If you’re interested in being scared out of your mind, there are few genres that can deliver chills like horror movies can. Whether you’re looking for something terrifying to watch on Halloween or simply want to indulge in some serious thrills at the end of a stressful work day, these 15 scary movies will definitely keep you awake at night. If you haven’t seen any of them yet, be prepared to sleep with the lights on!
Paranormal Activity
Paranormal Activity has a simple premise, but it will make your skin crawl. In 2007, Oren Peli shot a low-budget, found-footage horror film in California. The budget was so small that Peli had to sell off his own furniture in order to pay for production costs. As soon as Paranormal Activity was released into theaters, it became an instant hit and eventually went on to earn over $100 million worldwide (on a $15,000 budget). Even though Paranormal Activity is now widely considered one of Hollywood’s best horror movies of all time, be warned: It still gives us shivers every time we see it https://eheyo.com/ .
Psycho (1960)
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock, Psycho is widely considered one of, if not THE, most terrifying movies ever made. Starring Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates and Janet Leigh as Marion Crane, it’s a tale of mystery and suspense from start to finish. After having stolen $40,000 from her employer’s client to be deposited in her bank account (and thus her boss’s pocket), Marion gets into a car accident on the drive home and loses consciousness. When she wakes up in an abandoned house/hotel (the titular Bates Motel) she has no idea where she is or how to get home.
Don’t Breathe
Anticipation is a large part of what makes horror movies so scary. Take Don’t Breathe, for example. You’re completely aware of how it’s going to end—the lead character isn’t going to outsmart and defeat her tormentors—but you watch anyway because you want to know how it ends. Well, we can tell you right now: she doesn’t make it out alive. But that’s not really why you’ll stay up at night after watching it; director Fede Alvarez knows exactly what he’s doing when he withholds information from his audience and plays on your fear of being in an unknown space alone with bad people who want to kill you.
Scream
If you want to watch a horror film that will keep you up all night, then A Nightmare on Elm Street is definitely one of your best options. This 1985 film stars Heather Langenkamp, who plays Nancy Thompson, a young girl whose friends begin dying in their sleep from Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund). Nancy and her boyfriend discover that Freddy was a child murderer who died years ago but has come back to haunt their dreams. Then, they set out to defeat him by entering his dreams and fighting him within his own subconscious. This movie definitely has some fantastic jump-out-of-your-seat moments and plenty of creepiness throughout!
A Nightmare on Elm Street
Even if you aren’t familiar with A Nightmare on Elm Street, odds are that you know Freddy Krueger and his infamous glove. The most terrifying part about Freddy is that he can get into your dreams (and kill you there). One of my favorite scenes from any horror movie is from A Nightmare on Elm Street when Freddy is taunting Tina (Amanda Wyss), who falls asleep for just a second and ends up on fire! If that doesn’t keep you awake, I don’t know what will.
Jaws
Steven Spielberg’s Jaws has terrified audiences for decades, and it’s not hard to see why: one of cinema’s most iconic movie villains, John Williams’ legendary score and that iconic final shot are all a big part of its success. What isn’t commonly known is that Jaws was actually inspired by a real-life series of shark attacks in 1916.
Saw
This movie is rated R for violence and gore, so perhaps don’t watch it while eating. A young man wakes up in a room with two other men, each chained to opposite walls by their ankles. The audience knows nothing about them except that they wake up one morning and find themselves in a gruesome torture chamber where they are forced to make impossible choices between torture and death. This movie will give you nightmares.
