Best-Reviewed Horror Movies 2016

From supernatural happenings to bloodthirsty killers, these spooky flicks earned praise – and a fair number of shivers – from the critics.

The order of the list reflects the scores as of December 31, 2016, but the number displayed on the Adjusted Tomatometer may change as more reviews keep getting added after the end of the year.

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The Witch (2015)
91%

Adjusted Score: 107724%

Critics Consensus: As thought-provoking as it is visually compelling, The Witch delivers a deeply unsettling exercise in slow-building horror that suggests great things for debuting writer-director Robert Eggers.

Synopsis: In 1630 New England, panic and despair envelops a farmer, his wife and their children when youngest son Samuel suddenly... [More]

Starring: Anya Taylor-Joy, Ralph Ineson, Kate Dickie, Harvey Scrimshaw

Directed By: Robert Eggers

Green Room (2015)
90%

Adjusted Score: 101990%

Critics Consensus: Green Room delivers unapologetic genre thrills with uncommon intelligence and powerfully acted élan.

Synopsis: Members (Anton Yelchin, Alia Shawkat) of a punk-rock band and a tough young woman (Imogen Poots) battle murderous white supremacists... [More]

Starring: Anton Yelchin, Imogen Poots, Alia Shawkat, Joe Cole

Directed By: Jeremy Saulnier

The Love Witch (2016)
95%

Adjusted Score: 99909%

Critics Consensus: The Love Witch offers an absorbing visual homage to a bygone era, arranged subtly in service of a thought-provoking meditation on the battle of the sexes.

Synopsis: Elaine (Samantha Robinson), a beautiful young witch, is determined to find a man to love her. In her gothic Victorian... [More]

Starring: Samantha Robinson, Gian Keys, Laura Waddell, Jeffrey Vincent Parise

Directed By: Anna Biller

Don't Breathe (2016)
88%

Adjusted Score: 99586%

Critics Consensus: Don't Breathe smartly twists its sturdy premise to offer a satisfyingly tense, chilling addition to the home invasion genre that's all the more effective for its simplicity.

Synopsis: Rocky (Jane Levy), Alex and Money are three Detroit thieves who get their kicks by breaking into the houses of... [More]

Starring: Jane Levy, Dylan Minnette, Daniel Zovatto, Stephen Lang

Directed By: Fede Alvarez

The Conjuring 2 (2016)
80%

Adjusted Score: 91943%

Critics Consensus: The Conjuring 2 can't help but lose a bit of its predecessor's chilly sting through familiarity, but what remains is still a superior ghost story told with spine-tingling skill.

Synopsis: In 1977, paranormal investigators Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine Warren come out of a self-imposed sabbatical to travel to Enfield,... [More]

Starring: Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga, Madison Wolfe, Frances O'Connor

Directed By: James Wan