Kevin Bacon’s Ultimate Horror Watchlist: The ‘Friday the 13th’ Star’s Favorite Scary Movies, From ‘Smile’ to ‘Don’t Look Now’

Few actors have a better claim to horror credentials than Kevin Bacon. He got an early start in the genre as the doomed camp counselor Jack in the original ‘Friday the 13th’, whose arrow-through-the-neck death became one of the slasher classic’s most memorable moments. Since then he has returned to horror again and again, from ‘Tremors’ to ‘Stir of Echoes’ to ‘MaXXXine’.

He is also a fan, not just a performer. In past interviews, Bacon has said he is a consumer of the genre and that when a new horror film piques his interest, he is front and center on opening weekend. As Halloween approaches, his personal ranking of the scariest movies is making the rounds again, and it makes for a well-rounded watchlist.

The list contains 20 of his favorite horror films, shared in no particular order. It runs from ‘Smile’, ‘Slither’ and ‘Get Out’ to ‘Martyrs’, ‘Audition’ and ‘The Witch’, and continues with ‘Hereditary’, ‘Midsommar’, ‘The Descent’, ‘Stir of Echoes’ and ’28 Days Later’. The remaining picks include ‘The Love Witch’, ‘Don’t Look Now’, ‘Dawn of the Dead’, ‘Shaun of the Dead’, ‘Let the Right One In’, ‘One Cut of the Dead’, ‘The Blair Witch Project’ and ‘A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night’, along with the ‘X’, ‘Pearl’ and ‘MaXXXine’ trilogy.

Bacon originally shared the picks in October 2024, in a short rapid-fire video. His caption on TikTok said spooky season calls for a rundown of his favorites, and he invited fans to comment with their own. The video reportedly runs about 55 seconds, and he sped through each title.

The ordering in the version now circulating differs from the video, but the titles are the same, with the trilogy counted as a single entry. That is part of why the list works so well as a recommendation. It is short enough to binge across a month of October nights.

Friday the 13th star Kevin Bacon lists his Top 20 favorite horror movies of all time in no particular order: • Smile (2022) • Slither (2006) • Get Out (2017) • Martyrs (2008) • Audition (1999) • The Witch (2015) • Hereditary (2018) • Midsommar (2019) • The Descent (2005) • Stir of Echoes (1999) • 28 Days Later (2002) • The Love Witch (2016) • Don’t Look Now (1973) • Dawn of the Dead (1978) • Shaun of the Dead (2004) • Let the Right One In (2008) • One Cut of the Dead (2017) • The Blair Witch Project (1999) • A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014) • X (2022), Pearl (2022), MaXXXine (2024) *trilogy*

— CoveredGeekly (@CoveredGeekly) October 28, 2026

Several picks come with family or career ties. ‘Stir of Echoes’ is a 1999 film Bacon starred in, and ‘MaXXXine’ is his most recent horror credit. ‘Smile’ stars his daughter, Sosie Bacon, and was directed by Parker Finn.

‘Slither’ also has a connection. The horror comedy about infectious worm monsters was directed by James Gunn, and Bacon later worked with Gunn on ‘The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special’, in which he played himself. Even the choices that are not tied to his own work show an affection for creature features and genre comedies.

What stands out is how international and varied the picks are. The list includes the Japanese films ‘Audition’ and ‘One Cut of the Dead’, the French extremity classic ‘Martyrs’, the Swedish vampire drama ‘Let the Right One In’ and Nicolas Roeg’s ‘Don’t Look Now’. It also leans on modern auteurs, with Jordan Peele’s ‘Get Out’, Ari Aster’s ‘Hereditary’ and ‘Midsommar’, and Robert Eggers’ ‘The Witch’.

There is plenty of crowd-pleasing material as well, including ‘Shaun of the Dead’, ’28 Days Later’ and George A. Romero’s ‘Dawn of the Dead’. Bacon was careful to specify the 1978 version of the latter. Few of the titles are truly obscure, but casual viewers may find a few they have missed.

Bacon has explained why the genre appeals to him as an actor. He has said that horror has high stakes, which means there is good material to play, and that it is very actable. He has also said he does not think of himself as a scream king, despite his history.

He is not a fan of everything, either. Promoting his film ‘Family Movie’, he told Variety that he doesn’t like the ‘Friday the 13th’ series all that much except the first one, and that ‘Terrifier 2’ had him laughing hysterically. That honesty is part of what makes his recommendations feel personal rather than obligatory.

For anyone planning a Halloween marathon, the list offers a mix of slow-burn dread, gore, dark comedy and cult favorites. It is also a reminder that one of horror’s most recognizable faces has excellent taste. Whether you start with ‘Smile’ or save ‘Audition’ for last is up to you.

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