The Best 90s Horror Movies

Critics Consensus: Ringu combines supernatural elements with anxieties about modern technology in a truly frightening and unnerving way.

Synopsis: When her niece is found dead along with three friends after viewing a supposedly cursed videotape, reporter Reiko Asakawa (Nanako Matsushima) sets out to investigate.... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Nanako Matsushima, Hiroyuki Sanada, Miki Nakatani, Yuko Takeuchi

Directed By: Hideo Nakata

Critics Consensus: Director Jonathan Demme's smart, taut thriller teeters on the edge between psychological study and all-out horror, and benefits greatly from stellar performances by Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster.

Synopsis: Jodie Foster stars as Clarice Starling, a top student at the FBI's training academy. Jack Crawford (Scott Glenn) wants Clarice to interview Dr. Hannibal Lecter... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, Scott Glenn, Ted Levine

Directed By: Jonathan Demme

Critics Consensus: Mesmerizing and psychologically intriguing.

Synopsis: "Cure" is part atmospheric crime film and part philosophical meditation. Detective Takabe (Koji Yakusho) is tracking a series of identical murders, committed under the same... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Kôji Yakusho, Tsuyoshi Ujiki, Anna Nakagawa, Masato Hagiwara

Directed By: Kiyoshi Kurosawa

Critics Consensus: Arachnophobia may not deliver genuine chills, but it's an affectionate, solidly built tribute to Hollywood's classic creature features.

Synopsis: After a nature photographer (Mark L. Taylor) dies on assignment in Venezuela, a poisonous spider hitches a ride in his coffin to his hometown in... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Jeff Daniels, Harley Jane Kozak, John Goodman, Julian Sands

Directed By: Frank Marshall

Critics Consensus: Elevated by standout performances from James Caan and Kathy Bates, this taut and frightening film is one of the best Stephen King adaptations to date.

Synopsis: After a serious car crash, novelist Paul Sheldon (James Caan) is rescued by former nurse Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates), who claims to be his biggest... View Full Synopsis

Starring: James Caan, Kathy Bates, Frances Sternhagen, Richard Farnsworth

Directed By: Rob Reiner

Critics Consensus: An affectionate throwback to 1950s creature features, Tremors reinvigorates its genre tropes with a finely balanced combination of horror and humor.

Synopsis: Repairmen Val McKee (Kevin Bacon) and Earl Bassett (Fred Ward) are tired of their dull lives in the small desert town of Perfection, Nev. But... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Kevin Bacon, Fred Ward, Finn Carter, Michael Gross

Directed By: Ron Underwood

Critics Consensus: The delightfully gonzo tale of a lovestruck teen and his zombified mother, Dead Alive is extremely gory and exceedingly good fun, thanks to Peter Jackson's affection for the tastelessly sublime.

Synopsis: Overprotective mother Vera Cosgrove (Elizabeth Moody), spying on her grown son, Lionel (Timothy Balme), as he visits the zoo with the lovely Paquita (Diana Peñalver),... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Timothy Balme, Diana Peñalver, Elizabeth Moody, Ian Watkin

Directed By: Peter Jackson

Critics Consensus: Guillermo del Toro's unique feature debut is not only gory and stylish, but also charming and intelligent.

Synopsis: Antique dealer Jesus Gris (Federico Luppi) stumbles across Cronos, a 400-year-old scarab that, when it latches onto him, grants him youth and eternal life --... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Federico Luppi, Ron Perlman, Claudio Brook, Margarita Isabel

Directed By: Guillermo del Toro

Critics Consensus: Full of creepy campfire scares, mock-doc The Blair Witch Project keeps audiences in the dark about its titular villain, proving once more that imagination can be as scary as anything onscreen.

Synopsis: Found video footage tells the tale of three film students (Heather Donahue, Joshua Leonard, Michael C. Williams) who've traveled to a small town to collect... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Heather Donahue, Michael C. Williams, Joshua Leonard, Bob Griffith

Directed By: Daniel Myrick, Eduardo Sánchez

Critics Consensus: M Night Shayamalan's The Sixth Sense is a twisty ghost story with all the style of a classical Hollywood picture, but all the chills of a modern horror flick.

Synopsis: Young Cole Sear (Haley Joel Osment) is haunted by a dark secret: he is visited by ghosts. Cole is frightened by visitations from those with... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Bruce Willis, Haley Joel Osment, Toni Collette, Olivia Williams

Directed By: M. Night Shyamalan

Critics Consensus: A brutal, relentlessly grimy shocker with taut performances, slick gore effects, and a haunting finale.

Synopsis: When retiring police Detective William Somerset (Morgan Freeman) tackles a final case with the aid of newly transferred David Mills (Brad Pitt), they discover a... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, Gwyneth Paltrow, R. Lee Ermey

Directed By: David Fincher

Critics Consensus: As with the first film, Scream 2 is a gleeful takedown of scary movie conventions that manages to poke fun at terrible horror sequels without falling victim to the same fate.

Synopsis: Sydney (Neve Campbell) and tabloid reporter Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox) survived the events of the first Scream, but their nightmare isn't over. When two college... View Full Synopsis

Starring: David Arquette, Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, Sarah Michelle Gellar

Directed By: Wes Craven

Critics Consensus: An audacious, unsettling Japanese horror film from director Takashi Miike, Audition entertains as both a grisly shocker and a psychological drama.

Synopsis: This disturbing Japanese thriller follows Aoyama (Ryo Ishibashi), a widower who decides to start dating again. Aided by a film-producer friend (Miyuki Matsuda), Aoyama uses... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Ryo Ishibashi, Eihi Shiina, Jun Kunimura, Miyuki Matsuda

Directed By: Takashi Miike

Critics Consensus: Though it ultimately sacrifices some mystery in the name of gory thrills, Candyman is a nuanced, effectively chilling tale that benefits from an interesting premise and some fine performances.

Synopsis: Skeptical graduate student Helen Lyle (Virginia Madsen) befriends Anne-Marie McCoy (Vanessa Williams) while researching superstitions in a housing project on Chicago's Near North Side. From... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Virginia Madsen, Tony Todd, Xander Berkeley, Kasi Lemmons

Directed By: Bernard Rose

Critics Consensus: Horror icon Wes Craven's subversive deconstruction of the genre is sly, witty, and surprisingly effective as a slasher film itself, even if it's a little too cheeky for some.

Synopsis: The sleepy little town of Woodsboro just woke up screaming. There's a killer in their midst who's seen a few too many scary movies. Suddenly... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Neve Campbell, David Arquette, Courteney Cox, Matthew Lillard

Directed By: Wes Craven

Critics Consensus: Wes Craven's New Nightmare adds an unexpectedly satisfying - not to mention intelligent - meta layer to a horror franchise that had long since lost its way.

Synopsis: Reality and fantasy meet in unsettling ways in this installment of the long-running horror series, which finds director Wes Craven and actors Heather Langenkamp and... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Robert Englund, Heather Langenkamp, Miko Hughes, David Newsom

Directed By: Wes Craven

Critics Consensus: Smart and stylish, Cape Fear is a gleefully mainstream shocker from Martin Scorsese, with a terrifying Robert De Niro performance.

Synopsis: When attorney Sam Bowden (Nick Nolte) knowingly withholds evidence that would acquit violent sex offender Max Cady (Robert De Niro) of rape charges, Max spends... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Robert De Niro, Nick Nolte, Jessica Lange, Juliette Lewis

Directed By: Martin Scorsese

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: Duane (Kevin Van Hentenryck) and his Siamese twin in a wicker basket join an eccentric (Annie Ross) and her human menagerie.

Starring: Kevin Van Hentenryck, Annie Ross, Kathryn Meisle, Heather Rattray

Directed By: Frank Henenlotter

Critics Consensus: Mute Witness is a slickly crafted horror/thriller with some surprising comic twists.

Synopsis: Billy (Mary Sudina) is mute, but it hasn't kept her from becoming a successful makeup artist. While in Russia, working on a film directed by... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Mary Sudina, Fay Ripley, Evan Richards, Oleg Jankovskij

Directed By: Anthony Waller

Critics Consensus: Claustrophobic and quirky horror, this is a decently dirty debut for director Todd Haynes.

Synopsis: Three stories: "Hero," about a boy who kills his father; "Horror," black-and-white sci-fi; and "Homo," set in prison.

Starring: Edith Meeks, Larry Maxwell, Scott Renderer, Millie White

Directed By: Todd Haynes

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: Sam (Larry Fessenden), a down-and-out New Yorker who is grieving over his father's death and has just broken up with his girlfriend, is lost in... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Larry Fessenden, Meredith Snaider, Aaron Beall, Patricia Coleman

Directed By: Larry Fessenden

Critics Consensus: Violent images and blunt audience provocation make up this nihilistic experiment from one of cinema's more difficult filmmakers.

Synopsis: An idyllic lakeside vacation home is terrorized by Paul (Arno Frisch) and Peter (Frank Giering), a pair of deeply disturbed young men. When the fearful... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Susanne Lothar, Ulrich Mühe, Frank Giering, Arno Frisch

Directed By: Michael Haneke

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: Filmmaker John Carpenter introduces a trio of terror tales: "Unleaded," "Hair" and Tobe Hooper's "Baseball Man."

Starring: Alex Datcher, Mark Hamill, Stacy Keach, Robert Carradine

Directed By: John Carpenter, Tobe Hooper

Critics Consensus: Even with its disorienting leaps of logic and structure, Jacob's Ladder is an engrossing, nerve-shattering experience.

Synopsis: After returning home from the Vietnam War, veteran Jacob Singer (Tim Robbins) struggles to maintain his sanity. Plagued by hallucinations and flashbacks, Singer rapidly falls... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Tim Robbins, Elizabeth Peña, Danny Aiello, Matt Craven

Directed By: Adrian Lyne

Critics Consensus: Gremlins 2 trades the spiky thrills of its predecessor for looney satire, yielding a succession of sporadically clever gags that add some flavor to a recycled plot.

Synopsis: The magical collectibles store that Gizmo calls home has just been destroyed, and the tiny monster finds his way into a newly erected skyscraper. Billy... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, John Glover, Robert Prosky

Directed By: Joe Dante

Critics Consensus: It isn't Tim Burton's best work, but Sleepy Hollow entertains with its stunning visuals and creepy atmosphere.

Synopsis: Constable Ichabod Crane is sent to the village of Sleepy Hollow, where a headless horseman is leaving a trail of decapitated bodies.

Starring: Johnny Depp, Christina Ricci, Miranda Richardson, Michael Gambon

Directed By: Tim Burton

Critics Consensus: A powerful, emotional and successful film adaptation of the original novel.

Synopsis: In 1873 Ohio, Sethe is a mother of three haunted by her horrific slavery past and her desperate actions for freedom. As a result, Sethe's... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Oprah Winfrey, Danny Glover, Thandiwe Newton, Kimberly Elise

Directed By: Jonathan Demme

Critics Consensus: Kevin Bacon's acting is so genuine that it's creepy and director David Keopp knows how to create true suspense.

Synopsis: Blue-collar family man Tom Witzky (Kevin Bacon) scoffs at supernatural phenomena -- until he lets his wife's sister, Lisa (Illeana Douglas), put him into a... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Kevin Bacon, Kathryn Erbe, Illeana Douglas, Liza Weil

Directed By: David Koepp

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: A police detective falls under hallucinatory spells while trying to capture the sadistic man who raped her.

Starring: Asia Argento, Thomas Kretschmann, Marco Leonardi, Luigi Diberti

Directed By: Dario Argento

Critics Consensus: Overblown in the best sense of the word, Francis Ford Coppola's vision of Bram Stoker's Dracula rescues the character from decades of campy interpretations -- and features some terrific performances to boot.

Synopsis: Adaptation of Bram Stoker's classic vampire novel. Gary Oldman plays Dracula whose lonely soul is determined to reunite with his lost love, Mina. In Britain,... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Gary Oldman, Winona Ryder, Anthony Hopkins, Keanu Reeves

Directed By: Francis Ford Coppola

Critics Consensus: Some of the evil magic is gone as this trilogy capper dispenses with most of the scares, but Bruce Campbell's hammy charm and Sam Raimi's homage to classic visual effects make for a fun enough adventure.

Synopsis: 3rd Evil Dead movie. Ash finds himself trapped in medieval times. He must quest for the Necronomicon, a book of evil which can return him... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Bruce Campbell, Embeth Davidtz, Marcus Gilbert, Ian Abercrombie

Directed By: Sam Raimi

Critics Consensus: Marking a further escalation in David Lynch's surrealist style, Lost Highway is a foreboding mystery that arguably leads to a dead end, although it is signposted throughout with some of the director's most haunting images yet.

Synopsis: From this inventory of imagery, Lynch fashions two separate but intersecting stories, one about a jazz musician (Bill Pullman), tortured by the notion that his... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Bill Pullman, Patricia Arquette, Balthazar Getty, Robert Blake

Directed By: David Lynch

Critics Consensus: Body Snatchers may not topple previous adaptions, but it boasts an effective sense of dread and strong characterizations.

Synopsis: When Environmental Protection Agency inspector Steve Malone (Terry Kinney) travels to a remote military base in order to check for toxic materials, he brings his... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Gabrielle Anwar, Terry Kinney, Billy Wirth, Meg Tilly

Directed By: Abel Ferrara

Critics Consensus: Though hampered by an uneven second half, Stephen King's It supplies a wealth of funhouse thrills and an indelible turn from Tim Curry as Pennywise.

Synopsis: In 1960, seven preteen outcasts fight an evil demon that poses as a child-killing clown. Thirty years later, they reunite to stop the demon once... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Harry Anderson, Dennis Christopher, Richard Masur, Annette O'Toole

Directed By: Tommy Lee Wallace

Critics Consensus: Mimic finds director Guillermo del Toro struggling to inject his unique sensibilities into a studio picture - and delivering just enough genre thrills to recommend.

Synopsis: When a cockroach-spread plague threatens to decimate the child population of New York City, evolutionary biologist Susan Tyler (Mira Sorvino) and her research associates rig... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Mira Sorvino, Jeremy Northam, Josh Brolin, Giancarlo Giannini

Directed By: Guillermo del Toro

Critics Consensus: Held aloft by gonzo black comedy and socially conscious subtext, The People Under The Stairs marks a unique -- though wildly uneven -- change of pace for director Wes Craven.

Synopsis: When young Fool (Brandon Adams) breaks into the home of his family's greedy and uncaring landlords, he discovers a disturbing scenario where incestuous adult siblings... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Brandon Quintin Adams, Everett McGill, Wendy Robie, A.J. Langer

Directed By: Wes Craven

Critics Consensus: Tim Matheson's gripping performance and a strong mood make Sometimes They Come Back an effective, if not wholly revelatory, Stephen King adaptation.

Synopsis: High school teacher Jim Norman (Tim Matheson) reluctantly returns to his hometown with his wife (Brooke Adams) to pursue a job. Jim is haunted by... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Tim Matheson, Brooke Adams, William Sanderson, Robert Gorman

Directed By: Tom McLoughlin

Critics Consensus: A pulpy crime drama/vampire film hybrid, From Dusk Till Dawn is an uneven but often deliriously enjoyable B-movie.

Synopsis: On the run from a bank robbery that left several police officers dead, Seth Gecko (George Clooney) and his paranoid, loose-cannon brother, Richard (Quentin Tarantino),... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Harvey Keitel, George Clooney, Quentin Tarantino, Juliette Lewis

Directed By: Robert Rodriguez

Critics Consensus: Though it is ultimately somewhat undone by its own lofty ambitions, The Devil's Advocate is a mostly effective blend of supernatural thrills and character exploration.

Synopsis: Aspiring Florida defense lawyer Kevin Lomax (Keanu Reeves) accepts a high-powered position at a New York law firm headed by legal shark John Milton (Al... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Keanu Reeves, Al Pacino, Charlize Theron, Jeffrey Jones

Directed By: Taylor Hackford

Critics Consensus: Despite lacking some of the book's subtler shadings, and suffering from some clumsy casting, Interview with a Vampire benefits from Neil Jordan's atmospheric direction and a surfeit of gothic thrills.

Synopsis: Born as an 18th-century lord, Louis is now a bicentennial vampire, telling his story to an eager biographer. Suicidal after the death of his family,... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, Antonio Banderas, Stephen Rea

Directed By: Neil Jordan

Critics Consensus: Boasting top-notch special effects and exuberant direction from Peter Jackson, The Frighteners is visually striking but tonally uneven.

Synopsis: Once an architect, Frank Bannister (Michael J. Fox) now passes himself off as an exorcist of evil spirits. To bolster his facade, he claims his... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Michael J. Fox, Trini Alvarado, Peter Dobson, John Astin

Directed By: Peter Jackson

Critics Consensus: If you're only going to watch one black comedy about a real-life explorer whose fellow travelers ended up eaten, make it Cannibal! The Musical.

Synopsis: A man (Juan Schwartz) convicted of cannibalism tells a reporter his story, complete with singing and dancing.

Starring: Trey Parker, Ian Hardin, Matt Stone, Jon Hegel

Directed By: Trey Parker

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: A New Jersey mad doctor (James Lorinz) rebuilds his girlfriend (Patty Mullen) with body parts from exploded hookers.

Starring: James Lorinz, Patty Mullen, Charlotte J. Helmkamp, Shirley Stoler

Directed By: Frank Henenlotter

Critics Consensus: Raising Cain doesn't rank with Brian De Palma's best work, but John Lithgow's spellbinding split-personality performance makes this thriller hard to dismiss.

Synopsis: A highly regarded child psychologist, Dr. Carter Nix (John Lithgow) has shown signs of being unstable, but he completely snaps when he discovers that his... View Full Synopsis

Starring: John Lithgow, Lolita Davidovich, Steven Bauer, Frances Sternhagen

Directed By: Brian De Palma

Critics Consensus: Nadja approaches the Dracula legend from an idiosyncratic angle - and with just enough visual style to overcome uneven storytelling.

Synopsis: After her father, Dracula, is killed, vampire Nadja (Elina Lowensohn) launches a feud against her father's murderer, Dr. Van Helsing (Peter Fonda). Nadja begins her... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Elina Löwensohn, Jared Harris, Peter Fonda, Suzy Amis

Directed By: Michael Almereyda

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: After spending all the reward money from his first encounter with the giant man-eating worms called Graboids, Earl Bassett (Fred Ward) agrees to hunt more... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Fred Ward, Michael Gross, Chris Gartin, Helen Shaver

Directed By: S.S. Wilson

Critics Consensus: Cemetery Man will frustrate viewers seeking narrative cohesion or coherence, but this surreal blend of humor and horror should satisfy B-movie fans in the mood for quirk.

Synopsis: Something is causing the dead to rise from their graves as flesh-eating zombies, and cemetery custodian Francesco Dellamorte (Rupert Everett) grows tired of killing them... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Rupert Everett, François Hadji-Lazaro, Anna Falchi, Stefano Masciarelli

Directed By: Michele Soavi

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: Directors Dario Argento and George Romero adapt Edgar Allan Poe's "The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar" and "The Black Cat."

Starring: Harvey Keitel, Adrienne Barbeau, Ramy Zada, Bingo O'Malley

Directed By: Dario Argento, George A. Romero

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: Renegade police officer Matthew Cordell (Robert Z'Dar) once roamed the streets of New York City unleashing his murderous brand of vigilante justice upon its denizens... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Robert Davi, Claudia Christian, Michael Lerner, Bruce Campbell

Directed By: William Lustig

Critics Consensus: Wolf misses the jugular after showing flashes of killer instinct early on, but engaging stars and deft direction make this a unique horror-romance worth watching.

Synopsis: After being bitten by a wolf in rural Vermont, aging book editor Will Randall (Jack Nicholson) finds himself full of youthful vigor. Randall then discovers... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Jack Nicholson, Michelle Pfeiffer, James Spader, Kate Nelligan

Directed By: Mike Nichols

Critics Consensus: Cube sometimes struggles with where to take its intriguing premise, but gripping pace and an impressive intelligence make it hard to turn away.

Synopsis: Without remembering how they got there, several strangers awaken in a prison of cubic cells, some of them booby-trapped. There's onetime cop Quentin (Maurice Dean... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Maurice Dean Wint, Nicole de Boer, Nicky Guadagni, David Hewlett

Directed By: Vincenzo Natali

Critics Consensus: If it fails to make the most of its intriguing premise, In the Mouth of Madness remains a decent enough diversion for horror fans and John Carpenter completists.

Synopsis: When horror novelist Sutter Cane (Jürgen Prochnow) goes missing, insurance investigator John Trent (Sam Neill) scrutinizes the claim made by his publisher, Jackson Harglow (Charlton... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Sam Neill, Julie Carmen, Jürgen Prochnow, Charlton Heston

Directed By: John Carpenter

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: A creepy mortician, Mr. Simms (Clarence Williams III), attempts to scare teenage drug dealer Stack (Joe Torry) and his friends straight by telling them four... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Clarence Williams III, Joe Torry, Wings Hauser, Anthony Griffith

Directed By: Rusty Cundieff

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: Terror strikes five young adults who agreed to be filmed for three months in a remote mountain home.

Starring: Amy Weber, Donny Terranova, Nicole Pelerine, John Fairlie

Directed By: Daniel Liatowitsch, David Todd Ocvirk

Critics Consensus: Though some may find the plot a bit lacking, Blade's action is fierce, plentiful, and appropriately stylish for a comic book adaptation.

Synopsis: A half-mortal, half-immortal is out to avenge his mother's death and rid the world of vampires. The modern-day technologically advanced vampires he is going after... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Wesley Snipes, Stephen Dorff, Kris Kristofferson, N'Bushe Wright

Directed By: Stephen Norrington

Critics Consensus: A meandering, mindless family movie that frequently resorts to special effects and transparent sappiness.

Synopsis: Casper (voiced by Malachi Pearson) is a kind young ghost who peacefully haunts a mansion in Maine. When specialist James Harvey (Bill Pullman) arrives to... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Christina Ricci, Bill Pullman, Cathy Moriarty, Eric Idle

Directed By: Brad Silberling

Critics Consensus: Rip-off of other sci-fi thrillers.

Synopsis: To the students at Harrington High, the principal and her posse of teachers have always been a little odd, but lately they've been behaving positively... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Jordana Brewster, Clea Duvall, Laura Harris, Josh Hartnett

Directed By: Robert Rodriguez

Critics Consensus: Hawn and Streep are as fabulous as Death Becomes Her's innovative special effects; Zemeckis' satire, on the other hand, is as hollow as the world it mocks.

Synopsis: When a novelist loses her man to a movie star and former friend, she winds up in a psychiatric hospital. Years later, she returns home... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Meryl Streep, Bruce Willis, Goldie Hawn, Isabella Rossellini

Directed By: Robert Zemeckis

Critics Consensus: The Exorcist III is a talky, literary sequel with some scary moments that rival anything from the original.

Synopsis: Police Lt. Kinderman (George C. Scott) notices similarities between his current murder investigation and the methods used by the Gemini killer (Brad Dourif) who was... View Full Synopsis

Starring: George C. Scott, Ed Flanders, Brad Dourif, Jason Miller

Directed By: William Peter Blatty

Critics Consensus: The Dark Half is a highly serious psychological study that can be faulted for being more curious than actually scary.

Synopsis: Thad Beaumont (Timothy Hutton) has had success writing novels under both his real name and his pseudonym, George Stark, which he uses to publish base... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Timothy Hutton, Amy Madigan, Michael Rooker, Julie Harris

Directed By: George A. Romero

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: A teen (J. Trevor Edmond) uses an Army chemical to revive his dead girlfriend (Mindy Clarke) after a motorcycle accident.

Starring: Melinda Clarke, J. Trevor Edmond, Kent McCord, Basil Wallace

Directed By: Brian Yuzna

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: An innocent young woman finds refuge from her wicked stepmother (Sigourney Weaver) with seven forest-dwelling outcasts.

Starring: Sigourney Weaver, Sam Neill, Gil Bellows, Taryn Davis

Directed By: Michael Cohn

Critics Consensus: Night of the Living Dead fails to bring much new to the original's narrative tentpoles, but its sleek action and amplified gore make it a worthwhile horror showcase.

Synopsis: For reasons unknown, the recently deceased are rising from the grave as flesh-hungry zombies. Fleeing from the undead horde, a small group of survivors, including... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Tony Todd, Patricia Tallman, Tom Towles, McKee Anderson

Directed By: Tom Savini

Critics Consensus: The Craft's campy magic often overrides the feminist message at its story's core, but its appealing cast and postmodern perspective still cast a sporadic spell.

Synopsis: After transferring to a Los Angeles high school, Sarah (Robin Tunney) finds that her telekinetic gift appeals to a group of three wannabe witches, who... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Robin Tunney, Fairuza Balk, Neve Campbell, Rachel True

Directed By: Andrew Fleming

Critics Consensus: While Sigourney Weaver's feral performance as a resurrected Ripley restores some fun to the Alien franchise, the acid blood running through this fourth entry's veins corrodes whatever emotional investment audiences had left.

Synopsis: Two hundred years have passed since Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) died on Fiorina 161. Aboard the medical research vessel USM Auriga, a team of scientists... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Sigourney Weaver, Winona Ryder, Ron Perlman, Dominique Pinon

Directed By: Jean-Pierre Jeunet

Critics Consensus: Nightbreed's imaginative world-building and startling creature designs are no match for its clumsy, uneven plotting.

Synopsis: Aaron Boone (Craig Sheffer) is haunted by terrifying nightmares of a city of monsters. He goes to see a psychiatrist, Dr. Decker (David Cronenberg), for... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Craig Sheffer, Anne Bobby, David Cronenberg, Charlie Haid

Directed By: Clive Barker

Critics Consensus: Halloween: H2O is the best of the many sequels, yet still pales in comparison to the original Halloween.

Synopsis: Two decades after surviving a massacre on October 31, 1978, former baby sitter Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) finds herself hunted by persistent knife-wielder Michael... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Jamie Lee Curtis, Adam Arkin, Josh Hartnett, Michelle Williams

Directed By: Steve Miner

Critics Consensus: A somewhat disturbing movie that works as a suspenseful thriller, yet isn't completely satisfying.

Synopsis: A high-school student (Brad Renfro) forms an unhealthy relationship with a former Nazi death-camp officer (Ian McKellen).

Starring: Ian McKellen, Brad Renfro, Bruce Davison, Elias Koteas

Directed By: Bryan Singer

Critics Consensus: Lord of Illusions may come as something of a disappointment in the context of writer-director Clive Barker's best work, but genre fans should be reasonably diverted.

Synopsis: Private eye Harry D'Amour travels to Los Angeles and meets with a new client, Dorothea Swann. Swann reveals that she and her husband — famed... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Scott Bakula, Kevin J. O'Connor, Famke Janssen, Vincent Schiavelli

Directed By: Clive Barker

Critics Consensus: Ravenous tries bringing cannibal horror into an Old West setting, ending up with an uneven blend that will fail to satisfy most fans of either genre.

Synopsis: Upon receiving reports of missing persons at Fort Spencer, a remote Army outpost on the Western frontier, Capt. John Boyd (Guy Pearce) investigates. After arriving... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Guy Pearce, Robert Carlyle, Jeremy Davies, Jeffrey Jones

Directed By: Antonia Bird

Critics Consensus: While it boasts an impressive cast, striking visuals, and an effective mood, Flatliners never quite jolts its story to life.

Synopsis: Seeking answers about the afterlife, Chicago medical student Nelson (Kiefer Sutherland) persuades his fellow pupils to help him end his life, and then resuscitate him... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Kiefer Sutherland, Julia Roberts, Kevin Bacon, William Baldwin

Directed By: Joel Schumacher

Critics Consensus: A by-the-numbers slasher that arrived a decade too late, the mostly tedious I Know What You Did Last Summer will likely only hook diehard fans of the genre.

Synopsis: A year after running over a fisherman and dumping his body in the water, four friends reconvene when Julie (Jennifer Love Hewitt) receives a frightening... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Jennifer Love Hewitt, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe, Freddie Prinze Jr.

Directed By: Jim Gillespie

Critics Consensus: Bride of Chucky is devoid of any fright and the franchise has become tiresomely self-parodic, although horror fans may find some pleasure in this fourth entry's camp factor.

Synopsis: After being cut apart by the police, killer doll Chucky (Brad Dourif) is resurrected by Tiffany (Jennifer Tilly), an ex-girlfriend of the serial murderer whose... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Jennifer Tilly, Katherine Heigl, Nick Stabile, John Ritter

Directed By: Ronnie Yu

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: Two years after serial killer Charles Lee Ray (Brad Dourif) inserted his soul into a Chucky doll, a toy company attempts to re-create the doll,... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Alex Vincent, Jenny Agutter, Gerrit Graham, Christine Elise

Directed By: John Lafia

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: The first of three dark tales involves resentful student Bellingham (Steve Buscemi) looking to an Egyptian mummy for help in settling some scores. Then, hit... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Debbie Harry, Christian Slater, David Johansen, William Hickey

Directed By: John Harrison

Critics Consensus: The usual pulp delights of Tales From the Crypt are too few and far between in Demon Knight -- a disappointingly slack and by the numbers siege flick.

Synopsis: Ex-soldier Frank Brayker (William Sadler) is the guardian of an ancient key that can unlock tremendous evil; the sinister but charming Collector (Billy Zane) is... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Billy Zane, William Sadler, Jada Pinkett Smith, Brenda Bakke

Directed By: Ernest R. Dickerson

Critics Consensus: Alien³ takes admirable risks with franchise mythology, but far too few pay off in a thinly scripted sequel whose stylish visuals aren't enough to enliven a lack of genuine thrills.

Synopsis: Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) is the only survivor when she crash lands on Fiorina 161, a bleak wasteland inhabited by former inmates of the planet's... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Sigourney Weaver, Charles S. Dutton, Charles Dance, Paul McGann

Directed By: David Fincher

Critics Consensus: Species shows flashes of the potential to blend exploitation and sci-fi horror in ingenious ways, but is ultimately mainly interested in flashing star Natasha Henstridge's skin.

Synopsis: When government scientist Xavier Fitch (Ben Kingsley) intercepts a space transmission containing the genetic sequence for an alien life form, he uses it to produce... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Ben Kingsley, Michael Madsen, Alfred Molina, Forest Whitaker

Directed By: Roger Donaldson

Critics Consensus: Anaconda's pulpy pleasures are constricted by its own absurdity, but creature feature fans may enjoy its brazen silliness.

Synopsis: Filmmaker Terri Flores (Jennifer Lopez) is traveling deep in the Amazon jungle looking for a forgotten tribe. Terri and her crew, which includes an anthropologist... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Jennifer Lopez, Ice Cube, Jon Voight, Eric Stoltz

Directed By: Luis Llosa

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: After learning in Hellraiser II that he used to be British air force Capt. Elliot Spencer (Doug Bradley) -- before he was sucked into another... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Terry Farrell, Doug Bradley, Paula Marshall, Kevin Bernhardt

Directed By: Anthony Hickox

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: Real mayhem mars a B-movie revival featuring "Mosquito" and "Attack of the Amazing Electrified Man."

Starring: Jill Schoelen, Tom Villard, Dee Wallace, Derek Rydall

Directed By: Mark Herrier

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: A psychologist (Jeff Fahey) loses his arm in an accident and gets another one grafted on, from a serial killer.

Starring: Jeff Fahey, Lindsay Duncan, Kim Delaney, Brad Dourif

Directed By: Eric Red

Critics Consensus: Despite a strong opening that promises sci-fi thrills, Event Horizon quickly devolves into an exercise of style over substance whose flashy effects and gratuitous gore fail to mask its overreliance on horror clichés.

Synopsis: A spaceship missing for seven years finally re-emerges and sends out a distress signal. But when a team is sent out to investigate, they discover... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Laurence Fishburne, Sam Neill, Kathleen Quinlan, Joely Richardson

Directed By: Paul W.S. Anderson

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: Steve Clark (James Marsden) is a newcomer in the town of Cradle Bay, and he quickly realizes that there's something odd about his high school... View Full Synopsis

Starring: James Marsden, Katie Holmes, Nick Stahl, Steve Railsback

Directed By: David Nutter

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: When a creepy older man named Leland Gaunt (Max von Sydow) moves to a small town in Maine and sets up an antique shop, bad... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Max von Sydow, Ed Harris, Bonnie Bedelia, Amanda Plummer

Directed By: Fraser C. Heston

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: Dan O'Grady (Shay Duffin) steals 100 gold coins from a leprechaun (Warwick Davis) while on vacation in Ireland. The leprechaun follows him home, but Dan... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Warwick Davis, Jennifer Aniston, Ken Olandt, Mark Holton

Directed By: Mark Jones

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: Four sorority sisters get more than they bargained for when they agree to renovate a haunted mansion.

Starring: David Carradine, Dick Miller, Monique Gabrielle, Suzanne Ager

Directed By: Fred Olen Ray

Critics Consensus: Unsophisticated and unoriginal film fails to produce scares.

Synopsis: A millionaire with theatrical tendencies, Stephen Price (Geoffrey Rush) invites a number of people to stay in a vast creepy building that used to be... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Geoffrey Rush, Famke Janssen, Taye Diggs, Peter Gallagher

Directed By: William Malone

Critics Consensus: Elements of Scream reappear in a vastly inferior vehicle.

Synopsis: A university is beset by a rash of gruesome murders that resemble old urban legends. When her friend Michelle (Natasha Gregson Wagner) is killed by... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Jared Leto, Alicia Witt, Rebecca Gayheart, Michael Rosenbaum

Directed By: Jamie Blanks

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: A newsman (Terence Knox) and his son (Paul Scherrer) snoop around a Nebraska town where children kill many adults.

Starring: Terence Knox, Paul Scherrer, Ryan Bollman, Christie Clark

Directed By: David Price

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: When newcomers Charles (Brian Krause) and his mother, Mary (Alice Krige), settle into town, the local residents do not suspect that they're shape-shifters looking to... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Brian Krause, Mädchen Amick, Alice Krige, Jim Haynie

Directed By: Mick Garris

Critics Consensus: Wishmaster searches for horror in the exploits of a supernatural being -- one whose powers, alas, evidently do not include the ability to summon a compelling script.

Synopsis: A gemologist (Tammy Lauren) unwittingly frees an evil genie (Andrew Divoff) that plays deadly tricks on her friends and acquaintances.

Starring: Tammy Lauren, Andrew Divoff, Robert Englund, Tony Todd

Directed By: Robert Kurtzman

Critics Consensus: The Good Son is never good enough to live up to its unsettling potential, failing to drum up much suspense and unable to make Macaulay Culkin a credible psychopath.

Synopsis: Mark (Elijah Wood), a young boy who loses his mother, must stay with his extended family while his father is away on business. Mark becomes... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Macaulay Culkin, Elijah Wood, Wendy Crewson, David Morse

Directed By: Joseph Ruben

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: Optimistic about their future, well-off parents Kate (Carey Lowell) and Phil (Dwier Brown) hire the pleasant and lovely young Camilla (Jenny Seagrove) to live with... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Jenny Seagrove, Dwier Brown, Carey Lowell, Brad Hall

Directed By: William Friedkin

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: Three generations of the same family deal with the consequences of unleashing the forces of hell. In 18th-century France, Paul L'Merchant (Bruce Ramsay) works as... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Bruce Ramsay, Valentina Vargas, Doug Bradley, Kim Myers

Directed By: Kevin Yagher, Joe Chappelle

Critics Consensus: Reducing the once-terrifying Dream Reaper into a goofy caricature, this joyless climax will leave audiences hoping Freddy stays dead.

Synopsis: Murderous ghoul Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund) has slaughtered every last child in his hometown. He ventures on to a new location, scouting fresh young victims... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Robert Englund, Lisa Zane, Shon Greenblatt, Lezlie Deane

Directed By: Rachel Talalay

Critics Consensus: As disposable as its predecessor is indispensable, The Rage: Carrie 2 mimics the arc of Stephen King's classic story without adding anything of value.

Synopsis: When her closest friend commits suicide after being manipulated by the popular crowd, quiet and bookish Rachel Lang (Emily Bergl) decides to get back at... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Emily Bergl, Jason London, Dylan Bruno, J. Smith-Cameron

Directed By: Katt Shea

Critics Consensus: Larry Drake's deranged performance as the titular doctor is just about all that distinguishes Dr. Giggles from its slasher brethren.

Synopsis: In 1957, Evan Rendell (Larry Drake) flees after his father is lynched for killing multiple patients in his effort to find a replacement heart for... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Larry Drake, Holly Marie Combs, Cliff DeYoung, Glenn Quinn

Directed By: Manny Coto

Critics Consensus: The story is unconvincing and the acting is weak.

Synopsis: A young woman with no strong religious beliefs, Frankie Paige (Patricia Arquette) begins having strange and violent experiences, showing signs of the wounds that Jesus... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Patricia Arquette, Gabriel Byrne, Jonathan Pryce, Nia Long

Directed By: Rupert Wainwright

Critics Consensus: Doubling down on gore while largely abandoning the subtext and wit that made the original worthwhile, Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh disappoints.

Synopsis: As her brother stands trial for the killing of an outspoken New Orleans professor, inner-city schoolteacher Annie Tarrant begins hearing rumors of the Candyman, a... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Tony Todd, Kelly Rowan, Timothy Carhart, Veronica Cartwright

Directed By: Bill Condon