One of the amazing things about the is how many different ways it can be effective. Classics like build tension slowly toward a horrifying reveal, while successful franchises like the movies make viewers squirm in their chairs at the creative sadism. However, it’s hard to beat a high-energy horror movie with a creative plot.

Whether it’s non-stop action, sharp and fun dialogue, or armrest-grabbing emotional stakes, The following horror movies grab hold of the viewer and don’t let go until the screen turns to black and the credits roll.

Sharp-toothed aliens descend upon a block of London flats in the stylish and entertaining A group of teenage hoodlums spend their days committing petty crimes near their home, but a fight with a strange alien creature attracts the extraterrestrial’s much larger and lethal friends. Caught between the guaranteed death of the alien’s jaws and the relentless pursuit of an angry drug dealer, the gang will need luck on their side to survive the night.

Imagine if they were juvenile detention center-bound, throw them against furry balls of death, and that should give a decent idea of what Attack the Block feels like. before they’re forced to fight their way through . Even though the events of the film take place over a few hours, Attack the Block manages to create a fully realized world of neighbors and drug dealers coexisting before the alien attack.

If the idea of a group of attractive young people going to a dangerous, remote cabin sounds cliché, there’s a reason for that in the inventive horror flick . When Dana () and her friends take a trip to a cabin straight out of a horror movie, they begin to act increasingly out of character. After they summon an undead threat to slaughter them one by one, the truth of their fate is revealed to be no accidental set of circumstances.

The Cabin in the Woods cleverly incorporates the tired tropes from decades of horror films and lovingly satirizes them with effective results. The writing is consistently sharp, and in the hands of the ensemble cast that includes future actor , they make it laugh-out-loud funny. The archetypes of horror movie characters are given fresh perspectives that humorously contextualize the reasons behind every lazy horror movie with a surprising explanation.

A masked killer inspired by famous horror movies is mutilating the teenagers of Woodsboro, California, in the slasher favorite Sidney Prescott () is a teen in the killer’s crosshairs who is also mourning the loss of her murdered mother a year prior. As Sidney and her friends are attacked, Sidney will have to avoid the killer's knife to learn the truth about the identity(s) of the person behind the mask.

The slasher film that , Scream kicks off the franchise with one of the most famous opening scenes in a modern horror movie. While the body count stays low until the film’s climactic third act, from a near-perfect script written by Proving new ideas could still be introduced to a recognizable format, Scream is as influential as it is enthralling.

A fever dream of ludicrous drive-in madness, is a gorefest that doesn’t mind being as silly as bloody. Ash Williams () just wants a romantic weekend with his girlfriend in a cabin only designed for a murderer, but an audio tape that activates the Book of the Dead spoils his plans. With his girlfriend now a possessed deadite, Ash will have to fight off the un-grooviest demons to ever crash a couple’s getaway.

the -directed sequel is a cult classic with a loyal fan following. Evil Dead II is a cinematic funhouse of macabre humor, bouncing Ash like a pinball through one playful blood-splattered encounter after another. Typically, a nagging problem with horror is a loose plot with no character development, but the strength of Campbell’s bombastic performance is so mesmerizing that it doesn’t matter if the story is thin.

Two outlaw brothers take a family hostage to sneak into Mexico, but they get more than they bargained for in the genre bender Seth Gecko () is a bank robber with plans for an escape to Mexico with his brother and partner, Richie Gecko (), but a high profile requires them to hitch a ride with a Pastor and his two kids at gunpoint. When they arrive at a Mexican bar designated as a meeting spot, the group finds the location to be a trap .

From Dusk Till Dawn pays tribute to the grindhouse horror movies from the 70s, but it contains enough modern edge to make it feel fresh and exciting throughout. Clooney will not be remembered as an action star, but in one of his rare outings as such, he plays the role with a rough-edged, ruthless charm to make him a hero who defies an easy label. For a fun and often silly vampire action fantasy, From Dusk Till Dawn is always a reliable choice.

A viral outbreak spreads across the world, leaving a few overwhelmed survivors to scramble for safety in the masterful . Jim () wakes up from a coma in a hospital abandoned in the wake of a deadly epidemic. Disoriented and overcome, Jim discovers a world overrun by packs of rage-filled infected humans who rip apart anyone within their field of vision.

There are two camps of zombie lovers who believe the living dead must either shamble or run, and 28 Days Later makes a strong argument for how scary the running version can be. that other zombie films struggle to capture. Murphy’s performance grounds the heightened aspects of the apocalyptic world, making 28 Days Later feel more akin to a documentary than a horrific fantasy.

After the events of , Ellen Ripley () has no choice but to fight an even larger threat in the sci-fi horror follow-up If taking on one sleek killing machine wasn’t enough, Ripley is thrown into an even more dangerous situation when she accompanies space marines to investigate a colony that made the fatal decision to plant roots near the cluster of xenomorph eggs. With the trained military unprepared for the threat, Ripley will have to use her wits and will to survive in order to kill the Alien queen.

It’s strange to think of Aliens as strictly a horror movie, but that’s because the pulse-pounding sequel does an equally strong job of being a science fiction epic and action movie all rolled into one. As one of the greatest sequels of all time, Aliens doesn’t try to repeat what the first movie did, but rather takes the concept and multiplies the threat until even a squad of heavily armed space marines doesn’t stand a chance.

Five young adults experience unspeakable horrors at the hands of a deranged family in the drive-in legend, . A road trip through a rural stretch of Texas hits a speed bump for Sally Hardesty () and her friends when they find themselves low on gas. A pit stop leads the group to search for a friendly face with fuel, but what they find is a cannibalistic group of murderers intent on having them for dinner.

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is a lean horror movie, coming in at just under 90 minutes, and it doesn’t waste any second of its runtime. without an explanation or time to react. By the end of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, the audience has journeyed through a southern fried slice of hell and feels as exhausted as the lone survivor, Sally.

An absentee father and his daughter take a train ride from hell in the South Korean instant classic Train to Busan. Seok-woo (Gong Yoo), a fund manager consumed by his job, misses the recital of his daughter Su-an (Kim Su-an) on the eve of her birthday. As an effort to make it up to her, he agrees to go on a train ride with Su-an to visit her mom. When they board the train the next day, a zombie outbreak follows them in the form of a recently bitten victim.

Train to Busan is a movie that rarely takes a breather once it starts, jumping from one cleverly designed setpiece to another. Somehow, amidst the chaos and blood-stained teeth-gnashing, well-rounded and likable characters each have moments where the audience bonds with them, only to be stabbed in the heart when they meet their fates. By the end, the survivors are physically exhausted, the audience is emotionally exhausted, and the memories of the experience will follow for days.

A wedding night is capped off by the worst party game ever in the sleeper horror-comedy hit Ready or Not. Grace (Samara Weaving) and Alex (Mark O’Brien) marry on his family’s large estate, but the new bride is informed of a peculiar family tradition. A Faustian deal requires the newly married member of the family to draw a game card from a cursed puzzle box. When Grace draws Hide or Seek, her in-laws must kill the bride or die at dawn as dictated by the family curse.

Ready or Not impressively combines comedy and horror to make an action-packed story that is consistently entertaining from beginning to end. A highlight of Weaving’s filmography, she announced herself as not only a capable lead but a commanding presence on screen who deserves more time with her name at the top of the poster. Relentless action, surprising plot twists, and dry humor are perfectly balanced to make this a must-watch for anyone who hasn’t had the chance.

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