90s Horror Movies That Will Keep You Up All Night

After the release of "Scream", the mask now known as "The Scream Mask" has become a Halloween icon that you're sure to see at least ONE of each year.
Photo by: Khánh Hmoong, via Flickr. (CC BY-NC 2.0)

Although the 1980s are generally seen as the pinnacle of the Horror Movie genre, the 1990s definitely had some terrifying classics that were scary as anything. Some followed the slasher flick formula, but there were also a variety of horror movies that came out in the 90s that broke the mold, and changed the horror movie industry forever.

No matter what type of horror flick you like - slasher, suspense, twist endings, camp - the 90s had something for everyone, and so we've put together a list of our top horror flick faves from the 1990s.

• The Blair Witch Project (1999) - This film was an absolute game changer when it came to horror flicks. The move cost a mere $60,000 to make, and netted close to $250 million at the box office. The film's premise is that the film is "found footage" of three film students, who have traveled to a small town to document "The Blair Witch" a local legendary murderer. While the group collects statements from the townspeople, things take a creepy turn as it seems that this legend may in fact be true, and the trip starts experiencing absolutely terrifying things.
  
  Now, what's important to note about this film is that when it came out, many people believed it to be real, and of course the marketing team behind the film played that up. The movie was shot in the first person, the film was shaky, and it showed seemingly genuine fear, making it a viral hit almost instantaneously. While it's well known today that this was in fact a "mockumentary", not a real documentary, at the time the film was shocking, unique, and had a style that was unprecedented, which is why it became an instant classic.
  
  Although many have tried to recapture the excitement of the original Blair Witch movie, no one has really been able to recreate the terrifying and chilling atmosphere - the mystery, and the fact that the film felt as though it could have been "real footage" is what made it so scary, which is why it's been impossible to recreate - it's less spooky if you already know it's not really happening. If you haven't yet watched this one, you need to - it should be at the top of everyone's 90s Horror Movie Must-Watch Lists.
  
  
• Scream (1996) - Scream is another absolute classic horror flick, which as we all know, has been turned into its own franchise, and has even inspired a franchise of parodies over the years, and is credited by many with "revitalizing the horror genre in the 90s. The film is set is a small town in California, where a masked murderer, known as "Ghostface" terrorizes a high school girl, and murders her boyfriend after she fails to properly answer horror movie trivia questions. Things escalate as the town tries to figure out who the murderer is, and more bodies continue to drop - this is definitely a 90s Horror flick you simply can't miss.
  
  
• I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997) - As many a horror movie will teach you, accidentally killing someone and then making a pact with your friends to hide the murder, well, it never ends well. And that's exactly what "I Know What You Did Last Summer" is about. Four college-aged kids run over and kill a fisherman, and then throw his body into the sea, after making a pact to never talk about the incident again.
  
  Except their victim wakes up as he is being thrown away into the ocean. Flash forward a year, and one of the murderous college kid receive a note simply stating "I Know What You Did Last Summer", and that's the beginning of the horrors begin for the group, as someone is out for revenge, and avenging the death of the fisherman they so carelessly killed and tossed into the ocean.
  
  
• Stephen King's IT (1990) - Ok, so this one was a made for TV movie mini-series, but it's absolutely terrifying, and deserves to be on any list of top horror flicks, 90s or not. Any kid who grew up in the 90s will tell you that Tim Curry as Pennywise was the nightmare fuel that plagued a generation, and even if you've already gone out to see the newest full-length feature version of "IT" at your local theater, this version is worth a rewatch.
  
  
• The Silence of the Lambs (1991) - "Hello, Clarice." If you grew up in the 90s and didn't say this to your friends in your best Anthony Hopkins voice, well, then you're simply lying. This movie was an absolute smash hit, and cultural icon, and was something that everyone could quote, whether or not you'd see the movie or not. "The Silence of the Lambs" was actually the second film about Hannibal Lecter - though it is easily the most famous (the 1986 film "Manhunter" did not come close to the infamy of "The Silence of the Lambs").
  
  In the film, a young FBI agent, Clarice Starling, must work with Hannibal Lecter, the criminally insane serial killer psychologist to track down the "Buffalo Bill" killer. Definitely another 90s Horror Icon you can't miss out on. 

What's Your Favorite 90s Horror Movie? Let Us Know in the Comments Below!