Nigel Floyd

Horror is the red-headed, demonically possessed stepchild of the movies. Sure, it does big business now, with the critical reputation to go along with the box-office receipts. But for many years, horror was seen as the easiest way for fly-by-night hacks to cash in, especially in the 1970s and ’80s, when the VHS boom led to a deluge of cheap, bloody schlock filling video store shelves. A stigma still exists: writer-director Paul Schrader recently referred to horror as ‘beneath “seriousness”’. That, of course, is pretty far from the truth. In reality, horror has always served as a conduit for exploring social ills and the kind of deep fears most people recognise but seldom talk about. And even if, as Schrader claims, the genre’s ‘raison d’etre is horror itself’, well, what’s wrong with that? If the point of cinema is to make the viewer feel something, what produces a more visceral reaction than a great horror movie?  The movie industry might be in the midst of a horror renaissance, with some of 2024’s most talked-about films so far – such as I Saw the TV Glow, In a Violent Nature, Longlegs and The Substance – taking the genre in bold new directions. But the truth is that horror has always been a platform for exciting, visionary filmmaking. Need proof? Here are the 100 greatest examples. Written by Tom Huddleston, Cath Clarke, Dave Calhoun, Nigel Floyd, Phil de Semlyen, David Ehrlich, Joshua Rothkopf, Nigel Floyd, Andy Kryza, Alim Kheraj and Matthew Singer Recommended: 🔪 The b

Horror cinema is a monster. Mistreated, misunderstood and subjected to vicious critical attacks, somehow it keeps lumbering forward, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. For some, horror films are little better than pornography, focused purely on evoking a reaction – be it terror, disquiet or disgust – with little thought for 'higher' aspirations. For others, they're just a bit of fun: a chance to shriek and snigger at someone's second-hand nightmare. But look again, and the story of horror is also the story of innovation and non-conformity in cinema, a place where dangerous ideas can be expressed, radical techniques can be explored, and filmmakers outside the mainstream can still make a big cultural splash. If cinema itself has an unconscious, a dark little corner from which new ideas emerge, blinking and malformed, it must be horror. The question is – which are the best horror films? Time Out proudly presents the 100 best horror films, as chosen by those who write in, direct, star in and celebrate the genre. For more, check out our guides to the best comedy, rom coms, family and animated movies.

Horror cinema is a monster. Mistreated, misunderstood and subjected to vicious critical attacks, somehow it keeps lumbering forward, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. For some, horror films are little better than pornography, focused purely on evoking a reaction – be it terror, disquiet or disgust – with little thought for 'higher' aspirations. For others, they're just a bit of fun: a chance to shriek and snigger at someone's second-hand nightmare. But look again, and the story of horror is also the story of innovation and non-conformity in cinema, a place where dangerous ideas can be expressed, radical techniques can be explored, and filmmakers outside the mainstream can still make a big cultural splash. If cinema itself has an unconscious, a dark little corner from which new ideas emerge, blinking and malformed, it must be horror. The question is – which are the best horror films? Time Out proudly presents the 100 best horror films, as chosen by those who write in, direct, star in and celebrate the genre. For more, check out our guides to the best comedy, rom coms, family and animated movies.