Scare yourself silly with these spine-tingling classics.

Halloween

The 1978 slasher-classic in which Michael Myers — who murdered his sister when he was six — escapes to kill again. It spawned seven sequels, inspired Scream and was Jamie Lee Curtis’ first film role.

Grab a cushion for… This blood-curling line: “you can’t kill the bogeyman.”

Nightmare inducing? You’ll never trust anyone in a mask again.

Want to watch it on the big screen? We're showing the original AND the brand new Halloween at Vue: who’s brave enough?

Get tickets for the new Halloween here; get tickets for our 40th Anniversary screening of the original here.

The Blair Witch Project

Shot in eight days and on a budget of $25,000, this scared the jeepers out of early audiences, who weren’t sure if the “found footage” of three students making a documentary about a local witch was real or not. It didn’t help that the actors’ IMDB pages said “missing, presumed dead.”

Grab a cushion for…The moment Heather finds Josh’s teeth and scalp wrapped in a bloodied cloth (later interviews revealed that these were real human teeth donated by a local dentist).

Nightmare inducing? Even when you know it’s an act, there’s something about that shaky black and white footage…

The Changeling

Still grieving the death of his wife and son in a car accident, a well-known composer moves into an old Victorian house — where he discovers the angry ghost of another dead child. This often overlooked horror flick is a genuinely terrifying take on the classic haunted house tale.

Grab a cushion for…The red ball that keeps on bouncing down the stairs. Who knew a children’s toy could be so menacing?
Nightmare inducing? Martin Scorsese called it one of the scariest films of all time.

The Exorcist

This classic about a 12-year-old girl possessed by the devil — and her mother’s attempts to cure her — was banned on video in the UK for 25 years.

Grab a cushion for… The head-spinning scene is legendary, but the spider walk that Regan does down the stairs (only in the director’s cut) really creeps us out.
Nightmare inducing? Supposedly when it first screened, ambulance crews were on hand in case people fainted.

Ringu

You might have seen the US remake, The Ring, starring Naomi Watts – but the atmospheric Japanese original, directed by Hideo Nakata, is an even creepier affair. After a string of sudden teenage deaths, a reporter investigates an urban legend about a cursed video tape. There’s no real gore…just slowly building tension to a horrifying climax.

Grab a cushion for…That moment when a humble TV set suddenly becomes the most petrifying thing you’ve ever encountered.
Nightmare inducing? You’ll be thankful videotapes have since been consigned to the technology trash can.

SPOILER ALERT: this is the final scene.

Texas Chainsaw Massacre

A group of teenagers on a trip to visit their grandfather’s grave stumble upon a seemingly abandoned house, where very bad things happen with meat-hooks, machetes and power tools.

Grab a cushion for…When Sally runs through the forest with crazed killer Leatherface at her heels.

Nightmare inducing? Best not to watch alone.

Warning: clip contains violence.

Psycho

A Hitchcock classic and the film that made us terrified of motel bathrooms. It also features one of the greatest twists in movie history.

Grab a cushion for…The shower scene might be infamous but the bit where Norman Bates gives the most sinister smile ever will haunt you for weeks.
Nightmare inducing? Make sure you lock the bathroom door tonight.

The Shining

A haunted hotel, a psychic child, an on-edge Jack Nicholson…what could possibly go wrong? Directed by Stanley Kubrick, this psychological horror is based on Stephen King’s novel.

Grab a cushion for…The moment Danny sees the ghosts of the dead Grady sisters in the hallway.
Nightmare inducing? You’ll never look at twins in the same way again.

Poltergeist

A family are visited by ghosts in their suburban home, who soon turn nasty and abduct youngest daughter, Carol Anne. Turns out, building houses on old cemeteries isn’t the smartest move.

Grab a cushion for… The clown scene — otherwise known as the moment a million people developed a sudden phobia of these “entertainers.”
Nightmare inducing? Ghosts you can’t see are definitely the spookiest.