Beyond the usual suspects like Psycho, The Exorcist, Get Out, The Conjuring, The Blair Witch Project, Onibaba, Ringu etc, here is a list of less talked about horror movie that filmmakers of the genre swear by.
A Tale Of Two Sisters (2003)
Directed by Jee-woon Kim
Recommended by Jordan Peele (directed Get Out)
Lost Highway (1997)
Directed by David Lynch
Recommended by Jennifer Kent (directed The Babadook)
Cure (1997)
Directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa
Recommended by Martin Scorsese (directed Shutter Island)
Trivia: A pioneering film of the Japanese horror (J-horror) genre, this according to Scorsese, is Kurosawa's ‘most terrifying movie’. It is also on Bong Joon Ho’s list of top 10 favourite films.
Near Dark (1987)
Directed by Kathryn Bigelow
Recommended by Robert Rodriguez (directed From Dusk Till Dawn)
Trivia: Much like From Dusk Till Dawn, it is a revisionist takes on the vampire genre that incorporates neo-Western aesthetic.
Angst (1983)
Directed by Gerald Kargl
Recommended by Gasper Noe (directed Climax)
Don't Look Now (1973)
Directed by Nicolas Roeg
Recommended by David Cronenberg (directed The Fly)
Eyes Without a Face (1960)
Directed by Georges Franju
Recommended by Guillermo del Toro (directed Crimson Peak)
Kwaidan (1964)
Directed by Masaki Kobayashi
Recommended by Ari Aster (directed Midsommar)
Trivia: Shot entirely on elaborate sets built inside a hangar, this Japanese anthology horror film was the expensive Japanese film till then.
Santa Sangre (1989)
Directed by Alejandro Jodorowsky
Recommended by Quentin Tarantino (directed Death Proof)
Trivia: The surrealistic psychological horror film that might remind you of Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho as well as Robert Wiene’s The Hands Of Orlac in parts, was co-written by Claudio Argento, the brother of director Dario Argento, often referred to as the “Master of Horror”.
Curse of the Demon (1957)
Directed by Jacques Tourneur
Recommended by John Carpenter (directed the original Halloween)
Lake Mungo (2008)
Directed by Joel Anderson
Recommended by Mike Flanagan (directed The Haunting of Hill House)
The Frighteners (1996)
Directed by Peter Jackson
Recommended by James Wan (directed The Conjuring)
Possession (1981)
Directed by Andrzej Żuławski
Recommended by Robert Eggers (directed The Witch and Nosferatu 2024)
Trivia: An allegorical representation of a crumbling marriage, this extremely complex and disturbing psychological horror-drama, is one of the most difficult movies to watch. In fact, this audacious masterpiece was initially banned in the UK as a Video Nasty.
Hour of the Wolf (1968)
Directed by Ingmar Bergman
Recommended by Dario Argento (directed Suspiria)
The Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
Directed by James Whale
Recommended by Sam Rami (directed The Evil Dead)
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)
Directed by Robert Wiene
Recommended by Tobe Hooper (director of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and Poltergeist)
Trivia: The first German Expressionist film and a pioneering movie in the horror genre, this silent movie introduced innovative filmmaking techniques, including the non-linear storytelling and is considered a milestone in the development evolution of cinema, especially as an art form.
Repulsion (1965)
Directed by Roman Polanski
Recommended by Wes Craven (directed A Nightmare on Elm Street and Scream)
The Thing from Another World (1951)
Directed by Christian Nyby
Recommended by George A. Romero (director of Night of the Living Dead)
“The Thing from Another World was the first movie that really scared me”
Trivia: Many claim that parts of this intelligently crafted sci-fi horror film was directed by Howard Hawks, who was the film’s producer. The movie later inspired John Carpenter's 1982 masterpiece The Thing.
Goodnight, Mommy (2014)
Directed by Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala
Recommended by Dave Franco (directed Together)
Trivia: The Austrian psychological slow burn featuring shocking elements of body horror was remade in 2022 by Matt Sobel.
What Have You Done to Solange? (1972)
Directed by Massimo Dallamano
Recommended by Michael Mohan (directed Immaculate)
The Thing (1982)
Directed by John Carpenter
Recommended by Bong Joon-ho (directed Parasite)
A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014)
Directed by Ana Lily Amirpour
Recommended by Taika Waititi (directed What We Do in the Shadows)
The Descent (2005)
Directed by Neil Marshall
Recommended by Danny Boyle (directed 28 Days Later)
