Now that Halloween is over and you might be reeling from some post-Halloween-depression as I was, I’ve come to realize that why stop all the fun (or fear)? If you know anything about me, I’m a big fan of horror movies. What can I say? I love being spooked! That being said, in order to keep the spirit of spooky season alive, here’s a list of hair-raising movies that are a must-watch. So grab some popcorn, facetime your friends, and get ready to be spooked!
- Midsommar (2019)
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Midsommar is about a couple and their friends who travel to Sweden to visit a rural village to celebrate a mid-summer festival. Everything starts out normal, but soon enough, it is apparent that things don’t quite seem to add up.
Midsommar has to be my favourite horror movie of all time. I’ve lost count on how many times I’ve watched this movie, and I credit this flick for getting me more into the world of film. The reason why I love this movie is not just for the gore, but how beautiful every scene in this picture is. Despite it being disturbing, every scene seems to be brilliantly calculated to reveal meaningful insights that contribute to the overarching theme of the film. . I would recommend watching this movie once, followed by the director’s cut to see the deleted scenes.
Check out the trailer of the movie.
- Hereditary (2018)
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A movie written and directed by the person who created Midsommar, Ari Aster, Hereditary is a tale about a family grieving about a recent death. The death causes many other tragic and disturbing incidents, which leads to deeply-rooted family secrets to be revealed.
The trailers I watched were nothing like the actual film. I was shocked, and I wasn’t anticipating all that happened in the movie at all. I love this movie and Toni Collette’s performance as Annie was unforgettable. Her performance was so emotionally riveting that she won a Chainsaw Award for Best Actress.
Check out the trailer of the movie.
- The Ritual (2017)
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The Ritual is about a friend group who reunite following a tragedy by taking a trip to the forest. Everything seems fine at first, but they soon realize that a presence in the forest is stalking them. This is a good horror film for those who are bored by jump scares and although sometimes unsettling, this movie is not an utter gore fest as it has a good continuous storyline.
Check out the trailer for this movie.
- Possum (2018)
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Possum is about a puppeteer who returns back to his childhood home and is forced to confront the child abuse from his past. A disturbing marionette doll called ‘the Possum’ haunts him. Even though he tries to throw it away, the Possum won’t leave him. I would say that this is more of a thriller than a horror movie,, but it is definitely still unsettling and tense.
Check out the trailer for this movie.
- The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017
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The Killing of a Sacred Deer is another favourite movie of mine. Holding a story so intriguing, I often still think of it today.t. The plot is about a surgeon who befriends a boy. When he introduces this boy to his family, a bizarre illness spreads to his relatives and the surgeon is forced to make an unthinkable sacrifice by the end. The movie is inspired by Greek tragedies and is specifically based on Iphigenia at Aulis by Euripides.
Check out the trailer of the movie.
- Martyrs (2008)
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Not to be confused with the 2015 remake, Martyrs is about a woman seeking revenge against the people who kidnapped and tormented her as a child. Her childhood friend comes along for this journey and they re-experience everything that they went through in the past.
The movie’s ending was probably my favourite part as it’s opened up to interpretation. The 2008 version of this movie is a lot gorier than the 2015 remake but if you can handle it, I would recommend you watch the original.
Check out the trailer for the 2015 movie.
- The Perfection (2018)
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The Perfection is a movie that seems like it is full of never-ending plot twists. The plot of this movie is about a musical prodigy who is seeking out the new star pupil of her former school. When they encounter each other, they go down a disturbing path. The trailer for this movie is not what you would expect the actual movie to be about, as it’s not your usual run of the mill thriller movie. I can’t reveal a lot as it will spoil the rest of the movie, but you’ll be at the edge of your seat the whole time.
Check out the trailer for the movie.
- Les Affamés (2017)
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Les Affamés (“The Ravenous”) is a Canadian horror movie based in a small village in Québec and is about the remaining survivors in a zombie apocalypse.
The zombies in this movie aren’t your typical slow-moving creepers, which is also a better reason to check this film out. Robin Aubert, writer-director of the movie, said in an interview with The Verge that, “this is [his] most political film” and his “most social film because [of how his execution of the] zombies are a reflection of what [hethinks] about humanity.”
Check out the trailer for the movie.
- Mother! (2017)
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Starring Jennifer Lawrence, Mother! is about a couple’s relationship that is tested when uninvited guests arrive at their home. I don’t want to explain more of this plot because then I’ll just be spoiling the whole movie, so I’ll just recommend that you give it a watch. This film might be confusing to the first time viewer so watch it again as you might find a deeper meaning to the story.
Check out the trailer for the movie.
- The Babadook (2014)
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I watched this movie with no concept of the plot but instead, knowing that there was a scary monster in the movie that probably features a couple of jump scares. The Babadook plays along with being both supernatural and a psychological terror. It will make you think whether there is a Babadook lurking in your basement or within you.
The movie follows a widowed mother and troubled son who find a mysterious pop-up book that describes a creature called The Babadook. My favorite thing about this movie was the fact that the film’s background is in black and white, which fills the viewer with, “suspenseful, anticipation” feeling. Honestly, the monster in this movie freaked me out the most in terms of every prior film mentioned as he was unsettling to look at. I would genuinely try to skip any scenes that the Babadook appears in!
Check out the trailer for the movie.