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Rank 112Up 2
#11 in Horror Movies
of 30 ranked entries
The Witch
Robert Eggers · 2015
Eggers built the dialogue from period court records and let the dread come from isolation and doctrine. A folk horror film that takes its own century seriously. Recorded specifics: year 2015, director Robert Eggers, runtime 92. Panel highlighted period-accurate language, natural light photography and ending earns its turn. The reservation on record is audience scores punished the slow build.
Folk horrorSupernatural
Score breakdown
How The Witch earned 87.5
Each criterion is scored independently, then combined using the weights published on Horror Movies.
- Critical acclaimweight 30%
- 86.6
- Audience ratingweight 25%
- 85.1
- Cultural impactweight 25%
- 90.1
- Rewatchabilityweight 20%
- 88.7
On the record
Recorded detail
| Year | 2015 |
|---|---|
| Director | Robert Eggers |
| Runtime | 1h 32m |
| Score | 7.0 |
Panel verdict
Strengths and reservations
What it gets right
- Period-accurate language
- Natural light photography
- Ending earns its turn
Where it gives ground
- Audience scores punished the slow build
1 appearance
Where this entry ranks
From the same list
Ranked alongside it
Rank 01Editor’s pickThe Shining
Stanley Kubrick · 1980
Kubrick turned a haunted-hotel novel into a study of a man who was already broken before he arrived. The Overlook’s symmetry and impossible geography do more work than any of its ghosts.
97.3/100 Top 49 score—No change
Rank 02Editor’s pickThe Exorcist
William Friedkin · 1973
Friedkin shot a possession story like a police procedural, and that flat documentary realism is exactly why it landed. The scares are practical, physical and almost unbearably patient.
96.0/100 Top 49 score1Down 1
Rank 03Editor’s pickHereditary
Ari Aster · 2018
A grief drama that curdles into something far worse. Toni Collette’s performance is the engine, and the film’s refusal to offer relief is its defining quality.
94.1/100 Top 49 score2Down 2
Rank 04Get Out
Jordan Peele · 2017
Peele built a horror film where the threat is social rather than supernatural, and every uncomfortable pleasantry in the first hour pays off in the second. Tightly written to the frame.
94.0/100 Top 49 score—No change
Rank 05Psycho
Alfred Hitchcock · 1960
Hitchcock killed his lead an hour in and broke the audience’s contract with cinema. Everything about the modern thriller descends from this structural decision.
93.9/100 Top 49 score4Down 4
Rank 06The Thing
John Carpenter · 1982
A paranoia film wearing a creature feature’s skin. Rob Bottin’s practical effects remain the high-water mark for physical horror on film.
92.1/100 Top 49 score3Down 3
Rank 07Alien
Ridley Scott · 1979
A haunted-house film staged on a working industrial spacecraft. The crew talk about pay disputes before anything goes wrong, and that grounding is what makes the horror bite.
91.5/100 Top 49 score4Up 4
Rank 08Editor’s pickHalloween
John Carpenter · 1978
Carpenter made a film about suburban sightlines — the horror is what is standing still in the background. Shot cheaply and edited with total confidence.
90.6/100 Top 49 score—No change
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Top 49 rankings are editorial. Scores are produced from the published criteria on each list and are refreshed on the cadence stated there. Figures shown across this section are curated demonstration data.