It’s that time of year when more horror films are being released and more people spend time watching them.  Let me preface this list with the fact that these are my opinions. They are not ranked by objectiveness, such as scariness or effectiveness of the story or characters.  This is based purely on my opinion and should be treated as such. That being said, I highly recommend all of these movies as I enjoyed them all a lot.

#5: Jaws (1975)

This was Steven Spielberg’s first dip into the horror franchise and his first majorly successful film, shown by the fact that at the time it was the most grossing movie ever. The movie follows a small beach town getting assaulted by a great white shark.   Jaws combines a chilling soundtrack by John Williams with surprising gore and masterly crafted suspense.

#4: The Lighthouse (2019)

Robert Egger’s second feature film is a story of two lighthouse keepers (Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson) keeping a lighthouse while attempting to keep their sanity. The movie is incredibly trippy at times and is very effective at maintaining suspense with that feeling that you have no idea what is happening. It also has incredibly good performances from the two leads, and the black and white 4:3 filming makes the film feel extremely claustrophobic.

#3: Halloween (1978)

John Carpenter’s slasher film was incredibly important to horror at the time, as it established the theme of slashers being the main villains. John Carpenter gave the movie his heart and soul, and out of it we have one of the most iconic themes in film history with the best slasher villain to date. Michael Myers is one of the core characters in horror and is one of the few characters from the time still getting films.

#2: Evil Dead 2 (1987)

Sam Raimi’s original film, Evil Dead, was an over the top gorefest that relied mainly on shock factor, although it worked well.  Evil Dead 2 takes the best parts of that movie and amplifies them. The movie has a much better slapstick sense of humor, along with creating possibly the best horror protagonist ever. Bruce Campbell plays Ash Williams, who is not just one of my favorite horror characters, but I would argue that he is one of the best characters in film of all time. The movie features the gore from the first movie, along with the general tone, and is a definite must watch.

#1: Candyman (1992)

This is an apex of storytelling taking place here in Chicago. Candyman follows a doctor trying to explore the story of Candyman, an urban legend in what was Cabrini Green. The movie has incredibly tense moments, and the main villain, Candyman, is portrayed beautifully by Tony Todd. This movie remains my favorite due to its gross out nature, its killer soundtrack, and its unforgettable performances by both Virginia Madsen and Tony Todd.