If you're scared that you might not get scared by Netflix's horror selection,
have no fear. Whether you're looking for a newer release that's packed with terror and suspense
or you're craving a spooky classic that will bring back some nostalgic chills, we've got you covered.
The horror genre is often at its best when translating the internal to the external,
turning a personal fear into a boogeyman that anyone can relate to.
In the case of Gerald's Game, a Netflix original by horror maestro Mike Flanagan,
the internal is externalized to an almost absurd degree. Based on the novel by Stephen King,
Gerald's Game was considered to be entirely unfilmable, since nearly the entire story
takes place in a single room and only follows one character. Both the novel and the film
tell the story of Jesse, brilliantly portrayed here by Carla Gugino. Jesse decides to take a
romantic vacation with her husband Gerald in an effort to rekindle their flagging relationship.
Unfortunately, Gerald has a bondage fetish, and it's so extreme that it involves real handcuffs,
and some very extensive role play. To make matters worse, Gerald has a weak heart,
and he dies while Jesse's handcuffed to the bed with no one else around for
miles. Nearly the entire story, minus some flashbacks, takes place on a bed as Jesse's
left to contemplate what led her to this situation and how she can possibly escape.
It's the kind of setting that could easily translate into an incredibly boring cinematic
experience, but Gugino's powerful performance and Flanagan's steady escalation of tension
and danger manages to make a single room feel endlessly interesting. Be warned,
however: while Gerald's Game has plenty of internal horror,
anyone squeamish about gore should be prepared for an incredibly eye-opening climax.
One of the best things about the horror genre is the way it can take personal
fears and make them universal. You might not know what it's like to live in a war zone,
but you can probably relate to the struggle to keep your family safe from an uncaring
danger if it's visualized as a monster. Under the Shadow follows Shideh, a former medical
student barred from resuming her studies because of her time as a political activist.
To make things worse, Shideh lives in Tehran during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s,
which saw the city become a major target for bombing. Her husband is conscripted,
leaving Shideh and her young daughter in an apartment complex where they have to
flee to the basement as soon as they hear the bomb siren. There also might
be a djinn haunting the apartment, looking to steal Shideh's daughter away from her.
Under the Shadow bears some loose similarities to The Babadook — both are about young mothers
trying to protect their child from a malevolent supernatural entity
that might not even be real. Still, while The Babadook feels almost claustrophobically internal,
Under the Shadow is painfully external. Shideh and her daughter might not always
have the best relationship, but every moment of their lives is made worse by the constant,
looming threat of violence. Whether it's a djinn or a missile, there really is
something that can take Shideh's daughter away if she doesn't protect her with all her might.
For plenty of people, the scariest possible situation in life has nothing to do with occult
rituals or being lost and frightened in the wilderness. For some people,
the scariest thing in life is having to go to a dinner party with people they don't actually like.
That seems to be the genesis behind The Invitation, which follows Will and his new
girlfriend Kira as they attend a dinner party hosted by Will's ex-wife and her new boyfriend.
As you can probably guess, since this film is on a list of horror movies,
things go awry in slightly more disturbing ways than they would in a Wes Anderson film.
"What are you talking about?"
We don't want to go too deep into the specifics of the plot because it would
spoil some of the fun of the movie. What we can say is that The Invitation has some of
the best slow-building tension you're likely to get from any film, along with extraordinary
performances that immediately engross you in the characters' mysterious drama.
Also, word of warning, this movie might make you feel a little paranoid at your next dinner party,
so be sure to keep any suspicions about the guests to yourself.
"Sounds f---ing crazy."
You might have heard this one before: a teenage girl, burdened by issues at home,
suddenly finds herself at the mercy of a supernatural entity that seems to be pushing
her down a dark and deadly path. Veronica sounds like a dozen other horror movies from
the synopsis alone, but plot isn't everything in horror. What sets this film apart is the steady,
versatile directing of Paco Plaza, probably best known to American audiences as the director of
the original REC. The film also boasts a wonderful and intense lead performance from Sandra Escacena.
If you've seen one exorcism movie, you've seen most of them,
but Veronica demands your interest with the smaller details: children with photo negatives
covering their eyes as they gaze at an eclipse; Veronica using music and headphones to briefly
escape her responsibilities as a surrogate mother for her siblings; the mutable nature
of high-school friendship. When Veronica first dropped on Netflix, plenty of sites heralded the
film as one of the scariest films ever made. While that might not be true for everyone,
Veronica definitely stands out in a crowded subgenre and is more than worth a watch.
Some horror movies spend most of their runtime building to a major moment,
whether that moment is an explosion of violence, a shocking plot twist that no one saw coming,
or a combination of both. Then there are movies like Richard Shepard's The Perfection,
a film that starts with a wild moment, then keeps building and building until
you're so embedded in the chaos that you can't wait to see how it all turns out.
The Perfection follows a pair of classical musicians who each rose to prominence
under the tutelage of the same legendary teacher. What begins as a friendly rivalry
soon evolves into an absolutely unhinged game of manipulation and violence,
but all is not as it seems. By the time The Perfection is over, it becomes a tale of two
women going to great lengths to ensure their freedom, no matter what the cost,
because the system that took them in has done nothing but chew them up and spit them out.
Featuring a couple of truly stunning twists and anchored by delightfully
wild performances from Allison Williams and Logan Browning, The Perfection is one of the
great unsung horror successes of recent years, and deserves much more attention.
Few things are more uncomfortable than being trapped in a social situation
with someone who's either oblivious or intent on ignoring social cues. That could be the line
of thinking that led to Creep, a found-footage horror movie about a videographer named Aaron,
played by Patrick Brice, who finds himself working for the very strange and very creepy Josef,
who is perfectly portrayed by Mark Duplass. Aaron's been asked to film a series of messages
for Josef's unborn son before he succumbs to terminal cancer, and Aaron's been offered
enough money to offset some of Josef's odd behavior. However, things start to go off
the rails when Josef pulls out a wolf mask and becomes a character he calls Peachfuzz.
"Hello, my name is Peachfuzz. I might look like I'll eat you up."
As with most found footage horror movies, there are moments that might make you scream at your
screen to turn off the camera and start running. Nevertheless, Duplass and Brice,
who also wrote the movie together, have enough chemistry that you understand why Aaron sticks
around. It's not a film that's likely to convince avowed found footage haters to
embrace the subgenre, but it's definitely one of the best and most unusual no-budget
horror movies around. It's also filled with plenty of dark humor and serious scares.
"Sorry, didn't mean to do that. I keep doing that."
When it comes to the folk horror subgenre, the original The Wicker Man is the gold standard
against which all other films are measured, and it's often a joy to see how various other movie's
riff on and pay tribute to that classic. One thing worth noting about The Wicker Man is, of course,
that it's a slow-burn film that waits until almost the very end to reveal the full horror
of Summerisle and its people. If you're looking for a film that plays with some of the same ideas
but leans much harder into the horror elements, Gareth Evans' Apostle is perfect for you.
The film follows Thomas, a man who visits an island off the coast of Wales
in search of his missing sister. It's there that he finds a cult
driven by a charismatic leader who is convinced of the island's mythology,
which says a blood sacrifice is necessary to make it the lush, green paradise it seems to be now.
What begins as a somewhat straightforward mystery surrounding the cult soon turns much more
horrific, as Thomas learns that the folk stories about the island are truer than he realized.
Apostle may not live up to The Wicker Man in terms of sheer aura, but it succeeds in different ways
because it's willing to go further and deeper with its folk horror mythos. The result is an intense,
haunting movie driven by two stellar lead performances from Dan Stevens and Michael Sheen.
Sometimes you just have to go with a classic,
whether you've been browsing for hours unsure of what to watch or you're just eager for some
horror movie comfort food. In that regard, it doesn't get much better than Poltergeist.
This classic story of a family who moves into a new home and quickly finds they aren't alone
holds up remarkably well, thanks in no small part to how completely human it feels.
Just about everyone can identify with at least one member of the Freeling family,
whether you identify with their individual goals and desires or with the things that terrify them.
And that roots the movie in a sense of reality that still reaches out and grabs you.
Of course, even if that's not why you're watching Poltergeist, you'll still find plenty of things
to love about it. The scares in the film, from skeletons in the muddy earth to the
creepy clown doll, are still effective nearly 40 years after the film was first released.
The movie is also packed with great acting, memorable characters, and snappy dialogue.
"Would y'all mind hanging back? You're jamming my frequencies."
So whether you've seen it a dozen times or you're arriving at it for the first time, Poltergeist is
the type of classic film that can still feel brand new decades after it first hit theaters.
At this point, Blumhouse Productions has carved out an undeniable niche in the cinematic
marketplace by producing low-budget, high-concept horror films. Whether they're producing critical
and commercial smashes like Get Out or slightly less-popular horror sequels like Amityville: The
Awakening, you can pretty much count on a movie produced by Blumhouse to at least be interesting.
Luckily, Sweetheart lands much closer to Get Out than Amityville on the Blumhouse quality spectrum.
Sweetheart tells the story of Jennifer, a woman who washes up on a seemingly deserted island
after a storm. The island appears to have plenty of food and resources for shelter, but there are
also clear indications that other castaways have washed up on its shore in the past. As
Jennifer explores the island, the film is almost entirely dialogue-free. There's no narration,
and Jennifer doesn't have a convenient habit of talking out loud while puzzling things out.
Instead, Sweetheart relies almost entirely on Kiersey Clemons' exceptional physical acting,
letting the camera simply follow her as she figures out whether or not she's alone on
the island — and whether that's a good thing or a bad thing. Throw in an ominous synth-heavy score,
and you've got an exceedingly solid horror flick that's full of surprises.
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