1. The Exorcist (1973)
Cast: Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Linda Blair, Jason Miller
Release Date: December 26, 1973
Budget: $10 million
IMDb Rating: 8.0
Plot: This psychological horror classic follows a priest sent to perform an exorcism on a young girl possessed by a demonic entity.
2. The Shining (1980)
Cast: Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd, Scatman Crothers
Release Date: May 23, 1980
Budget: $15 million
IMDb Rating: 8.4
Plot: This psychological horror film, based on a Stephen King novel, follows a family who heads to an isolated hotel for the winter where a sinister presence influences the father into violence.
3. Halloween (1978)
Cast: Jamie Lee Curtis, Donald Pleasence, Nick Castle, P.J. Soles
Release Date: October 25, 1978
Budget: $300,000
IMDb Rating: 8.0
Plot: This slasher film launched the iconic Michael Myers character. It follows a babysitter stalked and targeted by a masked killer on Halloween night.
4. Alien (1979)
Cast: Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, Veronica Cartwright, John Hurt
Release Date: May 25, 1979
Budget: $11 million
IMDb Rating: 8.4
Plot: This science fiction horror film follows the crew of a commercial spaceship who encounter a terrifying alien creature.
5. Get Out (2017)
Cast: Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Catherine Keener, Bradley Whitford
Release Date: February 24, 2017
Budget: $4.5 million
IMDb Rating: 7.7
Plot: This psychological horror film with social commentary follows a Black man who visits his white girlfriend’s family for the weekend and discovers a horrifying truth.
6. The Thing (1982)
Cast: Kurt Russell, Wilford Brimley, Keith David, John Carpenter
Release Date: June 25, 1982
Budget: $15 million
IMDb Rating: 8.1
Plot: This science fiction horror film follows a research team in Antarctica who are stalked by a parasitic alien creature that can assimilate and imitate other organisms.
7. Hereditary (2018)
Cast: Toni Collette, Alex Wolff, Milly Shapiro, Gabriel Byrne
Release Date: June 8, 2018
Budget: $10 million
IMDb Rating: 7.3
Plot: This psychological horror film follows a grieving family plagued by a mysterious phenomenon after the death of their grandmother.
8. The Witch (2015)
Cast: Anya Taylor-Joy, Ralph Ineson, Kate Dickie, Harvey Scrimshaw
Release Date: February 19, 2015
Budget: $8 million
IMDb Rating: 6.9
Plot: This historical horror film follows a Puritan family in 17th century New England who face increasing paranoia and witchcraft accusations.
9. It Follows (2014)
10. Rosemary's Baby (1968)
Cast: Mia Farrow, John Cassavetes, Ruth Gordon, Sidney Blackmer
Release Date: June 12, 1968
Budget: $2.2 million
IMDb Rating: 8.0
Plot: This psychological horror film follows a young couple who move into a new apartment building and become increasingly suspicious of their strange neighbors and the intentions behind their Rosemary’s unexpected pregnancy.
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