“The Best Horror Movies Ever Made, Eternal Terrors” explores the progression of the genre from its early origins to modern masterpieces, delving into the terrifying realm of cinematic horror. The most important and innovative movies that have redefined and defined terror on the big screen are highlighted in this overview. Through an analysis of the aesthetic, cultural, and psychological effects of these timeless masterpieces, the conversation demonstrates how horror films have consistently challenged conventions, arousing unceasing fear and leaving a lasting impression on viewers of all ages.

1. The Conjuring (2013)

James Wan is the director of the 2013 American supernatural horror film The Conjuring, which was written by Chad and Carey W. Hayes. It’s the first movie in the Conjuring Universe series. Ed and Lorraine Warren, paranormal investigators and authors connected to well-known haunting incidents, are portrayed by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga. The Amityville Horror novel and film series were allegedly inspired by their allegedly true-life accounts. The Perron family, who began to encounter more unsettling incidents in their recently occupied Rhode Island farmhouse in 1971, receives aid from the Warrens.

The movie’s development got underway in January 2012, when news emerged confirming that Wan was directing a movie called The Warren Files, which was eventually renamed The Conjuring. Filming of the sequences was done in chronological order, with production starting in February 2012 in Wilmington, North Carolina. Warner Bros. Pictures and New Line Cinema released The Conjuring on July 19, 2013, in the United States and Canada. Critics gave it favorable reviews, praising the musical composition, acting, directing, storyline, and atmosphere. Against a $20 million budget, it brought in over $319 million globally. 2016 saw the release of The Conjuring 2, a follow-up.

2. The First Omen (2024)

Directed by Arkasha Stevenson, The First Omen is an American supernatural horror film from 2024. She co-wrote the script with Tim Smith and Keith Thomas, based on a story by Ben Jacoby. It is the sixth movie in the Omen trilogy and a prequel to The Omen (1976). Nell Tiger Free, Tawfeek Barhom, Sônia Braga, Ralph Ineson, and Bill Nighy are among the movie’s stars. The story revolves around an American lady employed in a church in Rome who discovers a dark scheme to bring about the coming of the Antichrist.

81% of the 176 reviews, with an average rating of 7/10, are positive on the review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes. The verdict on the website is as follows: “Frequently frightening even as it plays within the confines of a nearly 50-year-old film series, this prequel is The First Omen of a bright future for the franchise in quite some time.” Based on 33 reviews from critics, the weighted average site Metacritic gave the movie a score of 65 out of 100, signifying “generally favorable” reviews. On a scale of A+ to F, the movie had an average grade of “C” from viewers surveyed by CinemaScore.

On April 5, 2024, 20th Century Studios released The First Omen in theaters across the United States. Critics gave the movie favorable reviews, and it has made $53.7 million worldwide.

3. Godzilla Minus One (2023)

Takashi Yamazaki is the writer, director, and visual effects artist for the 2023 Japanese epic[a] kaiju film Godzilla Minus One (ゴジラ-1.0バイナスワン, Gojira Mainasu Wan). It is the 33rd Godzilla movie from Toho, the fifth in the Reiwa period of the Godzilla franchise, and the 37th Godzilla movie overall. It was produced by Toho Studios and Robot Communications and released by Toho. Starring in the movie are Sakura Ando, Hidetaka Yoshioka, Yuki Yamada, Minami Hamabe, Ryunosuke Kamiki, and Kuranosuke Sasaki. The story, which takes place in post-World War II Japan, centers on a former kamikaze pilot who develops PTSD after coming into contact with the enormous monster known as “Godzilla”.

Due to a deal with Legendary Entertainment, Toho was not allowed to make another live-action Godzilla movie until 2020 after Shin Godzilla (2016). Producer Minami Ichikawa selected Yamazaki to direct the movie once The Great War of Archimedes (2019) was finished. The COVID-19 epidemic caused principal filming to be delayed, giving Yamazaki three years to compose the story. The script is inspired by earlier Godzilla films as well as the works of Hayao Miyazaki and Steven Spielberg. Robot Communications said in February 2022 that Yamazaki will soon be directing an unnamed kaiju film. From March to June 2022, Chūbu and Kantō were the main locations for filming. The visual effects took eight months to complete at Shirogumi’s Chōfu facility.

4. The Strangers (2008)

Bryan Bertino is the writer and director of the 2008 American psychological horror movie titled The Strangers. Three masked burglars (played by Kip Weeks, Gemma Ward, and Laura Margolis) break into a vacation property owned by a couple (portrayed by Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman) one night, disrupting their stay. This movie is the first in the Strangers movie series. The Manson family Tate murders, which resulted in several killings, and a string of break-ins that happened in Bertino’s childhood neighborhood served as the inspiration for the script. Though Bertino did not mention it, some media saw comparisons between the movie and the 1981 Keddie cabin killings in Keddie, California.

Filmed in the fall of 2006 on location in rural South Carolina, the project had a $9 million budget. It was delayed before making its theatrical debut on May 30, 2008, having originally been scheduled for November 2007 release. The movie became a surprising smash, taking in $82 million globally at the box office. Critics gave it mixed reviews; some praised the suspense and atmosphere, while others had criticisms for the characters and the writing.

It has become into a cult classic in the years after its premiere. A stand-alone sequel trilogy of Strangers films, the first of which, called Chapter 1, will be released in May 2024, was followed by a sequel, The Strangers: Prey at Night, which debuted in March 2018.

5. The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (2021)

Michael Chaves is the director of the 2021 American supernatural horror film The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It. David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick wrote the script, which was adapted from a tale by Johnson-McGoldrick and James Wan. The movie is The Conjuring Universe’s seventh entry and a follow-up to The Conjuring (2013) and The Conjuring 2 (2016). Along with Ruairi O’Connor, Sarah Catherine Hook, and Julian Hilliard, Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga return to their roles as paranormal investigators and writers Ed and Lorraine Warren. The film, which is based on the 1981 murder trial of Arne Cheyenne Johnson in Connecticut, is produced once again by Wan and Peter Safran. Gerald Brittle’s book The Devil in Connecticut also details the trial.

The first steps toward a third Conjuring movie were taken in 2016, however Wan later declared that he will not be helming any more of the series because of schedule difficulties with other projects. Safran affirmed that there wouldn’t be a haunted home movie in the upcoming picture. In June 2017, the third installment’s formal development was revealed, with David Leslie Johnson appointed to pen the script. The director of the movie, Michael Chaves, was revealed; he directed The Curse of La Llorona (2019). In the summer of 2019, filming took conducted in Georgia.

6. The Nun II (2023)

The Nun II, sometimes titled The Nun: Chapter Two, is a 2023 American Gothic supernatural horror film that was written by Akela Cooper, Richard Naing, and Ian Goldberg based on Cooper’s novella. It was directed by Michael Chaves. The film, which is a follow-up to The Nun (2018) and the eighth entry in The Conjuring Universe series, stars Taissa Farmiga, Jonas Bloquet, and Bonnie Aarons, who are all returning from the previous picture, along with Storm Reid and Anna Popplewell. Producers James Wan and Peter Safran are back.

Wan talked about a Nun sequel in 2017, and Safran disclosed that the movie was in the early stages of production by 2019. Before Goldberg and Naing added their screenplay contributions to the finished piece, Cooper was originally employed as the only writer. The director of the film is Chaves, who directed The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (2021) and The Curse of La Llorona (2019). In October 2022, principal filming got underway in France.

Warner Bros. Pictures released The Nun II in the United States on September 8, 2023. The movie was a commercial success, making $269 million worldwide, despite the reviewers’ divided opinions.

7. Annabelle (2014)

The 2014 American supernatural horror film Annabelle was produced by Peter Safran and James Wan, written by Gary Dauberman, and directed by John R. Leonetti. Alfre Woodard, Ward Horton, and Annabelle Wallis are the main actors. In January 2014, principal photography got underway in Los Angeles. On September 29, 2014, it made its theatrical debut at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles. Warner Bros. Pictures and New Line Cinema then distributed it nationwide on October 3, 2014.

The movie was influenced by Ed and Lorraine Warren’s tale of a doll they called Annabelle. It is a prequel and spin-off to the 2013 movie The Conjuring, which was revealed soon after its premiere due to the latter’s success at the box office globally and favorable reviews of its portrayal of the doll.

Critics gave Annabelle mixed reviews, with many believing it was not as good as its predecessor, however they did commend it for its mood. With almost $257 million in box office revenue compared to its $6.5 million production budget, it was a huge box office hit. On August 11, 2017, a prequel called Annabelle: Creation was made available. On June 26, 2019, a follow-up film called Annabelle Comes Home was launched.

8. The Black Phone (2021)

Director Scott Derrickson of the United States is behind the camera for the 2021 supernatural horror picture The Black Phone, which he co-wrote with longtime partner C. Robert Cargill. Mason Thames plays Finney, the adolescent boy kidnapped by Ethan Hawke’s character, The Grabber, a serial child murderer. In prison, Finney finds a mysterious black rotary phone and utilizes it to communicate with the ghosts of The Grabber’s murdered victims in order to plan his escape. The main cast also includes Madeleine McGraw, James Ransone, and Jeremy Davies. The Black Phone was co-produced by Derrickson and Cargill with Jason Blum, CEO of Blumhouse Productions.

Derrickson and Cargill’s adaptation of Joe Hill’s eponymous short tale served as the inspiration for The Black Phone. Derrickson turned his focus to other filmmaking pursuits since he found it difficult to come up with original concepts. Up to his departure from Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022) due to creative differences, the movie was inactive. Derrickson expanded The Black Phone’s narrative by drawing on his early suburban Denver experiences. With a budget of $16–18 million, principal photography started in February 2021 and concluded the following month. Wilmington was the site of both set and on-location filming. The music for the movie was written by Mark Korven and featured both contemporary and retro synthesizer tones.

9. The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017)

Yorgos Lanthimos is the director and co-producer of the 2017 absurdist psychological horror thriller The Killing of a Sacred Deer. He and Efthimis Filippou also co-wrote the screenplay. Colin Farrell, Nicole Kidman, Bill Camp, Alicia Silverstone, Raffey Cassidy, Sunny Suljic, and Barry Keoghan are among the actors who feature in it. It centers on a heart surgeon who, after meeting a teenage kid who has ties to his past, exposes his family to him; thereafter, the family members inexplicably start to become sick.

On May 22, 2017, the movie made its global premiere at the 70th Cannes Film Festival, where it took home the Best Screenplay prize. Curzon Artificial Eye premiered it in theaters around the United Kingdom and Ireland on November 3, 2017. Critics gave it favorable reviews and it made $10.7 million worldwide. They commended Lanthimos’ directing, the writing, the photography, and the cast’s performances—especially that of Keoghan, Farrell, and Kidman. The movie received four nominations for the 15th Irish Film & Television Awards, where Keoghan took home the Best Supporting Actor trophy. It was nominated for Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Actor (Farrell) at the 30th European Film Awards; at the 33rd Independent Spirit Awards, it was nominated for Best Cinematography and Best Supporting Male (Keoghan).

10. The Curse of La Llorona (2019)

The Curse of La Llorona, which is also titled The Curse of the Weeping Woman in certain regions, is a 2019 American supernatural horror film written by Mikki Daughtry and Tobias Iaconis and directed by Michael Chaves in his feature directorial debut. The film, which stars Linda Cardellini, Raymond Cruz, and Patricia Velásquez and is based on the Latin American mythology of La Llorona, centers on a woman in Los Angeles in 1973 who has to defend her kids from a demonic entity that is attempting to abduct them. Despite not being regarded as a part of the series, James Wan’s Atomic Monster produced the movie, which is set in The Conjuring Universe.

On March 15, 2019, The Curse of La Llorona had its South by Southwest debut. On April 19, 2019, it was released in theaters nationwide. while a $9 million budget, it made $123 million worldwide while receiving mixed reviews.