Horror movies can elicit quite a few different reactions from viewers, from terrified to confused to frustrate, but there are also a number of horrors that can keep fans on the edge of their seats by making viewers incredibly stressed or anxious through the context, tone, or even the score of the film.
These stressful films will be remembered for taking the viewers out of their usual horror comfort zones by amping up the adrenaline to eleven, grinding on horror aficionados last remaining triggers, and making people tremble with unrelenting dread and terror as they countdown the minutes until the movie is over and it's safe to breathe again.
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
1974's The Texas Chain Saw Massacre from horror legend Tobe Hooper introduced viewers to Leatherface and his twisted family as a group of college kids found themselves hunted after stopping at an idyllic countryside farmhouse.
While the film's main killer is undoubtedly terrifying with his chainsaw and penchant for making masks out of human faces, the film's nearly incessant soundtrack of screams from Marilyn Burns' Sally as she discovers the horror of Leatherface continues to stress out horror fans of all generations.
Hereditary (2018)
Ari Aster's 2018 film Hereditary may also be considered a bit of a slow-burn horror film, that doesn't make it any less stressful as viewers are made to feel uncertain about the reality of the film from the beginning as the camera moves in and out of the model houses that mirror the settings of the film.
As the characters continue to make traumatic and damaging decisions while dark plans unfold unknowingly around them, the audience's sense of unease and dread continues to build until the anxiety-ridden climax of the film.
The Invitation (2016)
Logan Marshall-Green starred in Karyn Kusama's 2016 psychological horror The Invitation, as his character accepted an invitation from his ex-wife to a dinner party, which he attended with his new girlfriend.
The film carries an uneasy feeling throughout its entirety as the main character spirals through renewed grief over his lost child while the dinner party takes an ominous shift in tone that further confuses the evening's events. Tense, gripping, and stressful are just a few of the words that will come to mind as the credits roll.
Funny Games (1997/2007)
Both the original Austrian Funny Games in 1997 and 2007's Funny Games US were directed by Michael Haneke, who clearly enjoyed taking viewers on a tense exploration into their own horror obsessions that both rewarded and condemned fans.
The film followed a family at their lakeside home as they are taken captive by a pair of well-spoken but sadistic youths that begin a series of gut-wrenching games that expose the family's own fears and secrets that will shock viewers as the film manages to draw them into the games as well.
High Tension (2003)
Haute Tension/High Tension/Switchblade Romance was directed by Alexandre Aja, who shocked horror movie fans in 2003 with the violent and frantic film that followed a pair of women on the run from a crazed slasher.
High Tension is an unrelenting chase film that features a number of unsettling kills that drive the main characters to intense acts of survival that result in a truly chaotic and mind-bending finale that came with a lot of white knuckles and torn theater armrests.
mother! (2017)
Darren Aranofsky's controversial 2017 mother! was anything but a box-office hit and had fans immediately divided over both the violent content and the unique allegorical interpretations of stories from the Bible.
While the film begins peacefully as a married couple awakens to start their day, a series of unexpected visitors soon devolve the household into violent chaos that left viewers spinning as the very world spoiled and corrupted around them with some intense and awful imagery that stressed out and in some cases disgusted moviegoers, but it also definitely left them thinking.
Get Out (2017)
Jordan Peele's 2017 hit horror Get Out broke records and terrified viewers with a twisted take on meeting a girlfriend's parents for the first time, as seen through the perspective of the boyfriend Chris, played by Daniel Kaluuya.
However, he soon discovers that his girlfriend and her cringe-worthy family are also holding a dark secret that keeps the viewers on the edge of their seats with unease. Eventually, the family's revelation dives into the depths of psychological manipulation that left horror fans both terrified and stressed by the dark societal realities highlighted by the film.
Martyrs (2008)
The original 2008 film Martyrs from Pascal Laugier (critics say to avoid the 2015 remake if at all possible) was part of a new French movement in horror that explored the extremes of the genre while also producing some of the best horror films ever.
Martyrs kicks off with a pulse-pounding massacre followed by brutal tortures and horrific monsters (both human and inhuman) that continually shocks and terrifies even well-viewed horror fans, and that's all within the first half of the stressful but rewarding film.
Inside (2007)
2007's À l'intérieur/Inside is one of the highlights of the New French Extreme wave of horror films that redefined the genre by re-exploring the elements of a horror film that terrified fans, leading to intensely gory films that shocked audiences.
Inside features a blood-drenched battle between two women over one mother's unborn baby that touched on so many different fears and stressors from home invasions to real-world stories of similar crimes that make the film hard to forget. However, like Martyrs, the original French version is much better than the English remake.
The Descent (2005)
Neil Marshall's 2005 British horror The Descent is a stressful horror film for a number of reasons, as it explores the tragic loss of loved ones, the gradual breakdown of friendships, and the terrors that can come with recreational cave-diving.
As six women descend into a dark and unexplored cave system, they encounter deadly creatures that have evolved to live underground and have come out to feed. The film not only features uniquely terrifying monsters but also constantly drives on the fears of being trapped underground in tight spaces, resulting in a very stressful horror film.