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Nothing really hits the audience as hard as a realistic horror movie. There are plenty of great horror movies that focus on supernatural terror or creepy monsters. However, sometimes the scariest thing a movie can be is grounded in reality. If the audience watches the horror unfold on screen and knows something like that could actually happen in real life, it can be quite unsettling. These movies rely simply on the evil that can exist in the real world and the threats that are very much possible. These types of stories will deliver the typical horror movie thrills with scares that may stay with viewers a little longer.
It is always fun to go to a movie and watch vampires, alien creatures, or ghosts delivering the scares on the big screen., However, when a person leaves the theater, there is never a sense that Dracula will appear out of the shadows for a bite or that a demon will swoop up out of the ground to consume that person. However, when a movie sees a villain tormenting, torturing, or killing people - and this horror monster blends in with regular people when he is not killing them - it brings a new level of terror, even outside the theater after the movie, where anyone could be lurking in the shadows.
The Hitcher (1986)
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A truly great movie villain can elevate the most realistic horror movies, even if it is just an ordinary human who is threatening the main characters. The Hitcher plays on the danger everyone has heard about when it comes to picking up hitchhikers as a young couple finds themselves targeted by a relentless killer they meet on the side of the road. Along with Rutger Hauer's unsettling performance as the villain, many fans found the movie's tension comes from believable scenarios. If any movie convinced people not to pick up a hitchhiker, it is this terrifying film, especially the movie heads to some very dark places before the end.
The Vanishing (1988)
Stream On The Criterion Channel
The Swedish horror movie The Vanishing is not packed with jump scares, but it is still remembered for one of the most unsettling endings in movie history. It follows a man searching for his wife who goes missing during a road trip, and the man responsible for her disappearance. The movie is extremely disturbing and one that can make anyone on a road trip sure to never let their loved ones out of their sight. This foreign thriller movie also proves that the most unsettling films feature a villain who doesn't get what they deserve, and not all endings involve a happily ever after - at least concerning the victims.
Midsommar (2019)
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Florence Pugh gives one of her best performances in the creepy horror movie Midsommar. Pugh plays a young woman dealing with a recent devastating loss who joins her boyfriend and his friends on a trip to a Swedish midsummer festival, where things quickly turn bizarre. Despite the bright and beautiful surroundings, the story is filled with a foreboding sense of doom in every scene. While it seems a little offbeat when compared to other realistic horror movies, Midsommar might make people think twice before going on hiking trips without researching their destination ahead of time.
Zodiac (2007)
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One thing that adds terror to realistic horror movies is having them focus on real-life events. While it can be hard to believe some horror movies' claims of being based on a true story, Zodiac remains unsettling for how accurate it is. The movie chronicles the investigation into the Zodiac Killer murders in the San Francisco area in the 1970s. But the scariest part of the real Zodiac Killer story is that authorities never caught him, and he remained free for years after his killing spree ended - if it really ever did. While more of a mystery than a straight horror movie, the tension remains strong to the end.
The Strangers (2008)
Rent On Apple TV & Prime Video
There have been a number of memorable masked killers in horror movies over the years. But while Jason Voorhees and Michael Myers feel quite unrealistic, the threatening killers in The Strangers feel grounded in a deeply disturbing way. One of the best realistic horror movies about home invasions, this one revolves around a couple in their secluded cabin who are terrorized by a gang of masked villains for seemingly no reason. And this might be what makes it so hard to deal with for some people. These are just normal people at home when the unthinkable happens, making viewers check all their locks before going to bed at night.
Henry: Portrait Of A Serial Killer (1986)
Stream On Peacock & Shudder
So many horror movies have featured serial killers as their main antagonists, but Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer took a new approach by showing the entire movie from the killer's point of view. Michael Rooker from The Walking Dead stars as the titular character who goes around dispatching victims one at a time. Unlike many realistic horror movies, this one seems uninterested in showing any redeemable aspects of the lead character, and that makes him seem like pure evil, making the viewer feel dirty for watching the events unfold. The character study of a killer makes him more unsettling than almost any classic slasher villain.
Misery (1990)
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Stephen King stories can often deal with supernatural aspects, with everything from killer clowns to vampires. However, Misery is one adaptation of King's writing that makes the audience squirm with its grounded approach as one of the best realistic horror movies. James Caan stars in the movie as a novelist who is injured in a car accident and is nursed in isolation by an obsessive fan. Kathy Bates's performance as the seemingly unassuming person who becomes gradually more terrifying really elevates the movie. Annie Wilkes has become one of King's most terrifying villains, and that is impressive since she is just a regular woman with a terrifying obsession.
Cape Fear (1991)
Stream On HBO Max
Though the original Cape Fear is a classic, the Martin Scorsese remake is an almost scarier version thanks to Robert De Niro as Max Cady. He is a man released from prison who sets out for revenge against the lawyer he blames for putting him there. Cady makes for a truly imposing villain, not because he cannot be killed or has some special powers, but because his determination makes him relentless. He truly feels like all of his disgusting and horrific acts are justified. With Nick Nolte as the family man whose daughter ends up tormented by Cady, this remains a terrifying experience.
Hush (2016)
Stream On Netflix
The best home invasion movies are particularly effective as grounded realistic horror films because it puts danger in a place most people feel safest. Hush adds an interesting twist to the material that makes it all the more memorable. The movie follows a deaf woman who is randomly targeted by a masked killer as she attempts to defend herself. The terrific use of tension worked for many fans and even those who might not relate to the main character feel the terror of a killer stalking his prey without them knowing he is there. This is a terror that will have anyone looking over their shoulders in and out of their homes.
Eden Lake (2008)
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A lot of realistic horror movies start with something mundane and unthreatening, only for the horror to emerge unexpectedly. Such is the case with Eden Lake, a movie that left audiences feeling empty inside. It stars Kelly Reilly and Michael Fassbender as a couple on a romantic getaway who run into a group of youths looking for trouble. The young age of the villains in the movie makes it even creepier, especially since they cannot be reasoned with and are doing it all for fun. This is another movie where the victims have no chance, with a very upsetting ending.
Psycho (1960)
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Alfred Hitchcock is the master of suspense, but of his movies, Psycho remains the one that skewers to an actual horror movie. It follows a young woman who, while on the run, stops at a roadside motel run by the creepy Norman Bates and his mother. Psycho unfolds with so many shocking twists that Hitchcock used this to effectively sell the film to an unaware audience. It also helped introduce the idea of a seemingly mild-mannered person being a dark and sadistic killer underneath. This is not only one of the best realistic horror movies, but it is also the grandfather of what became known as the slasher movie in the '70s and '80s.
Martyrs (2008)
Stream On Vudu
The French movie Martyrs follows two young women who befriend each other while growing up in an orphanage. Years later, one of the women confronts her dark past, which is linked to a mysterious and sadistic cult that is looking to discover the truth about the afterlife. Martyrs is a disturbing, brutal experience, and certainly not for everyone. But while some of the characters believe in supernatural elements, the truth is that what happens is just brutal torture. It remains one of the hardest realistic horror movies to watch, but for fans of the genre, it is a near masterpiece.
Bone Tomahawk (2015)
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While many realistic horror movies seem to be modern stories, Bone Tomahawk gives a western twist to the genre. Kurt Russell stars as a sheriff who leads a posse to hunt down a group of cannibals. There have been plenty of movies that show the brutal and violent life in the Old West, but few are as gruesome in their depiction as Bone Tomahawk. It is an engrossing and surprising adventure with moments viewers won't soon get out of their heads. While no one will leave the movie worried about someone killing them, the darkest moments in this movie leave little to the imagination and could have happened at any time in the past.
The House That Jack Built (2018)
Stream On AMC+
Filmmaker Lars von Trier is known for his challenging and often disturbing movies. While stepping into a story about a serial killer, The House That Jack Built ranks as one of his most unsettling projects. The movie stars Matt Dillon as a serial killer and simply follows him around as he commits his sickening crimes. Like Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, spending so much time with such an evil character is difficult, but there is one difference. While Henry is deeply disturbing, this movie adds a little dark humor to the proceedings, especially since Jack is on his way to Hell as he recounts his story.
Green Room (2015)
Stream On HBO Max
One of the most effective things realistic horror movies can do is relate a feeling of hopelessness. Green Room delivers this in the gripping story of a punk rock band who finds themselves trapped by a gang of neo-Nazis. The violence is brutal yet matter-of-fact and the actions of the movie's villains are so cold and calculating that it is bone-chilling. Patrick Stewart stars as the leader of the neo-Nazi gang, and when the punk rock band catches them in the act of a murder, the entire movie becomes a cat-and-mouse adventure, making one realize that it might be best to just mind your own business in strange locations.