Published Jun 24, 2026, 7:21 PM EDT
Daniel is a 27-year-old List Writer for Collider living in the south suburbs of Chicago, Illinois. As an avid film buff, he watches and analyzes many films and TV shows, especially in the horror genre, and regularly attends movie screenings.
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No matter how many years, no matter what format, horror always stays the same. It’s the go-to for cinematic entertainment, the most beloved genre around these days, and it’s still riding strong. There was a time in the 20th Century when horror constantly reigned supreme, attracting new fans each year and wowing them with timeless tales of terror that have since become classics. But, for many fans growing up before the digital age or even the rise of the DVD, they enjoyed these glorious classics on VHS.
From the late 1970s to the early 2000s, VHS was how so many horror buffs fell in love with the genre. For those who didn’t grow up at a time when they were popular, it was a blast to experience these horrifying stories right in the comfort of our own homes during an age when you could mostly only watch these movies at the theater. They’ve since faded out in the mid-2000s, but VHS is burned in the memory of those who enjoyed watching their favorite horror movies the most, and many could argue it’s still the best format to experience them. From one beloved iconic classic to another, let’s look at ten memorable horror movies you should watch on VHS.
Universal’s classic black-and-white version of Frankenstein has become an essential piece of horror history, ever since it burst onto the big screen in 1931. It was a huge hit critically and financially then and only saw newer appreciation decades later when it rolled onto home video, where the next generation of horror lovers experienced what made it so timeless.
Mary Shelly’s iconic gothic novel has been adapted countless times throughout the decades since this version, some are even more faithful to the source material, and yet it’s still widely regarded as the most iconic. A huge part of why it’s so recognized and beloved stems from so many fans experiencing it on VHS in the early ’80s when it, along with its fellow iconic monsters, like Dracula and The Wolf Man, saw a rebirth in popularity on home video. Today, Frankenstein is still fresh in audiences’ minds.
There’s nothing quite like watching a slasher movie on the small screen, and any teen in the ’80s or ’90s will tell you that slashers on VHS made them become diehard fans. Though there’s a laundry list to choose from,1980’s Friday the 13th sparked a generation of enthusiasts, wowing them into appreciating this subgenre thanks to its gory thrills and legendary scares.
This memorable time capsule of early 1980s horror fun has defined the childhoods of plenty of horror fans now, as it has scenes that can’t be forgotten. Its iconic ending dream sequence, in which the final girl, Alice (Adrienne King), is attacked and dragged under the water by a zombified little Jason Voorhees, has scared plenty of audiences who first saw it on VHS, and moments like this that made Friday the 13th such a recognizable and fun slasher icon.
William Friedkin’s The Exorcist can be a nightmarish experience on any screen, but many people growing up before the 2000s watched this for the first time on home video. It’s often regarded as one of the scariest movies in history, a film countless movie fans have had to witness at least once just to see what made it so spine-chilling, so epically terrifying, and unforgettable.
VHS enhanced the magic of this unsettling horror masterpiece. For those who first saw this at home, it must have been a startling experience that could have made anyone sleep with the lights on at night. It scared audiences of all ages, from adults to young teens who were way too young to watch it. The controversies surrounding the making of and the touchy subjects surrounding this film gave it an alluring aura that made it an in-demand home release. Honestly, The Exorcist is still wildely hailed and relevant today because it made a killing on VHS.
One of the best indie horror classics of all time wouldn’t be as popular today without VHS. The great horror icon **Sam Raimi **released his directorial debut masterpiece, The Evil Dead, in 1981 to critical success but had a slow box office performance due to its extreme gore and violence, making it hard to sell. Its controversies led to it being banned in several countries for years, becoming a distribution nightmare. It wasn’t until it hit home release that it saw new life, and a whole generation of horror lovers came to see it as one of their favorites.
The Evil Dead is a splatter lover’s delight, featuring some of the most grotesque, violent imagery of the early ’80s, and fans couldn’t get enough of it when it made its VHS debut in 1983. Like The Exorcist, it became seen as a dark, edgy, and alluring horror film that people had to see just because it was so shocking and controversial for its time. The huge sales it made on home video ultimately catapulted its popularity into the stratosphere, where its success led to continued sequels and a beloved franchise that’s still popping out new entries today, like the upcoming Evil Dead: Burn.
The summer blockbuster smash hit Jaws, of course, became an even bigger success on home release. Steven Spielberg’s timelessly exciting adventure horror masterpiece defined the summer movie-going experience in 1975, scaring audiences away from daring to swim in the ocean. Becoming one of the highest-grossing films of the decade, one of its greatest wins came in the form of its massive VHS sales.
Jaws was a top-seller on home video, becoming a highly regarded and rewatchable classic that audiences could not get enough of. The scares, suspense, and action scenes were just as impactful to watch on the small screen as they were in theaters in ‘75, which greatly attracted more fans every decade. Today, it’s still an endlessly enjoyable marvel that continues to be watched, all mostly thanks to how so many people experienced it on VHS.
Your instincts, your strengths, and your particular way of thinking under pressure point to one villain you actually have a fighting chance against. Everyone else — good luck.
Jason is relentless, but he is also predictable — and that is the gap you would exploit.
Michael watches before he moves. He is patient, methodical, and almost impossible to detect — until it’s too late for anyone who isn’t paying close enough attention.
Freddy wins by getting inside your head — using your own fears, your own memories, your own subconscious as weapons against you. That strategy requires a target who can be destabilised.
Pennywise is ancient, shapeshifting, and feeds on terror — but it has one critical vulnerability: it cannot function against someone who genuinely stops being afraid of it.
Chucky’s greatest advantage is that nobody takes him seriously until it’s already too late. He exploits the gap between how something looks and what it actually is.
There’s no doubt that Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund) was one of the biggest icons of ’80s and ’90s horror. His glorious debut in 1984’s A Nightmare on Elm Street saw him terrorizing an entire generation of teens and kids into thinking that not even their dreams are safe. And where most people today fell in love or became petrified of him was seeing him on a VHS tape.
Home video is really where A Nightmare on Elm Street becomes the most horrifying to watch. It’s the one place where, just like in the movie, Freddy Krueger can truly scare you. Countless childhoods were defined by seeing this timelessly scary slasher masterpiece, and its success on VHS contributed to its lasting legacy as one of the most popular and rewatchable films of the genre.
The great Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining remains a staple of horror and pop culture, thanks in large part due to its commercial success spanning decades. While not the biggest hit initially, over the years, especially on VHS, it saw a growing rise in fans who came to see it for the horror masterpiece that is hailed today. Dark, twisted, psychologically thrilling, and endlessly debated even now, a great many horror buffs were exposed to its brilliance through home video.
The Shining is one of Kubrick’s most detailed and well-crafted movies he’s ever created. It diverges significantly from Stephen King’s original novel to be its own, fresh and creative film, and as such, many audiences still now debate about its meanings, the ending, and rewatch it to point out its many crucial details and hidden gems. VHS was, for many years, the best way to experience this masterpiece. Being able to watch it on this format and be able to rewatch constantly again and again, rewinding its best moments, truly makes you appreciate everything that went into making it.
Undoubtedly, the perfect movie to watch on Halloween is the one named after the holiday. Halloween is a 1978 John Carpenter-directed horror landmark that was where most slasher fans began to cherish the subgenre. It’s one of the most celebrated horror films in history, one that can be watched every year around the spooky season. And, the reason it has become so popular constantly throughout the years was that it made a killing with VHS sales.
Imagine watching this on a VHS player at night on Halloween with all the lights off. This feeling can put anyone in the right setting. It creates the perfect mood that many horror fans have created during the years when this was the only way to see it outside of theaters. There’s nothing quite like experiencing what made Halloween so beloved and terrifying than through this format.
John Carpenter cemented himself as a horror icon thanks to his other greatest masterpiece, The Thing, the 1982 monster thriller that rose from a disastrous opening release to becoming one of the most legendary horror movies of all time. It was a critical and commercial flop upon release, but saw new life thanks to a slow word-of-mouth and its transition to the home video market, where it received a much more welcoming reception.
The Thing dominated on VHS, not only receiving the financial gain it deserved on initial release, but it also exposed new audiences to the terrifying wonder of Carpenter’s magnum opus. It provided the perfect in-home horror movie-watching experience thanks to its claustrophobic premise and endless suspense. It’s the perfect one to cower under blankets and get completely swept away by terror. Truly, there was nothing else quite like watching this epic chiller at home.
Finally, the last spot goes to M. Night Shyamalan’s 1999 supernatural thriller drama The Sixth Sense. The film that capped off the 20th century for horror on a high note, The Sixth Sense, broke all kinds of records, becoming an Oscar contender, a well-regarded masterpiece, and a huge box office draw, earning over $670 million worldwide. Its success further carried over to home video, where it became one of the highest-selling and rented horror movies on the format.
The Sixth Sense is a must-watch film, becoming a staple of the horror genre, so no wonder it became so incredibly popular on VHS. It provided endless entertainment and nonstop suspense, and unexpected twists. And a great many viewers were first exposed to its brilliant plot twist ending on VHS, which has now become one of the most recognizable movie moments in history. Overall, it’s the horror film that most audiences enjoyed the most on VHS, and it arguably was and still is the best format to view it on.
The Sixth Sense ](/tag/the-sixth-sense/)
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