While there are a lot of thrilling new entries to the horror genre this year, such as Men and Fresh, there are some hidden gems that deserve a spotlight every once in a while. With a variety of themes, ranging from supernatural stories to heavily psychological-driven mysteries, the horror genre is often seen as something lacking originality these days, but there are a lot of lesser-known options that could prove otherwise.
Often lacking production resources to invest in their success, great movies remain obfuscated by huge box-office hits. Luckily, Reddit is always here to name a bunch of exciting stuff that horror lovers might have missed.
The Lodge (2019)
The Lodge is a fairly recent movie but stayed quite under the radar of the audience. Brought up by a deleted user, it's the kind of thriller that escalates into horror but stays on the verge for most of the time.
In the film, a soon-to-be stepmom is snowed in with her fiancé's two children in a remote village. As the weather worsens, so does the relationship of the trio when strange and frightening events begin to take place. It counts with great lead performances, as each of the characters grows more and more unstable.
Possession (1981)
Redditor danielthecameron mentioned several horror movies but claimed Possession to be the most prized piece of his collection. With incredible performances, the movie focuses on a couple in crisis as the husband tries to understand what led his wife to suddenly ask for a divorce and abandon him. Suspicions of infidelity soon give way to much sinister truth.
Possession mixes a lot of genres such as drama, romance, sci-fi thriller, and body horror, offering a bunch of innovative ideas to the genre and one of the most chilling possession scenes in any movie.
The House of the Devil (2009)
One of the best movies made by X director Ti West, The House of the Devil delivers an incredible 80s feel to the narrative and the way the chilling atmosphere of the movie is built.
The movie was brought up by Redditor Chastity_Pariah and follows a college student in the 80s that accepts a strange babysitting job that coincides with a full lunar eclipse, only to find out her clients harbor a terrifying secret. Similar to what Ti West has done in X, he evokes a bunch of well-known horror tropes of the last century to reflect his original ideas.
Shutter (2004)
Suggested by MichaelRoco1, Shutter has one of the most disturbing endings ever, but the whole film maintains an engaging atmosphere of mystery and fear, as a supernatural force lurks nearby. In the movie, a young photographer and his girlfriend discover strange shadows in their photographs after a tragic accident, forcing them to look back at a horrifying past.
Apart from being a great entry to Asian cinema, Shutter deals with most of the 2000s horror tendencies brilliantly, using jumpscares but also keeping the chilling mystery that pays off incredibly in the final moments.
The Loved Ones (2009)
Pyewacket62 mentioned The Loved Ones, a hidden horror gem with lots of bloody violence to offer. When the young man Brent turns down his classmate's Lola invitation to the prom, she plans a wildly sadistic plot of revenge with the help of her father.
While Brent goes through hell in the hands of the family, viewers are left with no idea of the direction the movie will take next. It's a fairly short film, and the constant twists in the story make The Loved Ones a very fun, entertaining watch.
Cemetery Man (1994)
One of the strangest horror movies of the 90s, Cemetery Man knows how to balance horror and comedy. In the film, a cemetery man is troubled by the unusual problem of the dead rising from the grave. His assistant joins forces with him to end the creatures, but an unexpected appearance will change their course of action.
Redditor Brother_Entropy called Cemetery Man a "great movie", and while it delivers a weird approach to horror, the movie could be considered a masterpiece of morbid desires.
Noroi: The Curse (2005)
Noroi: The Curse is a terrifying Japanese found footage horror movie that doesn't skimp on resources to shock the viewers, even though it takes quite some time to set up the eerie tone of the story. The film follows a renowned documentary filmmaker investigating a series of isolated incidents that might be connected to the legend of an ancient demon, uncovering a terrifying curse.
gmoshiro calls Noroi "one of the most realistic ghost films out there", as viewers need to constantly remind themselves that it's just a movie. With an unforgettable ending, the movie knows well how to make proper use of the found footage trope to transmit fear.
Triangle (2009)
Groundhog Day, but make it darker and bloodier. Triangle is not the typical time loop story, it follows Jess as she sets sail on a yacht with a group of friends, but mysterious weather conditions force them to take shelter on a passing ocean liner, a ship Jess is convinced she's been on before.
When talking about Triangle, SpearmintJones claims it to be his all-time favorite movie. In a narrative of many twists and turns, Triangle still manages to deliver a chilling atmosphere of mystery, that only gets tenser as the story goes on.
Pontypool (2008)
Redditor Odd_Replacement_7223 claims that Pontypool presents a great idea and it's wonderfully acted. In the film, a radio host interprets the possible outbreak of a deadly virus with an unlikely mode of transmission.
The movie shouts out to the radio and takes the viewers back to media phenomena such as "The War of the Worlds" broadcast narrated by Orson Welles, which many people believed to be a real-life coverage of an alien invasion. Pontypool delivers effective horror but also pays an incredible homage to broadcast media and states how language can be the key to everything, even the eeriest of the mysteries.
Let The Right One In (2008)
ufrared offers the perfect choice for a lesser-known vampire movie with Let The Right One In (not to confuse with the American remake Let Me In), which follows the peculiar bond between a lonely boy and his next-door neighbor, a girl who only appears at night and keeps a dark secret.
Despite going for a more psychological approach as the relationship between the two teens strengthens, the movie maintains a dark atmosphere from beginning to end, counting with disturbing scenes that keep the narrative going forward, adding to one unforgettable ending.