Typically, the adjective "Gory" isn't a selling point for most audiences. But, when there's a compelling narrative or at least strong writing backing up the visceral visuals, the result can be magic. Even the most ardent, horror-hating film critics even agree, but only on a few, key, entries of the genre.
From zombie films to witch tales, just about every type of horror film has an installment or five that really pushed the MPAA (now the MPA). But it wasn't just that organization that was pushed, as so too were many of the viewers' threshold for a churning stomach. Regardless, the following movies are considered by fans and critics to be either minor classics or flat-out masterpieces, to the extent they're certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, but they're not for the faint of heart.
16 Suspiria (1977)
Suspiria, one of the most atmospheric films ever made, horror or otherwise, is widely viewed Dario Argento's masterpiece, and it's a fair title. The film's visual style alone is darkly wondrous, but then there's the haunting score by Goblin which is sure to stick with the viewer every bit as much as the film's gruesome hanging scene.
The bloody Giallo nightmare has over 60 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes and more than a few of them cite the narrative's relatively inconclusive nature. Suspiria isn't so much a strict three-act narrative as it is an experience, and it's an unforgettable one. Toss in a hypnotic lead performance from Jessica Harper and Suspiria is a highly rewatchable thinker of a visual masterpiece. There just might be a scene or two those who are grossed out by cuts from broken glass might want to skip.
15 Dawn of the Dead (1978)
George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead is viewed by many to be just as good as his Night of the Living Dead. It's certainly every bit as gory (in fact, much more so), but Night was also a monochrome presentation.
A brilliant indictment of consumerism, Dawn is every bit the lens focused on society that Night was. And, while Day of the Dead didn't receive quite the same reception from fans or critics, it's since been rightfully reappraised as the horror classic it is.
14 The Evil Dead (1981)
Sam Raimi's debut film, The Evil Dead, is massively impressive on multiple fronts. The camera work, the performances, the pacing, everything clicks, and the fact that the director could helm the ship at such a young age (20) is truly jaw-dropping.
Yet it's the film's "amateurish," guerrilla, low-budget vibe that critics felt made it so effective. And, thankfully for fans of classic horror, that's the effect it carries to this day.
13 The Thing (1982)
John Carpenter has directed at least two legitimately important, bonafide masterpieces: Halloween and The Thing. With some of the best practical effects ever committed to celluloid, The Thing is a gross-out picture, but it's a gross-out picture of the highest caliber.
One part genuinely terrifying, one part perpetually mysterious, and one part just flat-out cool (mostly because of Kurt Russell's R.J. MacReady), The Thing is one of the 1980s' best movies. At the very least it's one of the best horror films of all time.
12 A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
An iconic piece of cinema, horror or otherwise, Wes Craven's A Nightmare on Elm Street feels as inventive now as it must have felt nearly 40 years ago. There's an argument to be made that Craven's film is one of the best ever made, horror or otherwise.
That may be a controversial take, but fewer would disagree with it being the most creative film ever made. Every human dreams, and during that period every person inadvertently feels susceptible to threats. Toss in a shady, elusive (at least at first) character with burned clothing and knives for fingers and ANOES is a beast all its own.
11 Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986)
Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer is a hard watch, even for horror aficionados. With the genre, there's always a narrative coating that helps dilute the impact of the visceral images the audience is taking in repetitiously yet with Henry, it all seems so real.
And that's because that's how the film was intended. It follows a man with very little in the world, save for a twisted compass. And, by the time the credits roll, the titular character will have been misled by that compass to slaughter everyone he (almost) holds dear. The film was the debut of Michael Rooker, who provides a performance that's both legitimately terrifying and naturalistic.
10 Evil Dead II (1987)
One part sequel and one part (extra comedy-infused) remake, Evil Dead II is every bit the horror classic its predecessor is. Notable additions to the franchise lore include sentient severed hands, the iconic chainsaw replacement, and a very angry undead mother lurking in the cabin's basement.
With a notably higher (but not exactly ridiculously high) budget than the original film, Raimi is given more opportunities to show audiences the most interesting corners of his mind. Many prefer Evil Dead II to The Evil Dead, and that's as fair an argument as for the opposite.
9 Scream (1996)
Between Wes Craven's tight direction and Kevin Williamson's note-perfect script, it's hard to say what works best about Scream. But, regardless of how great Craven was or the franchise's central trilogy is, Scream wouldn't be what it is today were it not for the strength of the screenplay.
And this was one of the most frequently-cited aspects in the many positive reviews Craven's film received. Naturally, there was also love given to the performances by Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, David Arquette, Jamie Kennedy, Skeet Ulrich, and a particularly unhinged Matthew Lillard.
8 Scream 2 (1997)
The fact the late Wes Craven reinvented horror twice over the course of his career is nothing short of baffling. The same could be said of the fact that he followed up that second reinvention with a sequel that was nearly as good. Scream 2 was released just one year after the smash hit original, even in the face of what initially appeared to be a capsizing script leak.
Just about everyone involved in the first film had a hand in the second, and it shows. The sequel feels like a natural continuation, and it's almost difficult to finish the first film without immediately putting on the second. Yet, that feeling immediately ceases to exist once 2's credits start to roll.
7 The Cabin in the Woods (2012)
Drew Goddard's The Cabin in the Woods rightly deserves to be seen as one of the best directorial debuts in quite some time, regardless of whether the viewer is a fan of the horror genre. Yet it had a hard time getting to the big screen, mostly due to financial difficulties on the side of distributor United Artists.
But one would never know it was filmed three years before its United States release, as Goddard and Joss Whedon's script (which they wrote in what amounted to a weekend) is a brilliant analysis of horror across not just the years but the decades. Not to mention, with Chris Hemsworth, who had blown up the prior Summer in Thor, on the cast list, it's no wonder Lionsgate picked it up for theatrical release.
6 Bone Tomahawk (2015)
S. Craig Zahler's genre-blending Bone Tomahawk was bar none one of the 2010s most surprising movies. Looking at the poster, not one person would be able to guess it goes from manhunt film to maneater film on the flip of a dime. But it does, and it's unforgettable. Kurt Russell portrays Sheriff Franklin Hunt, overseer of the small town of Bright Hope. After a blood-covered thief stumbles into town, he's quickly incarcerated. But then overnight he, a deputy, and a woman named Samantha, the town doctor's daughter, all disappear.
Hunt wrangles up a rescue party consisting of overconfident bounty hunter John Brooder (Matthew Fox), Deputy Chicory (Richard Jenkins), and Samantha's husband Arthur (Patrick Wilson) who is currently relegated to one leg. Critics appreciated most of the film's production elements, predominately the script and performances, but there's little doubt Bone Tomahawk is not for the faint of heart.
5 Green Room (2015)
Starring Patrick Stewart, Imogen Poots, and the late Anton Yelchin, Green Room is one of A24's best, which many film fans would agree is saying something. The narrative follows a punk band touring obscure locations, including a backwoods club. Unfortunately for them, the club is run by and populated with neo-Nazi skinheads, one of whom has just committed murder, with the punk band staring right at him.
Critics directed praise towards the movie's realism and the performances by Macon Blair, Alia Shawkat, Imogen Poots, the late Anton Yelchin, and Patrick Stewart (as the head neo-Nazi of all people). Green Room is a movie capable of shocking violence, e.g. Marvin in Pulp Fiction and Christina Hendricks' character in Drive, but like those two films the movie's impact is primarily due to the strength of the script.
4 Halloween (2018)
David Gordon Green's Halloween checked a lot of boxes that most thought were things of the past for the franchise (especially for one that was technically on its eleventh entry). A massive box office gross? Check, and for the first time in a while for the Michael Myers saga. Jamie Lee Curtis back in the lead role? Check.
Solid critical reviews? Believe it or not, check. In fact, Green's film was the first installment in 40 years to receive a Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. In other words, considering neither Halloween Kills nor Halloween Ends won over critics, Green's film is the only Halloween film save for Carpenter's original that scored not just good reviews, but great ones.
3 Ready or Not (2019)
Before Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett were bringing Ghostface back to life with the phenomenal Scream (2022) and Scream VI, they were helming the equally impressive original Ready or Not. The film manages to be one of the most unique movies about dysfunctional families out there, and the whole cast does a wonderful job of ensuring that tension bleeds through.
But, Ready or Not's chief asset is the outsider, as played by Samara Weaving. Weaving's star is swiftly rising, as it should, because she's a natural in dramas (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri) just as she's great in action (Mayhem, Guns Akimbo) and comedy (Bill & Ted Face the Music).
2 Candyman (2021)
Nia DaCosta's legacy sequel slash reboot Candyman is another argument for the late 2010s through the early 2020s as the second golden age of horror. One part methodical in its tension building and one part uncompromising in what It's willing to show the titular antagonist do (or, is it the protagonist?), Candyman is a cocktail any horror fan should love slurping down.
Just as with the original film, based on Clive Barker's genius short story "The Forbidden," —which is every bit as worthy of reading as his The Hellbound Heart, the source material for Hellraiser, and Cabal, the source material for Nightbreed—DaCosta's film is an indictment of how the United States has treated its Black citizens. What's so admirable about the film is that it manages to make that indictment feel fresh, just as it does the legacy of Daniel Robitaille.
1 Evil Dead Rise (2023)
Lee Cronin's Evil Dead Rise seemed to come out of nowhere, but thank goodness it did creep out of those bloody dark shadows. Rise is the best film in the franchise since Evil Dead II (though Ash vs. Evil Dead gives it a run for its universe-expanding money), and like Sam Raimi's first two of three films in the franchise, it has the ability to be both viscerally upsetting and utterly surprising.
Unlike the previous films' cabin (or, in one case, Medieval) setting, Rise takes place within a high-rise e.g. Poltergeist III. But, unlike that third ghostly film, Rise is never content to tread familiar ground, instead choosing to incorporate the franchise's noted visceral nature with a brand new, far more family-focused narrative.
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