22 horror movies that give you more than you expected

22. Hungry Z

Canada, 2017.
Horror, drama.
Duration: 104 minutes.
IMDb: 5, 8.

A small settlement in Canada is at the mercy of a zombie virus. Scattered survivors form groups and try to get out of the infected area, but undead are found literally at every turn. Moreover, monsters not only hunt people, but also participate in mysterious rituals, collecting mountains from garbage.

It is hard to imagine that the story of the living dead can be mixed with a philosophical narration in the spirit of Tarkovsky or Bresson. But Hungry Z looks like that. The film scares with silence, long plans of abandoned territories and mysteriously dying zombies.

21. Paris. Zombie city

France, 2018.
Horror, drama.
Duration: 93 minutes.
IMDb: 6, 0.

One day Sam went to pick up his things from his ex-girlfriend's apartment and got to a noisy party. He fell asleep in a closed room. The awakened hero found that everyone around him was either dead or turned into zombies. From that moment on, the young man locks himself in the house and tries to survive without going outside.

Another unusual film showing the most realistic human reaction to zombies. Sam does not go in search of something, does not fight with enemies, but simply lives alone and gradually goes crazy. The picture acquired particular relevance during the time of the general lockdown in 2020.

20. Censor

UK, 2021.
Horror.
Duration: 84 minutes.
IMDb: 6, 0.

Enid works on the censorship committee in Britain in the 1980s: she cuts the most explicit and bloody scenes from horror films, sometimes marveling at the directors' mania. Even as a child, the heroine's sister disappeared. And when Enid sees in the next horror a girl who is very similar to Nina, she becomes literally obsessed with finding the author of the picture and loses touch with reality.

The low-budget film of the British Prano Bailey-Bond reveals several unusual themes at once. On the one hand, he sneers at the topical issue of cruelty in cinema, which supposedly affects the level of violence in the world. On the other hand, it plunges the main character into the world of obsession, and the viewer himself has to distinguish reality from her fantasies.

19. Mom

Spain, Canada, 2013.
Horror, thriller, drama.
Duration: 100 minutes.
IMDb: 6, 2.

After the death of their parents, two girls survived for several years in the forest under the supervision of a certain supernatural “mother”. Later they are taken to be raised by the father's brother and his wife. But the creepy creature is not going to abandon "its" children.

At first glance, Andres Muschetti's debut film, based on his own short, resembles a classic horror movie about a monster stalking a family. But in fact, the author reveals the topic of upbringing: the foster mother performed by Jessica Chastain changes greatly for the sake of the girls throughout the picture. But still, perhaps children are better off with the monster to which they are already accustomed.

18. Burden

Australia 2017.
Horror, drama.
Duration: 105 minutes.
IMDb: 6, 3.

A zombie apocalypse has occurred in the world. After a bite, a person in two days turns into a monster who thinks only about food. Andy is infected and has less than 48 hours to find a new home for his child.

Debutants Ben Howling and Yolanda Ramke managed to put in the atmosphere of a zombie horror a touching drama about fatherly love, which can even conquer death itself. The authors very well chose Martin Freeman for the lead role. His Andy turned out to be as far as possible from the typical cool heroes who fight the living dead. But the character looks very lively.

17. Mandy

UK, Belgium, France, USA, 2018.
Horror, thriller.
Duration: 121 minutes.
IMDb: 6, 5.

Lumberjack Red and his beloved Mandy live in a secluded house by the lake. But the girl liked the leader of the local religious cult. He orders his assistants to kidnap Mandy, mocks her, and then kills her. Going mad with grief, Red decides to take revenge on the villains in the most cruel way.

Nicolas Cage has starred in many horror films over the years, but most of them are considered unsuccessful. Here, the authors relied on his specific acting game: the hero almost constantly screams. And the plot of the picture itself turned out to be very grotesque: there is even a duel on chainsaws. All together turns the story into a kind of drug addiction.

16. Key to all doors

USA, Germany, 2005.
Horror, thriller.
Duration: 104 minutes.
IMDb: 6, 5.

Caroline takes a job as a nurse for an elderly man with a disability who lives with his wife in a huge house. When the heroine is given a key that can be used to open any door, she discovers a secret room in the attic. After that, the woman begins to notice many strange events. She realizes that it has something to do with things from the secret place, and decides to figure out what is happening.

The main thing for the director and screenwriter of any film is to make the viewer believe in the reality of what is happening, and then everything becomes real. It is in this position that the heroine of this story finds herself. And it changes the idea of all the mystical phenomena in the plot.

15. Mama

USA, 2017.
Horror, thriller, drama.
Duration: 121 minutes.
IMDb: 6, 6.

The famous writer and his wife live in a secluded house. Once she completely rebuilt their home, putting her whole soul into it. But the calm is disturbed by uninvited guests. The husband does not see anything bad in their presence, but the wife begins to feel that their idyll is crumbling.

The film "Mom!" hit hard by marketing. When released in cinemas, it was advertised as a horror movie. But Darren Aronofsky shot a very deep and complex parable that allows you to interpret the plot in almost a dozen ways. This picture is really scary, but this is not an ordinary fright from a horror movie, but complex inner experiences. After all, in "mom!" everyone sees what he is afraid of.

14. Happy death day

USA, 2017.
Horror, comedy.
Duration: 96 minutes.
IMDb: 6, 6.

Trish is killed right on her birthday. However, from that moment on, she is forced to relive the day of her death until she finds the maniac. And they can be almost anyone.

The creators of this film decided to ingeniously mix almost all existing genres. There's a classic masked killer, an endless time loop in the spirit of Groundhog Day, a little comedy in the middle of the plot, and a tense thriller in the finale.

13. Babadook

Australia, Canada, 2014.
Horror, thriller, mysticism.
Duration: 93 minutes.
IMDb: 6, 8.

Amelia's son was born exactly the same day her husband died. Boy Sam is already six years old, but he does not sleep well at night and behaves strangely, so his mother has to pick him up from school. One day, Sam finds a children's horror story about Babaduk. After Amelia and her child read it before bed, they stop distinguishing reality from fantasy.

A lot of films about monsters from children's books have already been shot. But here they decided to tell not just about a creepy scarecrow. Babaduk serves as a reflection of the heroine's grief for her deceased spouse, and therefore a child becomes his victim. The monster embodies the inevitable evil that is present in every person, and therefore indestructible.

12. We

USA, China, Japan, 2019.
Horror, thriller.
Duration: 116 minutes.
IMDb: 6, 8.

Once upon a time, little Adelaide, lost on the beach, got into the room of laughter and was very frightened of her reflection. Many years later, having already acquired a husband and children, she returns to the same place. And soon at her house there are doubles of all family members.

Director Jordan Peel in this film not only scares the audience with creepy copies of the characters, but also makes them think about social themes. The painting "We" is dedicated to racial inequality, as well as the eternal search for enemies. Although the main monsters of this story are spoken of right in the title.

11. It

USA, 2014.
Horror, thriller.
Duration: 100 minutes.
IMDb: 6, 8.

After unprotected sex with an unfamiliar boyfriend, Jane finds out that a curse has been passed on to her. Now the heroine is being pursued by a terrible monster capable of taking the form of loved ones.

David Robert Mitchell in horror form talks about the dangers of promiscuous sex, especially without a condom. Moreover, the director does not turn the story into ridiculous agitation, but presents the plot in the form of an almost art house parable, clearly referring to David Lynch and David Cronenberg.

10. Witch

USA, Canada, 2015.
Horror.
Duration: 92 minutes.
IMDb: 6, 9.

In 17th century New England, the family of William and Catherine is expelled from the village with their four children. The heroes settle separately near the forest. Soon, the eldest daughter Thomasin is distracted, and the witch steals her little brother.

Robert Eggers created an unusual visual for his film: he shot in natural light, and the costume designer studied over 30 books about clothing of the time. Therefore, "The Witch" looks as naturalistic as possible. But even more importantly, the main point of the picture is the distrust of family members to each other and deceptions.

9. Cabin in the woods

USA, 2012.
Horror, fantasy, comedy, thriller.
Duration: 95 minutes.
IMDb: 7, 0.

Several students go to a hut in a deep forest to have a good time. But in the basement, they find many strange objects. The heroes find themselves embroiled in a worldwide conspiracy, as scientists in charge of the sacrifices are watching them.

Drew Goddard's directorial debut literally turned the horror genre upside down. After all, this film explains absolutely all the typical plots. After watching "Cabin in the Woods", it becomes clear the origin of the monsters, the inconsistency in the behavior of the characters, and even the order in which the characters are usually killed.

8. Solstice

USA, Sweden, 2019.
Horror, drama, thriller.
Duration: 148 minutes.
IMDb: 7, 1.

All relatives of student Dani are tragically dying. Her boyfriend Christian, who was already going to part with the girl, invites the heroine to go on a journey as a consolation. Together with friends, they go to visit the solstice in a Swedish settlement. But it turns out that the villagers are behaving very strangely.

The first thing that catches your eye in the picture of Ari Astaire is that the action always takes place in the light of day. Although everyone is used to the fact that horror films are usually dark. But this approach makes it even more scary, because all the nightmares are shown in as much detail as possible. At the same time, "Solstice" is devoted not so much to murders as to the experiences of the main character, who has lost loved ones and is now looking for a new family.

7. Don't breathe

USA, Hungary, 2015.
Thriller, horror, crime.
Duration: 88 minutes.
IMDb: 7, 1.

Three criminals enter the home of a blind elderly veteran rumored to have a large sum of money. It seems that the robbery is very easy to pull off. But the old man opens a hunt for intruders, and they will have to make every effort to save themselves.

Federico Alvarez's inexpensive intimate film turns familiar plots of maniacs who hunt young heroes. At first, the villains here seem to be the thieves themselves. But then the person whose house they broke into turns into a real monster. And almost all the action takes place in one place, but this does not prevent the author from making what is happening really creepy.

6. The Invisible Man

Canada, Australia, USA, 2020.
Science fiction, thriller, detective.
Duration: 124 minutes.
IMDb: 7, 1.

Cecilia escapes from the house of her boyfriend Adrian, a genius millionaire inventor who controlled her life. She hides and lives in fear, fearing persecution. But soon the heroine learns that Adrian died and left her a huge inheritance. However, this may be another trick of the abuser.

A free interpretation of the classic novel by H. G. Wells adds to fiction and crime the hot topic of toxic relationships. "The Invisible Man" shows what some are ready to ruin the life of the person who allegedly betrayed them.

5. It

USA, Canada, 2017.
Horror, thriller, drama.
Duration: 135 minutes.
IMDb: 7, 3.

In the American city of Derry in the late 1980s, children began to disappear. Several schoolchildren find out that the clown-monster Pennywise is behind the abductions. Bill Denbrough and his friends decide to deal with him. But they have to act independently, because adults do not want to listen to children.

At first glance, the next adaptation of the popular Stephen King novel is pretty close to the original story, except that the action was postponed to a later time. But in fact, interesting social themes can be found in the picture. It is dedicated to childhood trauma and adult cruelty. And the clown acts more like an analogy to the gloomy events in the life of the characters.

4. Reincarnation

USA, 2018.
Horror, drama, detective.
Duration: 127 minutes.
IMDb: 7, 3.

After the death of Annie Graham's mother, 78-year-old Ellen, strange things begin to happen to all her relatives. Day after day, terrible secrets are revealed: the unnatural hobbies of children, inadequate fears and the mysterious past of the mother. Each of the family members gradually loses their minds, and all this is associated with the unusual activities of the deceased.

At first, Ari Aster's Reincarnation seems to follow traditional plots from the horror classics. But in fact, the picture tells about heredity and problems from which a person cannot hide, since he is tightly connected with his family.

3. Lighthouse

USA, Canada, 2019.
Horror, drama.
Duration: 109 minutes.
IMDb: 7, 5.

An elderly lighthouse keeper and his young assistant arrive for a four-week shift. The heroes find it difficult to find a common language, since the elder turns out to be a real tyrant. Gradually, both workers start to go crazy. And because of the bad weather, they also have to stay at the lighthouse.

Black and white film by Robert Eggers, starring Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe, combines conventional horror techniques with arthouse, mythology and imagination. Therefore, you should not expect a clear ending or an explanation of what is happening from the picture.

2. Quiet place

USA, 2018.
Horror, fantasy.
Duration: 90 minutes.
IMDb: 7, 5.

Evelyn and Lee Abbott live with their children on a remote farm. They spend their whole lives in silence, because somewhere nearby there is a monster that reacts to sound. But it is difficult for children to constantly be quiet, especially since young Regan is deaf from birth.

John Krasinski's first acclaimed directorial project offers an unusual take on sound in horror films. Usually authors try to scare with noise. Here, most of the picture takes place in absolute silence, forcing the audience themselves to sit inaudibly. And all the more frightening any harsh sounds seem.

1. Get away

USA, 2017.
Horror, detective.
Duration: 104 minutes.
IMDb: 7, 7.

Black photographer Chris Washington is on his way to meet the parents of his white girlfriend Rose. It would seem that they are greeted very friendly. But Chris thinks that his bride's relatives, servants and even guests are behaving very strangely.

Comedian Jordan Peele, quite unexpectedly for everyone, acted as the director of a horror film, for which he himself wrote the script. But if you look closely, the idea of the picture fits perfectly into his work. "Away" is not only a good horror game with great suspense. It is also a powerful political statement about the modern transformation of racism - a very hot topic in America.

This material was first published in October 2018. In September 2021, we updated the text.