13 Scary Movies to watch this Halloween

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If you're planning on staying in this Halloween, check out our picks of the scariest flicks to come out on the big screen.

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Published: Fri 23 Oct 2015, 12:00 AM

Last updated: Tue 30 Nov 2021, 9:34 AM

It's the genre that never dies, and one that haunts us much after the TVs have been switched off. From scaring us right out of our seats to giving us the heebie-jeebies, horror flicks have always made us wary of the things that go bump in the night. So if you're planning on staying in this Halloween, check out our picks of the scariest flicks to come out on the big screen. Just make sure you lock your doors and have a huge stack of pillows to hide behind!

13. The Fourth Kind


Cast: Milla Jovovich, Will Patton, Hakeem Kae-Kazim, Corey Johnson

Director: Olatunde Osunsanmi


We're kicking off our list with an alien abduction flick. And as far as alien abduction movies go, this one has to be one of the creepiest. The Fourth Kind - a reference to the fourth level of alien interaction, namely, abduction - may lack high-budget special effects, but makes up for it in cinematography. Blending 'real' footage with the movie's own recreated approach, Osunsanmi achieves a chilling effect that will make you question whether we are truly alone in the universe. Reminds us a lot of The X Files!

12. Poltergeist (1982)

Cast: Craig T Nelson, JoBeth Williams, Dominique Dunne, Heather O'Rourke

Director: Tobe Hooper

Here's a bit of trivia: Steven Spielberg wrote the screenplay for Poltergeist, which probably explains why it was so good that the 2015 remake fell utterly flat. Poltergeist goes well beyond the usual jump scares mostly because the paranormal activity is behind the scenes. Over 30 years after this movie came out, people still rave about the special effects; not to mention, it is probably the first movie (much, much before The Ring) to make static on a TV screen give us major creeps!

11. 1408

Cast: John Cusack, Samuel L Jackson

Director: Mikael Håfström

This psychological thriller didn't get as much attention as it should have, but it will definitely make you want to look up haunted hotels. The entire movie takes place in a supposedly haunted room -1408 - in The Dolphin hotel, where sceptical author Mike Enslin (Cusack) decides to spend a night to prove that it's not, in fact, haunted. All seems fine initially, but as the story progresses, things get scarier and darker, and just when you think he gets out safely, he's pulled right back in. This is definitely one hotel that is not getting a high rating on Trip Advisor!

10. Scream

Cast: David Arquette, Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox

Director: Wes Craven

No horror movie list is complete without a Wes Craven flick, and although he's more famous for scaring the daylights out of you in your nightmares à la Nightmare on Elm Street's Freddy Krueger, Scream is right up there in the list of memorable horror flicks, most notably for its iconic masked villain. Unlike other slash-fest gore, the killer is methodical and it seems everyone connected to Sidney Prescott (Campbell) is on the list. What's really unique about Scream is that it openly satirises slasher classics like Friday the 13th and Halloween, so it's not just scary, it's got its comic moments too.

9. American Psycho

Cast: Christian Bale, Justin Theroux, Josh Lucas, Reese Witherspoon, Chloë Sevigny

Director: Mary Harron

A wealthy investment banker by day and socialite by night, happily engaged to Evelyn (Witherspoon) and a circle of shallow associates, you'd think Patrick Bateman (Bale) has it all. And he does. Except, he's a psychopath who shows you how absolutely insane a person can be on the inside, while putting on the most convincing façade. If you haven't seen this yet, prepare yourself for some pretty gratuitous violence, and an evil sneer and smile of satisfaction from Bale that will give you the chills.

8. The Babadook

Cast: Essie Davis, Noah Wiseman

Director: Jennifer Kent

We'll admit that Australia is not the first place we'd look for a great horror flick, but if they've really got children's books like The Babadook, then we've got more to worry about than the outback's black widows and venomous snakes. The whole atmosphere of this movie is enough to give you the chills - dark, brooding, depressing. And then there's a creepy-looking, pale kid and a single mother struggling after the death of her husband. All that before we even get to one of the creepiest children's stories and its manifestation, which only gets stronger the more you deny it. You're going to need a buddy for this one!

7. Sinister

Cast: Ethan Hawke, Juliet Rylance

Director: Scott Derrickson

If you've seen The Exorcism of Emily Rose (also on this list) you'd know what Scott Derrickson is capable of, which is giving you nightmares not from jump scares, but from goosebumps that linger on. Sinister starts off with crime writer Ellison Oswalt (Hawke) moving his family to a house where, unbeknownst to them, brutal murders have taken place before. He finds a box of snuff films in the attic that he believes could help him write a new best-seller, but instead, all sorts of strange things start happening, leading him to move the family again. But that's when it all comes together, in one terrifyingly sinister climax.

6. Orphan

Cast: Vera Farmiga, Peter Sarsgaard, Isabelle Fuhrman, Jimmy Bennett

Director: Jaume Collet-Serra

Horror movies with kids are particularly creepy, and this one is no different. In fact, it'll make you really question adoption. Orphan begins with Kate and John Coleman (Farmiga and Sarsgaad) deciding to adopt nine-year-old Esther. All is sunny and happy, until Esther starts acting up in school and at home. Turns out that Esther has a dark past, as Kate discovers, but it's nothing like what you think it is. Orphan is neither paranormal or gory, nor is it filled with jump scares. It's just super creepy.

5. The Conjuring

Cast: Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Lili Taylor, Ron Livingston

Director: James Wan

From the mind that gave us Insidious, we have, arguably, one of the scariest movies we've seen recently. There's so much foreboding silence mixed with gratuitous jump scares, that you'll be curling deeper and deeper into your seat as Ed and Lorraine Warren (Farmiga and Wilson) delve into the paranormal entities haunting the Perron family. What makes this movie a particular hit is the sheer cinematic beauty that captures every creepy feature perfectly. Oh, and there's the fact that they're based on true stories.

4. The Exorcism of Emily Rose

Cast: Laura Linney, Jennifer Carpenter, Campbell Scott Director: Scott Derrickson

In terms of possession movies, this one is right up there, and probably pips The Exorcist for us because it's based on true events. Also, some of those old scenes look a bit comical all these years later, but Emily's (Carpenter) contortions in The Exorcism of Emily Rose are still really freaky! It's not all about spooky supernatural activity either, as the movie follows a legal case on whether Emily's 'symptoms' were, in fact, a result of being possessed, or a mental disorder.

3. Insidious

Cast: Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Ty Simpkins, Lin Shaye

Director: James Wan

Insidious starts off clichéd enough - family moves to new house and a more than curious kid finds something creepy. After that, this acclaimed film is anything but clichéd as Josh and Renai (Wilson and Byrne) find out. Their son Dalton (Simpkins) slips into a coma and after three months of not finding a remedy, they take Dalton home. If you want a lesson in how to time your scares, this is the movie to watch; not to mention, some of the scariest characters after the clown in Stephen King's It.

2. Ringu

Cast: Nanako Matsushima, Yûko Takeuchi, Yôichi Numata, Miki Nakatani

Director: Hideo Nakata

Whether you're a fan of the original or the 2002 Hollywood remake (The Ring), you will know the one scene that single-handedly gave everyone who watched this movie a serious scare. Admit it, you checked your TV before you went to bed, didn't you? What's interesting is that Ringu takes the darkest route viral videos could ever take, manifesting itself in a terrifying warning: "Seven Days" before you die, unless you share the fear. And the video itself? Let's just say, don't watch this alone.

1.Ju-On: The Grudge

Cast: Megumi Okina, Misaki Itô, Takako Fuji, Takashi Matsuyama

Director: Takashi Shimizu

Following in the successful footsteps of The Ring, Ju-On: The Grudge was given the Hollywood remake treatment, but the Japanese version is a whole other dimension of scary. The story is pretty simple: there's a curse that consumes everyone that comes in contact with it, and it spreads in no linear fashion. All you need to know is that Taeko (Matsuyama) kills his wife Kayako (Fuji) in a fit of jealous rage, bringing about the curse. Add one blood-curdling croak and get ready to have your hairs stand on end.


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