Ah yes, October. The month of Halloween is definitely the best month in the year to watch horror movies. But which ones are the best ones, with the best scares and the most effective tension? Well here are my top picks. (Note: This list may not be entirely accurate to the whole horror genre, as there are many notable horror films I have yet to see, for example The Exorcist, Friday the 13th, Psycho, etc.)

5. Halloween

Why: a simple but effective slasher story, nicely set in everyday reality, which makes the horror all the more effective; a great musical score, which is still one of the best even today; the way Michael Myers just appears suddenly on screen and then sneaks up on his victims; and all of this on a minimal budget.

4. Night of the Living Dead

Why: The first of George A. Romero’s zombie films was the first zombie film to show zombies as flesh eaters; the simple and effective plight of the group of strangers who are hiding from the zombie hoards outside; how this situation is treated like it’s actually happening, with realistic news reports on the situation; the shocking twist at the end.

3. Nosferatu

Why: One of the best of the German expressionist silent films; Max Shrek’s iconic performance as the title vampire, which leads to many creepy and iconic images, such as him rising straight out of his coffin or his shadow creeping up the stairs; the extremely effective use of shadows and surreal set work that adds to the other worldly feel; a great telling of the famous Dracula story.

2. The Shining

Why: Stanley Kubrick’s great use of effective music and noise that sets an unsettling mood; the clash of the realistic and the surreal; The iconic set design which contrasts to the horror situation; Jack Nicholson’s convincing performance as Jack Torrance, as well as the somewhat inhuman performances of the actors playing the Overlook ghosts.

1. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

Why: Of all the films on this list, this one has the best creepy effect on you, because of how realistic it all is, which the films minuscule budget greatly helps convey; the feeling of gradually descending into a nightmare you can’t escape from; the sudden, brutal attacks by Leatherface on his victims; How the film sets up the terror to come with the chilling opening narration, followed by a graverobbing that we only see through off-screen noise and sudden flash shots of the corpse, and then a pull back shot of the exhumed corpse on top of a gravestone.

By Tommy Schulz