Image via Warner Bros. Pictures
By
Daniel Boyer
Published Feb 2, 2026, 8:20 PM EST
Daniel is a 27-year-old List Writer for Collider living in the south suburbs of Chicago, Illinois. As an avid film buff, he watches and analyzes many films and TV shows, especially in the horror genre, and regularly attends movie screenings.
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Warning: This article contains spoilers!
Horror is meant to scare us out of our wits. The objective is to give us a terrifying and exciting experience, one that we've never even felt before. That's the goal many horror films have struggled with, but a great many of them succeeded. Some of the greatest, most terrifying horror movies in history have shocked us to our cores, entertained us for generations, and kept us coming back for more fright. Above all, they fascinate us with how dark and twisted they get.
Some horror movies are just so shocking, intense, or unpredictable that they still fill us with overwhelming dread, even after multiple watches. The following are ten noteworthy examples of horror movies that have stunned audiences for years, providing the most twisted tales and most epic scares. From psychological thrillers and supernatural nightmares, let's look at the ten most twisted horror movies from the last twenty-five years. They're eerie and unforgettable, and capable of creeping into your nightmares.
10 'Goodnight Mommy' (2014)
Susanne Wuest as Mother, with a bandaged face looking in the mirror in 'Goodnight Mommy' (2014)Image via Stadtkino Verleih
The 2014 Austrian thriller Goodnight Mommy takes viewers into an eerie situation full of psychological suspense, mounting tension, and creeping terror. It's a haunting picture that takes a frightening look into grief, trauma, and family dysfunction as it follows two sheltered twin boys as they suspect their mother, who is recovering from plastic surgery on her face, has been replaced by an impostor.
Not all is what it seems in this psychological nightmare. It leaves viewers questioning if the boys are right and if the mother really is who she seems. Goodnight Mommy constantly keeps viewers on their toes, right up until the shocking and truly disheartening twist reveal at the end, which flips the script and switches up the character dynamics in a horrifying way. Truly, it might just scare you out of having children at all.
9 'The Cabin in the Woods' (2011)
A poster for Cabin In The Woods shows people trapped in clear boxes.Image via Lionsgate Films
From Joss Whedon comes his 2011 horror comedy cult classic The Cabin in the Woods, a film known for flipping the typical horror formula upside down. It's a surprisingly subversive and self-aware film full of horror tropes, but with a fresh twist. It follows five stereotypical horror characters as they're lured to a cabin by a shadowy organization to be used as blood sacrifices for subterranean gods.
Though not the scariest film mentioned on this list, The Cabin in the Woods earns its spot here for its wild unpredictability and balls-to-the-wall premise. It gets insanely over-the-top at points and doesn't commit to one specific subgenre of horror. This refreshing genre blend has a mix of psychological, supernatural, splatter, slasher, and even monster horror all combined into one wild, fast-paced, and gory concoction that's unlike anything horror lovers have seen before.
8 'It Follows' (2014)
The Demon breaking through a door in a form of a child in It Follows.Image via Radius TWC
Arguably, the scariest monster movie in recent years is 2014's It Follows. Featuring unrelenting suspense and a frighteningly original premise, it's a story of inescapable terror as a young college girl, Jay Height (Maika Monroe), finds herself on the run from a mysterious shapeshifting entity slowly following her after a bizarre one-night stand. As this creature stalks her wherever she goes, Jay is forced to either find a way to kill this thing or learn to pass on this burden onto someone else.
It Follows is a paranoia-driven story that honestly gets more stress-inducing and unsettling with each scene. The terror comes from the mystery of what the creature is and where it could strike next; it can be anyone and pop up from anywhere. This premise adds a fresh spin on the monster formula and does it in a deeply terrifying way. Even after many rewatches, It Follows is still a nightmarish experience that's twisted and sure to leave a shiver down your spine.
7 'The Skin I Live In' (2011)
The Skin I Live InImage via Warner Bros.
Considered one of the most gripping international horror films of the 21st century, 2011's The Skin I Live In from Spain is a wildly fascinating and skin-crawling horror experience that's sure to stun anyone who sees it. Starring Antonio Banderas and Elena Anaya, it's a slow-burning story about a terrible act of revenge when a pioneering plastic surgeon tests out his advanced artificial skin by turning his daughter's male abuser into a replica of his late wife.
It's a brilliant mix of psychological suspense, drama, and shocking body horror, all woven into a compelling narrative that's sure to keep you hooked from start to finish. Its premise is unlike anything else, and it's deeply twisted and unsettling as it shows one man's disturbing desire for payback taken to shocking extremes. The Skin I Live In has plenty of shocking turns that are sure to leave an impression, and that's why it has been hailed so fondly by horror lovers in recent years.
6 'The Descent' (2005)
Shauna MacDonald as Sarah, bursting out of the ground in 'The Descent'Image via Lionsgate
Neil Marshall's The Descent is unbearably terrifying, one of the darkest, most claustrophobic experiences any fan will ever watch. It's a frightening mix of psychological terror and monster mayhem, following a group of women as they go exploring the caves of the Appalachian Mountains to bond closer as friends after a recent tragedy. But when they get trapped in a cave-in, they soon realize they're not alone as they're being stalked by bloodthirsty inhabitants.
Once the characters become stuck in the dark cave, it becomes an intense survival story as they race to the surface while being hunted by hungry monstrosities. In the end, it becomes an insane, gory, and spectacularly brutal nightmare that concludes with a shocking downer. The Descent can scare viewers out of their minds and leave them deeply unnerved by just how unexpected and stressful it gets.
5 'Martyrs' (2008)
Image via Wild Bunch
One of the most appallingly violent films in history is the 2008 French psychological torture thriller Martyrs. A movie that many people say crosses the line, it's unrelentingly bleak, gory, and shockingly heartbreaking, and only gets more intense with each scene. It follows two women as they edge closer to finding out why they were horribly abused as children, unearthing a horrifying conspiracy in the process.
Just when you think the torture sequences and bloodshed can't get any heavier, the film proves you wrong. Nearly every scene ramps up the intensity to the point where it can spark a negative reaction in viewers. Martyrs is not for the faint of heart, and that's why it's attributed to its legacy as one of the most controversial horror movies ever, one that's still a sore subject and debated by audiences today.
4 'Get Out' (2017)
Rose and Chris smiling while looking in the same direction in Get Out 2017Image via Universal Pictures
From the brilliant Jordan Peele comes his Academy Award-winning psychological mind-bender Get Out, one of the 2010s most legendary modern horror classics. With award-winning writing and a fascinatingly unpredictable premise, it follows an African American photographer as his awkward first-time visit to meet his white girlfriend's wealthy family turns into a fight for survival when he realizes the whole visit was a trap.
Its premise is very unique and full of chilling suspense, as the photographer slowly makes the horrifying realization that this family is not who they seem. Once the twist that a family kidnaps African American people to be used as hosts for wealthy white donors' minds is revealed, the plot becomes a much more raw and vicious fight for survival, and it constantly makes you hope the protagonist will make it out ok. Overall, Get Out can put any viewer off their balance with how twisted it gets, and really keeps you on your toes.
3 'Weapons' (2025)
Zach Cregger has been steadily gaining traction on his way to becoming one of modern horror's best filmmakers. A huge part of his fame these days stems from his recent success with Weapons, a fascinating nonlinear supernatural thriller and 2025's biggest horror standout. Starring Julia Garner, Josh Brolin, and an Oscar-nominated Amy Madigan, it tells an eerie mystery about what happened to seventeen middle school students who voluntarily left their homes and ran off into the darkness one night.
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2 'Saw' (2004)
Amanda in the Reverse Bear Trap in SawImage via Lionsgate Films
Changing the face of horror in the early 2000s, James Wan's low-budget splatter masterpiece Saw became one of the biggest horror pop culture phenomena of that decade. It's a violent and highly intense mystery thriller that follows two strangers who wake up in a locked bathroom and play a dangerous game for their lives against the sinister, smart Jigsaw killer.
Saw has been widely praised for its unique concept and for its shocking plot twists, which still feel mind-blowing even today. It introduced the world to the Jigsaw killer, aka John Kramer (Tobin Bell), who is so morally complex and eerily fascinating that he has become a modern icon of the genre. Beyond him, the movie continues to horrify audiences with its deadly trap sequences and, of course, the horrific acts of bodily harm. Some of the imagery is brutal, and the whole thing just overall feels like a nightmare that hasn't stopped being scary, even after all these years.
1 'Hereditary' (2018)
Toni Collette as Annie Graham in HereditaryImage via A24
At the top of this list is arguably the scariest, most twisted horror movie of the 21st century, Ari Aster's Hereditary. Starring the mighty Toni Collette, it follows an ordinary family plagued by tragedies and various horrors due to a supernatural curse bestowed upon them by a mysterious cult.
A bleak, disturbing, and unrelentingly horrifying mix of psychological terror and supernatural suspense, Hereditary is seen these days as one of the all-time greats, a legendary nightmare flick that hasn't lost its ability to scare. Everything, from Aster's superb direction to the chilling suspense and perfect pacing, to Collette's Oscar-worthy acting and well-paced scares, works perfectly to make a modern horror masterpiece that will undoubtedly keep shocking and scaring audiences for years to come.
Hereditary
R
Horror
Documentary
Mystery
Thriller
Release Date
June 8, 2018
Cast
Toni Collette, Milly Shapiro, Zachary Arthur, Gabriel Byrne, Mallory Bechtel, Alex Wolff, Ann Dowd
Runtime
2h 7m
Director
Ari Aster
Writers
Ari Aster
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