Every time someone posts a “best horror movies by decade” list, it’s the same rotation. The Exorcist, Halloween, The Shining, maybe a polite nod to The Witch if they remember the 2010s existed. Great movies, sure. But horror is huge and messy and way too weird to be reduced to the same comfort picks.

So here’s a decade tour built on movies people skip, forget, or straight up never heard of. All killer, no film-school greatest hits.

1920s: The Phantom Carriage (1921)

"Hereditary"

A Swedish ghost story that hits like a silent-era A24 movie. Bleak, dreamy, creative with its effects, and honestly pretty dark for 1921. The double exposures still look cool a century later. It’s more melancholic than scary, but in a way that sticks with you.

1930s: Mad Love (1935)

"Get Out"

Everyone always mentions The Mummy or Freaks. Mad Love deserves way more attention. Peter Lorre plays a lovesick surgeon with a vibe that feels like he wandered in from an early Lynch film. It’s pulpy and weird and a little mean. Great use of shadows too.

1940s: The Uninvited (1944)

"It Follows"

A cozy gothic ghost story that sneaks up on you. Feels almost like a warm cup of tea until the movie decides to get legitimately spooky. The atmosphere is incredible and the ghost effects still work. Better than half the remakes it inspired.

1950s: The Quatermass Xperiment (1955)

"The Babadook"

Hammer’s early, understated creeper. Cosmic contamination mixed with British stiff-upper-lip dread. Not flashy, but eerie in a way that gets under your skin.

1960s: Kuroneko (1968)

"Insidious"

A ghost revenge story with a floaty, dreamlike vibe. Haunting bamboo scenery, supernatural cat energy, and a tone that feels like it’s drifting between worlds.

Try out the Creepix request that inspired this article (or type your own)

Refine
Reset

1970s: The Brood (1979)

"Let the Right One In"

Cronenberg’s messy, emotional nightmare about rage, divorce, and little snow-suited horrors. Feels like a therapy session that goes violently off the rails.

1980s: The Hidden (1987)

"Paranormal Activity"

Starts like a pulpy cop flick, then turns into one of the most surprising, emotionally sincere sci-fi horror hybrids of the decade. Midnight-movie gold.

1990s: Perfect Blue (1997)

"Saw"

Psychological horror that predicted internet parasocial weirdness long before anyone had a word for it. Razor-sharp editing, unnerving mood, and one of the best third acts of the 90s.

2. 2000s: Noroi (2005)

"The Ring"

A cursed-tape style documentary with slow burn tension that pays off in genuinely chilling ways. Feels like you’re watching an evil puzzle assemble itself.

2010s: The Blackcoat’s Daughter (2015)

"The Blair Witch Project"

Cold, lonely, quietly devastating. The kind of horror that feels like it’s whispering in your ear. Not a shockfest, just dread that piles up until the final image hits like a punch.

2020s: When Evil Lurks (2023)

"The Blair Witch Project"

A possession story that doesn’t follow Hollywood rules. Brutal, grimy, relentless. You come out feeling like the film dragged you through a ditch on purpose, but in a good way.

Wrapping Up

Horror’s history isn’t a straight line of classics. It’s a maze. And once you start digging past the obvious hits, you find movies that feel stranger, braver, and way more alive. Watch a few of these and suddenly the whole genre cracks open.