Horror movies are the most effective when they prey on fears that the audience can relate to, like the fear of racism (Get Out), the fear of high school bullies (Carrie), or the fear of the Devil (The Exorcist). Fatherhood brings its own set of fears. Dads worry that they won’t be able to protect their kids or, God forbid, that they’ll outlive their kids.
From A Quiet Place to Pet Sematary to Insidious to Eraserhead to Train to Busan, there are many chilling horror movies about the fears of fatherhood.
Insidious (2010)
Every parent dreads the possibility that their child might not be safe. James Wan’s Insidious starts out the same way as any haunted house movie. When his family starts facing inexplicable paranormal activity, Josh Lambert does what no horror movie protagonist does and simply moves his wife and kids into a new home.
But, much to his dismay, Josh learns that it’s not the house that was possessed by ghostly spirits; the ghosts have instead used his young son as a vessel.
The Stepfather (1987)
Loosely based on the life of mass murderer John List, The Stepfather tells the story of a serial killer named Henry Morrison who kills his family, then assumes a new identity so he can do it again. Operating under the guise of real estate agent Jerry Blake, Henry infiltrates a new family by marrying a widow.
Whenever a stepparent comes onto the scene, kids are naturally wary of the relative stranger in their home. The slasher storyline of The Stepfather takes that relatable skepticism to the extreme.
Firestarter (1984)
Adapted from the Stephen King novel of the same name, Firestarter is a moving father-daughter story wrapped in a high-octane sci-fi thriller. As a college student, Andy McGee took part in an experiment that gave him pyrokinetic powers. When his daughter Charlie (played by a young Drew Barrymore) develops similar abilities, they go on the run from a shady government agency known as “The Shop.”
The tale of Andy passing on his pesky superpowers to Charlie is a poignant metaphor for every parent’s fear that their kids will inherit their worst qualities.
The Mist (2007)
Another horror movie about being a dad taken from the work of Stephen King, The Mist tells the story of a father and son who are stranded during a routine trip to the supermarket when their small town is unexpectedly veiled in a thick mist populated by deadly Lovecraftian creatures.
The bleak final twist brings the whole thing full circle as it realizes the worst thing a father could ever be asked to do – and then promptly makes that shocking sacrifice completely moot a few seconds later.
A Quiet Place (2018)
In an interview with Deadline, John Krasinski explained that his lack of horror experience made him reluctant to take on A Quiet Place, but he changed his mind when he read the script and related to the core themes. It’s a post-apocalyptic chiller about an alien invasion, but deep down, it’s really about a father’s quest to keep his children safe.
Krasinski said, “It’s every parent’s greatest fear; not creatures in the dark, but the idea that you can only protect your kids so much.”
Pet Sematary (1989)
Stephen King loves a good horror story about the fears of fatherhood. Horror writers tend to draw from their own fears, and as a father himself, the fears of fatherhood are in King’s arsenal of terror. Pet Sematary is about the unspeakable horror of a parent outliving their offspring.
After his son is struck and killed by a speeding truck, a grieving father discovers an ancient burial ground near his house with the supernatural power to raise the dead.
The Road (2009)
Based on Cormac McCarthy’s novel of the same name, The Road takes place in the bleakest post-apocalyptic world imaginable, where a father and son must evade scavengers and cannibals just to stay alive.
Viggo Mortensen and Kodi Smit-McPhee anchor the movie with impeccable performances as the unnamed father and son. While the tone of the film is dreary and desolate, director John Hillcoat provides a glimmer of hope.
Train To Busan (2016)
It’s tough to come up with a fresh take on the well-worn zombie genre after so many filmmakers have taken a stab at it. But director Yeon Sang-ho managed to revitalize the genre with the sprinting undead and powerful sociological themes of his riveting gem, Train to Busan.
A single father tries to keep his young daughter safe on a high-speed rail journey during the nationwide outbreak of a zombie plague. The class system of the train becomes symbolic of the class system in the world at large. He also has to overcome immense guilt when he learns that his own company is responsible for the plague.
Eraserhead (1977)
David Lynch refuses to explain the meaning of his films, including his debut feature Eraserhead, which has allowed audiences to interpret them in countless different ways. But the most simplistic reading of Eraserhead is that it’s about the anxiety and dread felt by a new parent.
Lynch takes this concept to the most bizarre and unsettling extreme as Henry Spencer is tasked with caring for his girlfriend’s inhuman offspring.
The Shining (1980)
While The Shining is another case of a horror movie about fatherhood based on a King novel, Stanley Kubrick’s film adaptation is vastly different from King’s source material. In the book, Jack Torrance is a good man – a loving husband to Wendy and a devoted parent to Danny – who becomes corrupted by the ghosts in the Overlook Hotel.
But the movie suggests that Jack has demons from the very beginning, and that the isolation of the Overlook alone is enough to drive him into a murderous rage.