1. The Exorcist
The Exorcist is a 1973 American supernatural horror film directed by William Friedkin, adapted by William Peter Blatty from his 1971 novel of the same name. The book, inspired by the 1949 exorcism of Roland Doe, deals with the demonic possession of a 12-year-old girl and her mother's attempts to win back her child through an exorcism conducted by two priests. The adaption is relatively faithful to the book, which itself has been commercially successful.
2. The Conjuring
The Conjuring is a 2013 American supernatural horror film directed by James Wan. Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga star as Ed and Lorraine Warren, paranormal investigators and authors associated with prominent cases of haunting. Their reports inspired The Amityville Horror. The Warrens come to the assistance of the Perron family (Ron Livingston and Lili Taylor), who are experiencing increasingly disturbing events in their farmhouse in Rhode Island in 1971.
3. Insidious
Insidious is a 2011 American supernatural horror film directed by James Wan, written by Leigh Whannell, and starring Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne and Barbara Hershey. It is the first (Chronologically, the second) installment in the Insidious film series. The story centers on a couple whose son inexplicably enters a comatose state and becomes a vessel for ghosts in an astral dimension who want to inhabit his body, in order to once again live. The film was released in theaters on April 1, 2011, and was FilmDistrict's first theatrical release.
4. Contracted
Contracted is a 2013 American horror thriller film directed and written by Eric England. It was first released on November 23, 2013, in the United States and stars Najarra Townsend as a young woman that finds herself suffering from a mysterious sexually transmitted disease after a rape. It has been compared to the 2012 film Thanatomorphose, with which it shares similarities. Twitch Film has criticized the movie for its marketing, in which England describes the character Samantha's rape as a "one night stand".
5. The Grudge trilogy
The Grudge is an American horror film series released by Sony Pictures, based on the Japanese Ju-on films. The first installment is a remake of Ju-on: The Grudge and follows a similar storyline to the Japanese film. The sequel, The Grudge 2, is not a remake and follows a unique storyline, albeit still drawing inspiration from several Ju-on films. The most recent sequel, The Grudge 3, picks up shortly after the events of the second film.
6. The Shining
The Shining is a 1980 British-American psychological horror film produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick, co-written with novelist Diane Johnson, and starring Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd, and Scatman Crothers. The film is based on Stephen King's 1977 novel The Shining, although the film and novel differ in significant ways.
7. Paranormal Activity
Paranormal Activity is a 2007 American independent found footage supernatural horror film written, co-produced, photographed, edited, and directed by Oren Peli. It is the first entry into the Paranormal Activity film series. The film centers on a young couple, Katie and Micah, who are haunted by a supernatural presence in their home. It is presented in the style of "found footage", from cameras set up by the couple in an attempt to document what is haunting them.
8. The Ring
The Ring is a 2002 American supernatural psychological horror film directed by Gore Verbinski and starring Naomi Watts. It is a remake of the 1998 Japanese horror film Ring, which was based on the novel Ring by Koji Suzuki.
9. Halloween Series
Halloween is an American horror franchise that consists of ten films, novels, comic books, merchandise, and a video game. The franchise predominately focuses on the fictional character of Michael Myers who was committed to a sanitarium as a child for the murder of his older sister.
10. Goodnight Mommy
Goodnight Mommy (German: Ich seh, Ich seh; UK: Goodnight Mummy) is a 2014 Austrian horror film written and directed by Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala. It was selected as the Austrian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 88th Academy Awards but it was not nominated.
