In this post we are going to have a look on 101 classic horror films, released in the 20th century. Most movies belong to early and mid-20th century; just a few that were released in late 1900’s are housed in the list.
I have divided this comprehensive list into multiple sub-genre parts of horror to make things look organized. It will also help you to choose a horror sub-genre film quickly. So, if you are a fan of “Supernatural” films only then you may skip to that section directly.
Table of Contents
Skip to Horror Sub-Genres Sections
- Comedy & drama
- Fantasy, Sci-fi, Monster
- Vampire & Zombie
- Supernatural
- Physiological , Thriller, Slasher, Mystery
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Also, as we all know the fact that the word “classic cinema” is a symbol and a representative of quality film making that has been praised for years and in the present generation too. Hence, you may have heard about many horror films listed here that include Bela Lugosi starrer Dracula and Boris Karloff’s Frankenstein.
I believe that classic films are something to celebrate and learn. Audience of such films can have an idea about evolution of scary characters, on-screen effects and concepts. Even there are several horror films of very early 1900’s that may make you laugh, but such films belong to the heritage of scary films.
Our list comprises true classic horrors; films that are worthy to watch till now and were released a long time ago. IMDB ratings, nearness to the genre, concept and age, all were considered before picking up the 101 films. There were several good horror-classics from worldwide cinema but they were missed to be in the list because of no different concept.
101 Classic Horror Movies You Should Watch
So now let’s go through for what we all are here. As I have mentioned earlier; I have categorized the 101 films into 5 different sections and each section consists of 2-4 sub-genres related to each other or have a match with another.
There are total 12 sub-genres of horror in all the sections.
Only “Supernatural” sub-genre has its private space in the list, as it is considered the main sub-genre for scary films.
## Comedy, Drama Horror Films ##
There are total 9 movies that relate to the sub-genres of comedy and drama. “An American Werewolf in London” is one such iconic humor film here; creating effective comedy in a horror film is among the most strenuous task for any director.
101. You’ll Find Out
Rating: (3.1 / 5)
Director: David Butler
Star Cast: Kay Kyser, Peter Lorre, Boris Karloff
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IMDB Review
Horror – Comedy
100. The Masque of the Red Death (1964)
Rating: (3.5 / 5)
Director: Roger Corman
Star Cast: Vincent Price, Hazel Court, Jane Asher
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IMDB Review
Horror – Drama
99. The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971)
Rating: (3.6 / 5)
Director: Robert Fuest
Star Cast: Vincent Price, Joseph Cotten, Hugh Griffith
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IMDB Review
PG-13 | Horror-Comedy
98. The Fearless Vampire Killers (1967)
Rating: (3.6 / 5)
Director: Roman Polanski
Star Cast: Jack MacGowran, Roman Polanski, Alfie Bass
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IMDB Review
Horror-Comedy
97. Eraserhead (1977)
Rating: (3.7 / 5)
Director: David Lynch
Star Cast: Jack Nance, Charlotte Stewart, Allen Joseph
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IMDB Review
Horror-Drama
96. An American Werewolf in London (1981)
Rating: (3.8 / 5)
Director: John Landis
Star Cast: David Naughton, Jenny Agutter, Joe Belcher
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IMDB Review
R | Horror-Comedy
95. Evil Dead II (1987)
Rating: (3.9 / 5)
Director: Sam Raimi
Star Cast: Bruce Campbell, Sarah Berry, Dan Hicks
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IMDB Review
R | Horror-Comedy
94. Eyes Without a Face (1960)
Rating: (3.9 / 5)
Director: Georges Franju
Star Cast: Pierre Brasseur, Alida Valli, Juliette Mayniel
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IMDB Review
Horror-Drama
93. Freaks (1932)
Rating: (3.9 / 5)
Director: Tod Browning
Star Cast: Wallace Ford, Leila Hyams, Olga Baclanova
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Horror-Drama
92. Onibaba (1964)
Rating: (4 / 5)
Director: Kaneto Shindô
Star Cast: Nobuko Otowa, Jitsuko Yoshimura, Kei Satô
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IMDB Review
Horror-Drama
## Monster, Sci-fi, Fantasy Horrors ##
All the horror films that are conceptualized on an artificial and larger than life world are housed here. Some films are a mix of 2 sub-genres such as “The Curse of Frankenstein” which is a sci-fi film where there is a monster terrifying others. Another film which I would like to mention is Ridley Scott’s first Alien franchise’s film “Alien”, the film is purely based on science fiction only.
91. Werewolf of London (1935)
Rating: (3.2 / 5)
Director: Stuart Walker
Star Cast: Henry Hull, Warner Oland, Valerie Hobson
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Horror-Drama, Fantasy
90. The Mummy (1959)
Rating: (3.4 / 5)
Director: Terence Fisher
Star Cast: Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Yvonne Furneaux
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IMDB Review
Horror-Monster
89. Phantasm (1979)
Rating: (3.4 / 5)
Director: Don Coscarelli
Star Cast: A. Michael Baldwin, Bill Thornbury, Reggie Bannister
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IMDB Review
R | Horror-Sci
88. The Creature From the Black Lagoon (1954)
Rating: (3.5 / 5)
Director: Jack Arnold
Star Cast: Richard Carlson, Julie Adams, Richard Denning
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IMDB Review
Horror-Monster
87. Carnival of Souls (1962)
Rating: (3.6 / 5)
Director: Herk Harvey
Star Cast: Candace Hilligoss, Frances Feist, Sidney Berger
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IMDB Review
PG | Horror- Fantasy, Mystery
86. The Mummy (1932)
Rating: (3.6 / 5)
Director: Karl Freund
Star Cast: Boris Karloff, Zita Johann, David Manners
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IMDB Review
TV-PG | Horror -Monster, Fantasy
85. Re-Animator (1985)
Rating: (3.6 / 5)
Director: Stuart Gordon
Star Cast: Jeffrey Combs, Bruce Abbott, Barbara Crampton
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IMDB Review
Horror-Sci-Fi
84. The Thing from Another World (1951)
Rating: (3.6 / 5)
Director: Christian Nyby, Howard Hawks
Star Cast: Kenneth Tobey, Margaret Sheridan, James Arness
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IMDB Review
Horror-Sci-Fi
83. The Curse of Frankenstein (1957)
Rating: (3.6 / 5)
Director: Terence Fisher
Star Cast: Peter Cushing, Hazel Court, Robert Urquhart
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IMDB Review
Horror-Sci,Monster
82. Them! (1954)
Rating: (3.6 / 5)
Director: Gordon Douglas
Star Cast: James Whitmore, Edmund Gwenn, Joan Weldon
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IMDB Review
Horror-Sci-Fi
81. Village of the Damned (1960)
Rating: (3.6 / 5)
Director: Wolf Rilla
Star Cast: George Sanders, Barbara Shelley, Michael Gwynn
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IMDB Review
Horror-Sci-Fi
80. Cat People (1942)
Rating: (3.7 / 5)
Director: Jacques Tourneur
Star Cast: Simone Simon, Tom Conway, Kent Smith
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IMDB Review
Horror-Fantasy
79. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)
Rating: (3.7 / 5)
Director: Philip Kaufman
Star Cast: Donald Sutherland, Brooke Adams, Jeff Goldblum
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IMDB Review
PG | Horror-Sci
78. Island of Lost Souls (1932)
Rating: (3.7 / 5)
Director: Erle C. Kenton
Star Cast: Charles Laughton, Bela Lugosi, Richard Arlen
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IMDB Review
Horror-Sci
77. The Fly (1986)
Rating: (3.7 / 5)
Director: David Cronenberg
Star Cast: Jeff Goldblum, Geena Davis, John Getz
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IMDB Review
R | Horror-Fantasy
76. Godzilla (1954)
Rating: (3.7 / 5)
Director: Ishirô Honda
Star Cast: Takashi Shimura, Akihiko Hirata, Akira Takarada
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IMDB Review
Horror-Sci, Monster
75. Curse of the Demon (195)
Rating: (3.8 / 5)
Director: Jacques Tourneur
Star Cast: Dana Andrews, Peggy Cummins, Niall MacGinnis
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IMDB Review
Horror-Fantasy, Monster
74. Cat People (1932)
Rating: (3.8 / 5)
Director: Rouben Mamoulian
Star Cast: Fredric March, Miriam Hopkins, Rose Hobart
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IMDB Review
Horror-Sci
73. The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957)
Rating: (3.8 / 5)
Director: Jack Arnold
Star Cast: Grant Williams, Randy Stuart, April Kent
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IMDB Review
Horror-Sci
72. The Invisible Man (1933)
Rating: (3.8 / 5)
Director: James Whale
Star Cast: Claude Rains, Gloria Stuart, William Harrigan
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IMDB Review
Horror-Sci
71. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
Rating: (3.9 / 5)
Director: Don Siegel
Star Cast: Kevin McCarthy, Dana Wynter, Larry Gates
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IMDB Review
Horror-Sci
70. Frankenstein (1931)
Rating: (3.9 / 5)
Director: James Whale
Star Cast: Colin Clive, Mae Clarke, Boris Karloff
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IMDB Review
Horror-Monster, Sci
69. King Kong (1933)
Rating: (3.9 / 5)
Director: Merian C. Cooper
Star Cast: Fay Wray, Robert Armstrong, Bruce Cabot
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IMDB Review
Horror-Monster, Sci
68. Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
Rating: (3.9 / 5)
Director: James Whale
Star Cast: Boris Karloff, Elsa Lanchester, Colin Clive
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IMDB Review
Horror-Sci
67. The Thing (1982)
Rating: (4.1 / 5)
Director: John Carpenter
Star Cast: Kurt Russell, Wilford Brimley, Keith David
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IMDB Review
R | Horror-Sci
66. Alien (1979)
Rating: (4.2 / 5)
Director: Ridley Scott
Star Cast: Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, John Hurt
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IMDB Review
R | Horror-Sci
## Vampire & Zombie Horrors ##
We have gone through Mood and Setting subgenres of horror so far. But now we will discuss about genre by character; I don’t have much idea if such genre officially exists or not. But, the characters, Vampires and Zombies have played a pivotal role in horror cinema, hence they deserve it. And, who can f
