21 October 2023 , 09:00
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With nights drawing in, fresh pumpkins adorning supermarket shelves and a chill in the air, our attention inevitably turns to how best to spook ourselves out in the run-up to Halloween.
But with so many films to choose from, where do you even begin? Well thankfully all the research has been done for you, with a stellar top 50 primed for your perusal below. Interestingly, audiences rated the first two instalments of the Alien franchise as the very best.
Despite the first film coming out more than 40 years ago, the franchise is still as popular as ever, with Disney planning a new instalment set for release sometime in 2024. The analysis by online party products retailer Party Delights used IMDB ratings, Rotten Tomatoes scores and average monthly search volume to whittle down a top 50.
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John Carpenter’s original Halloween, released around the same time as Alien, ranked third and is similar in terms of its longevity with new instalments planned for release over the coming years. Elsewhere, 2017’s Get Out followed and was the first of director and writer Jordan Peele’s two films in the top 50, with 2019’s Us placing 12th.
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Jaws rounded off the top five with the Steven Spielberg classic being only one of six films in the top 50 to have an IMDB rating of more than eight - two of which are Alien and Aliens. Released back in 1975, the movie shocked audiences at the time, with revolutionary technology being used that would ultimately form the basis for another of the director's commercial hits, Jurassic Park some 15 years later.
One of the oldest movies on the list, Frankenstein, ranked next with the classic boasting strong figures across all metrics. Japanese horror House followed, placing just ahead of Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho which had the joint highest IMDB rating (8.5) of any film on the list along with Alien.
The Stephen King adapted novel IT and 2009’s surprise hit Zombieland placed ninth and tenth, keeping another one of the author’s classic adaptations The Shining out of the top 10.
The full top 50 horror films
Rank | Film | Year of release | Rotten Tomatoes Score | IMDB rating | IMDB votes  Chilling warning text sent by ex boyfriend minutes before murdering former lover
| Monthly search volume |
1 | ALIEN | 1979 | 98% | 8.5 | 907,439 | 60000 |
2 | ALIENS | 1986 | 98% | 8.4 | 735,367 | 54000 |
3 | HALLOWEEN | 1978 | 96% | 7.7 | 289,793 | 153000 |
4 | GET OUT | 2017 | 98% | 7.8 | 644,852 | 28000 |
5 | JAWS | 1975 | 97% | 8.1 | 628,087 | 22000 |
6 | FRANKENSTEIN | 1931 | 94% | 7.8 | 75,906 | 33000 |
7 | HOUSE | 1977 | 90% | 7.3 | 30,665 | 84000 |
8 | PSYCHO | 1960 | 96% | 8.5 | 690,614 | 18000 |
9 | IT | 2017 | 86% | 7.3 | 572,873 | 84000 |
10 | ZOMBIELAND | 2009 | 89% | 7.6 | 597,641 | 33000 |
11 | THE SHINING | 1980 | 82% | 8.4 | 1,054,301 | 32000 |
12 | US | 2019 | 93% | 6.8 | 317,462 | 42000 |
13 | DRACULA | 1931 | 94% | 7.4 | 55,386 | 25000 |
14 | SHAUN OF THE DEAD | 2004 | 92% | 7.9 | 573,403 | 18000 |
15 | KING KONG | 1933 | 96% | 7.9 | 88,145 | 12000 |
16 | THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA | 1925 | 90% | 7.5 | 19,246 | 27000 |
17 | MIDSOMMAR | 2019 | 83% | 7.1 | 356,916 | 63000 |
18 | NOSFERATU | 1922 | 97% | 7.9 | 101,140 | 10000 |
19 | A QUIET PLACE | 2018 | 96% | 7.5 | 552,839 | 15000 |
20 | THE CONJURING | 2013 | 86% | 7.5 | 527,408 | 27000 |
21 | THE MUMMY | 1932 | 89% | 7 | 28,423 | 32000 |
22 | 28 DAYS LATER | 2002 | 87% | 7.5 | 426,401 | 24000 |
23 | SCREAM | 1996 | 81% | 7.4 | 366,074 | 41000 |
24 | THE FLY | 1958 | 95% | 7.6 | 192,027 | 11000 |
25 | HEREDITARY | 2018 | 90% | 7.3 | 345,053 | 21000 |
26 | THE INVITATION | 2015 | 89% | 6.6 | 114,446 | 39000 |
27 | THE RING | 1998 | 98% | 7.2 | 73,678 | 11000 |
28 | THE THING | 1982 | 84% | 8.2 | 441,029 | 15000 |
29 | THE EXORCIST | 1973 | 84% | 8.1 | 423,534 | 16000 |
30 | THE FLY | 1986 | 93% | 7.6 | 192,027 | 11000 |
31 | NOSFERATU | 1979 | 95% | 7.4 | 38,304 | 10000 |
32 | TRAIN TO BUSAN | 2016 | 94% | 7.6 | 236,534 | 9700 |
33 | HALLOWEEN | 2018 | 79% | 6.5 | 161,068 | 153000 |
34 | READY OR NOT | 2019 | 88% | 6.8 | 165,522 | 25000 |
35 | POLTERGEIST | 1982 | 88% | 7.3 | 171,286 | 16000 |
36 | THE LIGHTHOUSE | 2019 | 90% | 7.4 | 233,145 | 11000 |
37 | THE WITCH | 2015 | 90% | 7 | 278,785 | 14000 |
38 | MISERY | 1990 | 91% | 7.8 | 222,116 | 8700 |
39 | CARRIE | 1976 | 93% | 7.4 | 195,595 | 8800 |
40 | DON'T BREATHE | 2016 | 88% | 7.1 | 287,281 | 12000 |
41 | DRAG ME TO HELL | 2009 | 92% | 6.6 | 210,691 | 14000 |
42 | OCULUS | 2013 | 75% | 6.5 | 134,185 | 45000 |
43 | THE BABADOOK | 2014 | 98% | 6.8 | 234,980 | 8600 |
44 | MANDY | 2018 | 90% | 6.5 | 84,185 | 15000 |
45 | REVENGE | 2017 | 93% | 6.4 | 45,956 | 10000 |
46 | DOCTOR SLEEP | 2019 | 78% | 7.3 | 203,187 | 15000 |
47 | GERALD'S GAME | 2017 | 91% | 6.5 | 117,418 | 10000 |
48 | THE CABIN IN THE WOODS | 2011 | 92% | 7 | 432,630 | 8200 |
49 | IT FOLLOWS | 2014 | 95% | 6.8 | 254,205 | 8100 |
50 | ATTACK THE BLOCK | 2011 | 90% | 6.7 | 109,271 | 9200 |