Most horror movies rely on a viewer's ability to see. Directors convey terror through physical means. For instance, slashers have people stalking and killing their victims. Then, we have monster movies where the worst things that haunt our nightmares are realized through visual effects. These antagonists come in all shapes and forms. They can be bestial or spectral, or really anything that one considers scary.
However, there are those occasions where the monster isn't exactly visible to the human eye, or they're concealed from the audience for some reason. Keeping in mind that what you don't see can hurt you, here are ten horror movies where the monsters are never — or in some cases, rarely — seen on screen.
Altitude (2010)
A freshly licensed young pilot flies her group of friends in a small charter plane to reach a concert. Because of various conflicts, tensions are high during the trip. They then encounter something large and inescapable in the air.
Technically, we do see the monster in Altitude. We catch various glimpses of it. But it's so rare to see atmospheric beasts on display in modern horror movies. So, the Cthulhu-esque creature here is worth a mention. As for the film, Altitude is like an extended episode from The Outer Limits.
Pontypool (2008)
Outside a radio station in Pontypool, Ontario, a virus takes hold of the local population. A radio show host attempts to report on the growing epidemic while still on the air. In time, he realizes the virus is spreading through specific spoken words in the English language.
Pontypool is a prime example of unseen terror. Though we get a glimpse of what's happening outside the radio station, it's never as explicit as it could be. That's what makes it so frightening and tense. The director has explained that the afflicted in the film aren't zombies either; they're what he refers to as "conversationalists."
The Boogeyman (1980)
When Lacey was younger, she witnessed her brother Willy kill their mother's boyfriend. Years later, she acquires a mirror that "witnessed" the incident. However, when the mirror is broken, the spirit of Lacey's mother's boyfriend is freed. Now, the sinister specter seeks revenge against those he blames for his murder.
The Boogeyman is an interesting slasher because the killer is both supernatural and invisible. The homicidal ghost may not be a monster per se, but he's not that different from the embodiment of Death in the Final Destination franchise.
Resolution (2012)
Upon receiving an upsetting video from his friend Chris, Michael leaves the city and travels to the remote cabin Chris is holed up in. There, Michael forces his friend to detox from drugs. Later, a man from a local indigenous tribe warns them that they're squatting on reservation land. And to make things more disconcerting, Chris and Michael are being watched by someone — or something — that knows what the future has in store for them.
The unseen enemy in Resolution is intangible. We get hints, but never an explicit explanation or view. Instead, we as the audience have to come up with our own theory as to what that thing in the ending is. Directors Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead later made The Endless, which shares a universe with Resolution.
Bird Box (2018)
The world's population is under siege by a mysterious force. The only way to avoid this inexplicable threat is to not look at it. Otherwise, you succumb to the same fate as everyone else — you will lose control and try to harm yourself. To evade the same fate, one pregnant woman joins a group of other unaffected survivors.
We originally were meant to see what the monsters in Bird Box looked like at the end of the film, but they smartly scrapped that plan. Instead, we rely on our imagination. And that's scarier.
The Mothman Prophecies (2002)
A couple is involved in a tragic car accident. The husband — who swerved because he claims an inscrutable, flying figure appeared in front of the car — survives, but his wife doesn't. Years later, the man is drawn to Point Pleasant, West Virginia, a town that has been the site of unexplained sightings of a red-eyed creature.
The Mothman Prophecies is based on a book of the same name. However, the book isn't so much a fictional novel as it is a collection of reports about the Mothman and other bizarre phenomena. We don't see the Mothman in the film adaptation, but its insidious presence is undeniable.
Final Destination (2000)
After experiencing a vision of his and other passengers' deaths if they remained on their flight to Paris, a teenager panics and is thrown off the plane. Other people caught up in the commotion are removed as well. To everyone's surprise, the vision comes true and the flight explodes upon taking off. Now, he and his friends are being systematically killed off in the original order they were destined to die.
Supernatural slasher Final Destination doesn't give a corporeal form to Death, but that doesn't stop us from being terrified. The concept of death is scary enough. Now, we're told it can "correct" situations where we escaped harm's way? Four more films were made, and a reboot is in the works.
Ghostwatch (1992)
A live television investigation sends a field reporter to a house in Enfield, North London. The residents — a single mother and her daughters — believe their home is being haunted. While there, the reporter slowly realizes there's truth to the family's claim.
Aired on BBC1 on Halloween night, audiences were led to think this mockumentary was, in fact, a real, on-air special. Ghostwatch led to controversies, which includes one viewer's suicide. As a result, the movie hasn't been shown again in the UK since its original airing. In Ghostwatch, the malevolent spirit is vaguely visible on screen, but it's obscured by darkness and doubt.
Children of the Corn (1984)
Driving through the Midwest, a couple stops when they come across a dead boy in the middle of the road. They seek help from a nearby town, but it's only inhabited by teenagers and children. Unable to leave, the couple is faced with a youth cult that worships a demonic entity called He Who Walks Behind the Rows.
Stephen King's short "Children of the Corn" was first adapted to film in 1984. It's been followed by sequels and remakes throughout the years. The original film was critically panned. Roger Ebert went so far as to say, "By the end of Children of the Corn, the only thing moving behind the rows is the audience, fleeing to the exits." He Who Walks Behind the Rows was finally given a material form in Children of the Corn III: Urban Harvest.
Paranormal Activity (2007)
After Katie and her boyfriend Micah move to the suburbs, they suspect something is wrong with their house. Micah starts documenting everything on video, and the footage captured is no doubt disturbing. He and Katie now suspect they are being haunted by a supernatural presence.
The original Paranormal Activity isn't considered to be scary these days thanks to parodies and ridicule, but back then, the film was an unnerving sight to behold. It emboldened other filmmakers to make their own found-footage horrors. Alas, hardly any of them can emulate the same effect as Paranormal Activity. The first movie eventually evolved into a lucrative franchise.