how to do a research project colin robson

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How to do a research project : a guide for undergraduate students

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How to do a Research Project: A Guide for Undergraduate Students Paperback – Jan. 23 2007

There is a newer edition of this item:.

• ISBN-10 1405114908
• ISBN-13 978-1405114905
• Edition 1st
• Publisher Wiley-Blackwell
• Publication date Jan. 23 2007
• Language English
• Dimensions 15.57 x 0.99 x 23.5 cm
• Print length 172 pages
• See all details

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"As someone responsible for an honours thesis seminar in anthropology, where undergraduates are to undertake their own research projects, I found this newest contribution by Colin Robson to be of substantial value and special merit. Robson is keenly aware of the many difficulties encountered by students in making the transition from consumers to producers of knowledge. This work draws in readers with illuminating guidelines and it educates even those with an advanced knowledge in research methods. As usual, Robson is able to synthesize and present knowledge distilled not just from personal experience but also from his coverage of the vast methods literature. He does so in a manner that, far from overwhelming students, furnishes students with an invitation to undertake exciting projects in social research that will surely leave them with a lasting impression." Dr Maximilian Forte, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Concordia University

"Colin Robson has produced a practical guide for undergraduates conducting research projects. The text is clear and accessible and includes material on planning, conducting and writing-up projects. It will be a valuable guide for beginners." Bob Burgess, University of Leicester

"Having just graduated, I wish this book had been available when I was pursuing my undergraduate degree. Research projects can be very daunting for undergraduate students when they are let loose on a project of their own in the third year. This book provides some handholding during these times with its very clear and logical structure... This book’s main purpose is to aid final-year undergraduate students, but it would also benefit levels one and two as it explains the basics of conducting research projects and general information, such as ethics and plagiarism in a clear and accessible way... This book levels the playing field of information so that all students have the same basis for their projects, e.g., a clear understanding of design and research types... Lecturers could use this book as a primer to save time explaining the basics, thereby allowing more time for expert guidance... How to Do a Research Project brings clarity, simplicity, and brevity to the methodology behind research projects. I suggest that higher-education institutions recommend this accessible and practical book to students as prerequisite reading where applicable.' Tamsin Shaw, University of Leeds (in 'Qualitative Research In Psychology')

"How to Do a Research Project ...is a highly readable, engaging guide that provides the necessary technical detail minus the dryness. ... This volume...represents a comprehensive yet concise primer for anyone contemplating undertaking research. It is also a constructive resource for instructors and supervisors of student research. ... Drawing on his lengthy career in research and teaching, Robson interjects the mundane realities, potential pitfalls, and other considerations likely to arise during the research process. ... After reading the text in its entirety, students will find these handy reference tools [text boxes] useful to return to when conducting a live research project. ... Included also is a valuable section on searching, reviewing, and summarizing the literature that will be useful for students. ...for the novice or tentative researcher Robson's commonsense style of writing conveys an intuitive grasp of the process that brings the reader into the "feel" of the project, breaking the research process down into logical, manageable stages, which is empowering and encouraging, rather than presenting the process as a daunting one that can dissuade students. ... At a cost of $24.95 (US/Cdn) this book is accessible to students and it is not just another dry, dull research methods textbook." Lynn Eldershaw, PhD, International Institute for Qualitative Methodology, University of Alberta (in International Journal of Qualitative Methods 6 (2) June 2007 )

From the Back Cover

Friendly and accessible, this text includes a number of accompanying support materials to aid students further. Closely integrated sets of end-of-chapter tasks covering all aspects of research projects from design to completion, as well as lists of suggested further reading, enhance each chapter. Additionally, an extensive associated website at www.blackwellpublishing.com/researchproject gives students access to a wide range of helpful materials relevant to their particular needs, making this book an invaluable resource.

About the Author

Product details.

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Wiley-Blackwell; 1st edition (Jan. 23 2007)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 172 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1405114908
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1405114905
• Item weight ‏ : ‎ 272 g
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 15.57 x 0.99 x 23.5 cm
• #29 in Education Theory Research
• #68 in Psychology Statistics
• #208 in Education Research (Books)

About the author

Colin robson.

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How to do a Research Project: A Guide for Undergraduate Students

ISBN: 978-1-405-11489-9

January 2007

Wiley-Blackwell

Colin Robson

Friendly and accessible, this text includes a number of accompanying support materials to aid students further. Closely integrated sets of end-of-chapter tasks covering all aspects of research projects from design to completion, as well as lists of suggested further reading, enhance each chapter. Additionally, an extensive associated website at www.blackwellpublishing.com/researchproject gives students access to a wide range of helpful materials relevant to their particular needs, making this book an invaluable resource.

• A student-friendly and supportive guide to designing, implementing, analyzing and reporting on undergraduate degree projects.
• A key new volume for the vast study skills market, written by the author of the bestselling Real World Research, Second Edition (Blackwell, 2002).
• Useful for students studying within the fields of education, health, social work, and the social sciences.
• Includes closely integrated end-of-chapter tasks, covering all aspects of designing and completing the project.
• Features links to extensive website material appropriate for a wide range of disciplines and fields of study which use social research methods.

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How to do a research project: a guide for undergraduate students - softcover, robson, colin.

• 3.88 3.88 out of 5 stars 16 ratings by Goodreads

• About this title
• About this edition

Written specifically to address the needs and concerns of the undergraduate, this tightly focused volume guides students through the process of conducting and completing a research project.

Friendly and accessible, this fully-updated second edition includes a number of accompanying student support materials to aid students further.  Closely integrated sets of end-of-chapter tasks covering all aspects of research projects from design to completion, as well as suggested further reading, enhance each chapter.  A wide range of additional helpful materials relevant to particular subject areas is also available on the accompanying website at www.wiley.com/college/robson . This textbook is an invaluable resource for students in a wide range of disciplines and fields of study, particularly those planning to use social research methods or to carry out a library-based study, for their undergraduate research project.

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From the Back Cover

In How to Do a Research Project , Colin Robson has created an essential tool for students. Written specifically to address the needs and concerns of the undergraduate, this tightly focused volume guides students through the process of conducting and completing a research project.

Friendly and accessible, this fully-updated second edition includes a number of accompanying student support materials to aid students further. Closely integrated sets of end-of-chapter tasks covering all aspects of research projects from design to completion, as well as suggested further reading, enhance each chapter. A wide range of additional helpful materials relevant to particular subject areas is also available on the accompanying website at www.wiley.com/college/robson . This textbook is an invaluable resource for students in a wide range of disciplines and fields of study, particularly those planning to use social research methods or to carry out a library-based study, for their undergraduate research project.

About the Author

Colin Robson is Emeritus Professor of the School of Human and Health Sciences, Huddersfield University. From 1996–2007 he was chief consultant to the OECD Centre for Educational Research and Innovation project on the development of statistics and indicators on the performance of national systems for the education of children with disabilities, learning and behaviour difficulties, and social disadvantages. He has recently completed a consultancy to a follow-up project funded by Eurostat. He is the author of the best-selling Real World Research.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

• Publisher Wiley
• Publication date 2016
• ISBN 10  1118691326
• ISBN 13  9781118691328
• Binding Paperback
• Edition number 2
• Number of pages 176

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How to do a Research Project: A Guide for Undergraduate Students 1st Edition

Friendly and accessible, this text includes a number of accompanying support materials to aid students further. Closely integrated sets of end-of-chapter tasks covering all aspects of research projects from design to completion, as well as lists of suggested further reading, enhance each chapter. Additionally, an extensive associated website at www.blackwellpublishing.com/researchproject gives students access to a wide range of helpful materials relevant to their particular needs, making this book an invaluable resource.

• ISBN-10 1405114894
• ISBN-13 978-1405114899
• Edition 1st
• Publisher Wiley-Blackwell
• Publication date January 23, 2007
• Language English
• Dimensions 6.3 x 0.68 x 9.3 inches
• Print length 176 pages
• See all details

Editorial Reviews

"As someone responsible for an honours thesis seminar in anthropology, where undergraduates are to undertake their own research projects, I found this newest contribution by Colin Robson to be of substantial value and special merit. Robson is keenly aware of the many difficulties encountered by students in making the transition from consumers to producers of knowledge. This work draws in readers with illuminating guidelines and it educates even those with an advanced knowledge in research methods. As usual, Robson is able to synthesize and present knowledge distilled not just from personal experience but also from his coverage of the vast methods literature. He does so in a manner that, far from overwhelming students, furnishes students with an invitation to undertake exciting projects in social research that will surely leave them with a lasting impression." – Dr Maximilian Forte , Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Concordia University

"Colin Robson has produced a practical guide for undergraduates conducting research projects. The text is clear and accessible and includes material on planning, conducting and writing-up projects. It will be a valuable guide for beginners." – Bob Burgess , University of Leicester

"Having just graduated, I wish this book had been available when I was pursuing my undergraduate degree. Research projects can be very daunting for undergraduate students when they are let loose on a project of their own in the third year. This book provides some handholding during these times with its very clear and logical structure... This book’s main purpose is to aid final-year undergraduate students, but it would also benefit levels one and two as it explains the basics of conducting research projects and general information, such as ethics and plagiarism in a clear and accessible way... This book levels the playing field of information so that all students have the same basis for their projects, e.g., a clear understanding of design and research types... Lecturers could use this book as a primer to save time explaining the basics, thereby allowing more time for expert guidance... How to Do a Research Project brings clarity, simplicity, and brevity to the methodology behind research projects. I suggest that higher-education institutions recommend this accessible and practical book to students as prerequisite reading where applicable." – Tamsin Shaw , University of Leeds (in 'Qualitative Research In Psychology')

"How to Do a Research Project ...is a highly readable, engaging guide that provides the necessary technical detail minus the dryness. ... This volume...represents a comprehensive yet concise primer for anyone contemplating undertaking research. It is also a constructive resource for instructors and supervisors of student research. ... Drawing on his lengthy career in research and teaching, Robson interjects the mundane realities, potential pitfalls, and other considerations likely to arise during the research process. ... After reading the text in its entirety, students will find these handy reference tools [text boxes] useful to return to when conducting a live research project. ... Included also is a valuable section on searching, reviewing, and summarizing the literature that will be useful for students. ...for the novice or tentative researcher Robson's commonsense style of writing conveys an intuitive grasp of the process that brings the reader into the "feel" of the project, breaking the research process down into logical, manageable stages, which is empowering and encouraging, rather than presenting the process as a daunting one that can dissuade students. ... At a cost of $24.95 (US/Cdn) this book is accessible to students and it is not just another dry, dull research methods textbook." – Lynn Eldershaw , PhD, International Institute for Qualitative Methodology, University of Alberta (in International Journal of Qualitative Methods 6 (2) June 2007 )

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• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Wiley-Blackwell; 1st edition (January 23, 2007)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 176 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1405114894
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1405114899
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 14.1 ounces
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.3 x 0.68 x 9.3 inches
• #1,109 in Medical Psychology Research
• #1,114 in Popular Psychology Research
• #1,674 in Research Reference Books

About the author

Colin robson.

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The 75 Greatest Horror Movies of All Time

Wilson chapman.

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In Wes Craven’s “Scream” — not quite the definitive horror movie but certainly the definitive account of horror fandom — final girl Sidney famously responds to the question of whether she likes scary movies with a resounding no. “What’s the point? They’re all the same,” she says through the phone to the movie’s slasher. “Some stupid killer stalking some big-breasted girl who can’t act who is always running up the stairs when she should be running out the front door.”

Anyone who dives into the history of horror will know that that’s certainly not the case. Rooted in silent cinema classics like “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari” and “The Phantom Carriage,” the horror genre encompasses campy creature features, exploitative shock fests, cerebral psychological terror, vomit-inducing flesh-and-spine-bursting Cronenberg creations, mournful ghost stories , modern “elevated horror,” and a dozen other microcategories beyond films about a stalker with a knife and a grudge. And that’s not to discount the slasher films that offer something rivetingly new and original.

What makes a horror film a part of the genre thus has relatively little to do with its actual content and everything to do with what it provokes within its audience. Making a truly scary movie — one that burrows into your mind and delivers a sense of unease that can’t be forgotten — is a task that requires much more skill behind the camera than it is often given credit for, and the best horror movies have a craft to them that stands up to any auteur project or Oscar Best Picture winner. It’s no surprise that the genre has such a passionate, devoted following of film geeks that regularly turn out for new releases — when a horror movie is great, there’s no experience quite like it.

With editorial contributions from Christian Blauvelt , Alison Foreman , Sarah Shachat , Ryan Lattanzio , Christian Zilko , Marcus Jones , Mark Peikert , Jim Hemphill , Marya Gates , Tambay Obenson , and Noel Murray .

75. “Hereditary” (dir. Ari Aster, 2018)

Ah, yes, it’s the anaphylactic skull “thwack” heard ‘round the world!

Like a car wrapped around a telephone poll, “Hereditary” was so widely celebrated upon its release that the film’s sterling reputation has since become something of a cliché. For studio A24 and scads of so-called “elevated horror” fans — born out of the genre renaissance this film helped create — there’s Before Ari Aster and After Ari Aster. The filmmaker’s algebraic feature debut in 2018 was indeed a key turning point in horror’s reputation across Hollywood. It’s also an exquisite, stand-alone display of artistry that deserves to be assessed outside the history it inherited… pun intended.

Pulling inspiration from horror classics like “Rosemary’s Baby” and domestic dramas like “Scenes From a Marriage,” “Hereditary” is so exquisite and exacting in its consideration of film history that its references are almost imperceptible. As Annie starts to unravel, spurred on by the slippery Joan (Anne Dowd) and a not-so-helpful support group, her emotion looms larger than almost any of Aster’s nightmarish vignettes. Peter isn’t far behind, experiencing an agonizing psychological torment that’s on par with the physical atrocities’ characteristic of torture porn. Toss in some genuinely astounding jump-scares…and a brilliantly detailed text that makes every viewing feel new…and it’s no wonder “Hereditary” sent so many heads spinning. (Close your eyes and listen carefully. Can you still hear Annie screaming?) —AF 

74. “Scream” (dir. Wes Craven, 1996)

73. “A Tale of Two Sisters” (dir. Kim Jee-woon, 2003)

Inspired by an oft-filmed Joseon dynasty-era folktale, South Korean director Kim Jee-woon’s “A Tale of Two Sisters” offers a darkly absurdist take on psychological horror. Largely unfolding in a secluded gothic country estate, the film follows Su-mi (Im Soo-jung) home after being released from a mental institution. There she reunites with her younger sister Su-yeon (Moon Geun-young) and the two butt heads with their icy stepmom Heo Eun-joo (Yum Jung-ah). Soon disturbing events, including the sight of her mother’s ghost, begin to shake Su-mi to her core. A heavy sense of dread cloaks the whole film in darkness, its restrained narration lulling the viewers into a state like sleep, which is then disrupted by carefully crafted jump scares and quick-cut editing. As the plot becomes more and more convoluted, the film reveals itself to be one best felt in all its eerie glory, rather than fully understood. —MG

72. “The Birds” (dir. Alfred Hitchcock, 1963)

71. “Bram Stoker’s Dracula” (dir. Francis Ford Coppola, 1992)

As played by Gary Oldman, the title vampire in Francis Ford Coppola’s luscious and pulsating “Bram Stoker’s Dracula” has a spirit as restless as the film’s director. Here, Coppola traverses the Ottoman Empire of the 15th century to London and Transylvania in an over-the-top, hyper-stylized Gothic that relies almost exclusively on practical effects and painterly set design to tell the most extravagant Stoker adaptation ever made.

70. “Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me” (dir. David Lynch, 1992)

It’s hard to overstate the shock that audiences (and his own collaborators!) must have felt when David Lynch unveiled his vision for the post-ABC era of “Twin Peaks.” Sure, the original run of the series changed TV history in ways too numerous to count, from its serialized plot and embrace of surrealism to the very notion that a celebrated filmmaker could bend the confines of primetime television to fit his own ideas. But at the end of the day, it was still a network show that had to work within certain rules. Overarching themes of rape, incest, addiction, and abuse could be eluded to, but not even David Lynch could truly skirt FCC regulations.

69. “In the Mouth of Madness” (dir. John Carpenter, 1994)

“When people begin to lose their ability to know the difference between fantasy and reality the old ones can begin their journey back,” novelist Sutter Cane (Jürgen Prochnow) tells insurance investigator John Trent (Sam Neill) in John Carpenter’s “In The Mouth of Madness.” On one hand, this is a straightforward account of the film’s plot in which Cane’s novels are a gateway for ancient creatures to take over the planet. On the other hand, the line also describes the descent into a delirium akin to madness that many frenzied fans find themselves in after they become obsessed with works of fiction. Screenwriter Michael De Luca’s sharply satirical script mines the world of H.P. Lovecraft, monsters and all, to examine this troubling phenomenon. Neill’s committed and totally unhinged performance perfectly matches Carpenter’s freak, establishing both as masters of the genre. The film ends on a meta moment in a movie theater as Neill’s disturbing laughter dissipates into a disquieting silence, leaving the audience to contemplate their own relationship with reality. —MG

68. “Jaws” (dir. Steven Spielberg, 1975)

The best horror films understand the power of the things you don’t see. Sometimes that’s out of necessity, when your mechanical shark doesn’t work. That’s how you get the horrifying, unforgettable opening scene with poor “summer girl” Chrissy being dragged beneath the surface by a Charcharodon charcharias. And sometimes it’s because what you, the audience, can imagine is literally more powerful than what a filmmaker could ever visualize: Quint’s iconic monologue about the sinking of the U.S.S. Indianapolis is more powerful than if it had been staged in its entirety, so unforgettable it actually makes “Jaws” a World War II movie, even if it’s about the war still being waged in one very disturbed veteran’s mind three decades after the cannons went silent. The guilt and regret Quint carries with him is as powerful as that carried by any horror film character ever. If that isn’t scary, what is? Well, maybe the dereliction of duty of Amity’s local government! Its recreational-industrial complex would sacrifice tourists and residents on the altar of those sweet summer dollars. —CB

67. “Dawn of the Dead” (dir. George Romero, 1978)

66. “Suspiria” (dir. Dario Argento, 1977)

The giallo twisted into the shape of a pitch-black fairy tale, “Suspiria” brought Italian master Dario Argento international fame even as he left his signature genre behind. Not that he left the lessons he learned from his proto-typical slashers like “Deep Red” in the dust: Between its neon-hued light, buckets of blood, and nerve-wracking tension, the tale of a little girl lost at a ballet academy that doubles as a coven for witches utilizes every trick in Argento’s arsenal to fantastical and nightmarish extremes. Its surreal, wobbly plot feels appropriate for the psychedelic visual experience that Argento takes the audience and Susie (Jessica Harper) through in the dollhouse-like Tanz Akademie, all soundtracked to the unforgettable progressive rock score by Goblin. It adds up to a film that’s nastily violent yet stunning in its beauty — while there’s a scarce amount of actual ballet, the elegance of the dance is present all the same. —WC  

65. “The Babadook” (dir. Jennifer Kent, 2014)

Plenty of horror movies are made better with a rewatch, but not since “The Sixth Sense” has an ending so beautifully reframed every heartbreaking beat to come before it. Kent’s script is straightforward but elegant, expanding on her short film “Monster” from 2005 to create a more complete picture of unresolved trauma. Against a backdrop of muted domestic malaise and sinister forces that are mostly unseen, Davis and kid star Wiseman (acting  way  beyond his years) expertly navigate Amelia and Samuel’s very personal hell — a painful prison that’s not self-made but fortified by its captives’ denial. There’s a world in which “The Babadook” works as a tense family drama. Instead, Kent valiantly wields the weapons of genre to make a compelling case for monster movies as portraiture of the highest art.  —AF

64. “Shaun of the Dead” (dir. Edgar Wright, 2004)

That tension only makes “Shaun of the Dead” more impressive. Edgar Wright’s triumphant debut feature is the kind of comedy that only an obsessive horror fan could have made, paying tribute to the zombie giants like George Romero who came before him while inserting his distinct style of visual humor in droves. The film blends comedy and horror so well because it never seeks to mock what happens in zombie apocalypse. Instead, it takes its undead invasion seriously, while keeping in mind that normal people who lived normal lives before a horror movie starts will likely try to continue doing so even as monsters surround them. The result is a romantic comedy that merely happens during a zombie invasion — and a pitch-perfect directorial debut that correctly predicted the cinematic treats that Wright would go on to deliver over the next two decades. —CZ

63. “Invasion of the Body-Snatchers” (dir. Phillip Kaufman, 1978)

All special effects — including the gross bodily transformations that occur as cocooned pod people emerge as affectless versions of their former selves — were created in camera. That practicality is appropriate for a movie that works just as well as a human drama (strange moods are written off as marital discord rather than as something possibly planet-engulfing) as it does high-minded science fiction. Donald Sutherland brings his ‘70s sangfroid to the role of a scientist trying to alert the government to a possible alien takeover — leading to the famous final scene in which nobody is the same person they began the movie as. —RL

62. “The Phantom Carriage” (dir. Victor Sjöström, 1921)

61. “A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night” (dir. Ana Lily Amirpour, 2014)

Dubbed the, “first Iranian vampire Western,” Ana Lily Amirpour’s directorial debut “A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night” is a stridently feminist, sublimely beguiling, decidedly punk rock entry into the vampire canon. The small San Joaquin Valley town of Taft, California stands in for the Iranian ghost-town Bad City, which Amirpour filmed in stark black and white. Sheila Vand stars as the titular Girl, a black-hued chador-clad, skateboard-riding vampire who roams the streets at night looking for bad men to quench her thirst for blood. Her path crosses with a good young man named Arash (Arash Marandi) after she kills the drug dealer of his heroin-addicted father. As the two are mystically drawn to each other, the Girl must suppress her desire for his blood, while Arash must ignore the feelings of unease that arise after he suspects she may be responsible for a series of deaths in the neighborhood. —MG

60. “An American Werewolf in London” (dir. John Landis, 1981)

59. “Onibaba” (dir. Kaneto Shindō, 1964)

58. “The Devil’s Backbone” (dir. Guillermo Del Toro, 2001)

A pivotal piece of Guillermo del Toro’s filmography, “The Devil’s Backbone” is one of the director’s most inspired fusions of genre thrills and thematic depth. Set during the Spanish Civil War, the movie is about an orphaned boy named Carlos (Fernando Tielve), who endures the bullying of his classmates, the petty power-plays of the orphanage’s deceitful handyman Jacinto (Eduardo Noriega), and the eerie presence of a vengeful ghost named Santi (Junio Valverde). The film features hidden gold, an unexploded bomb, and stealthy freedom fighters, all located in and around a haunted institution. It’s a story about people caught in various kinds of limbo — between life and death, between wealth and poverty, and between opposing political factions — and how they’re perpetually, anxiously on the verge of tipping from one side to the other. —NM

57. “The Cremator” (dir. Juraj Herz, 1969)

56. “Santa Sangre” (dir. Alejandro Jodorowsky, 1989)

55. “Carnival of Souls” (dir. Herk Harvey, 1962)

Producer Val Lewton’s films set a template for low-budget horror filmmaking, but they were still studio films. “Carnival of Souls” was a true indie, made for $33,000 by Lawrence, Kansas-based industrial filmmaker Herk Harvey and shot largely in Salt Lake City. After being the sole survivor of a car wreck, Candace Hilligoss’s Mary moves to a new town, rents a one-room apartment, deals with a creepy, leering neighbor, and takes a job as a church organist. Then the visions start. She begins seeing an undead man lurking around her. Even creepier than the neighbor who keeps wanting to encroach on her space and ask her out on a date. Then there are strange moments when all the sound around her seems to vanish, and it’s like no one can see her. She’s invisible? At least to the male gaze, thankfully, but being invisible is scary in all other aspects. Then there’s the abandoned carnival pavilion on the salt flats at the edge of town that has an unusual pull on her. A score of all organ music adds to the unforgettable effect as “Carnival of Souls” heads toward an inescapable twist of an ending. —CB  

54. “The Seventh Victim” (dir. Mark Robson, 1943)

Loosely connected to “Cat People,” at least in the reappearance of that film’s predatory psychiatrist character (Tom Conway) in, oddly enough, now a quasi-heroic capacity, “The Seventh Victim” follows Kim Hunter as a girl searching New York City for her missing sister (Jean Brooks), whose descent into a Satanic cult is made evident by her horrendously creepy hairstyle. Death is omnipresent in horror, but the most profound horror movies suggest that a life poorly lived is even worse than death. And that’s the message of “The Seventh Victim”: The pursuit of happiness can be desperately difficult — and, for some, an unattainable goal altogether. —CB

53. “Häxan” (dir. Benjamin Christensen, 1922)

52. “Kwaidan” (dir. Masaki Kobayashi, 1964)

There’s nothing quite like the creeping dread of a ghost story well told. Enter Masaki Kobayashi’s anthology horror film “Kwaidan,” which hauntingly brings to life four Japanese folk tales, adapted by Yoko Mizuki from story collections by Lafcadio Hearn. Despite its vibrant color palette, striking cinematography by Yoshio Miyajima, and painterly sets, each segment is somehow more unsettling than the next. In “The Black Hair,” a selfish swordsman leaves his wife to seek wealth, but discovers that regret can have deadly consequences. “The Woman of the Snow” follows a young woodcutter who survives an encounter with a yuki-onna spirit, later learning the hard way that promises should be kept. A blind biwa player is tricked into playing for an undead audience in “Hoichi the Earless.” The film ends in a meta fashion with “In a Cup of Tea,” in which a folktale’s author suffers the same fate as his character.  —MG

51. “The Exorcist” (dir. William Friedkin, 1973)

The two-hour runtime and slow boil storytelling make the full unveiling of Linda Blair’s possessed, demonic Regan all the more devastating, providing a horror monster whose salvation is all too easy to root for. So much of “The Exorcist,” from its lilting theme to Max von Sydow’s scene-stealing third-act appearance, has embedded itself into popular culture, but nobody (including the people behind its various sequels) has fully replicated what makes this story of faith in the modern world so moving. —WC 

50. “Candyman” (dir. Bernard Rose, 1992)

Ever since Nia DaCosta’s divisive “Candyman” sequel from 2021, horror fans have been grappling with the legacy of Bernard Rose’s 1982 classic of the same name. Starring Virginia Madsen as a graduate student studying urban legend, this emotionally fraught ghost story uses the Cabrini-Green housing projects of Chicago to examine Black marginalization, the cycle of violence, and racial identity as portrayed through the lens of the white savior complex. There’s bittersweet irony in realizing that Rose himself is white and that the story his film is based upon comes from a Clive Barker anthology; the English author is white too and the source material does not explicitly discuss race.

49. “Carrie” (dir. Brian De Palma, 1976)

48. “The Fly” (dir. David Cronenberg, 1986)

Pour one out for the sweet, volatile, acid-vomiting Brundlefly — a singular icon of body horror artistry born from one of the subgenre’s most tragic efforts.

In 1986’s “The Fly,” Jeff Goldblum and Geena Davis discover an explosive chemistry as Seth and Veronica. He’s a cutting-edge scientist using his teleportation prototypes to score chicks. She’s an ethically dubious journalist who keeps reporting on Seth’s work even after they start dating. What could go wrong? Typically, a whole lot less than what does when the researcher runs a dangerous test on himself and accidentally splices his genes with the DNA of a common housefly.

Chris Walas and Stephan Dupuis won the Academy Award for Best Makeup because of this chunky experiment in evolutionary regression. Their cleverly detailed work, which almost always looks really,  really  wet, echoes the slippery existential logic we watch Seth experience as he medically declines. A smart script gives the actors a lot to work with (the “insect politics” scene is outright  painful  to witness), but both Goldblum and Davis bring such panache to their performances that they elevate an otherwise muddled plot.

Seth’s frantic fidgetiness establishes a creature feature centerpiece scary enough that the character could have gone on a finale rampage through the city that actually worked. But Veronica’s generous grief for this strange man — who, let’s be honest,  she doesn’t know that well and was weird to begin with — makes the intimacy of the ending a much stronger choice. Oh, we barely knew ye, Brundlefly. At least the sequel saved your baby.  —AF

47. “Let the Right One In” (dir. Tomas Alfredson, 2008)

46. “Night of the Demon” (dir. Jacques Tourneur, 1957)

Jacques Tourneur had moved on from horror to other genres (notably film noir, directing one of its masterpieces, “Out of the Past”) by the time he made “Night of the Demon” in England. The time away hadn’t dulled his reflexes for creating fear out of the unknown. Starring Dana Andrews as a psychologist investigating a possible satanic cult, “Night of the Demon” is a ticking-clock thriller with a supernatural bent: a piece of parchment confers a death sentence on those who are handed it, and Andrew’s psychiatrist is powerless to convince anyone otherwise — including, by the end, himself. Tourneur’s evocative use of shadows is still at play here, and even the controversial reveal of the titular demon near the start of the movie does nothing to diminish the film’s impact. —MP

45. “Brain Dead” (dir. Peter Jackson, 1992)

44. “Cure” (dir. Kiyoshi Kurosawa, 1997)

When people talk about the mid-‘90s as the heyday streak of the great serial killer movies, from “Seven” to “The Silence of the Lambs,” they often leave out Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s “Cure.” The Japanese filmmaker’s dread-oozing noir, about a seemingly psychic and amnesiac serial killer who leaves no trace of his crimes other than the dazed victims he’s compelled to commit them, is itself inspired by Fincher’s “Seven.”

The great Koji Yakusho stars as a Tokyo police detective on the trail of a spree of gruesome killings, where the dead are left with an X carved into their chests, and the perpetrators, never far from the crime scene, have no memory of what they just did. What elevates “Cure” above serial killer pulp is its venture into Takabe’s (Yakusho) psyche — he’s got a schizophrenic wife at home and, meanwhile, the murder case at hand is weighing heavily on his mental health.

43. “Arrebato” (dir. Ivan Zulueta, 1979)

The same post-Franco Spanish underground arts scene that produced Pedro Almodovar also nurtured Ivan Zulueta, a visual artist whose only feature film was this unique creep-out, about a man addicted to heroin and cinema. Eusebio Poncela plays the man, José, a struggling horror movie director who develops a fresh obsession when he meets Pedro (Will More), an artist whose work relies heavily on time-lapse photography and bewitching abstractions. “Arrebato” translates to English as “Rapture,” which describes the feeling Pedro seems to have achieved through making films — and that José keeps chasing in vain. José is slowly seduced by his new friend’s images, and by the thought that a camera could both stimulate and capture a moment of uncommon ecstasy. There are no scares per se in this film, just a mesmerizing depiction of an artist tormented by needs he seems incapable of meeting. —NM

42. “Rosemary’s Baby” (dir. Roman Polanski, 1968)

That’s odd, seeing as how every handheld frame of “Rosemary’s Baby” — as shot with bold, docudrama realism by cinematographer William A. Fraker — seems to be summoning the spawn of Satan, right down to its evil-incanting score by Christopher Komeda. There’s always a Mandela Effect to this movie as you try to remember, years later, how much you saw of Rosemary’s baby or its real father — but Farrow screaming, in the movie’s all-timer of a last scene, “What have you done to its eyes?” is enough to convince you that you actually did see them. This is not just one of the best horror films of all time — it’s one of the greatest movies ever made, period. —RL

41. “The Innocents” (dir. Jack Clayton, 1961)

Jack Clayton’s morbid fairy tale “The Innocents” is the best and most loyal adaptation of Henry James’ chilling novella “The Turn of the Screw,” which became a seminal text of literary theory in the 20th century. Co-written by Truman Capote and led by the great actress Deborah Kerr as a governess driven to paranoia by the distressed children she’s caring for, this version is still as open-ended to cerebral and Freudian interpretations as the text.

40. “Nosferatu” (dir. F.W. Murnau, 1922)

39. “Hour of the Wolf” (dir. Ingmar Bergman, 1968)

If you expand the definition of horror enough you could include any number of Ingmar Bergman movies as horror films. Especially if you think of horror as being about lives poorly lived, about guilt, and regrets, and horrible choices. “Hour of the Wolf” is an outright horror movie, but it begins as any number of his portraits of dysfunctional families… just pushed a little bit more in a horrific, genre-friendly direction. Max von Sydow plays Johan and Liv Ullmann is Alma, and they’re a couple living on the island of Faro in the Baltic Sea for the summer — he’s an artist, and he insists on not wanting to see any other human except Alma during that time. Of course, he doesn’t get his wish.

38. “Psycho” (dir. Alfred Hitchcock, 1960)

For 100 minutes of its 109-minute runtime, “Psycho” by Alfred Hitchcock is a flawless masterpiece. Forgive the torturous, unneeded exposition scene that closes the film and only serves to suck the mystique out of Anthony Perkins’ central performance, and “Psycho” still stands tall as one of the Master of Suspense’s greatest and most influential works, a film so electrifying that it inspired numerous copycats and helped change the way that audiences watch Hollywood films. Hitchcock pulls off a masterful rug pull, immersing his audience in the impulsive embezzlement scheme of Janet Leigh’s skittish Marion Crane before taking her off the board entirely with the immortal shower attack scene. It’s a gambit that fully pays off because the filmmaking is so absurdly strong — from John L. Russell’s moody black-and-white cinematography to George Tomasini’s slick editing to Bernard Herrmann’s atmospheric score, this is commercial American cinema at the height of its powers. 

37. “Freaks” (dir. Tod Browning, 1932)

Greeted with scorn as an exploitative piece of trash by critics and audiences upon its 1932 release, Tod Browning’s “Freaks” has since been reclaimed as a work of shocking empathy. Set in the dazzling, vicious world of a roaming carnival, the pre-Code film renders its sideshow-attraction protagonists — dwarves and bearded ladies and siamese twins and the physically deformed — not as the monsters of the night but as the dignified heroes working to create a place for themselves in a world where they experience only rejection. The real monsters are the most beautiful of the carnival performers, Olga Baclanova’s trapeze artist Cleopatra and Henry Victor’s brawny strongman Hercules, who conspire to split up a little person couple Hans and Frieda (siblings Harry and Daisy Earles, giving deeply moving performances) and steal Hans’ wealth.  

36. “Nosferatu the Vampyre” (dir. Werner Herzog, 1979)

Made in homage to and borrowing its title from F. W. Murnau’s iconic silent film “Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror,” Werner Herzog’s “Nosferatu the Vampyre” is a slightly more faithful adaptation of Bram Stoker’s novel “Dracula,” though no less weird than its namesake. Filmed on location in Germany, the Netherlands, Czechoslovakia, and even in Guanajuato, Mexico for its opening sequence, Herzog’s film is a breathtaking production, drenched in dread. Donning pounds of makeup to resemble Max Schreck in Murnau’s 1922 film, Klaus Kinski’s sympathetic take on Count Dracula emphasizes the vampire’s tragic loneliness, while Isabelle Adjani adds complex layers of eroticism to her Lucy Harker. The film’s abject seriousness and grim atmosphere led critic Roger Ebert, in his Great Movies Collection, to write, “Here is a film that does honor to the seriousness of vampires. No, I don’t believe in them. But if they were real, here is how they must look.” —MG

35. “The Others” (dir. Alejandro Amenábar, 2001)

34. “The Beyond” (dir. Lucio Fulci, 1981)

From its sepia-toned prologue to its ashen climax, “The Beyond” is a thrillingly disgusting delight. A Southern Gothic tale of hell on earth delivered by an Italian filmmaker — Lucio Fulci, who made the project the second part of his informal “Gates of Hell” trilogy — the bizarre zombie story offers a disorienting, disjointed ride through a New Orleans transformed into a demonic wasteland after the young lead ingenue accidentally opens a portal to hell within the cursed hotel she inherited. Much of the plot is too frenetic to parse, the dubbing is painfully bad, and the acting feels amateurish at the best of times. All of those flaws hardly matter when the visual storytelling on display is so strong: From melting flesh to swarms of spiders to the pale white eyes of the possessed, Fulci delivers nonstop fright after fright. This is B-movie horror at its most sublime. —WC 

33. “Hellraiser” (dir. Clive Barker, 1987)

32. “Under the Skin” (dir. Jonathan Glazer, 2013)

With his icy, detached gaze and uncanny ability to depict human beings as if they’re unfamiliar animals in a nature documentary, Jonathan Glazer could make anything seem terrifying. That ethos helps turn “Under the Skin” into one of the most brilliant films of the 21st century. Scarlett Johansson stars as a nameless alien who takes human form with the intention of walking the earth, luring men into sexual traps, and grotesquely disposing of her conquests. But while that simple premise could easily devolve into a campy mess in less capable hands, Glazer’s hidden camera approach to filmmaking turns it into a hauntingly voyeuristic study of what it means to be human. The film only becomes more isolating to watch as it progresses, serving as a chilling reminder of how much we rely on our own interlocking system of unspoken rules and social cues to separate ourselves from the animals — and how foreign and violent our lives look when an artist has the vision and skills to strip all of that away. —CZ

31. “Cat People” (dir. Jacques Turner, 1942)

Rooted in very relatable things — “just who is this person I’m dating anyway?” — “Cat People,” producer Val Lewton’s first triumph with Jacques Tourneur, finds incredible ways of conveying eeriness on a shoestring budget. It’s a studio film with the scrappiness we’d later call an indie ethos. A scene where Irena menaces Alice (Jane Randolph), because Irena thinks she’s making a play for Oliver, and Alice jumps into a swimming pool rightly thinking that someone is lurking just out of sight, has been referenced and stolen from many other times, including in “Let the Right One In.” Turns out, Irena was right to be jealous. Tired of all of Irena’s Balkans drama, Oliver bonds with Alice in a dialogue scene that’s basically about the inalienable American right to be shallow. Throw in a predatory psychiatrist (Tom Conway) with his own designs on Irena, and you have an all-time classic. —CB

30. “Audition” (dir. Takashi Miike, 1999)

She lives in a hell hole of an apartment, by the phone (and a sack containing god knows what) all day waiting for his call. But as Asami wasn’t loved enough as a child, she’s prepared to make all men pay for her abuse and neglect in adulthood — culminating in a horrifying sequence of onscreen torture nothing that happens in the first two acts of “Audition” could’ve primed you for.

“Audition” is the ultimate horror movie about how women are objectified in Japanese — or any — society, and the retribution that such unchecked misogyny could inspire if gone out of control. Any genre filmmaker in “Audition’s” wake is chasing the high that Miike established here — one impossible because of spoiler culture and the internet, but wow, am I jealous of anyone who saw this movie cold. —RL

29. “Near Dark” (dir. Kathryn Bigelow, 1987)

28. “The Wicker Man” (dir. Robin Hardy, 1973)

The definitive folk horror film, Robin Hardy’s “The Wicker Man” sets its queasy story of a Christian police officer’s investigation into an island cult almost entirely in shining daylight. Conventional horror wisdom would suggest that might dilute the terror, but in “The Wicker Man” it has the opposite effect: The sunny pastoral Scottish island that Hardy and cinematographer Harry Waxman invite the audience to makes the lingering threat lurking underneath all the more terrifying. Much like “Midsommar” (a film this rather obviously inspired) it’s a movie that replicates its cult’s actions onto the viewer, lulling you into a false sense of security before brutally pulling the rug out with its legendarily fiery ending. From its soundtrack of traditional folk scores courtesy of Paul Giovanni and Christopher Lee’s career-best performance as the charismatic but deadly lord of the island, “The Wicker Man” is horror at its most intelligent. Just forget about Nicolas Cage and all those bees. —WC  

27. “Ganja & Hess” (dir. William Gunn, 1973)

26. “Bride of Frankenstein” (dir. James Whale, 1935)

The Universal Monster Movies dug their claws into Hollywood as early as 1913, but it wasn’t until 1935’s “Bride of Frankenstein” that the studio gave audiences a villain truly capable of stealing hearts. The legendary Elsa Lanchester doubles here, appearing first in the film as “Frankenstein” author Mary Shelley. Her charming take on the literary icon introduces director James Whale’s sequel to his film from 1931 in a clever prologue that established and elevated franchising in horror movies. When Lanchester finally returns as the electric Monster’s Bride near the movie’s end, the hyped-up performance is a revelation you’ll only wish lasted longer.

Luckily, there’s plenty outside the Bride’s exquisite hissing to recommend this magical black-and-white fairytale. For his second at-bat as Frankenstein’s creation, Boris Karloff delivers a moving embodiment of misunderstanding opposite Colin Clive, returning as the conflicted Doctor. Having escaped the villagers’ wrath at the end of the original, both monsters continue their quests to uncover what makes us human from different angles in an all-around better film as historically significant as it is lasting in quality.

Across town, the Monster wants nothing more than a good hang. He’s happy enough smoking and drinking with a blind hermit (O. P. Heggie) who doesn’t know his true form, but when the truth comes out, the Monster is forced to flee, and he demands Frankenstein and Pretorius make him a mate as amends. The result is the best Universal Monster Movie ever made as well as Whale’s definitive masterpiece. It’s also the reason Lanchester would gain recognition throughout Hollywood, appearing in scads of movies across genres (she’s Katie Nanna in Disney’s “Mary Poppins”!) and earning her two Oscar nominations. —AF

25. “Raw” (dir. Julia Ducournau, 2016)

French filmmakers have a special talent for whipping up brutal body horror. Julia Ducournau, who won the Palme d’Or for “Titane” in 2021, made history as the second woman at Cannes to do so. Before that, the writer/director shook audiences with her squeamish feature debut “Raw” in 2016. It’s the less polished of the two films, but an even eerier effort that stars the ferocious Garance Marillier in an all-time genre role.

Her elder sister, Alexia (Ella Rumpf), encourages Justine to lean into the tense environment, but snide swipes between the sisters betray an unspoken distrust. When the vegetarian Justine is forced by Alexia to eat a rabbit kidney during an initiation ceremony, it sets off a blood-thirsty evolution akin to a kind of cinematic mystery meat. “Raw” takes the full feature to figure out and keeps you guessing by changing its flavor profile act by act. What begins as maybe a coming-of-age cannibalism drama takes on striking sexual imagery — and doesn’t stop there.

Although Cronenberg may be the name synonymous with much of the body horror subgenre, Ducournau is a notable titan in a long-held tradition of women making great art specific to this space. “Raw” ravages its stars with exquisite mutilations and spills the guts of its first-time feature director with as much theatrical beauty. This was the film that gave us not one but two of horror’s greatest scream queens, prepared but not yet cooked. —AF

24. “Vampyr” (dir. Carl Theodor Dreyer, 1932)

23. “The Haunting” (dir. Robert Wise, 1963)

Robert Wise’s atmospheric tour-de-force remains a terrifying ghost story, a penetrating psychological thriller, and one of the great haunted house movies of all time. A group of physically gifted strangers convene at Hill House, a gothic mansion that isn’t merely haunted; it’s said to be born evil. No apparitions appear (as opposed to the abysmal 1999 remake), but what Wise achieves with camera angles, lighting, and sound remains a towering accomplishment. Not to mention a cast led by Julie Harris as the high-strung Eleanor and Claire Bloom as the slyly sardonic Theo, who embark on a homoerotic friendship that is as tense to watch at times as the crashing sounds terrorizing the sleeping guests. “Whose hand was I holding?” remains one of the all-time scariest questions ever posed in a movie. —MP

22. “Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer” (dir. John McNaughton, 1986)

21. “Tetsuo: The Iron Man” (dir. Shinya Tsukamoto, 1989)

20. “The Host” (dir. Bong Joon-Ho, 2006)

19. “Evil Dead II” (dir. Sam Raimi, 1987)

Few movies have such a singular, specific physicality as Sam Raimi’s comedic follow-up to/remake of his original 1981 splatter film. Rubbery ghouls and zombies, stiff skeletons and demons, and Bruce Campbell playing his Final Guy as a Bugs Bunny impression: You can feel the texture of the creations that Ash encounters, and wince at all of the absurd mutilation and torment he is subjected to. In that respect, “Evil Dead II” has more in common with a Buster Keaton silent slapstick comedy than it does the nasty exploitation film that kicked off Ash’s battles with the Deadites. There’s no encroaching sense of dread or tense build-up here: Raimi lets all hell loose in the first six minutes and keeps the gore, the blood, and the lunacy at the highest frequency for the rest of the runtime, never giving the viewers a break before launching them into the next delightful freakshow. Horror comedies are a dime a dozen, but often stop at winking genre parody over anything inventive. “Evil Dead II” recognizes that comedy and horror are fundamentally the same, a model of storytelling concerned with excess and provoking instinctive primal reactions, and delivers one of cinema’s most visceral thrill rides in the process. —WC  

18. “Halloween” (dir. John Carpenter, 1978)

17. “I Walked with a Zombie” (dir. Jacques Tourneur, 1943)

What instills more desperation: Knowing that there are supernatural forces that regard us as playthings… or that there may not be supernatural forces at all, and we’re all utterly alone in this universe? The latter possibility is so terrifying that believing in the occult can be comforting by contrast, and in the case of the nurse Betsy (Frances Dee), she turns to Vodou very quickly upon arriving in the fictional Caribbean island of San Sebastian. Especially when there appears to be no cure for the patient in her charge, the wife of a plantation owner, who’s in a trance-like fugue state. Of course, the Vodou practitioners have their own interpretation of what’s happening: This is a zombie, created via a curse.

Producer Val Lewton understood how to create a sense of the eerie better than any horror producer ever, and in the hands of director Jacques Tourneur, an extraordinary mood suffuses “I Walked with a Zombie”: Wind rustling through the reeds, waves crashing on the shore, low drums heard from a distance. Sequences of women walking alone at night are Lewton staples, never more so than here.

16. “Deep Red” (dir. Dario Argento, 1975)

Two years before his crimson-colored giallo masterwork “Suspira,” Dario Argento directed the British actor David Hemmings (“Blow-up”) as a jazz pianist sucked, as if by a whirlpool, into the murder of a psychic medium. By his side is a journalist (Daria Nicolodi) looking for a scoop. “Deep Red” has all the trademarks of a great Argento movie, from elaborately staged and brutal death scenes to a gloved killer (here wielding a hatchet) and a soundtrack performed and composed by Goblin.

Argento fetishizes and stylizes the minutiae of violent crime with his usual operatic bravado, obsessing over leather gloves, metallic zippers, and knives plunging into flesh. The murderer has a campy sensibility of their own, staging crime scenes with dolls and gramophone lullabies that are both unsubtle clues to the killer’s identity and also a reflection of the director’s own sensibility. “Deep Red” also makes great use of an on-location shoot in Turin, here rendered as a cityscape capable of high-class terror at any turn. —RL

15. “Funny Games” (dir. Michael Haneke, 1997)

Here, the Scrober family of four (Georg, his wife Anna, their little son Georgie, and their dog Rolfi) are tormented and terrorized by a pair of psychopaths, but the gore mostly happens off-camera, leaving us only to consider the aftermath; whether it’s said dog, dead, or blood splattered across a TV set. “Funny Games” often sacrifices thrills for a meta interrogation of the consumption of screen violence — with Paul (Arno Frisch) and Peter (Frank Giering) breaking the fourth wall often to remind us where the movie’s head is at. But the oppressive, inescapable nihilism of Haneke’s vision, right down to the death metal soundtrack that bookends the movie, is hard to shake, putting “Funny Games” up there with the most messed-up horror movies of its decade. —RL

14. “Eyes Without a Face” (dir. Georges Franju, 1960)

13. “Night of the Living Dead” (dir. George Romero, 1968)

Any self-respecting George A. Romero fan will tell you that there are heaps of fun — nay, oodles even! — to be found across the filmmaker’s six-part zombie franchise… which, yes, was technically started via radiation brought to Earth on a contaminated space probe. That said, you can’t enjoy any of Romero’s undead sequels to their fullest extent without first devouring the 1968 black-and-white original that’s history-making in every sense. Starring Judith O’Dea, Duane Jones, and more, “Night of the Living Dead” sees seven strangers take shelter in a Pennsylvania farmhouse as they’re slowly surrounded by reanimated corpses.

A claustrophobic ensemble movie, unafraid indie production, razor-sharp commentary on race, and ground-zero for a creative split over its IP (1985’s “The Return of the Living Dead” isn’t part of Romero’s series, but is still awesome!), “Night of the Living Dead” established the zombie subgenre as we know it. Audiences are still paying to get this sort of thing under their skin well into the 21st century, but no contemporary film has come close to outshining Romero’s glowing sci-fi horror on 35 mm in terms of lasting impact.

12. “Get Out” (dir. Jordan Peele, 2017)

There have been plenty of examples of actors who unexpectedly became acclaimed directors, but very few who had a debut that not only received a Best Picture nomination for inventing (or some would argue re-energizing) an entire genre. Dubbed a social horror, there are plenty of scenes within writer-director Jordan Peele’s first feature that elicit reactions that are a litmus test for the audience’s experience with racism in America. Knowing what it feels like to be Black walking around a predominantly white neighborhood makes the Universal Pictures release’s opening scene starring Lakeith Stanfield all the more tense. A canny sense of certain suburban liberals makes Bradley Whitford saying he would’ve voted for Obama a third time a clear signal that something is wrong.

11. “Alien” (dir. Ridley Scott, 1979)

Considering the seismic impact “Alien” had on not just the horror genre, but also action films, sci-fi movies, and The Intergalactic Church of Sigourney Weaver, it can be easy to overcomplicate what’s essentially a slasher set in space.

Ridley Scott directs the hell out of a slim script from writer Dan O’Bannon about the commercial ship USCSS Nostromo making a doomed voyage in the year 2122. In her first starring role, Weaver plays the instantly iconic Ripley, a smart and deserving hero with a knack for dodging chestbursters and rescuing cats. The character propelled Weaver into James Cameron’s genius sequel from 1986 — the plural “Alien s ” — and beyond as the franchise grew into a decade-spanning, cross-media, pop culture obsession.

Cinematographer Derek Vanlint changed the game here with his use of shadows and the incomparable Jerry Goldsmith, whose work also included “Planet of the Apes,” “The Omen,” and “Basic Instinct,” pulled off some of his all-time best music. Tom Skerritt, Ian Holm, Veronica Cartwright, John Hurt, Yaphet Kotto, and Harry Dean Stanton complete the — mostly! — human cast with creature actor Bolaji Badejo playing the alien killer for his sole film credit. (A very tall graphic design student, Badejo was from Lagos, Nigeria and died there in 1970. He was reportedly invited back for the sequels but declined the offer.)

Stacked up against the rest of Scott’s filmography, “Alien” isn’t just the director’s strongest horror effort. It’s his outright best film, even when compared against “Blade Runner,” “Gladiator,” “Thelma & Louise,” and, yes, “Alien: Covenant.” It’s tightly conceived and deliciously produced start to end, as visually arresting with each corner turner as it is earnestly shocking through every story twist.  —AF

10. “Videodrome” (dir. David Cronenberg, 1983)

No film better embodies this than “Videodrome,” his landmark exploration of the scintillating contents of cable television that he predicted would liberate us from the bondage of polite society and direct us towards evils that were more primal in nature. While images like the breathing, bulging TV screen continue to haunt the zeitgeist nearly half a century later, the true horror of “Videodrome” lies in its undeniably correct assessment of the limits of human nature when measured against shiny new objects.

There’s a certain irony to the fact that a film that ties itself so clearly to a specific decade — cable TV can’t even get its head above water these days, let alone take over the world — could be so clairvoyant about the ways that 21st-century technologies would break our brains. But the film continues to ring so true because of how effectively it conveys the idea that permeates all of Cronenberg’s best work: we’re helpless to resist the forces of change, no matter what kind of hell they might bring. Long live the new flesh indeed. —CZ

9. “The Blair Witch Project” (dir. Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez, 1999)

8. “The Shining” (dir. Stanley Kubrick, 1980)

Anyone who knows anything about horror remembers Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining” as a child of divorce. The 1980 film adaptation of Stephen King’s well-loved novel about a haunted hotel was infamously despised by the author upon release, despite earning critical praise among horror heads. King took issue with Jack Nicholson’s performance (he said Jack Torrance had “no arc” in the movie) as well as Kubrick’s many modifications to his supernatural universe. You can thank the 2019 sequel “Doctor Sleep,” another King adaptation directed by Mike Flanagan, for mostly fixing that rift. Still, the tortured making of and reception to “The Shining” is a big part of what makes it special.

Packed with colorful Kubrick images done almost entirely in-camera (that overhead maze shot is one of the movie’s only mattes), “The Shining” might deviate from the original novel, but it’s got tons of terrifying dialogue even King could stand by.  (“Here’s to five miserable months on the wagon…”  is a great line, no matter how it came about.) You can pick apart this script for years and still have questions. Combine that textual effort with Kubrick’s mesmeric visual mutations and you’ll quickly find yourself lost in what could otherwise be a straightforward misadventure in axe-murdering. If all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, then all answers and no questions would make “The Shining” a bland film. But surrender to the unknowable, treacherous history of The Overlook and you’ll never know boredom again.  —AF

7. “Trouble Every Day” (dir. Claire Denis, 2001)

Vampirism has very often been symbolic of sex, with vampires being uniquely seductive in the rogues gallery of fictional monsters, but Denis delivers a film of pure sensual immersion here, with Dalle looking out her ramshackle Paris home her caretaker (Alex Descas) keeps her in to tempt passersby. If 20th-century horror was often about discovering the rotten depths underneath a bright and shiny surface, “Trouble Every Day” sets a tone for 21st-century horror to come: The horror isn’t something you need to unearth — it’s all around you, even if we just choose to think it’s only on the margins. —CB

6. “House” (dir. Nobuhiko Obayashi, 1977)

Devout fans of Nobuhiko Obayashi have long lamented the fact that, despite a lengthy dramatic filmmaking career that included some of the best Japanese anti-war movies ever made, the auteur is still best known as the director of a cult horror movie. But you could do much, much, much worse than being remembered for “House.”

“House” might not be a particularly scary viewing experience for 21st century audiences, but there’s no denying that it’s one of the most singular works ever released in the horror space. When people praise genre films for offering a haven of creative freedom to auteurs who struggle to find it elsewhere, “House” is exactly what they’re talking about. —CZ

5. “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” (dir. Tobe Hopper, 1974)

After curdling on horror’s top shelf for more than a half-century, Tobe Hooper’s “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” is a movie you can still smell. Its influence has ripped through slashers for decades with countless competitors mimicking and modifying its most memorable moments. That infamous last shot — of the petrified Sally Hardesty (Marilyn Burns) riding away in a pickup truck as Leatherface (Gunnar Hansen) wanders down the road, cursing her escape — is too culturally significant to spoil at this point. But untold terror still awaits anyone who hasn’t experienced the hellish ordeal leading to that image.

Hooper’s 1974 classic inspired a franchise with multiple timelines, and the filmmaker himself would return with a lesser horror-comedy sequel in 1986 (which is still worth checking out!) But the TCM legacy never got more frightening than  that  dinner table scene — a brutal near-death for our final girl that includes the viscerally upsetting Grandpa Sawyer (John Dugan) attempting to prepare dinner for his family of cannibals… but dropping the hammer each time he goes to bash in Sally’s skull. It’s a brutal moment that, in a sea of copycats prone to overthinking, has been preserved like a bare-bones delicacy from another dimension. No wonder Hooper almost titled his film “Head Cheese.”   —AF

4. “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (dir. Robert Wiene, 1920)

3. “Don’t Look Now” (dir. Nicolas Roeg, 1973)

More than the sum of its controversial sex scene’s anachronistically cut parts, “Don’t Look Now” is both a horror picture and a macabre study of the psychology of grief. Donald Sutherland (RIP) and Julie Christie play the Baxters, a married couple on a trip to Venice after the accidental drowning of their small daughter. What they encounter in the dark, snaking, dead-end corridors along the lagoon of the Adriatic Sea is never possibly worse than what they’ve already gone through. What’s the ominous portent of two clairvoyant sisters spelling certain doom when stacked against watching your daughter drown in a puddle as you were unable to save her?

Nicolas Roeg’s bracing and stylized 1973 “Don’t Look Now” remains influential for its docudrama-like approach to supernatural events, grounding the high concept of the Baxters’ breakdown in the visceral and the real. But it’s also just damn scary and creepy, with a famously shocking, seemingly from-nowhere denouement that isn’t in from the blue — or the red, as it were — as much as you think it is. Especially if you restart the movie from the top. —RL

2. “The Thing” (dir. John Carpenter, 1982)

Written by Bill Lancaster, Carpenter’s sixth feature film adapts author John W. Campbell’s 1938 novella “Who Goes There?” It also remakes 1951’s “The Thing from Another World” directed by Christian Nyby. Comparing those texts to “The Thing” is a fool’s errand, if only because what Carpenter achieves here is so singular and otherworldly it feels far removed from the rest of the sci-fi pantheon. Kurt Russell stars as R.J. MacReady, a helicopter pilot working with a team of American scientists at a research base in Antarctica. When a stray husky is inexplicably pursued by two Norwegians onto the isolated U.S. camp, gunfire rings out and a thick layer of distrust settles over the scene.

Ruthless enough to murder a mutant pack of dogs, but smart enough to keep scads of characters’ deaths offscreen, this 1982 genre treasure grows scarier and scarier as its crew methodically hunts for the alien abomination hiding among them. The audiences’ imagination proves the most lethal weapon in Carpenter’s toolkit, and it’s those unanswered questions that make this sci-fi triumph so unforgettable. Yes, the monstrous depictions are meant to burn in your brain (Botin really earns his flowers), but “The Thing” is a deeply human horror at its heart. Even in the face of certain death, people can’t help but turn on each other. That’s terrifying and timeless. —AF

1. “Possession” (dir. Andrzej Żuławski, 1981)

The most famous film of director Andrzej Żuławski, “Possession” carries all the traces of the director’s signature extreme, freewheeling style while tightly centering its excesses on the volatile downfall of a marriage. It’s a plotline lifted clearly from Żuławski’s own life and his difficult divorce from actress Malgorzata Braunek, and the genuine hurt he brings translates into one of the most emotionally brutal horror movies ever made. Set in the stark, eerily empty gray cityscape of West Berlin, the separation of Isabelle Adjani’s broken Anna and Sam Neill’s bureaucratic spy Mark is already horrifying even without a supernatural element. Their fights are pitched to the rafters, so emotionally intense that it seems to rip both of them apart at the seams; an early scene where both cut themselves with the same knife hints at the shared madness they’re living in. Anna, a frenetic enigma brilliantly embodied via Adjani’s Cannes prize-winning performance, is particularly unsettled and adrift: the centerpiece sequence where she breaks down and miscarries in an abandoned subway station is one of the most unbearable and sickening moments in the horror canon, with nary a trace of a killer in sight.  

All of this makes “Possession” sound like a difficult film to watch, and it’s not for the faint of heart. But what’s remarkable is that there’s still a mad, lunatic fun to find within it. Żuławski’s masterpiece is, in some respects, the ultimate horror film, mutating from subgenre to subgenre — from psychological torment to splatter body horror to pulpy sci-fi — while fully embodying all of the strengths and possibilities horror is capable of. It’s after watching the film, as the inner dread and black pit of despair lurking in this story of self-annihilation creeps up on you, that its full terror is unlocked. Horror films are often frightening in the moment but slip from the mind quicker than you might hope. “Possession” has a grasp that only grows tighter the longer it sits with you. —WC  

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