The Top 5 Best Horror Movies Of The 90’s!

Hi all!

Today I am back to cover my five favourite horror movies from the 90’s! There are so many iconic spooky films from this decade, it was extremely difficult to narrow down. You can check out my lists for the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s by clicking on them. I hope nobody is offended by my choices! Without further ado, let’s get into it…

1.) Interview With The Vampire

I think we all know by now that Anne Rice was one of my favourite authors. Rest in peace beautiful soul. I was devastated when I heard of her passing. If you wish to learn the story of us meeting, click here. In 1994, the movie adaptation of her bestselling novel, Interview With The Vampire, was released. Born as an 18th-century lord, Louis (Brad Pitt) is now a bicentennial vampire, telling his story to an eager biographer. Suicidal after the death of his family, he meets Lestat (Tom Cruise), a creature of the night, who persuades him to choose immortality over death and become his companion. Eventually, gentle Louis resolves to leave his violent maker, but Lestat guilts him into staying by turning a young girl – whose addition to the “family” breeds even more conflict. I know for a fact that Anne Rice loved the film and was involved in writing the screenplay. I also heard rumours that Tom and Brad absolutely hated one another on set. I couldn’t recommend it enough, especially for somebody new to horror. It’s seductive, moody, dark and heartbreaking. The acting is phenomenal and the visuals, stunning. There is a scene right after Louis is turned, where he sees a statue open its eyes and it’s mesmerising. I’m not a huge fan of Tom Cruise but he played Lestat perfectly. That moment where he dances with the skeleton is so disturbing but laughable. I’m obsessed from start to finish. Watch it!

2.) The Blair Witch Project 

The Blair Witch Project isn’t my favourite horror movie by any means, but it deserves to be on this list because it revolutionised the found-footage genre. Released in 1999, we follow three film students who travel to a small town to collect documentary footage about the Blair Witch, a legendary local murderer. Over the course of several days, the students interview townspeople and gather clues to support the tale’s veracity. But the project takes a frightening turn when the crew lose their way in the woods and begin hearing horrific noises. If you haven’t seen this film before, be warned, it has a very slow build. Some love this aspect, others hate it. I think the gradual progression of events makes the final scene so shocking and unsettling. I can imagine it would have absolutely traumatised viewers at the time. A positive feature of the found-footage genre is how realistic everything feels. The acting was so effortless and believable, it helped accelerate the scares. I highly recommend it, purely for its impact on the horror community as a whole.

3.) Misery 

UGH this is one of my top 10 favourite horror movies of all time! I finally bought myself a copy of the book by Stephen King, as I’ve never actually read it before. Released in 1990, it follows novelist, Paul Sheldon (James Caan), who is involved in a serious car crash. He is rescued by former nurse, Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates), who claims to be his biggest fan. Annie brings him to her remote cabin to recover, where her obsession takes a dark turn after she discovers Sheldon is killing off her favorite character from his novels. As Sheldon devises plans for escape, Annie grows increasingly controlling, even violent, as she forces the author to shape his writing to suit her twisted fantasies. Kathy Bates stole the entire show for me. There is a reason she won best actress for this role. This perfect horror movie doesn’t require any jump scares to seriously raise the hairs on the back of your neck. The suspense and tension is palpable! Not to mention, that scene with the sledgehammer? If you know, you know. Misery is a tale of how toxic fandom can be. If you only watch one film from this list, let it be this one.

4.) Silence Of The Lambs

This 1991 film is incredible. Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster), a top FBI agent, is asked to interview Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) – a brilliant psychiatrist with a penchant for cannibalism – to gain insight into the whereabouts of a psycho serial killer named Buffalo Bill. Hannibal enjoys taunting and questioning Clarice about her own past and when given an opportunity, escapes the mental institution. Despite his disgusting way of life and perverted fascination with Clarice, she’s able to use his teachings to pursue the killer. I will rank the franchise later on in the year but needless to say, the first movie is the best. It is so unique and disturbing. Anthony Hopkins did an exceptional job of creeping out audiences worldwide. Funnily enough, you cannot help but root for him as he becomes the lesser of two evils when compared to Buffalo Bill. I’ve also raved about the television series before but please watch Hannibal if you haven’t already. It’s truly one of the best horror shows in history.

5.) Scream 

I’m not going to say too much about Scream because I’m literally going to rank the entire franchise this month. Needless to say, it’s one of my favourite horror movies of all time. In 1996, this epic slasher was born. The late Wes Craven himself could never have anticipated that it would become one of the most popular horror series in history. As we all know, the latest reboot was released last month and fans of the series were overjoyed to see a lot of the original actors reprise their former roles. A year after her mother’s death, Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) and her friends begin receiving strange, ominous phone calls from a person who threatens to kill them. After one teenage girl is killed, the police struggle to discover who is responsible, focusing first on Sidney’s boyfriend Billy and then Sidney’s father. As the media begins to swarm over the story, Sidney struggles to trust everyone around her as they all potentially could be the killer. It’s fun, campy and incredibly meta. Scream does not take itself too seriously but at the same time, the deaths are intense. It also has one of the best opening scenes. What’s your favourite scary movie?

I hope you enjoyed this post! Let me know your favourite horror movies from the 90’s. Did you agree with my list?

Thanks for reading!

Peace & Love xoxo