13 lesser-known horror movies worth watching

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

These films received good reviews from critics and were nominated for film awards, but remained in the shadows.

High-profile Hollywood premieres often overshadow lesser-known representatives of the genre, and the good old cult horror films have probably been seen even by those who do not like them. Lifehacker has collected 13 not-so-popular horror films that have been noted by critics or received awards and nominations from prestigious genre film festivals.

Time loop

• Spain, 2007.
• Horror, Mystic, Sci-Fi.
• Duration: 92 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 2.

Hector lives in a country house with his wife. One day he notices a naked girl in the forest and goes after her. Suddenly he is attacked by a man with a bloody bandage on his face. Trying to escape, Hector wanders into the depths of the forest and finds a time machine.

The film received overwhelmingly positive reviews from critics. Winner of eight awards at international genre film festivals.

House at the end of time

• Venezuela, 2013.
• Drama, horror, mysticism.
• Duration: 101 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 8.

An elderly woman is released from prison, where she spent the past 30 years on charges of murdering her husband. She returns to the house where everything happened. But there is something sinister lurking there, and she must figure out who is really responsible for the tragedy.

The film received two awards at the largest American festival of horror films Screamfest: for best film and for best director.

Uninvited guest

• Spain, 2004.
• Drama, horror, mysticism.
• Duration: 90 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 8.

The young architect Felix lives alone in a mansion. Once a stranger knocks on the door and asks to let him in to ring the bell. The young man agrees, leaving the guest alone with the phone. But when Felix returns, the mysterious stranger is gone. Is he gone or is he wandering somewhere in the huge house?

He was nominated for Best Film at the Catalonia International Fantastic Film Festival and for Best Director's Debut at the Spanish Goya National Film Awards.

The demon inside

• UK, USA, 2016.
• Horror, mysticism, thriller.
• Duration: 86 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 8.

Two pathologists - father and son - were instructed to examine the corpse of the murdered girl, which has no apparent cause of death. In the course of the research, terrible secrets are revealed to them, which her dead body keeps in itself.

The film received seven awards at themed film festivals and was highly praised by critics. A recognized master of the genre, writer Stephen King, also spoke in favor of the film.

Dead end

• France, 2003.
• Adventure, horror, mysticism.
• Duration: 80 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 7.

For 20 years in a row, on Christmas Eve, Frank and his family go to his mother-in-law. Every year he drives the same road, but this time he decided to take a shortcut. This was a fatal mistake: the road does not end in any way, and a strange fellow traveler and a mysterious black car accompany the family on this endless journey.

The film won seven awards at genre festivals, two of which were at the popular Brussels Fantastic Film Festival.

Enlightenment

• Spain, 2004.
• Horror, mysticism, thriller.
• Duration: 118 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 7.

Julia has a serious eye condition. She learns that her twin sister Sarah hanged herself at her home. Sarah suffered from the same illness, which eventually led to complete blindness. Julia is sure that her sister was killed. She begins her own investigation, but she needs to hurry: her eyesight is getting worse every day.

The Spanish film has received 11 nominations for film awards, and its rating on the Rotten Tomatoes website, based on critics, is 92%.

Psychic

• UK, 2011.
• Horror, thriller.
• Duration: 107 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 5.

1921, England. A skeptic scientist who is famous for exposing mystical phenomena comes to a boarding school where a ghost allegedly dwells. With the help of science, she is going to prove that once again these are empty inventions, but every day strange events make her begin to doubt her abilities.

The film won a special jury prize at the Gérardmer International Fantastic Film Festival.

Stricken

• Canada, USA, 2013.
• Horror, mysticism, thriller.
• Duration: 86 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 3.

Friends Derek and Cliff go on a trip. They are going to travel around the world and visit the most remote corners of the planet. But the adventure turns into a nightmare when one of them picks up a monstrous infection.

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film earned an 82% rating based on film critics' reviews. The film also received 12 nominations and six awards, one of which was Best Picture at the International Fantastic Film Festival in Austin, Texas.

Fragility

• Spain, UK, 2005.
• Thriller, horror.
• Duration: 101 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 1.

A nurse named Amy arrives at the old children's hospital, which is preparing to close. She becomes attached to the orphan Maggie, and she tells her a story about a "mechanical girl" who lives on a closed floor of a hospital. Amy considers this to be fiction until what happens in the hospital makes her question her beliefs.

The film received six nominations and seven awards, including the Spanish National Film Goya Award for Best Special Effects and the Audience Award at the Gerardmer International Fantastic Film Festival.

Puppeteer

• South Korea, 2004.
• Horror, thriller.
• Duration: 90 minutes.
• IMDb: 5, 8.

Five young people are invited to the house of the famous puppeteer. The master is confined to a wheelchair and hardly leaves her office. The house contains a whole gallery of dolls that are incredibly similar to living people. Gradually, an exciting adventure turns into a nightmare, and the heroes begin to die one by one.

The film received the award for Best Film at the International Fantastic Film Week in Malaga in 2006 and was also nominated for the Best Foreign Film Award at the Portuguese Film Festival Fantasporto.

We are still here

• USA, 2015.
• Horror.
• Duration: 84 minutes.
• IMDb: 5, 7.

After the death of their son, Ann and Paul move to a country house in a quiet town to start life from scratch. By the law of the genre, strange things begin to happen in the house. The grieving couple are surrounded by ghosts with dark intentions. Ann and Paul have to deal with them and save their souls.

Critics praised the film after the world premiere, and Rolling Stone magazine included the film in the list of the ten best horror films of 2015.

Honeymoon

• USA, 2013.
• Horror, mysticism, thriller.
• Duration: 87 minutes.
• IMDb: 5, 7.

Newly married couple Paul and Bee head to the lake house for the perfect honeymoon. But something goes wrong: in one of the first days, Paul finds B wandering aimlessly through the night forest. After that night, the husband notices his wife's strange behavior and begins to suspect that something was wrong in the forest.

The film received good reviews from critics and scored 78% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Kids games

• Spain, 2011.
• Horror, thriller.
• Duration: 92 minutes.
• IMDb: 5, 5.

This film has nothing to do with the popular movie about the killer doll Chucky. Daniel and Laura are a married couple and school teachers. One day a man named Mario comes to Daniel and asks to help his daughter Julia. Daniel refuses him, and the next day he sees an announcement in the newspaper about the death of Mario. He committed suicide. The family takes Julia under their care, but this negatively affects Daniel's condition, and Laura begins to suspect that her husband is hiding something terrible from her.

The film participated in the competition program of the 2012 Berlin Film Festival.