21 Horror Movies That Are So Scary, People Were Screaming Or Holding Their Breath The Whole Time

"I love Event Horizon even though I can only watch it every few years because it's true horror to me. It's this nigh-inescapable, inexorable malevolent force that is never really explained, and the protagonists react realistically to it."

—u/Dig-a-tall-Monster

"I saw it when I was 23. It hit me instantly. It was that movie that made me realize I was claustrophobic. I just rewatched it for the first time in 20 years, and, now with full adult realizations, it was even more terrifying."

—u/BadBoyDad

"I thought it was a lot more odd than scary...until I got to the ending and realized that we, the viewers, had been led along the garden path like Howie, and we hadn’t yet grasped the totality of what was going on. It’s awful. It’s so, so, so awful."

—u/Orzhov_Syndicalist

"I think the first half of Sinister is peak horror. The second half isn't bad, but I think it gets a lot less scary once the child ghosts show up. Still, it's one of my favorite horror movies to come out in the 2000s!"

—u/Psyl0

"When I first saw The Grudge, it totally messed me up. Even getting into my car after a late shift at work was terrifying. I refused to look in the rearview mirror in case I saw that creepy bastard behind me."

—u/Scottiedogg

"People can say what they want about the films, but the first two were some of the most realistic depictions of spooky stuff I've seen, especially if you've ever experienced that shit in real life."

—u/EsrailCazar

"I was so immersed in it that I FELT the son's dread of what he had done. I felt the horror and grief of the mother's screams. I'll never watch it again."

—u/mossfae

"My wife is still absolutely terrified of white owls because of this movie. It was the last horror movie she ever watched with me. She ain't dead, she just refuses to watch scary movies with me anymore."

—u/Renek

"That scene when he's crawling through the snot tunnel and has nowhere to move. I don't have claustrophobia, but I get really anxious during that, even now."

—u/wei-long

"The scene where the woman is smoking in the kitchen and the dude comes in the door silently, no music no nothing, is genuinely one of the most unsettling scenes I’ve ever watched."

—u/SxanPardy

"Signs is amazing. Not a single death. No gore. Just the ominous descent of aliens on Earth. Terrifying movie and one of my favorites for sure."

—u/Happydumptruck

"The Ritual has the most creative monster in all of horror films. They did their homework, made it based on Scandinavian folklore, and RAN with it. Love that film. I want a poster of the Jötunn."

—u/merliahthesiren

"Terrifying. I think the reason why it fucked me up is because there's no boundaries. It happens literally anywhere and all the time. Fuck that movie, man."

—u/ohhfasho

"Midsommar made me very uncomfortable. Found myself randomly zoning out and thinking about various scenes for a few days after watching."

—u/StanleySteamboat

"I saw it in the theater and a lot of the audience also thought it was real. As a therapist, I was watching the other moviegoers’ body language. Everyone tensed up when it was night and relaxed once the sun came up. It was scary."

—u/turkeyman4

"For me, the scariest part of The Thing wasn't the effects — it was not being able to trust anyone."

—u/CBate

"The original Evil Dead remains the only one that genuinely scared and unnerved me. The banging from the cellar and the recordings, especially."

—u/AjaniTheGoldmane

"The fucking spider walk down the stairs, man...it still creeps me the fuck out."

—u/Mr_Wrecksauce