The 5 Best Scary Movies

“In 1970, paranormal investigators and demonologists Lorraine (Vera Farmiga) and Ed (Patrick Wilson) Warren are summoned to the home of Carolyn (Lili Taylor) and Roger (Ron Livingston) Perron. The Perrons and their five daughters have recently moved into a secluded farmhouse, where a supernatural presence has made itself known. Though the manifestations are relatively benign at first, events soon escalate in horrifying fashion, especially after the Warrens discover the house’s macabre history.”

Even though the three Conjuring movies are amazing, and I highly recommend watching all of them, the first one is the one that I keep going back to despite the fact that I end up hiding under the blanket right before the jumpscares every single time. I don’t know if it’s the fact that it’s based on a true story or if the cast does such a good job at playing their roles that it sometimes makes me forget that what I’m watching is not real. However, this movie became a favorite of mine the moment I finished watching it when I was 12 years old. The story is so well-written. And in my opinion, the jumpscares are sometimes unexpected enough that you do end up jumping in your seat at least once or twice. The plot and its characters stay in your mind for a while after you’ve turned the TV off (which is definitely not ideal when you’re in the dark trying to go to sleep). If you’re trying to think of movies to add to a Halloween marathon, definitely add this one somewhere at the top of your list!

“Arthur Kipps (Daniel Radcliffe), a lawyer, is recently widowed and grieving the loss of his wife when he is sent to a remote village to put a deceased eccentric’s affairs in order. Soon after his arrival, it becomes clear that the villagers are hiding a terrible secret. Kipps discovers that his late client’s house is haunted by the spirit of a woman who is trying to find someone and something she lost, and that no one — not even the children — is safe from her terrible wrath.”

Another favorite of mine, The Woman in Black, is definitely one of those movies that I haven’t really been able to forget. Maybe it has to do with me being 11 when I first watched it, but I haven’t been able to look up at dark windows from outside a building since then. This movie definitely starts slow, but with creepy music playing over montages and small glimpses of movement in the background of scenes, it manages to keep you on the edge of your seat as the story progresses with very little information about the background of the story you’re watching. It’s not until Radcliffe’s character realizes that the house in which he’s working is haunted that the plot really starts to pick up and the jumpscares go from being blurry in the background to being right in the center of the shot, but in a way that still makes you jump in surprise. This movie is a little bloodier than the other ones on this list, but not in a slasher-film way, so I very much suggest putting this on when you’re with other people whose hands you can hold if you get too scared. However, from personal experience, I wouldn’t recommend having bowls of popcorn or chips on your lap unless you want them to end up all over the floor.

“Composer John Russell (George C. Scott) is vacationing with his family when a car accident kills his wife and daughter. Distraught with grief, Russell leaves his home in New York City for a giant, secluded house near Seattle. Soon Russell starts to feel the presence of a ghost, a boy who drowned in the bathtub there. Russell seeks the assistance of Claire Norman (Trish Van Devere), who led him to the house initially, in uncovering the secrets of the boy’s death.”

If you’ve heard about this movie, I bet it was the 2008 version of it with Angelina Jolie, not the original one. The first thing I’m going to say is that this is a movie I haven’t actually been able to finish and have only ever seen once because my friend and I could not get through it and ended up running up the stairs to my room in the dark like we were being chased by something. The second thing is horror movies with children are always so much creepier than ones that aren’t centered around dead kids and their ghosts, and this movie definitely tries to drive that point home. It’s full of whispers that seem to come from nowhere in specific, kid toys that appear out of nowhere throughout the movie and it has a soundtrack that compliments the movie’s eerie vibes perfectly, making it an ideal movie for a stormy Halloween night.

“Laura (Belén Rueda) has happy memories of her childhood in an orphanage. She convinces her husband to buy the place and help her convert it into a home for sick children. One day, her own adopted son, Simón (Roger Príncep), disappears. Simón is critically ill, and when he is still missing several months later, he is presumed dead. Grief-stricken Laura believes she hears spirits, who may or may not be trying to help her find the boy.”

So this movie is, in my opinion, not as spooky as the other ones, and it doesn’t have that many jumpscares. However, it was one of the first horror movies I ever watched, and it’s one of my mom’s favorites, so it holds a somewhat special place in my heart. This one also has a bit of a slower pace, but the way that the plot develops as the movie plays is one in which you don’t really notice it because you just can’t take your eyes off the screen as every bit of information is revealed throughout it. Also, if you don’t enjoy jumpscares, this movie focuses on creepy background actions like someone running across the room, giggles echoing through a hallway, or a presence in the corner, so if that’s more your style, this movie is also an amazing addition to any scary movie marathons you might have. Note: This is a Spanish movie, and you can always watch the translated version in English, but I personally think watching it in Spanish makes the experience better, and you can always just add subtitles in English if you don’t understand!

“A young American named Greta (Lauren Cohan) takes a job as a nanny for an 8-year-old boy in a remote English village. To her surprise, Greta learns that the child of her new employers is a life-size doll. They care for the doll as if it was human, which helps the couple to cope with the death of their own son 20 years earlier. When Greta violates a list of strict rules, a series of disturbing and inexplicable events bring her worst fears to life, leading her to believe that the doll is alive.”

All I have to say about this movie is: it is not what you expect. Whatever preconceived notions you might have, throw them out the window, make some popcorn and sit on the couch or your bed or wherever it is that you watch TV and get ready to have your mind blown (if you’re like me and you’re not that amazing at figuring out plots).

Honorable mentions:

The Haunting of Hill House (2018) & The Haunting of Bly Manor (2020) | Available on Netflix

Hill House: Flashing between past and present, a fractured family confronts haunting memories of their old home and the terrifying events that drove them from it.

Fun Fact: this show is based on a novel called The Haunting of Hill House,written by Shirley Jackson, but it is not the only piece of media based on this book! It doesn’t really follow the original plot, and the characters in the show are family instead of total strangers, but I think that’s what makes it so good. Without giving too much away, this show is one that I have watched and recommended more times than I can count and it destroyed me emotionally, physically, and spiritually but in the best way. From the way it jumps around from the past to the present without ever giving too much away and always leaving you wanting more to the amazing, incredible way the family dynamics have been written and how extraordinarily the cast plays each character, Hill House is a show that will 100% leave you staring at the TV, or the wall, long after the credits have finished rolling.

Bly Manor: After an au pair’s tragic death, Henry hires a young American nanny to care for his orphaned niece and nephew who reside at Bly Manor with the chef Owen, groundskeeper Jamie, and housekeeper, Mrs. Grose.

The truth is I couldn’t finish this show because it genuinely got to a point where it was too scary for me to watch on my own. But, what I did watch was so amazing — the characters are extremely lovable from the first moment they appear onscreen and the cast that plays them is so amazing at bringing them to life (a lot of people from Hill House are part of the main cast of this show). Bly Manor’s horror aspect is a lot more in-your-face than Hill House’s, which is what forced me to stop watching it, and while a big part of this story is family and what their dynamic might be, this show actually focuses more on found families, which is my favorite thing in the whole world, and romantic love — the main couple in the story is actually queer! It also jumps quite a lot between past and present to tell the story of the characters and how the situation came about, which is actually fascinating because they manage to do it without revealing too much at once and always leaving the watchers wanting more so they can fill in all the blanks to piece everything together. If you’re still not convinced, then watch it for the breathtaking cinematography, the spectacular script, and the sapphic romance. (Actually, just do it for the gays!)