Horror by Decade
Horror Films That Defined the 1990s
The films that reshaped horror, plus the rest of the decade worth your time
After the slasher glut of the 1980s, 1990s horror split toward prestige and self-awareness. The Silence of the Lambs won Best Picture in 1991 and made the serial-killer thriller respectable. Five years later Scream took the slasher apart and rebuilt it for an audience that already knew the rules. By the end of the decade, Ring out of Japan and The Blair Witch Project had pointed the genre toward the international ghost story and the found-footage boom that would define the 2000s.
This page collects the 1990s horror worth your time, scored by Watch Darkly's curators rather than a crowd average. The films that defined the decade come first, in release order, so the influence reads as a chain. The rest of the decade follows, ranked by curator score, so you can keep browsing past the canon.
- Curator Score 9.0
01The Silence of the Lambs 1991
- Fear
- 8.5
- Gore
- 6.5
- Atmosphere
- 9.5
- Intensity
- 8.0
Clarice Starling is a top student at the FBI's training academy. Jack Crawford wants Clarice to interview Dr. Hannibal Lecter, a brilliant psychiatrist who is also a violent psychopath, serving life behind bars for various acts of murder and cannibalism. Crawford believes that Lecter may have insight into a case and that Starling, as an attractive young woman, may be just the bait to draw him out.
- Curator Score 7.2
02Wes Craven's New Nightmare 1994
- Fear
- 7.8
- Gore
- 7.0
- Atmosphere
- 8.3
- Intensity
- 6.5
A demonic force has chosen Freddy Krueger as its portal to the real world. Can Heather Langenkamp play the part of Nancy one last time and trap the evil trying to enter our world?
- Curator Score 6.5
03In the Mouth of Madness 1994
- Fear
- 1.0
- Gore
- 2.0
- Atmosphere
- 3.0
- Intensity
- 3.0
An insurance investigator visits a small town while looking into the strange disappearance of a popular horror novelist. He soon finds that the impact of the author’s books is far more than inspirational.
- Curator Score 9.0
04Se7en 1995
- Fear
- 8.0
- Gore
- 7.1
- Atmosphere
- 10.0
- Intensity
- 8.5
Two homicide detectives are on a desperate hunt for a serial killer whose crimes are based on the "seven deadly sins" in this dark and haunting film that takes viewers from the tortured remains of one victim to the next. The seasoned Det. Somerset researches each sin in an effort to get inside the killer's mind, while his novice partner, Mills, scoffs at his efforts to unravel the case.
- Curator Score 7.6
05Scream 1996
- Fear
- 5.7
- Gore
- 6.0
- Atmosphere
- 6.7
- Intensity
- 6.0
A year after the murder of her mother, a teenage girl is terrorized by a masked killer who targets her and her friends by using scary movies as part of a deadly game.
- Curator Score 7.8
06Event Horizon 1997
- Fear
- 7.5
- Gore
- 8.0
- Atmosphere
- 8.5
- Intensity
- 8.0
In 2047, a group of astronauts are sent to investigate and salvage the starship Event Horizon which disappeared mysteriously seven years before on its maiden voyage. However, it soon becomes evident that something sinister resides in its corridors.
- Curator Score 7.0
07Ringu 1998
- Fear
- 6.8
- Gore
- 2.0
- Atmosphere
- 7.7
- Intensity
- 4.0
A mysterious video has been linked to a number of deaths, and when an inquisitive journalist finds the tape and views it herself, she sets in motion a chain of events that puts her own life in danger.
- Curator Score 7.0
08Cube 1997
- Fear
- 2.0
- Gore
- 6.5
- Atmosphere
- 8.0
- Intensity
- 7.5
A group of strangers find themselves trapped in a maze-like prison. It soon becomes clear that each of them possesses the peculiar skills necessary to escape, if they don't wind up dead first.
- Curator Score 7.0
09The Blair Witch Project 1999
- Fear
- 7.5
- Gore
- 1.0
- Atmosphere
- 8.0
- Intensity
- 5.0
In October of 1994 three student filmmakers disappeared in the woods near Burkittsville, Maryland, while shooting a documentary. A year later their footage was found.
- Curator Score 8.4
10The Sixth Sense 1999
- Fear
- 7.7
- Gore
- 3.5
- Atmosphere
- 8.0
- Intensity
- 5.5
Following an unexpected tragedy, child psychologist Malcolm Crowe meets a nine year old boy named Cole Sear, who is hiding a dark secret.
- Curator Score 9.2
11Jurassic Park 1993
- Fear
- 5.5
- Gore
- 3.4
- Atmosphere
- 8.0
- Intensity
- 6.5
A wealthy entrepreneur secretly creates a theme park featuring living dinosaurs drawn from prehistoric DNA. Before opening day, he invites a team of experts and his two eager grandchildren to experience the park and help calm anxious investors. However, the park is anything but amusing as the security systems go off-line and the dinosaurs escape.
- Curator Score 8.3
12From Dusk Till Dawn 1996
- Fear
- 2.0
- Gore
- 7.5
- Atmosphere
- 8.4
- Intensity
- 5.8
After kidnapping a father and his two kids, the Gecko brothers head south to a seedy Mexican bar to hide out in safety, unaware of its notorious clientele.
- Curator Score 7.7
13The X-Files 1998
- Fear
- 6.5
- Gore
- 1.0
- Atmosphere
- 7.5
Mulder and Scully, now taken off the FBI's X Files cases, must find a way to fight the shadowy elements of the government to find out the truth about a conspiracy that might mean the alien colonization of Earth.
- Curator Score 7.4
14Horror-adjacentEdward Scissorhands 1990
- Fear
- 3.0
- Gore
- 0.0
- Atmosphere
- 8.0
Adjacent horror. It is here for what it offers horror fans.
A small suburban town receives a visit from a castaway unfinished science experiment named Edward.
- Curator Score 7.3
15Tremors 1990
- Fear
- 1.0
- Gore
- 6.0
- Atmosphere
- 5.0
- Intensity
- 3.0
Val McKee and Earl Bassett are in a fight for their lives when they discover that their desolate town has been infested with gigantic, man-eating creatures that live below the ground.
- Curator Score 7.2
16Body Bags 1993
- Fear
- 5.0
- Gore
- 6.0
- Atmosphere
- 7.0
- Intensity
- 5.0
A horror anthology containing three stories: a female college student working a graveyard shift is terrorized by a serial killer; a hair transplant goes horribly wrong; and a baseball player loses an eye and gets a new one from a recently executed murderer.
- Curator Score 7.2
17Misery 1990
- Fear
- 3.0
- Gore
- 5.0
- Atmosphere
- 7.0
After an accident, acclaimed novelist Paul Sheldon is rescued by a nurse who claims to be his biggest fan. Her obsession takes a dark turn when she holds him captive in her remote Colorado home and forces him to write back to life the popular literary character he killed off.
- Curator Score 7.2
18Predator 2 1990
- Fear
- 2.0
- Gore
- 8.6
- Atmosphere
- 6.0
- Intensity
- 8.1
A police chief in the war-torn streets of Los Angeles discovers that an extraterrestrial creature is hunting down residents - and that he is the next target.
- Curator Score 7.1
19Fallen 1998
- Fear
- 2.0
- Gore
- 1.0
- Atmosphere
- 6.0
- Intensity
- 5.0
Homicide detective John Hobbes witnesses the execution of serial killer Edgar Reese. Soon after the execution the killings start again, and they are very similar to Reese's style.
- Curator Score 7.1
20Stir of Echoes 1999
- Fear
- 7.4
- Gore
- 1.0
- Atmosphere
- 8.0
- Intensity
- 5.0
After being hypnotized by his sister-in-law, Tom Witzky begins seeing haunting visions of a girl's ghost and a mystery begins to unfold around her.
- Curator Score 7.1
21Alien: Resurrection 1997
- Fear
- 4.0
- Gore
- 7.0
- Atmosphere
- 6.0
- Intensity
- 6.5
Two hundred years after Lt. Ripley died, a group of scientists clone her, hoping to breed the ultimate weapon. But the new Ripley is full of surprises … as are the new aliens. Ripley must team with a band of smugglers to keep the creatures from reaching Earth.
- Curator Score 7.0
22Screamers 1995
- Fear
- 5.0
- Gore
- 5.0
- Atmosphere
- 6.5
- Intensity
- 5.5
SIRIUS 6B, Year 2078. On a distant mining planet ravaged by a decade of war, scientists have created the perfect weapon: a blade-wielding, self-replicating race of killing devices known as Screamers designed for one purpose only -- to hunt down and destroy all enemy life forms.
- Curator Score 7.0
23The Faculty 1998
- Fear
- 3.0
- Gore
- 3.0
- Atmosphere
- 5.0
When some very creepy things start happening around school, the kids at Herrington High make the chilling discovery that confirms their worst suspicions: their teachers really are from another planet!
- Curator Score 6.5
24Darkman 1990
- Fear
- 0.5
- Gore
- 2.0
- Atmosphere
- 5.0
- Intensity
- 4.0
Dr. Peyton Westlake is on the verge of realizing a major breakthrough in synthetic skin when his laboratory is destroyed by gangsters. Having been burned beyond recognition and forever altered by an experimental medical procedure, Westlake becomes known as Darkman, assuming alternate identities in his quest for revenge and a new life with a former love.
- Curator Score 6.5
25Village of the Damned 1995
- Fear
- 2.0
- Gore
- 1.0
- Atmosphere
- 6.0
An American village is visited by some unknown life form which leaves the women of the village pregnant. Nine months later, the babies are born, and they all look normal, but it doesn't take the "parents" long to realize that the kids are not human or humane.
- Curator Score 6.5
26Species 1995
- Fear
- 2.0
- Gore
- 2.0
- Atmosphere
- 7.0
In 1993, the Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence Project receives a transmission detailing an alien DNA structure, along with instructions on how to splice it with human DNA. The result is Sil, a sensual but deadly creature who can change from a beautiful woman to an armour-plated killing machine in the blink of an eye.
- Curator Score 6.4
27Alien³ 1992
- Fear
- 5.0
- Gore
- 6.0
- Atmosphere
- 7.0
- Intensity
- 5.0
After escaping with Newt and Hicks from the alien planet, Ripley crash lands on Fiorina 161, a prison planet and host to a correctional facility. Unfortunately, although Newt and Hicks do not survive the crash, a more unwelcome visitor does. The prison does not allow weapons of any kind, and with aid being a long time away, the prisoners must simply survive in any way they can.
- Curator Score 6.3
28The Craft 1996
- Fear
- 1.0
- Gore
- 2.0
- Atmosphere
- 6.0
- Intensity
- 2.0
A Catholic school newcomer falls in with a clique of teen witches who wield their powers against all who dare to cross them -- be they teachers, rivals or meddlesome parents.
- Curator Score 6.2
29Sphere 1998
- Fear
- 2.0
- Gore
- 1.0
- Atmosphere
- 7.5
A spacecraft is discovered at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, presumed to be at least 300 years old and of alien origin. A crack team of scientists and experts is assembled and taken to the ocean floor to investigate. However, the ship is not as it seems and when a giant perfect sphere is discovered in the cargo bay, things begin to fall apart.
- Curator Score 6.2
30Deep Blue Sea 1999
- Fear
- 6.0
- Gore
- 6.0
- Atmosphere
- 5.0
Researchers on the undersea lab Aquatica have genetically altered the brains of captive sharks to develop a cure for Alzheimer's disease. But there's an unexpected side effect: the sharks got smarter, faster, and more dangerous. After a big storm damages their remote research facility, they must fight for their lives.
- Curator Score 6.2
31Scream 2 1997
- Fear
- 4.0
- Gore
- 5.0
- Atmosphere
- 5.0
- Intensity
- 5.0
Two years after the Woodsboro murders, Sidney Prescott acclimates to college life while someone donning the Ghostface costume begins a new string of killings.
- Curator Score 6.0
32Virus 1999
- Fear
- 3.0
- Gore
- 5.0
- Atmosphere
- 8.0
- Intensity
- 5.0
When the crew of an American tugboat boards an abandoned Russian research vessel, the alien life form aboard regards them as a virus which must be destroyed.
Common questions about 1990s horror movies
- What does it mean for a 1990s horror film to be "defining"?
- These are films that changed what horror did next, not simply the best-reviewed titles of the decade. Each one started or revived a form that later films copied: the prestige serial-killer thriller (The Silence of the Lambs), the self-aware slasher (Scream), J-horror (Ring), found footage (The Blair Witch Project), and the twist-driven supernatural drama (The Sixth Sense). They are pinned to the top of this page in release order.
- What was the most influential horror movie of the 1990s?
- By international reach, Ring (1998) launched the J-horror wave and a decade of Hollywood remakes. By American box-office impact, Scream (1996) revived the slasher and set off a wave of self-aware teen horror. The Blair Witch Project (1999) had the most lasting structural influence by making found footage a commercial format.
- How are these 1990s horror films ranked?
- The films that defined the decade are pinned to the top in release order. Everything below them is ranked by Watch Darkly's curator score, a single 0–10 calibrated judgment rather than a crowd average. Films without a curator score are left off, since an unscored film can't be placed credibly.