By: Nicole Thomas
Editor’s Note: This story was originally published at The Ball State Daily News. None of the content was altered but slight grammatical changes were made in order to conform with Byte style guidelines.
Celebrating Halloween may look different this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. To stay safe yet entertained, consider spending the spooky holiday with the top 10 highest-grossing horror movies, according to The Numbers, a movie industry data and research service.
“I am Legend”
Released: Dec. 14, 2007
Rating: PG-13
Stars: Will Smith, Alice Braga, and Dash Mihok
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 68 percent
Synopsis: U.S. Army virologist Robert Neville is the last person in New York after a virus killed most of mankind. Immune to the virus, Neville must develop a cure as he defends himself against those who the virus turned into cannibalistic mutants called Darkseekers.
“It”
Released: Sep. 8, 2017
Rating: R
Stars: Jaeden Martell and Bill Skarsgård
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 85 percent
Synopsis: Based on the Stephen King novel of the same name, seven children called “The Losers Club” come together to fight the murderous clown Pennywise, who preys upon children in their small town in Maine.
“Hannibal”
Released: Feb. 9, 2001
Rating: R
Stars: Anthony Hopkins, Julianne Moore, and Gary Oldman
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 39 percent
Synopsis: FBI Special Agent Clarice Starling works to capture Hannibal Lecter before Mason Verger, Hannibal’s surviving victim, seeks his revenge.
“The Blair Witch Project”
Released: July 14, 1999
Rating: R
Stars: Heather Donahue, Michael C. Williams, and Joshua Leonard
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 86 percent
Synopsis: Three film students set out to film a documentary about the Blair Witch, a local legend in a Maryland forest. The students disappear, but a year later, their footage from what they discovered in the forest is found.
“It Chapter Two”
Released: Sep. 6, 2019
Rating: R
Stars: Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy, Bill Hader, Isaiah Mustafa, Jay Ryan, James Ransone, Andy Bean, and Bill Skarsgård
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 63 percent
Synopsis: Set 27 years after “It,” this sequel follows the Losers Club again as they discover the murderous clown Pennywise has returned to their Maine hometown.
“Scream”
Released: Dec. 20, 1996
Rating: R
Stars: Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, and David Arquette
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 78 percent
Synopsis: The first movie of the “Scream” franchise focuses on teenager Sidney Prescott one year after her mother’s murder. A new killer named Ghostface attacks Sidney’s small hometown of Westboro as he murders his victims when they wrongly answer his trivia questions about horror movies.
“The Ring”
Released: Oct. 18, 2002
Rating: PG-13
Stars: Naomi Watts, Martin Henderson, and David Dorfman
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 71 percent
Synopsis: Journalist Rachel Keller investigates a cursed videotape where anyone who watches it dies a week later. After watching the video herself, Keller now only has a week to uncover its mystery.
“Scream 2”
Released: Dec. 12, 1997
Rating: R
Stars: David Arquette, Neve Campbell, and Courteney Cox
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 81 percent
Synopsis: After two students are murdered during a preview of “Stab,” a movie based on the events of the first “Scream” film, Sidney Prescott realizes there is now a Ghostface copycat on her college campus.
“A Quiet Place”
Released: April 6, 2018
Rating: PG-13
Stars: John Krasinski and Emily Blunt
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 96 percent
Synopsis: Lee and Evelyn Abbott raise their family in silence to hide from blind, extraterrestrial monsters who kill anyone who makes a sound.
“Sleepy Hollow”
Released: Nov. 19, 1999
Rating: R
Stars: Johnny Depp, Christina Ricci, and Miranda Richardson
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 69 percent
Synopsis: Police constable Ichabod Crane investigates a series of decapitations in New York by the Headless Horseman.
Images and Featured Image: Taylor Smith and Kamryn Tomlinson Sources: The Numbers, Rotten Tomatoes