I was just about to graduate from undergrad in 2012, and instead of studying for exams, I was watching horror movies almost every night.
And let me tell you: There were PLENTY to choose from. It was a good year for horror. I remember it fondly.
So, I consulted my horror movie database to determine the best horror movies of 2012, including aggregated ratings data, platform-specific data, box office data, and my own personal opinions.
Let’s dive in.
(Or check out my list of best horror movies of all time.)
Highest-Rated 2012 Horror Movies
In 2012, my records show that around 92 horror movies were released to the public. (Disclaimer: I’m sure that’s ignoring some very low-budget ones with bad marketing.)
If my memory serves, there were more good horror movies in 2012 than bad — at least among those that I saw. But I dove into data from Rotten Tomatoes, IMDb, and Metacritic to reveal the very best.
Aggregate Ratings
Here, I’ve averaged the ratings from Rotten Tomatoes, IMDb, and Metacritic to give you the definitive list of top 2012 horror films. Aggregate ratings are out of 100 possible points.
| Film | Aggregate Rating | Streaming Platforms | Director | Country |
| The Cabin in the Woods | 78 | YouTube | Drew Goddard | United States |
| ParaNorman | 77 | YouTube | Sam Fell, Chris Butler | United States |
| Frankenweenie | 76.7 | Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV / iTunes, Google Play Movies, Fandango at Home, Vudu & Microsoft Store | Tim Burton | United States |
| Berberian Sound Studio | 75.7 | AMC+, Philo, Shudder, Kanopy, Amazon Video, Apple TV & Tubi | Peter Strickland | United Kingdom |
| Resolution | 74.7 | YouTube | Justin Benson, Aaron Scott Moorhead | United States |
| Shackled | 70 | N/A | Upi Avianto | Indonesia |
| Prometheus | 69 | YouTube | Ridley Scott | United States |
| Excision | 65.4 | fuboTV, Fandango at Home Free, Tubi, Plex / Plex Channel, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV / iTunes and Google Play Movies | Richard Bates, Jr. | United States |
| Grabbers | 64.4 | Shudder, AMC+,IFC Films Unlimited, Kanopy, Philo, Prime Video, Apple TV, Google Play & Microsoft Store | Jon Wright | United Kingdom |
| The Woman in Black | 64 | Paramount+, Pluto TV, Hoopla, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV & Fandango at Home | James Watkins | Canada, United Kingdom |
Best Horror Films of 2012, According to Rotten Tomatoes
Now let’s look at the highest-rated horror films of 2012 according to Rotten Tomatoes ratings:
| Film | Rotten Tomatoes | Streaming Platforms | Director | Country |
| Dead Sushi | 100% | The Roku Channel, Plex, Fawesome, Night Flight Plus, Troma NOW & Amazon Prime Video | Noboru Iguchi | Japan |
| Shackled | 98% | N/A | Upi Avianto | Indonesia |
| The Cabin in the Woods | 92% | YouTube | Drew Goddard | United States |
| ParaNorman | 89% | YouTube | Sam Fell, Chris Butler | United States |
| Frankenweenie | 87% | Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV / iTunes, Google Play Movies, Fandango at Home, Vudu & Microsoft Store | Tim Burton | United States |
| Berberian Sound Studio | 85% | AMC+, Philo, Shudder, Kanopy, Amazon Video, Apple TV & Tubi | Peter Strickland | United Kingdom |
| Excision | 85% | fuboTV, Fandango at Home Free, Tubi, Plex / Plex Channel, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV / iTunes and Google Play Movies | Richard Bates, Jr. | United States |
| Resolution | 80% | YouTube | Justin Benson, Aaron Scott Moorhead | United States |
| The Battery | 78% | YouTube | Jeremy Gardner | United States |
| 100 Bloody Acres | 76% | Amazon Prime Video (Free with Ads), The Roku Channel, Plex, Tubi, Hoopla, Amazon Video, Apple TV and Fandango at Home | Cameron Cairnes, Colin Cairnes | Australia |
Best Horror Films of 2012, According to IMDb
And what did IMDb think about horror movies in 2012?
| Film | IMDb | Streaming Platforms | Director | Country |
| The Cabin in the Woods | 7 | YouTube | Drew Goddard | United States |
| ParaNorman | 7 | YouTube | Sam Fell, Chris Butler | United States |
| Prometheus | 7 | YouTube | Ridley Scott | United States |
| Frankenweenie | 6.9 | Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV / iTunes, Google Play Movies, Fandango at Home, Vudu & Microsoft Store | Tim Burton | United States |
| Sinister | 6.8 | YouTube | Scott Derrickson | United States |
| Killer Kart | 6.5 | YouTube | James Feeney | United States |
| Resolution | 6.4 | YouTube | Justin Benson, Aaron Scott Moorhead | United States |
| The Sleeping Soul | 6.4 | N/A | Shawn Burkett | United States |
| The Woman in Black | 6.4 | Paramount+, Pluto TV, Hoopla, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV & Fandango at Home | James Watkins | Canada, United Kingdom |
| Grabbers | 6.3 | Shudder, AMC+, IFC Films Unlimited, Kanopy, Philo, Prime Video, Apple TV, Google Play & Microsoft Store | Jon Wright | United Kingdom |
A lot of these films are similar list to list, but IMDb always offers a more user-centric perspective on the top horror films of a given year.
Best Horror Films of 2012, According to Metacritic
And good old Metacritic tossed a few more films into the mix:
| Film | Metacritic | Streaming Platforms | Director | Country |
| Berberian Sound Studio | 80 | AMC+, Philo, Shudder, Kanopy, Amazon Video, Apple TV & Tubi | Peter Strickland | United Kingdom |
| Resolution | 80 | YouTube | Justin Benson, Aaron Scott Moorhead | United States |
| Frankenweenie | 74 | Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV / iTunes, Google Play Movies, Fandango at Home, Vudu & Microsoft Store | Tim Burton | United States |
| The Cabin in the Woods | 72 | YouTube | Drew Goddard | United States |
| ParaNorman | 72 | YouTube | Sam Fell, Chris Butler | United States |
| The Bay | 65 | YouTube | Barry Levinson | United States |
| Prometheus | 64 | YouTube | Ridley Scott | United States |
| 100 Bloody Acres | 63 | Amazon Prime Video (Free with Ads), The Roku Channel, Plex, Tubi, Hoopla, Amazon Video, Apple TV and Fandango at Home | Cameron Cairnes, Colin Cairnes | Australia |
| Grabbers | 62 | Shudder, AMC+,IFC Films Unlimited, Kanopy, Philo, Prime Video, Apple TV, Google Play & Microsoft Store | Jon Wright | United Kingdom |
| The Woman in Black | 62 | Paramount+, Pluto TV, Hoopla, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV & Fandango at Home | James Watkins | Canada, United Kingdom |
Highest-Grossing Horror Movies of 2012
Maybe I’m a snob, but I generally don’t use box office numbers to determine which horror movies are worth watching. But that’s just me.
If you’re someone who pays attention to that kind of stuff, here are the highest-grossing horror movies of 2012.
Domestic (U.S.)
These are the top 2012 horror movies in terms of domestic (U.S.) box office revenue:
| Film | Domestic (US) Box Office | Streaming Platforms | Director | Country |
| Dark Shadows | $79,727,149 | YouTube | Tim Burton | United States |
| Paranormal Activity 4 | $53,885,000 | YouTube | Henry Josst, Ariel Schulman | United States |
| The Devil Inside | $53,261,944 | YouTube | William Brent Bell | United States |
| Frankenweenie | $35,291,068 | Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV / iTunes, Google Play Movies, Fandango at Home, Vudu & Microsoft Store | Tim Burton | United States |
| Silent Hill: Revelation 3D | $17,529,157 | Tubi, The Roku Channel, Shout! Factory TV, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Microsoft Store, Peacock Premium & Shout! Factory Amazon Channel | Michael J. Bassett | Canada, France |
| The Lords of Salem | $1,165,882 | Tubi, Amazon Freevee, Fandango at Home Free, Plex, MovieSphere+ on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV & Fandango at Home | Rob Zombie | United States |
| Piranha 3DD | $376,512 | YouTube | John Gulager | United States |
| V/H/S | $100,345 | YouTube | Adam Wingard, David Bruckner, Ti West, Glenn McQuaid, Joe Swanberg | United States |
| No One Lives | $74,918 | Tubi, Fandango at Home Free, Amazon Prime Video Free with Ads, Plex, Amazon Video, Apple TV & Fandango At Home | Ryuhei Kitamura | United States |
| Berberian Sound Studio | $38,493 | AMC+, Philo, Shudder, Kanopy, Amazon Video, Apple TV & Tubi | Peter Strickland | United Kingdom |
International
And these are the top horror films of 2012 in terms of international box office revenue:
| Film | International Box Office | Streaming Platforms | Director | Country |
| Prometheus | $403.4 million | YouTube | Ridley Scott | United States |
| Dark Shadows | $245.5 million | YouTube | Tim Burton | United States |
| Underworld: Awakening | $160.1 million | Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV (iTunes), Google Play Movies, Fandango at Home, Microsoft Store & Spectrum On Demand | Mans Marlind, Bjorn Stein | United States |
| Paranormal Activity 4 | $142.8 million | YouTube | Henry Josst, Ariel Schulman | United States |
| The Woman in Black | $129 million | Paramount+, Pluto TV, Hoopla, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV & Fandango at Home | James Watkins | Canada, United Kingdom |
| ParaNorman | $107.1 million | YouTube | Sam Fell, Chris Butler | United States |
| The Devil Inside | $101.7 million | YouTube | William Brent Bell | United States |
| Sinister | $87.7 million | YouTube | Scott Derrickson | United States |
| The Possession | $82.9 million | YouTube | Ole Bornedal | United States |
| Frankenweenie | $81.5 million | Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV / iTunes, Google Play Movies, Fandango at Home, Vudu & Microsoft Store | Tim Burton | United States |
Take from that what you will, but I do find it fascinating that the ratings and box office numbers often don’t match each other (in any year).
My Personal Favorite Horror Films from 2012
So far, we’ve been pretty scientific. So let’s change the pace a little.
Here are my five personal favorite horror movies I saw in [YEAR]:
V/H/S
V/H/S (2012) is a scary found-footage horror movie made up of short stories. A group of people break into an old house to find a lost video tape. Instead, they discover a collection of strange and terrifying videos. Each video tells a different creepy story. Some are about monsters, others about ghosts or killers. The style changes with every tale, keeping things fresh and surprising.
Streaming Platforms: YouTube
Sinister
Sinister (2012) is a chilling horror film about a true crime writer who moves into a new home with his family. He finds a box of old film reels in the attic. They show disturbing scenes that seem connected to real crimes. As he watches the footage, strange things begin to happen in the house. Shadows move. Sounds echo through the halls. Something evil may be hiding in the dark.
Streaming Platforms: YouTube
The Bay
The Bay (2012) is a found-footage style horror film with a twist. It’s told through news clips, phone videos, and emergency calls. The story follows a small town by the water where something strange begins to spread. People get sick fast, and no one knows why. The government stays quiet, and panic grows. What starts as a normal holiday turns into a nightmare.
Streaming Platforms: YouTube
Paranormal Activity 4
Paranormal Activity 4 (2012) is the fourth chapter in the popular found-footage horror series. It follows a new family who starts experiencing strange and scary events in their home. The film uses security cameras and handheld footage to show the eerie happenings. The story builds on the supernatural mystery from the earlier movies, adding new twists and characters. It’s full of quiet, tense moments that slowly grow into terrifying scenes.
Streaming Platforms: YouTube
The Cabin in the Woods
The Cabin in the Woods (2012) is a clever and fresh take on horror movies. It starts like a typical scary story — a group of friends go to a remote cabin for a fun trip. But soon, things get very strange. The film mixes classic horror with unexpected twists. It plays with familiar scares but also surprises you in new ways. There’s humor, mystery, and lots of action.
Streaming Platforms: YouTube
Methodology
To create these lists of best 2012 horror films, I built a database of all known horror films. I included ratings, directors, box office numbers, languages, countries of origin, and many other data points.
Then, I filtered that database for 2012. From there, I sliced and diced by review platform ratings, aggregate ratings, and box office numbers.
But my personal list of 2012 favorites had no methodology at all. Up to you which list you like better.
😱
Alex Lindley is a writer, editor, and perhaps the world’s biggest horror and sci-fi movie fan. He started DarkFilmTheories.com to fill the void left by the removal of IMDb forums—where some of the best discussion about film meanings, themes, and theories once happened.
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