X and deliberate pacing make it a refreshing alternative to the typical Hollywood bloodsucker." —W.S.
EW grade: A– (read the review)
Director: Guillermo del Toro
Cast: Federico Luppi, Ron Perlman, Claudio Brook, Margarita Isabel, Tamara Shanath
Related content: The assorted works of Guillermo del Toro, ranked
<i>Eraserhead</i> (1977)
In David Lynch's debut feature, a young man (Jack Nance) struggles to adapt to fatherhood as he cares for his unusual baby in a black-and-white, industrially dismaying world. The film is a harrowing, surreal dream of young adult anxiety, tensely contemplating marriage and parenting with off-kilter sets and swirling sound design that enhance the film's discomfort. As Lynch's career has evolved, his first film has gained a strong cult following, and many filmmakers cite it as a favorite, including Gretel & Hansel director Osgood Perkins. "Eraserhead is the most disturbing, beautiful, textural, silent nightmare that I think has ever been made," Perkins told EW in an interview. "I don't think that they will make another one like that any time soon." —W.S.
Where to watch Eraserhead: Max
Director: David Lynch
Cast: Jack Nance, Charlotte Stewart, Allen Joseph, Jeanne Bates, Judith Roberts
Related content: David Lynch talks Inland Empire, sawing wood, and not bringing a new film to Cannes
<i>Barbarian</i> (2022)
Zach Cregger's surprise hit begins with a brilliant two-pronged horror premise: What if there was a creepy stranger staying in the AirBnB you booked, and what if there was something lurking in the basement? Where it goes from there is impossible to predict, but Cregger's steady hand ensures that each of the film's surprising turns is ridiculously entertaining and visually precise. Barbarian is best enjoyed with as little knowledge as possible, as its narrative holds an unusual structure that keeps the audience on their toes. "I'm sorry to be cryptic but it's one of those movies you don't want to spoil, which is hard for me because I have such a big mouth, and I really like this movie," star Justin Long told EW. "I just want to tell everyone, but I'm not allowed to or an assassin in a Mickey Mouse outfit will shoot a poison dart in my neck." —W.S.
Director: Zach Cregger
Cast: Georgina Campbell, Bill Skarsgård, Justin Long
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<i>The Witch</i> (2015)
Robert Eggers' slow-burning debut feature The Witch tracks the misfortune and misery of a Puritan family in 17th-century New England, where they experience inexplicable terrors that may have supernatural origins (and may be picking them off one by one). The film stars Anya Taylor-Joy as the family's eldest child along with Ralph Ineson and Kate Dickie as her parents. Eggers strove for authenticity in his recreation of early colonial life, going to great lengths to study and adapt the foreignness of the characters' dialect and lifestyle, which makes it feel as though you're watching actual historical events. What's more, Taylor-Joy was so disturbed by the script that it impacted her sleep: "The words gripped my heart with an icy cold hand," she told EW. "I didn't sleep a wink." —W.S.
EW grade: A– (read the review)
Director: Robert Eggers
Cast: Anya Taylor-Joy, Ralph Ineson, Kate Dickie, Harvey Scrimshaw, Ellie Grainger, Lucas Dawson
Related content: The Witch: Horror movie is a Puritan's nightmare, says director Robert Eggers
<i>House</i> (<i>Hausu</i>) (1977)
A group of schoolgirls try to escape a demonic haunted house in this cult classic from Japan. The film from Nobuhiko Obayashi is as much a comedy as it is a horror movie, as the supernatural scares are so ridiculous and unpredictable that you can't help but laugh at the film's over-the-top style. House experiments with tons of surreal techniques that make the film feel like a bizarre dream — there are wacky transitions, stylized backdrops, bursts of stop-motion and hand-drawn animation, wild color filters, jarring soundtrack choices, and dizzying camera movements. Obayashi conceived of the film through conversations with his young daughter, who brought an unusual childlike perspective to his conception of a horror film. As a result, House is unlike any movie you've ever seen, and you're not likely to forget some of its most daring imagery. —W.S.
Director: Nobuhiko Obayashi
Cast: Kimiko Ikegami, Miki Jinbo, Ai Matubara, Kumiko Oba, Mieko Sato, Eriko Tanaka, Masayo Miyako, Yōko Minamida
Related content: The 20 best haunted house films of all time
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