Box Office Theory's Top Horror Movies: Vol. 2 - Now 100! | Submissions CLOSED | Countdown to begin Wednesday

[WrathOfHan]

 

3 years ago, Box Office Theory declared Stanley Kubrick's The Shining to be the best horror film of all time. The initial plan for future countdowns was every other year, but alas, pandemic life got in the way. Now that I have more free time (for the next month at least) and users are returning for the October releases, it's time to dust off Excel and tally up another round of horror lists. As a good horror sequel should do, we're going bigger than last time with 100 Films. 

 

 

The Rules

 

2021 movies released before October are eligible. This puts Malignant, Candyman, Old, and the Fear Street movies among others in the clear (if you desire to place them). 

 

If it's listed as horror on IMDb, Letterboxd, or Wikipedia, it's eligible. If a film doesn't list any of these genres, ask about it in this thread and we can hold an open discussion. Last time we did the countdown, we determined that Jurassic Park and The Terminator were not eligible (reference the submission thread).

 

Limited Series are NOT eligible. 

 

You may edit your list up until the deadline.

 

Post your lists in this thread or message me on Telegram if you're in a BOT chat.

 

 

Scoring

 

Scoring will work a bit differently than last time since the number of films has been doubled. Last time around, point allocations past the top ten usually dropped by one point every five films, which wouldn't work as well for a countdown twice the size. In the interest of ensuring that the expanded titles aren't too close to each other, the top 20 of a list will be weighted much higher than lower ranked titles, especially 41 onwards.

 

#1: 20 points

#2-5: 16 points

#6-10: 12 points

#11-15: 9 points

#16-20: 8 points

#21-30: 6 points

#31-40: 5 points

#41-50: 4 points

#51-65: 3 points

#66-80: 2 points

#81-100: 1 point

 

A minimum of 25 titles must be submitted on any list. Lists with fewer than 40 films will have points reduced by 75% (IE the #1 pick would only be worth 5 points, #2-5 4 points, etc). I recognize not everyone on here is a gigantic horror enthusiast, but with the expanded scope of the list, this is a good benchmark to ensure the heavyweight titles don't create large point discrepancies. 

 

The Deadline is October 17 at 11:59 PM ET.

 

You have roughly one month to submit lists, so please take your time and explore a variety of horror films! The countdown will start 1-3 days after the deadline and run through Halloween.

 

2018's Countdown for reference

 

Edited October 19, 2021 by WrathOfHan

[Eric Crowe]

FYC

 

 

 

[CoolioD1]

[Krissykins]

Glad this is back. Had a look at my 2018 top 50 and things need to change. 100 gives more room, thanks!

[titanic2187]

Another challenging list because of how people define horror, Like I never see AQP or Signs as horror and I know there are people calling them horror. 

[Tower]

FYC, some films that were snubbed from the previous list:

[Plain Old Tele]

Here's my list:

1. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre

2. Avengers Endgame

3. Star Wars The Force Awakens

4. Avengers Infinity War

5.  Jurassic World

6. The Lion King 2019

7. The Avengers

8. Furious 7

9. Frozen 2

10. Avengers Age of Ultron

11. Black Panther

12. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

13. Star Wars The Last Jedi

14. Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom

15. Frozen

16. Beauty and the Beast 2017

17. Incredibles 2

18. The Fate of the Furious

19. Iron Man 3

20. Minions

21. Captain America Civil War

22. Aquaman

23. Spider-Man Far From Home

24. Transformers Dark of the Moon

25. Transformers Age of Extinction

26. The Dark Knight Rises

27. Star Wars The Rise of Skywalker

28. Joker

29. Toy Story 4

30. Toy Story 3

31. Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Man's Chest

32. Rogue One A Star Wars Story

33. Aladdin 2019

34. Pirates of the Caribbean On Stranger Tides

35. Despicable Me 3

36. Finding Dory

37. Star Wars Episode I The Phantom Menace

38. Alice in Wonderland

39. Zootopia

40. The Hobbit An Unexpected Journey

41. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Philosopher's Stone

42. The Dark Knight

43. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1

44. Despicable Me 2

45. The Jungle Book 2016

46. Jumanji Welcome to the Jungle

47. The Hobbit Battle of the Five Armies

48. Pirates of the Caribbean At World's End

49. The Hobbit The Desolation of Smog

50. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

51. Finding Nemo

52. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

53. Shrek 2

54. Bohemian Rhapsody

55. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

56. Spider-Man 3

57. Ice Age Dawn of the Dinosaurs

58. Spectre

59. Spider-Man Homecoming

60. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

61. Ice Age Continental Drift

62. The Secret Life of Pets

63. Batman V Superman The Dawn of Justice

64. Star Wars The Revenge of the Sith

65. The Hunger Games Catching Fire

66. Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2

67. Inside Out

68. Venom

69. Thor Ragnarok

70. Transformers Revenge of the Fallen

71. The Twilight Saga Breaking Dawn Part 2

72. Spider-Man

73. Wonder Woman

74. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

75. Shrek the Third

76. Coco

77. Jumanji The Next Level

78. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

79. Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Men Tell No Tales

80. Mission Impossible Fallout

81. 2012

82. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

83. Spider-Man 2

84. Fast & Furious 6

85. Deadpool 2

86. Deadpool

87. Guardians of the Galaxy

88. The Da Vinci Code

89. Fast & Furious Presents Hobbs And Shaw

90. Maleficent

91. The Amazing Spider-Man

92. The Hunger Games Mockingjay Part 1

93. Shrek Forever After

94. Madagascar 3 Europe's Most Wanted

95. Suicide Squad

96. X-Men Days of Future Past

97. Monsters University

98. Up

99. F9 The Fast Saga

100. Transformers

Edited October 17, 2021 by Plain Old Tele

[Rorschach]

FYC

[Ipickthiswhiterose]

Really looking forward to this, the last one was before I joined the forum. Obviously lists of horror will be affected by category-issues and the bigger names, but hopefully we'll get some nice surprises.

 

 

[Ipickthiswhiterose]

Might as well put on a list as a provocation since it might help discussion and I already had a list from a different environment a couple years ago. Just made a few sketchy changes, might come back to it as there are a few things here I've not seen in a while. Any publishing of this sort of thing is opening oneself to critique, nay ridicule, so feel free to taken open season on this or ask any questions. I may come back and change this. I do study horror, albeit mostly live/theatre rather than film, but there's always the balance between importance, objective quality and then just what outright scares you. So if you're wondering at any moment why I include film-x so high - probs because it scared me a lot, unlike film-y which might be of more importance but doesn't have much going beyond scares that have little effect on me.

 

PS: I was aware in myself before looking over this that I didn't really rate 80s horror. But I didn't quite realise the pattern was as marked as this.

PPS: I invite category issue discussions for The Devils, The Skin I Live In, Return to Oz and The Nightingale, all of which I consider horror but would understand their omission. I'm open to including Pan's Labyrinth, Se7en and Predator and they would potentially get onto my list if its mutually decided they count. I'm pretty immovable on not including anything that is overtly action though (ie. Aliens, Monsterverse/Kong)

PPPS: I make the distinction between horror-comedies and comedies about horror. If the film sits INSIDE the genre as a horror movie with humourous elements in, its in. If it's a specific commentary ON the horror genre at a meta level then AFAIC it essentially has to situate itself outside the genre to do so (Cabin in the Woods, Shaun of the Dead) so it's out.

 

Anyway after that totally unnecessary commentary:

1. Candyman (1992)
2. Suspiria (1977)
3. Jaws (1975)
4. The Devils (1971)
5. Ravenous (1999)
6. Alien (1979)
7. Psycho (1960)
8. The Thing (1982)
9. The Innocents (1961)
10. Freaks (1932)
11. The Witches (1966)
12. Rosemary’s Baby (1967)
13. The Wicker Man (1973)
14. Les Diaboliques (1955)
15. The Devil Rides Out (1968)
16. Peeping Tom (1960)
17. The Shining (1980)
18. The VVitch (2015)
19. Martyrs (2008)
20. Lemora (1973)
21. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)
22. The Exorcist (1973)
23. Session 9 (2001)
24. Don’t Look Now (1973)
25. Night of the Hunter (1955)
26. The Haunting (1963)
27. Black Christmas (1974)
28. The Skin I Live In (2011)
29. Suspiria (2017)
30. Repulsion (1965)
31. The Cabinet of Dr Caligari (1920)
32. Nosferatu (1922)
33. The Borderlands (2013) (Final Prayer in the US)
34. Night of the Living Dead (1968)
35. Halloween (1978)
36. Midsommar (2019)
37. Black Sabbath (1963)
38. The Blair Witch Project (1999)
39. A L’Intérieur (2007)
40. Deathwatch (2002)
41. Jacob's Ladder (1990)
42. Blood On Satan’s Claw (1971)
43. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
44. Scream (1996)
45. Near Dark (1987)
46. Black Swan (2010)
47. A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
48. Hereditary (2018)
49. Witchfinder General (1968)
50. You’re Next (2011)
51. Pontypool (2008)
52. Gothic (1986)
53. Return to Oz (1985)
54. Evil Dead II (1987)
55. Carrie (1976)
56. The Mothman Prophecies (2002)
57. The House on Haunted Hill (1959)
58. The Fly (1986)
59. What We Do in the Shadows (2014)
60. Hellraiser (1987)
61. Twins of Evil (1971)
62. Tremors (1990)
63. Event Horizon (1997)
64. Neon Demon (2016)
65. I Walked with a Zombie (1943)
66. Tenebrae (1980)
67. Possession (1981)
68. Dog Soldiers (2002)
69. House of the Devil (2009)
70. Shadow of the Vampire (2000)
71. Raw (2016)
72. Wes Craven’s New Nightmare (1994)
73. Frailty (2001)
74. Dust Devil (1992)
75. In the Mouth of Madness (1994)
76. Lets Scare Jessica To Death (1971)
77. Bone Tomahawk (2015)
78. The Fury (1978)
79. The Theatre of Blood (1973)
80. The Hills Have Eyes (1977)
81. The Orphanage (2007)
82. The Purge (2013)
83. Cronos (1993)
84. Dawn of the Dead (1978)
85. Evil Dead (2016)
86. The Devil’s Rejects (2005)
87. Society (1989)
88. Videodrome (1983)
89. Rec (2007)
90. Audition (1999)
91. The Bad Seed (1956)
92. Rabid Dogs (1974)
93. Brotherhood of the Wolf (2001)
94. The Nightingale (2018)
95. The Serpent and the Rainbow (1988)
96. The Ruins (2008)
97. Frankenstein Created Woman (1967)
98. Taste the Blood of Dracula (1970)
99. The Loved Ones (2009)
100. Little Shop of Horrors (1986)

 

[baumer]

I'm in!  I'll get mine to you as soon as possible!

[Krissykins]

On 9/24/2021 at 10:18 PM, Ipickthiswhiterose said:

 

House of the Devil (2009)

Raw (2016)

Wes Craven’s New Nightmare (1994) 

The Devil’s Rejects (2005)

Rec (2007)

The Ruins (2008) 

 

Some great choices there! 

[BestPicturePlutoNash]

1. Halloween (1978)

2. The Blair Witch Project

3. Possession (1981)

4. The Fly (1986)

5. Carnival of Souls

6. City of the Living Dead (1980)

7. Aquarius: Stage Fright

8. Intruder (1989)

9. The Cabin in the Woods

10. Texas Chain Saw (1974)

11. The Shining

12. House (1977)

13. Prince of Darkness

14. Scream

15. Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

16. Last House on the Left (1972)

17. Deep Red

18. The Living Dead Girl

19. Henry: Portrait of Serial Killer

20. Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me

21. Blue Velvet

22. Beetlejuice

23. Dawn of the Dead (1978)

24. Begotten

25. Nosferatu (1922)

26. Videodrome

27. Invasion of Body Snatchers (1978)

28. The Devils Rejects

29. Halloween (2007)

30. Hour of the Wolf

31. The Invisible Man (2020)

32. Hereditary

33. Carrie (1977)

This is best I can do.. lol

 

[Krissykins]

I’m surprised to see Videodrome on two lists already. It’s one of my all time worst films, any genre, ha. 
 

This is going to be an interesting top 100. 

[lorddemaxus]

15 hours ago, Krissykins said:

I’m surprised to see Videodrome on two lists already. It’s one of my all time worst films, any genre, ha. 
 

This is going to be an interesting top 100. 

Yeah, it's a classic horror film. Does it really matter if you hated it when the general consensus is not that?

Edited October 4, 2021 by lorddemaxus

[Krissykins]

12 hours ago, lorddemaxus said:

Yeah, it's a classic horror film. Does it really matter if you hated it when the general consensus is not that?

It matters when I said: “it’s going to be an interesting top 100.” 

i.e we could end up with a very diverse list of varied tastes. Which is what we want. 
 

That’s all. 

[Ipickthiswhiterose]

Discourse around horror films by horror fans is fascinating. And sometimes very frustrating.

 

If a horror fan doesn't like a horror film they are prone to hyperbolic dismissal of it. Because horror films you don't like become functionally purposeless and as such are kind of annoying. Just like it's affective sibling of comedy - nothing more annoying than a comedy film you don't find funny. Dramas and superhero films don't have that issue, since they aren't so mono-focused in their purpose. And where comedies at least have only one purpose that we all agree on, horror films have divers purpose and different spectators want different things from their horror films (theme exploration/atmosphere/sadism/voyeurism/jumps/humour/familiarity) and so judge them on wildly different scales and bases.

 

I think it's why comedies and horrors do so badly in terms of award seasons, and why the few ones that ARE approved in such manner aren't even necessarily the best ones. And why so many classics have crappy imdb scores.

 

I've tried to be much more generous to horror films I don't personally like in the last few years.

 

 

[Krissykins]

Oh yeh I’m probably being unfair on Videodrome in particular, I was only around 12 when I watched it and haven’t seen it since. 
 

So getting it from the video shop and it being too weird for me at that time tainted my view. 
 

I like to think I enjoy a huge array of horror films though. 

[baumer]

Since so many are including JAWS, I've revised my list as well.

 

 

 

1) Jaws (75)

2) Friday the the 13th Final Chapter (84)

3) Halloween (78)

4)  Nightmare on Elm Street (84)

5) The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (74)

6) Aliens (86)

7) My Bloody Valentine (81)

8} Amityville Horror Part II (82)

9) The Ring (2002}

10) Friday the 13th Part 3 (82)

11} Halloween II (81)

12) The Blair Witch Project (99)

13) Scream (96)

14) The Shining (80)

15) The Changeling (80)

16) The Gates of Hell (City of the Living Dead) (80)

17)) Alien (79)

18) Friday the 13th Part II (81)

19) Friday the 13th (80)

20) Amityville Horror (79)

21) Angel Heart (87)

22) Pieces (82)

23) Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003)

24) The Mothman Prophecies (2002)

25) I Spit on Your Grave (2010)

26) The Evil Dead (81)

27) Jaws 2 (78)

28) The Thing (82)

29) The Sixth Sense (99)

30) It Follows (2014) 

31) Paranormal Activity 2 (2010)

32) Paranormal Activity (2007)

33) Autopsy of Jane Do (2016)

34) Last House On The Left (72)

35) Psycho (60)

36) Wes Craven's New Nightmare (94)

37) Gremlins 2 (90)

38) Open Water (2004)

39) Sleepaway Camp (83)

40) The Conjuring (2013)

41) The Lost Boys (87)

42) Cujo (83)

43) Black Christmas (74)

44) Raw (2016)

45) Martyrs (2008)

46) One Cut of The Dead (2017)

47) Gremlins (84)

48) Lords of Salem (2013)

49) Final Destination 2 (2003)

50) The Fourth Kind (2009)

51) Night of the Living Dead (68)

52) Mandy (2018}

53) Phantasm (79)

54) The Fly (86)

55) The Hills Have Eyes (2006)

56) Grizzly (76)

57) Scream 4 (2011)

58) The Crazies (2010)

59) The Devil's Rejects (2005)

60) IT (2017)

61) The Omen (76)

62) Pumpkinhead (89)

63) Christine (83)

64) Final Destination (2000)

65) Poltergeist (82)

66) Suspiria (78)

67) Damien Omen 2 (78)

68) The Howling (81)

69) Eyes Without a Face (60)

70) The Burning (81)

71) Arachnophobia (90)

72) Inside  (A L'Interieur) (2007)

73) Ringu (98)

74) Slaughter High (86)

75) Revenge (2017)

76) Bay of Blood (71)

77) Happy Death Day (2017)

78) Rosemary's Baby (68)

79) Saw (2004)

80) The Fog (79)

81) Ils (Them) (2006)

82) Silver Bullet (85)

83) The Bay (2012)

84) Get Out (2017)

85) Creepshow 2 (87)

86) Saw 2 (2005)

87) Hostel (2006)

88) High Tension (2003)

89) Invasion of the Body Snatchers (78)

90) Eden Lake (2008)

91) Orphan (2009)

92) Frankenstein  (1931)

93) Witchboard (86)

94) The Initiation (84)

95) Carrie (76)

96) Stir of Echoes (99)

97) Midsommar (2019)

98) Wicker Man (73)

99) The Invitation (2015)

100) Doctor Sleep (2019)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[WrathOfHan]

Just as a reminder, if anyone updates their list, be sure to tag me