The Scariest Of Movies Of All Times

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'28 Days Later' (2002) For a while we struggled to justify the inclusion of this flick, which is scary in a way that bends the definitions of the horror genre. Sure there are some monsters (mostly of the human variety), and a few moments that had us jumping off our seat, but the fear is generated here by the eerie landscape of a deserted England; by the societal implications of a country torn wide by biological warfare; by the gothic subtext of the penultimate scene. This was where Cillian Murphy got his start, and "28 Days Later" is worth watching for that alone.

'Alien' (1979) Sigourney Weaver: hot. Alien monster: ugly. Throw them together in a futuristic, highly stylized space battleground: beautiful. And terrifying. "Alien" was important not least because it showed that the science-fiction horror genre was one of possibility — this movie was also intelligently rendered, psychologically powerful, and, well, gross. Where else can find a bloody creature being birthed from a human surrogate?

'Arachnophobia' (1990) Spiders. John Goodman with a blowtorch. Who's scarier? I'm sure we could ask Roseanne, but that's the subject of a much more frightening movie. Anyway, as anyone who has er, squashed a spider can attest, things with eight legs are creepy. Gross. Big ones that fly through the air when provoked? Even worse.

'Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2' (2000) Blah, blah. Save your breath. Yes, "The Blair Witch Project" was good, but wasn't it a little gimmicky? I mean, if you find someone stupid enough to believe that crap was actually a "real film found in the woods," then you could also probably convince him or her that you spend your weekends in the clown car at the local circus. "Book of Shadows," on the other hand, is dark, creepy, original, and smart. Yes, smart. Trust us.

'Cloverfield' (2008) One minute you and your friends are hanging out at an awesome party, the next you're on the roof watching lower Manhattan erupt into flames. Bummer. Part homage to the original "Godzilla," part allegory (Sept. 11), the film uses shaky home-video footage to give you that "you are really here" feeling as panic ensues while a 200-foot-tall monster flattens the city. And props to anyone who can sit through the subway tunnel scenes without shrieking

'Dawn of the Dead' (1978) Director George Romero single handedly created the zombie genre with "Night of the Living Dead." But it was the sequel, "Dawn of the Dead" that he really cranked the scares up exponentially by featuring some of the goriest scenes ever committed to film. It's no wonder the film was banned in 17 countries.

'Invasion of the Body Snatchers' (1978) Why is my family acting so strangely? Why do they keep insisting that I go to sleep? What are these strange plants I see suddenly sprouting up? These are the important questions dealt with in this classic sci-fi thriller. Incidentally, if you are a big fan of uplifting endings (like the one tacked on to the original 1956 version) ... consider a different flick.

'Jacob's Ladder' (1990) Tim Robbins stars as a Vietnam vet suffering from disturbing hallucinations. How disturbing you ask? Well, he keeps seeing monstrous figures waving to him from passing trains. Later, at a party, his girlfriend looks like she's dancing with some sort of alien. The only one he can turn to for help is an angelic chiropractor played by Danny Aiello. Yikes! Now that's scary

'Jaws' (1975) Ba-dum. Ba-dum. Ba-dum. Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum. Good movie. Scary music. And Roy Scheider, playing a stressed-out sheriff in a small beach community, steals the show here, even when Richard Dreyfuss sticks his mug into the picture. As for the shark, well, yeah, that's frightening. But who has time to be nervous about sharks? What about jellyfish? They have no brains! Good god, now that's terrifying.

'Ju-on' (2000) Dateline, Japan: Jealous of his wife's love for another man, a man brutally kills his wife and young son. Better than the Sarah Michelle Gellar slog-fest ("The Grudge") that followed this flick, "Ju-on" is edgy — it even allows you some time to get comfortable before the heavy breathing, black blood, and phantasmagoric preschoolers start popping out of the woodwork like drunk termites. Put on a helmet, and dive in.

'Nightmare on Elm Street' (1984) Here's the gist: In the dreams of his victims, a murderer named Freddy stalks the children of the members of the lynch mob that killed him. Sounds boring? Just wait for the scene when Johnny Depp gets swallowed by his bed and spit out in a giant spray of blood. Awesome! Plus, those claws Freddy has are kind of creepy.

'Quatermass and the Pit' (1968) Workers building a new London subway station discover a suspicious metal object buried in the earth. A German rocket from WWII? No such luck. It's an ancient Martian space craft responsible for the neighborhood's reputation for being haunted. Take our word for it; this flick is way scarier than it sounds.

'Rec' (2007) Spanish reporter Angela Vidal is looking for a good story. And, when she follows a group of firefighters on an emergency call to a creepy apartment building she gets more than she bargained for. A little girl locked in a penthouse, a zombie dog, dimly lit rooms, a screaming old lady, the list of scary stuff in this flick is a mile long. Knowing a good thing when they see it, Hollywood is producing its own version called "Quarantine." Stick with the original

'The Changeling' (1980) George C. Scott plays a man who retreats to a long-abandoned mansion following the accidental death of his family. Did we fail to mention that the mansion is haunted? The movie's reliance on a creepy atmosphere, as opposed to more visceral fright tactics, makes this a favorite among horror movie junkies

'The Ring' (2002) Naomi Watts. Very good looking, yes. Sassy? Yep. Try squaring her off against a weird chick who really wants to climb out of a well and kill people and eat their guts. OK, well maybe she doesn't want to eat their guts. But she does a good job of killing a lot of people in this cinematically beautiful horror romp -- and she scares the bejeezus out of Naomi Watts (right) in the process. Hey, that little kid playing the doomed son is cute, but kinda freaky. Extra points for that.

'The Silence of the Lambs' (1991) Jodie Foster never signed back onto the "Lecter" franchise, and that's all the more reason to watch the original as many times as you can stomach it. Lecter versus Starling. Hopkins versus Foster. Buffalo Bill, in night-vision goggles and a human-skin suit, versus the world. All that psychological suspense aside, we know you jumped 35 feet in the air when Lecter snapped suddenly at the glass... Go on, fess up.

'The Thing' (1982) "Scariest movie . . . ever!" We mean it. The film follows a crew stationed at an Antarctic base stalked by a shape-shifting alien. Which member of the crew is the alien? The crew doesn't know, and neither does the audience until the creature begins one of its stomach churning transformations. If the scene where the guy's head sprouting insect legs to escape doesn't give you nightmares consult a therapist immediately.