I started this countdown several years ago as a Facebook thing and brought it to my blog in 2015. This is the 2019 version. Several new films appear on the list and several didn’t make the, ahem, cut. Remember, these are my favorite horror films, not the “best.” You’ll find that I tend to lump certain franchises or original/remakes together. Invariably, there will be more than 100 films on this countdown.
In the 1930s, prior to select showings of the titular Frankenstein, actor Edward Van Sloan would give a bit of a speech to the audience. I will borrow a line.
“[Mr. Jerry Knaak] feels that it would be unkind to present this countdown without a word of friendly warning … I think it will thrill you, it may shock you, it might even horrify you. So if any of you feel that you do not care to subject your nerves to such a strain, now’s your chance to, uh, well, we warned you.”
- Brides of Dracula, Horror of Dracula, Sleepwalkers
Folk Horror, Giant Snakes and a Young, Witchy Kelly Preston
- The Ritual, The Lair of the White Worm, Spellbinder
- Sinister, Tales from the Crypt presents Demon Knight, The Void
Night Terrors, Science Gone Wrong and Bloody Revenge
- They, Mansquito, Pumpkinhead
- Wishmaster, Mimic, The Relic
Three Films that Get Better Each Time You View Them
- Pitch Black, Jeepers Creepers, The Witch
Sometimes They Come Back – From the Dead That Is
- Pet Sematary, Night Breed, The Fog
Unique Vampires and the Devil in a Can
- Underworld, Fright Night, Prince of Darkness
Werewolf! Where Wolf? There – Wolf!
- The Howling, The Beast Must Die, Ginger Snaps
An Homage to the Great Ingrid Pitt and a Forgotten Hammer Classic
- Countess Dracula, The Vampire Lovers, Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter
Hammering Home More Vampire Tales
- Twins of Evil, Satanic Rites of Dracula, Dracula: Prince of Darkness
Saturday Night Bloodsuckers for Your Viewing Pleasure
- 30 Days of Night, Dracula Has Risen from the Grave, Lifeforce
Freeze-Dried Dracula, Zombie is His Name and the Candyman Can
- Taste the Blood of Dracula, House of 1,000 Corpses and The Devil’s Rejects, Candyman
Ghost Stories – Truly Frightening Ghost Stories
- Ghost Story, The Conjuring, The Amityville Horror
An Ancient Shape-Shifter, Rage Zombies and Another Stephen King Adaptation
- Spring, 28 Days Later, The Shining
German Expressionism, Neighborhood Ghouls and Denzel Washington
- The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, The People Under the Stairs, Fallen
A Whole Lot of Stephen King, Plus the Most Accurate Dracula Adaptation
- IT, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, 1408
- The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Re-Animator, From Beyond
Science Gone Wrong, Cutting Edge Haunts and the Dawn of Torture Porn
- The Fly, Poltergeist, Saw
- Phantom of the Opera, The Birds, Sleepy Hollow
The Unmistakable Influence of F.W. Murnau
- Shadow of the Vampire, Nosferatu the Vampyre, Nosferatu
Mad Scientists, Souls for Sale and a Creature Feature for the Ages
- Angel Heart, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, The Invisible Man, Creature from the Black Lagoon
- The Curse of the Werewolf, Creepshow, The Ring, Tarantula
Avant Garde French Horror, Two Films in One and Universal Monsters Run Amok
- Eyes without a Face, From Dusk Till Dawn, House of Dracula, House of Frankenstein
A Trio of Universal Classics and Satan Fathers a Child
- Frankenstein vs. The Wolf Man, Son of Frankenstein, The Mummy, Rosemary’s Baby
Bullied Teens, the Greatest Jumpscare Ever Filmed and the Birth of a Franchise
- Carrie, Let Me In/Let the Right One In, The Exorcist III, Hellraiser
Undead, Shapeshifters and a God
- Night of the Living Dead, An American Werewolf in London, The Lost Boys, Godzilla/Gojira
Catching Up as the Countdown of My 100 Favorite Movies Winds Down
- The Omen, The Thing, Evil Dead Franchise, Alien, Psycho, Jaws, The Wolf Man, Frankenstein, The Bride of Frankenstein, Dracula
Drum Roll Please … The Top Three
- King Kong, Halloween, The Exorcist
