In the truest Geoffrey Keel fashion, I had a very simple idea–watch some well-loved horror films and then rank them–but then I managed to turn it into the most complicated version of that idea humanly possible. You see, what had happened was I couldn’t find a Top 100 Horror Movies of All Time list that was exactly, perfectly, catered to my desires. So, I took the 6 most popular lists (or so they seemed to me)–Rotten Tomatoes, Rolling Stone, IGN, Paste, Slant, and Bloody Disgusting–calculated each entry’s average score across all 6 lists, weighting each entry based on how many of these lists it appeared on, and compiled what I believe to be the most definitive Top 200 Horror Movies of All Time list in existence (seen below).

Still, that wasn’t good enough for me, so I’ve gathered cast-offs, movies too new to be featured on All-Time Lists, and an assortment of foreign films, and made a separate list of 100 films to spread throughout to create a watchlist of 300 horror films. Once I’ve watched every film on this list, I plan to craft my own Top 100 list, the most perfectly subjective list, sure to make anyone who sees it want to make their own Top 100 list of entirely different films. No one ever accused me of being neurotypical. Care to join me on this ill-advised endeavor?

200. Sator (2019, US)

199. Creepshow (1982, US)

198. Lake Mungo (2008, Australia)

197. The Bad Seed (1956, US)

196. Society (1989, US)

195. A Dark Song (2016, Ireland)

194. Zombie/Zombi 2 (1979, Italy)

193. Dead & Buried (1981, US)

192. The Beyond (1981, Italy)

191. Starry Eyes (2014, US)

190. Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon (2006, US)

189. Demons (1985, Italy)

188. Return of the Living Dead (1985, US)

187. The Blob (1958, US)

186. The Masque of the Red Death (1964, US)

185. The Devil Rides Out (1968, UK)

184. Inside (2007, France)

183. Gremlins (1984, US)

182. Angst (1983, Austria)

181. Who Can Kill a Child? (1976, Spain)

180. In the Mouth of Madness (1994, US)

179. Kill, Baby…Kill (1966, Italy)

178. The Thing From Another World (1951, US)

177. Tenebrae (1982, Italy)

176. Antichrist (2009, Denmark)

175. The Old Dark House (1932, US)

174. The Fall of the House of Usher (1928, France)

173. Dressed to Kill (1980, US)

172. Halloween II (1981, US)

171. The Seventh Victim (1943, US)

170. Inland Empire (2006, US)

169. A Page of Madness (1926, Japan)

168. The Phantom Carriage (1921, Sweden)

167. Hour of the Wolf (1968, Sweden)

166. The Leopard Man (1943, US)

165. They Live (1988, US)

164. Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982, US)

163. Witchfinder General (1968, UK)

162. Kill List (2011, UK)

161. Dawn of the Dead (2004, US)

160. The Hills Have Eyes (1977, US)

159. High Tension (2005, France)

158. May (2002, US)

157. The Skin I Live In (2011, Spain)

156. What Lies Beneath (2000, US)

155. Bug (2006, US)

154. Saw (2004, US)

153. Insidious (2010, US)

152. The Devil’s Rejects (2005, US)

151. Whatever Happened to Baby Jane (1962, US)

150. The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971, UK)

149. The Ring (2002, US)

148. Phantasm (1979, US)

147. Martin (1977, US)

146. Dead Alive (1992, New Zealand)

145. Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992, UK/US)

144. Slither (2006, US)

143. The Black Cat (1934, US)

142. House on Haunted Hill (1959, US)

141. Alice, Sweet Alice (1976, US)

140. Creature From the Black Lagoon (1954, US)

139 The Invitation (2015, US)

138. Oculus (2013, US)

137. Goodnight Mommy (2014, Austria)

136. You’re Next (2011, US)

135. House/Hausu (1977, Japan)

134. Us (2019, US)

133. Wolf Creek (2005, Australia)

132. The Strangers (2008, US)

131. We Are Still Here (2015, US)

130. Blood and Black Lace (1964, Italy)

129. God Told Me To (1976, US)

128. House of Wax (1953, US)

127. The Loved Ones (2009, Australia)

126. It (2017, US)

125. The Others (2001, US)

124. Cronos (1992, Mexico)

123. Don’t Breathe (2016, US)

122. The Fog (1980, US)

121. A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night (2014, Iran/US)

120. The Mummy (1932, US)

119. Opera (1987, Italy)

118. The Bird With The Crystal Plumage (1970, Italy)

117. Friday the 13th  (1980, US)

116. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956, US)

115. The Curse of Frankenstein (1957, UK)

114. Midsommar (2019, US)

113. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931, US)

112. The Devils (1971, UK)

111. The Host (2006, South Korea)

110. Candyman (1992, US)

109. The Mist (2007, US)

108. Haxan (1922, Denmark)

107. Son of Frankenstein (1939, US)

106. Trouble Every Day (2001, France)

105. The Fly (1958, US)

104. Ginger Snaps (2000, Canada)

103. Jacob’s Ladder (1990, US)

102. We Are What We Are (2013, US)

101. Paranormal Activity (2009, US)

100. The House of the Devil (2009, US)

99. Godzilla/Gojira (1954, Japan)

98. Drag Me to Hell (2009, US)

97. Pulse/Kairo (2001, Japan)

96. Village of the Damned (1960, UK)

95. Onibaba (1964, Japan)

94. Trick ‘r Treat (2007, US)

93. The Tenant (1976, France)

92. Misery (1990, US)

91. Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me (1992, US)

90. Black Christmas (1974, Canada)

89. The Vanishing (1988, Netherlands)

88. Horror of Dracula (1958, UK)

87. Black Sunday (1960, Italy)

86. Near Dark (1987, US)

85. Nosferatu (1979, West Germany)

84. The Conjuring (2013, US)

83. The Island of Lost Souls (1932, US)

82. The Howling (1981, US)

81. Under the Skin (2013, UK)

80. The Dead Zone (1983, US)

79. REC (2007, Spain)

78. Diabolique/Les Diaboliques (1955, France)

77. Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986, US)

76. Hereditary (2018, US)

75. Pan’s Labyrinth (2006, Mexico)

74. The Wolf Man (1941, US)

73. Possession (1981, France/West Germany)

72. The Sixth Sense (1999, US)

71. The Orphanage (2007, Mexico)

70. Day of the Dead (1985, US)

69. The Devil’s Backbone (2001, Mexico)

68. Martyrs (2008, France)

67. Train to Busan (2016, South Korea)

66. The Brood (1979, Canada)

65. Dead Ringers (1988, US)

64. Dead of Night (1974, US)

63. The Omen (1976, US)

62. Raw (2016, France)

61. Vampyr (1932, Germany)

60. The Last House on the Left (1972, US)

59. Carnival of Souls (1962, US)

58. The Evil Dead (1981, US)

57. Night of the Hunter (1955, US)

56. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978, US)

55. I Walked With A Zombie (1943, US)

54. The Cabin In The Woods (2011, US)

53. The Haunting (1963, US)

52. King Kong (1933, US)

51. The Blair Witch Project (1999, US)

50. The Descent (2005, UK)

49. Let The Right One In (2008, Sweden)

48. Cat People (1932, US)

47. Phantom of the Opera (1925, US)

46. Dracula (1931, US)

45. The Wicker Man (1973, UK)

44. Re-Animator (1985, US)

43. Scream (1996, US)

42. Deep Red (1975, Italy)

41. The Birds (1963, US)

40. Audition/Odishon (1999, Japan)

39. Eyes Without A Face (1960, France)

38. It Follows (2014, US)

37. Videodrome (1983, Canada)

36. Don’t Look Now (1973, UK)

35. Poltergeist (1982, US)

34. The Ring/Ringu (1998, Japan)

33. The Babadook (2014, Austalia)

32. Hellraiser (1987, US)

31. A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984, US)

30. Suspiria (1977, Italy)

29. The Innocents (1961, UK))

28. Repulsion (1965, UK)

27. Get Out (2017, US)

26. Frankenstein (1931, US)

25. Kwaidan (1964, Japan)

24. Carrie (1976, US)

23. Freaks (1932, US)

22. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920, Germany)

21. 28 Days Later (2002, UK)

20. The VVitch (2015, US)

19. The Fly (1986, US)

18. Eraserhead (1977, US)

17. An American Werewolf In London (1981, US)

16. Evil Dead 2 (1987, US)

15. The Silence of the Lambs (1991, US)

14, Jaws (1975, US)

13. Peeping Tom (1960, UK)

12. Nosferatu (1922, Germany)

11. Alien (1979, US)

10. Night of the Living Dead (1968, US)

9. Dawn of the Dead (1978, US))

8. Rosemary’s Baby (1968, US)

7. The Bride of Frankenstein (1935, US)

6. Halloween (1978, US)

5. The Thing (1982, US)

4. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974, US)

3. The Shining (1980, US)

2. The Exorcist (1973, US)

1. Psycho (1960, US)

Below, I’m including the 100 additional films that I plan on peppering throughout this watchlist for a nice round 300 films to watch. These additions were either included in the source lists but were ranked too low to make it onto the top 200 list, are too recent to have been considered for the source lists, or are additions from countries not generally included in these “best of” lists that I thought might be interesting to check out. They will appear in no particular order. Feel free, if you’re joining this admittedly ridiculous journey, to add these throughout, or add your own films that you think deserve consideration.

  1. Doctor Sleep (2019, US)
  2. Terrified (2017, Brazil)
  3. A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987, US)
  4. The Wolf House (2018, Chile) Previously this spot was reserved for Al Final del espectro (2006, Colombia), but it is unavailable
  5. Frailty (2001, US)
  6. Mother (2016, Chile)
  7. Night of the Comet (1984, US)
  8. At Midnight I’ll Take Your Soul (1964, Brazil)
  9. The Lighthouse (2019, US)
  10. La casa muda (2010, Uruguay)
  11. What We Do in the Shadows (2014, New Zealand)
  12. May the Devil Take You (2018, Indonesia)
  13. Tucker and Dale vs. Evil (2010, Canada)
  14. Impetigore (2019, Indonesia)
  15. The Autopsy of Jane Doe (2016, UK)
  16. Macabre (2009, Indonesia)
  17. As Above So Below (US/France)
  18. The Queen of Black Magic (2019, Indonesia)
  19. Coraline (2009, US)
  20. Satan’s Slaves (2017, Indonesia)
  21. Green Room (2015, US)
  22. Mermaid: The Lake of the Dead (2018, Russia)
  23. Black Swan (2010, US)
  24. Night Watch (2004, Russia)
  25. Speak No Evil (2022, Denmark)
  26. Savage Hunt of King Stakh (1980, Soviet Union)
  27. When Evil Lurks (2023, Spain)
  28. Sputnik (2020, Russia)
  29. The Lost Boys (1987, US)
  30. Viy (1967, Soviet Union)
  31. Scream 2 (1997, US)
  32. Gaia (2021, South Africa)
  33. 1408 (2007, US)
  34. Dust Devil (1992, South Africa)
  35. Pontypool (2008, Canada)
  36. Dachra (2018, Tunisia)
  37. Ouija: Origin of Evil (2016, US)
  38. Nanny (2022, Sierra Leone/Senegal/US)
  39. Creep (2014, US)
  40. Creep 2 (2017, US)
  41. Saloum (2021, Senegal)
  42. Tremors (1990, US)
  43. Crawl (2019, US)
  44. Candyman (2021, US)
  45. Bone Tomahawk (2015, US)
  46. The Devil’s Candy (2017, US)
  47. Fright Night (1985, US)
  48. Color Out of Space (2019, US)
  49. Housebound (2014, New Zealand)
  50. Shaun of the Dead (2004, UK)
  51. La llorona (2019, Guatemala)
  52. His House (2020, UK)
  53. Ready or Not (2019, US)
  54. Mandy (2018, UK)
  55. The Wailing (2016, South Korea)
  56. Host (2020, UK)
  57. The Invisible Man (2020, Australia)
  58. Pearl (2022, US)
  59. X (2022, US)
  60. The Dark and the Wicked (2020, US)
  61. Infinity Pool (2023, Canada)
  62. Crimes of the Future (2022, Canada)
  63. Sinister (2012, US)
  64. The Menu (2022, US)
  65. The Empty Man (2020, US)
  66. Prey (2022, US)
  67. Christine (1983, US)
  68. Ganja & Hess (1973, US)
  69. Pet Sematary (1989, US)
  70. Saint Maud (2019, UK)
  71. Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982, US)
  72. Scanners (1981, Canada)
  73. Child’s Play (1988, US)
  74. Se7en (1995, US)
  75. Event Horizon (1997, UK)
  76. The Ritual (2017, UK)
  77. American Psycho (2000, US)
  78. A Wounded Fawn (2022, US)
  79. Skinamarink (2022, US)
  80. Tigers Are Not Afraid (2017, Mexico)
  81. Beau Is Afraid (2023, US)
  82. Sick (2023, US)
  83. Huesera: The Bone Woman (2023, Mexico)
  84. The Blackening (2023, US)
  85. Nope (2022, US)
  86. Barbarian (2022, US)
  87. The Innocents (2021, Norway)
  88. The Endless (2017, US)
  89. The Black Phone (2022, US)
  90. Bones and All (2022, US/Italy)
  91. The Changeling (1980, Canada)
  92. Black Sabbath (1963, Italy/France/US)
  93. Final Destination (2000, US)
  94. Apostle (2018, UK)
  95. Eve’s Bayou (1997, US)
  96. Lake of the Dead (1958, Norway)
  97. Blood On Satan’s Claw (1971, UK)
  98. Wake In Fright (1971, Australia)
  99. The Company of Wolves (1985, UK)
  100. Jug Face (2013, US)