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Common sense media reviewers.

'90s classic has violence, cursing, sexual references.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

No real positive messages.

No real positive role models. Secondary characters

Sam is shot and killed in a violent mugging. The b

A joke about a genital rash. The stars create a ph

Occasional profanity, including one use of "f--k."

Some valuables kept in a clearly-marked Reeboks sh

Some alcohol drinking. Talk of margarita drinking.

Positive Messages

Positive role models.

No real positive role models. Secondary characters are con artists.

Violence & Scariness

Sam is shot and killed in a violent mugging. The bad guys' deaths are gruesome; one is squished between two vehicles, and the other is pierced through the torso by a jagged sheet of glass. Blood shown in these deaths. Demonic imagery. Some gun violence.

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Sex, Romance & Nudity

A joke about a genital rash. The stars create a phallic object on a pottery wheel and then make passionate love. There's no nudity, but alluring shots strongly implying lovemaking. The female lead strips down to her bra and panties as she's being watched by a criminal who has broken into her loft space.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Occasional profanity, including one use of "f--k." "Bulls--t," "s--t," "son of a bitch," "bastard," "crap," "goddamn," "for Christ's sake." While in a crowded elevator, two characters loudly discuss how one of the character has a very contagious rash on his genitals.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

Some valuables kept in a clearly-marked Reeboks shoebox.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Ghost is a 1990 movie in which Patrick Swayze is a recently murdered man who remains as a ghost in order to warn the love of his life ( Demi Moore ) of impending danger. There's no nudity, but plenty of alluring shots and implied lovemaking. One bad guy is squished between two vehicles and the other is pierced through the torso by a jagged sheet of glass. Blood shown in these deaths. Demonic imagery in two scenes. Occasional profanity, including one use of "f--k" and more frequent uses of words like "s--t." In one scene, a practical joke between two characters on a crowded elevator is centered on how one of the characters has a highly contagious genital rash. Families grieving over the loss of a loved one due to senseless criminal violence would be wise to avoid this movie. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

Where to Watch

Videos and photos.

Community Reviews

Parents say (8)
Kids say (21)

Based on 8 parent reviews

Great movie that holds up, but too violent, profane, and intense for younger kids. Take the PG-13 rating seriously.

What's the story.

When Sam ( Patrick Swayze ) is killed by a mugger, he's left in some kind of limbo here on earth, able to witness events but unable to communicate with the living. He turns to Oda Mae Brown ( Whoopi Goldberg ), a wacky spiritual advisor, to help track down his killer and protect his distraught girlfriend, Molly ( Demi Moore ). Through Oda Mae, Sam is able to talk to Molly and they even have one last physical encounter through Oda Mae's body. Sam and Oda Mae manage to discover the killer, who turns out to be Sam's embezzling coworker and former best friend, Carl. In a wild climax, Sam kills Carl, who's then carried away by nasty demons. With Molly watching, Sam ascends in a beautiful, white light.

Is It Any Good?

Ghost is melodramatic and spiritually simplistic, but the combination of comedy, thrills, and mushy romance will be irresistible to some. While it doesn't explain why bad things happen to good people, it tries to reassure us that good people can find divine justice. Filled with ersatz spirituality, the movie presents a syrupy vision of the afterlife; the good guys ascend to heaven in a beam of light and bad guys are carried to hell by demons.

In the first 40 minutes, the movie plays like a melodrama, chock-a-block with unrestrained passion, gruesome murder, and plenty of suspense. With the introduction of Whoopi Goldberg as a storefront spiritual advisor, the movie radically changes direction to become a comedy. The romance also becomes a major factor. Some teens may enjoy seeing how love can conquer all -- even murder.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about the movie's formula. Why do the good guys tend to win in big Hollywood movies? If the movie had a more ambiguous ending, would it be as popular? Can you think of movies or other stories that didn't conclude happily?

What are some other examples of movies centered on the afterlife? How is this movie similar and different?

There are some violent deaths in this movie. Did the violence seem necessary to what was happening in the movie, or did it seem gratuitous?

Movie Details

In theaters : July 13, 1990
On DVD or streaming : April 24, 2001
Cast : Demi Moore , Patrick Swayze , Whoopi Goldberg
Director : Jerry Zucker
Inclusion Information : Female actors, Black actors
Studio : Paramount Pictures
Genre : Drama
Topics : Monsters, Ghosts, and Vampires
Run time : 127 minutes
MPAA rating : PG-13
MPAA explanation : Mature Themes
Last updated : May 16, 2024

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Ghost review – Patrick Swayze's immortal meditation on love and grief

Three decades on, this weepie classic retains an innocence and earnestness that makes it as delightfully comforting as ever

V eteran producer-screenwriter Bruce Joel Rubin created a comfort-food weepie classic with his gem Ghost, the story of a murdered young man who sticks around as a ghost to watch over his grieving artist girlfriend. It is now rereleased in UK cinemas for the 30-year anniversary. This is a film that for its global army of fans attained a new level of sadness when its star, Patrick Swayze , died of pancreatic cancer in 2009 at the age of 57.

Rubin’s script is a lethally effective tragicomic fantasy. Ghost looks more Spielbergian every time I watch it, and Rubin must surely have hoped that the man himself might have been interested in directing – he has candidly admitted to being disconcerted when the studio put comedy specialist Jerry Zucker at the helm. But that choice was inspired. Zucker is a genius at spoofing certain genres in the service of deadpan gags; with Ghost he proved himself a master craftsman, knowing how to tell the story well and play it absolutely straight while also delivering the comedy where necessary.

Swayze plays hardworking young Manhattan banker Sam and Demi Moore plays his girlfriend Molly, who specialises in ceramic pots (which gives us one of the most loved and satirised set-pieces in modern movie history: Molly sensuously shaping clay as Sam embraces her from behind and the Righteous Brothers’ Unchained Melody plays on the jukebox, in the improbably vast bohemian apartment they are somehow able to afford). It all feels so weirdly innocent and romantic that there isn’t even really any smuttiness in the image of the pot rising under her caress. But one night, walking home after seeing a performance of Macbeth (an important ghost play), Sam and Molly are attacked by a mugger.

Perhaps it is uncool to admit this, but for me it was always a stunningly powerful coup de cinéma moment when Sam desperately chases after the retreating mugger following the attack, then walks back to see if Molly is all right, and is astonished by what he sees. In fact, the whole movie has that unselfconscious potency and force, advancing without a hint of irony the vision of good people going up to paradise and bad folks dragged away by dark demons to perdition.

Whoopi Goldberg is superb as the scam medium and fortune teller Oda Mae Brown, who has been ripping off grieving relatives for years and now discovers that she has indeed got the gift. Her presence triangulates the relationship with comedy.

Tony Goldwyn (grandson of legendary mogul Samuel Goldwyn) is also good as the creepy and duplicitous best friend Carl. It is a terrific scene when Carl comes round to Molly’s apartment to take advantage of her emotional vulnerability and put the moves on her – with ghostly Sam there in the room, seething with impotent protective rage.

Through a weird quirk of fate, Anthony Minghella’s film Truly, Madly, Deeply was released that same year: “the “British Ghost, with Alan Rickman as the dead partner who returns to help the grieving Juliet Stevenson. It is a very different film (she is immediately aware of his presence) and perhaps unfairly mocked as a luvvie-earnest exercise in British right-on-ness. But both, in their own ways, take the idea of grief seriously. (Though I remember when I first watched Ghost simply not being able to believe that Sam would not return, that it was all a mistake and we might somehow find out that he had been put on life-support system in hospital in a persistent vegetative state. But no.)

Watching it again now, you might feel the yuppie-skulduggery theme is a bit dated – and ghostly Sam (or anyone else) should have been telling Molly to change the locks at her apartment. But Swayze has a robust charm and Moore gives it her all, despite being on the verge of being upstaged at all times by Goldberg and Swayze. There’s an ectoplasm of goofy Hollywood magic.

Ghost is rereleased in the UK on 14 February.

Romance films
Drama films
Patrick Swayze
Whoopi Goldberg

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10 Supernatural Horror Movies That Aren't About Ghosts

8 actors whose greatest performances are in tim burton movies, 20 best alfred hitchcock movies, ranked.

Ghost movies offer innovative twists on familiar tales, drawing on folktales and religious beliefs.
Japanese horror films inspire some of the scariest ghosts, adding depth to grief narratives.
Animation and VFX technology enhance the visual storytelling of ghost movies in unique ways.

Whether they're horror movies or not, ghost movies have captured the attention of audiences for many years, and the best movies involving ghosts put an innovative twist on familiar tales of paranormal activity. No matter what kind of afterlife a film draws its inspiration from, there are plenty of folktales and religious philosophies to draw upon when making a movie about ghosts. Ghost movies differ from traditional horror and monster movies because they deal with the fear and mystery of an entity that might not be visible, capitalizing on the human fear of the unknown.

Outside of horror, ghosts can appear in films about grief and play an instrumental role in the healing process for the characters still alive onscreen.

Japanese horror movies are known for having the scariest ghosts in the horror genre, and many films on the list take direct inspiration from their style and stories. Outside of horror, ghosts can appear in films about grief and play an instrumental role in the healing process for the characters still alive onscreen. Similarly to other genres that deal with fantasy, ghost movies excel in animation because of the limitless opportunities for visual styles and effects. Conversely, live-action ghost stories have come a long way because of the innovation in VFX technology.

The term "supernatural" doesn't necessarily refer to ghosts, as these brilliant horror movies featuring different otherworldly entities prove.

10 ParaNorman (2012)

Directed by sam fell.

ParaNorman is a stop-motion animated movie about a young boy who uses his ability to see and communicate with the dead to save his town from an ancient witch's curse. The voice cast includes Kodi Smit-McPhee, Anna Kendrick, Casey Affleck, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Leslie Mann, Jodelle Ferland, Bernard Hill, Tucker Albrizzi, and John Goodman.

Stop-motion is well known for its contributions to horror, and ParaNorman is a criminally underrated addition to the stop-motion canon. The film follows the story of pre-teen Norman, voiced by Kodi Smit-Mcphee, a boy who can commune with the dead. He's a shy boy who struggles to communicate with the living, so ParaNorman characterizes the ghosts as friendly and informative presences who are looking out for the land of the living. The antagonists of the movie are not the ghosts themselves but a witch's curse that was placed many years ago.

In this way, ParaNorman grapples with the history of the Salem Witch Trials and their violent legacy in the United States. ParaNorman is notable for its ability to convey a complex message about history within a traditional children's format and relate it to the ups and downs of childhood. I t's not uncommon for children to turn to imaginary friends or ghosts when they feel that the living world doesn't understand them. The film is also notable for including the first openly gay animated character.

Watch ParaNorman on Starz.

9 Casper (1995)

Directed by brad silberling.

*Availability in US

Not available

Although there are sad facts about Casper's backstory , they only imbue Casper with more heart and emotion. Based on the character Casper The Friendly Ghost from the Harvey Comics series, Casper is just as friendly as his original name suggests. A young Christina Ricci moves into the home that the kindly ghost is haunting, and the two children, one living and one dead form a connection. They bond because Casper still feels a pull to the world of the living and has been lonely after all these years.

Additionally, Kat (Ricci) has recently moved and feels isolated while trying to build new friendships and adapt to her new environment. Though there are small elements of the scary ghost narrative, that's not really what Casper is about. It's about moving on and healing from past traumas by sharing them with a friend. Though Casper doesn't break boundaries in its discussion of childhood, it has a serious emotional message. The visual triumph of blending live-action and animation shouldn’t be overlooked, either.

8 Beetlejuice (1988)

Directed by tim burton, beetlejuice.

Tim Burton's Beetlejuice stars Michael Douglas as the titular "bio-exorcist", an obnoxious spirit who specializes in driving living occupants out of homes. When Barbara (Geena Davis) and Adam Maitland (Alec Baldwin) die suddenly, they pass into the spirit realm, and must stay in their home. However, in the living world, the Deetz family purchases the house and moves in, prompting the Maitlands to enlist the help of Beetlejuice to drive them away.

There are many reasons why Beetlejuice has become such an iconic piece of ghoulish filmmaking and why it has become a significant touchstone in popular culture. From the expert direction of Tim Burton to the stellar cast that includes Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Geena Davis, and Alec Baldwin, Beetlejuice was a case of a film being set up for success. Since its premiere, Beetlejuice has been adapted into a stage musical, and there's plenty more on the horizon for the source material. This kind of relevance so many years after the original indicates the quality of the film.

The use of ghosts and the conflict of Davis and Baldwin's characters trying to use their ghostly powers to scare a family away from moving into their house is rife with comedy. Beetlejuice excels by subverting the common tropes of how ghosts are supposed to act and framing through two newly minted spirits who have no idea how to be ghosts or how to cross into the afterlife. Additionally, the memorable and well-developed characters contribute to how easily viewers are sucked into the plot and can't look away.

Tim Burton is a talented filmaker and storyteller, capable of bringing out the best in the actors he works with and creating rich imaginative worlds.

7 Ghostbusters (1984)

Directed by ivan reitman, ghostbusters (1984).

Ghostbusters is a 1984 fantasy sci-fi movie from director Ivan Reitman. The movie stars Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, Harold Ramis, and Ernie Hudson as Raymond Stantz, Peter Venkman, Egon Spengler, and Winston Zeddemore, paranormal investigators who travel New York hunting and capturing ghosts. The movie eventually became one of the most iconic films of the '80s, spawning a multimedia franchise including a sequel, spinoffs, books, and video games.

Few movies have become as definitive of the ghost genre as Ghostbusters . The many sequels that have come out since the original in 1984 have tried, but nothing compares to the first film or can capture its humor. Part of this is due to the original cast’s chemistry and also because audiences had never seen anything like it when it premiered. Using iconic buildings in New York City as its setting lends itself to the film’s timeless nature and the nostalgia that it already had in 1984.

Part parody of horror films about ghost exorcisms and part exploration into the intersection between science and the supernatural, Ghostbusters was an underdog when it hit the box office. It wasn't predicted to be the success that it was, and the theme song has become one of the most iconic featured songs in a comedic movie. There are many reasons Ghostbusters stands alone among similar films, and it's due to the witty dialogue and smart writing that don't rely on equally strong special effects to carry the narrative.

6 The Sixth Sense (1999)

Directed by m. night shyamalan, the sixth sense.

Directed by M. Night Shyamalan, The Sixth Sense is a psychological thriller about a young boy who can see and communicate with ghosts. Bruce Willis as Dr. Malcolm Crowe, a child psychologist who tries to help Cole, played by Haley Joel Osment, while grappling with his own personal demons. The movie features a twist ending that has become iconic in pop culture.

The director, M. Night Shyamalan, is known for making films with incredible twists that are nearly impossible to predict. He gained this reputation through films like The Sixth Sense, which always leaves first-time viewers stunned when they realize that the entire film's meaning has changed in the final few moments. For this reason, watching The Sixth Sense only once is almost impossible because it's just as fun to watch knowing how it ends. Having insight into the twist allows the audience to truly appreciate the foreshadowing and the hints that are dropped along the way.

Cole Sear (Haley Joel Osment) is a child who sees ghosts, and he delivers the famous line, "I see dead people." However, The Sixth Sense is much more than this iconic and frequently parodied line of dialogue. Bruce Willis gives a show-stopping performance as Dr. Malcolm Crowe, a man trying to help Cole. Despite the dramatic elements, there are still many scary scenes in The Sixth Sense . Though many films have explored what happens when someone can see the dead, few have done it better than The Sixth Sense .

5 Spirited Away (2001)

Directed by hayao miyazaki, spirited away (2001).

Spirited Away, a masterpiece by Hayao Miyazaki, is an animated fantasy film that follows the enchanting journey of a young girl named Chihiro. Trapped in a mystical world after her parents are transformed into pigs, Chihiro must navigate a realm filled with spirits and peculiar creatures to save her family.

Spirited Away is one of the best anime movies of all time because of its gorgeous visual style, the moving story, and the brilliant director from Studio Ghibli's Hayao Miyazaki. Though Spirited Away stands out not only in animation but in filmmaking in general, ghosts are more a means to an end in telling the story, which is why it doesn't rank higher on the list. Spirited Away is more concerned with folklore and legends of Japanese mythology than ghosts. However, this makes the story even more impactful because of its ability to translate long-held beliefs into the modern era.

The protagonist, Chihiro, is a young girl transported to the spirit realm and starts working at a supernatural spa/bathhouse after her parents are transformed into pigs. Like all children in Miyazaki movies, Chihiro is uncommonly brave and goes through more than many children her age. However, Spirited Away understands that the emotions of children should be taken as seriously as adults and communicates this within a beautifully realized world. Though the spirit world is different from reality, in some ways, it captures the human experience more fully because of this.

Watch Spirited Away on Max.

4 Poltergeist (1982)

Directed by tobe hooper, poltergeist.

Based on the creative team behind the original Poltergeist , it's unsurprising that it's one of the best-known ghost movies and one of the scariest. Steven Spielberg collaborated on the script with Tobe Hooper directing due to his work on The Texas Chainsaw Massacre , a film that has come to embody the modern definition of a slasher film. Poltergeist is an exceptionally frightening film, and even with the technology of the 1980s, that doesn't stop it from being terrifying to this day. When viewers think of ghosts in a horror context, the first thing that comes to mind is often Poltergeist .

Outside the scares, Poltergeist is also a well-made film that was nominated for three Academy Awards. This achievement is no small feat since the horror genre is habitually overlooked and underrepresented during the mainstream awards season. However, Poltergeist transcended this because it told a compact and intriguing story and knew better than to lean too far into special effects. Aspects of the thriller genre are implemented, making the moments between scares feel just as high-stakes as when the ghosts are onscreen.

3 A Ghost Story (2017)

Directed by david lowery, a ghost story.

Fantasy, reality, and grief come together to weave a story that spans centuries in David Lowery's A Ghost Story . Even with a microbudget of $100,000, via Box Office Mojo , the film managed to feel both enormous in scope and painfully intimate in its storytelling. A Ghost Story takes the question of what happens after death and takes it to the extreme when a man comes back as a ghost and is unable to move on because he left behind his wife in the living world. He remains on the fringes of reality until he finds closure.

Starring Casey Affleck and Rooney Mara, A Ghost Story is not an easy watch and can border on harrowing for the audience and performers. There is a scene consistently of a single take of Mara eating an entire pie by herself. Haunting takes on many forms in A Ghost Story , and the audience can't help feeling as if their own regrets and unfinished business are lingering behind them. Despite its limited release, the film generated decent returns but deserves much more popularity than it has.

2 Rebecca (1940)

Directed by alfred hitchcock.

Alfred Hitchcock may be the king of thriller movies, but he rarely dipped his toe into the supernatural outside his 1940 film Rebecca . The film is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Daphne du Maurier. Though it has paranormal elements, Rebecca is still wholly a Hitchcock film, and all the marks of his work are present. The ghost of Rebecca, the first wife of the man that Mrs. de Winter (Joan Fontaine) marries, haunts her throughout the film, and though Rebecca is never seen, she is a persistent presence in every scene.

Rebecca also boasts the legendary actor Laurence Olivier performing in the film as her husband, Maxim de Winter. He and Fontaine play off each other brilliantly as she becomes sucked into his web and find out the truth behind Rebecca's death. There isn't a second of respite in the film, and the sense that there's something hidden in the shadows permeates the story. If not for one other film, it would be the best ghost story ever told.

Alfred Hitchcock directed over 50 feature-length movies, and his best thrillers are still just as suspenseful and terrifying decades later.

1 The Shining (1980)

Directed by stanley kubrick, the shining.

Stanley Kubrick's horror classic starring Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall tells the story of the Torrance family, who move to the isolated Overlook Hotel so that father Jack Torrance can act as its winter caretaker. Stuck at the hotel due to the winter storms, the malevolent supernatural forces inhabiting the building slowly begin to drive Jack insane, causing his wife and psychically gifted son to be caught up in a fight for their lives when Jack is pushed over the edge.

The Shining is arguably Stanley Kubrick's best film and the best ghost movie ever made. The film is the benchmark that all horror movies aim to hit, but few compare with the iconic story. Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall devote everything to giving fantastic performances, and without them, the movie wouldn't be half as compelling. As Jack (Nicholson) slowly unravels before the eyes of his wife and child, the audience feels themselves slipping away along with him.

Although it wasn't an immediate hit at the time of its release, The Shining has come to be recognized as an incredible contribution to the horror genre and filmmaking in general. As critics and audiences have realized the importance of the film, many negative reviews have been rescinded. Arthouse horror has always had a difficult time being properly appraised, and though The Shining suffered from this, it's now an example of true excellence in the genre. Kubrick was a master of his craft, and The Shining was no exception.

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The 200 Best Horror Movies of All Time

New year, new boo! We’ve re-vamped, fangs and all, our guide to the 200 best horror movies of all time, with critics and audiences now coming together in hellacious harmony to pick the freakiest, frightiest, and Freshest from horror movie history!

To assist in scheduling your film fright night, we guide you through German expressionism ( Nosferatu , The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari ) and Universal monsters ( Dracula , The Wolf Man ). Creature features ( King Kong , The Fly ) nestle with Best Picture nominees ( The Exorcist , Get Out ). Slashers ( Scream ), zombies ( Dawn of the Dead ), vampires ( Let the Right One In ) abound with terror of the more psychological persuasion ( Don’t Look Now , The Innocents ). Plus, we honor the recent stabs and strides made by female horror directors ( A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night , The Babadook , The Invitation ) and directors abroad ( Under the Shadow , The Wailing ).

To sort the list, we’re using our recommendation formula, which calculates a movie’s Tomatometer rating AND its Audience Score , along with the film’s number of reviews and year of release. And how did we pick what to initially throw into our bubbling recommendation cauldrong? We hand-picked only Certified Fresh movies with a positive Audience Score, with recent movies needing at least 100 critics reviews. What’s recent? Anything after 2016, which is when we expanded our critics pool and criteria.

Ready to settle in for dark nights of Fresh fear? Then flip the switch on the 200 best horror movies of all time. It’s alive! It’s alive!!

Alien (1979) 93%

Let the Right One In (2008) 98%

Aliens (1986) 98%

Jaws (1975) 97%

The Silence of the Lambs (1991) 95%

Get Out (2017) 98%

Psycho (1960) 97%

One Cut of the Dead (2017) 100%

King Kong (1933) 97%

A Quiet Place (2018) 96%

Halloween (1978) 96%

Shaun of the Dead (2004) 92%

What We Do in the Shadows (2014) 96%

Diabolique (1955) 95%

The Invisible Man (2020) 92%

Nosferatu (1922) 97%

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) 98%

Rosemary's Baby (1968) 96%

The Wailing (2016) 99%

Bride of Frankenstein (1935) 98%

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1919) 96%

The Devil's Backbone (2001) 93%

Eyes Without a Face (1960) 97%

A Quiet Place Part II (2021) 91%

The Babadook (2014) 98%

Train to Busan (2016) 95%

The Ring (1998) 98%

His House (2020) 100%

Night of the Living Dead (1968) 95%

Talk to Me (2023) 95%

Tigers Are Not Afraid (2017) 97%

Repulsion (1965) 96%

Frankenstein (1931) 94%

Vampyr (1932) 98%

Freaks (1932) 95%

The Night of the Hunter (1955) 93%

A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) 95%

The Innocents (1961) 95%

Prey (2022) 94%

Under the Shadow (2016) 99%

Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979) 95%

Border (2018) 97%

M3GAN (2022) 93%

Dawn of the Dead (1978) 91%

Godzilla (1954) 93%

Peeping Tom (1960) 95%

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014) 96%

Re-Animator (1985) 94%

The Fly (1986) 93%

Suspiria (1977) 94%

Pearl (2022) 92%

Zombieland (2009) 89%

The Birds (1963) 94%

The Innocents (2021) 97%

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962) 91%

X (2022) 94%

Misery (1990) 91%

The Cabin in the Woods (2011) 92%

The Amusement Park (1973) 96%

It Follows (2014) 95%

Raw (2016) 93%

Dead of Night (1945) 93%

Dracula (1931) 94%

Carrie (1976) 93%

The Host (2006) 93%

10 Cloverfield Lane (2016) 90%

Kwaidan (1964) 91%

28 Days Later (2002) 87%

Don't Look Now (1973) 93%

Thelma (2017) 92%

Attack the Block (2011) 91%

The Orphanage (2007) 87%

Barbarian (2022) 93%

Werewolf by Night (2022) 89%

Us (2019) 93%

Upgrade (2018) 88%

Evil Dead 2 (1987) 88%

An American Werewolf in London (1981) 89%

Ready or Not (2019) 89%

The Lighthouse (2019) 90%

It (2017) 85%

Eraserhead (1977) 89%

Green Room (2015) 90%

Beast (2017) 92%

Hereditary (2018) 90%

Drag Me to Hell (2009) 92%

The Return of the Living Dead (1985) 91%

The Wicker Man (1973) 91%

Dead Alive (1992) 89%

You Won't Be Alone (2022) 93%

The Fly (1958) 95%

Let Me In (2010) 88%

Village of the Damned (1960) 93%

Don't Breathe (2016) 88%

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) 89%

The Phantom of the Opera (1925) 90%

The Conjuring (2013) 86%

Cat People (1942) 92%

Horror of Dracula (1958) 91%

The Blackening (2022) 87%

Grindhouse (2007) 84%

The Thing (1982) 84%

House of Wax (1953) 93%

The Shining (1980) 83%

The Love Witch (2016) 95%

Bone Tomahawk (2015) 91%

The Descent (2005) 87%

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931) 91%

Mandy (2018) 90%

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17 Highest-Rated Horror Movies, According to IMDb

Focusing on movies that have had 25,000 or more votes, here's a look at a few of the highest-rated horror movies according to IMDb user ratings.

With over 38,000 horror titles on IMDb , it can be difficult to choose which horror movies to watch. However, IMDb has made it easier by compiling the highest-rated horror films by user rating. These movies all have at least 25,000 user votes on the platform, making them among some of the most popular horror films ever made, according to IMDb users. From great psychological thrillers to slasher classics, here are the top seventeen highest-rated horror movies by users on IMDb.

Updated on September 23rd, 2023, by Angela Campbell: This article has been updated with additional content to keep the discussion fresh and relevant with even more information and new Westerns.

17 Evil Dead Rise (2023)

Imdb rating: 6.6.

One of the most recent films to grace the list, Lee Cronin's 2023 psychological horror hit, Evil Dead Rise , is the fifth installment of Sam Raimi's beloved horror franchise that centers on the strained relationship between sisters Beth and Ellie (Lily Sullivan & Alyssa Sutherland) as they fight to protect their family from demonic creatures after they discover a nefarious book containing unfathomable evil. The estranged duo must put aside their issues and battle against flesh-possessing demons while confronting terrifying nightmares if they have any hopes of surviving the horror.

Evil Dead Rise was a knockout with both critics and longtime fans of the series, nabbing an 8.1 IMDb rating as well as a 96% Rotten Tomatoes score. Deadline Hollywood declared in their review that the film "feels like a real return to form. It’s funny, absurd, gory, bleak, and will keep viewers on edge–just how the fans like it."

16 Talk to Me (2022)

Imdb rating: 7.2.

The newest entry on this list, Talk to Me is an Australian horror film that became a box office hit in 2023, thanks to its original premise, practical effects, and terrifying sound design. A group of teens discovers they can communicate with the dead using an embalmed hand, but one of them breaks the rules, allowing a malevolent force to torment them.

This creepy movie currently has a 7.2 rating on IMBd's list of top horror movies and holds a 95% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Plus, the movie already has both a prequel and a sequel in the works.

15 I Am Legend (2007)

Let's all agree on one thing — I Am Legend contains one of the most heart-wrenching and traumatizing scenes in cinema if you love animals. Whether that's the reason it ranks high on IMDb's horror movies list is unclear, but regardless, this Will Smith-led post-apocalyptic thriller is set to get a sequel nearly 20 years after its initial release.

Following a virus outbreak that turned most survivors into cannibalistic mutants, Smith played a loner trying to find a cure for the disease while he also searched for other survivors. I Am Legend blends genres, including science fiction and action, but IMDb users give it high marks for its horror elements. It holds a 7.2 rating from almost 800,000 votes on the site.

14 The Conjuring (2013)

Imdb rating: 7.5.

The Conjuring universe has spawned several top-rated horror films, and it's all thanks to the 2013 movie that kick-started the franchise. Starring Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga as paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren, this terrifying horror film from director James Wan drew inspiration from the supposed real-life haunting of a family terrorized by an unknown presence in their farmhouse.

Using old-school scares and visceral storytelling, Wan managed to create an entertaining and creepy movie in the vein of classics such as The Amityville Horror. IMDb users have also deemed The Conjuring to be one of the best horror movies on the site, ranking it within the top 15 horror movies. With even more entries in the franchise planned it'll be interesting to see if any future franchise entries can top the original.

13 Get Out (2017)

Imdb rating: 7.8.

A modern entry for this list, the critically acclaimed horror hit Get Out proved that social issues can be terrifying when presented under the guise of entertainment. When a Black man accompanies his white girlfriend to meet her family, he discovers a conspiracy in which middle-class white liberals transplant people's brains into others' bodies. While some consider this movie to be more thought-provoking than scary, many critics felt its layered themes of racism created an unsettling atmosphere.

Get Out wasn't only a box office success in 2017, but remains one of the best-rated horror movies of the last decade. It earned four Academy Award nominations and has a 98% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with numerous reviews calling it funny, scary, and thought-provoking. With an IMDb rating of 7.8 from approximately 655,000 users, this one proves that original horror can still have a deep impact on viewers.

Related: 19 Oscar-Winning Horror Movies That Shocked and Surprised

12 The Blue Elephant (2014)

Imdb rating: 8.0.

One of the newer horror films on the list, The Blue Elephant was first released in 2014 and hit audiences with its unique approach to the horror genre. It is an Egyptian film that follows a psychiatrist who is trying to transition back to work after a personal tragedy. Dealing with his own inner demons, finding out one of his friends is a patient in the criminal mental institution where he works sets off a series of events that viewers need to watch to get the full experience of The Blue Elephant .

Also holding an 8.0 user rating on IMDb, this movie is a visually stunning adaptation of the 2012 novel of the same name. It's a perfect balance of suspense and intrigue and an excellent addition to the highest-rated horror movies.

11 What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)

This 1962 classic starring Joan Crawford and Bette Davis tells the story of two aging sisters who live together. "Baby" Jane Hudson (Davis) is a former child star slowly spiraling into madness while her sister Blanche (Crawford) is confined to a wheelchair after an accident. The two are terrorized by each other in a gripping rivalry that touches on themes of jealousy, loneliness, and mental illness.

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane holds an 8.0 rating on IMDb and was nominated for numerous awards, crossing over from the horror genre and into the mainstream thanks to the film's major stars. Overall, the film has become one of the most iconic psychological thrillers in film history.

10 The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)

Widely regarded as the first true horror film in history, the 1920 German silent horror picture The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari tells the chilling tale of the titular unhinged hypnotist (Werner Krauss) who manipulates the somnambulist Cesare (Conrad Veidt) to carry out a series of gruesome murders. The groundbreaking movie helped pave the way for German cinema and also served as a stepping stone for arthouse films, and was noteworthy for its dramatic and gothic aesthetic and revolutionary and chaotic cinematography.

The highly influential picture currently has an 8.0 IMDb rating and during its worldwide release, women in the audience reportedly screamed and even fainted when Cesare made his spine-tingling reveal. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is considered a classic picture and one of the most lauded and famous German pictures of the silent era.

9 Rosemary's Baby (1968)

Another psychological horror film on the list is the 1968 Roman Polanski classic Rosemary's Baby . The movie follows a young pregnant woman, Rosemary Woodhouse (Mia Farrow), who moves into a New York City apartment building with her husband, Guy (John Cassavetes). It's clear that the other occupants of the building are not exactly normal, but that's just the beginning of the horror Rosemary will face.

With an 8.0 user rating and several awards, this thriller is an excellent example of how danger can lurk in the most unexpected places. If you're looking for a subtle, suspenseful horror movie with an unnerving and escalating atmosphere , this is the one to watch.

8 Les Diaboliques (1955)

Imdb rating: 8.1.

Henri-Georges Clouzot's Les Diaboliques , also referred to as Diabolique , is a 1955 French horror film that has influenced thrillers in countless ways. The film follows two women, Christina Delasalle (Véra Clouzot) and Nicole Horner (Simone Signoret), who conspire to murder their mutual lover, Michel Delasalle (Paul Meurisse).

They try to plan the perfect crime, but they find that things are not as easy as they had planned when Michel's body disappears. This classic thriller has an 8.1 user rating on IMDb and is one that viewers need to watch until the end. If you're looking for a suspenseful, dramatic horror movie with unexpected twists, this is a must-watch.

Related: Modern Horror Classics That Are Great for Any Time of Year

7 The Exorcist (1973)

The Exorcist is one of the most well-known and highly-regarded horror films of all time. The 1973 classic follows a young girl, Regan (Linda Blair), who becomes possessed by the devil after playing with an Ouija board. Her mother (Ellen Burstyn) and two priests, Father Karras (Jason Miller) and Father Merrin (Max von Sydow), are determined to save Regan from the evil forces that have taken over her body.

The Exorcist has an 8.1 user rating on IMDb and won two Academy Awards, as well as four Golden Globes. It has been praised for its iconic '70s soundtrack , acting, and special effects, helping to make it one of the most iconic horror films ever made.

6 Tumbbad (2018)

Imdb rating: 8.2.

Another recent horror movie, Tumbbad is an Indian horror-fantasy film released in 2018. It follows Vinayak (Sohum Shah), a man who is obsessed with discovering the source of wealth said to be hidden in an ancestral home. He ends up traveling to the home with his son, Pandurang, and together they become entangled in a web of deceit, greed, and danger as they try to uncover the mythological secrets of the property.

The cinematography and atmosphere of Tumbbad make it truly unique. It has an 8.2 user rating on IMDb, holding 17 awards and over 22 nominations. It's a fantastic movie for anyone who loves international horror and fantasy.

5 The Thing (1982)

Horror icon John Carpenter directed the 1982 classic The Thing , a loose remake that follows a group of scientists in Antarctica who discover an alien life form that can take the shape and form of its victims. The alien is able to spread rapidly, and the group must figure out how to fight it before it's too late. The tension and suspense in this movie will keep you on the edge of your seat, and the grotesque special effects are nothing short of amazing for the 80s.

The Thing has an 8.2 user rating and has incredible performances from Kurt Russell, Wilford Brimley, and Keith David. It's a great example of how horror remakes can be done right, and is considered to be a masterpiece by fans of science fiction and horror.

4 The Shining (1980)

Imdb rating: 8.4.

The Shining , directed by Stanley Kubrick in 1980, is a horror movie that follows Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) and his family as they move into an isolated hotel in the Colorado Rockies. Jack is responsible for the Overlook Hotel as the winter caretaker, but his sanity begins to slip away the longer he is there. On the surface, The Shining looks like a standard thriller, but the deeper themes of evil and family tragedy (not to mention the many conspiracy theories about the film ) make it a classic.

The Shining has an 8.4 user rating on IMDb and has earned awards and nominations from both the Academy Awards and the Golden Globes. It's another horror movie that is guaranteed to linger in the back of your mind long after you've finished watching it and one that has stuck in the cultural lexicon for nearly half a century.

3 Psycho (1960)

Imdb rating: 8.5.

One of Alfred Hitchcock's most iconic films, Psycho is a 1960 classic that follows Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) as she steals money and flees town, eventually ending up at the Bates Motel. She is greeted by the creepy owner of the motel (Anthony Perkins), who is hiding a dark secret. It doesn't take long for things to take a dark turn for both Marion and her sister (Vera Miles), who also finds herself in danger.

Psycho is a thrilling horror movie that can still hold up today, thanks to how revolutionary and ahead of its time the filmmaking was. It has an 8.5 user rating on IMDb and also won the Best Motion Picture award at the 1961 Edgar Allan Poe Awards. It is full of suspense and great performances, making it clear why it's often referred to as the blueprint for modern horror.

Related: 10 Best A24 Movies, According to IMDb

2 Alien (1979)

Ridley Scott's 1979 classic, Alien , lands close to the top of IMDb's list of horror movies by user rating with an 8.5. It follows the crew of a spaceship who are sent to explore an unknown planet, only to be attacked by a terrifying alien creature. Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) is one of the few survivors and must battle against a creature that is relentless in its pursuit.

Alien has since become a classic sci-fi horror movie, and it's no surprise as to why. The combination of suspense and special effects creates a fantastic environment, and the performances of Weaver and her fellow crew members keep you invested throughout. Ripley has become an iconic female character, making this a movie that any fan of horror and feminism alike should watch at least once.

1 The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

Imdb rating: 8.6.

Revered as one of the greatest and most influential cinematic releases of all time, Jonathan Demme's 1991 psychological horror masterpiece The Silence of the Lambs famously follows FBI trainee Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) as she is forced to seek the expertise of the deranged, cannibalistic serial killer Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) in order to catch a murderer terrorizing the country.

The acclaimed picture became one of just three films in history to win the five major categories at the Academy Awards, including Best Actor and Best Actress for Hopkins and Foster, respectively; 1934's It Happened One Night and 1975's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest are the other two that achieved the feat. With an IMDb rating of 8.6 from nearly 1.5 million users, the horror hit is without a doubt one of the most respected and decorated films of its genre.

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Ghost Stories

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Ghost Stories offers a well-crafted, skillfully told horror anthology that cleverly toys with genre tropes while adding a few devilishly frightful twists.

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Ghost Movie Review: Shiva Rajkumar And Jayaram’s Cat And Mouse Chase Ends Abruptly

Updated Oct 19, 2023, 12:45 IST

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Action,Thriller

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Ghost Movie Review Shiva Rajkumar And Jayarams Cat And Mouse Chase Ends Abruptly

About Ghost

Ghost review: plot and theme, ghost review: execution, ghost review: performances, ghost review: direction, ghost review: the verdict.

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The Ghost Review: Nothing To Boast

Movie: The Ghost Rating: 2/5 Banner: Sree Venkateswara Cinemas LLP Cast: Nagarjuna, Sonal Chauhan, Gul Panag, Anikha Surendran, Manish Chaudhari, Ravi Varma, Srikanth Iyengar, Bilal Hossein and others Music: Bharatt-Saurabh, Mark K Robin Director of Photography: Mukesh G Editor: Dharmendra kakarala Action: Dinesh Subbarayan, Kecha Producers: Suniel Narang, Puskur Ram Mohan Rao, Sharrath Marar Written and directed by: Praveen Sattaru Release Date: October 5, 2022

Nagarjuna Akkineni and director Praveen Sattaru have teamed up for the first time. The film’s trailer and teasers created a lot of interest.

Let’s find out its merits and demerits.

Story: After a failed mission, Interpol officers Vikram (Nagarjuna) and Priya (Sonal Chauhan) part ways. They also break up their relationship. Vikram also quits his job.

Five years later, he gets a call from his estranged sister Anu (Gul Panag). He heads to Ooty and finds that his sister and his niece (Anikha Surendran) are under threat.

Vikram agrees to stay there and protect them. Anu is a chairperson of a huge business empire. Another company is trying to take over Anu’s company. Despite his efforts, Anu gets killed in an attack.

Will Vikram protect his niece safely?

Artistes’ Performances: For senior Nagarjuna, the role is a cakewalk. He has done such roles in the past. All he does in the film is wields swords, blast ammunition, and indulge in shootouts.

Sonal Chauhan appears as an Interpol officer. She does some decent action stunts. Gul Panag plays a typical sister’s role.

Anikha Surendran plays the role of rich brat convincingly.

Technical Excellence: Mukesh’s cinematography is terrific. More than anyone else, the stunt masters have more work to do in the film, and they excel in their jobs. The background score is apt. Editing lacks sharpness as the lengthy action episodes go on and on.

Highlights: Initial portions One or two action sequences

Drawback: Clichéd story Dated and artificial sentiment Series of fights Mindless climax sequence

Analysis We all know that story takes a backseat in action dramas. But when the wafer-thin plot serves as an excuse to flip one action sequence to another, it feels dated. “The Ghost” is one such example.

Praveen Sattaru who won the name for his slick execution of “PSV Garuda Vega '' wrote a one paragraph story. An Interpol officer who quit the job gets a personal assignment of saving his sister from the enemies. Praveen Sattaru has not developed any worth talking about moments other than this one-line story and filled it with a series of action stunts.

One action sequence is set in a desert, the other on the busy city roads and the next one in a hill station. Another one is in a house. The next one is in another place. The locations change, and the scenes change, but the crux remains the same: a fight scene.

No film in recent times has come with a series of action stunts with little to no story. Furthermore, given all the hype around threats that the hero’s sister faces, we expect a strong antagonist who might prove to be more than a match to the hero Nagarjuna, but what we get is a cardboard villain character.

To be fair, the first half of the film at least has some reasoning as it focuses on Nagarjuna’s Interpol days and a brief flashback about his family. The second half is a mess. The climax is excruciatingly bad.

By adding “KGF”-like machine gun sequences and Kamal Haasan’s Vikram-like fight scenes, Praveen Sattaru has spoiled it further. For a film that also talks about sister and niece, the sentiment scenes are superficial.

The blame entirely lies on Praveen Sattaru. It is his lame writing that is the villain.

On the whole, “The Ghost” is another senseless action drama with no effective storytelling.

Bottom Line: Frightens the audience

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There's a small tomb in Southwark Cathedral that I like to visit when I am in London. It contains the bones of a teenage girl who died three centuries ago. I know the inscription by heart:

This world to her Was but a tragic play. She came, saw, dislik'd, And passed away.

I thought of those words while I was watching "Ghost World," the story of an 18-year-old girl from Los Angeles who drifts forlorn through her loneliness, cheering herself up with an ironic running commentary. The girl is named Enid, she has just graduated from high school, and she has no plans for college, marriage, a career or even next week. She's stuck in a world of stupid, shallow phonies, and she makes her personal style into a rebuke.

Unfortunately, Enid is so smart, so advanced, and so ironically doubled back upon herself, that most of the people she meets don't get the message. She is second-level satire in a one-level world, and so instead of realizing, for example, that she is mocking the 1970s punk look, stupid video store clerks merely think she's 25 years out of style.

Enid is played by Thora Birch , from " American Beauty ," and in a sense this character is a continuation of that one--she certainly looks at her father the same way, with disbelief and muted horror. Her running-mate is Rebecca ( Scarlett Johansson ). There's a couple like this in every high school: The smart outsider girls who are best friends for the purpose of standing back to back and fighting off the world. At high school graduation, they listen to a speech from a classmate in a wheelchair, and Enid whispers, "I liked her so much better when she was an alcoholic and drug addict. She gets in one stupid car crash and suddenly she's Little Miss Perfect." But now Rebecca is showing alarming signs of wanting to get on with her life, and Enid is abandoned to her world of thrift shops, strip malls, video stores and 1950s retro diners. One day, in idle mischief, she answers a personal ad in a local paper, and draws into her net a pathetic loner named Seymour ( Steve Buscemi ). At first she strings him along. Then, unexpectedly, she starts to like him--this collector who lives hermetically sealed in a world of precious 78 rpm records and old advertising art.

By day, Seymour is an insignificant fried chicken executive. By night, he catalogs his records and wonders how to meet a woman. Why does Enid like him? "He's the exact opposite of all the things I hate." Why does he like her? Don't get ahead of the story. "Ghost World" isn't a formula romance where opposites attract and march toward the happy ending.

Seymour and Enid are too similar to fall in love; they both specialize in complex personal lifestyles that send messages no one is receiving. Enid even offers to try to fix up Seymour, but he sees himself as a bad candidate for a woman: "I don't want to meet someone who shares my interests. I hate my interests." Seymour resembles someone I know, and that person is Terry Zwigoff , who directed this movie. It's his first fiction film. Zwigoff earlier made two documentaries, the masterpiece " Crumb " (1995), about the comic artist R. Crumb, and " Louie Bluie ," about the old-timey Chicago string band Martin, Bogan and the Armstrongs. He looks a little like Buscemi, and acts like a Buscemi character: worn down, dubious, ironic, resigned. Zwigoff was plagued by agonizing back pain all during the period when he was making "Crumb," and slept with a gun under his pillow, he told me, in case he had to end his misery in the middle of the night. When Crumb didn't want to cooperate with the documentary, Zwigoff threatened to shoot himself. Crumb does not often meet his match, but did with Zwigoff.

Both Zwigoff and his character Seymour collect old records that are far from the mainstream. Both are morose and yet have a bracing black humor that sees them through. Seymour and Enid connect because they are kindred spirits, and it's hard to find someone like that when you've cut yourself off from mankind.

The movie is based on an underground comic book by Daniel Clowes , who co-wrote the screenplay with Zwigoff. It listens carefully to how people talk. Illeana Douglas , for example, has a perfectly observed role as the art teacher of Enid's summer make-up class, who has fallen for political correctness hook, line and sinker, and praises art not for what it looks like but for what it "represents." There are also some nice moments from Teri Garr , who plays the take-charge girlfriend of Enid's father ( Bob Balaban ).

One scene I especially like involves a party of Seymour's fellow record collectors. They meet to exchange arcane information, and their conversations are like encryptions of the way most people talk. This event must seem strange to Enid, but see how she handles it. It's Seymour's oddness, his tactless honesty, his unapologetic aloneness, that Enid responds to. He works like the homeopathic remedy for angst: His loneliness drives out her own.

I wanted to hug this movie. It takes such a risky journey and never steps wrong. It creates specific, original, believable, lovable characters, and meanders with them through their inconsolable days, never losing its sense of humor. The Buscemi role is one he's been pointing toward during his entire career; it's like the flip side of his alcoholic barfly in " Trees Lounge ," who also becomes entangled with a younger girl, not so fortunately.

The movie sidesteps the happy ending Hollywood executives think lobotomized audiences need as an all-clear to leave the theater. Clowes and Zwigoff find an ending that is more poetic, more true to the tradition of the classic short story, in which a minor character finds closure that symbolizes the next step for everyone. "Ghost World" is smart enough to know that Enid and Seymour can't solve their lives in a week or two. But their meeting has blasted them out of lethargy, and now movement is possible. Who says that isn't a happy ending?

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.

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Film credits.

Ghost World (2001)

Rated R For Strong Language and Some Sexual Content

111 minutes

Thora Birch as Enid

Scarlett Johansson as Rebecca

Steve Buscemi as Seymour

Brad Renfro as Josh

Illeana Douglas as Roberta

Directed by

Terry Zwigoff
Daniel Clowes

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Cast & crew

GHOST: Rite Here Rite Now

Combining live performance from Ghost's sold-out Kia Forum shows in LA with a narrative story that picks up plot threads from the band's long-running webisode series. Combining live performance from Ghost's sold-out Kia Forum shows in LA with a narrative story that picks up plot threads from the band's long-running webisode series. Combining live performance from Ghost's sold-out Kia Forum shows in LA with a narrative story that picks up plot threads from the band's long-running webisode series.

Tobias Forge
Alex Ross Perry
Maralyn Facey
Alan Ursillo
Gabriel Naylor

Sister Imperator
Front Audience Member
All cast & crew
Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

Technical specs

Runtime 2 hours 25 minutes