18 People Name the SCARIEST Horror Movie They’ve Ever Seen

Updated 3 years ago, March 4 2022
Spooky

Fear is entirely subjective. What frightens one person might be no big deal to another. For some people, it’s monsters. To others, it’s the thought of going gradually insane. Some people may feel unbearable dread merely thinking about what might live at the bottom of the ocean. Here, 18 people say what horror movie scared them the most—and why,

The Thing

“John Carpenter’s The Thing. The special effects, the combination of animatronics and the attention to detail are amazing. I rarely get bothered by films but The Thing kind of hangs around in the air after you’ve watched it making you feel a little edgy. This movie has become part of the culture in Antarctica. It is a long standing tradition in all British Antarctic research stations to watch The Thing as part of their Midwinter feast and celebration held every June 21.” —u/GracieAngel

The Twilight Zone: “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet”

“Not quite a movie…. but the Twilight Zone episode with William Shatner recently released from a mental institution, flying home on an airliner. There was a “gremlin” that was on the plane wing in flight. This was many years ago, I was 13 and home alone, after just moving across country and in a new home. Damnnnnn, when he pulled back the curtain, and the gremlins face was right there in the window….. seems tame now…. but was quite…. exciting …. back then” —u/1199cop

The Descent

“The Descent creeped me the hell out. The thought of being stuck underground is terrifying enough—then the creatures come. ” —u/ACertaintyIEnvy

[REC]

“This is the original, Spanish version of Quarantine. If you can stand the first person camera-work (a la Blair Witch), it is scary as fuck…this was the first movie in a long time to actually give me a scare….This movie must be watched in the dark. The lighting in the movie is essential to the fear factor.” —u/mechy84

The Girl Next Door

“Jack Ketchum’s The Girl Next Door….Make-believe monsters don’t do it for me anymore, but sadistic kids and a girl screaming for mercy gave me nightmares for a while. And if you’re feeling really brave, try reading the entire true story that the movie and book are based on.” —

Rosemary’s Baby

“An oldie but a goodie: Rosemary’s Baby.It’s not violent/gory. But it is incredibly creepy and haunting. Mia Farrow should’ve gotten an Oscar nomination; towards the finale she looked like she was having a nervous breakdown.” —u/teardrop_gas

The Exorcist

“The Exorcist. The old one, not the crappy new one. ” —u/yunolikeaccount

The Ring

“The Ring, watched that when it first came out when I was in sixth grade. I had to ask my parents to move my TV to the garage as I was too scared to do it. Just hearing the white noise come from just about anything even at 22 years of age still scares me.” —u/GrapeSlash

Prince of Darkness

“Prince of Darkness was the scariest movie I’ve seen. I was about 12 when I last saw it, not sure how it has aged….Found the whole movie on YT.” —u/somewhatopinionated

The Strangers

“I’m not for ghost or monster movies. They do not seem possible. The Strangers is one that seemed like it could happen which makes it the scariest movie for me. ” —u/NathanielX

It

“Definitely It. Helped that I was a lot younger when I watched it, but still definitely takes the cake. ” —u/Konstlin

In the Mouth of Madness

“This might not get rave reviews, but In the Mouth of Madness always got me. It may just be that I was pretty young when I saw it, and it just got to me in a unique way, but that movie terrified me. ” —u/bearasaurass

Evil Dead

“For some reason, the first Evil Dead movie creeped me out. It just has this really chilling atmosphere to it, even if it is kind of a goofy movie. ” —u/ThatMetalBrony666

Child’s Play

“Chucky. Fuck. That. Shit….My cousin showed it to me when I was 7 and I haven’t been able to look at dolls the same way ever since. Doesn’t help that a few years later my dad helped create one of those major haunted houses and took me through the room where a Chucky doll was rigged to come swoop down on people walking through. ” —u/tu-BROOKE-ulosis