Key Insights
- Replay Value: Horror movies often have a high replay value due to their compelling narratives.
- Emotional Weight: The emotional depth of characters enhances the viewing experience upon rewatching.
- Variety of Genres: The selection includes various horror sub-genres, appealing to diverse audience preferences.
- Box Office Success: Many rewatchable horror films have achieved significant box office success.
Horror movies have a high replay value. If that idea sounds odd, it’s understandable to think that once the surprises of the film are revealed, a horror movie loses its effectiveness to scare or entertain. However, at the core of most great horror movies is a clear-cut battle between good and evil, and that’s a story we gravitate toward as audiences.
A list covering the most rewatchable horror movies could be a thousand entries long, and there would be no wrong answer, because everyone has a favorite they go back to. That said, there is a selection of horror movies that fans generally agree stand above the rest. From clever murder mysteries to gory alien invasions, these are the most rewatchable horror movies of the 21st century.
20
‘A Quiet Place’ (2018)
A new horror franchise introduced a monster with fantastic hearing in <em>A Quiet Place</em>. The Abbott family are survivors in a world that has been torn apart by an invasion of aliens that locate their prey by sound. After experiencing a painful loss, the Abbots risk their safety when mother Evelyn (Emily Blunt) becomes pregnant with another child.
Even though A Quiet Place’s strength lies in building tension around the family’s survival, the film retains its power on a rewatch. The strong performances from Blunt and co-writer/director John Krasinski lose none of their effectiveness and carry different emotional weight after seeing the movie’s ending. The expertly paced sci-fi thriller was definitely rewatched in theaters, making an estimated $341 million on a $17 million budget.
19
‘Evil Dead Rise’ (2023)
Evil Dead Rise was a return to gruesome form for the beloved Evil Dead series. When the Deadites are summoned to an old apartment building, the vicious demons wreak havoc on the frightened tenants trapped inside. As the Deadites possess or kill anyone in their path, Beth (Lily Davis), a woman visiting her sister, will be the last line of defense to keep her family alive.
Evil Dead Rise continues the tradition of Evil Dead films by giving audiences a movie that grabs them from the start and refuses to let go until the set is covered in blood. The claustrophobic setting ensures there’s a sense of urgency to every flesh-tearing, bone-snapping moment, never allowing the humans a second of peace. Evil Dead Rise is fun, action-packed, and delivers high-energy excitement regardless of how many times it’s been watched.
18
‘Halloween’ (2018)
While there have been many different creative interpretations of Michael Myers and his lore, the 2018 soft reboot of Halloween was a promising start. Serving as a sequel to the 1978 original, Halloween finds Michael Myers (James Jude Courtney) locked away in a psychiatric hospital. When the legendary killer escapes, he sets out for a direct collision course with the woman who alluded him, Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis).
In the many reboots and reimaginings ofthe long-running Halloween series, the 2018 version captures what makes the original so beloved. Attempts to explain Myers’ motivations or backstory in the sequels started to water down the character, but he’s brought back to basics in Halloween. Myers is a silent, scary, brutal killer, which is terrible news for the people of Haddonfield, but perfect for audiences watching the scenes unfold.
17
‘Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street’ (2007)
The story may be bleak, and it becomes clear quickly that not many are destined to survive, but the theatrical nature of the performances and stylized visuals draw in viewers who typically pass on musicals.
