Supernatural and Paranormal Movies to Watch

Supernatural horror cinema is the territory of the unseen, a genre that has defined modern fear. The collective imagination is marked by works that have terrified generations: the haunted house, the poltergeist, demonic possession. Films like The Exorcist or The Conjuring have turned our homes into places of terror, playing on our most ancient fears.

But beyond the jump scare, true supernatural horror is a violation of physical law, a philosophical inquiry into the unknown. It is a cinema that is not content to just show the monster, but questions the afterlife, the devil, and the nature of faith. The danger is not material, but spiritual: a haunted residence, a curse, a religious ritual that opens the wrong doors. It is here that witchcraft, reincarnation, and ancient entities find their most powerful expression.

This guide is a journey across the entire spectrum. It is a path that unites the great masterpieces that defined the genre with the darkest independent productions. We will explore how ghosts and possession have been used to explore the human psyche, in a cinema that offers not just chills, but profound questions.

History of Supernatural and Paranormal Movies

Fear of the supernatural and paranormal became prevalent in the 1920s and early 1930s with expressionist films. The film genre became much more popular in the 1930s with Universal Studios producing monster movies set in a legendary Transylvania or Eastern Europe, in an incredible fantasy world away from the everyday. 

In the early 1940s, supernatural and paranormal horror films had much more contemporary settings, however the category was inevitably replaced by psychological horror films. By the end of World War II, the supernatural and paranormal horror genre went into crisis, due to the atrocities of war. In the 1950s, the movies Sci-fi horror had actually changed supernatural movies, and psychological horror movies also became much more prominent in the same years, eclipsing the supernatural. 

Independent supernatural and paranormal horror films created in the 1950s were commonly set in haunted houses, in the tradition of haunted house movies common in the 1940s. In the 1960s, scary films like The Innocents (1961), The Haunting (1963) and Rosemary’s Baby (1968) used supernatural and paranormal elements. However, they were not directly concerned with the paranormal. 

The Haunting featured a female main character attracted to another woman, a queer character. Such characters were predominantly against the backdrop of supernatural and paranormal films. Rosemary’s Baby has made popular witchcraft films, demonic films where the devil was depicted on the screen, and has produced a wave of supernatural and paranormal horror films. 

In the 1970s, the films The Exorcist (1973) and The Omen (1976) revitalized the category of supernatural horror. some of Stephen King’s literary works were used as source material in Carrie (1976) and The Shining (1980). In the 2000s, violent and horror movies called “torment porn” were popular. Supernatural and paranormal movies have regained their appeal in a few years.film The Blair Witch Project achieved fame in 1999, and in the late 2000s, Paranormal Activity became successful with the exact same cinematic technique, which resulted in a series of films that lasted until the mid-2010s.

Supernatural Independent Movies to Watch

Here is a list of supernatural independent films to watch, including classics, cult films and new discoveries of independent cinema. Between demonic forces, ghosts, dark rituals, and demonic possessions. 

Cult films of the paranormal and supernatural

Carrie (1976)

Shy 16-year-old Carrie White, lives with her mentally unstable mom and religious fanatic Margaret, is struggling in college, and is bullied by her peers. When Carrie experiences her first period in the institute shower, she worries, not being aware of the phenomenon. Carrie’s schoolmates humiliate her. Following conversations with Miss Collins and the principal, Carrie is expelled from school for a day. After arriving home, Margaret informs Carrie that her periods are caused by sin, and locks Carrie in an altar-like “prayer cabinet” to pray for mercy. 

The film is based on Stephen King’s first book. Director Brian De Palma was fascinated by the story. It is the first of over 100 film and television productions adapted or based on King’s published works. Carrie became a cult movie shortly after its release and is considered one of the best book-to-film adaptations of all time.

Nightmare (1984)

In 1981, teenager Tina Gray awakens from a frightening nightmare in which a monstrous man wearing a glove with sharp blades attacks her in a boiler room. Her mother points out 4 cuts on her nightgown. Meeting her in the morning, Tina’s friend Nancy Thompson and Nancy’s boyfriend Glen Lantz console her, revealing that they both also had a nightmare the previous night. They both stay at Tina’s house when Tina’s mother heads out of town. Tina’s girlfriend Rod Lane interrupts their sleepover. When Tina falls asleep, she dreams of the man chasing her. Pole sees her being dragged and killed by an invisible force, and escapes as Nancy and Glen wake up to find Tina bloodied and dead.

Wes Craven‘s hit classic from 1984 A Nightmare on Elm Street has been terrorizing viewers for decades with the introduction of Freddy Krueger, a burned and clawed supernatural monster who haunts his victims in sleep. The film created a successful franchise with the incredibly popular character of Krueger, who became increasingly comical, witty and intelligent in subsequent films.

13 Ghosts (1960)

Occultist Dr. Plato Zorba gives his poor nephew Cyrus a large home. Together with his wife Hilda, teenage daughter Medea and younger boy Buck, Cyrus is informed that the house is haunted by the ghosts that Dr. Zorba has brought from all over the world. The will specifies that the family must stay in the house and cannot sell it. Family members are shocked to find that the house is indeed haunted by 12 ghosts. The estate also comes with the fearsome caretaker Elaine and a surprise ton of cash hidden somewhere in the building.

Similar to many of his most popular productions, producer William Castle used a gimmick to promote 13 Ghosts: the ability to see ghosts in 3D. In theaters, many scenes remained black and white, but the ghost scenes were shown in with an effect called “Illusion-O. The components of the frame with the characters and the sets, apart from the ghosts, had a blue filter, while the ghosts had a red filter and were superimposed on the frame. The audience watched with glasses with red and blue filters. Unlike early 3D glasses with one eye red and the other cyan or blue, Illusion-O had a single color for both eyes. Using the red filter intensified the ghost images, while the light blue filter “eliminated” them.

The Innocents (1961)

Set in Victorian England, The Innocents sees a wealthy man hire a new maid for orphaned niece Flora and nephew Miles. He orders housekeeper Miss Giddens to raise the boys in the best possible way. However, the work doesn’t turn out to be as brilliant as the idea. He quickly begins to believe that the children have been possessed by the spirits of former caretaker Miss Jessel and the valet Peter Quint, both of whom have died. So he makes it his mission to deal with ghosts and strange habits on the estate.

The themes behind the film are related to sexual repression, in contrast to aspects of the film with Robert Wise’s The Haunting (1963), based on Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House. The last scene of the film can be interpreted as a depraved variation of the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale, as Kerr symbolically frees the character with a kiss.

Carnival of souls

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Horror, by Herk Harvey, United States, 1962.
Mary Henry emerges unscathed from a car accident that killed her two companions, and sets off on a strange adventure in Salt Lake City, where she finds herself drawn to a dilapidated lakeside pavilion and haunted by a ghostly figure (played by same director). A low-budget ($ 30,000) horror masterpiece that went unnoticed at the time of its release, it has become a cult film in the United States since the late 1980s. Sounds and images that have inspired directors such as George Romero and David Lynch (the masked man from "Lost Roads").

LANGUAGE: english
SUBTITLES: italian

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The Haunting (1963)

Dr. John Markway tells the story of the Hill House, built in Massachusetts by Hugh Crain as a home for his wife. The woman died when her carriage crashed into a tree on the way home. Crain remarried, but his second wife died in the house from a fall down the stairs. Crain’s daughter, Abigail, stayed home for the rest of her life. She died calling the nurse. The friend bought the house, but later hanged herself from a spiral staircase. Hillside House was eventually bought by a Mrs. Sanderson, although it actually stood empty for some time.

The Haunting has appeared on many “best horror movies” lists. Even the director once called it the best horror movie of all time Martin Scorsese. A remake was made with Liam Neeson, but was heavily panned by both audiences and film critics.

Rosemary’s Baby (1968)

Directed by the director Roman Polanski, Rosemary’s Baby deals with a couple who move into a new home in New York where they meet their new, somewhat strange neighbors. When Rosemary becomes pregnant, she begins to believe that her baby is the victim of a demonic cult.

An excellent film version of Ira Levin’s diabolical book. Writer-director Roman Polanski actually triumphed in his first film made in the United States. The film attracts attention without physical violence or blood. Farrow’s performance is outstanding. After the mistakes of Cul de Sac and Dance of the Vampires, Polanski returns to the inspiration of Repulsion with a growing ability to stir up sheer terror into family routines, and has turned an intelligently calculated thriller remake into a grand masterpiece.

The Exorcist (1973)

In The Exorcist, a mother seeks help from 2 Catholic priests after her daughter is possessed by satanic forces. In northern Iraq, Catholic priest Lankester Merrin joins an archaeological dig that unearths a medallion of St. Joseph and an artifact representing Pazuzu, an ancient satanic force. As Merrin prepares to leave Iraq, he encounters a large statue of Pazuzu and also observes 2 dogs in the desert. In Georgetown, actress Chris MacNeil shoots a film directed by her friend Burke Dennings. Chris lives for rent in a well-equipped house with his little daughter Regan. Chris hears sounds in the attic: Regan informs her of an imaginary friend named “Captain Howdy”. In a local church there is a sculpture of the deconsecrated Mary.

The Exorcist was the first ever horror film to be nominated for Best Picture. He was also chosen for ten other Oscars. Surprisingly, a number of prominent Hollywood stars had turned down offers for roles in the film as they weren’t sure it would be a hit. The film held the crown for the highest-grossing R-rated film for 20 years before it was canceled by Terminator: Judgment Day.

The Omen (1976)

In The Omen, an American diplomat tries to have a baby with his partner Katherine. After Katherine gives birth to a stillborn baby, the couple decide to adopt a baby boy named Damien. Soon after, Damien’s initial babysitter commits suicide and a priest warns the couple that Damien will surely bring grief to the family. The priest dies soon and the expectant Katherine ends up losing her unborn child after Damien knocks her off a porch. Damien starts creating many misfortunes and this prompts Robert to dig into the boy’s background. Eventually he discovers that Damien could be the Antichrist.

The success of the film in 1976 may have been the result of a sense of despair in the West at the time. What if all the indications of the Apocalypse are currently happening? While most people who saw the film in 1976 were not likely to accept that point of view, the mere feeling that the world or the West was on the brink of an abyss gave the film a vibe that its later ones. sequels they didn’t have. The number 666 is the “sign of the devil” and most likely the public in 1976 was unaware of this aspect of the Book of Revelation, but as a result of the popularity of the film, the number 666 has entered pop culture and even more. part of the people, even those of non-religious inclination, are aware of the diabolical value connected to the number.

The cabinet of Dr. Caligari

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Horror, fantasy, by Robert Wiene, Germany, 1920.
The symbolic film of cinematic expressionism. Francis tells a story to a man: in 1830, in a small town, a guy named Caligari, plays the barker at the fair to present the attraction of him, a sleepwalker that he holds under hypnosis in a coffin. The doctor argues that the sleepwalker is able to know the past and predict the future. Unreal atmospheres and deformed sets, stylized acting, split personality, confusion between dream and reality.

Food for thought
Personality from the Greek person means mask. Person comes from the word personality. Individuality is a gift of existence, personality is imposed by society. Personality follows the flock of sheep, individuality is a lion moving on its own. Until you let go of your personality you won't be able to find your individuality.

LANGUAGE: German
SUBTITLES: English, Spanish, French, Portuguese

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Shining (1980)

Jack Torrance takes a post as winter season keeper at the remote Overlook Resort in the Rocky Mountains, which closes each winter season. Upon his arrival, supervisor Stuart Ullman informs Torrance that a previous caretaker, Charles Grady, killed his family and himself at the resort. In Boulder, Jack’s son Danny has a premonition. Jack’s wife Wendy tells the doctor about a past incident when Jack dislocated Danny’s shoulder while he was drunk. The event encouraged Jack to stop drinking alcohol. Before leaving for the seasonal hiatus, head chef Dick Hallorann instructs Danny on a telepathic ability the two share, which he calls “shimmer.” Hallorann tells Danny that the hotel also has a “shimmer” from residues from previous unpleasant events and warns him to stay away from room 237.

Shining di Stanley Kubrick continues to be a timeless film, a masterpiece in the supernatural horror genre. The film is based on a Stephen King novel and stars Jack Nicholson as Jack Torrence, a writer who finds work as an off-season hotel keeper after strange events begin to occur. While the film is loved by both fans and critics alike, it never got Stephen King excited. The writer has always insisted that The Shining was a poor adaptation of his work. The film was not immediately successful upon its release – it took time for it to become popular.

Psychological Terror and Family Drama

This section focuses on films where the line between the supernatural and the protagonist’s psyche is thin and often ambiguous. Paranormal entities act as catalysts or manifestations of internal trauma and disturbances, making the terror a deeply personal and unsettling experience.

Hereditary

Synopsis: After the death of the family matriarch, the Grahams are tormented by a series of terrifying events that lead them to uncover ancestral secrets and a sinister destiny tied to a demonic possession.

Analysis: Ari Aster’s debut is not simply a film about demons, but a family drama about grief and generational trauma that poisons the minds of its characters. The horror here doesn’t come from a lurking monster, but from the psychological disintegration of the family, with the supernatural manifestations becoming a terrifying visual representation of that collapse. The director’s intent was precisely to “traumatize” and not just to scare, leveraging Toni Collette’s performance in a visceral turn that redefined acting in the genre. The demonic possession is the direct result of family secrets and wounds never addressed, a chilling metaphor that elevates the film to a brutally realistic emotional experience.

The Babadook

Synopsis: A widowed mother and her troubled six-year-old son are haunted by a monster that manifests through the pages of a mysterious children’s pop-up book.

Analysis: The Babadook is not just a monster from a children’s book, but a visceral metaphor for unspoken pain, depression, and toxic motherhood. The film explores how grief, unaddressed for years, can manifest as an entity that feeds on fear and guilt, becoming a real nightmare for the protagonist, Amelia. The use of a gloomy, fairy-tale aesthetic intensifies the feeling of a terror born from within, transforming a simple ghost story into a complex psychological analysis that deeply resonates with the anxieties of real life.

Saint Maud

Synopsis: A young private carer, who has recently converted to a fervent religious faith, becomes convinced that she must save her patient, an atheist former dancer, from eternal damnation.

Analysis: This A24 film is a chilling investigation into the dangers of isolation, religious fanaticism, and untreated mental illness. The protagonist, Maud, perceives her “divine mission” as a path to redemption from a past trauma, but ambiguity persists: are her visions manifestations of an authentic faith or symptoms of a progressively worsening psychosis? The film drags you into her twisted and obsessive perspective, making the final twist, where reality brutally collides with hallucination, a moment of pure, intellectual terror.

The Terror

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Horror, by Roger Corman, United States, 1963.
Lieutenant Duvalier (Jack Nicholson), a French soldier, loses contact with his unit and is forced to wander alone near the Baltic Sea. While searching for his regiment, he spots Helene (Sandra Knight), a mysterious beauty, walking alone. Enchanted, Duvalier begins to follow her, but she vanishes. He later joins her and follows her into a castle, where he meets the bizarre Baron Von Leppe (Boris Karloff), finds signs of witchcraft and uncovers the shocking truth about Helene. Made at a low cost within a few days by Roger Corman taking advantage of used sets and the still active contract with Karloff (he had finished the previous film early), The Terror also has some sequences shot by young directors who worked at the production factory. Corman who would become highly talented filmmakers: Francis Ford Coppola, Monte Hellman. The final scenes were instead shot by Jack Nicholson and Jack Hill.

Food for thought
All religions, with different terms, tell of the existence of "black magicians" able to take control of a body without the owner's knowledge. Black magicians use their powers for selfish ends, for revenge and other evil purposes. The phenomenon is described in various texts in a rather scientific way: it occurs by detaching the etheric bridge, which connects the physical body of the individual with the higher bodies, by attaching one's own to it. A mechanism similar to that which occurs in hypnosis and total anesthesia. The subject, however, must be attackable: his will must be fragile, his lifestyle and his balance must be precarious. If these conditions are not met, the black magician cannot take possession of him.

LANGUAGE: English
SUBTITLES: Spanish, French, German, Portuguese

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The Blackcoat’s Daughter

Synopsis: At a remote all-girls boarding school, two students left alone during winter break find themselves victims of a sinister supernatural force, while a third girl, in another location, journeys toward the same destination.

Analysis: Osgood Perkins uses the possession genre as a “Trojan Horse” to tell a story of loss and loneliness. The fragmented narrative and the frigid, claustrophobic atmosphere reflect the state of mind of the characters, trapped in an orphanage and, metaphorically, in their own traumas. The supernatural threat is a direct reflection of emotional emptiness and desperation, transforming a horror thriller into a poignant meditation on disconnection and the chilling destiny that unites the three protagonists.

A Dark Song

Synopsis: A grieving woman rents an isolated house for months, hiring an occultist to perform a complex and dangerous magical ritual that would allow her to contact the spirit of her deceased son.

Analysis: The film departs from classic satanic rituals to explore a true months-long esoteric journey. The tension doesn’t come from “what” will appear, but from the psychological pressure of forced confinement and the relentless conflict between the two protagonists. The supernatural here is a means to explore grief, forgiveness, and revenge, with a climax that rewards the viewer’s patience with a ritualistic catharsis that transcends genre conventions.

The Call of Folklore and Nature

In this section, terror is not confined to a house but lurks in the landscape itself, in forgotten traditions, and in cults that seem to rise from the earth. These films use history and nature to create an ancient, primal dread.

The Witch

Synopsis: A Puritan family is banished from their community and settles on a farm at the edge of a forest, where a suspected witch lurks and begins to torment them.

Analysis: Set in 1630s New England, The Witch is a folk horror masterpiece that exploits the religious panic and superstition of the era. The terror does not arise from the witch’s direct actions, but from the progressive decay of a Puritan family, consumed by paranoia and a sense of guilt for their sins. The supernatural is an ever-present and ambiguous force, which makes you question whether the evil is real or if it is born from human madness and the rigidity of faith. Robert Eggers‘ direction creates an atmosphere of “eerie authenticity” that inaugurated a new wave of “elevated horror.

Midsommar

Synopsis: A young woman devastated by a family tragedy follows her boyfriend and his friends to Sweden to attend a summer festival held once every 90 years in a remote pagan community.

Analysis: Ari Aster transforms folk horror into a work about the end of a relationship and the processing of grief, disguised as a folkloric fable. The horror does not hide in the dark, but unfolds in the eternal daylight, subverting genre conventions. The community, with its bizarre and brutal rituals, offers an emotional acceptance and a “sharing” of pain that the protagonist’s companion, Dani, cannot give her. The film turns social anxiety and the drama of grief into a ritualistic and cathartic nightmare that leads to a strange form of liberation.

The Wicker Man (1973)

Synopsis: A devout Scottish police sergeant travels to a remote island to investigate the disappearance of a young girl, only to come face to face with a community that has embraced a dark form of Celtic paganism.

Analysis: This film is the spiritual grandfather of modern folk horror. The tension is not supernatural in the strict sense, but ritualistic and psychological, stemming from the clash between religious intolerance and a radical faith. Its shocking ending and the ruthless logic of the cult established an archetype of terror that still resonates deeply today, showing how true horror arises from blind adherence to dogmas, whether Christian or pagan.

A Field in England

Synopsis: During the English Civil War, a group of deserters, after consuming hallucinogenic mushrooms, find themselves trapped in a field, where metaphysical forces seem to control their destiny.

Analysis: A sensory and metaphysical experience, this film is an exploration of the occult, psychosis, and free will. The seemingly simple plot unravels into a spiral of hallucinations and rituals, creating a disorienting, “spherical” narrative. The film offers no easy answers, leaving the viewer to grapple with a reality that progressively falls apart, just like the minds of the characters, proving that the real prison can be one’s own distorted perception.

Hagazussa: A Heathen’s Curse

Synopsis: In the 15th-century Alps, a lonely goatherd is constantly persecuted by a community that labels and fears her as a “witch.

Analysis: Another example of folk horror rooted in psychological terror, the film transports us to an age of superstition to follow the isolated life of a goatherd. Director Lukas Feigelfeld delves into the psyche of the protagonist, Albrun, showing how her solitude and the traumas she suffers push her into an abyss of madness that leads her to manifest the very evils that others have attributed to her. It is a raw and visual analysis of how misogyny and ignorance can create the evil they fear, making it real.

Lamb

Synopsis: A childless couple on an isolated farm in Iceland discover a mysterious half-sheep, half-human hybrid and decide to raise it as their own child.

Analysis: A dark Scandinavian fable, this A24 film plays with the boundaries between human and natural in a subtle and profoundly unsettling way. The horror doesn’t manifest in frightening entities, but in the inevitable consequences of a family defying the order of nature by adopting a being that doesn’t belong to them. The film is a metaphor for the desire for motherhood and humanity’s arrogance in the face of the natural cycle, with a finale that brutally restores balance.

Documenting Horror, Deconstructing Reality

This section explores how independent cinema has used the “found footage” concept and pseudo-documentaries to create a more immediate and personal experience of terror, blurring the line between fiction and reality.

The Blair Witch Project

Synopsis: Three film students venture into a Maryland forest to shoot a documentary about the legend of the Blair Witch and disappear. The only thing that remains is their footage.

Analysis: This film reinvented the found footage genre with a minimal budget and a brilliant viral marketing campaign, making the audience believe the actors had genuinely gone missing. The lack of visual special effects and the use of handheld cameras create a sense of pure psychological terror. The viewer is forced to imagine the supernatural entity, making the experience more personal and terrifying. It’s not the witch that scares you, but the idea that she exists and the protagonists’ inability to escape, trapped in an inexplicable loop.

Lake Mungo

Synopsis: The Palmer family is grieving after the tragic death of their sixteen-year-old daughter, Alice, but they begin to experience a series of inexplicable events and perceive her presence.

Analysis: Presented as a mockumentary, Lake Mungo is a work of art that uses the supernatural as a means to explore grief and the discovery of a person’s identity after their death. The “haunting” is less a ghost story and more an introspective drama about the Palmer family discovering, through footage and memories, who their deceased daughter, Alice, truly was. The horror lies in the slow and methodical unveiling of secrets and the sense of emptiness that persists even after the truth is revealed.

Noroi: The Curse

Synopsis: The work of a documentarian specializing in paranormal phenomena is found after his disappearance, documenting a series of seemingly unrelated events that culminate in a terrifying curse.

Analysis: A benchmark of the Japanese found footage genre, Noroi is a mockumentary that builds terror through an escalation of seemingly unconnected events, creating a “rabbit hole” of mysteries and folkloric horrors. Its strength lies in the absence of jump scares and the ability to build an omnipresent sense of unease. The viewer is forced to do the work of an investigator, trying to make sense of a chaos of footage, television, and interviews that reveals a supernatural curse larger and more terrifying than one can imagine.

The Endless

Synopsis: Two brothers return to visit the cult they had fled years earlier, only to discover that the mysterious phenomena the members spoke of are the terrifying truth.

Analysis: In this film by director-auteurs Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead, science fiction merges with cosmic horror. It follows two brothers who return to a UFO cult they had left, only to discover that reality is a series of time loops controlled by an incomprehensible entity. The horror is not the cult, but the feeling of being a character in a story that someone else is writing. The film explores themes of free will, addiction, and the search for belonging, all within a supernatural entity that is omniscient and indifferent.

The Poughkeepsie Tapes

Synopsis: Police discover a collection of over 800 videotapes documenting the crimes of a serial killer, offering a chilling inside look into his perverse mind.

Analysis: This film sits on the border between pseudo-documentary and pure horror. It focuses on a serial killer who records his crimes, but the true terror lies in the deconstruction of the victim’s sanity, a psychological exploration of how a person can be broken to the point of “loving” their tormentor. While its premise is closer to crime horror, the way it plays with our perception of reality makes it an unsettling and memorable work that questions the nature of evil.

Visions from Other Worlds and Social Metaphors

This section collects films that use the supernatural as a lens to comment on and criticize society, human nature, or relational dynamics, using terror as a vehicle for a deeper message.

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night

Synopsis: In a spectral Iranian ghost town known as Bad City, a lonely vampire, wearing a chador, roams at night punishing perverse and cruel men.

Analysis: Self-described as the “first Iranian vampire Western,” this black-and-white film is a work of art that subverts genre conventions. The vampire, a figure who punishes violent and perverse men, is both a feminist heroine and a metaphor for loneliness and social disconnection. The dreamy atmosphere, eclectic soundtrack, and stylized cinematography create a world of horror and beauty that is also a powerful social critique on the condition of women in an oppressive society.

Under the Skin

Synopsis: An alien entity, in the guise of a woman, roams the streets of Scotland to lure and abduct men.

Analysis: A unique cinematic experience, this film follows an alien entity that lures and “collects” men. The horror is not in the “scares,” but in the dehumanization and the terrifying alien perspective on our species, viewed as mere slaughterhouse meat. The film is a profound meditation on sexuality, identity, and empathy, and on the thin line that separates observer from involvement, using hidden cameras to blur the line between fiction and documentary.

It Follows

Synopsis: After a casual sexual encounter, a girl finds herself haunted by nightmarish visions and the inescapable feeling that something is slowly and relentlessly following her.

Analysis: Using a simple and terrifying premise (a sexually transmitted curse), the film creates a relentless feeling of tension and paranoia. The entity, which takes the form of random people and moves slowly but inexorably, is a powerful metaphor for sexually transmitted diseases, trauma, and forced maturation. The retro aesthetic and synth-wave soundtrack contribute to a unique atmosphere of modern terror that resonates deeply with the anxieties of contemporary life.

The Wailing

Synopsis: In a remote Korean village, a policeman investigates a series of mysterious deaths and illnesses that seem linked to the arrival of a Japanese stranger.

Analysis: A masterpiece of South Korean cinema that blends a police thriller, supernatural horror, and shamanic folklore. A policeman’s investigation into mysterious deaths in a remote village turns into a descent into paranoia and spiritual uncertainty. The horror stems from the ambiguity between demonic possession, an epidemic, and psychosis, leaving the viewer to doubt every clue and every character, in a film that “offers more chills than answers.

The Host

Synopsis: A Korean family, owners of a street food stall, tries to save their teenage daughter who has been kidnapped by a mutant monster that emerges from the Han River in Seoul.

Analysis: Unlike the YA film of the same name, this masterpiece by Bong Joon Ho is a monster movie with a deeply political soul and a critique of authoritarianism. The creature that terrorizes Seoul is not just a physical threat, but a direct consequence of a formaldehyde spill into the river, a negligent act that references a real news event. The film is a “social satire” disguised as a genre film, where the real monstrosity lies in the corruption and inefficiency of institutions.

The House with Laughing Windows

Synopsis: A young art restorer arrives in a village in the Po Valley to restore a disturbing fresco, the work of a mad painter, and finds himself entangled in a sinister, satanic conspiracy.

Analysis: An Italian giallo-horror that leverages the sense of isolation and the folklore of the Po Valley. A restorer discovers that a fresco depicts a painter who portrayed people in agony. The supernatural is tied to a psychological mystery and a town secret that lurks beneath an apparent quiet. The film plays with the foggy, claustrophobic atmosphere to build an inexorable tension, culminating in a surprising ending that reveals a terrifying and profoundly human truth.

Let the Right One In

Synopsis: Oskar, a lonely and bullied twelve-year-old, befriends Eli, a mysterious girl living in his apartment complex, but discovers she is hiding a dark secret.

Analysis: This Swedish masterpiece is one of the most original re-imaginings of the vampire myth, transforming it into a story of friendship, loneliness, and adolescent love. The supernatural horror is always present, but it primarily serves as a backdrop to an existential and poetic drama. The film subverts genre tropes to focus on relational dynamics, showing how a deep bond can form even between a vulnerable boy and a centuries-old predator.

Extreme Tensions and Disturbing Rituals

This section focuses on films that push the genre to the limit, exploring horror in contexts of ritualistic violence, revenge, and transgression, using the supernatural as a force that reveals human monstrosity.

Martyrs

Synopsis: A traumatized young woman seeks revenge on her childhood tormentors, only to discover that an chilling secret cult is behind her torture.

Analysis: A work that defined the “New French Extremity,” Martyrs is a revenge film that evolves into a chilling philosophical exploration of pain and transcendence. While the early scenes are pure body horror, the film elevates itself with its theme of “martyrdom” and a cult’s goal of using extreme torture to achieve supernatural enlightenment, i.e., “knowledge” of what awaits after death. The horror here is both physical and metaphysical, forcing the viewer to confront violence that has a greater purpose than mere shock.

The Invitation

Synopsis: A man tormented by his past attends a dinner party at his ex-wife’s house, where he begins to suspect that the guests are hiding a sinister and deadly plan.

Analysis: A psychological thriller that leverages the social tension of a dinner among friends. The claustrophobic atmosphere and the protagonist’s growing paranoia lead him to believe that something sinister is afoot. The film is a masterclass in “subtle terror,” where the horror manifests in the progressive loss of sanity and the final revelation that the suspicion was indeed founded, but in a completely unexpected and supernatural way, making the experience as unsettling as it is brilliant.

The Others

Synopsis: A mother, with her two children who suffer from photosensitivity, lives in an isolated mansion in England and becomes convinced that the house is haunted by ghosts.

Analysis: A modern classic of the genre, The Others is a ghost film that plays with genre conventions to create an atmosphere of suspense and mystery. Set just after World War II, in a house perpetually shrouded in fog, the film creates a palpable unease through sounds, shadows, and the feeling that something is out of place. The final twist is an elegant re-shuffling of all the clues, forcing the viewer to reconsider everything they have seen, transforming the story into a poignant meditation on loss and acceptance.

Kill List

Synopsis: Two former soldiers, now hitmen, accept a very well-paying job, but their “kill list” leads them into a dark and ritualistic world they cannot comprehend.

Analysis: Ben Wheatley subverts audience expectations with a film that begins as a raw crime thriller and transforms into a terrifying folk horror nightmare. The supernatural is not explicit until the end, but its presence is increasingly felt, like an invisible and malevolent force manipulating events. The raw violence of the first part serves to disorient the viewer, making the ritualistic ending even more shocking and inexplicable.

The Devil’s Backbone

Synopsis: During the final days of the Spanish Civil War, an orphan is left at an isolated boarding school that hides an unexploded bomb and a tormented ghost.

Analysis: Director Guillermo del Toro uses a historical setting and blends it with a ghost film in a poetic and chilling tale. The child ghost that inhabits the orphanage does not seek revenge, but justice and attention. The greatest horror is not the restless presences, but the secrets and violence committed by the human beings themselves. The ghost is a metaphor for lost innocence and the weight of history, a presence that doesn’t just scare, but also moves you.

The House of the Devil

Synopsis: A young babysitter accepts a job at an isolated house, unaware that the family that hired her is hiding dark secrets linked to a satanic cult.

Analysis: A stylistic and narrative homage to 1970s and ’80s horror cinema, Ti West’s The House of the Devil is a slow and meticulous example of a “slow burn.” The film builds tension with a growing anxiety, following a young babysitter who accepts a job in an isolated house. The threats are not immediately obvious but lurk in an atmosphere of increasing discomfort and in the details of a house that seems to hide a sinister history, culminating in an explosion of terror that rewards the viewer’s patience.

Sinister

Synopsis: A struggling true crime writer moves his family into the house where a mysterious murder occurred, discovering home videos that reveal the truth and a terrible entity that haunts his family.

Analysis: While not strictly indie, this film marked a return to “found footage terror” with a story of possession and a curse transmitted through imagery. The premise of a writer discovering a box of films documenting the deaths of several families is a powerful narrative hook. The horror manifests in how the supernatural entity uses the films as a medium to hunt and communicate, making the very medium an weapon to manifest its demonic nature.

REC

Synopsis: A TV news crew, filming a report on firefighters, becomes trapped in an apartment building where a rabies-like epidemic is spreading, turning residents into monsters.

Analysis: This film redefined the found footage genre with a frantic pace and relentless action. The story of a TV crew trapped in a building during an epidemic is not just horror, but a critique of the obsession with sensational journalism. The supernatural, here, takes the form of a violent and mysterious contagion that spreads with terrifying speed, trapping the viewer in a claustrophobic experience.

Trollhunter

Synopsis: A group of Norwegian students investigates a series of mysterious bear deaths, discovering that the cause is a man who actually hunts trolls for the government.

Analysis: A film that blends Norse mythology with the found footage style, Trollhunter is a mockumentary that manages to be both a monster movie and a modern fairy tale. It’s not a film that tries to scare you, but rather to fascinate you, mixing adventure with thrills and a visual aesthetic that makes the trolls, in all their majesty, incredibly real. The film plays with humor and a sense of wonder, proving that horror doesn’t have to be dark to be engaging.

The Monster

Synopsis: A recovering alcoholic and her teenage daughter, on the verge of a breakdown, find themselves stranded on an isolated country road and attacked by a terrifying creature.

Analysis: In this indie film, the external supernatural threat is a monster that attacks, but the real fear comes from the family conflict and the mother’s inability to protect her daughter. The film uses the external threat as a catalyst to address the characters’ inner demons, offering a survival story that is also a powerful psychological drama about redemption and the strength of the family bond.

La Llorona

Synopsis: The Guatemalan legend of the “weeping woman” manifests in the life of a retired general accused of genocide, who finds himself haunted by the ghosts of his victims.

Analysis: This film by Jayro Bustamante is a work of folk horror that blends the genre with historical drama. The story of the “weeping woman” legend is intertwined with the Guatemalan genocide. The horror is not just the presence of a vengeful ghost, but the weight of history and the crimes committed by a general, now persecuted by his victims. La Llorona is both a vengeful figure and a manifestation of poetic justice.

The Lighthouse

Synopsis: Two lighthouse keepers, isolated on a remote island, begin to succumb to madness, conflict, and hallucinations, convinced that a mysterious sea entity is hunting them.

Analysis: Another film by Robert Eggers that sits between the supernatural and psychosis. It follows two isolated lighthouse keepers whose minds begin to give way to solitude and madness. The film uses cosmic horror and marine mythology to explore toxic masculinity and mental deterioration. The ambiguity of what is real and what is hallucination is the true source of terror, leaving the viewer to doubt what they see.

The Killing of a Sacred Deer

Synopsis: The life of a successful surgeon is turned upside down by a mysterious boy who inserts himself into his family and curses him, forcing him to choose a family member to sacrifice to settle the score for the boy’s father’s death.

Analysis: Yorgos Lanthimos uses a supernatural premise to explore the concepts of justice, fate, and punishment. The film is a surreal and disturbing horror that takes place in a sterile, emotionless world, where violence and the supernatural are treated with clinical detachment. It is a work that challenges the viewer to confront deep moral questions, asking whether destiny is an ineluctable force or a ruthless choice.

Raw

Synopsis: A young vegetarian veterinary student is forced to eat raw meat during a hazing ritual and develops an irresistible craving for human flesh.

Analysis: Julia Ducournau creates a body horror that explores themes of sexuality, hunger, and identity through the lens of cannibalism. While the plot is not strictly supernatural, the protagonist’s body transformation and her growing “hunger” are treated in a visceral and transcendent way, like a kind of possession. The film is a powerful metaphor for sexual awakening and the acceptance of one’s most primal nature.

The Guest

Synopsis: A mysterious soldier shows up to the family of a deceased comrade and ingratiates himself into their lives. His charming, yet unsettling, behavior suggests that he is hiding a dark and supernatural secret.

Analysis: The Guest blends action thriller and horror into a work with an ’80s flavor. The threat is not initially clear, but the protagonist’s unsettling behavior suggests an almost demonic nature. The film plays with retro aesthetics and a sense of menace that lurks beneath an apparent normality, offering an experience that is both violent and inexplicable, combining physical and supernatural thrills.