Famed horror novelist Stephen King has long been known for being as much a fan of the genre as he is one of its foremost creators. From posting X (formerly Twitter) to sharing his approval for his favorite new horror releases, to Dense Macabre, his non-fiction exploration of the history of horror fiction, King has often publicly expressed his adoration for a variety of classic and modern flicks, some of which belong to the list of best horror movies of all time.
Many of King’s own works have been adapted, to varying successes, by iconic filmmakers, such as Stanley Kubrick and Frank Darabont, with many more Stephen King movie adaptations on the way. King made his own, and only, attempt at venturing into filmmaking with the critically panned 1980s film Maximum Overdrive, which earned him a Razzie nomination for Worst Director, and whose troubled production surely enhanced his appreciation for what it takes to make a great film. Some of Stephen King’s favorite horror movies were mentioned by the author on social media and in interviews over the years, as well as in his 1981 book.
10 The Exorcist
Directed by the great William Friedkin, this story of a demonically possessed young girl, her desperate mother, and the Catholic priests who attempt to perform an exorcism on her was the first of only six horror films ever nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. The film mixes an emotionally riveting story of a grieving mother with a terrifying depiction of the supernatural. In response to the death of The Exorcist‘s late director, King praised the film on X and called its director “a deeply talented filmmaker”.
9 Barbarian
Zach Cregger of comedy troupe Whitest Kids U’Know ventured into horror, and his first feature as solo director, with 2022’s Barbarian, starring Georgina Campbell, Justin Long, and modern genre favorite Bill Skarsgård. In Barbarian, a woman arrives at her rental home to find it has been double-booked, with her being expected to share the home with the man who is also staying there. She soon comes to learn of the house’s many secrets in this super original and incredibly unpredictable mixture of horror and shock comedy. Responding to a tweet from a fan asking if he had seen Barbarian, King responded “Yeah, that movie blew me away. It was crazy! Crazy GOOD!”
8 Psycho
Like many horror creators and fans, King is indebted to the iconic works of Alfred Hitchcock. Psycho follows a woman on the run from the law after stealing a large sum of money who comes across a motel inhabited by its polite but odd proprietor Norman and his mother. In an article for Entertainment Weekly, King wrote of a drug-addled paranoid experience he had watching one of the director’s most revered films, Psycho, in which a college-aged King became convinced that the ominously creepy mother of the film was “sitting directly behind me and would soon reach out to stroke the back of my neck.”
7 No One Will Save You
King recently expressed his approval for Hulu’s newest horror, No One Will Save You, on his X account. The science fiction horror film starring Kaitlyn Dever follows a lonely woman whose house is intruded by aliens. The movie is unique for its near-total lack of speaking, with No One Will Save You having only one line of dialogue. King recommended the film, calling it “brilliant, daring, involving, scary” and “truly unique”, while favorably comparing it to an episode of The Twilight Zone.
6 Suspiria
One of the most influential horror films of all time is the original Suspiria, directed by famous Italian filmmaker Dario Argento. The movie follows an American ballerina at a prestigious German dance school and a series of brutal murders that lead her to a shocking discovery. It’s a brilliant example of the Italian giallo horror genre which mixes mystery and terror and is a predecessor to modern slasher films. The film was effectively remade in 2018, but nothing beats the original. King briefly mentioned his adoration for this supernatural horror in his 1981 non-fiction book Dense Macabre.
5 The Autopsy of Jane Doe
Brian Cox, of Succession fame, and Emile Hirsch play father-and-son coroners who spend all night performing an autopsy and uncovering unexplainable things in The Autopsy of Jane Doe. King took to X to commend the atmospheric, foreboding mystery, calling it a “visceral horror to rival ALIEN and early Cronenberg.” His comparison of The Autopsy of Jane Doe to the classic horror flick Alien and the work of legendary body-horror director David Cronenberg is high praise for this low-budget film.
4 The Hitcher
A mix of suspense, action, and true terror, The Hitcher follows a young man on a cross-country delivery when he picks up a homicidal hitchhiker. King personally selected this for a 2017 film series “King on Screen” with the British Film Institute. He also wrote about it in an updated edition of Dense Macabre, saying that Rutger Hauer as the film’s maniac killer “will never be topped.”
3 The Changeling
King has often referenced haunted house horror The Changeling when mentioning his favorite films. In his talk during the “King on Screen” series, the author commended the film for its effective slow-burn terror, saying that even though “there are no monsters” it was “enough to scare the daylights” out of the author. He also mentioned the film Dense Macabre, describing the intersection of a subplot about a powerful politician attempting to hide his dark secrets with the ghost story of the film as “a weird mix of ghosts and Watergate”.
2 The Witch
It’s no shock that King is a fan of one of modern horror’s biggest directors, Robert Eggers, whose mix of arthouse and commercial sensibilities have won him a loyal fanbase since his debut The Witch. King praised Egger’s period horror debut, specifically for its combination of drama and terror, tweeting that it is “a real movie, tense and thought-provoking”. The Witch is heavily inspired by the Salem Witch Trials and other true stories. The movie about an isolated Puritan family whose youngest son suddenly vanishes, which King also mentioned “scared the hell out of me,” stars Anya-Taylor Joy in her breakout role.
1 Jaws
In several interviews, as well as in his book, Stephen King named Steven Spielberg’s smash-hit Jaws as one of his favorite movies of all time. Jaws earned an Oscar nomination for Best Picture and its massive summer success coined the term ‘Summer Blockbuster’. With its brilliant slow-building tension, its weighty dramatic stakes, and of course its terrifying underwater antagonist, it’s easy to see why the author is such a fan of this classic film.
