Common Sense Media
Movie & TV reviews for parents
- For Parents
- For Educators
- Our Work and Impact
Or browse by category:
- Movie Reviews
- Best Movie Lists
- Best Movies on Netflix, Disney+, and More
Common Sense Selections for Movies
50 Modern Movies All Kids Should Watch Before They're 12
- Best TV Lists
- Best TV Shows on Netflix, Disney+, and More
- Common Sense Selections for TV
- Video Reviews of TV Shows
Best Kids' Shows on Disney+
Best Kids' TV Shows on Netflix
- Book Reviews
- Best Book Lists
- Common Sense Selections for Books
8 Tips for Getting Kids Hooked on Books
50 Books All Kids Should Read Before They're 12
- Game Reviews
- Best Game Lists
Common Sense Selections for Games
- Video Reviews of Games
Nintendo Switch Games for Family Fun
- Podcast Reviews
- Best Podcast Lists
Common Sense Selections for Podcasts
Parents' Guide to Podcasts
- App Reviews
- Best App Lists
Social Networking for Teens
Gun-Free Action Game Apps
Reviews for AI Apps and Tools
- YouTube Channel Reviews
- YouTube Kids Channels by Topic
Parents' Ultimate Guide to YouTube Kids
YouTube Kids Channels for Gamers
- Preschoolers (2-4)
- Little Kids (5-7)
- Big Kids (8-9)
- Pre-Teens (10-12)
- Teens (13+)
- Screen Time
- Social Media
- Online Safety
- Identity and Community
Parents' Ultimate Guide to AI Companions and Relationships
- Family Tech Planners
- Digital Skills
- All Articles
- Latino Culture
- Black Voices
- Asian Stories
- Native Narratives
- LGBTQ+ Pride
- Jewish Experiences
- Best of Diverse Representation List
Multicultural Books
YouTube Channels with Diverse Representations
Podcasts with Diverse Characters and Stories
Parents' guide to.
- Common Sense Says
- Parents Say 9 Reviews
- Kids Say 21 Reviews
Common Sense Media Review
By Randy White , based on child development research. How do we rate?
'90s classic has violence, cursing, sexual references.
Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Ghost is a 1990 movie in which Patrick Swayze is a recently murdered man who remains as a ghost in order to warn the love of his life (Demi Moore) of impending danger. There's no nudity, but plenty of alluring shots and implied lovemaking. One bad guy is squished between two vehicles…
Why Age 13+?
Occasional profanity, including one use of "f--k." "Bulls--t," "s--t," "son of a
Sam is shot and killed in a violent mugging. The bad guys' deaths are gruesome;
A joke about a genital rash. The stars create a phallic object on a pottery whee
Some valuables kept in a clearly-marked Reeboks shoebox.
Some alcohol drinking. Talk of margarita drinking.
Any Positive Content?
No real positive messages.
No real positive role models. Secondary characters are con artists.
Occasional profanity, including one use of "f--k." "Bulls--t," "s--t," "son of a bitch," "bastard," "crap," "goddamn," "for Christ's sake." While in a crowded elevator, two characters loudly discuss how one of the character has a very contagious rash on his genitals.
Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.
Violence & Scariness
Sam is shot and killed in a violent mugging. The bad guys' deaths are gruesome; one is squished between two vehicles, and the other is pierced through the torso by a jagged sheet of glass. Blood shown in these deaths. Demonic imagery. Some gun violence.
Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.
Sex, Romance & Nudity
A joke about a genital rash. The stars create a phallic object on a pottery wheel and then make passionate love. There's no nudity, but alluring shots strongly implying lovemaking. The female lead strips down to her bra and panties as she's being watched by a criminal who has broken into her loft space.
Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.
Products & Purchases
Drinking, drugs & smoking.
Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.
Positive Messages
Positive role models.
Parents need to know that Ghost is a 1990 movie in which Patrick Swayze is a recently murdered man who remains as a ghost in order to warn the love of his life ( Demi Moore ) of impending danger. There's no nudity, but plenty of alluring shots and implied lovemaking. One bad guy is squished between two vehicles and the other is pierced through the torso by a jagged sheet of glass. Blood shown in these deaths. Demonic imagery in two scenes. Occasional profanity, including one use of "f--k" and more frequent uses of words like "s--t." In one scene, a practical joke between two characters on a crowded elevator is centered on how one of the characters has a highly contagious genital rash. Families grieving over the loss of a loved one due to senseless criminal violence would be wise to avoid this movie. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .
Where to Watch
Videos and photos.
Parent and Kid Reviews
- Parents say (9)
- Kids say (21)
Based on 9 parent reviews
Great movie that holds up, but too violent, profane, and intense for younger kids. Take the PG-13 rating seriously.
What's the story.
When Sam ( Patrick Swayze ) is killed by a mugger, he's left in some kind of limbo here on earth, able to witness events but unable to communicate with the living. He turns to Oda Mae Brown ( Whoopi Goldberg ), a wacky spiritual advisor, to help track down his killer and protect his distraught girlfriend, Molly ( Demi Moore ). Through Oda Mae, Sam is able to talk to Molly and they even have one last physical encounter through Oda Mae's body. Sam and Oda Mae manage to discover the killer, who turns out to be Sam's embezzling coworker and former best friend, Carl. In a wild climax, Sam kills Carl, who's then carried away by nasty demons. With Molly watching, Sam ascends in a beautiful, white light.
Is It Any Good?
Ghost is melodramatic and spiritually simplistic, but the combination of comedy, thrills, and mushy romance will be irresistible to some. While it doesn't explain why bad things happen to good people, it tries to reassure us that good people can find divine justice. Filled with ersatz spirituality, the movie presents a syrupy vision of the afterlife; the good guys ascend to heaven in a beam of light and bad guys are carried to hell by demons.
In the first 40 minutes, the movie plays like a melodrama, chock-a-block with unrestrained passion, gruesome murder, and plenty of suspense. With the introduction of Whoopi Goldberg as a storefront spiritual advisor, the movie radically changes direction to become a comedy. The romance also becomes a major factor. Some teens may enjoy seeing how love can conquer all -- even murder.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the movie's formula. Why do the good guys tend to win in big Hollywood movies? If the movie had a more ambiguous ending, would it be as popular? Can you think of movies or other stories that didn't conclude happily?
What are some other examples of movies centered on the afterlife? How is this movie similar and different?
There are some violent deaths in this movie. Did the violence seem necessary to what was happening in the movie, or did it seem gratuitous?
Movie Details
- In theaters : July 13, 1990
- On DVD or streaming : April 24, 2001
- Cast : Demi Moore , Patrick Swayze , Whoopi Goldberg
- Director : Jerry Zucker
- Inclusion Information : Female actors, Black actors
- Studio : Paramount Pictures
- Genre : Drama
- Topics : Monsters, Ghosts, and Vampires
- Run time : 127 minutes
- MPAA rating : PG-13
- MPAA explanation : Mature Themes
- Last updated : May 16, 2024
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.
Suggest an Update
What to watch next.
Just Like Heaven
Romance Movies
Teen romance novels, related topics.
- Monsters, Ghosts, and Vampires
Want suggestions based on your streaming services? Get personalized recommendations
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
A Ghost Story
I rarely see a movie so original that I want to tell people to just see it without reading any reviews beforehand, including my own. David Lowery ’s “A Ghost Story” is one of those movies. So I’m urging you in the first paragraph of this review to just see it and save this review for later. If you want more information, read on. There are no spoiler warnings after this because as far as I’m concerned, everything I could say about this film would constitute a spoiler.
This tale of a man who dies young and lingers around the property where he and his wife once lived is bound to be one of the most divisive films of the year. I didn’t know anything about it going in, except that its main character was a person who dies and spends the rest of the movie walking around mute, wearing a white sheet with eyeholes cut out of it. The film is a ghost story, in the sense that there’s a ghost in it, but it’s also many other things: a love story, a science fiction-inflected story about time travel and time loops, and a story about loneliness and denial, and the ephemeral nature of the flesh, and the anxiousness that comes from contemplating the end of consciousness (provided there’s no life after death—and what if there isn’t?).
The characters are so archetypal that they don’t have names, just initials. C (played by Casey Affleck ) is a musician who lives with his wife M ( Rooney Mara ) in a small house surrounded by undeveloped property somewhere in the vast flatness of Texas. C dies in a car crash early in the story but continues to linger on as a ghost, silently observing his wife’s grief and her eventual exit from the home they once shared. He stays in the house as new tenants move in, including a single mother ( Liz Franke ) and her two children (Carlos Bermudez and Yasmina Guiterrez) and some young, single people who throw parties with lots of bohemian artist-types. Time keeps moving forward. At a certain point the house gets leveled and replaced by a gigantic luxury condo-hotel type of development. C stays rooted to the spot where he died, as if he’s stuck in the “denial” phase of the grieving process.
The movie’s two most fascinating formal traits are its decision to keep C under the sheet for much of the film’s running time, and the way it moves its story along with hard cuts rather than dissolves, fades-to-black, or other signifiers that a lot of time has passed. The sheet denies the film’s leading man most of the tools he’d normally use to communicate emotion. He must instead approach the character as if he were onstage in a play where gestures are more important than words, and try to convey surprise, sadness or anger by holding his head and shoulders in a particular way, or turning quickly instead of slowly to look at something.
But this opens up a different kind of relationship between character and viewer: we’re projecting ourselves onto C as we might as children playing with dolls or stuffed animals. Simple, powerful emotions can be summoned that way, and it’s those sorts of emotions that are this movie’s specialty. There were many stretches where I was reminded of European art cinema classics like “Stalker” and “ The Passenger ,” which derive much of their power from asking you to commit to staring at the images the film has put in front of you, and think about what they might mean and how you feel about them. There are other times when the film is reminiscent of “ Groundhog Day ,” in its ability to weave guilt, karma, and fear of change into a story that might otherwise have played as a light diversion.
The hard cuts that move us through the story convey the idea that C perceives time differently than we do. In a scene that involves decay, which I won’t describe in too much detail here because it occurs in a context I didn’t expect to encounter, a body becomes a skeleton in a series of cuts that last about 30 seconds. The deeper we get into C’s story, the more Lowery teases our perceptions of time, until by the end he’s got us questioning the idea of singular, linear experience. (“A Ghost Story” would make a great double feature with Shane Carruth ’s “ Primer ” or Richard Linklater ’s “ Boyhood ,” two other Texas films about the perception and experience of time.)
“A Ghost Story” feels bracingly, at times alienatingly new. It’s a movie you can’t be quite sure how to take. There are moments where the movie seems to be handing you keys to interpretation, but I’d caution viewers against looking at such scenes for answers, because they have a rope-a-dope quality—as if they’re designed to bait and trap those who would sneer at this kind of movie. In any event, this is a film that’s more inclined to ask questions than answer them, much less give life advice. A long monologue by a party guest ( Will Oldham ) about humanity’s doomed attempts to leave traces that last, especially through art, would seem to suggest that a song C writes for M will outlast him, but we have no evidence of that. The film’s presentation of ghosthood as a purgatorial in-between state, inhabited by individuals who refuse to let go of the life they can no longer have, jibes with many Western religions’ ideas about the afterlife, but I don’t think the resolution of C’s story gives us any hope of Heaven; to me it seemed more like a warning to be at peace with the possibility that we may never know the answers to the big questions.
I should admit here that any take I can offer is provisional. I need to see the film a second time to sweep away preconceived notions that might’ve been lingering in my mind during my first viewing of “A Ghost Story.” The movie is so simple in its storytelling and its situations are observed so patiently that the result has a disarming purity, as if Lowery jammed a tap into his subconscious and recorded one of his dreams directly to film. It’s probably the closest that a lot of people are going to get to seeing a late-period silent movie on a big screen—a melodrama that deals in big ideas and obvious symbols, and that puts across fantastical concepts, such a ghost haunting the landscape over a period of decades, by putting a sheet over its leading man and having him walk around slowly and stare blankly at stuff. (Cinematographer Andrew Droz Palermo shoots the movie in the old-fashioned, square-ish “Academy” ratio, letting us see the rounded edges of the frame; this has a constricting effect, so that we seem to be spying through a keyhole at someone else’s life.)
People either seem to love “A Ghost Story” or hate it, with no in-between. It got mostly very positive notices during festival screenings, but on the eve of its commercial release I’ve found myself arguing with colleagues who think it’s the Emperor’s New Clothes and find it too precious, too sentimental, too much of a one-joke movie, or not enough of one thing or another thing. I loved everything about it, including the scenes I wasn’t sure how to take. I recommend seeing it in a theater because it’s a movie that has as much to say about our perception of time and permanence as it does about love and death. Much of the impact that it has, positive or negative, comes from having to sit there and watch it without interruptions and think about what it’s showing you, and how.
Matt Zoller Seitz
Matt Zoller Seitz is the Editor-at-Large of RogerEbert.com, TV critic for New York Magazine and Vulture.com, and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in criticism.
- Casey Affleck as C
- Kesha Rose Sebert as Spirit Girl
- Rooney Mara as M
Cinematographer
- Andrew Droz Palermo
- Daniel Hart
- David Lowery
Leave a comment
Now playing.
Venom: The Last Dance
Woman of the Hour
Exhibiting Forgiveness
The Shadow Strays
Fanatical: The Catfishing of Tegan and Sara
Gracie & Pedro: Pets to the Rescue
Latest articles.
30 Years of “Hoop Dreams”: Steve James on Roger Ebert, Oscar Snubs, and Documentary Filmmaking
CIFF 2024: Cloud, Grafted, Parvulos
CIFF 2024: The Return of the Projectionist, Between Goodbyes, The Brink of Dreams
Iowa City Celebrates with Enriching Pair of Festivals
The best movie reviews, in your inbox.
17 Highest-Rated Horror Movies, According to IMDb
Your changes have been saved
Email is sent
Email has already been sent
Please verify your email address.
You’ve reached your account maximum for followed topics.
With over 38,000 horror titles on IMDb , it can be difficult to choose which horror movies to watch. However, IMDb has made it easier by compiling the highest-rated horror films by user rating. These movies all have at least 25,000 user votes on the platform, making them among some of the most popular horror films ever made, according to IMDb users. From great psychological thrillers to slasher classics, here are the top seventeen highest-rated horror movies by users on IMDb.
Updated on September 23rd, 2023, by Angela Campbell: This article has been updated with additional content to keep the discussion fresh and relevant with even more information and new Westerns.
17 Evil Dead Rise (2023)
Imdb rating: 6.6.
One of the most recent films to grace the list, Lee Cronin's 2023 psychological horror hit, Evil Dead Rise , is the fifth installment of Sam Raimi's beloved horror franchise that centers on the strained relationship between sisters Beth and Ellie (Lily Sullivan & Alyssa Sutherland) as they fight to protect their family from demonic creatures after they discover a nefarious book containing unfathomable evil. The estranged duo must put aside their issues and battle against flesh-possessing demons while confronting terrifying nightmares if they have any hopes of surviving the horror.
Evil Dead Rise was a knockout with both critics and longtime fans of the series, nabbing an 8.1 IMDb rating as well as a 96% Rotten Tomatoes score. Deadline Hollywood declared in their review that the film "feels like a real return to form. It’s funny, absurd, gory, bleak, and will keep viewers on edge–just how the fans like it."
16 Talk to Me (2022)
Imdb rating: 7.2.
The newest entry on this list, Talk to Me is an Australian horror film that became a box office hit in 2023, thanks to its original premise, practical effects, and terrifying sound design. A group of teens discovers they can communicate with the dead using an embalmed hand, but one of them breaks the rules, allowing a malevolent force to torment them.
This creepy movie currently has a 7.2 rating on IMBd's list of top horror movies and holds a 95% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Plus, the movie already has both a prequel and a sequel in the works.
15 I Am Legend (2007)
Let's all agree on one thing — I Am Legend contains one of the most heart-wrenching and traumatizing scenes in cinema if you love animals. Whether that's the reason it ranks high on IMDb's horror movies list is unclear, but regardless, this Will Smith-led post-apocalyptic thriller is set to get a sequel nearly 20 years after its initial release.
Following a virus outbreak that turned most survivors into cannibalistic mutants, Smith played a loner trying to find a cure for the disease while he also searched for other survivors. I Am Legend blends genres, including science fiction and action, but IMDb users give it high marks for its horror elements. It holds a 7.2 rating from almost 800,000 votes on the site.
14 The Conjuring (2013)
Imdb rating: 7.5.
The Conjuring universe has spawned several top-rated horror films, and it's all thanks to the 2013 movie that kick-started the franchise. Starring Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga as paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren, this terrifying horror film from director James Wan drew inspiration from the supposed real-life haunting of a family terrorized by an unknown presence in their farmhouse.
Using old-school scares and visceral storytelling, Wan managed to create an entertaining and creepy movie in the vein of classics such as The Amityville Horror. IMDb users have also deemed The Conjuring to be one of the best horror movies on the site, ranking it within the top 15 horror movies. With even more entries in the franchise planned it'll be interesting to see if any future franchise entries can top the original.
13 Get Out (2017)
Imdb rating: 7.8.
A modern entry for this list, the critically acclaimed horror hit Get Out proved that social issues can be terrifying when presented under the guise of entertainment. When a Black man accompanies his white girlfriend to meet her family, he discovers a conspiracy in which middle-class white liberals transplant people's brains into others' bodies. While some consider this movie to be more thought-provoking than scary, many critics felt its layered themes of racism created an unsettling atmosphere.
Get Out wasn't only a box office success in 2017, but remains one of the best-rated horror movies of the last decade. It earned four Academy Award nominations and has a 98% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with numerous reviews calling it funny, scary, and thought-provoking. With an IMDb rating of 7.8 from approximately 655,000 users, this one proves that original horror can still have a deep impact on viewers.
Related: 19 Oscar-Winning Horror Movies That Shocked and Surprised
12 The Blue Elephant (2014)
Imdb rating: 8.0.
One of the newer horror films on the list, The Blue Elephant was first released in 2014 and hit audiences with its unique approach to the horror genre. It is an Egyptian film that follows a psychiatrist who is trying to transition back to work after a personal tragedy. Dealing with his own inner demons, finding out one of his friends is a patient in the criminal mental institution where he works sets off a series of events that viewers need to watch to get the full experience of The Blue Elephant .
Also holding an 8.0 user rating on IMDb, this movie is a visually stunning adaptation of the 2012 novel of the same name. It's a perfect balance of suspense and intrigue and an excellent addition to the highest-rated horror movies.
11 What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)
This 1962 classic starring Joan Crawford and Bette Davis tells the story of two aging sisters who live together. "Baby" Jane Hudson (Davis) is a former child star slowly spiraling into madness while her sister Blanche (Crawford) is confined to a wheelchair after an accident. The two are terrorized by each other in a gripping rivalry that touches on themes of jealousy, loneliness, and mental illness.
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane holds an 8.0 rating on IMDb and was nominated for numerous awards, crossing over from the horror genre and into the mainstream thanks to the film's major stars. Overall, the film has become one of the most iconic psychological thrillers in film history.
10 The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)
Widely regarded as the first true horror film in history, the 1920 German silent horror picture The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari tells the chilling tale of the titular unhinged hypnotist (Werner Krauss) who manipulates the somnambulist Cesare (Conrad Veidt) to carry out a series of gruesome murders. The groundbreaking movie helped pave the way for German cinema and also served as a stepping stone for arthouse films, and was noteworthy for its dramatic and gothic aesthetic and revolutionary and chaotic cinematography.
The highly influential picture currently has an 8.0 IMDb rating and during its worldwide release, women in the audience reportedly screamed and even fainted when Cesare made his spine-tingling reveal. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is considered a classic picture and one of the most lauded and famous German pictures of the silent era.
9 Rosemary's Baby (1968)
Another psychological horror film on the list is the 1968 Roman Polanski classic Rosemary's Baby . The movie follows a young pregnant woman, Rosemary Woodhouse (Mia Farrow), who moves into a New York City apartment building with her husband, Guy (John Cassavetes). It's clear that the other occupants of the building are not exactly normal, but that's just the beginning of the horror Rosemary will face.
With an 8.0 user rating and several awards, this thriller is an excellent example of how danger can lurk in the most unexpected places. If you're looking for a subtle, suspenseful horror movie with an unnerving and escalating atmosphere , this is the one to watch.
8 Les Diaboliques (1955)
Imdb rating: 8.1.
Henri-Georges Clouzot's Les Diaboliques , also referred to as Diabolique , is a 1955 French horror film that has influenced thrillers in countless ways. The film follows two women, Christina Delasalle (Véra Clouzot) and Nicole Horner (Simone Signoret), who conspire to murder their mutual lover, Michel Delasalle (Paul Meurisse).
They try to plan the perfect crime, but they find that things are not as easy as they had planned when Michel's body disappears. This classic thriller has an 8.1 user rating on IMDb and is one that viewers need to watch until the end. If you're looking for a suspenseful, dramatic horror movie with unexpected twists, this is a must-watch.
Related: Modern Horror Classics That Are Great for Any Time of Year
7 The Exorcist (1973)
The Exorcist is one of the most well-known and highly-regarded horror films of all time. The 1973 classic follows a young girl, Regan (Linda Blair), who becomes possessed by the devil after playing with an Ouija board. Her mother (Ellen Burstyn) and two priests, Father Karras (Jason Miller) and Father Merrin (Max von Sydow), are determined to save Regan from the evil forces that have taken over her body.
The Exorcist has an 8.1 user rating on IMDb and won two Academy Awards, as well as four Golden Globes. It has been praised for its iconic '70s soundtrack , acting, and special effects, helping to make it one of the most iconic horror films ever made.
6 Tumbbad (2018)
Imdb rating: 8.2.
Another recent horror movie, Tumbbad is an Indian horror-fantasy film released in 2018. It follows Vinayak (Sohum Shah), a man who is obsessed with discovering the source of wealth said to be hidden in an ancestral home. He ends up traveling to the home with his son, Pandurang, and together they become entangled in a web of deceit, greed, and danger as they try to uncover the mythological secrets of the property.
The cinematography and atmosphere of Tumbbad make it truly unique. It has an 8.2 user rating on IMDb, holding 17 awards and over 22 nominations. It's a fantastic movie for anyone who loves international horror and fantasy.
5 The Thing (1982)
Horror icon John Carpenter directed the 1982 classic The Thing , a loose remake that follows a group of scientists in Antarctica who discover an alien life form that can take the shape and form of its victims. The alien is able to spread rapidly, and the group must figure out how to fight it before it's too late. The tension and suspense in this movie will keep you on the edge of your seat, and the grotesque special effects are nothing short of amazing for the 80s.
The Thing has an 8.2 user rating and has incredible performances from Kurt Russell, Wilford Brimley, and Keith David. It's a great example of how horror remakes can be done right, and is considered to be a masterpiece by fans of science fiction and horror.
4 The Shining (1980)
Imdb rating: 8.4.
The Shining , directed by Stanley Kubrick in 1980, is a horror movie that follows Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) and his family as they move into an isolated hotel in the Colorado Rockies. Jack is responsible for the Overlook Hotel as the winter caretaker, but his sanity begins to slip away the longer he is there. On the surface, The Shining looks like a standard thriller, but the deeper themes of evil and family tragedy (not to mention the many conspiracy theories about the film ) make it a classic.
The Shining has an 8.4 user rating on IMDb and has earned awards and nominations from both the Academy Awards and the Golden Globes. It's another horror movie that is guaranteed to linger in the back of your mind long after you've finished watching it and one that has stuck in the cultural lexicon for nearly half a century.
3 Psycho (1960)
Imdb rating: 8.5.
One of Alfred Hitchcock's most iconic films, Psycho is a 1960 classic that follows Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) as she steals money and flees town, eventually ending up at the Bates Motel. She is greeted by the creepy owner of the motel (Anthony Perkins), who is hiding a dark secret. It doesn't take long for things to take a dark turn for both Marion and her sister (Vera Miles), who also finds herself in danger.
Psycho is a thrilling horror movie that can still hold up today, thanks to how revolutionary and ahead of its time the filmmaking was. It has an 8.5 user rating on IMDb and also won the Best Motion Picture award at the 1961 Edgar Allan Poe Awards. It is full of suspense and great performances, making it clear why it's often referred to as the blueprint for modern horror.
Related: 10 Best A24 Movies, According to IMDb
2 Alien (1979)
Ridley Scott's 1979 classic, Alien , lands close to the top of IMDb's list of horror movies by user rating with an 8.5. It follows the crew of a spaceship who are sent to explore an unknown planet, only to be attacked by a terrifying alien creature. Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) is one of the few survivors and must battle against a creature that is relentless in its pursuit.
Alien has since become a classic sci-fi horror movie, and it's no surprise as to why. The combination of suspense and special effects creates a fantastic environment, and the performances of Weaver and her fellow crew members keep you invested throughout. Ripley has become an iconic female character, making this a movie that any fan of horror and feminism alike should watch at least once.
1 The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Imdb rating: 8.6.
Revered as one of the greatest and most influential cinematic releases of all time, Jonathan Demme's 1991 psychological horror masterpiece The Silence of the Lambs famously follows FBI trainee Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) as she is forced to seek the expertise of the deranged, cannibalistic serial killer Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) in order to catch a murderer terrorizing the country.
The acclaimed picture became one of just three films in history to win the five major categories at the Academy Awards, including Best Actor and Best Actress for Hopkins and Foster, respectively; 1934's It Happened One Night and 1975's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest are the other two that achieved the feat. With an IMDb rating of 8.6 from nearly 1.5 million users, the horror hit is without a doubt one of the most respected and decorated films of its genre.
- Movie Lists
- Trending on RT
(Photo by Columbia)
Ghostbusters Movies Ranked by Tomatometer
Let’s rank the Ghostbusters movies by Tomatometer, starting with the 1980s decade-defining original. The 1984 Ghostbusters took a bunch of SNL (Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd) and SCTV alums (Rick Moranis, Harold Ramis) and threw them against a city-wide infestation of ghouls and ghosts, with director Ivan Reitman letting it all play out with working class sincerity, the occasional sarcasm, and one big gooey finish.
Ghostbusters II brought back the whole cast and crew, but got slimed by diminishing sequel returns and remains the lowest-rated in the franchise. With that movie already demonstrating the pratfalls of pleasing die-hard fans, it seemed liked director Paul Feig pulled it off when he applied the same SNL casting (this time Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, and Leslie Jones) for a Certified Fresh reboot . The negative audience reaction, however, will always make the 2016’s ranking controversial.
For Ghostbusters: Afterlife , the franchise seemingly course-corrected with a nostalgia-driven sequel that continues the original story, directed by Reitman’s son, Jason. Critics were fine with it, and audiences approved. This 2021 film stars Paul Rudd, Mckenna Grace, and Finn Wolfhard, who will be joined by OGs Murray, Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, and Annie Potts in the sequel Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire , which brings the ‘bustin back to New York City.
Ghostbusters (1984) 95%
Ghostbusters (2016) 74%
Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021) 63%
Ghostbusters II (1989) 55%
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (2024) 42%
Related news.
The Most Anticipated Movies of 2024
Weekend Box Office Results: Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire Opens with $45 Million
The Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire Cast on Easter Eggs and the Return of Slimer
More Countdown
All Spider-Man Movies Ranked (Including Venom and Morbius )
All Tom Hardy Movies Ranked
Best TV Shows of 2024: Best New Series to Watch Now
Movie & TV News
Featured on rt.
October 24, 2024
Venom: The Last Dance First Reviews: Silly, Surprisingly Emotional, and Strictly for Fans
October 23, 2024
Kingsley Ben-Adir Talks Extensive Prep to Play Bob Marley on the Awards Tour Podcast
Top Headlines
- All Spider-Man Movies Ranked (Including Venom and Morbius ) –
- All Tom Hardy Movies Ranked –
- Best TV Shows of 2024: Best New Series to Watch Now –
- 50 Best New Horror Movies of 2024 –
- Best Movies of 2024: Best New Movies to Watch Now –
- All Marvel Movies In Order: How To Watch MCU Chronologically –
Log in or sign up for Rotten Tomatoes
Trouble logging in?
By continuing, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from the Fandango Media Brands .
By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes and to receive email from the Fandango Media Brands .
By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes.
Email not verified
Let's keep in touch.
Sign up for the Rotten Tomatoes newsletter to get weekly updates on:
- Upcoming Movies and TV shows
- Rotten Tomatoes Podcast
- Media News + More
By clicking "Sign Me Up," you are agreeing to receive occasional emails and communications from Fandango Media (Fandango, Vudu, and Rotten Tomatoes) and consenting to Fandango's Privacy Policy and Terms and Policies . Please allow 10 business days for your account to reflect your preferences.
OK, got it!
- About Rotten Tomatoes®
- Login/signup
Movies in theaters
- Opening This Week
- Top Box Office
- Coming Soon to Theaters
- Certified Fresh Movies
Movies at Home
- Fandango at Home
- Prime Video
- Most Popular Streaming Movies
- What to Watch New
Certified fresh picks
- 85% Smile 2 Link to Smile 2
- 99% Anora Link to Anora
- 79% We Live in Time Link to We Live in Time
New TV Tonight
- 88% What We Do in the Shadows: Season 6
- 80% Poppa's House: Season 1
- 80% Territory: Season 1
- -- Before: Season 1
- -- Hellbound: Season 2
- -- The Equalizer: Season 5
- -- Breath of Fire: Season 1
- -- Beauty in Black: Season 1
- 67% Like a Dragon: Yakuza: Season 1
Most Popular TV on RT
- 83% Agatha All Along: Season 1
- 94% The Penguin: Season 1
- 79% Disclaimer: Season 1
- 92% Rivals: Season 1
- 82% Hysteria!: Season 1
- 100% The Lincoln Lawyer: Season 3
- 100% From: Season 3
- 85% Grotesquerie: Season 1
- 88% Escape at Dannemora: Season 1
- 79% Teacup: Season 1
- Best TV Shows
- Most Popular TV
Certified fresh pick
- 96% Shrinking: Season 2 Link to Shrinking: Season 2
- All-Time Lists
- Binge Guide
- Comics on TV
- Five Favorite Films
- Video Interviews
- Weekend Box Office
- Weekly Ketchup
- What to Watch
All Spider-Man Movies Ranked (Including Venom and Morbius )
All Tom Hardy Movies Ranked
What to Watch: In Theaters and On Streaming
Awards Tour
Venom: The Last Dance First Reviews: Silly, Surprisingly Emotional, and Strictly for Fans
Kingsley Ben-Adir Talks Extensive Prep to Play Bob Marley on the Awards Tour Podcast
- Trending on RT
- Verified Hot Movies
- TV Premiere Dates
- Gladiator II First Reactions
- Halloween Programming Guide
Season 1 – Ghosts
Where to watch, ghosts — season 1.
Watch Ghosts — Season 1 with a subscription on Paramount+, or buy it on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV.
What to Know
Ghosts could stand to ask more of its characters, but an excellent ensemble and a genial wit make for easy, softly spooky viewing.
Critics Reviews
Audience reviews, cast & crew.
Rose McIver
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Brandon Scott Jones
Richie Moriarty
Danielle Pinnock
Asher Grodman
More Like This
Season info.
Best Rated Horror Movies
1. A Quiet Place
4. World War Z
5. The Thing
6. The Birds
7. Interview with the Vampire
8. What We Do in the Shadows
9. A Nightmare on Elm Street
10. Invasion of the Body Snatchers
11. 10 Cloverfield Lane
12. Pitch Black
14. A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night
15. Odd Thomas
16. It Follows
17. The Babadook
19. Final Destination
21. The Blair Witch Project
23. The Cell
More to explore
Recently viewed.
IMAGES
VIDEO
COMMENTS
Ghost: Directed by Jerry Zucker. With Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore, Tony Goldwyn, Stanley Lawrence. After a young man is murdered, his spirit stays behind to warn his lover of impending danger, with the help of a reluctant psychic.
The film is definitely a love story, a story of love conquering all, and love transcending death. It is also a story of redemption, good and evil, a murder mystery of sorts, and a comedy of situation at times as well. Add in some not-so-great special effects and we get spirits being asked to rise.
Ghost. 128 minutes ‧ PG-13 ‧ 1990. Roger Ebert. July 13, 1990. 4 min read. The thing about ghost stories is that they usually have such limited imaginations. If a spirit were indeed able to exist in two realms at the same time - to occupy the spirit world while still involving itself in our designs here in the material universe - wouldn ...
Ghost: Directed by Srini. With Shivarajkumar, H.G. Dattatreya, Jayaram, Archana Jois. A Group of some people hijacked the jail in the city and demanding the release of ghost or elsewhere all the criminals will be set free.
Ghost is a 1990 American supernatural romance film directed by Jerry Zucker from a screenplay by Bruce Joel Rubin, and starring Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore, Whoopi Goldberg, Tony Goldwyn, Vincent Schiavelli, and Rick Aviles. [5] It focuses on Sam Wheat (Swayze), a murdered banker, whose ghost sets out to save his girlfriend, Molly Jensen (Moore), from the person who killed him - through the ...
Rated 5/5 Stars • 04/27/24. "Ghost" is an emotionally charged thriller drama. It tells the story of banker Sam Wheat (Patrick Swayze) and his girlfriend Molly Jensen (Demi Moore), on the night ...
Parents need to know that Ghost is a 1990 movie in which Patrick Swayze is a recently murdered man who remains as a ghost in order to warn the love of his life (Demi Moore) of impending danger. There's no nudity, but plenty of alluring shots and implied lovemaking. One bad guy is squished between two vehicles….
90 %. Written by Wuchak on December 4, 2020. Top-of-the-line drama/thriller tackles the afterlife. A man suddenly discovers that he's a ghost (Patrick Swayze) and means to find his killer while protecting his former fiancé (Demi Moore). Tony Goldwyn plays his business partner while Whoopi Goldberg is on hand as a psychic spiritual advisor.
Slow and baffling at times, A Ghost Story follows you, not unlike the undead spirit within its frame. Nov 20, 2017. TOP CRITIC. The film stubbornly refuses to connect with its deeper themes ...
The characters are so archetypal that they don't have names, just initials. C (played by Casey Affleck) is a musician who lives with his wife M (Rooney Mara) in a small house surrounded by undeveloped property somewhere in the vast flatness of Texas.C dies in a car crash early in the story but continues to linger on as a ghost, silently observing his wife's grief and her eventual exit from ...
Pulse (2001), Wind Chill, The Uninvited (2009), The Bunker, Grave Encounters 2, A Tale Of Two Sisters, They Wait, Ghost Ship, The Haunted (1991), White Noise, Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones, House On Haunted Hill (1959), Death Ship, Half Light, Mama, Haunted (1995), What Lies Beneath, The Woman In Black (1989), The Innkeepers, Crimson ...
Generally Favorable Based on 128 User Ratings. 7.4. 70% Positive 89 Ratings. 26% Mixed 33 Ratings. 5% Negative 6 Ratings. All Reviews; Positive Reviews; ... Rating TV-14. Genres. Drama Fantasy Romance Thriller Tagline A ... October will bring an assortment of horror movies, this year's buzzy Cannes winner, sequels to Joker and Venom, and much ...
Rated: 4/5 Jul 25, 2024 Full Review M.N. Miller Ready Steady Cut Christopher Landon's aimless and stagnant We Have a Ghost is an attempt by the horror-comedy director to make a family ghost film ...
8/10. A thoughfully rugged British drama. tobywrites 5 March 2021. Filmed entirely on an iPhone, Ghost follows an ex convicts first day free as he navigates a new world of which he has a stark disconnect to. Billed as a crime drama, Ghost revels in the quiet and the normality of urban life.
IMDb Rating: 8.5. 20th Century Fox. Ridley Scott's 1979 classic, Alien, lands close to the top of IMDb's list of horror movies by user rating with an 8.5. It follows the crew of a spaceship who ...
Full Review | Original Score: 5/5 | Feb 14, 2020. Ghost modestly warns against indignant attitudes toward class status. Full Review | Jul 13, 2015. A perfect balance of laughs and tears, a ...
A Ghost Story: Directed by David Lowery. With Casey Affleck, Rooney Mara, McColm Cephas Jr., Kenneisha Thompson. In this singular exploration of legacy, love, loss, and the enormity of existence, a recently deceased, white-sheeted ghost returns to his suburban home to try to reconnect with his bereft wife.
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire42%. #5. Critics Consensus: Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire offers a certain amount of nostalgia-fueled fun for fans of the original, but a crowded cast and surprisingly serious tone prevent this sequel from truly sparking. Synopsis: In Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, the Spengler family returns to where it all started ...
50 Best New Horror Movies of 2024. Link to 50 Best New Horror Movies of 2024. View All ... Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW . Cast & Crew. Rose McIver. Samantha. Utkarsh ...
9. A Nightmare on Elm Street. 7.4 (269K) Rate. 76Metascore. Teenager Nancy Thompson must uncover the dark truth concealed by her parents after she and her friends become targets of the spirit of a serial killer with a bladed glove in their dreams, in which if they die, it kills them in real life.