Now that it's October, it's officially spooky season. Time to break out all our favorite horror films for some scary movie nights. Need help deciding on one to watch? Why not aim for a throwback? Horror movies in the '90s were in a league of their own, and there are a ton of gems that still give us chills today. Sure, the '80s may have pioneered the slasher genre, but the '90s kept that train running and dabbled in terrifying psychological horror stories as well.
Review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes recently ranked the 40 best '90s horror movies, which we've condensed into the top 20 for our readers. Some surprising ones made it into the mix — including two super scary Japanese horror films, and we have to say we totally agree with the No. 1 choice. Switcth up the usual Halloween or Nightmare on Elm Street rotation with these fun and frightening flicks.
They're ranked from good to great, and there's a little something for every type of horror fan.
20. 'Dracula' (1992)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 74.8%
This movie often gets praised for making Dracula serious again after years of the character appearing in campy B-movies. And with stars like Gary Oldman, Winona Ryder, Keanu Reeves, and Anthony Hopkins, it's hard to go wrong. Frankly, we're just surprised this isn't higher on the list.
19. 'Jacob's Ladder' (1990)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 76.4%
Jacob has seen enough horror in his life after being in the Vietnam War and losing his child. All of his trauma has coalesced to cause him severe episodes of dissociation, and he has to struggle to find the reality in what his brain thinks is going on. Like for Jacob, things don't come together for viewers until the ending, which the Seattle Times called "jolting, transcendent, unexpected yet inevitable."
18. 'Army of Darkness' (1993)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 76.5%
The sequel to Evil Dead II, Army of Darkness kept the '80s Evil Dead franchise relevant into the '90s. The third installment follows a hardware store employee who accidentally travels back in time to the year 1300. Once there, he faces off in a battle against the dead to travel back home.
17. 'Poison' (1991)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 77.9%
This horror drama follows three terrifying stories. In one, a son kills his father. In another, two prisoners fall in love. And in the last, a doctor samples his experimental medicine and it goes poorly. Critics liked the film's bold construct and style, since it was different than a lot of movies at the time.
16. 'Candyman' (1992)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 79.9%
A college student who doesn't believe in the supernatural accidentally summons a monstrous spirit called The Candyman, who has a hook for a hand. It's one of those horror movies filled to the brim with gory scenes, but critics didn't feel like they cheapened the overall story.
15. 'Wes Craven's New Nightmare' (1994)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 80.1%
Wes Craven was one of the biggest names in the horror genre, known for pioneering the slasher film concept. This movie is the seventh installment his A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise and features Freddy Krueger being possessed by a demon — as if he wasn't already scary enough on his own.
14. 'Beloved' (1998)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 81.3%
Yep, that's right, Oprah's been in a horror movie. Based on the novelization of a true story, Beloved follows a slave who comes in contact with terrifying ghosts and a strange woman after escaping to freedom. She's haunted by her traumatic past and is being driven away from her present. Oprah delivers a stunning performance, of course.
13. 'Scream' (1996)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 81.9%
Another Wes Craven movie, Scream self-parodies the same slasher genre he invented. And with stars like Drew Barrymore, Courteney Cox, and Neve Campbell appearing in the film, it's hard to resist watching the naive teens walk into murder after murder at the hands of the Ghostface killer.
12. 'Mute Witness' (1995)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 83.8%
A makeup artist who can't speak gets trapped on the set of a slasher movie and ends up witnessing an actual killing. To avoid becoming the next victim, she'll have to do everything she can to escape the real life horror movie of which she's suddenly been involved in.
11. 'Audition' (1999)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 84.9%
This Japanese horror thriller follows a man who holds auditions to find his next wife. But the one he falls for is hiding dark secrets. One review from The Guardian called it "a stomach-turning masterpiece," which is pretty much the nicest thing anyone can say about a horror movie.
10. 'Scream 2' (1997)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 85.6%
It's not often that a sequel outperforms the original, but Scream 2 did just that — ranking three slots higher than Scream. The plot picks up with a copycat Ghostface killer terrorizing college students. Rotten Tomatoes raved, "Scream 2 … manages to poke fun at terrible horror sequels without falling victim to the same fate."
9. 'Tremors' (1990)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 88.7%
Kevin Bacon stars in this horror flick about killer monsters surfacing from underground to run rampant through a small town. Critics appreciated what it was able to do to both pay homage to but also parody creature-feature horror films of the past. "Unlike the typical movie homage, Tremors actually improves on the B-movies that inspired it," an Entertainment Weekly reporter wrote.
8. 'Dead Alive' (1993)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 90.8%
In every kid's worst nightmare, a young man's mom dies after she's bitten by a strange creature. When she comes back to life, she has a thirst for blood, killing everything in her path. It was directed by Peter Jackson, of Lord of the Rings fame, showing off his talent in multiple genres.
7. 'The Sixth Sense' (1999)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 93.1%
Although it's now two decades old, The Sixth Sense remains one of the most ubiquitous horror movies of all time, thanks to its stellar cast — Bruce Willis and baby Haley Joel Osment — concept, and iconic lines like, "I see dead people." The only surprising thing is that it ranked seventh and not first.
6. 'The Blair Witch Project' (1999)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 93.3%
Before Paranormal Activity, the found footage-style horror film was popularized by The Blair Witch Project. The story follows three film students who disappear in a forest after attempting to document the legendary Blair Witch. Critics especially liked how the film preyed on viewers' imaginations by letting them fill in the blanks about the mysterious witch.
5. 'Cronos' (1994)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 94.1%
Written and directed by horror icon Guillermo del Toro — who is also responsible for films like Pan's Labyrinth and The Shape of Water — Cronos explores the allure of eternal life when a device designed to make its owner live forever appears and creates utter chaos for everyone around.
4. 'Arachnophobia' (1990)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 94.2%
Anyone who has arachnophobia is definitely going to want to skip this horror film. It features a South African killer spider species that finds its way into America and wreaks havoc. A Time Out review summed it up best: "Designed to reduce the audience to a squirming mass, the film yields plenty of grisly pleasures."
3. 'Misery' (1990)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 94.7%
Kathy Bates is now known for starring in Ryan Murphy's American Horror Story series, but she's been in the scary movie genre for much longer. In Misery, she plays a nurse who rescues a famous writer from a car crash. At first she's just his biggest fan, but then she unleashes her terrifying stalker side.
2. 'Ringu' (1998)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 98.5%
The infamous American horror movie The Ring is based on the Japanese version of the story, called Ringu. It has the same rough plot, but since Ringu came first, it deserves all the credit of being the second best horror movie of the '90s. (Well, that, and The Ring didn't come out until 2002.)
1. 'The Silence of the Lambs' (1991)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 103.9%
Was there even any other choice for the No. 1 spot? The Silence of the Lambs brought us cannibal killer Dr. Hannibal Lecter and the inexperienced FBI Agent Clarice Starling, tasked with pumping Lecter for key information. "So near perfection it practically defies criticism," one reviewer raved. That pretty much sums it up right there.
