Horror movies are (almost) everyone’s favorite genre, whether it’s about ghosts or ghouls, or an insane murderer on the loose. Of course, it can be difficult to identify which horror movies are good, so here is a ranking of seven excellent horror movies, handpicked by yours truly, to watch before Halloween.

#7: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

“The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” is a much older horror movie, specifically a slasher film, that follows a group of teenagers on a summer trip. They plan on visiting an old slaughterhouse that each of the teens is connected to. After the events of visiting a cemetery, nearly getting killed by an insane hitchhiker, and stopping by a gas station, they finally arrive, but unfortunately, thanks to curiosity, one by one, the teenagers fall victim to a mad killer on the loose.

This movie is generally a nice classic, and in terms of horror, it offers gore, tension, and a lot of screaming. For certain audiences, the movie likely wouldn’t be scary due to the lack of jump scares, but a lot of its success depends more on its sensory details. While a couch made of bones and very long screams of pain aren’t terrifying, it focuses on what the characters are feeling when they’re in the scene, making this the perfect laid-back scare. It may be the lowest ranked on this list, but it’s on here for a reason, so give it a go!

#6: The Black Phone

“The Black Phone” is set in 1978, when a serial child abductor, coined “The Grabber,” stalks the streets of a suburb in Denver. Protagonist Finney and his sister Gwen Blake live in the community with their alcoholic father. At school, Finney is often bullied and picked on by the other kids, but is protected by his friend Robin. Suddenly, a boy that Finney knew, named Bruce, is kidnapped by the Grabber. The Grabber later abducts Robin, and mere days later, Finney himself is abducted. Finney wakes to a soundproof basement with nothing but a disconnected single black phone, which the Grabber claims “does not work.” He leaves the door unlocked, so Finney prepares to sneak out, only to be stopped by a ring. The phone rings again. A boy on the phone named Billy explained that this was a game that the Grabber played. He would wait for a victim to leave the basement, only to be stopped and brutally beaten by him.

From cinematics to suspense, “The Black Phone” claims it all as one of the best horror-suspense movies to be directed. While it is not heavy on traditional jump scares, “The Black Phone” still creates a horror-esque mood with its creepy delivery of an emotional story.

#5: Smile

“Smile” follows Dr. Rose Cotter, a psychiatrist traumatized by her mother’s death when she was 10. The story doesn’t waste any time, jumping right into the madness. It opens with an emergency session with graduate student Laura–who just days earlier–witnessed the grisly murder of her professor, Gabriel Munoz. Munoz bludgeoned himself to death with a hammer, passing on the curse to Laura. She frantically swore that she was being hunted and possessed by some creature, who had consumed her life, transforming everyone she loved into a wicked smile. Cotter managed to diagnose the issue as a severe case of hallucinations, but Laura pleads that she was being possessed. She claims the entity had the power to manipulate her brain, making other people appear to be smiling. No more than a few minutes after, she freaked out, smiling forbiddingly and suddenly cut open her neck with shards from a broken vase in the room.

With this incident, Rose becomes the next victim of the parasitic smile curse, beginning to see Laura smiling threateningly at her everywhere. Her patients, friends, and family all wear that twisted smile.

If you’re looking for a psychological thriller, then this is the movie for you. From its jump scares to its mind-bending plotline, “Smile” takes viewers through a roller coaster of emotions, and unsurprisingly, Smile 2  doesn’t fall short, either.

#4: Smile 2

“Smile 2” is the next movie in a (possibly 3) movie franchise. Pop star Skye Riley embarks on a new world tour, but the journey ahead of her is not one for the faint of heart. Her history of drug abuse caused her to seek a backdoor supplier, Lewis Fegoli. The plot is set into motion when Skye meets Lewis for some painkillers to help ease the chronic back pain she developed a year prior. Lewis is clearly disturbed, though; he is acting erratically and fearfully as if someone were in the room with them. Originally, Skye intended to take the pills from Lewis without much difficulty, but far too much difficulty is met when the situation quickly escalates with Lewis threatening Skye not to leave and then quickly apologizing. He murmurs of a monster taking over him, and in a quick turn, he flashes a distorted smile, grabs a heavy weight plate, and slams it into his face until he lies dead on the floor and passes the curse to Skye.

Skye, now having to overcome the pressures of a world tour, must also find a way to destroy the smile entity before it destroys her.

If you have a movie marathon planned, the Smile movie series is the perfect match for you! The second movie flows perfectly with the first and doesn’t stop messing with your head until the very end–and even then, it leaves you with something to ponder.

#3: Insidious

“Insidious” is your typical ghost movie but with a spookier twist. The movie follows a small family in a large house who are living their best life, until their son, Dalton, goes into a three-month coma. But this isn’t just a basic coma, and when abnormal occurrences start happening around the house, the family thinks it’s best to move away.  However, the abnormality doesn’t end, happening again in the new home, and after getting help from an expert, they realize that their house isn’t haunted–their son is.

It’s an incredibly tense movie, and the ending was unique (will not be mentioned due to spoilers), along with really good unexpected or horrifying scares. Specifically, there’s a scene where the mother and father are being told about what’s going on with their son, and when they’re done, all of a sudden, there’s a blood red demon mouth-breathing behind the dad. This moment was so incredibly unexpected (Mouth-breathing? Really?) that I consider it to be the best jumpscare. The story is also well thought out, despite being a basic ghost story. If you’re looking to get scared, if you’re looking for an interesting plot, and if you’re looking for tension, watch this movie.

#2: IT

“IT” is the quintessential horror movie. The plot follows a young boy named Georgie who plays in the rain with a paper boat. Eventually, the toy boat falls down a gutter, and when looking inside, Georgie sees a clown named Pennywise, who offers Georgie to take the boat. Georgie reaches down, but in a surprising twist of events, his arm is suddenly torn off by Pennywise’s teeth, and he is dragged down and murdered. Cut to the present day, a group of unpopular teenage kids have been traumatized by the clown, and they’ve all agreed that they won’t rest until they find him and end his reign of terror.

This movie is undeniably scary, and the plot is, although basic, executed excellently; if you’re looking for a scare, definitely consider this one. The old-timey feel of the setting puts this movie together, and the scariest part of the movie isn’t even the clown; it’s the school bullies. They do some things that are looser with the word “bullying” and more firm with the term “attempted murder.”  Jokes aside, it’s entirely worth giving this movie a go; this is one of the best killer clown movies around. From impressive jump scares to sociopathic bullies, IT is a movie that won’t fall short of expectations.

#1: Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

This movie is definitely a favorite amongst many and is an extremely unique one too. Although it is a sequel, it isn’t necessary to have watched the original. The movie follows a woman named Lydia who is the host of a show called “Ghost House.” However, mid-show, she suddenly sees a man who looks all too familiar to her: Beetlejuice. The movie explains that in her past, she nearly ended up having to make a deal with the man from her past childhood (involving her to marry the demon), but she managed to get out of it; unfortunately for her, he isn’t gone permanently, and it’s hinted that Beetlejuice needs her for something.

This technically isn’t a horror movie; more accurately, it is a horror comedy. The plot is incredible, and the movie is a must-see. The movie’s setting is extremely unique, too, featuring the underworld to be more urban than other versions, for one. Although lacking actual horror, this movie is definitely worth a look, especially on Halloween.