Top 10 Scariest Action Movies of All Time
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#10: "The Guest" (2014)
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After the Petersons lose their son Caleb in Afghanistan, a visit from his squad mate David seems like a welcome surprise in this thriller. As he offers to take care of the family and help them through their loss, they're more than happy to let him stay with them. But when he violently deals with their son Luke's bullies, his darker side becomes a lot clearer. The Petersons quickly find themselves in danger after David takes a lethal approach to a gun deal and brings a hit squad his way. Slowly revealing the monster inside, director Adam Wingard shocks you within the action itself.
#9: "The Purge: Anarchy" (2014)
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Expanding the lawless terror of the first film, this sequel brings the carnage across the city. During the annual legal crime-spree known as The Purge, Shane and Liz are trapped outside on their way home from the store. Teaming up with Eva and Cali, they find themselves at Death's door as they narrowly dodge death squads throughout the city. Amplifying the gory concept and upping the scares of the original are the new locations and eccentric killers. Bigger and more bloody as well, this sequel makes it hard to catch your breath as each corner opens up a new set of dangers.
#8: "I Am Legend" (2007)
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Based on the Richard Matheson novel, this film adaptation follows one of the only survivors of a deadly virus as he tries to survive on his own in New York City. Robert Neville is hardly alone though, wrestling with animals, bloodthirsty mutants and even his own sanity while scavenging each day. While working on a cure and waiting out the attacks in his home, Neville is attacked nightly by swarms of the deadly Darkseekers. Unsure whether he's predator or prey, Neville starts slipping as his ability to cope is run dry. With a jarring mix of the mundane and monstrous, along with the unease of Neville's deteriorating mind, Neville's story catches viewers off-guard again and again.
#7: "From Dusk Till Dawn" (1996)
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In this Quentin Tarantino-penned and Robert Rodriguez-directed motion picture, the Gecko brothers agree to let the Fullers go once their hostages help them get across the Mexican border. Enjoying some shots and strippers at a bar, the families quickly make peace before Richie Gecko gets bitten. As the Titty Twister quickly turns into a vampire bloodbath, the patrons are violently picked off. The surviving humans band together against their demonic attackers, but their friends are soon turned against them. So they decide to fight back by forging creative weapons to launch stakes and holy water against the vampire horde. Whether it's the monsters or the high-octane action, the adrenaline in this film doesn’t ease up from dusk until dawn.
#6: "The Mummy" (1999)
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This action horror movie sees Evelyn and Rick accidentally wake the dead when they go searching for artifacts in Egypt – which is never a good idea. The summoning of the ancient high priest Imhotep turns the adventure into a gruesome one as the reanimated corpse starts killing off their comrades by bringing on plagues of locusts, hail and even blood. As such, the seemingly lighthearted treasure-seeking adventure flick gets surprisingly morbid. There are laughs, but the characters’ journey is also terrifying thanks to some disturbing deaths and hauntingly life-like mummies. Taking on the army of undead with guns and even a plane, they don't let their intimidating villains scare them off however. But thanks to the impressive special effects, audiences had every right to be scared too.
#5: "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" (1984)
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Indy's adventures got considerably darker for his second outing. Searching for a magical stone in India, Jones and friends find a lot more terror than treasure. Despite its PG rating, we see Indy being whipped, forced to drink blood and even tortured through voodoo. At its most brutal, we even see a man's heart ripped out of his body before he's burned alive in lava. The gang's dinner is a horror itself, as they're forced to eat live insects and snakes, with monkey brains for dessert. The movie’s production was even scary for the cast and crew as Kate Capshaw had to allegedly endure filming with thousands of creepy crawlies on her.
#4: "Jurassic Park" (1993)
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In this sci-fi adventure, a team of experts descend on a dinosaur theme park and are filled with wonder upon seeing dinos in the flesh. As the park runs into electrical problems however, they get over that pretty quickly. With a Tyrannosaurus loose, the park's lawyer is eaten and children on the island are terrorized by the genetically created monster. As raptors kill people left and right, “Jurassic Park” starts to feel like a slasher flick. At their massive sizes, even the herbivores become dangerous in stampedes. Thanks to the film's clever mix of CGI and practical effects, the dinosaurs felt real enough to make us scream.
#3: "The Terminator" (1984)
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On the run from a killer robot, Sarah Connor has to fight for her life in this sci-fi flick. With zero emotion and enough lead to take on an army, however, the Terminator won't stop until Sarah is dead. As the cyborg assassin kills other Sarah Connors in an attempt to find her, Sarah realizes her days are numbered. Teaming up with Kyle Reese, she finds out the Terminator is from a machine-controlled apocalypse. The issue is that you might not even spot the robot while prowling through L.A, thanks to its human camouflage. Even more haunting without its skin, the seemingly unstoppable Terminator is the stuff of nightmares and what makes this James Cameron-directed film both terrifying and memorable.
#2: "Predator" (1987)
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“Predator” finds Dutch and his motley crew of soldiers on a simple search and rescue mission deep in the jungle. After finding skinned corpses however, they quickly understand something is very wrong. Launching bullets and explosions galore, the troop wipes out a base with guns blazing. But after being spotted through thermal sights, the soldiers are taken out by a plasma cannon. Only able to catch flashes of the killer creature that stealthily hunts down the squad with its weapons and invisibility, the soldiers find that they can't even reason with the creature. Equal parts action, sci-fi and close-quarters horror, the film managed to blend all 3 genres to great effect. Before we get to our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions: "Constantine" (2005) "Hollow Man" (2000) "Cloverfield" (2008) “Overlord” (2018) “Pitch Black” (2000)
#1: "Aliens" (1986)
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Returning to the exomoon where she first encountered the Xenomorph, Ripley is more than worried about what happened to the people of LV-426. In this “Alien” sequel, Ripley and her team of marines find much more than one alien: they find that the terraforming colony set up there has seemingly disappeared. What they soon discover is truly bone-chilling: the aliens are using the human colonists as incubators for their progeny and that they’re ready to do anything to protect their unborn. With even more aliens than the first film, we see the massive swarm rip through the soldiers and throw everyone into a panic, especially as they’re unable to stop the horde with their extensive firepower. Along with meltdowns and some larger than life brawls, the action in “Aliens” more than matches its creepy monster designs.