13 Best Horror Movies to Watch on Friday the 13th

It's Friday the 13th: Time to curl up in a blanket, snuggle up to your loved one, and prepare to scream like a banshee.

The unlucky day is a dreary--some would say terrifying?--one here in Monrovia, the perfect kind of day to stay in and freak yourself out. Here's a list of my favorite horror movies. What's yours?

13. Event Horizon

If you've seen this movie, then you will probably agree that it's one of the most disturbing horror films ever made. There is a haunted spaceship. There is a hellish dimension. Eyeballs aren't where they're supposed to be. Watch this if you want some nightmares the morning of Saturday the 14th.

12. The Ring

Granted, the ending is kind of stupid and unbelievable. But the build-up to it, featuring creepy phone calls and video that literally kills you, makes the lame finish worth it.

11. Saw

These movies are pretty stupid gross-out flicks that fetishize violence, and I'm not too keen on that part. What I do like is the terrible script and dialogue, some of which is delivered by deadpan genius Cary Elwes (The Princess Bride). Unfortunately, Cary doesn't seem to be doing this one ironically.

10. The Strangers

I wasn't expecting much out of this one, but my wife and I were thoroughly freaked out. A bunch of psychos start terrorizing a young couple for no discernable reason. And--spoiler alert--there ain't a happy ending here, folks.

9. Friday the 13th

To tell you the truth, I don't know if I've ever seen this all the way through. I had to put it on the list for obvious reasons but I always thought a tall hockey player was kind of a lame horror monster.

8. Scream

This movie inspired its own Halloween mask and gleefully reveled in the "murder and hot chicks" horror formula that has sold many a ticket to teens.

7. Nightmare on Elm Street

I'm not talking about the remake, which was just so stupid that I couldn't be bothered to yawn. Original Freddy is a legend. He got burned up in a furnace and decided to take out his frustration with claw hands. Makes sense.

6. Grindhouse

Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez making separate, hilarious over-the-top grindhouse flicks? Yes please.

5. Hellraiser

Another one I've never seen all the way through, but kudos to the dude who pitched a monster with pins in his head and got the project green-lit.

4. The Blair Witch Project

Some people hated this, I thought it was sufficiently creepy and suspenseful. The camerawork may make you lose your lunch, but at least it was kind of original.

3. The Prophecy

Christopher Walken is an evil angel, and he flies around while generally acting like a creep/himself. Why no one thought to have Walken star in a horror film before this is beyond me.

2. 28 Days Later/28 Weeks Later

These relatively recent zombie flicks actually make for good cinema beyond the simple gross-out factor. The country/world is infected with the "rage virus," and a group of survivors tries to avoid getting turned into vicious flesh-eating zombies. But there are some sweet moments, trust me, and the suspense is terrificaly managed.

1. The Shining

Who said horror has to be cheesy? This Kubrick classic features a seminal performance by Jack Nicholson and some classic, creepy imagery (blood-filled elevators, Redrum, Here's Johnny!) that will forever be etched into our collective terrified minds. Just look at on Halloween for proof that this is one of the most influential horror movies ever made.