Best Horror Movies On Amazon Prime: Top 10
10. The Blair Witch Project (1999)
Director: Daniel Myrick / Eduardo Sanchez
You’ll never recapture the magic that was The Blair Witch Project’s release. Even Cloverfield, with all of its mysterious viral marketing, has nothing on the 1999 supernatural horror movie that had audiences thinking the legend of the titular witch was real.
In an age where the Internet was still in its infancy, it was easy to make the starring cast vanish. Or at least make everyone believe they vanished. By using the cast’s names for their characters, Daniel Myric and Eduardo Sanchez helped amplify the realism to sell The Blair Witch Project not as a work of fiction, but a horrifying documentary.
Though we know the story was completely fabricated and Heather, Michael, and Joshua are doing just fine, The Blair Witch Project is still a creepy experience that uses the atmosphere of the forest setting perfectly.
9. 28 Days Later (2003)
Director: Danny Boyle
We survived the Night, fought through the Day, and lived to see the Dawn, so it was only a matter of time before we would grow used to slow-moving flesh-eaters.
So, how could you make zombies scary again? In 1985, Dan O’Bannon’s The Return of the Living Dead introduced us to a new breed of zombie – the “fast” zombie – and inadvertently paved the way for Danny Boyle’s 2002 blood-soaked 28 Days Later.
When a band of animal activists liberate chimpanzees from a lab, they inadvertently unleash the fast-spreading rage virus. Fueled by the contagion, London’s human populace goes on a rampage, spreading the virus rapidly and leaving very few alive – including bike courier Jim (Cillian Murphy) – to fight for survival.
We could go back and forth as to whether or not the rage-zombies of 28 Days Later actually qualify as zombies, but it’s best to just sit back and enjoy this relentless thrillride.
8. Friday the 13th (1980)
Director: Sean S. Cunningham
Jason Voorhees is one of the most iconic slasher icons. That’s pretty irrefutable. However, it wasn’t Jason that first turned Camp Crystal Lake into a bloodbath. Friday the 13th is more than 30 years old and you really should know who the killer is by now, but I’ll be respectful to those that may be behind in their slasher movie viewing.
What I will say is that Friday the 13th is just as gory as its successor titles and just as easy to have fun with. The first-person kills and Tom Savini’s masterful special effects makeup elevate this murder-fest above many of its slasher brethren.
The 1980 film takes itself a bit more seriously than later titles, which may be a surprise if you’re used to the comedic tone of movies like Freddy vs. Jason and Jason X.
7. Midsommar (2019)
Director: Ari Aster
Ari Aster’s movies aren’t for everyone. They’re a special kind of horror flick that terrify with disturbing imagery and dark themes. Every once in a while, they’ll throw in something creepy lurking in the background. Oh, and always expect some form of gruesome body trauma.
Midsommar follows Aster’s formula pretty faithfully, though it initially disguises itself behind bright colors, floral displays, and a pretty cheery disposition. Then people start vanishing and weird things unfold and you remember that, in Ari Aster’s hands, you’re never safe.
Midsommar takes a while to get going, but beautiful scenery and delightful cast, led by Florence Pugh, will keep you distracted. In true Aster fashion, once the movie unleashes everything that’s been hiding behind its sunny exterior, though, it doesn’t let up until the credits roll.
6. Poltergeist (1982)
Director: Tobe Hooper
The pinnacle of haunted house movies, Poltergeist is an absolute classic. It may not have been the first movie to show us the modern American family being terrorized by the paranormal, but it’s one of the most notable attempts, complete with lines we’ve committed to memory and still spout out 35 years later.
The clown, the tree, the melting face, the swimming pool – there are so many iconic scenes that have gone on to be parodied or immortalized throughout the history of horror. There is a very good reason so many haunted house movies emulate Poltergeist, and it’s because it’s an incredible effort that continues to stand the test of time.
5. Psycho (1960)
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Pegged as one of the first slasher movies, Psycho was also one of the first to implement a mid-movie twist. The shift in protagonists may not shock us today, but it certainly floored audiences in 1960.
Based on Robert Bloch’s novel of the same name, Hithchock created an iconic on-screen slasher villain that wasn’t known for his gory slayings or quippy one-liners. Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) simply seemed like a quiet, shy guy – and that’s the real horror of Psycho.
We remember Psycho for that iconic shower scene, but the movie has so much going for it. Perkins’ groundbreaking performance and Bernard Hermann’s dramatic score do wonders to elevate Psycho as an iconic horror movie that we’ll turn to for many years to come.
Just be mindful to play the 1960 version and not Gus Van Sant’s poor excuse for a remake.
4. The Shining (1980)
Director: Stanley Kubrick
If you’re a purist like Stephen King and don’t want to see too many deviations from the 1977 novel, chances are you may have some issues with Kubrick’s The Shining. If you enjoy a good Jack Nickolson performance, understand the concept of cabin fever, and love a good ghost story, then there should be no reason why you wouldn’t have seen The Shining yet. Or at least thought about seeing it.
The Stanley Hotel (known as the Overlook Hotel in the movie) serves as the perfect location for Kubrick’s tale of isolation and madness. As caretakers for the hotel, Jack Torrance (Nicholson) and his family, played by a frantic Shelley Duvall and Danny Lloyd, feel the pressures of the establishment’s grisly and bloodied history as its specters make themselves known.
There is plenty of freaky imagery and some of the most memorable moments in cinematic history as Torrance spirals into insanity.
3. Hereditary (2018)
Director: Ari Aster
Put Toni Colette in a movie and you know it will at least be a well-acted film. Ari Aster utilized the range of Collete perfectly when he cast her as Annie, the matriarch of the strange and tragic Graham family. Even if you hate much of Hereditary’s creepy imagery and subtle horror, you will love Collete and her fellow castmates, Alex Wolf, Gabriel Byrne, Milly Shapiro, and the delightful Ann Dowd.
Hereditary is part supernatural and part psychological horror. Though it doesn’t throw ghosts in our faces every minute, there’s always that feeling that something is nearby. In fact, pay close attention to the movie’s background for some hints of paranormal activity.
Being Aster’s feature film directorial debut, Hereditary set a precedent for his future works, which he held true to for 2019’s Midsommar.
2. Halloween (1978)
Director: John Carpenter
On Halloween night in 1963, the sleepy town of Haddonfield, IL ran red with blood. The murder spree of Michael Myers touched the lives of many – both in and outside of the Halloween franchise that spawned from Carpenter’s seminal slasher.
The Shape proved to be a horrifying slasher icon, and thanks to Carpenter’s vision, all it took was a William Shatner mask, some spray paint, and the right body type. Myer’s lumbering form will never not be scary. Even umpteen years later, we’re still turning to that simple white mask and blue jumpsuit for the most effective scares.
No matter how many sequels there may be or how many people have a hand in the future of the series, the start of it all is this atmospheric, tense, and effective horror movie. They’ll never recreate the magic of Halloween.
Need proof? Just listen to that audio of the audience reaction at Hollywood Boulevard.
1. Alien (1979)
Director: Ridley Scott
In space, no one can hear you gush about a sci-fi horror movie that has rightfully earned every accolade its received. There’s no way audiences knew what they were in store for as they lined up to watch Ridley Scott bring an intergalactic terror to life. What could have been a campy science fiction movie wound up being a horror movie sure to go down in cinematic history as a true legend.
Even today, Alien is a frightening movie, no matter how many times you see it. That initial reveal of the xenomorph is something that remains embedded in your brain, like the first time we saw Bruce the shark or the T-Rex in Jurassic Park.
Sigourney Weaver’s Ellen Ripley helped pave the way for strong female archetypes in cinema, but the entire cast sold the horror of being trapped in space with an impossible killer. There is so much more that can be said about Alien, but I think I’m going to leave it at that and just go watch it now. I advise that you do the same.
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