One person's “scary” is another person's “silly,” so it's impossible to
rank movies by their scariness. That said, there are certain movies
that stand the test of time as truly ghastly, shocking, or amusingly
weird. Here are several to consider:
Classics: Dracula, Rosemary's Baby, The Birds, Psycho, The Raven, The Shining, The Omen, The Phantom of the Opera, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Swamp Thing
Science fiction: Alien, Interview With the Vampire, The Terminator
Contemporary: The Ring, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween, The Blair Witch Project, The Fly, Friday the Thirteenth
Comedy: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Scary Movie, Ghostbusters, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, An American Werewolf in London, Beetle Juice
Even more!
The Bride of Frankenstein, Creature from the Black Lagoon, It,
Carrie, Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?, Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde,
Nosferatu, War of the Worlds, The Blob, Abbott and Costello
Meet the Mummy, The Sixth Sense, The Exorcist, Poltergeist
What's this?