32 Developers Share Their Picks For Best Horror Movies Ever
We already grilled 28 developers for their picks for Top 5 Horror Games of All Time, but the conversation about the best scares doesn't end there. Wrapping up our month of horror (read our cover reveal for The Horror Issue here) is a collection of 32 developers' choices for the best horror films ever.
Scary movies have been rattling viewers' nerves for a long time, influencing some of the best games ever, both horror-themed and otherwise. We reached out to everyone from the creators of Resident Evil and Borderlands to the developer behind Slender: The Arrival to see what the makers of our favorite games consider truly frightening or a blood-soaked good time. Read our analysis after the list to explore talking points like which film received the most picks, pervasive horror film franchises, and more.
![]() Thomas GripFrictional Games Creative DirectorBest Known For: Penumbra, Amnesia 1. The Exorcist 2. Alien 3. Ringu 4. Blair Witch Project 5. Audition |
![]() Chris AshtonTurtle Rock Studios Design Director and Co-FounderBest Known For: Left 4 Dead, Evolve 1. The Thing 2. Jaws 3. Poltergeist 4. Evil Dead 5. Christine |
![]() Bruce StraleyNaughty Dog Game DirectorBest Known For: Uncharted, The Last of Us 1. Ringu 2. The Shining 3. A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) 4. The Exorcist 5. Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 |
![]() Phil RobbTurtle Rock Studios Creative Director and Co-FounderBest Known For: Left 4 Dead, Evolve 1. The Exorcist 2. Alien 3. The Shining 4. A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) 5. The Howling |
![]() Neil DruckmannNaughty Dog Creative DirectorBest Known For: Uncharted, The Last of Us 1. The Ring 2. Alien 3. The Silence of the Lambs 4. 28 Days Later 5. Army of Darkness |
![]() Steve PapoutsisVisceral Games General ManagerBest Known For: Dead Space, Battlefield: Hardline 1. The Shining 2. An American Werewolf in London 3. Evil Dead II 4. The Exorcist 5. Night of the Living Dead |
![]() Ted PriceInsomniac Games PresidentBest Known For: Ratchet & Clank, Resistance, Sunset Overdrive 1. Alien 2. Hellraiser 3. The Exorcist 4. Event Horizon 5. 28 Days Later |
![]() Drew MurrayInsomniac Games Game DirectorBest Known For: Resistance, Sunset Overdrive 1. The Shining 2. Poltergeist 3. Reanimator 4. The Thing 5. Alien |
![]() Karla ZimonjaThe Fullbright Company Designer and Co-FounderBest Known For: BioShock 2, Gone Home 1. The Abominable Dr. Phibes 2. Ravenous 3. Hellraiser 4. An American Werewolf in London 5. Dead Ringers |
![]() Kate CraigThe Fullbright Company Environment ArtistBest Known For: Gone Home 1. Ravenous 2. Lake Mungo 3. The Thing 4. The Blair Witch Project 5. The Others |
![]() Swery65Access Games DirectorBest Known For: Deadly Premonition, D4 1. Ju-On 2. The Blob 3. Drag Me to Hell 4. The Thing 5. The Return of the Living Dead |
![]() Matt GilgenbachInfinitap Games PresidentBest Known For: Neverending Nightmares 1. The Shining 2. Ju-On 3. Alien 4. Bram Stoker’s Dracula 5. The Exorcist |
![]() Gary NapperCreative Assembly Lead Game DesignerBest Known For: Alien Isolation 1. Alien 2. The Shining 3. Pontypool 4. Lost Highway 5. Dawn of the Dead (2004) |
![]() Garth DeAngelisFiraxis Games Senior ProducerBest Known For: XCOM: Enemy Unknown 1. A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) 2. Aliens 3. Jacob’s Ladder 4. Trick ‘r Treat 5. Pan’s Labyrinth |
![]() Mike de PlaterMonolith Productions Director of DesignBest Known For: Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor 1. Alien 2. Funny Games 3. The Thing 4. The Evil Dead 5. Texas Chainsaw Massacre |
![]() Steve GaynorThe Fullbright Company Designer and Co-FounderBest Known For: BioShock 2, Gone Home 1. Alien 2. The Shining 3. The Descent 4. Hausu 5. The Happiness of the Katakuris |
![]() Kevin StephensMonolith Productions Studio HeadBest Known For: F.E.A.R., Condemned, Aliens vs. Predator 2 1. Ju-On 2. Dark Water 3. Aliens 4. The Thing 5. Ringu 0 |
![]() Matt AllenMonolith Productions Director of Technical ArtBest Known For: F.E.A.R., Condemned 1. Alien 2. Jacob’s Ladder 3. Hellraiser 4. Videodrome 5. The Thing |
![]() Michiteru OkabeCapcom ProducerBest Known For: Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City, Resident Evil: Revelations 2 1. Dawn of the Dead (1978) 2. Friday the 13th 3. The Ring 4. Ju-On 5. The Evil Dead |
![]() Yoshiaki HirabayashiCapcom ProducerBest Known For: Resident Evil (2002), RE 4, 5, 6 1. 28 Days Later 2. Dawn of the Dead (1978) 3. The Shining 4. Rec 5. The Descent |
![]() Richard Rouse IIIParanoid Productions Director, Designer, and WriterBest Known For: The Suffering 1. Psycho 2. The Shining 3. Ringu 4. Candyman 5. The Descent |
![]() Akira YamaokaComposerBest Known For: Silent Hill, Shadows of the Damned 1. Silent Hill 2. Zigoku 3. The Omen 4. Misery 5. Saw |
![]() Randy PitchfordGearbox Software President and CEOBest Known For: Borderlands, Battleborn 1. Alien 2. The Thing 3. Night of the Living Dead 4. Evil Dead II 5. Psycho |
![]() Mikey NeumannGearbox Software Chief Creative ChampionBest Known For: Brothers in Arms, Borderlands 1. The Exorcist 2. Shaun of the Dead 3. Cabin in the Woods 4. Friday the 13th 5. Poltergeist |
![]() Oskari HäkkinenRemedy Games Head of Franchise DevelopmentBest Known For: Alan Wake, Quantum Break 1. The Shining 2. Predator 3. Child’s Play 4. Pet Cemetary 5. The Birds |
![]() Suda51Grasshopper Manufacture CEOBest Known For: No More Heroes, Killer7, Shadows of the Damned 1. Village of the Eight Gravestones 2. Hellraiser 3. Phatasm 4. Kuroi ie 5. Fallen |
![]() Glen SchofieldSledgehammer Games Co-Founder and General ManagerBest Known For: Dead Space, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare 1. Martyrs 2. Hostel 3. 28 Days Later 4. Alien 5. The Thing |
![]() Dean EvansUbisoft Creative DirectorBest Known For: Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon 1. An American Werewolf in London 2. Videodrome 3. Suspiria 4. A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) 5. Cannibal Holocaust |
![]() Dan PinchbeckCreative Director The Chinese RoomBest Known For: Dear Esther, Amnesia: A Machine For Pigs 1. Night of the Living Dead 2. Videodrome 3. Rosemary’s Baby 4. The Shining 5. Threads |
![]() Shinji MikamiFounder and CEO Tango GameworksBest Known For: Resident Evil, Devil May Cry, The Evil Within 1. Dawn of the Dead 2. Halloween 3. Yotsuyakaidan 4. The Thing 5. Alien |
![]() Alex TintorFounder/Director at Blue Isle StudiosBest Known For: Slender: The Arrival 1. Psycho 2. The Blair Witch Project 3. Alien 4. Event Horizon 5. The Shining |
![]() David ChateauneufRed Barrels Games Co-Founder, Game & Level DesignerBest Known For: Outlast 1. The Evil Dead 2. The Grudge 3. Dawn of the Dead (1978) 4. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 5. The Thing |
Making Sense of the Horror
We parsed through all the developers' Top 5 Horror Movies lists and found some interesting trends. Here are some intriguing points we noticed.
- Out of the 32 developers that offered their Top 5 Horror Movie lists, Alien secured 14 votes, making it the highest-rated pick. That means nearly half of all the devs included it on their list.
- Behind Alien in the second slot is The Shining with 11 votes, number three is The Thing with 10 votes, and number four is The Exorcist with 8 votes. Fifth place is a five-way tie of four votes each shared by 28 Days Later, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Hellraiser, The Evil Dead, and Ju-On.
- All the movies in the developers’ overall top four were released between 1973 and 1982.
- The most popular foreign horror film is Ju-on with four votes.
- The most popular zombie movie is 28 Days Later with four votes.
- The most-picked sequel is Dawn of the Dead with three votes, followed closely by Aliens.
- The oldest horror film on the list is Psycho, released in 1960.
- The most recent horror film to make the cut is Cabin in the Woods, released in 2012.
- According to these developers’ lists, Freddy Krueger and Pinhead are tied for the most popular slasher icons.