Iconic villains. Brutal kills slathered in practical gore. Chilling visions captured in sweeping camerawork. The very best horror movies are a pure cinematic rush – drawing us into nightmarish worlds, rattling our bones for a few hours, and spitting us out on the other side to process the physical and emotional terrors we’ve just witnessed.



Whether they’re delivering funhouse frights or searing explorations of societal issues with added blood-spatter, horror offers catharsis, adrenaline rushes, and technical mastery too – with directors making use of every tool in the box to deliver a good old scare.



The Empire team locked itself in a darkened room with nothing but a single torch to draw up a list of the 50 greatest horror movies – from game-changing classics like Dawn Of The Dead and Halloween, to contemporary skin-crawlers like The Babadook and It Follows.



The final list has razor-sharp slashers, lo-fi masterpieces, supernatural shockers, beautiful oddities, and raw thrill-rides, guaranteed to make the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end. Read through the full list (and check out their iconic posters) here – and be sure to listen out for any bumps in the night ...