The illustrious Criterion Collection is like the Neiman Marcus of home video. The disc production is always top-notch where Criterion consistently provides the best video and audio presentations along with the most phenomenal bonus features. The Criterion Collection also handpicks each of their films that are culturally significant and important – even horror films or the random Michael Bay movie that goes home with the prom queen.

The horror genre is one of the biggest money-makers in the entertainment industry, both in theaters and on home video and The Criterion Collection has chosen some of the best horror films to add to their amazing treasure chest of movies. Here are the 10 best horror movies in the Criterion Collection, ranked, according to IMDb ratings.

10 Scanners (1981): 6.8

Before Eastern Promises and The Fly, David Cronenberg blew everyone’s mind with his horror science fiction yarn Scanners.

Starring a young Michael Ironside and incorporating the original music from Howard Shore (Lord of the Rings), this scary tale takes place in a universe where a big group of people are actually Scanners, meaning they have strong telepathic and telekinetic powers. There is a war between the underground movement and the corporation that literally causes heads to explode. It’s a wonderful and brutal story that has inspired a ton of horror flicks.

9 House (1977): 7.4

Japan’s 1977 horror film House, directed by Nobuhiku Obayashi is something special because there isn’t anything like it still to this day. The film focuses on a group of schoolgirls who travel to one student’s aunt’s house that is extremely haunted.

Severed heads in fruit, deadly house cats, and pianos that cause havoc are only a few elements that occur in this insane and unexplainable horror film. Much like Tiger King on Netflix, the antics and storylines only get more intense and crazy as the film goes on.

SCREENRANT VIDEO OF THE DAY

8 The Devil’s Backbone (2001): 7.4

Before Guillermo Del Toro was a household name due to having films like Hellboy and The Shape of Water under his belt, he made a small horror flick called The Devil’s Backbone in 2001 that is consistent with some of the ghostly themes he uses in his other films.

See also  Why PUBG Still Costs Money To Play

With this movie, a young 10-year-old boy arrives at an orphanage during the Spanish Civil War where political tensions are at an all-time high. The boy crosses paths with a sinister caretaker and a ghost child as he uncovers the sadistic secrets lying under the school grounds. It’s a wonderful and tragic look at youth during wartime.

7 Vampyr (1932): 7.6

 

The German almost silent film Vampyr is a very atmospheric horror movie directed by Danish director Carl Theodor Dreyer that deals with vampire mythology. This is a moody and extremely haunting film that still makes body hair stand stiff in fright with almost zero dialogue.

The story follows a strange drifter that arrives in an eerie town that is under the rule of a vampire, where one particular young lady is turning into a bloodsucker. This classic 1932 film was ahead of its time and still manages to conjure up scares in modern-day cinema.

6 Haxan (1922): 7.7

 

This faux documentary titled Haxan from 1922 is a true wonder of art. This little fictional documentary follows the origins of witchcraft from its pagan ancestry to its impact on modern society in the roaring twenties.

Blood sacrifices, Satan, and witches are all brought to the spotlight in this fantastic piece of filmmaking that has become a milestone in the film industry. This film has inspired the best of the horror genre, including The Witch and Suspiria. This is as important as it is scary.

5 Eyes Without A Face (1960): 7.7

France scared the world with its 1960 horror film Eyes Without A Face that brought on a new wave of horror films in the genre. This stylized film centers on a plastic surgeon whose daughter was horrifically disfigured in an unfortunate accident.

See also  Whoopi Goldberg Perfectly Described The Importance Of Uhura In Star Trek: TOS

In order to make her feel better and perhaps for his own sadistic ways, the twisted doctor looks for someone to seduce in order to take their pretty Face-Off and place it on his daughter’s head. Leatherface would be proud of this terrifying story.

4 Night Of The Living Dead (1968): 7.9

One man single-handedly created one of the most successful sub-genres in movie history with the undead. That’s right, George Romero brought zombies to the mainstream with his important and perfect film Night of the Living Dead that spawned multiple sequels that are just as good as the original and have inspired countless filmmakers and their movies for decades.

Night of the Living Dead started it all with a small outbreak of the dead coming back to life where a small group of people takes shelter in a countryside house in order to stay alive. Panic, trust, and racism are the themes in this socially charged film where almost all hope for humanity is abandoned.

3 Onibaba (1964): 8.0

 

Another Japanese horror film manages to still provide some haunting scares with Onibaba from director Kaneto Shindo. The film plays out like a historical drama with heavy erotic horror elements throughout as two women have taken up the profession of killing samurai soldiers and stealing their weapons, rations, and clothing.

One day though, a peculiar samurai shows up with a mask on that puts a wrench on these lady’s plans. The stylized color of the film along with its terrifying percussion jazz score still continues to haunt anyone who watches.

2 Rosemary’s Baby (1968): 8.0

Roman Polanski stuck horror gold with his adaptation of Rosemary’s Baby for the big screen. Nothing had come out like it before 1968 which still manages to terrify audiences young and old. The film follows a submissive wife who lives with her successful husband in an upscale high rise where she mysteriously becomes pregnant.

See also  007: Every Roger Moore Bond Movie, Ranked By IMDb

It turns out that her baby and her new neighbors are not who they seem to be and have a penchant for the dark, desolate one. This is no romantic Nine Months whatsoever, but a chaotic downward spiral into madness and evil.

1 The Silence Of The Lambs (1991): 8.6

Jonathan Demme took the cinematic world by storm with The Silence of the Lambs, a film that won all the major Oscars, and is still one oft he scariest horror films ever made, along with one of the most captivating and horrifying movie characters in Hannibal Lecter.

The film follows a young FBI cadet who is assisting in the serial killer investigation of Buffalo Bill. This FBI cadet enlists the help of an imprisoned serial killer cannibal to bring Buffalo Bill to justice. It’s graphic, horrifying, and perfect all at the same time that goes nicely with some fava beans and a nice chianti.

Next10 Unpopular Opinions About Netflix Original Movies, According To Reddit

About The Author


Bryan Kluger
(34 Articles Published)

Former husky model, real-life Comic Book Guy, genre-bending screenwriter, nude filmmaker, hairy podcaster, pro-wrestling idiot-savant, who has a penchant for solving Rubik’s Cubes and rolling candy cigarettes on unreleased bootlegs of Frank Zappa records.

Bryan has been in front and behind the camera since the early ’90s and is the head film critic on Boomstick Comics, High Def Digest, and also leads multiple podcast shows related to film, TV, music, and pro-wrestling (My Bloody Podcast, The Celebrity Hour, NO BS Podcast.)

He can be found writing screenplays, serving as Deejay at iconic bars and clubs in the Dallas area, and playing video games on Twitch.

Find him on Twitter. Or Instagram. Or Youtube.

More From Bryan Kluger