Top 10 Hollywood Horror Movies

1. The Exorcist:

The Exorcist is an American film based on a supernatural horror It was released in 1973. William Friedkin was the director and William Peter Blatty was the producer and writer of the movie. The movie is based on a novel of the same story and written by the same author. It is the first film of the Exorcist family. The film is 121 minutes long. The original dialect of The Exorcist film is English.

• Plot: An actress named Chris MacNeil has been separated from her actor husband and lives in Washington with her 12-year old daughter Regan. The things turn to be strange when she notices some dangerous changes in Regan's behavior. To get rid of these supernatural powers, Chris calls two inexperienced priests as her last hope. The further story is about the rescue of Regan and the end of evil. Even after so many years of its release, the movie still makes a suspenseful terror in the viewers with its amazing special effects.
• Cast: The film is starred with Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Kitty Winn, Jason Miller, Lee J. Cobb, Jack MacGowran, Linda Blair, and others.
• Release: The film was released on December 26, 1973, in 24 theatres. It got mixed reviews from the critics but positive from the audience. The Exorcist became the most financially successful film of Warner.
• Reception:
  • Box Office: The total budget of the film was $12 million and its total box office collection was $441.3 million
  • Critical Response: The film got 4/5 stars from the Chicago Sun-Times. The film got a positive response from The New Republic, Variety, and Castle of Frankenstein. But it got a negative response for its special effects from The New York Times, The Village Voice, and Rolling Stone.
• Sequels: In August 2020, Morgan Creek Entertainment announced to reboot the film. The makers said that the direct sequel of the movie will be released in 2021.

2. The Shining:

The Shinning may be a mental horror film that was discharged in 1980. The author of the film is Diane Johnson. The film was coordinated by Stanley Kubrick who was moreover the co-writer of the story. The story is based on Stephen King's novel of 1977 with the same title. The film has a different running time of 144 minutes and 119 minutes in its American and European versions respectively. The movie is originally made in English.

• Plot: The year is 1907 when a novelist Jack Torrance takes a job interview for the role of winter caretaker of his old, big, and beautiful Overlook Hotel. His spouse Wendy and child Danny also come with him to the hotel. Jack is unaware of the mysterious past of the hotel. The incident happened ten years ago when a father killed his wife and two daughters along with himself. In the hotel, Danny meets the chef Hallorann who cautions him about the hotel and sinister Room 237. Danny incorporates an extraordinary control called "The Shining". With the passing of days and the arrival of the winters, staffs start to leave the hotel. Danny sees a few alarming things based on the incidents of past and future. Jack also got trapped in an unforgiving environment of a devastating snowstorm and now his inner voice is demanding a sacrifice. What will happen to the next? Will Jack do murder and will Danny's secret abilities got revealed?
• Cast: The cast of the film includes Jack Nicholson, Scatman Crothers, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd, and others.
• Release: In the US, the film was released on May 23, 1980, and in the UK, on October 2, 1980. The running time of the film is 25 minutes less than the original in it's European version.
• Reception:
  • Box Office: The film earned a total collection of $47 million over the box office worldwide and its total budget was $19 million.
  • Critical Response: On Rotten Tomatoes, the film got a score of 84% and 8.5/10 as an average rating. As per the reviews of 16 critics, the film scored 66% on Metacritic. The Shining received positive reviews from Rolling Stone, Total Film, Bravo TV, Sky Movies, The Guardian, and others.
• Sequel and Spin-off: The film's sequel titled Overlook Hotel was released in several countries on 31 October 2019 and in the US and Canada on 8 November 2019. A spin-off of the movie was entered in progress for HBO Max in April 2020 with the title Overlook.

3. Hereditary:

Hereditary is an American movie that was released in 2018 in English as the original language. The theme of the movie is supernatural psychological horror drama. The writer and director of Hereditary was Ari Astar with his directorial debut. The running time of the movie is 127 minutes.

• Plot: The story begins in Utah where Annie Graham, a miniaturist and her psychiatrist husband Steve live with their son Peter who is 16-years old, and a daughter who is 13-years old. After the death of Annie's ill mother, Annie and her eccentric daughter both flirt with supernatural powers. The incidents make their life disturbed and revealed many dark and sinister secrets of their family that has been passed over the generations. In short, Hereditary is a unique experience that can make you confuse between what is real and what is imagination? Regular eruptions of weirdness, nightmare spectacles, images of burned flesh, light and sound effects, ominous close-ups, everything makes Hereditary a perfect horror film.
• Cast: The movie is starred with Toni Collette, Milly, Shapiro, Alex Wolff, Ann Dowd, Gabriel Byrne, and others.
• Release: The film was released in the US by A24 on June 8, 2018, and in the UK by Entertainment Film Distributors on June 15, 2018.
• Reception:
  • Box Office: The total box office collection of the movie was $80.2 million worldwide with a total budget of $10 million.
  • Critical Response: The film got an average rating of 8.28 and on Rotten Tomatoes it was 89%. Hereditary got 4/5 stars from Common Sense Media, 3.5/4 stars from Peter Travers of Rolling Stones.

4. The Conjuring:

The Conjuring is also an American film based on a supernatural horror The director of the film is James Wan and the writers are Chad Hayes and Carey W. Hayes. It was released in 2013 in English as the original language. The length of the film is 112 minutes.

• Plot: The story is set in 1971 when Carolyn and Roger Perron shifted to a new farmhouse in Rhode Island with their five daughters and a dog. Soon strange things began to happen with the death of the dog. To get rid of these unnatural things, Carolyn contacts Ed and Lorraine Warren, well known paranormal investigators couple. They find the whole area is steeped in a satanic haunting. To stop these evil activities and save the Perron family, the couple has to use all their skills. A scene of the film got special attention for the involvement of the real-life horrible doll 'Annabelle'.
• Cast: the movie is starred with Patrick Wilson and Carey w. Hayes as Ed and Lorraine Warren serves as the paranormal investigators in the films. They come to save the Perron family who experiences some paranormal activities in their home in Rhode Island in 1971.
• Release: In North America, the film was released on July 19, 2013, and in the UK and India, it was released on August 2, 2013.
• Reception:
  • Box Office: The total budget of the film was $20 million and its total box office collection was $319.5 million throughout the world.
  • Critical Response: The Conjuring got an 86% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and 7.2/10 stars on an average. Metacritic gave it an average score of 68 out of 100. The film also receive an "A-" grade from CinemaScore and became the first horror film to get an A grade. The Conjuring received positive reviews from The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, TheWrap, and Entertainment Weekly for its digital effects, sound and mood effects, and cinematic beauty. However, the film also faced some negative reviews from some critics such as Indiewire and Salon. As per their claim, the film has many similarities with other films.
• Sequels: Several related films and sequels of The Conjuring are The Conjuring 2, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, Annabelle, Annabelle: Creation, Annabelle Comes Home, The Nun, The Crooked Man, and The Curse of La Llorona.

5. The Ring:

The Ring is an American movie based on the theme of a supernatural horror thriller. The film was released in 2002 in English and directed by Gore Verbinski. The Ring is a remake of a Japanese film of 1998 titled Hideo Nakata which was originally based on the novel of Koji Suzuki with the same name. The film is 115 minutes long.

• Plot: A young journalist, Rachel Keller investigates the murders of her niece and her three friends. The case begins with a mysterious videotape that is killing everyone who watches it within 7 days. Rachel watches the tape with her son. After it, a race begins against time to reveal the truth of "The Ring". Now the question arises will Rachel find the truth on time or will her 7 days end before solving the puzzle?
• Cast: The star cast of the movie includes Naomi Watts, Brian Cox, Daveigh Chae, Martin Henderson, David Dorfman, Jane Alexander, and others.
• Release: The theatrical release of the film took place on October 18, 2002. The film also had an original soundtrack composed by Hans Zimmer. But this soundtrack was not included in the theatrical run of the film and was later released in 2005.
• Reception:
  • Box Office: The film earned a huge amount of $249.4 million over the box office throughout the world with a small budget of $48 million.
  • Critical Response: On Rotten Tomatoes, The Ring got a rating of 71% and an average rating of 6.6/10. The film received a score of 57/100 from Metacritic. From IGN, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, and Film Threat, it got a positive response while the Chicago Reader did not like the film because of weak characters.
• Sequels: In 2005, a sequel of the film was released with the name The Ring Two. In 2017, another sequel was released that titled Rings. Other than this, a short film was also released in 2005 which was also titled Rings.

6. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre:

This is an American movie released in 1974 as a slasher The director of the film is Tobe Hooper and the writer and co-producer are Hopper and Kim Henkel. The film is originally recorded in English with a running time of 83 minutes. The film was promoted as being based on true events to attract more public but in reality, the plot is largely fictional.

• Plot: The story is placed in 1974 when a group of five close friends is visiting their grandfather's grave through the back roads of Texas en route. To reach there, they pick up a hitchhiker who is psycho. The hitchhiker slashes one of these friends. Somehow the friends save themselves and reached the old house but things turn more problematic from here. And the friends got prisoned in the house where Leatherface and his evil live. How many of them will escape from the house and survive or not? To get the answer you can watch this amazing piece of horror.
• Cast: The star casts of the film include Marilyn Burns, Paul A. Partain, Jim Siedow, Edwin Neal, and others.
• Release: The premiere of the film was presented in Austin, Texas, on October 1, 1974. The film was also named in some countries due to extreme violence and immoral scenes.
• Reception:
  • Box Office: The total budget of the film was only $80,000-140,000 while its total box office collection was $30.9 million over the world.
  • Critical Response: The film received positive reviews from 89% of critics and an average rating of 8.11/10 from Rotten Tomatoes as published since 2000. The film got a positive response from the Kids Angeles Times, the Chicago Sun-Times, The Cincinnati Enquirer, Austin American-Statesman, Variety, Cinefantastique, Houston Chronicle, TV Guide, The Austin Chronicle, Rex Reed, Empire, and others. However, the film also had some negative reviews.

7. Halloween:

Halloween is an American independent slasher film released in 1978. The executive of the film is David Gordon Green and the scholars are Jeff Fradley, Green, and Danny McBride. The audio of the film is originally recorded in English. Halloween's running time is 91 minutes.

• Plot: The story is placed in 1963 and the occasion is Halloween night. The night turns into a nightmare when a 6-year old boy named Michael kills his 15-year old sister, Judith Myers. The police send him to the asylum and a detainment center for the criminally insane, from where he escaped some days before the 15^th anniversary of the brutal murder. He comes back to his hometown on October 31, 1978. Michael soon finds his target and kills a group of three high school students. His psychiatrist, Samuel Loomis soon warns the town in search of mentally disturbed Michael. But Michael always defeats them. Will Dr. be able to stop Michael on time or the city will witness a bloody night again?
• Cast: The movie is starring Donald Pleasance, Jamie Lee Curtis, Nancy Loomis, P. J. Soles, and others.
• Release: The film was premiered on October 25, 1978, in 198 theatres in the US. It is one of the foremost effective autonomous movies of all time from the viewpoint of profit. The television rights of Halloween were purchased by NBC for $3 million in 1980.
• Reception:
  • Box Office: The worldwide total of movie's box office collection was $60-70 million against a total production budget of $300,00-325,000.
  • Critical Response: On Rotten Tomatoes, it got a rating of 96% and an average rating of 8.63/10. The Miami Times, Detroit Free Press, Chicago Tribune, the Village Voice, and Chicago Suntimes praised the film. But The Washington Post, The New Yorker, and Los Angeles Times gave negative reviews to 'Halloween".
• Sequels: Halloween is a large franchise with 12 sequels named Halloween ll, Halloween lll: Season of the Witch, Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers, Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers, Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers, Halloween H20: 20 Years Later, Halloween: Resurrection, Halloween (2007), Halloween ll (2009), Halloween (2018), Halloween Kills, and Halloween Ends (Upcoming).

8. Insidious:

Insidious is an American-Canadian film based on the supernatural horror It was released in 2010 in English as the original language. The film is directed by James Wan and written by Leigh Whannell. The total length of the movie is 101 minutes. It is the first film of the insidious franchise.

• Plot: At the beginning of the story, Josh Lambert, a teacher shifts to a new big house with his wife Renai and three children, Dalton, Foster, and Cali. The problem starts when Dalton falls into a coma after an accident. After the three months of the accident, strange things happen in the house when Renai and Josh's mother Lorraine watch ghost. They call Elise Rainier, ghost hunter, and his team to find out the supernatural powers in the house. Elise explains that Dalton leaves his body and travels to astral projection and that's why a demon is trying to enter his empty physical body so that he can cause pain to others. Then, Josh's mother tells Josh that he is also a gifted traveler and only he can bring Dalton back from Further, the place where Dalton's spiritual body is lost. So will Josh face his suppressed memories to save his child?
• Cast: The film's casts include Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Barbara Hershey, Lin Shaye, and others.
• Release: On September 14, 2010, the world premiere of the film was done at the Toronto International Film Festival. The film was released in theatres on April 1, 2011. In mid-March 2011, Insidious was also screened in the South by Southwest.
• Reception:
  • Box Office: It was also a profitable investment with a total budget of $1.5 million while a total box office collection of $99.5 million throughout the world.
  • Critical Response: On Rotten Tomatoes, the film received the aggregate reviews of 66% and an average score of 5.97/10. The film scored a weighted average of 52 out of 100 on Metacritic. The film got 2½ stars out of 4 from Robert Ebert. The film faced some negative reviews from The New York Times and The Boston Globe for its weak second half. The positive reviews were earned by the film from The Wall Street Journal, Chicago Tribune, Rolling Stone, and Associated Press for its amazing suspense.
• Sequel and Prequel: In 2013, the sequel of the film was released with the name Insidious: Chapter 2. In 2015, Insidious: Chapter 3 and in 2018, Insidious: The Last Key was released. These both were the prequels of the film Insidious.

9. Sinister:

Sinister is an American supernatural horror film that was released in 2012. The director of the film is Scott Derrickson who is also the co-writer of the movie. The film is in English and has a total length of 109 minutes.

• Plot: To being close to the source of information for a book, a true-crime writer Ellison Oswalt moves to a small town in Pennsylvania with his wife Tracy, a son Trevor, and a daughter Ashley. Trevor has the problem of night terrors which increases with their shift. The house where they shift is the witness of a horrifying crime that happened. In the house, Oswalt got a box of home movies. It has the recordings of murders of the past landlords. Oswalt got obsessed with the movie which opens the doors of problems and misfortune for himself and his family.
• Cast: The film is starred with Ethan Hawke, Juliet Rylance, James Ransone, Fred Dalton Thompson, Clare Foley, and others.
• Release: Sinister was first premiered in the US at the SXSW festival. In the US, the film was released on October 12, 2012, and in the UK, it was released on October 5, 2012.
• Reception:
  • Box Office: The film was made on a small budget of $3 million and it earned a huge collection of $87.7 million over the box office worldwide.
  • Critical Response: On Rotten Tomatoes, the film got an approval rating of 63% and an average rating of 6.2/10. On Metacritic, the film scored 53/100. Sinister got ¾ stars from Roger Ebert. Other than this, the film got positive reviews from Variety, Film.com, E!, CraveOnline, and IGN. Daily Record gave four out of five and Den of Geek gave three out of five stars to the film. However, the film also faced some negative reviews from Toronto Star, Newsday, and others for its preoccupation with outdated technology.
• Sequel: The sequel of the film named Sinister 2 was released in 2015 and was directed by Ciaran Foy.

10. It:

It or It: Chapter One is an American motion picture that was released in 2017. The plot of the film is based on a coming-of-age powerful frightfulness The story of the motion picture is adjusted from the novel of the same title composed by Stephen King in 1986. 'It' is the primary film of its arrangement. The film is coordinated by Andy Muschietti. The length of the film is 135 minutes. The first dialect of the motion picture is English. The film is also popular as "It: Part 1 - The Losers' Club".

• Plot: The movie is set in the town of Derry, Maine in 1989. The problems begin in the peaceful town when violence, murder, and child disappearances terrorize the people. After the death of Georgie Denbrough, a six-year-old kid, his older brother, Bill decided to fight with the shape-shifting monster, Pennywise who is doing these things. For this reason, he groups up with his six other companions of The Losers' Club. After it, the film shows how will they fight that monster who knows all their biggest fears?
• Cast: The film is decorated with various stars such as Jaeden Lieberher, Bill Skarsgard, Jeremy Ray Taylor, Sophia Lillis, Finn Wolfhard, and others.
• Release: The film was premiered at Grauman's Chinese Theatre on September 5, 2017, in the US. In the UK and the US, the film was released with other 13 countries on September 8, 2017. But it had been screened in 25 other countries a day before its release in the US.
• Reception:
  • Box Office: The film became a mega-hit and broke many box office records with a gross collection of over $701.8 million with a small production budget of $35 million. The film also became the fifth-highest-grossing R-rated film of all time.
  • Critical Response: On Rotten Tomatoes, the film got an aggregate rating of 86% and an average rating of 7.24/10. Metacritic approved 'It' with an average score of 69 out of 100. The film also got a "B+" grade from Cinema Score.
• Sequel: The sequel of 'It' is 'It Chapter Two' which was released in 2019. Part two describes the story of the kids of part one 30 years later as adults.