What horror films have the best costumes?

Horror projects often get the short end of the stick when it comes to award shows and ceremonies like the Oscars and the Emmy's but a few films and shows have received some awards and several others have been nominated but I think some of the best costuming in horror films comes from many different areas many of which were never nominated to begin with.

This ranking is based on my own opinions and you are more than welcome to have your own opinion on what's a better film for horror costumes or if something's not a good costume, etc. I will note when a film was nominated for something related to costuming or has won an award for said category but mostly this will contain my own opinions and the popular opinions of the internet. Feel free to comment your thoughts below, what you agree with, disagree with, think should've been added in here, etc. Just be respectful and kind!

I also just want to say that I am not a costuming expert, clothing historian, or visual effects expert. I just like costumes and how things look and as an avid horror consumer, I feel like I can tell what adds to the story and the characters and how the visuals can add to the story and the fear itself. I am a horror film fan and supporter and I'm just here enjoying the costumes.

Let's get into my top 10 best horror films for costumes!

Carrie White from Carrie (1976)

10. It (2017)

    
    

    Set in the 1980's New England Town, It from 2017 is a really comforting film in terms of the typical outfits worn by characters like the main "loser club" and the regular people of Derry Maine. It's pretty much what I wore in the 2000's growing up in New England so it's all pretty typical stuff but we all know we are here to talk about Pennywise. Pennywise in the old traditional clown outfit with ruffles and a monotone outfit accented with the large and inhuman forehead and large red hair making the spirit of Pennywise look uncanny and in-human at times. The simple costume paired with the crazy uncanny human but not-human face makes the outfit unassuming at first and pretty typical for a clown and then the face and character style makes it insane.

    
    
    
    

    9. The Conjuring (2013)

    
    

    This 1970's -style horror classic of the 2010's makes for a comforting and 70's accurate feel to the otherwise unsettling and terrifying film that is the Conjuring. My favorite Ed and Lorraine film costumes are in this film with Lorraine wearing the plaid maxi skirt and collared top with a classy up-do and her iconic rosary and Ed's cardigan and quiff look just make them look like real husband and wife ghost hunters.

    
    

    The Rest of the cast is accurately costumed as well with the children wearing more trendy costumes for the time and the parents wearing more "dated" looks that really help to differentiate who is who in the story. There's a minimalist color palette as well giving the film a way more grounded feeling and comforting visual tone so that the scares hit more and create more of an impact on the audience.

    
    

    That Lorraine Warren look I mentioned is my favorite of her's from the entire series of films due to the symbolism of it. She looks like a mother, which she is and figuratively is to the family her and Ed are fighting to help and protect which makes the soft and comfy style of the outfit make sense, but the large collared top makes her look almost regal which makes sense given her clairvoyant powers positioning her as a savior or angel figure to most who need her help.

    
    
    
    
    
    

    8. The First Omen (2024)

    
    

    This religious horror obviously surround the Catholic church and the nun community but the way that they use costume and the one main costume for our main character is really interesting as she begins a very sheltered woman who is preparing to plunge into her vows and become a full blown nun, she wears her habit and garments fully and correctly but slowly as she begins to unravel who she is and where she is from, she slowly becomes more disheveled and starts to abandon a few of her garments. First her habit, then her over coat and soon she ends up ripping it all up in a terrifying (and my favorite ever) scene.

    
    

    The other nuns use their habits to cover up certain details of who they are and what their plans are and I think that having nuns and the Catholic church in their traditional wear for the film adds to the mystery since clothing typically depicts who is a good guy and who is a bad guy but with nun and priests, that all goes out the window and you (the audience) views everyone as good and pure when that may not be the case for every single person.

    
    
    
    
    
    

    7. Lisa Frankenstein (2024)

    
    

    Lisa Frankenstein is such a fun film and it's a very colorful film that reflects the styles and colors of the 1980's merging into the 90's and so it's very over the top but our Lisa dresses in more dark colors to showcase her obsession with the darkness and death of the world. She dresses in 80's Wednesday Addams-like style and I love how well it seems to match with Victor (the resurrected corpse zombie from the Victorian era). The colors clash with one another as the characters do and they add to the story in ways that other films set in the 1980'90's don't do as well as this film does.

    
    

    There is some deviation from the standard for Lisa and Victor and we see a lot of sequences of them trying new things and stepping out of their status quo dress-code. This is a coming of age film and it shows a lot of characters figuring out who they are, what feels right to them and how they can adapt to change as needed.

    
    
    
    

    6. The Nun (2018)

    
    

    As I mentioned before with the First Omen, I like how mysterious the garments of nuns and priests are in films and with films that revolve around slow mysteries and horror elements I think its good to have the clothing remain a rather neutral character in it all. I love sister Irene's tan and white habit as she is good and pure and our protagonist of the film but still has to remain in the confines of her religious commitment.

    
    

    Frenchie on the other hand is laid back, poor and has very few religious limits or confines. His outfits reflect that farmer-ness that surrounds his character and the loose-fitting religious pull he feels as someone who very loosely believes in anything.

    
    

    The design of Valak (the demon nun) is a genius design since you are taking something so highly regarded as pure and good and twisting it into an omen of death and hell itself! If you haven't read my review on the Conjuring 2 (2016) I recommend you check that out since I went into greater detail on my love for the perversion of religious iconography and how effective it is in horror and more specifically religious horror.

    
    
    
    

    5. Carrie (1976)

    
    

    Carrie has one of the most iconic moments in film history when Carrie White goes to her prom in a beautiful pink dress that showcases her figure and her coming out of her very sheltered life just a little bit and just then, blood showers all over her while she stands in front of her peers in agony. It's iconic and I think for that one moment alone, the costume design deserves to be this high up on my ranking because if you saw any iteration of that scene or costume anywhere, you'd instantly recognize it's from Carrie (even the 2013 remake is as iconic)!

    
    

    The rest of the costumes in the film are well thought out and pretty accurate to what kids wore to school at the time (both 1976 and 2013 versions) and I applaud them for that accuracy.

    
    

    4. Pearl (2022)

    
    

    Taking place in 1918, the film by Ti West builds up his previous films' main antagonist Pearl, played by Mia Goth in both Pearl and X. Pearl is a young woman who yearns to away from her small farming home and live a life on the stage or on the big screen. She often wears her farming overalls and and undershirt with her farming boots and I love this simple and fairly unflattering look on her as a confining and simple lifestyle is that she's used to. Later on in the film, Pearl wears one of her strict mother's old dresses that's a bright red shade and very flattering on her as she attends a dance audition at the local church. This dress is what Pearl is seen wearing in the marketing for the film and on the posters and it's pretty iconic in film and horror. This with her hair pulled up and her farming boots still on is a staple of Pearl and her ruthless and bloodthirsty nature that we see come out at many points in the film.

    
    

    The other characters in this film are equally well dressed in fairly period accurate clothing. The different clothes reflect each character's social status, personality, dreams, etc and I think that's genius costuming when it's difficult to pick up on those details like the way the costumes in Pearl are done. The colors pop off the screen and make an impact on the audience that's incredibly well done and impactful.

    
    
    
    
    
    

    3. Rosemary's Baby (1968)

    
    

    This simple and more grounded film dissects femininity and motherhood through the costuming choices on Rosemary alone. Her silhouette is soft and flowy and reflects her meek and gentle nature. She also wears a lot of lighter and pastel colors like yellow, blue and green that all are calming and somewhat feminine looking on her. They also blend into her when she begins to grow frail and sickly nearing the birth of the baby. The costumes almost drown her out like the overwhelming thought that something is wrong with the baby does mentally to Rosemary.

    
    

    Her interesting neighbors are also well costumed to look like they have money but old money and the suits worn by the husband are worn but nice and expensive looking while the wife seems to dress however she wants and has the means to do so freely but still, everything seems worn and older as if she's had it for such a long time but can't part with it.

    
    
    
    

    2. Midsommar (2019)

    
    

    I think Midsommar is known for its costumes and bright colors unique to the film that make it so wonderful to look at. The most iconic scene in the film is the very last scene and the May Queen costume that Florence Pugh wears as Dani covered in greenery and bright flowers as her crown matches the dress and she cries and frowns into fame. The other costumes in this film really tell the audience how each character fits into the story and the overall narrative of the character driven story. In the beginning of the film, when all the college friends arrive to the community, they are wearing very revealing and casual hiking clothes that are colorful but still muted in tone while the rest of the community is wearing white frocks with embroidered symbolism and other details that give each background character, each side character and main character their own sense of self within the story but with the college group in the scenes, you can tell they are the outsiders and unaccustomed to the ways of the Harga. They are foreigners and not adjusted as they will soon become.

    
    

    It's a shame that this film did not receive a nomination for costume design from any awards programs because it's all truly unmistakable to the viewers what film is being referenced when they see only the costumes that they know so well and are so unlike every other horror film we have seen. They're bright, intricate and beautiful which is such a iconic way to push a horror films' costume department to think creatively and pervert something so pretty and wholesome like a white frock and flowers and make it into something crazy and wicked.

    
    
    
    

    1. Nosferatu (2024)

Nosferatu was in fact nominated for best costumes at the 2025 Oscars but did not win. The nomination was means enough though because it gained enough notoriety and fame from the one frame of actress Lily-Rose Depp standing in the snow with her black gown and bonnet framing her face and shedding a tear at realizing her fate to come. The costumes are period accurate and I love Ellen's (Lily-Rose Depp) costumes in this film. They say a lot about her character and how she changes and shows her love through her clothing. Ellen's wedding dress is perhaps my favorite costume of hers in the film. It's light and flowy symbolizing her new beginning with Thomas as she safely falls in love with him and swears that their love is sacred for the first time. The flowers on her veil are not lit properly but are still visibly lavender which is Ellen's flower in this film and how she is represented often times.

This film is almost completely lit by candlelight and natural light and the costumes had to be crafted to not only suit the story and the characters but also to adapt to the lighting changes and darkness. This isn't an easy task to complete but the costuming department really brought it and was really deserving of the not only the nomination but should have gotten the Oscar for best costuming (Though Wicked was incredibly well deserved of the win).

I can gush about this film all day because it's my favorite film ever but finally I want to point out the costume choices and design for Count Orlok who is 6 foot 6 in in this 2025 film. Bill Skarsgard is an incredible actor and one of my favorites to see in a lot of horror films because I know he throws himself into these roles. His character is a previous century dying corpse of a sorcerer and count of noble status and the costuming with his dress shirt and cloak and then his hat towering over everyone as he does even without it on. His clothes look too big for him and fall just like they'd be too big and that detail really gets me excited because he's literally a rotting corpse and his clothes are not going to fit a corpse like they would an actual living Orlok.