# The best Spanish horror films

From 1970s 'fantaterror' to the generation of Amenábar, Balagueró and Bayona: the Spanish horror films that come up most in lists by Espinof, eCartelera and the film press.

- 773 votes · 21 items
- Sep 1, 2024 · Alba Cano
- https://even.best/en/l/114/the-best-spanish-horror-films

## Top 20

1. **\[REC\]** (71 · ▲77 ▼6) — Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza, 2007. A TV reporter trapped in a quarantined Barcelona building, all shot on handheld camera.
2. **The Others** (54 · ▲59 ▼5) — Alejandro Amenábar, 2001. Nicole Kidman in a Jersey mansion in 1945; the highest-grossing Spanish horror film.
3. **The Orphanage** (47 · ▲53 ▼6) — J. A. Bayona, 2007. Belén Rueda returns to the orphanage of her childhood; produced by Guillermo del Toro.
4. **The Devil's Backbone** (36 · ▲37 ▼1) — Guillermo del Toro, 2001. An orphanage during the Spanish Civil War and the ghost of Santi; a Spanish co-production by the Almodóvar brothers.
5. **The Telephone Box** (34 · ▲36 ▼2) — Antonio Mercero, 1972. José Luis López Vázquez trapped in a phone box; a TVE medium-length film that won an International Emmy.
6. **Veronica** (32 · ▲38 ▼6) — Paco Plaza, 2017. A Ouija board at a school in Vallecas in 1991, inspired by a real case.
7. **Thesis** (30 · ▲37 ▼7) — Alejandro Amenábar, 1996. A student investigates snuff films at her university; seven Goyas.
8. **The Day of the Beast** (28 · ▲30 ▼2) — Álex de la Iglesia, 1995. A priest, a metalhead and a TV psychic try to stop the birth of the Antichrist in Madrid.
9. **Tombs of the Blind Dead** (24 · ▲30 ▼6) — Amando de Ossorio, 1972. The blind zombie Templar knights; a peak of Spanish 'fantaterror'.
10. **Who Can Kill a Child?** (23 · ▲35 ▼12) — Narciso Ibáñez Serrador, 1976. A tourist couple on an island where the children have killed the adults.
11. **Sleep Tight** (21 · ▲30 ▼9) — Jaume Balagueró, 2011. Luis Tosar as a concierge who wants to make a tenant miserable.
12. **Coven** (21 · ▲25 ▼4) — Pablo Agüero, 2020. Young women accused of witchcraft in the Basque Country in 1609; five Goyas.
13. **Shrew's Nest** (19 · ▲24 ▼5) — Juanfer Andrés and Esteban Roel, 2014. Macarena Gómez as an agoraphobic seamstress in 1950s Madrid.
14. **Fragile** (17 · ▲23 ▼6) — Jaume Balagueró, 2005. Calista Flockhart at a children's hospital about to close on the Isle of Wight.
15. **Witching and Bitching** (14 · ▲21 ▼7) — Álex de la Iglesia, 2013. Robbers flee to a Navarre village full of witches; eight Goyas.
16. **The Werewolf Versus the Vampire Woman** (14 · ▲18 ▼4) — León Klimovsky, 1971. Paul Naschy as the werewolf Waldemar Daninsky; a 'fantaterror' hit.
17. **The Nameless** (14 · ▲17 ▼3) — Jaume Balagueró, 1999. A mother gets a call from her missing daughter; based on Ramsey Campbell.
18. **Open Your Eyes** (12 · ▲20 ▼8) — Alejandro Amenábar, 1997. Eduardo Noriega and Penélope Cruz; between thriller, sci-fi and nightmare.
19. **The Grandmother** (10 · ▲18 ▼8) — Paco Plaza, 2021. A model returns from Paris to look after her grandmother in Madrid.
20. **It Happened in Broad Daylight** (7 · ▲19 ▼12) — Ladislao Vajda, 1958. A killer of young girls in a Swiss village, with Gert Fröbe; a Spanish-Swiss co-production.
21. **Julia's eyes** (5 · ▲6 ▼1) — Horror thriller by Guillem Morales (2010), produced by Guillermo del Toro and starring Belén Rueda.

How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.