The Sixth Sense
Horror movies have been giving audiences chills and thrills for years and that looks set to continue this week with the release of The Uninvited.
Based on Kim Jee-Woon's 2003 Korean horror film, "Changhwa Hongryon," The Uninvited revolves around Anna (Emily Browning), who returns home after spending time in the hospital following the tragic death of her mother.
Her recovery suffers a setback when she discovers her father (David Strathairn) has become engaged to her mother's former nurse, Rachel (Elizabeth Banks).
That night, Anna is visited by her mother's ghost, who warns her of Rachel's intentions. So to celebrate the release of the movie we took a look at some of the biggest grossing horror movies.
1. The Sixth Sense - $672,806,292
The Sixth Sense was the film that put director M Night Shyamalan on the map following a young boy who claimed that he could see the end.
Shyamalan also wrote the screenplay and the film introduced audiences to his twist endings, and this one is a corker. The film was nominated for six Oscars including Best Picture.
2.The Exorcist - $686,631,452
Directed by William Friedkin and released in 1973 and became one of the most profitable movies in the film genre.
Despite the controversy surrounding the picture, which followed the demonic possession of a young girl the movie was nominated for a Best Picture Oscar, losing out to The Sting.
3. Jaws - $470,653,000
Jaws saw the birth of the blockbuster in 1975 and went on to be one of the biggest grossing films of the decade.
Based on Peter Benchley's novel the film follows police chief Brody as he tries to protect beach goers from a great white shark. The film was the first of the blockbuster movies.
4. The Blair Witch Project - $248,639,099
Made on a tiny budget of $35,000 the film follows the story of three student filmmakers who go into the Black Hills of Burkittsville to film a documentary on local legend The Blair Witch.
The film showed the movie industry the power of the internet and kicked off the now common idea of viral marketing.
Never before had chat rooms and movie sites power a film in such a way as simple word of mouth made Blair Witch a mammoth hit.
5. Bram Stoker's Dracula - $215,862,692
Directed by Francis Ford Coppola Bram Stoker's Dracula was released back in 1992 and was based on the novel Dracula by Bram Stoker.
Oldman took on the role of Dracula leading the ensemble cast of Keanu Reeves, Winona Ryder and Anthony Hopkins. Despite some criticism of how loyal the film remained to the book it was a box office hit.
6. Jaws 2 - $215,603,340
Jaws returned to the big screen in 1975, but without filmmaker Steven Spielberg in the director's chair instead replaced by Jeannot Szwarc.
This was the only sequel to the original that featured Roy Scheider and Brody who once aging finds himself doing battle with a Great White shark.
7. The Amityville Horror - $213,841,738
The Amityville Horror hit the big screen for the very first time in 1979 and was an adaptation of the bestselling novel by Jay Anson.
The film was based on the real life experiences of the Lutz family experience a series of frightening paranormal events, causing them to flee the house only 28 days after moving in.
8. Alien - $200,233,659
1979 brought the beginning of the Alien franchise from Ridley Scott with Sigourney Weaver in the lead role as she and the rest of her crew battle a highly aggressive extraterrestrial creature which stalks and kills the crew of a spaceship.
Sigourney Weaver’s role of Ellen Ripley in four movies of the Alien franchise broke many gender stereotypes in the science fiction genre by featuring a strong heroine.
The film launched Weaver’s career and the success of Alien and the character of Ripley led to her becoming the main thread that ran through the series of movies.
9. Scream - $173,046,663
Wes Craven's Scream was responsible for revitalising the slasher genre of horror films in 1996 when it was released.
The original film remains the biggest grossing slasher movie of all time.
10. Scream 2 - $172,363,301
And it wasn't long before this success was capitalised upon when a sequel hit screens in 1997 with David Arquette, Neve Campbell and Courteney Cox all reprising their roles and Wes Craven returning to the director's chair.
A third movie hit screen in 2000 enjoying similar success.
The Uninvited is released 24th April
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw
Tagged in The Exorcist