We’ve compiled the Absolute Ranking of ghost and spirit movies. The study is based on data from 25 professional and thematic sources with a combined reach of around 900 million people per month. The ranking takes into account online audience polls, box office receipts, critics’ ratings, as well as the results of internal editorial voting.
Poltergeist
1982 / Thriller, Horror / USA
The Absolute Ranking opens with the 1982 film that has become a genre classic over the years, consistently topping international charts. The Freeling family’s house is engulfed in strange events: their beloved canary dies, furniture moves by itself, dishes shatter, and their youngest daughter, Carol Anne, seems enchanted as she stands before the television screen, conversing with someone. After the little girl is drawn into a parallel world, her parents seek help and strive to save themselves and their children. “Poltergeist” was brought to life by two masters: Tobe Hooper, known for “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” and Steven Spielberg. Their collaboration resulted in a truly epochal horror film. The movie taps into childhood fears, from the eerie silhouette of a tree outside the window to a clown doll that instills terror instead of smiles and laughter. “Poltergeist” introduced numerous clichés that later became staples in cinema and spawned a franchise, including sequels in 1986 and 1988, as well as a 2015 remake.
The Conjuring
2013 / Thriller, Horror, Mystery / USA
One of the few horror films beginning with the title card “Based on a True Story.” World-renowned paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren arrive at a remote farm in Rhode Island to help the Perron family, who are experiencing ghostly activity in their new home. Upon investigation, they realize they’re not dealing with just one demon, but an entire legion of evil. The Perron family’s story is detailed in Andrea Perron’s book “House of Darkness, House of Light,” and both Ed and Lorraine Warren served as consultants for the film. “The Conjuring” is another horror gem from director James Wan, known for “Saw” and “Insidious,” and is considered by many critics to be his scariest full-length work. The film is shot in an exquisite retro style, and fear is induced not by fantastical ghostly appearances but by suspense and anticipation. The movie marked the beginning of a major franchise, presenting cinematic depictions of cases from the real-life investigations of paranormal researchers Ed and Lorraine Warren. Alongside the “Annabelle” series, all three parts form a cycle officially dubbed “The Conjuring Universe” by Warner Bros.
Oculus
2013 / Horror, Mystery / USA
The plot revolves around one of the popular horror artifacts – an antique mirror that Tim and Kaylie’s parents once bought at a flea market. Gradually, the mirror begins to influence the father and mother, driving them to madness, and eventually to murder. Tim spends many years in a psychiatric facility afterward, almost recovering from childhood trauma, but his sister convinces him that their parents were killed by the old mirror and they must uncover its secrets. What’s most striking about the film is the persistence and erudition of the main character, Kaylie, who, unlike her peers, knows all the rules of fighting evil, from proper equipment and water and food supplies to meticulously prepared weapons to destroy the mirror. Besides the mysterious ghost, the movie is filled with gruesome bloody scenes. However, it’s hard to categorize the film as a true horror; it’s more of a thriller with elements of mystique. “Oculus” is directed by Mike Flanagan, who, following its successful release, went on to produce several other worthy horror films, including “Ouija: Origin of Evil” (2016) and the cult sequel to “The Shining” – “Doctor Sleep” (2019).
The Grudge
2004 / Thriller, Horror, Mystery
An American remake of the Japanese film of the same name from 2002. American student Karen travels to Japan with her boyfriend and takes a job caring for an elderly English woman. After some time, she realizes why the previous caregiver didn’t show up for work: inexplicable things are happening in the house. It turns out that many years ago, a murder occurred there. Since then, the ghosts of the victims have been seeking out victims to feed on their energy. Takashi Shimizu generously fills the film with chilling images of ghosts, enhancing their appearances with a characteristic sound reminiscent of wheezing from a wounded throat (in reality, this sound was created using a regular hair comb). The director’s cut is six minutes longer than the final version, from which the most terrifying scenes were cut. Already by the end of the first week of release, producers decided to continue this story. “The Grudge,” according to genre enthusiasts, is a brilliant, genuinely frightening American film that unexpectedly turned out to be better than the Japanese original and spawned several sequels.
Insidious
2010 / Thriller, Horror, Mystery / USA
The Lambert family, with many children, makes the ultimate mistake of horror movies—moving into a new house with a bad reputation. Moreover, the family members break all the rules of living in such a place: they walk alone at night, rummage through old items in the attic, and meddle in matters they shouldn’t, trying to understand the unexplained phenomena occurring around them. As a result, one of the children falls from the stairs and loses consciousness for a long time. Doctors unsuccessfully try to treat the boy, but it turns out he’s not sick at all—his body is possessed by terrifying spirits. Screenwriter Leigh Whannell said that when he wrote his script, he had a list of horror movie clichés that should not be used. However, the film still contains many attributes of a solid horror: creaking doors and floors, shadows outside the window, interference on the radio, cluttered attic, whispers, strange noises in the silence, and other phenomena that build tension. “Insidious” eventually gained its share of fame and spawned sequels—second, third, and fourth parts. At the end of last year, it was announced that actor Patrick Wilson, who played the main character in the first two films, would direct the fifth installment.
Mama
2013 / Thriller, Horror / Canada
A few years ago, Jeffrey, bankrupt and literally losing his mind, took his daughters to an abandoned cabin in the woods, killed his wife, and disappeared under mysterious circumstances. Several years later, his brother Lucas finds his nieces – they miraculously survived, physically healthy but not speaking, moving strangely, and completely feral. It turns out that during these years, a mysterious entity had been looking after them. The girls call her “mama,” and she has no intention of leaving her daughters, no matter how hard their relatives try to hide them. Produced by Guillermo del Toro, the film about ghosts and a cursed old house is yet another one in which the viewer is scared by the eerie image of young children. Meanwhile, the director manages to instill horror through the actors’ body movements, a few staged tricks, and the familiar horror trope – a cabin in the woods. Following his debut work “Mama” (which grew out of his eponymous short film), director Andrés Muschietti will go on to direct the famous film “It,” which will become the highest-grossing horror film in cinema history and a leader in other thematic rankings.
The Sixth Sense
1999 / Drama, Thriller, Mystery / USA
Psychiatrist Malcolm Crowe (Bruce Willis) is known for helping children cope with their fears and phobias. One day, a boy named Cole comes to him for help, claiming to see ghosts of dead people. Cole’s issue reminds the doctor of his only failed case in his practice: several years ago, he couldn’t help one of his patients, who later committed suicide as an adult. The multi-genre film “The Sixth Sense” instantly made M. Night Shyamalan a household name and attached to him the label of a “brilliant young director,” a reputation he spent decades unsuccessfully trying to live up to. But this film remained the pinnacle of his career, earning six Oscar nominations. Released in 1999, the film grossed over $300 million, second only to the first episode of “Star Wars,” and became the all-time highest-grossing video rental. To this day, “The Sixth Sense” is considered by critics as one of the best thrillers of all time with its unexpected twists.
The Others
2001 / Thriller, Horror, Mystery / USA, Spain, France, Italy
The top three is opened by the historical thriller about ghosts by Alejandro Amenábar, in which one of her best roles was played by Nicole Kidman. On the misty British island of Jersey, a mother lives with her two children who suffer from a rare form of allergy – they cannot tolerate daylight. Driven to madness by worries and loneliness, the main heroine gradually descends into the abyss of insanity, especially when strange servants appear in the house and ghosts begin to wander. “The Others” is a remake of the British film “The Innocents” from 1961, which leads all international rankings of ghost movies. Thanks to its style and the magnificent performance by Nicole Kidman, “The Others” is mentioned in practically every selection of horror movies. The popularity of Amenábar’s film shows that it does not need expensive special effects to keep the audience’s attention from the first to the last minute.
The Ring
2002 / Horror, Mystery
The American psychological horror film directed by Gore Verbinski starring Naomi Watts. It’s a remake of the 1998 Japanese horror film “The Ring,” based on the novel of the same name by Koji Suzuki. Journalist Rachel Keller investigates the case of her niece, who mysteriously died after watching a videotape. It turns out that several other teenagers died at the same time as the girl. The culprit is a mysterious videotape that kills viewers exactly seven days after watching it. The American film gained popularity from the start thanks to a powerful marketing campaign: viewers found the “cursed” videotape on their seats at premieres, and car owners found it under their windshield wipers. “The Ring” is one of the most famous and successful film franchises, spawning numerous remakes and even parodies.
The Shining
1980 / Drama, Horror / USA, UK
The top spot in the Absolute Ranking is taken by Stanley Kubrick’s psychological thriller, based on the novel by Stephen King. Writer Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson), along with his wife and young son, moves into a deserted mountain hotel for the winter. Gradually, malevolent spirits drive the head of the family insane, turning him into a bloodthirsty killer. “The Shining” leads all lists of horror movies and rankings of films about ghosts in both foreign and domestic publications. This is despite the fact that Stephen King himself has admitted to hating Kubrick’s adaptation, which deviated from the original depiction of the main characters and exhausted the actors with grueling shoots. “The Shining” became one of the magnificent examples of masterful use of sound editing in the history of cinema. The sounds in the film are as frightening as the scenes with door smashing and the eerie twins, which subsequently became the most recognizable images in cinema.