A great movie is usually rewatchable, and some of us out here really enjoy the idea of it. We usually rewatch movies so we can notice all the details we first missed, anticipate the plot twist from a different perspective, or just enjoy the overall experience again and again. Some of these rewatchable movies also belong in horror, which may not inherently feel like a rewatchable genre, but actually boasts some of the most obsessively rewatched movie hits.
Great, rewatchable horror movies are genre-bending stories that deal with dark but relatable topics. Horror often taps into our primal instincts and allows us to face our fears, but safely and in a comfortable environment. If you’re planning to watch a horror movie again, these are the ten great horror movies that are worth watching over and over.
10
‘Shaun of the Dead’ (2004)
Simong Pegg, Nick Frost, and the rest of the cast pretend to be zombies in ‘Shaun of the Dead’.
Image via Universal Pictures
Shaun of the Dead is a horror comedy, and it may not scare you in the truest sense, but Edgar Wright—the director—is an avid horror fan (especially Night of the Living Dead). This 2004 cult classic is as much a horror film as it is an homage to Wright’s favorite classics. Shaun of the Dead has quickly become one of the most watched, rewatched, and beloved horror comedies of the past two decades, that fans know some of its dialogue by heart.
Shaun of the Dead follows the titular Shaun (Simon Pegg), who lives with his two friends, Ed (Nick Frost) and Pete (Peter Serafinowicz). Shaun has an unambitious life, spending most of his days at his favorite local pub. His girlfriend expects him to get out of that comfort zone, but Shaun is oblivious to her needs; when a zombie apocalypse hits, Shaun is forced to take charge and become a proactive person, and we get to see the real him. This movie is the first in Wright and Pegg’s Cornetto Trilogy, and depending on your state of mind and where you are in life at the moment, Shaun of the Dead will hit differently with every rewatch.
9
‘Train to Busan’ (2016)
Gong Yoo and Kim Su-an in ‘Train to Busan’
Image via Next Entertainment World
One of the most exciting movies in the zombie horror genre is Train to Busan. This non-stop adrenaline rush of a movie will make you want to have a sip of water and rest, like you’re there with them. The action is interrupted with some warm character development and emotional moments, just enough to allow the characters and the viewers to take a breather. Train to Busan was directed by one of South Korea’s most exciting horror visionaries, Yeon Sang-ho.
Train to Busan follows Seoul businessman Seok-woo (Gong Yoo), who boards a bullet train to the coastal town of Busan with his daughter. On the train are many other passengers, including a sick woman who quickly turns into a zombie and begins biting people. While the train is running at high speed, the passengers must deal with the ongoing zombie outbreak, and Seok-woo takes charge and becomes a hero. If you catch Train to Busan on TV, you’ll likely just watch it again; there’s no point in this film that will have you giving up, even if you catch it halfway. It’s gripping, exciting, and highly rewatchable.
8
‘The Conjuring’ (2013)
The Conjuring has become a franchise since the first film came out, quickly earning its way into the horror Hall of Fame. It’s one of the most watched and adored horror universes, with Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson aptly leading the franchise as two real-life paranormal investigators, Lorraine and Ed Warren. The Conjuring has those typical Hollywood-ish jumpscares, but that’s why it’s so easy to watch over and over again—you get to sit down and enjoy the story more after learning when and where something sinister pops up. The story is also pretty universal for horror, having a haunting, the haunted, and the heroes that save the haunted; a classic, three-act film that stands the test of time.
The Conjuring follows the Perron family moving to an estate in Rhode Island; the Perrons are parents Roger and Carolyn (Ron Livingston and Lili Taylor), and their five young daughters. They also have a dog which refuses to go inside their new house, and they soon find out, in the worst ways possible, that the place is haunted. When the haunting begins taking over the residents’ health and lifeforce, Carolyn calls Ed and Lorraine Warren for a visit. The Conjuring is quite scary, and a staple of the 2010s; it’s worth rewatching, in particular, during the spooky season.
7
‘Final Destination 3’ (2006)
The roller coaster disaster in Final Destination 3
Image via New Line Cinema
Another franchise that made its way into legend is Final Destination, and though each of the movies has something great about them, many people consider Final Destination 3—next to the first, original Final Destination—its most rewatchable installment. This is more than likely because of the protagonist, Wendy Christensen (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), who is not just an adept final girl, but also loved because of her determination and resourcefulness while trying to save her classmates from Death. While the Final Destination franchise doesn’t really ask viewers to get attached to the characters like that, many have failed, and straight-up thought Wendy was the coolest final girl they’ve seen. She still is one of the coolest.
The Final Destination franchise typically includes one character having a premonition about an impending deadly incident, saving people from actually dying, and then realizing Death is coming for them all, usually in brutal ways. In the third movie, high school girl Wendy has a premonition that the rollercoaster she and her friends are about to embark on is going to collapse, so she saves some of them. The rest of the movie follows Wendy realizing how all her friends will die and doing her best to prevent it, and she’s admirable in that. FD3 is rewatchable because of Winstead, Wendy, and the inevitable fun factor.
6
‘Jaws’ (1975)
The first official summer blockbuster of all time, Jaws is one of those horror/thrillers you simply can’t resist but rewatch whenever the weather gets a little warmer. Though a summer movie should usually be light and fun, Jaws evokes summer with its sunny beaches, crisp ocean water, and a dangerous sea-based predator being chased by the local police. Jaws is a great film that showcases human determination but also prejudice; and, it’s a great horror film because of some wild jumpscares and atmospheric tension. Steven Spielberg mastered several genres in one masterpiece here.
Jaws is set in a small coastal town in New England, where a great white shark is terrorizing the population. Police chief Brody (Roy Scheider), decides to catch the shark and kill it, but realizes he needs help from some experts. He enlists the assistance of marine biologist Matt Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss) and fisherman Quint (Robert Shaw), who’s been pursuing the same shark. For a while, Jaws didn’t just scare audiences, but also raised human animosity towards sharks and caused a genuine fear of open water in some people. It still scares the same as ever, so in terms of great horror, it’s unbeatable.
5
‘Midsommar’ (2019)
Image via A24
Ari Aster‘s films are generally rewatchable because of their symbolism and themes; Midsommar is also one of the most visually stunning films of the past decade, showing grief wrapped in a beautifully haunting setting. Aster had the help of Swedish producers when creating the story, and he even visited Hälsingland, a historical Swedish province, and studied the folklore and customs of the Hårga for its atmosphere and plotting. The movie is, centrally, a breakup film, showing a couple growing increasingly distant; Florence Pugh stars as the lead, Dani, and she’s joined by Will Poulter, Jack Reynor, William Jackson Harper, and Vilhelm Blomgren.
Midsommar follows Dani, whose entire family dies one winter from a murder-suicide. Traumatized and depressed, Dani tries to reach out to her boyfriend, Christian (Reynor), for comfort, but the two are already distant. Christian’s friend Pelle (Blomgren) suggests the three of them and their two other friends go to his ancestral commune, the Hårga, to experience the midsummer festival. After you go through the initial shock of this film, you’ll want to watch it again and again. Its incredible, cathartic ending and intricacies, as well as the brilliant Florence Pugh, make Midsommar one of the greatest horror movies of all time.
4
‘The Shining’ (1980)
The Shining was based on Stephen King‘s novel of the same name, and he notoriously disliked the adaptation because it misinterprets the real villain of his story. However, to film and Stanley Kubrick fans, this is all circumstantial—The Shining remains one of the most rewatched horror movies of all time, and for good reason: it’s terrifying, but also symbolic and filled with captivating details. The Shining was also as interesting behind the cameras as it is in front of them, so the film’s entire lore is what makes it so appealing to watch over and over again.
The Shining follows writer Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) moving with his wife and son to the Overlook Hotel to be its caretaker during the winter. However, while there, Jack and his family begin experiencing terrifying hallucinations and events, which particularly affects Jack, a recovering alcoholic with anger issues. While The Shining is simply captivating on its own, plenty of analyses and theories out there give it more weight; each new theory prompts another rewatch, and in that sense, The Shining is just as enjoyable the tenth time as it was the first.
3
‘The Thing’ (1982)
MacReady (Kurt Russell) holds a strand of heated wire to a dish of blood in ‘The Thing’ (1982).
Image via Universal Pictures
John Carpenter’s The Thing is chock-full of symbolism and allegories that make it fit for interpretation and dissection. But, it’s also a super-fun mystery horror/thriller made to entertain, scare, and make you wonder. A masterclass in tension, The Thing is rewatchable even when you know what happens in the end. Whether you first watched it when it came out or only recently, it’s easy to notice its themes of paranoia, mistrust, alienation, and erosion of community are still as relevant now as they were then. If anything, The Thing is currently one of the timeliest movies from the previous century.
The Thing is set in Antarctica, where a group of scientists from an American station finds a deformed dead body in the abandoned Norwegian station. They bring it back to their station to dissect it, unaware they’ve brought a deadly alien that can perfectly imitate the human form. When the alien begins hijacking one scientist after another, the mistrust among the group grows, leading to physical hostility and violence. Kurt Russell steps in as the lead, and his performance has largely been the reason The Thing received greater marks upon reevaluation; additionally, his character, R.J. MacReady, is the ultimate hero, and Carpenter filmed several endings for him, finally deciding on, possibly, the bleakest one.
2
‘Halloween’ (1978)
The Shape (Nick Castle) strangles Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) in the final moments of Halloween (1978)
Image via Compass International Pictures
The movie we watch every single Halloween is, in fact, Halloween. This classic never gets old, and it’s one of the greatest slasher films to ever exist; Halloween influenced plenty of other classics of the genre, popularizing slashers and the final girl trope. John Carpenter also made Halloween iconic by filming large portions of it from the killer’s perspective, inspiring POV and found-footage horror, too. But, this isn’t about how influential and iconic Halloween is, but how rewatchable it is, and we can all agree that, when a film is highly influential, it is also easy to watch over and over again.
Halloween follows Michael Myers, who is confined in a sanatorium for the murder of his sister when he was a child. Michael suceeds in escaping the hospital and returns to his childhood neighborhood, where he sees teenage Laurie (Jamie Lee Curtis) near his old home. He begins stalking Laurie, and she grows more paranoid after noticing him, but nobody really takes her seriously. This was Curtis’ first movie role, and it’s really cool that it went down in cinema history as one of the best movies ever made. Halloween has that rewatchability factor because of Curtis, whose performance as Laurie helped create the final girl trope.
1
‘Scream’ (1996)
Courteney Cox, Jamie Kennedy, and Neve Campbell in the bloody ending of Scream (1996).
Image via Dimension Films
Scream was influenced by Halloween, but Scream is arguably the most rewatchable horror film ever. It has that evergreen presence and a universally likable story with a heroic final girl and a brilliant killer twist. It’s relevant for and often referred to in popular culture, and its famous killer, Ghostface, is arguably the most popular inspiration for a Halloween costume (or at least second to Michael Myers costumes). Ghostface is probably the reason Scream is so rewatchable and easy to press play on again and again. The deep voice, the mysterious presence, and the terror he spreads is weirdly contagious, and once you finish the first movie, you feel like indulging in the entire Scream universe.
Scream follows the high school students of a fictional small town in California called Woodsboro. The high schoolers are being terrorized by a mysterious murderer known only as Ghostface, and the friend group of Sydney Prescott (Neve Campbell) become targets of Ghostface’s murder threats. Scream has the greatest opening five minutes in film history, which in itself makes it a rewatchable and entertaining horror movie.
Release Date
December 20, 1996
Runtime
112 minutes