Our Favorite Bloodiest Films, Ranked
As horror fans, we all have those movies that really get under our skin, as well as those that just make for a bloody good time. Here, we’re excited to share our top ten favorite bloody horror films that will leave you both terrified and entertained. From classic slasher films to modern-day masterpieces, these movies are sure to satisfy your thirst for blood and gore. So lock your door and turn off the lights, and get ready to watch some of the bloodiest films of all time.
A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
The unsettling and repulsive classic A Nightmare on Elm Street is the bloody film that fulfilled the nasty gore cravings we didn’t know we had and gave us all nightmares at the same time. You can pass on the sequels (if you haven’t already) but if you have yet to see the original horror show:go watch it now.
By now Freddy Kreuger has become a tried and true Halloween costume—a caricature of himself with his goofy walk and annoying quips. Although it was made in 1984 the effects hold up remarkably well. From blood on the ceiling to bedrooms that regurgitate entire bodies there is no shortage of gore here.
BLOOD SCORE: 2/5
Hostel (2005)
Written and directed by Eli Roth, Hostel takes gruesome and despicable horror to another level. A challenge to watch when the film was released in my teenage years, even today its brutal scenes of mutilation and torture still turn the stomachs of daring watchers.
Starting off rather exciting, we find two American college students and their Spanish friend backpacking through Amsterdam. Along the way, the three are persuaded by sexual desires and the encouragement of locals to visit a town in Slovakia where they’ll find gorgeous, willing women. While they were successful in finding what they were looking for, the group never expected that the stay at this particular hostel would turn so sinister.
A real hell, each character disappears to their fated destination where they are mutilated by masked torturers—a paid-for pleasure where Americans are of the highest price. With only one person having the slightest chance for escape, it’ll be a bloodbath before the friend(s) can checkout.
BLOOD SCORE: 3/5
Hellraiser (1987)
The Hellraiser franchise is one of the titans of over-the-top, gory effects, so it had to make an appearance here. I’ve chosen to represent the first entry, but if the goal is gore, any of these films might satisfy you. Directed by, and based on the story by Clive Barker, Hellraiser centers around an enigmatic puzzle box that, once solved, summons a clan of painfully body-modified demons who gleefully drag the solver back with them to a hell of endless torture.
Hellraiser’s blend of blood, sex, and its exploration of human desire makes it one of the most unique franchises in the genre. The practical effects are a wonder to behold—even today—and make it and (at least a few of) the sequels must-watch films for any fan of blood and guts.
BLOOD SCORE: 3/5
Art the Clown in Terrifier 2, image via IMDB
Midnight Meat Train (2008)
This film from director Ryûhei Kitamura is admittedly a bit of a mess, but it’s one that was destined for a cult following. Based on the short story by splatter legend Clive Barker, Midnight Meat Train stars Bradley Cooper as a photographer who becomes obsessed with capturing the violent underworld of New York, eventually finding himself implicated in a series of gruesome subway killings.
To the film’s credit, it never shies away from depicting the brutality of the mysterious butcher Mahogany (Vinnie Jones), whose preferred weapon is a massive, silver hammer. His carefully crafted kills all leave the train’s floor slick with plenty of dark blood and despite the difficult-to-take-seriously name, The Midnight Meat Train certainly has its audience in gore-hounds and Clive Barker devotees.
BLOOD SCORE: 3/5
Terrifier 2 (2022)
Speaking of bloodied bedrooms, Terrifier 2 comes in strong claiming its rightful place among torture porn. Opening with a particularly squishy sequence, we are back in the throes of Art The Clown’s murder spree. With a bit more story than Terrifier, audiences are taken on a cryptic journey with final girl Sienna (Lauren LaVera) as she rescues her brother from Art’s bloody game.
Predictably, a lot of characters die and there is really quite a lot of blood. Killing scenes are dispersed thoughtfully with the normal—a high school, a costume shop, a party—each of which adds to the intensity and are scary in their own right.
Terrifier 2 also features a new character who is simultaneously adorable and horrific, a perfect combination that was organically built from the Terrifier fan base and made its way into the sequel. Don’t be fooled though; she’s part sidekick, part extraneous limb, and here to make sure you know Art The Clown is back and he’s here to terrify you.
BLOOD SCORE: 4/5
Martyrs (2008)
Directed by Pascal Laugier, Martyrs is a French-language horror film that was one of the defining films in the New French Extremity movement, notorious for its depictions of violence and bloody death scenes. Centering around abuse survivor Lucie and her friend Anna, this highly controversial film gets some flak for its unrelenting violence that is explicitly directed at women and its complicated message of transcendence for these victims that may or may not justify the torture they undergo.
Martyrs is a difficult watch, to be sure. The camera rarely cuts away from the on-screen brutality and the lessons to take away can be disquieting at best. Still, it is a highly effective and emotional film that—dare I say—rewards multiple viewings, so long as you can stomach them. Watch this with a very significant content warning for self-harm, suicide, domestic violence, kidnapping, and violence against women.
BLOOD SCORE: 4/5
Mandy (2018)
Panos Cosmatos’s surreal acid-trip of a revenge film starring Nicolas Cage is a brutal nightmare packed with vibrant color filters, hallucinogenic camera effects, and a haunting synth score that transports the viewer into the film’s seemingly other-dimensional world. Cage’s reputation as an intense over-actor is on full display as his character Red hunts down the death cult that murdered his girlfriend.
Although there are plenty of bloody scenes to point to, some of the best and most gratuitous scenes revolve around “The Black Skulls,” a gang of demon bikers that the cult summons as a sort of hellish muscle. Red’s showdown with the gang has some of the most insanely bloody scenes you’ll see and certainly the most satisfying.
BLOOD SCORE: 4/5
Inside (2007, originally titled À l'intérieur)
Not much is as brutally a regular part of life as childbirth. Inside is a story of a young photographer who is nearing the end of her pregnancy. After a tragic car crash in the first scenes of the film, Sarah, the protagonist, loses her husband and we follow her as she navigates the grief and anticipation of the birth of her first child.
On the eve of her induction, a stranger knocks on her door. A bloodbath quickly ensues in the most delightfully surprising and brutal ways. Sarah spends the night locked inside her home with La Femme, a woman who torments her until the very end as a handful of other characters pass through the home. What I love most about this movie is the duality between protagonist and antagonist as they are both women which is all too frequently unseen. And, there is so much blood.
Notably, a number of men attempt to help Sarah and none of them succeed. Each of their deaths is tragic and feels unnecessary, save for the ever-present idea that only women hold the keys to the mysticism of childbirth and the strength of a mother’s ferocity. Take care watching, this one is not for the faint of heart; content warnings for difficulties in childbirth.
BLOOD SCORE: 5/5
Evil Dead (2013)
Another franchise that could have had any of its films on this list, I’m choosing the 2013 reboot for one scene that has forever taken over the image in my mind’s eye every time I listen to Slayer’s “Raining Blood.” Like in the original, a group of friends find an old book in a remote cabin and after reading it, accidentally summon a vicious demon that possesses and tears each of them apart, one by one.
Evil Dead is a surprisingly competent remake that is able to recapture the horrors of the original, though leaning away from the comedic tone that Sam Raimi mastered. More importantly for this list, though, is that director Fede Alvarez had no intention of toning down the violence. Reportedly, compared to Raimi’s 300 gallons of fake blood in the 1981 original, Alvarez went a little bigger—using 70,000 gallons of the red stuff.
BLOOD SCORE: 5/5
Dead Alive (1992)
Directed by Peter Jackson, Dead Alive (originally released as Braindead) is a cult treat still delivering 30 years later. Filled with an array of gory and horrific molds, squibs, tons of fake blood, and other now-aged horror effects, the movie simply had to be included on this list.
Like any doomed love story, soft-spoken New Zealander Lionel falls in love with a girl his mother absolutely forbids—think Norma Bates energy. Eventually, Lionel gets the courage to go on a date with this girl behind his mother’s back. But of course, this is a doomed love story after all, while out of the house defining his mother, she is bitten by a Sumatran Rat Monkey. As a result of infection from the monkey’s saliva, the mother transforms into a pus-filled, slimy zombie that Lionel must cover up and help cure, or try to fight.
However, it won’t be an easy task. Lionel, a loving son by nature, tries to keep his mother alive while feeding her humans he chains in the basement. Not really a sufficient way of life nor seeing any signs of a cure, his efforts eventually land him in a literal bloodbath. This goofy, yet gross, film with its mixture of equal parts humor, terror, and disgust really takes you on a cinematic journey you won’t ever forget.
BLOOD SCORE: 5/5
What do you think? Have you seen all of these blood-soaked films? What bloody scenes should have made this list? Let us know your favorites in the comment box below!
Article by What Sleeps Beneath
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