It is truly astonishing to consider that in today's film landscape, there remains any form of debate regarding the legitimacy of horror as a serious cinematic genre. The very notion of "elevated horror," which this site has passionately opposed, seems to suggest from the very beginning that horror requires an additional element to reach the lofty heights of drama. However, aside from the absurdity of believing that confronting society's deepest fears through the art of film is less significant than other cinematic endeavors, the history of cinema is replete with masterpieces that proudly reside within the horror sphere.

Unraveling the Mystery of Horror's IMDb Ranking

Universal Pictures: The IMDb Top 250 and Horror Films

It is important to note that IMDb's top 250 films list is determined by user ratings. This fact alone makes the situation even more concerning as audiences, rather than some faceless corporation, have seemingly neglected the horror genre. Despite this, the list remains as it is. So, which horror films managed to secure a place in a ranking where "The Shawshank Redemption" still holds the title of the greatest movie ever made?The lowest entry on the list is "The Exorcist," which occupies the 228th position with a rating of 8.1 based on 461,000 votes from users. John Carpenter's "The Thing" follows closely in the 149th position, boasting an 8.2 rating based on 484,000 votes. "The Shining" claims the 68th position with an 8.4 rating derived from 1.1 million votes, while "Alien" makes it to the 51st spot with an 8.5 rating based on 991,000 votes. Finally, Hitchcock's "Psycho" takes the highest-rated spot among horror films, with an 8.5 rating based on 737,000 votes, placing it at number 34 overall.However, before one takes this list too seriously, it is crucial to consider that any registered IMDb user can vote on individual films, and there are internal processes at play that complicate the final ratings we see on the site. As IMDb itself states:"Although we accept and consider all votes received by users, not all votes have the same impact (or 'weight') on the final rating. When unusual voting activity is detected, a different weighting calculation may be applied in order to preserve the reliability of our system. To ensure our rating mechanism remains effective, we don't disclose the exact method used to generate the rating."

The Significance of Horror's Absence in IMDb Rankings

It is fascinating to observe that some of the horror films listed in the IMDb top 250 are not your typical horror movies like "Halloween" or "Nightmare on Elm Street." In fact, two of the films on this list could arguably be classified under another genre altogether: sci-fi. The slow-burning sci-fi horror elements of "Alien" and "The Thing" contribute to the greatness of these films and undoubtedly deserve their place on the list. Yet, the fact that these sci-fi classics are among only five horror movies in IMDb's top 250 suggests that the concept of "elevated horror" still holds sway among the general public, who may still view horror as needing an extra element to be worthy.Nevertheless, "Psycho" is the quintessential slasher film, and although "The Shining" is not exactly in the same category, Stanley Kubrick's seminal work is one of the best psychological horror movies ever made. In this sense, it can be argued that some straightforward horror films did make it onto the list. However, it is still disheartening to see that if one were unaware of the history of film and relied solely on this list, they would have no real understanding of the crucial role that horror has played in the development of cinema, from Georges Méliès's "The House of the Devil" in 1896 to modern horror films like "Skinamarink" that continue to push the boundaries of filmmaking.It is also disappointing to note that not a single film that could be considered horror or horror-adjacent made it into IMDb's top 10 movies of all time. Therefore, for those seeking to be reminded of the power of horror as a genre, it is recommended to check out /Film's own list of the 106 best horror movies ever made.