10 Terrifying Horror Movies Where Nobody Dies

Four decades on, Tobe Hooper's Poltergeist still remains one of the most brilliantly structured horrors ever. With its perfect pace, quotable dialogue, flawlessly executed jump-scares, Zelda Rubinstein's career-defining performance, and Oscar-nominated special effects, there's no question this spooky extravaganza has lost none of its power.

This feat is more impressive, since Poltergeist concludes without one fatality. Considering The Texas Chain Saw Massacre director was helming the project, a couple of people were expected to meet with a grisly end. 

Stranger still, it's easy not to realise everybody made it out alive, since Poltergeist is teeming with nightmare fuel - the skeletons rising out of the pool, Diane being dragged across the ceiling by the spirit, Marty ripping his face off, and THAT freaking clown! - In the end, everyone leaves with their limbs still intact and heads firmly attached to their shoulders, despite the fact the family were sucked into TVs, strangled by dolls, and attacked by trees.

Even though there are many horror directors who equate a high kill count with scares, Poltergeist demonstrates how to tell a petrifying story without a single character losing their life.