Very Scary Cases: the best modern horror movies
According to the Russian rating of TV series from Medialogia, domestic projects ranked 57 out of 100 positions in the first half of 2026. The selection was headed by one of the audience leaders of the monthly fantasy tops with horror elements "Stranger Things". Other horror series include the long—running "The Walking Dead" franchise, Stephen King's "It: Welcome to Derry" and the sci-fi thriller "From the Outside", perhaps the most intricate plot among modern projects. Together with experts from the film industry, Izvestia analyzes the formula of fear.
"Very strange things", 1st place
The series is more likely to be perceived as a nostalgic sci-fi drama about teenagers. The visual codes of the 1980s, where the action takes place, are responsible for nostalgia here. But the creators of the project, the Duffer brothers, were largely inspired by horror classics, using sound techniques characteristic of the genre, addressing the topic of obsession and finally creating monsters from the Inside Out — Demogorgon and Vecna, who live in a dangerous parallel dimension and try to drag more children there.
Sergey Sychev, film critic
— The series wonderfully combines the actual horror part and a parody of classic horror films. The first category includes what really scares a modern person: a child has disappeared; a child has returned, but it's not like he's back; the cozy little world of a tiny town becomes the epicenter of a war, first of regimes, and then of dimensions; a maniac with the habits of a pedophile. The second is, of course, monsters, referring to "Alien", "Hellraiser", "The Sinister Dead", "Carrie", "Twin Peaks" and other hits of the era in which the action takes place. So the project managed to be both nostalgic and relevant, which in many ways predetermined its super success.
"The Walking Dead", 16th place
The post-apocalyptic universe of "The Walking Dead" has been around for almost two decades — the first season was released in 2010. The story of how civilization collapsed and humanity was on the verge of survival has become one of the largest franchises of the 21st century: 11 seasons and a number of spin-offs have been released. Here, zombies are not just a physical threat, but also the personification of a new world, where no less a threat comes from survivors who, in conditions of competition, repeatedly find themselves on the edge and are forced to face a moral choice.
Max Chkonia, author of the Telegram channel "Max and TV series"
— The popularity of "The Walking Dead" is now based on spin-offs — there are already six of them. The franchise was lucky to be born at a time when the topic of zombie culture was at its peak, and as the main series faded, the authors simply divided the audience by interests. Viewers no longer need to watch everything: if you like Negan, there is a "Dead City", if you want Daryl, watch his solo album. Moreover, it is not necessary to know the entire ent of the franchise, so the audience of spin-offs is also growing due to new viewers who have not seen the main series. This allows the authors to experiment with formats as well: an adventure road movie and a romantic story set against the backdrop of the post-apocalypse can coexist in the same universe. This can go on indefinitely: characters will appear and die, locations will change. So for a few more years, the "Walkers" will most likely remain in the top.
"From the outside", 17th place
This is the most controversial modern horror: fans are furious on social media because there are more and more riddles with each episode and with each season, and less logic. But they continue to watch and share numerous theories of what is happening. The action takes place in a mysterious town, where each of its inhabitants got into by accident, as if they had lost their way. It is impossible to get out by an ordinary road — it leads in a circle. It would be fine, but at night monsters in human form come out of the forest, ready to tear anyone they meet apart. The only protection against them is the magical amulets that the locals hang on the door. Where do these amulets and the monsters themselves come from? What kind of ghosts of children appear to individual characters in visions and repeat: "Ankui"? Who is hiding under the mask of the man in yellow? After all, why can't the residents just hold a meeting and tell everyone what everyone knows about this strange place in order to put together a puzzle and get out?
Roman Volynsky, cultural journalist, author of the Telegram channel "Sorry to be gone for a year"
— "From the outside" is built on the path of a place that is easy to get to, but impossible to get out. And unlike "Under the Dome" (King's film adaptation) or "The Pines," the characters, like the audience, cannot establish the causality of their situation. Hence the suspiciously mystical atmosphere, which is not inferior to "Stay Alive". In addition, unlike other modern TV series, "From the Outside" is old-fashioned in a good way: the screenwriters do not turn the psychological traumas of the characters into horror directly. Everything here works according to its own laws, even if they are not fully understood.
Many viewers are annoyed that events are developing slowly, and the creators are not giving answers. But at the same time, most still continue to watch the series. Which is good. I assume that this is a deliberate strategy, largely opposed to projects where the scriptwriters artificially accelerate the action in almost every scene out of fear of losing the viewer. I hope that the creators won't give a specific answer in the finale, but that doesn't change his understanding. Ideally, after the end of the series, each viewer will have their own idea of what happened, and over time, thanks to the fan community and critics, we will come to some kind of interpretation that suits everyone more or less. As it was, for example, with "Stay Alive".
"It: Welcome to Derry," 92nd place
The Stephen King series is set in 1962, 27 years before the events of the film It (2017). Leroy Hanlon's military family, his wife and son Will, are moving to a small town. When children start dying there, a group of schoolchildren, along with a new student, begin an investigation.
Ivan Afanasyev, film critic
— Stephen King reveals the numerous phobias of our society and turns them into plots. "It" just exposes, probably, the greatest fear of an adult — this is fear for their children. King hits the pain points very precisely in many cases, and he is a very pliable writer for the film adaptation. The prequel "It: Welcome to Derry" can be called an independent successful project. I think that was the strategic idea of the creators — to make a series that would be interesting not only to those who have seen "It". You can start watching it without knowing anything at all about the original plot or even knowing what the book is about, and so on. It seems to me that new viewers will be interested in him, and there was definitely a bet on this.
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