The Best Intelligent Horror Movies

Updated May 20, 2020 804.4k votes 26.5k voters 289.4k views114 items

List RulesVote up the best intelligent horror movies.

If you think horror movies are nothing more than slashers slashing, supernatural creatures wreaking havoc, and gallons of the red stuff, think again; intelligent horror movies demonstrate that smart horror exists - and is really good to boot. The best intelligent horror films operate at multiple levels, weaving social commentary into plot lines that are equal parts thought-provoking and terrifying.

From Jordan Peele's Get Out to John Krasinski's A Quiet Place, there's no shortage of films that prove horror is actually smart. But what are the smartest entries in the intelligent horror genre?

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The Silence Of The Lambs
Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins
Released: 1991
Directed by: Jonathan Demme
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The Exorcist
Max von Sydow, Ellen Burstyn
Released: 1973
Directed by: William Friedkin
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The Conjuring
Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson
Released: 2013
Directed by: James Wan
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2,348
The Shining
Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall
Released: 1980
Directed by: Stanley Kubrick
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Halloween
Jamie Lee Curtis, Kyle Richards
Released: 1978
Directed by: John Carpenter
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The Sixth Sense
Bruce Willis, Mischa Barton
Released: 1999
Directed by: M. Night Shyamalan
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Carrie
John Travolta, Sissy Spacek
Released: 1976
Directed by: Brian De Palma
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Insidious
Rose Byrne, Barbara Hershey
Released: 2010
Directed by: James Wan
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It
Jaeden Lieberher, Bill Skarsgård
Released: 2017
Directed by: Andy Muschietti
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2,231
Saw
Danny Glover, Monica Potter
Released: 2004
Directed by: James Wan
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The Ring
Naomi Watts, Pauley Perrette
Released: 2002
Directed by: Gore Verbinski
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Final Destination
Ali Larter, Seann William Scott
Released: 2000
Directed by: James Wong
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Alien
Sigourney Weaver, John Hurt
Released: 1979
Directed by: Ridley Scott
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The Conjuring 2: The Enfield Poltergeist
Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson
Released: 2016
Directed by: James Wan
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The Amityville Horror
James Brolin, Margot Kidder
Released: 1979
Directed by: Stuart Rosenberg
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The Cabin In The Woods
Chris Hemsworth, Sigourney Weaver
Released: 2012
Directed by: Drew Goddard
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The Omen
Gregory Peck, Lee Remick
Released: 1976
Directed by: Richard Donner
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28 Days Later
Cillian Murphy, Christopher Eccleston
Released: 2002
Directed by: Danny Boyle
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Sinister
Ethan Hawke, Vincent D'Onofrio
Released: 2012
Directed by: Scott Derrickson
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Dawn of the Dead
Tom Savini, Ken Foree
Released: 1978
Directed by: George A. Romero
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Paranormal Activity
Katie Featherston, Micah Sloat
Released: 2007
Directed by: Oren Peli
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Scream
Drew Barrymore, Rose McGowan
Released: 1996
Directed by: Wes Craven
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House on Haunted Hill
Vincent Price, Richard Long
Released: 1959
Directed by: William Castle
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Psycho
Alfred Hitchcock, Janet Leigh
Released: 1960
Directed by: Alfred Hitchcock
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The Purge
Lena Headey, Ethan Hawke
Released: 2013
Directed by: James DeMonaco
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