The 15 Best Blumhouse Movies, Ranked
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What comes to mind when you want to watch a horror movie? Do you prefer 90s classics like Scream and Nightmare on Elm Street? Perhaps you’re interested in more modern films from A24 Productions, like Pearl or Midsommar?
At Esquire, we think of Blumhouse. The production company—founded by horror movie buff, Jason Blum— that completely shifted the genre. Over the past twenty years Blumhouse has pushed the horror industry to be scarier, more thought provoking, and at times, even a bit deranged (that’s you, Creep).
If you’re looking to raise your blood pressure a point or two, we’d suggest checking Blumhouse out. There’s a plethora of great films to choose from, and in that, lies the production companies only issue. They've made too many options!
Lucky for you, the entertainment team at Esquire has seen nearly every film on their roster and decided to rank the best of the best. Without further ado, these are the 15 best Blumhouse movies—from Insidious, to Us, The Black Phone, and everything in between.
The Invisible Man - Brady
Happy Death Day - Brady
Split - Brady
M3GAN
Who knew a little robot doll could take the world by storm? When M3gan backflipped onto the scene, she immediately set off an avalanche of memes and imitators, quickly becoming a cultural phenomenon before the film ever hit theaters. And once it did, audiences loved every minute of the film about a killer doll with the voice of an angel and the dance moves of a TikToker. M3GAN may be capable of harm, but she was also capable of throwing out a witty comeback and offering undying loyalty. We’re eagerly awaiting M3GAN 2. - Sirena He
The Black Phone
In a time where nostalgia is rampant in our media consumption, you might be a tired of 80s inspired horror content, but The Black Phone is a refreshingly scary and fun addition to the genre. Based on a story written by Joe Hill, we follow Finney Shaw, a young boy as he navigates an abusive family, school bullies, and a child murderer on the loose in his neighborhood. It may sound like he’s got a lot of odds stacked against him, but the way the film deals with the heavy topics and introduces some hope for Shaw to prevail against the dark forces around him, will have you fully engaged and on the edge of your seat. - S.H.
Paranormal Activity
Marketing for the iconic film, Paranormal Activity, focused on audience reactions during screenings, and the screaming, shocked viewers had most people convinced that this movie was full of the heebie jeebies. And it definitely lived up to the hype, becoming one of the most popular haunted house and found footage horror films of recent years. It was so effective in its use of off screen scares and slow dragged out moments of tension that it spawned many copycat films and a slew of sequels. - S.H.
Creep
Patrick Brice’s feature film debut gave a fresh spin on found footage horror that cemented this movie as a cult classic. Creep follows an aspiring filmmaker who gets roped into a gig helping an isolated and strange man record a video diary that he claims is for his wife to watch after he dies, as he’s terminally ill. But, of course, things aren’t what they seem. Josef, our untrustworthy video subject begins to act more and more unhinged, and it becomes clear that anyone who attempts to get close to Josef is unlucky and in for a gruesome fate. - S.H.
The Purge
What if we all just murdered each other to fix overpopulation? Well, that’s what the new government comes up with in The Purge, allowing a 24-hour period once a year where all murder is legal. In fact, all crime is legal. Though the first Purge film largely focuses on one family’s attempt to survive the murder spree, later entries in the franchise begin to delve into the political commentary and class warfare that the 24-hour free-crime period allows. - Josh Rosenberg
The Visit
Leave it to M. Night Shyamalan to make even a simple trip to grandma’s house feel horrifying. I get making sure the closet door is closed or not looking under the bed. But what, now I’m not even allowed to have family without getting spooked? Suffice to say, things are clearly not what they seem once the children arrive. Without revealing the patented Shyamalan twist, The Visit is easily one of the director’s wackiest films yet. - J.R.
Insidious
Insidious broke the horror movie rules and scared me during the day. Not allowed! Everyone knows that it’s safe when the sun is out and time to scare me when night comes. But no, Insidious and it’s creepy little possessed boy just had to hit me with the jump scares throughout the entire film. Since its initial release, the Insidious franchise has garnered four sequels and over $700 million at the box office. - J.R.
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Get out
Before watching Get Out, I thought Jordan Peele was just a funny guy. Boy was I wrong. Get Out was Peele’s first horror-movie, and it shifted both the publics perception of him and eachother. The film follows a Black man who visits his white girlfriends family. What could have been a merely awkward affair, turns into a blood-curdling fight for survival. - Bria McNeal
Us
Have you heard the theory that everyone has a clone? Not an actual clone, of course, but someone who looks eerily like them? Well, Us takes that idea and runs with it. The movie tracks a family’s beach vacation which takes a turn when they run into their bloodthirsty counterparts. Come for the Jordan Peel thought-piece, and stay for Lupita Nyongo’s chilling performance. - B.M.
Sinister
Sinister was the first movie to make me sleep with the lights on. To be fair, if you watched a child get possessed by demonic forces you’d be scared too. Without spoiling too much, Sinister follows a family that moves into a home where a gruesome murder occured. Everything goes downhill from there. - B.M.
Cam
Cam is full of thrilling twists and turns. The film follows Alice, a young-woman who works as an online cam-girl. Her videos quickly gain traction, but her popularity comes at a cost. One day she discovers a copy-cat account that’s using her face for views. Desperate to reclaim her identity, Alice tries to hunt down her mysterious clone. - B.M.
Oculus
A haunted mirror, dead parents, and a decade long mystery? That sounds promising to me! Oculus follows a pair of estranged siblings, Kaylie and Tim, who reunite ten years after their parents death. In order to uncover the truth about their past, Kaylie looks into an antique that she believes is inhabited by a ghost. - B.M.
What comes to mind when you want to watch a horror movie? Do you prefer '90s classics, such as Scream and Nightmare on Elm Street? Perhaps you’re interested in modern films from A24 Productions, a la Pearl and Midsommar? At Esquire, when we really want to lose sleep at night, we go to Blumhouse. The production company—founded by horror movie buff, Jason Blum—completely shifted the genre. Over the past twenty years, Blumhouse has pushed the horror industry in a scarier, smarter, and sometimes even more deranged direction. (That’s you, Creep.)
If you’re looking to raise your blood pressure a point or two, we suggest checking Blumhouse out. There’s a plethora of great films to choose from—and in that, lies the production company's only issue. There are too many options! Lucky for you, Esquire's entertainment team has seen nearly every film on Blumhouse's roster. Naturally, we took it upon ourselves to rank the best of the best. Without further ado, these are the 15 best Blumhouse movies—including Insidious, Us, The Black Phone, and everything in between.—Bria McNeal
Oculus
A haunted mirror, dead parents, and a decade-long murder-mystery? Sounds promising to me! Oculus follows a pair of estranged siblings, Kaylie and Tim, who reunite ten years after their parents' death. In order to uncover the truth about their past, Kaylie looks into an antique that she believes is inhabited by a ghost.—B.M.
See the original post on Youtube
The Visit
Leave it to M. Night Shyamalan to make even a simple trip to grandma’s house feel horrifying. I understand that you have to make sure closet door is closed. But now I’m not even allowed to have a family without getting spooked? Suffice to say, things are clearly not what they seem once the children arrive. Without revealing the patented Shyamalan twist, The Visit is easily one of the director’s wackiest films.—Josh Rosenberg
See the original post on Youtube
The Purge
Here's a nifty idea: What if we all just murdered each other to fix overpopulation? Well, that’s what the government comes up with in The Purge, allowing a 24-hour period once a year where all murder is legal. In fact, all crime is legal! Though the first Purge film largely focuses on one family’s attempt to survive the murder spree, later entries in the franchise delve into the The Purge's politics and class warfare.
See the original post on Youtube
Sinister
Sinister was the first movie to make me want to sleep with the lights on. To be fair, if you watched Sinister's possession scenes, you’d be just as terrified. Without spoiling too much, Sinister follows a family that moves into a home where a gruesome murder occured. And, yeah—everything very much goes downhill from there.—B.M.
See the original post on Youtube
The Black Phone
In a time where nostalgia floods pop culture, you might be tired of '80s-inspired storytelling, but The Black Phone is a refreshingly scary and fun addition to the horror genre. Based on a story written by Joe Hill, we follow Finney Shaw, a young boy who is navigating an abusive family, school bullies, and a murderer on the loose in his neighborhood. It may sound like he has the odds stacked against him, but the way The Black Phone deals with its heavy topics—and introduces some hope for Shaw to prevail against the dark forces around him—will have you on the edge of your seat.—Sirena He
See the original post on Youtube
Insidious
Insidious broke the horror movie rules: it scared me during the daytime. Not allowed! Everyone knows that we're safe from monsters when the sun is out. Insidious and its creepy, possessed boy just had to hit me with jump-scares throughout the entire film. Since its initial release, the Insidious franchise has garnered four sequels and over $700 million at the box office. But I'll never forgive the film for what it did to me.—J.R.
See the original post on Youtube
Split
Who says M. Night Shyamalan lost his fastball after Signs? Split not only features the best performance on James McAvoy's resume, but a gem from Anya Taylor-Joy's early career. Of course, we didn't quite need its sequel/Unbreakable crossover, 2019's Glass, but we'll savor McAvoy and each one of his 23 personalities for as long as we can.—Brady Langmann
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Creep
Patrick Brice’s feature film debut delivered a fresh spin on found-footage horror—and it quickly that cemented Creep as a cult classic. The movie follows an aspiring filmmaker who is roped into a gig helping an isolated and strange man record a video diary. He claims it's for his wife to watch after he dies, as he’s terminally ill. But, of course, things aren’t what they seem. Josef, our untrustworthy video subject, begins to act increasingly unhinged, and it becomes clear that anyone who attempts to get close to Josef will meet a gruesome fate.—S.H.
See the original post on Youtube
Cam
Cam is full of thrilling twists and turns. The film follows Alice, a young woman who works as an online camgirl. Alice's videos quickly gain traction, but her popularity comes at a cost. One day, she discovers a copycat account that’s using her face for views. Desperate to reclaim her identity, Alice tries to hunt down her mysterious clone. In our blindingly online world, Cam gains more releavance—and urgency–by the day.—B.M.
See the original post on Youtube
The Invisible Man
If you're feeling a little fuzzy about the details of 2020's phenomenal The Invisible Man remake, you have good reason: it was one of the first films impacted by the coronavirus. You probably watched it with VOD and instantly wiped it from your brain—because of, you know, all the trauma we were going through. Give The Invisible Man a rewatch, if only to see Elisabeth Moss at the height of her powers.—B.L.
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Happy Death Day
Many have tried to recapture the magic of Groundhog Day's premise. Many have failed. Happy Death Day, which is easily one of this century's best horror comedies (anchored by a stellar turn by Jessica Rothe) is one of the rare success stories.—B.L.
See the original post on Youtube
Paranormal Activity
The one that started it all. Paranormal Activity's pioneering marketing campaign focused on audience reactions during screenings. The screaming, shocked viewers had most people convinced that the movie was full of heebie-jeebies. It lived up to the hype, becoming one of the most popular found-footage horror films of all time. Paranormal Activity was so effective in its use of off-screen scares and slow, dragged-out moments of tension, that it spawned copycat films and a slew of sequels.—S.H.
See the original post on Youtube
Us
Have you heard the theory that everyone has a clone? Not an actual clone, of course, but someone who looks eerily like them? Well, Us takes that idea and runs with it. The movie tracks a family’s beach vacation which takes a turn when they run into their bloodthirsty counterparts. Come for the Jordan Peel thought-piece, and stay for Lupita Nyong'o’s chilling performance. - B.M.
See the original post on Youtube
M3GAN
Who knew a little robot doll could take the world by storm? When M3GAN backflipped onto the scene, she immediately set off an avalanche of memes and imitators, quickly becoming a cultural phenomenon before the film ever hit theaters. Once it did, audiences loved every minute of the film. Why wouldn't they? M3GAN is killer doll with the voice of an angel and the dance moves of a TikToker. The robot may be capable of harm, but she was also capable undying loyalty. We’re eagerly awaiting M3GAN 2.—S.H.
See the original post on Youtube
Get Out
Before watching Get Out, I thought Jordan Peele was just a sketch comedian. A very good one! But boy, was I wrong. Get Out was Peele’s first horror movie—and it immediately had us all wondering if the man deserved the best-horror-auteur crown. Get Out follows a Black man who visits his white girlfriend's family. What could have been a merely awkward affair, turns into a blood-curdling fight for survival.—B.M.
See the original post on Youtube
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