The best horror movies do more than frighten and entertain. They offer catharsis, make you think, give you the giggles. Horror is a social mirror, forcing us to see ourselves through the eyes of tortured monsters, as in the 1940s (“The Wolf Man”), the brave final girls of the 1970s (“Halloween”) and the subversive protagonists of the 21st century (“Get Out”).
Whether you’re new and curious or an aficionado, here’s a guide to some of the scariest scary movies of the past 100 years.
‘The Exorcist’ (1973)
American filmgoers’ heads spun when the director William Friedkin unleashed his shocking film in theaters the day after Christmas. Based on William Peter Blatty’s novel, it’s about a woman (Ellen Burstyn) who’s so desperate to save her possessed 12‐year‐old daughter (Linda Blair) that she enlists priests (Jason Miller and Max von Sydow) to perform an exorcism. It’s not just any demon they’re up against, but a potty-mouthed, vomit-spewing, blasphemy-happy entity that repulsed audiences. (A theater guard told this newspaper that the film had caused heart attacks and perhaps a miscarriage.) “The Exorcist” was a hit that defined the modern possession movie.