200 Alternative Horror Films You Need to See
List compiled by Rue Morgue Magazine. Does not include the sidebar Top 10 lists, just the primary 200 titles.
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200 titles
- DirectorGéla BabluaniStarsGeorge BabluaniAurélien RecoingPascal BongardA man takes over a dead man's task without realizing the horror it entails.
- DirectorWilliam GirdlerStarsCarol SpeedWilliam MarshallTerry CarterA marriage counselor becomes possessed by a demon of sexuality when her father-in-law, an archaeologist and an exorcist, accidentally frees it while in Africa.
- DirectorRobert FuestStarsVincent PriceJoseph CottenVirginia NorthDoctor, scientist, organist, and biblical scholar Anton Phibes seeks revenge on the nine doctors he considers responsible for the death of his wife.
- DirectorDavid FincherStarsSigourney WeaverCharles S. DuttonCharles DanceReturning from LV-426, Ellen Ripley crash-lands on the maximum-security prison Fiorina 161, where she discovers that she has unwittingly brought along an unwelcome visitor.
- DirectorÉric TessierStarsMarc-André GrondinNormand D'AmourSonia Vachon5150 ELM'S WAY is located at end of a quiet street in a small town. When Yannick fell off his bike.
- DirectorJuan López MoctezumaStarsClaudio BrookDavid SilvaTina RomeroAfter the death of her parents, a young girl arrives at a convent and brings a sinister presence with her. Is it her enigmatic imaginary friend, Alucarda, who is to blame? Or is there a satanic force at work?
- DirectorHélène CattetBruno ForzaniStarsCassandra ForêtCharlotte Eugène GuibeaudMarie BosAs a young girl Ana was a rebellious child. She was also tormented by images of death and a shadowy, ominous figure in black. Now an adult, she is once again tormented by shadowy, other-worldly forms.
- DirectorDamiano DamianiStarsJames OlsonBurt YoungRutanya AldaA dysfunctional family moves into a new house, which proves to be satanic, resulting in the demonic possession of their teenage son.
- DirectorGerald KarglStarsErwin LederRobert Hunger-BühlerSilvia RyderA troubled man gets released from prison and starts taking out his sadistic fantasies on an unsuspecting family living in a secluded house.
- DirectorLewis TeagueStarsRobert ForsterRobin RikerMichael V. GazzoA pet baby alligator is flushed down a toilet and survives in the city sewers. Twelve years later, it grows to an enormous size thanks to a diet of discarded laboratory dogs injected with growth hormones. Now, humans have entered the menu.
- DirectorBigas LunaStarsZelda RubinsteinMichael LernerTalia PaulA controlling mother uses telepathic powers to send her middle-aged son on a killing spree.
- DirectorPupi AvatiStarsCarlo CecchiStefano DionisiArnaldo NinchiA seminary student, Giacomo Vigetti, is convicted by the Papal State of seducing a young girl. He is forced to flee and takes refuge with an excommunicated priest. Unfortunately, the priest was excommunicated for experimenting with the black arts. And soon Giacomo wishes they'd never met.
- DirectorWrye MartinBarry PoltermannStarsNorman MosesTina Ona PaukstelisJohn KishlineA young, unwed, pregnant girl is made an offer she can't refuse. Marry a rich young man with a wealthy estate to please his dying mother, and she'll be well taken care of. What she doesn't know is the family has plans to sacrifice her baby!
- DirectorJosé Mojica MarinsStarsJosé Mojica MarinsMagda MeiNivaldo LimaA gravedigger prowls the city in search of a female to bear him a son.
- DirectorJoe CornishStarsJohn BoyegaJodie WhittakerAlex EsmailA teen gang in South London defend their block from an alien invasion.
- DirectorAlain RobakStarsEmmanuelle EscourrouChristian SinnigerJean-François GallotteWhen a strange creature crawls into a woman's uterus she becomes a killer in order to feed the tiny terror growing within her.
- DirectorMervyn LeRoyStarsNancy KellyPatty McCormackGage ClarkeRhoda Penmark seems like your average, sweet eight-year-old girl. After her rival at school dies in mysterious circumstances at the school picnic, her mother starts to suspect that Rhoda was responsible.
- DirectorMario BavaStarsClaudine AugerLuigi PistilliClaudio CamasoThe murder of a wealthy countess triggers a chain reaction of brutal killings in the surrounding bay area, as several unscrupulous characters try to seize her large estate.
- DirectorPhilippe MoraStarsRonny CoxBibi BeschPaul ClemensA young woman gets raped by a mysterious man-creature, and years later her son begins a horrific transformation into a similar beast.
- DirectorScott GlossermanStarsNathan BaeselAngela GoethalsZelda RubinsteinThe next great killer and psychopath has given a documentary film crew exclusive access to his life as he plans his reign of terror over the quiet town of Glen Echo.
- DirectorChristopher SmithStarsEddie RedmayneSean BeanCarice van HoutenSet during the time of the first outbreak of bubonic plague in England, a young monk is given the task of learning the truth about reports of people being brought back to life in a small village.
- DirectorFernando MéndezStarsGastón SantosRafael BertrandMapita CortésTwo doctors make a pact in which they swear that the first to die will return - if possible - to tell the other how to get a glimpse of the afterlife while still alive.
- DirectorRoy William NeillStarsBoris KarloffMarian MarshRobert AllenIgnoring an ancient prophecy, evil brother Gregor seeks to maintain his feudal power on his his Tyrolean estate by murdering and impersonating his benevolent younger twin.
- DirectorJonathan KingStarsOliver DriverNathan MeisterTammy DavisAn experiment in genetic engineering turns harmless sheep into bloodthirsty killers that terrorize a sprawling New Zealand farm.
- DirectorChuck RussellStarsShawnee SmithKevin DillonDonovan Leitch Jr.A deadly entity from space crash-lands near a small town and begins consuming everyone in its path. Panic ensues as shady government scientists try to contain the horrific creature.
- DirectorJoel SchumacherStarsHenry CavillDominic PurcellEmma BoothA man and his brother on a mission of revenge become trapped in a harrowing occult experiment dating back to the Third Reich.
- DirectorEd HuntStarsLori LethinMelinda CordellJulie BrownThree children are born at the height of an eclipse of the sun. Ten years later, they begin to murder the people around them - even their family members.
- DirectorEric RedStarsJeff FaheyLindsay DuncanKim DelaneyAfter losing his arm in a car accident, a criminal psychologist has it replaced with a limb that belonged to a serial killer.
- DirectorWilliam FriedkinStarsAshley JuddMichael ShannonHarry Connick Jr.An unhinged war veteran holes up with a lonely woman in a spooky Oklahoma motel room. The line between reality and delusion is blurred as they discover a bug infestation.
- DirectorJ.T. PettyStarsClancy BrownDavid BusseHarley CorizIn the Wild West a rescue party sets out to find a family of settlers that has vanished from their home under mysterious circumstances.
- DirectorTony MaylamStarsBrian MatthewsLeah AyresBrian BackerA former summer camp caretaker, horribly burned from a prank gone wrong, lurks around an upstate New York summer camp bent on killing the teenagers responsible for his disfigurement.
- DirectorFabrice du WelzStarsLaurent LucasBrigitte LahaieGigi CoursignyMarc, a traveling entertainer, is on his way home for Christmas when his van breaks down in the middle of a jerkwater town with some strange inhabitants.
- DirectorBrian ClemensStarsHorst JansonJohn CarsonShane BriantA master swordsman and former soldier and his hunchbacked assistant hunt vampires.
- DirectorHerk HarveyStarsCandace HilligossFrances FeistSidney BergerAfter a traumatic accident, a woman becomes drawn to a mysterious abandoned carnival.
- DirectorPeter WeirStarsTerry CamilleriJohn MeillonKevin MilesThe small town of Paris, Australia deliberately causes car accidents, then sells/salvages all valuables from the wrecks as a means of economy.
- DirectorPaul SchraderStarsNastassja KinskiMalcolm McDowellJohn HeardA woman who was orphaned from a young age finally reunites with her older brother. Matters start to go awry when she slowly discovers the true nature of her family.
- DirectorMichele SoaviStarsRupert EverettFrançois Hadji-LazaroAnna FalchiA cemetery man must kill the dead a second time when they become zombies.
- DirectorPeter MedakStarsGeorge C. ScottTrish Van DevereMelvyn DouglasAfter the death of his wife and daughter in a car crash, a music professor staying at a long-vacant Seattle mansion is dragged into a decades-old mystery by an inexplicable presence in the mansion's attic.
- DirectorSiu-Tung ChingStarsLeslie CheungJoey WangWu MaAfter a string of bad luck, a debt collector has no other choice than to spend the night in a haunted temple, where he encounters a ravishing female ghost and later battles to save her soul from the control of a wicked tree demon.
- DirectorPhilippe MoraStarsChristopher WalkenLindsay CrouseFrances SternhagenOn December 26th Whitley Strieber has a strange nightmare. In the following days, plagued by painful headaches, his behavior becomes increasingly erratic. Later, under hypnosis, he realizes that his dream was not a dream at all.
- DirectorQuentin LawrenceStarsForrest TuckerLaurence PayneJennifer JayneA series of decapitations on a Swiss mountainside appear to be connected to a mysterious radioactive cloud.
- DirectorVincenzo NataliStarsNicole de BoerMaurice Dean WintDavid HewlettA group of strangers awaken to find themselves placed in a giant cube. Each one of them is gifted with a special skill and they must work together to escape an endless maze of deadly traps.
- DirectorKiyoshi KurosawaStarsMasato HagiwaraKoji YakushoTsuyoshi UjikiA frustrated detective deals with the case of several gruesome murders committed by people who have no recollection of what they've done.
- DirectorJacques TourneurStarsDana AndrewsPeggy CumminsNiall MacGinnisAmerican professor John Holden arrives in London for a parapsychology conference, only to find himself investigating the mysterious actions of Devil-worshipper Julian Karswell.
- DirectorTerence FisherStarsClifford EvansOliver ReedYvonne RomainIn eighteenth-century Spain, an adopted boy becomes a werewolf and terrorizes the inhabitants of his town.
- DirectorRichard CiupkaStarsJohn VernonSamantha EggarLinda ThorsonSix young actresses auditioning for a movie role at a remote mansion are targeted by a mysterious masked murderer.
- DirectorGary ShermanStarsJames FarentinoMelody AndersonJack AlbertsonSheriff Dan Gillis investigates eerie deaths in a sleepy coastal town.
- DirectorStuart GordonStarsEzra GoddenFrancisco RabalRaquel MeroñoA boating accident runs a young man and woman ashore in a decrepit Spanish fishing town which they discover is in the grips of an ancient sea god and its monstrous half human offspring.
- DirectorAlberto CavalcantiCharles CrichtonBasil DeardenStarsMervyn JohnsMichael RedgraveRoland CulverGuests invited to a weekend in the country share their supernatural stories, beginning with Walter Craig, who senses impending doom as his half-remembered recurring dream turns into reality.
- DirectorTommy WirkolaStarsJeppe Beck LaursenCharlotte FrognerJenny SkavlanA ski vacation turns horrific for a group of medical students, as they find themselves confronted by an unimaginable menace: Nazi zombies.
- DirectorBob ClarkStarsJohn MarleyLynn CarlinRichard BackusA young soldier killed in the Vietnam War inexplicably shows up at his family home on the night of his death.
- DirectorLamberto BavaStarsUrbano BarberiniNatasha HoveyKarl ZinnyA group of random people are invited to a screening of a mysterious movie, only to find themselves trapped in the theater with ravenous demons.
- DirectorJeff GillenAlan OrmsbyStarsRoberts BlossomCosette LeeLeslie CarlsonA deranged rural farmer becomes a grave robber and murderer after the death of his possessive mother, whose corpse he keeps, among others, as his companion in a decaying farmhouse.
- DirectorGuillermo del ToroStarsMarisa ParedesEduardo NoriegaFederico LuppiAfter Carlos - a 12-year-old whose father has died in the Spanish Civil War - arrives at an ominous boys' orphanage, he discovers the school is haunted and has many dark secrets which he must uncover.
- DirectorHenri-Georges ClouzotStarsSimone SignoretVéra ClouzotPaul MeurisseThe wife and mistress of a loathed school principal plan to murder him with what they believe is the perfect alibi.
- DirectorNeil MarshallStarsSean PertweeKevin McKiddEmma CleasbyA routine military exercise turns into a nightmare in the Scottish wilderness.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsDennis WeaverJacqueline ScottEddie FirestoneA business commuter is pursued and terrorized by the malevolent driver of a massive tractor-trailer.
- DirectorStuart GordonStarsWilliam H. MacyJulia StilesJoe MantegnaA fortune-teller's teasing rumination sends Edmond Burke lurching into New York City's hellish underworld.
- DirectorJosé Mojica MarinsStarsJosé Mojica MarinsJece ValadãoAdriano StuartThe gravedigger Zé do Caixão continues his search for the perfect woman to bear his son.
- DirectorGaspar NoéStarsNathaniel BrownPaz de la HuertaCyril RoyAn American drug dealer living in Tokyo is betrayed by his best friend and killed in a drug deal. His soul, observing the repercussions of his death, seeks resurrection.
- DirectorSidney J. FurieStarsBarbara HersheyRon SilverDavid LabiosaA woman is tormented by an invisible being.
- DirectorPaul W.S. AndersonStarsLaurence FishburneSam NeillKathleen QuinlanA rescue crew is tasked with investigating the mysterious reappearance of a spaceship that had been lost for seven years.
- DirectorToshiharu IkedaStarsMiyuki OnoAya KatsuragiHitomi KobayashiA late night TV presenter receives a snuff tape, in which a woman is brutally killed. She decides to take a crew out to a location indicated in the tape, but only death and despair await them.
- DirectorWilliam Peter BlattyStarsGeorge C. ScottEd FlandersBrad DourifA police lieutenant uncovers more than he bargained for as his investigation of a series of murders, which have all the hallmarks of the deceased Gemini serial killer, leads him to question the patients of a psychiatric ward.
- DirectorGeorges FranjuStarsPierre BrasseurAlida ValliJuliette MaynielA surgeon causes an accident which leaves his daughter disfigured and goes to extreme lengths to give her a new face.
- DirectorAdam BrooksJeremy GillespieMatthew KennedyStarsAdam BrooksMatthew KennedyConor SweeneyA murderer, a priest, and a delinquent try to bring down a father-killing madman.
- DirectorRobert LiebermanStarsD.B. SweeneyRobert PatrickCraig ShefferAn Arizona logger mysteriously disappears for five days in an alleged encounter with a flying saucer in 1975. His co-workers endure ridicule and contempt as they are wrongly accused of murder.
- DirectorLarry CohenStarsTony Lo BiancoDeborah RaffinSandy DennisA New York detective investigates a series of murders committed by random New Yorkers who claim that "God told them to."
- DirectorJack CurtisStarsMartin KosleckByron SandersBarbara WilkinA group of young adults trapped on a desert island find the water inhabited by a violent form of flesh-eating organisms.
- DirectorBill PaxtonStarsBill PaxtonMatthew McConaugheyPowers BootheA mysterious man arrives at the offices of an FBI agent and recounts his childhood: how his religious fanatic father received visions telling him to destroy people who were in fact "demons."
- DirectorJohn FawcettStarsEmily PerkinsKatharine IsabelleKris LemcheTwo death-obsessed sisters, outcasts in their suburban neighborhood, must deal with the tragic consequences when one of them is bitten by a deadly werewolf.
- DirectorTommy Lee WallaceStarsTom AtkinsStacey NelkinDan O'HerlihyKids all over America want Silver Shamrock masks for Halloween. Doctor Daniel Challis seeks to uncover a plot by Silver Shamrock owner Conal Cochran.
- DirectorRichard StanleyStarsDylan McDermottStacey TravisJohn LynchThe head of a cyborg reactivates, rebuilds itself, and goes on a violent rampage in a space marine's girlfriend's apartment.
- DirectorRichard LoncraineStarsMia FarrowKeir DulleaTom ContiAfter her daughter's death, wealthy American homemaker Julia Lofting moves to London to restart her life. All seems well until she is haunted by the ghosts of other children while mourning for her own.
- DirectorOmar KhanStarsKunwar Ali RoshanRooshanie EjazRubya ChaudhryOn their way to a concert, a group of teens are diverted by a political protest, only to encounter a family of flesh-hungry psychopaths.
- DirectorJohn McNaughtonStarsMichael RookerTracy ArnoldTom TowlesArriving in Chicago, Henry moves in with ex-con acquaintance Otis and starts schooling him in the ways of the serial killer.
- DirectorJack SholderStarsKyle MacLachlanMichael NouriClaudia ChristianA cop and an FBI agent race for answers after law abiding people suddenly become violent criminals.
- DirectorAdam WingardStarsAJ BowenAmy SeimetzJoe SwanbergAn escaped murderer is in pursuit of his ex-girlfriend, who has fled to start a new life in a small town.
- DirectorEugenio MartínStarsChristopher LeePeter CushingAlberto de MendozaWhile on the Trans-Siberian Express, an anthropologist and his rival must contain the threat posed by the former's cargo: a prehistoric ape which is the host for a parasitic life-form.
- DirectorBarbara PeetersJimmy T. MurakamiStarsDoug McClureAnn TurkelVic MorrowHumanoid sea creatures start killing a fishing town's residents, and raping their women. It's up to the townsfolk and a visiting biologist to fight back and fend them off.
- DirectorNobuhiko ÔbayashiStarsKimiko IkegamiMiki JinboKumiko ÔbaA schoolgirl and six of her classmates travel to her aunt's country home, which turns out to be haunted.
- DirectorTi WestStarsJocelin DonahueTom NoonanMary WoronovIn 1983, financially struggling college student Samantha Hughes takes a strange babysitting job that coincides with a full lunar eclipse. She slowly realizes her clients harbor a terrifying secret, putting her life in mortal danger.
- DirectorWilliam CastleStarsVincent PriceCarol OhmartRichard LongA millionaire offers $10,000 to five people who agree to be locked in a large, spooky, rented house overnight with him and his wife.
- DirectorJee-woon KimStarsLee Byung-hunChoi Min-sikJeon Gook-hwanA secret agent exacts revenge on a serial killer through a series of captures and releases.
- DirectorGlenn McQuaidStarsDominic MonaghanRon PerlmanLarry FessendenA grave robber reflects on his life of crime.
- DirectorJacques TourneurStarsFrances DeeTom ConwayJames EllisonA nurse is hired to care for the wife of a sugar plantation owner, who has been acting strangely, on a Caribbean island.
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsTadanobu AsanoNao ÔmoriShin'ya TsukamotoAs sadomasochistic yakuza enforcer Kakihara searches for his missing boss he comes across Ichi, a repressed and psychotic killer who may be able to inflict levels of pain that Kakihara has only dreamed of achieving.
- DirectorDon EdmondsStarsDyanne ThorneGregory KnophTony MumoloIlsa is an evil Nazi warden at a death camp that conducts "medical experiments." Ilsa's goal is to prove women can withstand more pain and suffering than men, and therefore should be allowed to fight on the front lines.
- DirectorJack ArnoldStarsGrant WilliamsRandy StuartApril KentAfter Scott Carey begins to shrink because of exposure to a combination of radiation and insecticide, medical science is powerless to help him.
- DirectorLeslie StevensStarsWilliam ShatnerAllyson AmesEloise HardtOn a strange island inhabited by demons and spirits, a man battles the forces of evil.
- DirectorJack ClaytonStarsDeborah KerrPeter WyngardeMegs JenkinsA young governess for two children becomes convinced that the house and grounds are haunted.
- DirectorEdwin L. MarinStarsIlona MasseyJon HallPeter LorreThe Invisible Man's grandson uses his secret formula to spy on Nazi Germany.
- DirectorNico MastorakisStarsBob BehlingJane LyleJessica DublinA couple of perverted and maniac killers get loose on a Greek island.
- DirectorErle C. KentonStarsCharles LaughtonBela LugosiRichard ArlenA mad doctor conducts ghastly genetic experiments on a remote island in the South Seas, much to the fear and disgust of the shipwrecked sailor who finds himself trapped there.
- DirectorJon KnautzStarsRobert EnglundTrevor MatthewsDaniel KashA troubled young man still mourning the childhood loss of his family now has to deal with his professor being turned into a monster.
- DirectorAdrian LyneStarsTim RobbinsElizabeth PeñaDanny AielloMourning his dead child, a haunted Vietnam War veteran attempts to uncover his past while suffering from a severe case of dissociation. To do so, he must decipher reality and life from his own dreams, delusions, and perceptions of death.
- DirectorBen WheatleyStarsNeil MaskellMyAnna BuringHarry SimpsonNearly a year after a botched job, a hitman takes a new assignment with the promise of a big payoff for three killings. What starts off as an easy task soon unravels, sending the killer into the heart of darkness.
- DirectorCharles B. PierceStarsWillie E. SmithJohn P. HixonVern StiermanA documentary-style drama about the "Fouke Monster", a Bigfoot-type creature that has been sighted in and around Fouke, Arkansas since the 1950s.
- DirectorWalter GraumanStarsOlivia de HavillandJames CaanJennifer BillingsleyA woman trapped in a home elevator is terrorized by a group of vicious hoodlums.
- DirectorFrank LaLoggiaStarsLukas HaasLen CariouAlex RoccoAn author tells the story of how, as a young boy growing up in a 1960s small town, he was haunted after witnessing the murder of a little girl.