6. The Nameless (1999)
5. Seven (1995)
The scary movie: While David Fincher swore off movies after his experiences on Alien 3, after reading the suckerpunch ending to this macabre thriller he swiftly changed his mind. A serial killer chooses his victims based on the seven deadly sins and subjects them to thematically appropriate punishments. Its gruesome, gory, and deeply disturbing.
Hide behind a cushion when: Detectives Somerset (Morgan Freeman) and Mills (Brad Pitt) find the third victim, who only looks like hes dead. He ain't.
4. Lost Highway (1997)
The scary movie: Its a David Lynch movie, so plot synopses are almost beside the point. Lost Highway is part murder-mystery and part supernatural monster movie, all wrapped up in a Kafkaesque nightmare. The actors playing certain characters change midway through, along with any semblance of story continuity you'd been clinging to, which makes it all the more horrifying.
Hide behind a cushion when: Honestly, cushions cant help you with this one. Strap yourself in.
3. Audition (1999)
The scary movie: Audition is a slow burner, especially by director Takashi Miikes standards. But stick with it. What initially seems like an odd drama about a sleazy businessman picking up a woman far too young for him eventually takes a sinister turn thatll leave an indelible mark on your psyche. The gore might be minimal, but the implications are explicit.
Hide behind a cushion when: Kiri kiri kiri kiri You'll know what it means when you watch it.
2. The Blair Witch Project (1999)
The scary movie: A group of student filmmakers head out to the Maryland woods to make a documentary about a local legend and never come home again. But their tapes were found, and they suggest something non-specific but deeply horrible happened to them. Its been copied and parodied many times, but its still terrifying.
Hide behind a cushion when: Heather, Josh and Mike wake in the night to hear the unmistakable sound of children playing... but they're in the middle of the woods. And then something starts shaking their tent.
1. Ring (1998)
The scary movie: Youve definitely seen this one. Or, if you havent, youve seen one of the 3493849 copycats it inspired. Basically, its about a creepy little girl and her haunted videotape, which causes anyone who watches it to die within seven days. Its so scary that it probably put the final nail in the VHS formats coffin.
Hide behind a cushion when: Ryuji switches his telly on at the end, thinking the whole ordeal is over. Because it really, really isnt.
