The Rotten Tomatoes story is a strange one. The website has been created by Senh Duong in 1998 as a way of describing and organizing reviews of Jackie Chan’s films; Duong was a big fan and then tried to honor him Rush hour brought Chan to Hollywood. Now it is one of the top 600 most visited websites in the world and the 225th in the United States. All of this means that everything Rotten Tomatoes says about movies has great appeal to moviegoers, and when they rank a list of the best horror movies, horror fans read it. In this case, the review aggregator has compiled a list of: “Top 100 Horror Movies”, which covers a wide variety of horror films ranging from the familiar to the obscure, yet all essential. These are scary movies every horror lover should discover, from old universal classic monsters to masterful modern feminist scares.
Updated October 20, 2022: If you’re interested in Rotten Tomatoes’ top-rated horror movies, check out this curated article, updated for quality and content.
It’s important, of course, to separate the Rotten Tomatoes “adjusted score” from the regular Tomatometer score. Many of the top 100 horror movies may seem out of order based on their percentage of “freshness,” but the website uses an extensive list-building system that spans decades. The adjusted score “takes into account the number of reviews, release year and average Tomatometer scores of other movies released simultaneously”. according to their website. There is also a natural bias towards current movies; the internet just has more published critical reviews of newer movies. The individual Tomatometer scores will be added to this one, the highest rated of Rotten Tomatoes’ “Top 100 Horror Movies”.
His house (Rotten Tomatoes score: 100%)
Remi Weekes’ haunting and thought-provoking horror thriller His house offers a heartbreaking look at the journey of a refugee couple from South Sudan as they try to assimilate into their new surroundings in a small English town, oblivious to the various forms of evil that await them. The gripping film tackles heavy topics like racism, deportation and grief and also taps into much of the tension, thrills and chills and unnerving tension, beautifully establishing itself as a terrifying haunted house hit. Critics and audiences agreed that Weekes’ directorial debut was a daring take on the horror genre and rousing commentary on the refugee crisis.
The Babadook (Rotten Tomatoes score: 98%)
Jennifer Kent’s emotionally debilitating Australian photo is less horrified by monstrous apparitions than by the emotional trauma of a woman blaming her son for her husband’s death. While the evil lurking in a single mother’s home certainly has something eerie from the Victorian era, Kent is able to better express fear and discomfort through her excellent actors and their portrayal of guilt and stress. The cathartic process of a mother learning to grieve and love her son makes The Babadook one of the most emotional and gripping horror films ever made.
Frankenstein’s Bride (Rotten Tomatoes score: 98%)
James Whale’s 1935 sequel to his Frankenstein has one of the best reputations of all classic horror movies for a reason. The Gothic setting and cinematography are first-rate compared to many of its contemporaries, and the film has a strange sense of humor while still maintaining its haunting atmosphere. According to the revised Rotten Tomatoes score, this is one of the rare sequels to surpass its predecessor, thanks in no small part to Elsa Lanchester’s iconic rendition of The Bride. It is simply one of the best horror movie remakes of all time.
Psycho (Rotten Tomatoes score: 96%)
Alfred Hitchcock’s infamous movie psychosis helped usher in a new wave of horror films, slightly more violent, sexual, and psychological than the quintessential 1960s features. Hitchcock’s cinema is timeless and his mastery of the trade is shown in full as he takes us into the twisted world of motel manager Norman Bates. Permanently entrenched in the cultural lexicon, the film continues to surprise a new audience of every generation.
King Kong (Rotten Tomatoes score: 98%)
While it may be considered silly and amateurish these days, one must consider how groundbreaking and frightening King Kong was at that time. The film’s cinematic innovations involving stop-motion animation, matte painting, rear projection, and miniature models would influence decades of special effects work and inspire creative dreamers for years to come. The Beast itself remains popular, with 2021’s godzilla vs. King Kong earning positive reviews and having the biggest turnout of each movie by the time theaters reopened after the pandemic.
Nosferatu, or A Symphony of Horror (Rotten Tomatoes Score: 97%)
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FW Murnau’s eerie German classic set the bar for vampire movies and has marked a generation with its truly disturbing portrayal of the bloodsucking Count Orlok. Played by the strange and mysterious actor Max Schreck, who fully inhabits the role long before method acting became mainstream, this short but brilliant terror has been an excellent introduction to silent cinema for moviegoers for decades.
The Invisible Man (Rotten Tomatoes score: 92%)
Perhaps the most delightful cinematic surprise of 2020 was this remarkable update to the classic Universal horror franchise, which changes its title The Invisible Man into a rich, toxic sociopath. Elizabeth Moss is brilliant as the man’s escaped ex, who tries to survive away from her abuser without realizing that he has the technology to stalk her invisibly. Leigh Wannell is doing something completely different here than usual Saw and treacherous films for which he wrote, creating an exciting feminist masterpiece on the edge of your seat.
A quiet place (Rotten Tomatoes score: 96%)
John Krasinski had made his career by looking at the camera in The office and directing indie sleepers, so he surprised everyone when he broke cash register records with a bona fide horror hit. Krasinski and his wife, Emily Blunt, play parents who keep their children safe A quiet place during a silent apocalypse while being hunted by creatures with advanced hearing. The film’s stillness and stillness does wonders in building suspense and emotional resonance, so it’s no surprise that this has gone on to launch a franchise.
We (Rotten Tomatoes score: 93%)
Yes, Jordan Peele has taken the top two on the Rotten Tomatoes list. This doesn’t necessarily mean his movies are “better” than the rest; in any case, it shows how passionately these two films have been analyzed and discussed in the recent American socio-political climate. U.S is a deeply layered, metaphorically rich film that belongs near the top of horror lists and requires repeat viewings for full appreciation. It’s a movie that loves and references horror movies all the time, yet is smarter than most of them. It is less interested in bloodshed than in the real horrors that society inflicts on its most vulnerable and marginalized people.
The cabinet of Dr. Caligari (Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 99%)
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While not traditionally frightening, The cabinet of Dr. Caligaria is still the first horror masterpiece and the importance of the film cannot be underestimated. The influential set design reflected the expressionist art of the 1920s, and each twisted, bizarre frame is aesthetically innovative; the thematic content reflected post-war concerns about authoritarianism and control; the moody, dreamy story is said to influence surrealists from Salvador Dalí to David Lynch. Robert Wiene’s film can teach cinephiles a lot.
Go Away (Rotten Tomatoes score: 98%)
Jordan Peele’s directorial debut seemed to come out of nowhere, heralding the beloved comedian and improviser’s sudden presence as a new master of horror.. It’s hard to quantify how much this film has caused or caused — as Black Lives Matter protests gained support, the wildly popular film captured the cultural imagination during the divided Trump era, criticizing both liberal hypocrisy and conservative racism in its portrayal of a wealthy white family preying on a young black man. Both funny and scary, Out is essential for most Americans, not just horror connoisseurs.