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813 films

Horror

Horror turns fear into form. German Expressionism gave it shadows and distorted sets (Nosferatu, Caligari); Universal's 1930s monsters made it popular; Hammer in Britain and Bava and Argento in Italy gave it colour and style; the 1970s brought grim realism with Romero, Hooper and Carpenter. Today it ranges from folk horror to elevated, psychological work. The genre has long reflected anxieties about war, class, bodies and technology.

Where
Germany, the United States, Britain, Italy, Japan, South Korea
When
From the 1890s; major waves in the 1920s, 1930s, 1960s–70s and 2010s
Key figures
F.W. Murnau, James Whale, Mario Bava, George A. Romero, John Carpenter, Hideo Nakata
Landmark films
Nosferatu (1922), Psycho (1960), The Exorcist (1973), Ringu (1998)
Legacy
Gave cinema a language for dread, the uncanny and the unseen

What to look for

  • Sound and what is kept out of frame
  • Monsters as metaphors
  • Isolated houses, towns and ships
  • Slow dread followed by shock
  • Rules that the story then breaks

Directors with the most films in this genre

Freddie Francis20 filmsWes Craven20 filmsDario Argento19 filmsLucio Fulci19 filmsTerence Fisher19 filmsTobe Hooper17 filmsMario Bava16 filmsUmberto Lenzi16 filmsIshiro Honda15 filmsGeorge A. Romero14 filmsJean Rollin14 filmsAntonio Margheriti12 filmsKiyoshi Kurosawa11 filmsSion Sono11 filmsTakashi Miike11 filmsDavid Cronenberg10 filmsJoe Dante9 filmsRoy Ward Baker9 filmsHideo Nakata8 filmsJoko Anwar8 filmsRuggero Deodato8 filmsBanjong Pisanthanakun7 filmsRiccardo Freda7 filmsTod Browning7 films
See all 333 directors
Guillermo del Toro6 filmsJacques Tourneur6 filmsÁlex de la Iglesia6 filmsBen Wheatley5 filmsBrian De Palma5 filmsFrancis Ford Coppola5 filmsNeil Jordan5 filmsYeon Sang-ho5 filmsAbel Ferrara4 filmsAndrzej Żuławski4 filmsCarlos Enrique Taboada4 filmsDarrell Roodt4 filmsDavid Gordon Green4 filmsEddie Romero4 filmsEdgar G. Ulmer4 filmsFruit Chan4 filmsGuy Maddin4 filmsJohn Carpenter4 filmsKen Russell4 filmsKinji Fukasaku4 filmsLars von Trier4 filmsPaul Leni4 filmsPeter Strickland4 filmsPupi Avati4 filmsPål Øie4 filmsRobert Wise4 filmsRoman Polanski4 filmsWilliam Friedkin4 filmsAlain Robbe-Grillet3 filmsAAlejandro Amenábar3 filmsAlfred Hitchcock3 filmsAri Aster3 filmsBob Clark3 filmsBrandon Cronenberg3 filmsDanny Boyle3 filmsDavid Lynch3 filmsEdgar Wright3 filmsEdward Dmytryk3 filmsF.W. Murnau3 filmsFabrice du Welz3 filmsJ. Lee Thompson3 filmsJames Whale3 filmsJordan Peele3 filmsJoseph Losey3 filmsJulia Ducournau3 filmsKim Jee-woon3 filmsKōji Wakamatsu3 filmsMichael Anderson3 filmsMichael Curtiz3 filmsMichael Reeves3 filmsMikael Håfström3 filmsMike Hodges3 filmsPaul Schrader3 filmsPaul Wegener3 filmsPeter Jackson3 filmsPeter Weir3 filmsRidley Scott3 filmsRobert Eggers3 filmsRobert Wiene3 filmsShinji Higuchi3 filmsStefan Ruzowitzky3 filmsSteven Spielberg3 filmsTakashi Yamazaki3 filmsAna Lily Amirpour2 filmsBruce McDonald2 filmsClaire Denis2 filmsDarren Aronofsky2 filmsDino Risi2 filmsFederico Fellini2 filmsGoran Marković2 filmsHarry Kümel2 filmsJack Clayton2 filmsJessica Hausner2 filmsJohn Frankenheimer2 filmsJonathan Demme2 filmsJuan Antonio Bardem2 filmsJuraj Herz2 filmsKaneto Shindo2 filmsKatsuhiro Otomo2 filmsKenneth Branagh2 filmsLuca Guadagnino2 filmsLucile Hadžihalilović2 filmsMani Haghighi2 filmsMarwan Hamed2 filmsMatteo Garrone2 filmsMichael Haneke2 filmsMichael Mann2 filmsNa Hong-jin2 filmsNicolas Roeg2 filmsNicolas Winding Refn2 filmsNobuo Nakagawa2 filmsOliver Stone2 filmsPriyadarshan2 filmsRichard Fleischer2 filmsRichard Loncraine2 filmsRobert Aldrich2 filmsRobert Clouse2 filmsRobert Siodmak2 filmsRobert Zemeckis2 filmsSteven Soderbergh2 filmsVictor Sjöström2 filmsWalerian Borowczyk2 filmsWisit Sasanatieng2 filmsYorgos Lanthimos2 filmsAbel Gance1 filmAgustí Villaronga1 filmAlan Parker1 filmAlberto Cavalcanti1 filmAlejandro Jodorowsky1 filmAleksandr Ptushko1 filmAlfonso Corona Blake1 filmAli Abbasi1 filmAmat Escalante1 filmAnand Gandhi1 filmAntti-Jussi Annila1 filmArthur Penn1 filmAsif Kapadia1 filmBaltasar Kormákur1 filmBarry Levinson1 filmBasil Dearden1 filmBenjamin Christensen1 filmBigas Luna1 filmBill Bennett1 filmBill Plympton1 filmBBiplab Roy Chowdhury1 filmBong Joon-ho1 filmBrillante Mendoza1 filmBruno Dumont1 filmBryan Forbes1 filmC.J. 'Fiery' Obasi1 filmCarl Schultz1 filmCarl Theodor Dreyer1 filmCate Shortland1 filmChito S. Roño1 filmClaude Chabrol1 filmClaudia Llosa1 filmClive Donner1 filmConor McPherson1 filmD.W. Griffith1 filmDamiano Damiani1 filmDaniel Mann1 filmDanny Philippou1 filmDavid Fincher1 filmDon Siegel1 filmElio Petri1 filmElliot Silverstein1 filmEmilio Portes1 filmEnrique Urbizu1 filmErik Matti1 filmEskil Vogt1 filmFatih Akin1 filmFlorian Gallenberger1 filmFrançois Ozon1 filmFritz Lang1 filmGaspar Noé1 filmGaylene Preston1 filmGeorge Sluizer1 filmGeorges Franju1 filmGeorges Méliès1 filmGonzalo Suárez1 filmGus Van Sant1 filmGyörgy Pálfi1 filmHal Hartley1 filmHans-Christian Schmid1 filmHarmony Korine1 filmHenri-Georges Clouzot1 filmHenry Selick1 filmHerwin Novianto1 filmHoward Hawks1 filmIngmar Bergman1 filmIsabel Coixet1 filmIsmael Rodríguez1 filmIván Zulueta1 filmJ. A. Bayona1 filmJack Smith1 filmJames Algar1 filmJames Cameron1 filmJan Komasa1 filmJayro Bustamante1 filmJean Delannoy1 filmJean Epstein1 filmJean Renoir1 filmJean-Claude Brisseau1 filmJean-Luc Godard1 filmJean-Pierre Jeunet1 filmJenna Cato Bass1 filmJennifer Kent1 filmJerzy Kawalerowicz1 filmJerzy Skolimowski1 filmJJess Franco1 filmJohn Boorman1 filmJohn Duigan1 filmJohn Huston1 filmJohn Schlesinger1 filmJonathan Glazer1 filmJoseph H. Lewis1 filmJulien Duvivier1 filmKarel Reisz1 filmKathryn Bigelow1 filmKim Ki-young1 filmKing Hu1 filmKon Ichikawa1 filmKKristijan Milić1 filmKristoffer Borgli1 filmKrsto Papić1 filmKunle Afolayan1 filmKutluğ Ataman1 filmLadislao Vajda1 filmLarry Clark1 filmLawrence Kasdan1 filmLenny Abrahamson1 filmLeonardo Favio1 filmLevan Akin1 filmLewis Gilbert1 filmLijo Jose Pellissery1 filmLotfy Nathan1 filmLouis Malle1 filmLouise Archambault1 filmLuc Besson1 filmLuis Buñuel1 filmMMahmoud Al Massad1 filmMamoru Oshii1 filmMarc Forster1 filmMMarcin Wrona1 filmMasaki Kobayashi1 filmMMathieu Kassovitz1 filmMattie Do1 filmMałgorzata Szumowska1 filmMerian C. Cooper1 filmMervyn LeRoy1 filmMetin Erksan1 filmMichael Powell1 filmMichael Rymer1 filmMichel Hazanavicius1 filmMike Newell1 filmMike Nichols1 filmMike de Leon1 filmMilčo Mančevski1 filmMonte Hellman1 filmNagisa Oshima1 filmNana Ekvtimishvili1 filmNeill Blomkamp1 filmNick Cassavetes1 filmNiels Arden Oplev1 filmNikos Nikolaidis1 filmNoah Baumbach1 filmNobuhiko Obayashi1 filmNonzee Nimibutr1 filmOrson Welles1 filmOtakar Vávra1 filmPang Ho-cheung1 filmPark Chan-wook1 filmPaul Verhoeven1 filmPredrag Antonijević1 filmPål Sletaune1 filmRako Prijanto1 filmRalph Nelson1 filmRené Clair1 filmRichard Attenborough1 filmRichard Donner1 filmRichard Pearce1 filmRoar Uthaug1 filmRobert Altman1 filmRobert Benton1 filmRobert Mulligan1 filmRobin Campillo1 filmRoger Donaldson1 filmRoland Joffé1 filmRose Glass1 filmRouben Mamoulian1 filmRyan Coogler1 filmRyszard Bugajski1 filmSamuel Fuller1 filmSeijun Suzuki1 filmShahram Mokri1 filmShin Sang-ok1 filmShinya Tsukamoto1 filmShunji Iwai1 filmSlobodan Šijan1 filmSpike Lee1 filmStanley Donen1 filmStanley Kubrick1 filmStephen Frears1 filmStuart Rosenberg1 filmSusanne Bier1 filmTeinosuke Kinugasa1 filmTerry Gilliam1 filmTetsuya Nakashima1 filmThorold Dickinson1 filmTim Fehlbaum1 filmTodd Haynes1 filmTomas Alfredson1 filmTomás Gutiérrez Alea1 filmToshio Matsumoto1 filmTracey Moffatt1 filmUli Edel1 filmVictor Fleming1 filmVishal Bhardwaj1 filmVáclav Marhoul1 filmVěra Chytilová1 filmWalter Salles1 filmWerner Herzog1 filmWilliam Dieterle1 filmWojciech Has1 filmYasuzo Masumura1 filmYojiro Takita1 filmYuen Woo-ping1 filmYuval Adler1 filmZoya Akhtar1 film

Often combined with

Drama Thriller Mystery Sci-Fi Fantasy Crime

Top 100 rated films

  1. The Silence of the Lambs 1991 · Jonathan Demme · IMDb 8.6
  2. National Theatre Live: Frankenstein 2011 · Danny Boyle · IMDb 8.5
  3. Psycho 1960 · Alfred Hitchcock · IMDb 8.5
  4. Alien 1979 · Ridley Scott · IMDb 8.4
  5. The Shining 1980 · Stanley Kubrick · IMDb 8.4
  6. The Thing 1982 · John Carpenter · IMDb 8.2
  7. Faust 1926 · F.W. Murnau · IMDb 8.1
  8. Jaws 1975 · Steven Spielberg · IMDb 8.1
  9. Les Diaboliques 1955 · Henri-Georges Clouzot · IMDb 8.1
  10. The Exorcist 1973 · William Friedkin · IMDb 8.1
  11. Variola Vera 1982 · Goran Marković · IMDb 8.1
  12. Rosemary's Baby 1968 · Roman Polanski · IMDb 8.0
  13. Strangler vs. Strangler 1984 · Slobodan Šijan · IMDb 8.0
  14. The Blue Elephant 2014 · Marwan Hamed · IMDb 8.0
  15. The Blue Elephant 2 2019 · Marwan Hamed · IMDb 8.0
  16. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari 1920 · Robert Wiene · IMDb 8.0
  17. The Phantom Carriage 1921 · Victor Sjöström · IMDb 8.0
  18. What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? 1962 · Robert Aldrich · IMDb 8.0
  19. Demons 1971 · Toshio Matsumoto · IMDb 7.9
  20. King Kong 1933 · Merian C. Cooper · IMDb 7.9
  21. Kwaidan 1964 · Masaki Kobayashi · IMDb 7.9
  22. Bride of Frankenstein 1935 · James Whale · IMDb 7.8
  23. Dawn of the Dead 1978 · George A. Romero · IMDb 7.8
  24. Freaks 1932 · Tod Browning · IMDb 7.8
  25. Get Out 2017 · Jordan Peele · IMDb 7.8
  26. Let the Right One In 2008 · Tomas Alfredson · IMDb 7.8
  27. Night of the Living Dead 1968 · George A. Romero · IMDb 7.8
  28. Nosferatu 1922 · F.W. Murnau · IMDb 7.8
  29. Onibaba 1964 · Kaneto Shindo · IMDb 7.8
  30. Shaun of the Dead 2004 · Edgar Wright · IMDb 7.8
  31. The Hunchback of Notre Dame 1939 · William Dieterle · IMDb 7.8
  32. Frankenstein 1931 · James Whale · IMDb 7.7
  33. Halloween 1978 · John Carpenter · IMDb 7.7
  34. He Who Gets Slapped 1924 · Victor Sjöström · IMDb 7.7
  35. In the Wink of an Eye 1981 · Mike de Leon · IMDb 7.7
  36. Invasion of the Body Snatchers 1956 · Don Siegel · IMDb 7.7
  37. It Happened in Broad Daylight 1958 · Ladislao Vajda · IMDb 7.7
  38. J'accuse 1919 · Abel Gance · IMDb 7.7
  39. Reflections 1987 · Goran Marković · IMDb 7.7
  40. The Devils 1971 · Ken Russell · IMDb 7.7
  41. The Innocents 1961 · Jack Clayton · IMDb 7.7
  42. The Unknown 1927 · Tod Browning · IMDb 7.7
  43. Witchhammer 1970 · Otakar Vávra · IMDb 7.7
  44. Death of a Bureaucrat 1966 · Tomás Gutiérrez Alea · IMDb 7.6
  45. Destiny 1921 · Fritz Lang · IMDb 7.6
  46. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931) 1931 · Rouben Mamoulian · IMDb 7.6
  47. Eyes Without a Face 1960 · Georges Franju · IMDb 7.6
  48. Godzilla 1954 · Ishiro Honda · IMDb 7.6
  49. Godzilla Minus One 2024 · Takashi Yamazaki · IMDb 7.6
  50. Häxan 1922 · Benjamin Christensen · IMDb 7.6
  51. Peeping Tom 1960 · Michael Powell · IMDb 7.6
  52. Shadows of Time 2004 · Florian Gallenberger · IMDb 7.6
  53. The Birds 1963 · Alfred Hitchcock · IMDb 7.6
  54. The Fly 1986 · David Cronenberg · IMDb 7.6
  55. The Invisible Man 1933 · James Whale · IMDb 7.6
  56. The Man Who Laughs 1928 · Paul Leni · IMDb 7.6
  57. The Others 2001 · Alejandro Amenábar · IMDb 7.6
  58. Train to Busan 2016 · Yeon Sang-ho · IMDb 7.6
  59. Un chien andalou 1929 · Luis Buñuel · IMDb 7.6
  60. 28 Days Later 2002 · Danny Boyle · IMDb 7.5
  61. Cure 1997 · Kiyoshi Kurosawa · IMDb 7.5
  62. Dead of Night (1945) 1945 · Alberto Cavalcanti · IMDb 7.5
  63. Deep Red 1975 · Dario Argento · IMDb 7.5
  64. Funny Games 1997 · Michael Haneke · IMDb 7.5
  65. Grindhouse 2007 · Edgar Wright · IMDb 7.5
  66. Hour of the Wolf 1968 · Ingmar Bergman · IMDb 7.5
  67. Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte 1964 · Robert Aldrich · IMDb 7.5
  68. Memories 1995 · Katsuhiro Otomo · IMDb 7.5
  69. Mother Joan of the Angels 1961 · Jerzy Kawalerowicz · IMDb 7.5
  70. Repulsion 1965 · Roman Polanski · IMDb 7.5
  71. Scream 1996 · Wes Craven · IMDb 7.5
  72. Sinners 2025 · Ryan Coogler · IMDb 7.5
  73. The Omen 1976 · Richard Donner · IMDb 7.5
  74. Twin Peaks: The Missing Pieces 2014 · David Lynch · IMDb 7.5
  75. A Nightmare on Elm Street 1984 · Wes Craven · IMDb 7.4
  76. Beauty and the Beast (1978) 1978 · Juraj Herz · IMDb 7.4
  77. Braindead 1992 · Peter Jackson · IMDb 7.4
  78. Bram Stoker's Dracula 1992 · Francis Ford Coppola · IMDb 7.4
  79. Carrie 1976 · Brian De Palma · IMDb 7.4
  80. Curse of the Demon 1957 · Jacques Tourneur · IMDb 7.4
  81. Frankenstein (2025) 2025 · Guillermo del Toro · IMDb 7.4
  82. Legend of the Mountain 1979 · King Hu · IMDb 7.4
  83. Santa Sangre 1989 · Alejandro Jodorowsky · IMDb 7.4
  84. The Bad Seed 1956 · Mervyn LeRoy · IMDb 7.4
  85. The Haunting 1963 · Robert Wise · IMDb 7.4
  86. The Hourglass Sanatorium 1973 · Wojciech Has · IMDb 7.4
  87. The Orphanage 2007 · J. A. Bayona · IMDb 7.4
  88. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre 1974 · Tobe Hooper · IMDb 7.4
  89. The Wailing 2016 · Na Hong-jin · IMDb 7.4
  90. Thesis 1996 · Alejandro Amenábar · IMDb 7.4
  91. Toby Dammit 1968 · Federico Fellini · IMDb 7.4
  92. Vampyr 1932 · Carl Theodor Dreyer · IMDb 7.4
  93. A Page of Madness 1926 · Teinosuke Kinugasa · IMDb 7.3
  94. Dracula 1931 · Tod Browning · IMDb 7.3
  95. Gremlins 1984 · Joe Dante · IMDb 7.3
  96. Hereditary 2018 · Ari Aster · IMDb 7.3
  97. Nosferatu the Vampyre 1979 · Werner Herzog · IMDb 7.3
  98. Phantom of the Paradise 1974 · Brian De Palma · IMDb 7.3
  99. Pi 1998 · Darren Aronofsky · IMDb 7.3
  100. Poltergeist 1982 · Tobe Hooper · IMDb 7.3