You Can't Call Yourself a Horror Movie Buff Until You've Seen These 27 Classics

Hailed as the original vampire movie, Nosferatu may be old, but it expertly builds dread and suspense in terrifying and awful ways.

Sit down for a lesson from the master of suspense, Alfred Hitchcock.

After spending so much time making you wonder whether Rosemary has gone totally insane, the film culminates to a truly chilling, disturbing conclusion.

This film was outlandishly gory and way ahead of its time. Many audiences were utterly troubled and disturbed by the graphic content.

Things to keep an eye out for: projectile vomit, a head twisting all the way around, and a very disturbing way of getting down the stairs.

The scariest thing about this film is it all happens in broad daylight. We tend to think the light keeps us safe. But, well, nope. Not by a long shot.

Jaws is a cultural phenomenon. It actually ranks number two among the top-grossing horror movies of all time, boasting a box office haul of $260 million.

Gallons and gallons of pig blood? A troubled psychic teenager? Dirty pillows? Count us in.

The fact that the whole movie was cursed makes the film itself 10 times scarier.

This horror film — which is so terrifying it's being remade to scare a whole new generation of moviegoers — follows a bright young American ballerina named Suzy (Jessica Harper) who travels to Germany to train at a prestigious dance academy, only to discover that the women running the school are into some sinister stuff.

Halloween may hold its place in the slasher horror movie canon, but there's a surprising lack of blood.

What's that? You've always wanted to watch an alien literally burst out of someone's chest? Well, step right up, my friend!

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.

Jason Voorhees ranks among Freddy Krueger, Michael Myers, and Ghostface as a truly iconic serial killer. In fact, he might be as bad as they come.

One of the first horror movies to seamlessly merge gut-wrenching terror and a special kind of funny camp.

"They're heeere" might be one of the most well-known two words phrases in the history of cinema. And that only marks the start of this family's horrifying ordeal.

The sheer isolation of the Arctic tundra really hits home . . . like a cold, sharp ice pick through the heart.

You know what's worse than having nightmares? Having nightmares that literally murder you.

This is about as grotesque as you can get. Which, I guess, shouldn't be surprising when you consider how you're dealing with vengeful, sentient beings from another dimension.

Here's how you know Misery is a great film: Kathy Bates won an Oscar for her performance.

If you haven't seen it, just know that The Silence of the Lambs is brilliantly paced, smart, terrifying, filled with shocking twists, and contains one of the most panic-inducing darkness sequences you're liable to ever witness.

The genius thing about Scream is it leans into some of the most tired horror movie tropes then turns them on their heads, all while remaining totally self-aware.

When it comes to the Blair Witch, the scariest things are what you don't see and can't seem to figure out.

The cursed videotape might kill you in seven days, but this film will have you death-gripping a nearby pillow in about seven minutes.

This film has everything: small, enclosed spaces; horrific and violent humanoid monsters; literal bloodbaths; and some good old-fashioned backstabbing. What's not to love?!

We can't decide what's more potent about The Babadook: the terrifying nature of this new, vile monster, or the striking metaphor for grief and trauma.

Like The Babadook, It Follows takes real-life issues — STDs, love, abandonment, friendship — and puts a horrific spin on them as we watch a young woman (Maika Monroe) attempt to escape the fatal curse she contracts after sleeping with her new boyfriend.