When it comes to the following 13 films we are, at times, using the adjective “good” loosely to mean “fun to watch” as opposed to “an exceptional piece of art.” This isn’t true for all inclusions on this list, of course, and we trust you’ll know the difference. Here, 13 scary movies to resurrect from the ’90s this Halloween season, featuring a decent number of the era’s biggest hotties including George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Jared Leto, Ryan Phillippe and more.
Scream (1996)
The Scream franchise has been credited with breathing new life into the horror genre in the late 90s, and was critically-acclaimed for its meta, humorous approach. The 1997 original, Scream, remains the highest-grossing slasher film of all time, and it's still a tense watch all these years later. The iconic film stars Drew Barrymore, Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox and David Arquette, among others.
You can watch Scream 2 and Scream: The Series on Netflix. Scream can be rented on Amazon.
The Blair Witch Project (1999)
The Blair Witch Project was unlike anything most of us had ever seen before at the time of its release in 1999, given that it was marketed as found video camera footage rather than as a deliberately-shot fictional film. Seeds of the story were planted prior to the film's release in an organic way that built suspense, anticipation and speculation. Audiences were even led to believe that the actors playing the lead roles were actually deceased.
You can watch The Blair Witch Project with a 7-day trial subscription on Amazon.
The Silence Of The Lambs (1991)
You know a film's iconic when it's been spoofed on multiple occasions, with parodies showing up everywhere from The Academy Awards to Family Guy. Silence of the Lambs is based on a book of the same name, which centers around an FBI detective forced to enlist the help of a cannibalistic serial killer in order to catch a second suspect. Anthony Hopkins's performance in the film is unparalleled.
You can rent Silence of the Lambs on Amazon.
Arachnophobia (1990)
This horror-comedy film plays on the worst fears of virtually every human on the planet, even if they don't technically suffer from arachnophobia. It centers around a small town terrorized by the introduction of a deadly spider breed, and it stars comedy heavy-hitters John Goodman and Jeff Daniels.
You can rent Arachnophobia on Amazon.
The Sixth Sense (1999)
"I see dead people," as uttered by a young Haley Joel Osment, may just be one of the freakiest, and most iconic, lines in all of cinema history. This statement was closely followed by the line, "They want me to do things for them," which should give you a pretty good sense (bad pun intended) of what this thriller is about if you somehow haven't yet seen it.
You can rent The Sixth Sense on Amazon.
Se7en (1995)
You know a film's got to be good when it stars (90s-era) Brad Pitt, Gwyneth Paltrow, Morgan Freeman and Kevin Spacey, and was directed by David Fincher. Fincher fought the studio hard to maintain the film's gruesome ending, a bet that paid off when Se7en became the seventh-highest grossing film of the year.
You can rent Se7en on Amazon.
I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997)
The cast of I Know What You Did Last Summer is a 90s teenaged dream team—the film features Jennifer Love Hewitt, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe and Freddie Prinze, Jr. It wasn't exactly a critical darling, but it was and continues to be a fan favorite regardless.
You can stream I Know What You Did Last Night for free on Amazon.
Urban Legend (1998)
Okay, so "good" definitely isn't a perfect description of this film—which was created in the aftermath of I Know What You Did Last Summer's success—but it's a fun one to re-watch nonetheless. Urban Legend stars a young Jared Leto—a fact about which we'd forgotten—as well as a blonde Joshua Jackson and Tara Reid.
You can buy Urban Legend to stream on Amazon.
Interview With The Vampire (1994)
In the 90s, author Anne Rice was a very big deal, and this 1994 adaptation of her book Interview with a Vampire made waves as well. That it was such a successful film has perhaps to do with casting, given that Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise both starred in the film at the height of their heartthrob years. A very young Kirsten Dunst also featured, and was nominated for a Golden Globe for her performance in the role.
You can stream Interview with a Vampire for free on Amazon.
From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)
This black horror comedy stars George Clooney, Quentin Tarantino, Harvey Keitel and Juliette Lewis, and was directed by Robert Rodriguez. The vampire flick wasn't exactly universally beloved at the time of its release, but it's since acquired quite the cult following.
You can stream From Dusk Till Dawn for free on Amazon.
Sleepy Hollow (1999)
This Tim Burton-directed version of Sleepy Hollow stars Johnny Depp and a very young Christina Ricci. The film, which TIME called "Burton's richest, prettiest, weirdest film since Batman Returns," won an Oscar for art direction.
You can stream Sleepy Hollow for free on Amazon.
Teaching Mrs. Tingle (1999)
This script is so good that the studio only agreed to make it after the success of the screenwriter's newer film Scream, which is to say that the script is not very good at all. Still, there's something compelling about Teaching Mrs. Tingle, not the least of which may be that it stars a pre-Cruise Katie Holmes and, inexplicably, Helen Mirren.
You can rent Teaching Mrs. Tingle on Amazon.
The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
While we haven't seen this film since we were children, we remember it being quite creepy—not Silence of the Lambs-level creepy, but creepy nonetheless (especially for a Disney film). It tells the story of a "Halloween Town" resident who stumbles upon the decidedly more cheerful "Christmas Town" and subsequently becomes obsessed with trying to celebrate the new holiday. We dare you to try avoiding the Halloween spirit with "This is Halloween," the film's most notable song, repeating on loop in your head.
You can rent The Nightmare Before Christmas on Amazon.
