Based on user ratings from the world wide popular movie site IMDB I have created a list of the top ten horror movies from a list of over 50 critically acclaimed movies. Based on reviews and star ratings it is easy to see what conventions in horror movies are the most desirable.
What Lies Beneath (2000) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6/10 X The wife of a university research scientist believes that her lakeside Vermont home is haunted by a ghost - or that she's losing her mind. | $155M | ||
2. | Gremlins (1984) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7/10 X A boy inadvertently breaks 3 important rules concerning his new pet and unleashes a horde of malevolently mischievous monsters on a small town. | $148M | |
3. | The Blair Witch Project (1999) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6/10 X Three film students travel to Maryland to make a student film about a local urban legend... The Blair Witch... | $141M | |
4. | A Christmas Carol (2009) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6/10 X An animated retelling of Charles Dickens' classic novel about a Victorian-era miser taken on a journey of self-redemption, courtesy of several mysterious Christmas apparitions. | $138M | |
5. | Godzilla (1998) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 4/10 X A enormous, radioactively mutated lizard runs rampant on the island of Manhattan. | $136M | |
6. | The Ring (2002) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.2/10 X A young journalist must investigate a mysterious videotape which seems to cause the death of anyone in a week of viewing it. | $129M | |
7. | The Grudge (2004) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 5.7/10 X An American nurse living and working in Tokyo is exposed to a mysterious supernatural curse, one that locks a person in a powerful rage before claiming their life and spreading to another victim. | $110M | |
8. | Paranormal Activity (2007) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.5/10 X After moving into a suburban home, a couple becomes increasingly disturbed by a nightly demonic presence. | $108M | |
9. | Scream (1996) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7/10 X A killer known as "ghost face" begins killing off teenagers, and as the body count begins rising, one girl and her friends find themselves contemplating the "Rules" of horror films as they find themselves living in a real-life one. | $103M | |
10. | Scream 2 (1997) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.0/10 X Two years after the events of the first film, a new psychopath dons the "Ghost face" costume and a new string of murders begin. | 101$M |
It is clear to see which conventions in horror movies are used the most and do the best in box office. Films that appear most regularly in this list introduce ghosts or other super natural creatures as their main ploy to target the horror market. This shows that the horror genre in recent times has grasped onto the love of supernatural and use it most in order to receive acclaim by their audiences.
