Horroris an incredibly popular genre, which is strange considering people continue to watch films whose sole purpose is to scare them. Whether it’s the shocking deaths, like Charlie’s inHereditary, or because they are based on true events likeThe Strangers, people tune in for the thrill that comes from watching a scary movie.
For some, it’s the gore-filled scenesand the use of special effectsthat help make a scary movie too scary. For others, low-budget horror films likeTerrifierandLights Outcan incite enough fear. Most can appreciate an impactful final scene like inTheBlair Witch Project.Whether you like seeing your phobias played out on screen or you just enjoy a good scare, here are 20 of the scariest films that people have dubbed too scary to watch more than once.
Updated August 15, 2025: This article has been updated by Rachel Johnson with additional content to keep the discussion fresh and relevant with even more information and new entries.
Warning: Entries may include potential spoilers.
25Sinister (2012)
Sinisteris an aptly named horror movie starring Ethan Hawke. The 2012 horror film placed Hawke as a true crime writer who moves his family into a new home where the previous owners were murdered, but he doesn’t tell his family that part. He finds a box of Super 8 tapes in the attic that depict murders that date back to the 1960s, causing him to go on an investigative journey to discover the cause.
Sinister Contains a Demon That Preys on Children
He becomes obsessed with the tapes and with solving the murders, which brings him unknowingly face to face with a sinister force that uses children to murder their families. Thanks to the nature of children committing murders and the gruesome nature of the tapes, this film is often considered too scary to watch more than once, even though you would already know what happens.Stream on Max.
24Audition (1999)
Takashi Miike’s brutal psychological horror filmAuditionleft audiences squirming in their seats as they watched widower Shigeharu Aoyama concoct a bizarre mock casting audition to find a new potential wife, though his ultimate choice proves to be a menacing and unhinged young woman named Asami with nefarious motives. The deeply unsettling movie focuses on Aoyama as he becomes caught in Asami’s barbaric and violent web of lies and deceit, leading to a deadly grand finale.
Viewers Are Subjected to Mental Torture Through Audition
Auditionis definitely a film you can only watch once, as the disturbing imagery and suffocating feeling of dread consume viewers while Aoyama is subjected to unfathomable torture and horrors.Auditionbuilds to a horrific climax that will leave people wondering just who they should have sympathized with, with the final act leaving a lasting impression. The Japanese picture has appeared on numerous lists of best horror films ever made and went on to have a profound impact on Western cinema anddirector Eli Roth.Stream on Tubi.
23Funny Games (2007)
Funny Games
An English-language remake of the Austrian psychological horror flick,Funny Gamesis a deeply unsettling film that centers on a married couple and their son, who, while vacationing at a lake house, become targeted by two sadistic young men who proceed to taunt and torture the family in horrific ways. Original directorMichael Haneke returnedto write and direct the shot-for-shot remake, setting out to criticize the violence depicted in the media.
Audiences Are Unwilling Accomplices in Funny Games
Michael Pitt and Brady Corbet were downright petrifying as the demented criminals targeting the couple, who take great pride in inflicting perverse pain upon the family, leaving shocked audiences on the edge of their seats. Haneke has the violent strangers break the fourth wall frequently, making viewers feel as though they are in on their psychotic crusade and thus leaving them sick to their stomachs.Rent/Buy on Apple TV+.
22The Descent (2005)
The Descent
The Descentis a 2005 horror film with an almost entirely female cast. The women go on a caving expedition a year after Sarah’s husband and daughter are killed in a tragic accident. The semi-professional group is used to caving, but even they were unprepared for what they found in the depths.
Audiences Are Lost in the Depths of Darkness with The Descent
When the group gets stuck in a new cave without a map, they find that they’re not the only ones down there. Between the creatures stalking them and the tension of some revealed secrets,The Descentis often called one of thescariest films of the 2000sand is sure to make courageous viewers claustrophobic due to the tight and dark spaces the women find themselves in as they are terrorized by unfathomable evil.Stream Free on Prime Video with Freevee.
21Mother! (2017)
Undeniably one of the most shocking and polarizing films in recent years is Darren Aronofsky’s psychological horror spectacleMother!, which led to a heated debate about whether or not the movie was a terrifying triumph or a disturbing dud. It follows a young wife and muse as she peacefully lives in a sprawling country home with her poet husband, only to find their serene existence compromised by the arrival of a strange couple.
Mother! Is a Dizzying & Grizzly Roller Coaster Ride
Brimming with biblical allegories and unapologetic depictions of violence,Mother!takes audiences on a heartbreaking emotional roller coaster ride as the main heroine is plagued by unfathomable horrors and gruesome visions, with her sanity being challenged as the film amps up the blood and carnage. It is without a doubt acontroversial and horrific picturethat can only be stomached for one viewing.Stream on Pluto.
Iconichorror aficionado Fede Álvarezdirected the hair-raising remake of the ’80s horror classicEvil Dead, which centers on a young woman attempting to overcome her drug habit as she heads off to a secluded cabin in the woods with supportive close friends. When the group finds the ominous Book of the Dead, they unwittingly unleash an ancient malevolent demon that targets them one by one after the recovering addict becomes possessed by the evil entity.
Evil Deadis downright pulse-pounding from start to finish, as the crushing terror the unsuspecting group endures delivers blood-curdling frights and grisly blood and gore for moviegoers.Deemed by criticsas “the most unrelenting and bloody horror film to come out of a major studio in a very long time”, the remake stunned audiences with its never-ending gore, violence, and nightmare-inducing visuals.Stream on Max.
19The Conjuring (2013)
The Conjuring
Loosely inspired by the alleged real-life case that paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren researched in 1970s Rhode Island,The Conjuringchronicles the disturbing haunting of the Perron family at their remote farmhouse, which escalated so violently that the renowned demonologists were called in to help. After the Perrons uncover the dark history of their new home, a malicious supernatural presence plagues the frightened family.
Horror master James Wan expertly crafted a foreboding, tension-filled atmosphere that left viewers frozen in fear throughout the entirety of the film, with the potential threat of what’s lurking around every corner proving to be more unnerving than the demonic entities themselves. The taut pacing ofThe Conjuringpaired with the chilling build-up to the electrifying scares and purported real-life element helped make the horror hit one that fans of the genre will not be able to forget.Stream on Netflix.
18Train to Busan (2016)
Train to Busan
Yeon Sang-ho brilliantly blended adrenaline-pumping action with terrifying horror with his smash hitTrain to Busan, a powerful and devastating film that primarily takes place on a speeding trainfrom Seoul to Busanwhere a workaholic father is accompanying his estranged daughter to her mother’s. When a zombie apocalypse suddenly strikes, the man is in the fight for his life as he becomes trapped with infected fellow passengers.
Train to Busan’s Unrelenting Horror & Anxiety
Not only isTrain to Busana gripping, electrifying film that will have you holding your breath out of fear for the father and his young daughter, but it will also leave audiences emotionally drained as the main character attempts to make up for his shortcomings as a parent as he struggles to keep his child safe from gruesome zombies. The disquieting visuals, anxiety-filled chase scenes, and gut-punch ending are just some of the reasons watchingTrain to Busanmore than once is a difficult task for viewers.Stream on Peacock.
17The Strangers (2008)
The Strangers
The Strangersis famously based on true events, which increases its overall scare factor. The 2008 film takes place in an isolated summer vacation home where a young couple is stalked by three assailants in masks, simply “because they were home.”
The Strangers Is an Unsettling Slow Burn
As the taut film progresses, the masked individuals become increasingly more violent and ultimately deadly. This progression of thrill and the limited dialogue by the stalkers makesThe Strangersone of the most terrifying and downright ominous horror films ever made. You really only need to watch it once.Stream on Max.
16Goodnight Mommy (2014)
The dark and deeply violent Austrian horror filmGoodnight Mommytells the story of inseparable twin brothers who begin to grow suspicious of their mother and her true identity after she returns to their secluded home after undergoing facial surgery. The siblings decide to take matters into their own hands and subdue the woman, leading to a series of shocking revelations and events.
Tension & Terror Slowly Build in Goodnight Mommy
Goodnight Mommyis perhaps best described as a massively unsettling,slow-burn psychological picturethat is certain to make audiences squirm as the twins terrorize their vulnerable mother and amp up the warfare. It is an abstract horror film that is hard to watch more than once, if not for the unnerving performances of the young lead actors.Stream on Freevee.
11 Horror Movies That Lied About Being Based on a True Story
While “Based on a True Story” can add a level of tension to a film, that claim is not always as truthful as horror movies make it out to be.
