The Crypt Charts
The Top 31 Horror Movies of the 1990s
Thirty-one films that defined the 1990s in horror — ranked by the Crypt Score, our audience-first blend of IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes, Metacritic and viewer votes.
Ranked by Crypt Score · Updated weekly · captured Jul 20, 2026
Eligibility: a title needs at least 2 rating sources and 1,000+ votes to chart — no thin-data entries.
Se7en
R1995 · Crime, Mystery, Thriller · 127m · Morgan Freeman, Brad Pitt, Gwyneth Paltrow, John Cassini
Two homicide detectives are on a desperate hunt for a serial killer whose crimes are based on the "seven deadly sins" in this dark and haunting film that takes viewers from the tortured remains of one victim to the next. The seasoned Det. Somerset researches each sin in an effort to get inside the killer's mind, while his novice partner, Mills, scoffs at his efforts to unravel the case.
The Sixth Sense
PG-131999 · Mystery, Thriller, Drama · 107m · Bruce Willis, Haley Joel Osment, Toni Collette, Olivia Williams
Following an unexpected tragedy, child psychologist Malcolm Crowe meets a nine year old boy named Cole Sear, who is hiding a dark secret.
Misery
R1990 · Drama, Thriller · 107m · Kathy Bates, James Caan, Richard Farnsworth, Lauren Bacall
After an accident, acclaimed novelist Paul Sheldon is rescued by a nurse who claims to be his biggest fan. Her obsession takes a dark turn when she holds him captive in her remote Colorado home and forces him to write back to life the popular literary character he killed off.
Ghostwatch
1992 · Horror, Mystery, TV Movie · 91m · Michael Parkinson, Sarah Greene, Craig Charles, Mike Smith
For Halloween 1992, the BBC decides to broadcast an investigation into the supernatural, hosted by TV chat-show legend Michael Parkinson. Parky (assisted by Mike Smith, Sarah Greene & Craig Charles) and a camera crew attempt to discover the truth behind the most haunted house in Britain. This ground-breaking live television experiment does not go as planned, however.
The Crow
R1994 · Fantasy, Action, Thriller · 102m · Brandon Lee, Rochelle Davis, Ernie Hudson, Michael Wincott
Exactly one year after young rock guitarist Eric Draven and his fiancée are brutally killed by a ruthless gang of criminals, Draven, watched over by a hypnotic crow, returns from the grave to exact revenge.
The Talented Mr. Ripley
R1999 · Thriller, Crime, Drama · 140m · Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jude Law, Cate Blanchett
Tom Ripley is a calculating young man who believes it's better to be a fake somebody than a real nobody. Opportunity knocks in the form of a wealthy U.S. shipbuilder who hires Tom to travel to Italy to bring back his playboy son, Dickie. Ripley worms his way into the idyllic lives of Dickie and his girlfriend, plunging into a daring scheme of duplicity, lies and murder.
Scream
R1996 · Crime, Horror, Mystery · 112m · Neve Campbell, David Arquette, Courteney Cox, Matthew Lillard
A year after the murder of her mother, a teenage girl is terrorized by a masked killer who targets her and her friends by using scary movies as part of a deadly game.
Dark City
R1998 · Mystery, Science Fiction · 101m · Rufus Sewell, William Hurt, Kiefer Sutherland, Jennifer Connelly
A man struggles with memories of his past, including a wife he cannot remember, in a nightmarish world with no sun and run by beings with telekinetic powers who seek the souls of humans.
Braindead
R1992 · Horror, Comedy · 103m · Timothy Balme, Diana Peñalver, Elizabeth Moody, Ian Watkin
When a Sumatran rat-monkey bites Lionel Cosgrove's mother, she's transformed into a zombie and begins killing (and transforming) the entire town while Lionel races to keep things under control.
The Devil's Advocate
R1997 · Horror, Drama, Mystery · 144m · Keanu Reeves, Al Pacino, Charlize Theron, Jeffrey Jones
Aspiring Florida defense lawyer Kevin Lomax accepts a job at a New York law firm. With the stakes getting higher every case, Kevin quickly learns that his boss has something far more evil planned.
Tremors
PG-131990 · Comedy, Horror, Science Fiction · 96m · Kevin Bacon, Fred Ward, Finn Carter, Michael Gross
Val McKee and Earl Bassett are in a fight for their lives when they discover that their desolate town has been infested with gigantic, man-eating creatures that live below the ground.
Jacob's Ladder
R1990 · Drama, Mystery, Horror · 113m · Tim Robbins, Elizabeth Peña, Danny Aiello, Matt Craven
After returning home from the Vietnam War, veteran Jacob Singer struggles to maintain his sanity. Plagued by hallucinations and flashbacks, Singer rapidly falls apart as the world and people around him morph and twist into disturbing images. His girlfriend, Jezzie, and ex-wife, Sarah, try to help, but to little avail. Even Singer's chiropractor friend, Louis, fails to reach him as he descends into madness.
Sleepy Hollow
R1999 · Fantasy, Thriller, Mystery · 105m · Johnny Depp, Christina Ricci, Miranda Richardson, Michael Gambon
Skeptical young detective Ichabod Crane gets transferred to the hamlet of Sleepy Hollow, New York, where he is tasked with investigating the decapitations of three people – murders the townsfolk attribute to a legendary specter, The Headless Horseman.
Bram Stoker's Dracula
R1992 · Romance, Horror · 128m · Gary Oldman, Winona Ryder, Anthony Hopkins, Keanu Reeves
Count Dracula, a 15th-century prince, is condemned to live off the blood of the living for eternity. Young lawyer Jonathan Harker is sent to Dracula's castle to finalise a land deal, but when the Count sees a photo of Harker's fiancée, Mina, the spitting image of his dead wife, he imprisons him and sets off for London to track her down.
To Catch a Killer
1992 · Crime, Drama, Thriller · Brian Dennehy, Michael Riley, Margot Kidder, Meg Foster
"To Catch a Killer" tells the true gruesome story of John Wayne Gacy - a good friend and helpful neighbour, a great child entertainer, a respectful businessman, and a violent serial killer who raped and murdered over 30 young boys.
The Iceman Tapes: Conversations with a Killer
1992 · Documentary, Crime, Thriller · 47m · Richard Kuklinski, Michael Baden, Robert J. Carroll, Lee Grant
Richard Kuklinski was a devoted husband, loving father--and ruthless killer of over 100 people. You'll meet him in this powerful documentary that features one of the most vivid and disturbing interviews ever recorded--taped behind the walls of the prison where Kuklinski is serving two consecutive life sentences for multiple homicide.
Starship Troopers
R1997 · Adventure, Action, Thriller · 129m · Casper Van Dien, Dina Meyer, Denise Richards, Jake Busey
Set in the future, the story follows a young soldier named Johnny Rico and his exploits in the Mobile Infantry. Rico's military career progresses from recruit to non-commissioned officer and finally to officer against the backdrop of an interstellar war between mankind and an arachnoid species known as "the Bugs."
The Witches
PG1990 · Fantasy, Family, Horror · 91m · Jasen Fisher, Mai Zetterling, Anjelica Huston, Charlie Potter
While staying at a hotel in England with his grandmother, Helga, a young boy named Luke inadvertently spies on a convention of witches. The Grand High Witch reveals a plan to turn all children into mice via a magical formula. When they discover the eavesdropper, the witches test the formula on him. Now, with the help of Helga and hotel manager Mr Stringer, Luke the mouse must fight back against the witches.
Susie Q
G1996 · Comedy, Drama, Family · 83m · Amy Jo Johnson, Justin Whalin, Shelley Long, Andrea Libman
The ghost of a girl who died in 1955 appears to a troubled teen living in her old house.
From Dusk Till Dawn
R1996 · Horror, Action, Crime · 108m · George Clooney, Quentin Tarantino, Harvey Keitel, Juliette Lewis
After kidnapping a father and his two kids, the Gecko brothers head south to a seedy Mexican bar to hide out in safety, unaware of its notorious clientele.
Ghost
PG-131990 · Fantasy, Romance, Thriller · 127m · Demi Moore, Patrick Swayze, Whoopi Goldberg, Tony Goldwyn
After a young man is murdered, his spirit stays behind to warn his lover of impending danger, with the help of a reluctant psychic.
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me
R1992 · Drama, Mystery, Horror · 135m · Sheryl Lee, Ray Wise, Mädchen Amick, Dana Ashbrook
In the questionable town of Deer Meadow, Washington, FBI Agent Desmond inexplicably disappears while hunting for the man who murdered a teen girl. The killer is never apprehended, and, after experiencing dark visions and supernatural encounters, Agent Dale Cooper chillingly predicts that the culprit will claim another life. Meanwhile, in the more cozy town of Twin Peaks, hedonistic beauty Laura Palmer hangs with lowlifes and seems destined for a grisly fate.
Wild at Heart
R1990 · Crime, Thriller, Romance · 125m · Nicolas Cage, Laura Dern, Willem Dafoe, Diane Ladd
Young lovers Sailor and Lula hit the road to start a new life together away from the wrath of Lula’s deranged, disapproving mother, who has hired a team of hitmen to cut the lovers’ surreal honeymoon short.
Mute Witness
R1995 · Thriller, Horror, Crime · 95m · Marina Zudina, Fay Ripley, Evan Richards, Igor Volkov
When a mute makeup/special effects artist working on a low-budget slasher film gets locked in a dilapidated Moscow movie studio late one night, she thinks she witnesses the making of a snuff film. Thus begins a night of terror.
Intensity
1997 · Horror, Thriller, TV Movie · 186m · John C. McGinley, Molly Parker, Blu Mankuma, Lori Triolo
Chyna Shepherd is a twenty-six-year-old psychology student who survived an extremely troubled past. While visiting Laura Templeton's house, a farm in the Napa Valley. A serial killer named Edgler Foreman Vess breaks into the house, killing Laura and her parents. Chyna survives, but she learns of Vess's captive: a girl, just as innocent as Chyna, trapped in Vess's home far from the Napa Valley.
Cube
R1998 · Thriller, Science Fiction, Mystery · 90m · Nicole De Boer, Nicky Guadagni, Maurice Dean Wint, David Hewlett
A group of strangers find themselves trapped in a maze-like prison. It soon becomes clear that each of them possesses the peculiar skills necessary to escape, if they don't wind up dead first.
The Frighteners
R1996 · Horror, Comedy · 110m · Michael J. Fox, Trini Alvarado, Peter Dobson, John Astin
Once an architect, Frank Bannister now passes himself off as an exorcist of evil spirits. To bolster his facade, he claims his "special" gift is the result of a car accident that killed his wife. But what he does not count on is more people dying in the small town where he lives. As he tries to piece together the supernatural mystery of these killings, he falls in love with the wife of one of the victims and deals with a crazy FBI agent.
Stir of Echoes
R1999 · Horror, Mystery, Thriller · 99m · Kevin Bacon, Kathryn Erbe, Illeana Douglas, Zachary David Cope
After being hypnotized by his sister-in-law, Tom Witzky begins seeing haunting visions of a girl's ghost and a mystery begins to unfold around her.
In the Mouth of Madness
R1995 · Horror, Mystery · 95m · Sam Neill, Julie Carmen, Jürgen Prochnow, David Warner
An insurance investigator visits a small town while looking into the strange disappearance of a popular horror novelist. He soon finds that the impact of the author’s books is far more than inspirational.
The Reflecting Skin
R1990 · Drama, Thriller, Horror · 95m · Viggo Mortensen, Lindsay Duncan, Jeremy Cooper, Sheila Moore
In 1950s rural Idaho, a young boy watches helplessly as his friends and brother fall under the spell of a mysterious widow living up the road and becomes convinced that she is a vampire.