10. The Thing (1982). The special effects may not seem like much today, but when John Carpenter's remake of the 1951 classic "The Thing from Another World," hit the big screen in the early 80s, audiences and critics found the effects to be both brilliant and repulsive.
8. The Shining (1980). Stephen King didn't care much for Stanley Kubrick's adaptation of his novel and - ultimately, a three-part television mini-series was developed in 1997 that was more faithful to King's version, also much less scary.
7. Let The Right One In (2008). Forget Twilight, you want a real love story featuring a vampire, check out this Swedish film based on the novel by the same name. It tells the story of an anxious, friendless boy whose wish for a friend seems to come true when a girl named Eli moves in next door. She's strangely serious, has pale skin and only comes out at night. Slow, brooding and haunting. An English language remake called "Let Me In" was released in 2010.
6. Se7en (1995). OK, technically this isn't a horror movie, rather a stylized crime thriller - but there are plenty of scary moments and the movie succeeds in building a palpable tension as it builds toward its inescapable, horrifying and mind bending conclusion.
5. Frailty (2002). Frailty is a truly creepy gothic thriller about an apparent serial killer who calls himself the Hand of God. The killer believes he was instructed, by God, to slaughter demons disguised as ordinary people and takes his young sons to carry out his mission.
4. The Ring (2002). This remake of the 1998 Japanese horror classic Ringu opened the floodgate for American remakes of Japanese horror films - it's one you either love, or hate - either it doesn't bother you at all, or it scares you to death.
3. The Exorcist (1973). It's worth watching for the film's cultural impact, alone.
2. Audition (1999). Speaking of Japanese horror, it's impossible to watch this one without looking away, or at least flinching.
1. Halloween (1978). Carpenter's classic borrows heavily from earlier influences and uses a straightforward storyline about an escaped maniac to tap into our primal fears. Was that the boogeyman?
