10 Best 90s Teen Horror Movies You Need To Watch

Do you like scary movies? Well, you're in luck: here are 10 of the nineties' most iconic.

Urban Legend
Sony Pictures

The 1990s were a peculiar time for horror films. Jason went to Hell, Freddy had his final nightmare and Michael Myers was deep underwater in Halloween: H20. And the less said about the Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation, the better.

Which is not to say that the nineties wasn't a good time for horror. This is the decade which brought fans the likes of Candyman, Event Horizon, Wes Craven's New Nightmare, The Silence of the Lambs and Ringu. Some of the greatest scary movies ever made, and all very deep, dark adult horror.

But what of the teenagers? From the horny camp counsellors of Crystal Lake to Nancy and her friends at Elm Street, teenagers have always been at the forefront of the genre, dying at the hands of its horror icons, zombie hordes or alien invasions. In some ways, the nineties were a formative time for teenage horror - producing an all-time classic by which we judge all other teen-led slasher movies.

Here we take a look at some of the very best; checking in on some old friends and meeting some new ones along the way. We could only include one Scream movie though. After all, there are certain rules one must abide to.

10. Urban Legend

Urban Legend
TriStar Pictures

The very best of the 90s Scream rip-offs, Urban Legend takes its inspiration from, uh, urban legends. Set on an American college campus and featuring a hooded serial killer who uses hokey old urban legends to kill their victims, it's a great murder mystery and gnarly teen slasher flick.

Its cast is stacked too, featuring a baby-faced Jared Leto, Joshua Jackson, Michael Rosenbaum and more. Horror fans with a keen eye will also note the presence of Robert Englund (A Nightmare on Elm Street), Brad Dourif (Child's Play) and budding Scream Queen Danielle Harris (Halloween 4, and with so many more great horror films to come in the following years).

Cribbing the Scream template without being completely beholden to it, the film stands firmly on its own two feet thanks to the cast's performances (yes, even Leto), its compelling whodunnit plot, and the creative kill sequences.

Rosenbaum may be best known for his time on Smallville, but we'll always remember him as the poor schmuck who dies guzzling down a bottle of bleach in the bathroom.

Contributor
Contributor

A film critic and professional writer of over ten years, Joel Harley has a deep and abiding love of all things horror, Batman and Nicolas Cage. He can be found writing online and in print, all over the Internet and in especially good bookstores.