17 best mystery films that will make you feel uneasy

1. Rosemary's baby

USA, 1968.
Horror, mystical thriller.
Duration: 137 minutes.
IMDb: 8, 0.

Young childless Rosemary and Guy move into a new apartment in New York. It soon turns out that a rather strange elderly couple lives in the neighborhood, and Rosemary begins to notice inexplicable and creepy things around her.

In the film, based on the mystical novel by Ira Levin, there are almost no special effects and frankly frightening scenes. But at the same time, the viewer does not cease to be afraid because of the atmosphere of ambiguity and uncertainty skillfully created by Roman Polanski.

2. Wicker man

Great Britain, 1973.
Mystical thriller.
Duration: 88 minutes.
IMDb: 7, 5.

Police Sergeant Howie investigates the disappearance of a little girl, Rowan Morrison. To understand the circumstances of the case, the detective goes to a remote Scottish island. Local residents behave extremely suspiciously: they claim that they do not know any Rowan, then they assure that the child is long dead. Finally, Howie discovers that a mysterious pagan cult is to blame.

The Wicker Man revolutionized the British horror genre. On the one hand, this is a classic English detective story in which the main character has to ask people a lot and think. At the same time, the painting masterfully recreates the atmosphere of mistrust and paranoia.

3. The exorcist

USA, 1973.
Horror, mystical thriller.
Duration: 122 minutes.
IMDb: 8, 0.

Holy Father Lancaster Merrin learns that twelve-year-old Regan began to behave strangely: to speak in a man's voice and show unreasonable rage. In this case, objects fly around the room, the bed shakes, and people around die. Enlisting the support of a younger priest, Damien Carras, the minister of the church decides to perform an exorcism and save the child.

At the time of its release, the picture made a splash: it was called the most terrible film of its time, and people fainted after watching. The general interest was also fueled by the fact that the tape is based on real events. "The Exorcist" has received many awards (four "Golden Globes", four "Saturns" and two "Oscars"), has stood the test of time and therefore is able to scare even today.

4. Omen

UK, USA, 1976.
Horror, mystical thriller.
Duration: 111 minutes.
IMDb: 7, 5.

An adopted child, little Damien, is growing up in the family of American diplomat Robert Thorne. But the further, the more it becomes clear that the boy is not at all like his peers.

Because of "Rosemary's Child" and "The Exorcist", there was a fashion for scary pictures about mysticism and Satanism. Among the best examples of this kind is The Omen, directed by Richard Donner. There were two sequels of the picture, but compared to the first part, these tapes looked much weaker.

And a few years ago there was also a TV version of the story. The series ignores all the films in the franchise except the first, and tells about Damien's growing up. Unfortunately, the project only lasted one season.

5. Shining

USA, UK, 1980.
Horror, mystical thriller.
Duration: 144 minutes.
IMDb: 8, 4.

The writer Jack Torrance gets a job as a caretaker at the Overlook Hotel, which is closed for the winter and moves there with his family. The hero wants to spend this time writing a new novel. But his plans are interrupted by terrible things happening in the hotel.

Stanley Kubrick's classic painting was not immediately accepted. The author of the literary source Stephen King did call the tape one of the worst film adaptations of his works. But later the film acquired the status of a cult film, and the moment with breaking the door became the hallmark of the horror genre.

6. Ninth Gate

Portugal, Spain, France, USA, 1999.
Mystical thriller.
Duration: 133 minutes.
IMDb: 6, 7.

Wealthy collector Boris Balkan hires cynical and selfish expert Dean Corso to compare and authenticate a book titled Nine Gates of the Kingdom of Shadows with two other copies. During the mission, Corso is faced with mysterious murders. In addition, a nameless blonde demonic appearance is tied to the detective.

On the one hand, fans of Roman Polanski will immediately recognize the director's favorite motive - the story of a man torn from his familiar surroundings and ruthlessly thrown into a whirlpool of terrible events. On the other hand, this is just a very good adaptation of the novel by Arturo Perez-Reverte “The Dumas Club, or the Shadow of Richelieu”.

7. Others

Spain, USA, France, Italy, 2001.
Horror, thriller, detective.
Duration: 101 minutes.
IMDb: 7, 6.

The strict and devout Grace Stewart lives with her children, who cannot stand sunlight, in a large country mansion. Suddenly, all the servants disappear from the house, and an unusual trinity appears on the doorstep, hoping that there will be work for them. Soon, the inhabitants of the house begin to notice something strange.

Professional critics praised 29-year-old Alejandro Amenabar's English-language debut. Interestingly, the Spaniard was invited to the director's chair by none other than Tom Cruise, who starred in the Hollywood remake of Amenabar's early film Vanilla Sky. And "Others" is deservedly one of the pictures with the most unexpected denouement.

8. Call

USA, Japan, 2002.
Horror, mystical thriller.
Duration: 115 minutes.
IMDb: 7, 1.

Journalist Rachel Kellers is trying to understand the history of the mysterious videotape. Everyone who looks at it, the phone rings. After this, the victim is given a week, and then imminent death follows.

This is the first part of the cult franchise "The Ring" about a ghost girl, which spawned the immortal phrase "Seven days left." The film was conceived as a remake of the Japanese film of the same name, and in terms of visual effects and a slightly more intelligible plot, it turned out even slightly better than the original. Although it is still worth evaluating both versions and making your own opinion.

9. The story of two sisters

South Korea, 2003.
Horror, mystical thriller.
Duration: 115 minutes.
IMDb: 7, 2.

Two sisters, Su-Yeon and Su-Mi, return to their father and stepmother's home after an extended stay in a psychiatric hospital. Gradually, the heroines begin to notice that strange things are happening everywhere.

The psychological thriller directed by Kim Ji Woon has garnered numerous awards in Korea and at film festivals around the world. A lot of tense moments await the audience, but at the same time, many questions will remain open.

A Tale of Two Sisters was so popular that it was re-filmed in the United States a few years later. However, the remake called "The Uninvited" is not worth watching - the film has failed to surpass the inimitable Korean original.

10. Six demons Emily Rose

USA, 2005.
Mystical thriller.
Duration: 119 minutes.
IMDb: 6, 7.

Attorney Erin Bruner will have to defend the good name of the priest, who is believed to be guilty of the death of nineteen-year-old Emily Rose, who died during an exorcism session. Doctors are sure that the girl suffered from a severe form of epilepsy and died due to the defendant's negligence. But the minister of the church claims that his ward was in her right mind all the time and was only trying to resist the six demons who had entered her body.

The film is based on the true story of the young Annalize Michel. Although she suffered from numerous psychiatric illnesses, she and her family were convinced that Annalize was possessed by the devil. Before she died after a series of exorcism rituals, she heard voices, she could not touch the crucifix and spoke in a voice other than her own in unknown languages. However, the court did not believe the version of the obsession and found everyone guilty.

11. 1408

USA, 2007.
Horror, mystical thriller.
Duration: 104 minutes.
IMDb: 6, 8.

Overconfident writer Mike Enslin makes good money checking the veracity of mystical urban legends. However, he himself does not believe in such devilry. But everything changes when Mike moves into room 1408 of the Dolphin Hotel. The number has a bad reputation: it is believed that a person, entering there only for a moment, can die a painful death. Enslin is skeptical at first, until it becomes clear that something terrible is happening in the room.

The film is based on a short story by Stephen King "1408", which was originally intended as a literary illustration for the textbook "How to Write Books". The result is one of King's most successful screen adaptations. This is not just a banal horror movie about a haunted hotel, but rather a powerful psychological drama.

12. Astral

USA, 2010.
Horror, mystical drama.
Duration: 103 minutes.
IMDb: 6, 8.

Josh and Rene's family moves to a new home. But literally from the first days, inexplicable phenomena begin to occur around them: strange sounds are heard from everywhere, and things are shaking. Finally, their ten-year-old son Dalton falls into a coma. The parents realize that something terrifying is behind this, and call in specialists in the paranormal.

The director of the film, James Wang, shot the first "Saw" - an inexpensive but lucrative horror movie. His low-budget horror film Astral also managed to gain a good box office, despite the almost complete lack of special effects. The authors managed to create very realistic and frightening images on the screen thanks to inventive camera work and excellent make-up.

13. Conjuring

USA, 2013.
Horror, mystical drama.
Duration: 112 minutes.
IMDb: 7, 5.

A large family moves into a new house, where frightening events begin to take place. Then the couple turn to Ed and Lorraine Warren, who is engaged in the study and exorcism of evil spirits. However, this time, the exorcists will have to face the most dangerous entity in their many years of practice.

The mystical drama of James Wang was so successful that it spawned two sequels and numerous spin-offs, including several stories about the sinister doll Annabelle. Everything shown in the film is based on real events, and Lorraine Warren herself acted as a consultant for the film. But even if you don't believe in the veracity of such stories, you will surely enjoy the intense dynamic plot and great acting.

14. Witch

USA, UK, Canada, Brazil, 2015.
Horror, mystical drama.
Duration: 92 minutes.
IMDb: 6, 8.

17th century, New England. The Puritan family decides to leave the community and run their own household. But soon after the resettlement, frightening things begin to happen: first, the harvest dies, and then the baby disappears without a trace, which was looked after by his older sister Thomasin. Because of this incident, the mother suspects her daughter of witchcraft.

The low-budget mystical drama received unanimous rave reviews from critics. At the same time, the picture was filmed by a debutant - theatrical artist Robert Iggers. Stephen King himself wrote to Stephen King @StephenKing about her like this: “This movie scared me to death. This is a real movie - full of passion, intellectual and sensual at the same time."

15. Ghost story

USA, 2017.
Mystical drama.
Duration: 92 minutes.
IMDb: 6, 8.

A young man lives with his wife in a small secluded country house, but one day he dies in a car accident. After death, the hero realizes that he has become a ghost. Now he wears a long sheet that hides his face and body, and wanders around the house where he used to live.

Critics have praised this mysterious, strange and melancholic movie. The most interesting thing is that for almost the entire film, viewers do not see the face of actor Casey Affleck. This is very reminiscent of the trick from the movie "Frank", where Michael Fassbender's head was hidden almost all the time by a mask.

16. Suspiria

Italy, USA, 2018.
Horror, mystical thriller.
Duration: 152 minutes.
IMDb: 6, 8.

A young American dancer comes to Germany to enroll at the legendary Madame Marcos ballet school. But something sinister is going on in the dance studio. It turns out that the teachers of this institution are witches who worship ancient goddesses.

This bloody and very violent film by Luca Guadagnino is based on the 1977 film of the same name directed by Dario Argento, the master of the giallo genre (film stories filled with eroticism and violence). True, with the exception of some characters and a general plot, the new version has little in common with the original.

17. Reincarnation

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

In the Graham family, a grandmother died - a closed and domineering woman who suffered from a split personality. After her death, the household seemed to be able to breathe easy. Soon, however, little Charlie dies in a monstrous accident, and the life of the family begins to rapidly turn into a nightmare.

Although Reincarnation has been compared to a classic, Ari Astaire's debut film does not fit into any traditional horror genre. Although there is spiritualism, a scary girl and unnaturally twisted bodies. But the intricate plot and non-standard camera work make the picture more of a social drama about the disintegration of a single family than a typical mystical thriller.