Blog Films · Ranked
Horror Films, Ranked from CHUD to WOKE
Horror films, ranked from the most CHUD to the most WOKE: how each is seen in the culture war, with the reason under each title. Every vote moves the scores.
Vote on these films →← CHUD · swipe · WOKE →| # | Title and why | Score | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (2021)Religious-themed paranormal horror, Christian leanings | 36Slightly CHUD | Vote |
| 2 |  The Exorcist (1973)Catholic exorcism horror; affirms religious faith | 37Slightly CHUD | Vote |
| 3 |  Constantine (2005)Occult action drama with Catholic cosmology | 41Slightly CHUD | Vote |
| 4 |  Blade (1998)Vampire action horror, apolitical | 43Slightly CHUD | Vote |
| 5 |  It Follows (2015)Horror with a sexual-transmission metaphor, apolitical | 43Slightly CHUD | Vote |
| 6 |  The Ring (2002)Horror remake, apolitical | 43Slightly CHUD | Vote |
| 7 |  Final Destination (2000)Slasher-style horror, apolitical | 44Slightly CHUD | Vote |
| 8 |  The Witch (2016)Puritan folk horror; religious dread; some feminist readings | 44Slightly CHUD | Vote |
| 9 |  Van Helsing (2004)Monster-hunting adventure, apolitical | 44Slightly CHUD | Vote |
| 10 |  The Conjuring (2013)Faith-based haunted house horror, religious themes | 45Centre | Vote |
| 11 |  A Quiet Place Part II (2021)Creature-feature horror sequel with no real politics | 47Centre | Vote |
| 12 |  Bird Box (2018)Survival horror, apolitical | 47Centre | Vote |
| 13 |  From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)Pulp crime horror, apolitical | 47Centre | Vote |
| 14 |  Signs (2002)Alien thriller with faith-affirming themes | 47Centre | Vote |
| 15 |  Split (2017)Horror thriller, apolitical | 47Centre | Vote |
| 16 |  The Devil's Advocate (1997)Faustian horror about ambition and law firm greed | 47Centre | Vote |
| 17 |  The Hunt (2020)Satire of culture-war outrage; both sides were mocked | 47Centre | Vote |
| 18 |  The Others (2001)Religious-household ghost story, apolitical | 47Centre | Vote |
| 19 |  World War Z (2013)Zombie thriller, apolitical | 47Centre | Vote |
| 20 |  Gremlins (1984)Holiday horror comedy, apolitical | 48Centre | Vote |
| 21 |  Insidious (2011)Supernatural haunted-house horror, apolitical | 48Centre | Vote |
| 22 |  Jaws (1975)Shark thriller classic, apolitical | 48Centre | Vote |
| 23 |  Saw (2004)Torture horror, apolitical | 48Centre | Vote |
| 24 |  The Conjuring 2 (2016)Faith-tinged horror about demons; religious worldview | 48Centre | Vote |
| 25 |  A Quiet Place (2018)Family survival horror, light conservative reading | 49Centre | Vote |
| 26 |  Friday the 13th (1980)Slasher horror, apolitical | 49Centre | Vote |
| 27 |  Hungry (2026)Creature horror | 49Centre | Vote |
| 28 |  Insidious: Out of the Further (2026)Supernatural horror | 49Centre | Vote |
| 29 |  Interview with the Vampire (1994)Gothic vampire tale with queer subtext | 49Centre | Vote |
| 30 |  It Chapter Two (2019)Horror sequel; includes an anti-gay hate crime and abuse themes | 49Centre | Vote |
| 31 |  Midsommar (2019)Folk horror with a breakup theme; no political push | 49Centre | Vote |
| 32 |  Resident Evil (2002)Zombie action horror with corporate villain | 49Centre | Vote |
| 33 |  Send Help (2026)Island survival horror comedy | 49Centre | Vote |
| 34 |  The Cabin in the Woods (2012)Meta horror deconstruction; no real politics | 49Centre | Vote |
| 35 |  Backrooms (2026)Liminal-space horror | 50Centre | Vote |
| 36 |  Colony (2026)Virus outbreak horror | 50Centre | Vote |
| 37 |  Frankenstein (2025)Gothic horror adaptation | 50Centre | Vote |
| 38 |  Hokum (2026)Witch horror | 50Centre | Vote |
| 39 |  Nosferatu (2024)Gothic vampire horror | 50Centre | Vote |
| 40 |  Soulm8te (2026)Killer AI companion horror | 50Centre | Vote |
| 41 |  Weapons (2025)Mystery horror | 50Centre | Vote |
| 42 |  undertone (2026)Paranormal podcast horror | 50Centre | Vote |
| 43 |  Alien: Covenant (2017)Sci-fi horror with no political content | 51Centre | Vote |
| 44 |  Don't Breathe (2016)Home-invasion thriller; no politics | 51Centre | Vote |
| 45 |  Evil Dead Burn (2026)Supernatural horror | 51Centre | Vote |
| 46 |  It (2017)Horror about childhood fears, apolitical | 51Centre | Vote |
| 47 |  Kraken (2026)Sea monster horror | 51Centre | Vote |
| 48 |  Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City (2021)Video game horror adaptation, apolitical | 51Centre | Vote |
| 49 |  The Last House (2026)Home-trapped survival horror | 51Centre | Vote |
| 50 |  The Meg (2018)Shark action film; no politics | 51Centre | Vote |
| 51 |  Train to Busan (2016)Zombie action thriller; mild class-selfishness critique | 51Centre | Vote |
| 52 |  Clayface (2026)Comic-book horror about disfigurement | 52Centre | Vote |
| 53 |  Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (2013)Fantasy action horror, apolitical | 52Centre | Vote |
| 54 |  Ice Cream Man (2026)Horror comedy | 52Centre | Vote |
| 55 |  Obsession (2026)Supernatural horror about a wish | 52Centre | Vote |
| 56 |  Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)Gothic musical horror on class revenge | 52Centre | Vote |
| 57 |  The Shining (1980)Psychological horror, apolitical | 52Centre | Vote |
| 58 |  Scream 7 (2026)Slasher franchise sequel | 53Centre | Vote |
| 59 |  28 Days Later (2002)Zombie-like horror; some military-bad themes | 54Centre | Vote |
| 60 |  Alien (1979)Horror with a strong female lead and anti-corporate theme | 54Centre | Vote |
| 61 |  Black Swan (2010)Psychological ballet horror, apolitical | 54Centre | Vote |
| 62 |  Prometheus (2012)Sci-fi horror about origins of humanity | 54Centre | Vote |
| 63 |  Shaun of the Dead (2004)Zombie comedy with no clear politics | 54Centre | Vote |
| 64 |  The Purge (2013)Violent satire of class inequality and gun culture | 55Centre | Vote |
| 65 |  Zombieland (2009)Zombie comedy, apolitical | 55Centre | Vote |
| 66 |  Annihilation (2018)Cerebral sci-fi horror with a female-led cast; little controversy | 56Slightly WOKE | Vote |
| 67 |  Cat People (1942)Classic horror, apolitical | 56Slightly WOKE | Vote |
| 68 |  Happy Death Day (2017)Slasher time-loop comedy, apolitical | 56Slightly WOKE | Vote |
| 69 |  Hereditary (2018)Family trauma horror; no politics | 56Slightly WOKE | Vote |
| 70 |  Life (2017)Sci-fi horror; no politics | 56Slightly WOKE | Vote |
| 71 |  Halloween (1978)Classic slasher horror with no political message | 57Slightly WOKE | Vote |
| 72 |  Psycho (1960)Horror classic, apolitical | 57Slightly WOKE | Vote |
| 73 |  Ready or Not: Here I Come (2026)Horror comedy with class-satire edge | 57Slightly WOKE | Vote |
| 74 |  Warm Bodies (2013)Zombie romance about empathy over division | 57Slightly WOKE | Vote |
| 75 |  mother! (2017)Allegorical horror read as environmental and religious parable | 57Slightly WOKE | Vote |
| 76 |  Scream (1996)Meta slasher; no politics | 58Slightly WOKE | Vote |
| 77 |  The Thing (1982)Paranoia sci-fi horror classic; no politics | 60Slightly WOKE | Vote |
| 78 |  The Babadook (2014)Horror about grief and single motherhood, queer fan embrace | 61Slightly WOKE | Vote |
| 79 |  Us (2019)Horror often read as a class and inequality allegory | 62Slightly WOKE | Vote |
| 80 |  Leviticus (2026)Queer teen horror romance | 69Leaning WOKE | Vote |
| 81 |  The Purge: Anarchy (2014)Horror critical of class violence and authoritarianism | 69Leaning WOKE | Vote |
| 82 |  The Invisible Man (2020)Horror on abuse and gaslighting; praised by feminist critics | 70Leaning WOKE | Vote |
| 83 |  The Menu (2022)Dark satire of elitism and wealthy diners | 70Leaning WOKE | Vote |
| 84 |  Sinners (2025)Horror about Black Southern life, widely praised for race themes | 72Leaning WOKE | Vote |
| 85 |  The Substance (2024)Body horror satirizing beauty standards and sexism | 74Leaning WOKE | Vote |
| 86 |  Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma (2026)Slasher satire with queer-friendly tone | 75Leaning WOKE | Vote |
| 87 |  Get Out (2017)Horror satire on liberal racism, strongly anti-racist | 81Leaning WOKE | Vote |
Across these 87: average score 52, median 51, from 36 to 81. Highest score: Get Out (2017) (81). Lowest score: The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (2021) (36).
What critics said about the quality
Scores are about how a title is seen in the culture war, not whether it is good. For some of the titles on this list, here is how critics judged them, word for word from Wikipedia.
The Conjuring (2013)
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 86% of 227 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.2/10. The website's consensus reads: "Well-crafted and gleefully creepy, The Conjuring ratchets up dread through a series of effective old-school scares." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 68 out of 100, based on 35 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.
Wikipedia, The Conjuring, quoted verbatim · CC BY-SA 4.0
Constantine (2005)
On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 46% of 227 critics gave the film a positive review and an average rating of 5.5/10; the site's consensus states: "Despite solid production values and an intriguing premise, Constantine lacks the focus of another spiritual shoot-em-up, The Matrix". On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 50 out of 100 based on the reviews of 41 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.
Wikipedia, Constantine (film), quoted verbatim · CC BY-SA 4.0
Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma (2026)
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 94% of 278 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8.2/10. The website's consensus reads: "A bloody valentine to slasher horror that celebrates personal self-discovery as much as it does the possibilities of cinema, Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma combines killer style with a big, still-beating heart." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 89 out of 100, based on 48 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".
Wikipedia, Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, quoted verbatim · CC BY-SA 4.0
Get Out (2017)
On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 98% based on 403 reviews, and an average rating of 8.30/10. The critical consensus reads, "Funny, scary, and thought-provoking, Get Out seamlessly weaves its trenchant social critiques into a brilliantly effective and entertaining horror/comedy thrill ride." The film was the highest rated wide release of 2017 on the site.
Wikipedia, Get Out, quoted verbatim · CC BY-SA 4.0