With fall finally upon us and Halloween quickly approaching, one debate will continue to run rampant both online and in the hallways; what movie holds the title of best scary movie? 

The title itself is broad- what really constitutes a horror movie? There are so many genres- ghost movies, zombie movies, slashers, psychological horror. For the purposes of this article, we can include all genres (except for psychological horror, which will never count as a genre of scary movies.) 

In the past, it would be way easier because historically there were only four ‘important’ horror movies: Halloween, Friday the 13th, IT, and Scream. Of course, these classics have to be taken into consideration not only for their original scare factor, but also for their status as halloween staples. However, in 2019, there are tons of horror movies that people have paraded as the ‘best’: The Conjuring, Insidious, Annabelle Comes Home. Now, this also leaves people wondering about remakes of the classics- are they automatically the best because they are both a classic and a new age horror movie? The answer, simply, is no. The best horror movie has to have elements of classical horror movies, but that alone is not enough to win the title. The best horror movie needs a proper storyline that is presented over time, not all at once. It has to have jump scares, but not rely on them. It has to have developed characters. 

As far as it goes for meeting every one of these criteria, only one movie can possibly win the title of Best Scary Movie: Scream (1996). Scream has lovable characters that will make viewers question countless theories throughout the entire story. The scares are genuine, and the movie is scary enough to be enjoyable to watch casually- but not scary enough to be uncomfortable or scarring. It has the rank of being a horror movie classic, while still remaining relevant with its 2011 movie. Scream is the textbook definition of a perfect scary movie, and it should be number one on your list this Halloween.