Bloodthirsty children and creepy rituals. These films about sects will definitely surprise you

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

The pictures on the list are shivering. But at the same time, one of them will make you laugh heartily.

10. Children of the corn

• USA, 1984.
• Horror, thriller.
• Duration: 92 minutes.
• IMDb: 5, 6.

A married couple travels by car through the state of Nebraska. Young people accidentally run over a little boy on the road and in search of help come to an abandoned city. It soon turns out that the children living in it once killed all the adults. And now the heroes themselves are in dire danger.

The film became iconic and spawned an entire franchise. Although objectively this is one of the worst adaptations of Stephen King: the plot is adapted too roughly and straightforwardly, and the young actors play, to put it mildly, poorly. Primitive visual effects spoil the impression.

But thanks to all this, the picture can be watched as a fascinating comedy - this was proved by Children of the Corn - Nostalgia Critic / Channel Awesome / YouTube by American reviewer Doug Walker. After all, absolutely everything here makes you laugh, starting from the ridiculous behavior of adult heroes and ending with the voice of the young prophet Isaac.

9. Charlie said so

• USA, 2018.
• Drama, crime, biography.
• Duration: 110 minutes.
• IMDb: 5, 8.

Psychologist and feminist Carlene takes over the patronage of three former henchmen of Charles Manson who are serving life sentences. She is trying to find out the motives of the girls and at the same time open the eyes of the killers to their idol.

American Psycho director Mary Harron knows a lot about charismatic maniacs. Despite a number of shortcomings, the film perfectly dissects the psychology of reclusive sectarians. And he also perfectly complements the film "Once Upon a Time in … Hollywood", showing what Quentin Tarantino has left behind the scenes.

8. Ritual

• UK, Canada, 2017.
• Horror.
• Duration: 94 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 3.

Four former classmates go camping after the death of a friend. To honor his memory, they go to the places that the deceased loved. On the way, one of them gets injured, and the only way to get to civilization as soon as possible is to walk along the road through the forest. More often the heroes come across an abandoned hut and decide to spend the night in it, but in vain.

The full-length film-debut of David Bruckner, like any self-respecting modern horror, scares not with realistic violence and screamers, but with psychologicalism and a special atmosphere. And fans of "The Blair Witch", who were frightened by the story of the heroes lost in the forest, must watch the "Ritual". After all, the latter is much more relevant, and filmed more inventive and beautiful.

7. Silent Hill

• Canada, France, Japan, USA, 2006.
• Horror, detective.
• Duration: 125 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 5.

Little Sharon, who suffers from sleepwalking, suffers from nightmares somehow associated with a city called Silent Hill. Her adoptive mother Rose secretly takes her daughter there. On the spot, the woman loses consciousness after hitting her head, and waking up, she realizes that the girl has disappeared. She goes in search of her daughter and is faced with a real revived nightmare that is happening in the town.

French director Christophe Hahn is arguably the best video game adaptation in film history. He took a little from all the parts of the series that were released at that time and created something new on their basis, perfectly conveying the spirit of Silent Hill. As a result, it turned out to be at the same time a creepy and beautiful film, equally satisfied with fans of games and lovers of good cinema.

6. Mandy

• UK, Belgium, France, USA, 2017.
• Horror, action, fantasy.
• Duration: 121 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 5.

Simple woodcutter Red lives with his wife Mandy in a beautiful house by the lake. But the pretty girl liked the leader of the local cult. He summons a squad of hellish bikers who kidnap and burn the unfortunate woman. Shocked, Red decides to take cruel revenge on those who took away his closest person.

If you haven't heard anything about the director Panos Kosmatos, it's time for you to get acquainted with his work. His second film revived the career of Nicolas Cage, who has tarnished his reputation in recent years by acting in very strange roles.

And in Mandy, the actor's trademark expression reaches the point of absurdity: he screams deafeningly, drains a bottle of vodka in one gulp and fights with a chainsaw. And everything is put in such a way that this madness turns out to be very appropriate.

5. Solstice

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

Young people, whose relationships are bursting at the seams, travel with friends to a remote Swedish village for the summer solstice. The locals are very welcoming, but very soon the guests will have to face the strange customs of the community.

Ari Aster's painting is not frightening at all with an abundance of blood (although there will be cruel scenes here) or monsters jumping out of the dark. On the contrary, most of the events take place during daylight. But at the same time, the tape tightens up with a feeling of growing madness, which is almost more frightening than bloody rituals.

Most of them, by the way, are based on the real terrible customs of different peoples, described in the famous book "The Golden Bough" by anthropologist James George Fraser. But it would be wrong to see in "Solstice" only a film about a terrible ancient cult. It is also a study of the institution of family and toxic relationships in a couple.

4. Reincarnation

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

Artist Annie Graham makes a living making miniature dioramas. One day, the heroine's elderly mother, suffering from dementia, dies. A week after the funeral, her grave is opened and the corpse is kidnapped, and then inexplicable and terrible events begin to occur in the Graham house.

The director's debut film, Solstice, blew up the Sundance independent film festival and received incredible critical acclaim. But the picture did not find recognition among ordinary viewers at once. Not all of them were ready to see under the cover of a mystical horror drama about the impossibility of running away from fate.

3. Wicker man

• Great Britain, 1973.
• Horror, thriller, drama, detective.
• Duration: 88 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 5.

Police Sergeant Howie travels to a secluded island in the west of Scotland to investigate the case of the missing little girl Rowan Morrison. There he is confronted with suspicious behavior of people, and then finds out that the inhabitants of the island practice ancient Celtic rituals.

Robin Hardy's film is one of the best horror films in history, and not only fans of the horror genre should watch it, but also everyone who loves unusual cinema with meaning. Christopher Lee played one of his iconic roles here, and the ending of the tape became a cult scene and was later quoted more than once in popular culture.

2. Get away

• USA, Japan, 2017.
• Thriller, horror, detective.
• Duration: 104 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 7.

Black photographer Chris Washington, along with his white girlfriend Rose, is visiting her parents in the suburbs for the weekend. They welcome the guest cordially and warmly, but in their company the guy still feels out of place. As it turns out later, it’s not in vain: behind the smiles of the family hides a dark and terrible secret.

A distinctive and talented director Jordan Peele started out as a comedian, but always dreamed of making a horror movie. His debut "Get Out" was inspired by "The Stepford Wives" and "Rosemary's Baby" and became a real sensation at the American box office. This powerful social thriller shatters the myth of America as a country without racism.

1. Rosemary's baby

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

Newlyweds Rosemary and Guy Woodhouse move to a prestigious New York area. There they quickly converge with elderly neighbors. Rosemary becomes pregnant and everything seems to be going well in life. However, bearing a fetus is so difficult that an exhausted girl begins to suspect something was wrong.

Roman Polanski's sophisticated thriller became the first horror film to be nominated for an Oscar. Thanks to his success, films about mysticism and the occult became fashionable. So, several years later, tapes on a similar theme "The Exorcist" (1973) and "The Omen" (1976) appeared on the screens.

And just a year after the release of the tape, the director's pregnant wife, aspiring actress Sharon Tate, was killed by Charles Manson's gang. As if the plot of the film predicted all this in an eerie way.