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If you were on RT a week and a half ago, you might have noticed a poll we were running to decide the Scariest Movie Ever. We compiled a list of 40 of the scariest movies ever made based on existing lists and suggestions from the RT crew and asked you to vote for the one that terrified you the most. A British broadband provider comparison website, it so happens, decided to perform a research experiment to find out the same thing, and the results were… startling to say the least. Did readers of Rotten Tomatoes agree with the findings? Continue reading to learn which horror films our audience deemed to be the ten scariest of all time.
Take a look at top Hollywood horror movies
The Exorcist (1973)
You may or may not agree that The Exorcist is the scariest film ever made, but it’s surely no surprise that it’s at the top of our list, with a staggering 19% of all votes cast. The adaptation of William Friedkin’s eponymous novel about a demon-possessed child and the attempts to exorcise said demon became the highest-grossing R-rated horror picture of all time and the first to be nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards (it earned nine other nominations and took home two trophies).
Hereditary (2018)
Ari Aster’s feature directorial debut, a dark family drama on the nature of loss couched within a supernatural horror thriller, created a big splash. Toni Collette’s slowly-ratcheted-up-to-11 performance as befuddled mother Annie earned her a place in the pantheon of epic Oscar snubs, but the film’s biggest shock came courtesy of… We won’t give anything away here. To say the least, Hereditary struck such a chord with viewers that it immediately elevated Aster to second place on our list as a director to watch.
The Conjuring (2013)
With films like Saw, Dead Silence, Insidious, and this inspired-by-true-events chiller based on the experiences of real-life paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren, James Wan has cemented his place among the current masters of horror. Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga represented the Warrens, who are best known for their work on the bizarre case that spawned the Amityville Horror movies (which played a part in The Conjuring 2), and who grounded the effective jump scare and freak-out moments with a believable world-weariness.