I love horror movies but I’m very particular about which ones I like. They need to be entertainingly scary. I don’t want to watch too much gross out gore, humiliation or generally emotionally scarring things. I also prefer some kind of supernatural element, I tend to find straightforward slasher movies a bit boring.

These are some of my favourite horror movies. It’s not a definitive list, just the ones on the top of my mind at the moment.

It, 1990

It is the perfect horror movie to me. It’s kind of cozy and nice and still thoroughly scary in just the right way. I haven’t read the book so I don’t know how it compares, but I love the movie.

Changeling, 1980

This is a great and spooky ghost movie. Lots of great suspense, a wonderful house, and one of my favourite horror movie scenes ever. I don’t think I’ve spoiled anything if I say: the red ball!

The Haunting, 1963

Another great ghost movie. Incredible atmosphere, frightening sounds and another of my favourite horror movie scenes. Again, hopefully not a spoiler but: “whose hand was I holding!” That scene is so chilling my eyes start to water. I believe people not used to watching older movies may find it a bit slow, but I think most of my readers are used to much older movies than this!

Phenomena, 1985

This is a weird movie with Jennifer Connelly as a girl who can communicate with insects. There’s also a heroic knife-wielding chimpanzee, music video like sequences set to Iron Maiden and beautiful Swiss scenery. In conclusion it’s pretty great. Some of the acting is bad, but with all these ingredients I really don’t mind. This is a gorier movie than the ones above, and contains one thing towards the end which is too scary for me to watch (I don’t want to spoil anything but I can say that it’s a kind of monster).

An American Werewolf in London, 1981

A really great movie that is not what you expect. It’s far from a typical horror movie, and has a lot of humor. The characters are great and wonderfully acted. You never know what’s going to happen next, and many scenes, including the unusual ending, are pretty surprising. Also, the werewolf transformation scene is great.

Vamp, 1986

Vampires, 80s fashions, naked ladies and Grace Jones, this movie has them all! Even though they’re really nothing alike I associate this movie about vampires in a strip club with An American Werewolf in London. The movies have a quite similar tone and this too is a very humorous yet scary movie. Like An American Werewolf in London it’s unusual and unexpected and has great characters. This is also a wonderfully 80s movie where even the sewers are lit with neon. It’s visually beautiful and I’ve considered posting screen caps from it.

Besökarna (The Visitors), 1988

This movie was a pleasant surprise for me. It’s a Swedish movie and I was sure it was going to be cheesy and not very good, and the fact that some of the main characters are played by actors heavily associated with comedy in Sweden made it sound very silly. However, this is a very scary and extremely suspenseful movie. There is no gore or anything, just a chilling atmosphere. I would recommend you don’t click on the IMDb link above until you’ve seen the movie since the cover shows something that should be a surprise.

Creepshow, 1982 and Creepshow 2, 1987

This is a collection of short films written by Stephen King. They’re not all great, but all are very watchable and some are excellent.This is that perfectly entertaining type of horror perfect for a cozy movie night with snacks. Pretty gory in a good unrealistic way, intentionally campy and sometimes humorous. My favourites among the stories are The Raft, Something to Tide You Over and The Crate.