Excellent Horrors With a Twist
by ZeeZeesCorner | created - 09 Jun 2017 | updated - 4 months ago | PublicEnjoy some of my favourite, and lesser-known horror films that invest in a strong script, unique ideas and vexing resolutions that will linger and make you think. If you appreciate novel story lines and unexpected twists these are for you. All films rated 8/10 or above
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1. The Blackcoat's Daughter (I) (2015)
R | 93 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Two girls must battle a mysterious evil force when they get left behind at their boarding school over winter break.
Director: Oz Perkins | Stars: Emma Roberts, Kiernan Shipka, Lucy Boynton, James Remar
Votes: 25,978 | Gross: $0.02M
9/10: This film instantly hooked into me and confounded me so that I was compelled to watch it a second time days after the first viewing. We follow two storylines: first, two girls are left alone in a large boarding school. One of them is vulnerable and clearly troubled, sinking deeper into mental frailty, while the other is a rebel with a pragmatic view on life. In the other story, we see another girl travelling alone, headed towards the same boarding school. Taken in by a kind man and his seething wife, all three travellers have their secret motivations. The story is unlike anything else on offer and is an instant horror classic that deserves to find a wide audience, despite its puzzling but enthralling storytelling. Superior horror that is truly innovative, it demands to be seen over and over.
2. It Follows (2014)
R | 100 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A young woman is followed by an unknown supernatural force after a sexual encounter.
Director: David Robert Mitchell | Stars: Maika Monroe, Keir Gilchrist, Olivia Luccardi, Lili Sepe
Votes: 268,864 | Gross: $14.67M
9/10: Chilling atmosphere that will cling to you, this film is the most effective safe-sex movie ever invented. With its menancing, slow-moving antagonist that can take on shifting form, the film delivers non-stop scares for our young heroine, who seeks to figure out how to break the pattern of the stalking figure gaining ground, ever closer to its target.
3. La casa muda (2010)
Not Rated | 86 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
A young woman becomes trapped inside a house and is unable to contact the outside world as mysterious forces haunt it.
Director: Gustavo Hernández | Stars: Florencia Colucci, Abel Tripaldi, Gustavo Alonso, María Salazar
Votes: 8,027
9/10: La Casa Muda has been remade but don't be fooled by the remake: this is a perfect horror film that will scare you deep to the core. A young woman and her father returns to their family cabin and find themselves stalked by an unseen force. The twists and turns will shock, with the use of camera angles and atmosphere creating an unique terror with a ghastly reveal.
4. The Last Exorcism (2010)
PG-13 | 87 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A troubled evangelical minister agrees to let his last exorcism be filmed by a documentary crew.
Director: Daniel Stamm | Stars: Patrick Fabian, Ashley Bell, Iris Bahr, Louis Herthum
Votes: 52,102 | Gross: $41.03M
9/10: Instantly becoming one of my favourite all-time horrors, this is an exorcism film that plays with the expectations of the genre. The story centres on a weary protagonist who has turned his back on doing fake exorcisms and lost his faith as a pastor along the way. Out to expose the fraud of exorcisms, his desire to help a young naive girl who lives in a secluded farm lead him to question his purpose. The ending is one of my favourites, as we see him accept the horror of what he has witnessed.
5. The Horde (2009)
Not Rated | 90 min | Action, Horror
An end of the world battle between gangsters, cops and zombies.
Directors: Yannick Dahan, Benjamin Rocher | Stars: Claude Perron, Jean-Pierre Martins, Eriq Ebouaney, Aurélien Recoing
Votes: 16,389
8/10 This French film is horror at its best: uncompromising, well-acted, with a flipped genre grabbing you by surprise. The Horde starts as a complicated heist film, with police and criminals thrown together into an apartment complex, with revenge at hand. That's before swinging into one of the most genuinely frightening zombie movies. Smart characters with a strong woman lead, it's a blast.
6. Resolution (III) (2012)
Not Rated | 93 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
A man imprisons his estranged junkie friend in an isolated cabin in the boonies of San Diego to force him through a week of sobriety, but the events of that week are being mysteriously manipulated.
Directors: Justin Benson, Aaron Moorhead | Stars: Peter Cilella, Vinny Curran, Emily Montague, Kurt David Anderson
Votes: 19,517
8/10: This film is a love note to every horror aficionado who appreciates a smart script over silly gore. At the heart of the movie is strong, believable performances from the leads playing two best friends. One has come to rescue his childhood friend from his drug addiction, chaining him up in a most unethical detox method. Inside the dilapidated cabin, they reminisce about how their lives turned out so differently. Outside, however, someone starts leaving them clues about the previous visitors to the secluded region. The ambiguous clues along the way and the bold ending alone makes this one of my favourite horrors.
7. Dead Birds (2004)
R | 91 min | Horror, Thriller, Western
A group of Confederate soldiers hole up in an abandoned plantation after robbing a bank and find themselves at the mercy of supernatural forces.
Director: Alex Turner | Stars: Henry Thomas, Patrick Fugit, Nicki Aycox, Michael Shannon
Votes: 11,131
8/10: This is a blend of a Western with a horror film. A band of slippery characters have just committed a robbery and need a place to hide. A large house hidden away seems like the perfect place to gather their senses, but an unseen horror awaits. Relish the ending and all the scares in between.
8. Pontypool (2008)
Not Rated | 93 min | Horror, Sci-Fi
A radio host interprets the possible outbreak of a deadly virus which infects the small Ontario town he is stationed in.
Director: Bruce McDonald | Stars: Stephen McHattie, Lisa Houle, Georgina Reilly, Hrant Alianak
Votes: 35,466
8/10: A truly fresh take on the zombie genre, Pontypool is a wonderful lark that exceeds expectations. Set almost entirely inside a small radio studio, much of the horror happens off camera to excellent effect. The characters are well-rounded and you'll root for them as they actively work to survive and find the cause of a disease that seems to be turning their town into violent beings. The ending is classic film noir.
9. Frailty (2001)
R | 100 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A 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."
Director: Bill Paxton | Stars: Bill Paxton, Matthew McConaughey, Powers Boothe, Matt O'Leary
Votes: 91,320 | Gross: $13.10M
8/10: A psychological terror grips a small-town family. The father thinks he sees true evil but he's dismissed as having mental health issues. The clever time jumps lead to a satisfying conclusion that lifts this movie above most others exploring the psyche of horror.
10. Dog Soldiers (2002)
R | 105 min | Action, Horror, Thriller
A routine military exercise turns into a nightmare in the Scottish wilderness.
Director: Neil Marshall | Stars: Sean Pertwee, Kevin McKidd, Emma Cleasby, Liam Cunningham
Votes: 65,634
8/10: A gory delight, Dog Soldiers is a mash-up of two genres. It starts as a war movie, with soldiers being hunted in the woods after an exercise gone wrong. But something bigger hungers for them. This is not your average werewolf film.
11. Hush (I) (2016)
R | 82 min | Horror, Thriller
A deaf and mute writer who retreated into the woods to live a solitary life must fight for her life in silence when a masked killer appears at her window.
Director: Mike Flanagan | Stars: John Gallagher Jr., Kate Siegel, Michael Trucco, Samantha Sloyan
Votes: 153,682
8/10: Hush has many clever tricks up its sleeve, making the most of its interesting premise. A deaf author with writer's block is working in the middle of the woods when she becomes the random target of a murderous killer who delights in toying with her. But he gets more than he bargained for with this intelligent lead, whose problem solving skills are a joy to behold. Excellent woman-centred horror.
12. The Burrowers (2008)
R | 96 min | Horror, Thriller, Western
In the Wild West a rescue party sets out to find a family of settlers that has vanished from their home under mysterious circumstances.
Director: J.T. Petty | Stars: Clancy Brown, David Busse, Harley Coriz, Jocelin Donahue
Votes: 9,269
8/10: A Western/horror crossover, this is an original tale drawing on familiar fragments. The story opens with two families besieged by supernatural forces. With his fiance missing, a man rounds up a rag-tag group of racist, violent men who think they are setting out to find Indigenous kidnappers. They want revenge. Little do they know that they are looking for something more ancient, and that they are the ones being hunted.
13. The New Daughter (2009)
PG-13 | 108 min | Crime, Horror, Thriller
A single father moves his two children to rural South Carolina, only to watch his daughter exhibit increasingly strange behavior.
Director: Luiso Berdejo | Stars: Kevin Costner, Ivana Baquero, Samantha Mathis, Gattlin Griffith
Votes: 16,120
8/10: This is a rewarding and well-crafted movie for fans of slow-build up horrors. A father moves his resentful teenage daughter and young son into a small town at the edge of the woods. Looking to start over as a family, he struggles to deal with his daughter as she grows ever-distant. But once she starts to spend an alarming time outdoors transfixed by a mound of dirt, he learns there is more to his idyllic new home. This story is perfectly acted by the entire cast and delivers the horror to match its message about family sacrifice.
14. Splinter (I) (2008)
R | 82 min | Crime, Horror, Sci-Fi
Trapped in an isolated gas station by a voracious Splinter parasite that transforms its still-living victims into deadly hosts, a young couple and an escaped convict must find a way to work together to survive this primal terror.
Director: Toby Wilkins | Stars: Shea Whigham, Jill Wagner, Paulo Costanzo, Charles Baker
Votes: 40,895
8/10: A young male scientist with an aversion to the outdoors is coaxed into camping in the woods by his adventurous girlfriend when they are taken hostage by another couple. Little do the cursed lovers know that something more sinister roams the woods. With most of the action taking place inside a small gas station, this story does wonders to sustain terror as the characters fight for survival.
15. Goodnight Mommy (2014)
R | 99 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Twin boys move to a new house with their mother after she has face-changing cosmetic surgery, but under the bandages is someone the boys don't recognize.
Directors: Severin Fiala, Veronika Franz | Stars: Lukas Schwarz, Elias Schwarz, Susanne Wuest, Hans Escher
Votes: 59,744 | Gross: $1.17M
8/10: A psychological exploration of parent-children relationships from the point of view of two troubled young boys. They live a solitary existence, playing in the woods near their lavish home. Their mother, whom they evidently spend little time with, returns from surgery and they do not trust that she's their real mother. This thriller will play with your expectations of the genre and reveal a truly harrowing ending that will test your limits and understanding. Excellent albeit controversial ending that will have you hitting the forums for a theory.
16. Kill List (2011)
Not Rated | 95 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Nearly 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.
Director: Ben Wheatley | Stars: Neil Maskell, MyAnna Buring, Harry Simpson, Michael Smiley
Votes: 45,323 | Gross: $0.03M
8/10: Truly terrifying and highly original, this film has a bizarre twist that will keep you talking for days. Seemingly a story following a contract assassin, the film takes its time building up all the characters with some of the best, most natural dialogue exploring the nature of relationships and friendshipos. The film will have you transfixed as the hired gun goes through the list of people he's been hired to kill. The build up, however, takes an unexpected turn with one of the most frightening endings that sets up a moral dilemma that comes out of nowhere. Watch and ponder.
17. Evidence (III) (2012)
R | 78 min | Horror, Sci-Fi
Ryan makes a documentary on his friend, Brett, and his first time camping, until a mysterious figure in the woods starts hunting them.
Director: Howie Askins | Stars: Ryan McCoy, Brett Rosenberg, Ashley Bracken, Abigail Richie
Votes: 5,337
8/10 An unlikeable foursome set off camping in the woods and soon become separated. Evidence makes effective use of the found footage format to build up tension amongst the survivors who start to suspect the danger they face goes beyond their sabataged camper van. The film ends up becoming something altogether different than expected as the true nature of their persecutor is revealed. Besure to watch the credits for extra clues to unravel the chaos that is not fully explained in the film.
18. The Signal (2007)
R | 103 min | Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller
A horror film told in three parts, from three perspectives, in which a mysterious transmission that turns people into killers invades every cell phone, radio, and television.
Directors: David Bruckner, Dan Bush, Jacob Gentry | Stars: Anessa Ramsey, Justin Welborn, Scott Poythress, Sahr Ngaujah
Votes: 21,892 | Gross: $0.60M
8/10: Three overlapping stories are cleverly brought together to reveal why and how a transmission is turning people into murderers. Very well orchestrated story that is rewarding in its vision.
19. Afflicted (2013)
R | 85 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Two best friends see their trip of a lifetime take a dark turn when one of them is struck by a mysterious affliction. Now, in a foreign land, they race to uncover the source before it consumes him completely.
Directors: Derek Lee, Clif Prowse | Stars: Clif Prowse, Derek Lee, Michael Gill, Baya Rehaz
Votes: 25,578 | Gross: $0.12M
8/10: A rare English-language film that centres on a person of colour, this is an excellent twist on a creature feature. Two best friends set off travelling and after a one-night stand, one of them is left with an illness that begins to transform him. Great pacing, strong ending.
20. Haunter (2013)
Not Rated | 97 min | Fantasy, Horror, Mystery
A teenager is stuck in a time loop that is not quite the same each time. She must uncover the truth, but her actions have consequences for herself and others.
Director: Vincenzo Natali | Stars: Abigail Breslin, Peter Outerbridge, Michelle Nolden, Stephen McHattie
Votes: 18,700
8/10: Rather than drag out its premise, Haunter jumps quickly to the point: a loving family dies and are stuck in their home. They are being haunted by another menacing figure that preys on families past and present. This is a nice twist of the usual ghost story.
21. Hereditary (2018)
R | 127 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
A grieving family is haunted by tragic and disturbing occurrences.
Director: Ari Aster | Stars: Toni Collette, Milly Shapiro, Gabriel Byrne, Alex Wolff
Votes: 377,644 | Gross: $44.07M
22. Pyewacket (2017)
Not Rated | 88 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
A frustrated, angst-ridden teenage girl awakens something in the woods when she naively performs an occult ritual to evoke a witch to kill her mother.
Director: Adam MacDonald | Stars: Laurie Holden, Nicole Muñoz, Chloe Rose, Eric Osborne
Votes: 11,204
23. Session 9 (2001)
R | 97 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
Tensions rise within an asbestos cleaning crew as they work in an abandoned mental hospital with a horrific past that seems to be coming back.
Director: Brad Anderson | Stars: David Caruso, Stephen Gevedon, Paul Guilfoyle, Josh Lucas
Votes: 62,887 | Gross: $0.38M
24. The VVitch: A New-England Folktale (2015)
R | 92 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
A family in 1630s New England is torn apart by the forces of witchcraft, black magic and possession.
Director: Robert Eggers | Stars: Anya Taylor-Joy, Ralph Ineson, Kate Dickie, Julian Richings
Votes: 300,569 | Gross: $25.14M
25. The Babadook (2014)
Not Rated | 94 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
A single mother and her child fall into a deep well of paranoia when an eerie children's book titled "Mister Babadook" manifests in their home.
Director: Jennifer Kent | Stars: Essie Davis, Noah Wiseman, Daniel Henshall, Hayley McElhinney
Votes: 247,175 | Gross: $0.92M
26. Wilderness (I) (2006)
R | 93 min | Action, Horror
Juvenile delinquents are sent to a small British island after a fellow prisoner's death, where they have to fight for survival.
Director: M.J. Bassett | Stars: Sean Pertwee, Alex Reid, Toby Kebbell, Stephen Wight
Votes: 10,337
27. The Midnight Meat Train (2008)
R | 100 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A photographer's obsessive pursuit of dark subject matter leads him into the path of a serial killer who stalks late night commuters, ultimately butchering them in the most gruesome ways.
Director: Ryûhei Kitamura | Stars: Vinnie Jones, Bradley Cooper, Leslie Bibb, Brooke Shields
Votes: 71,107 | Gross: $0.08M
28. Trick 'r Treat (2007)
R | 82 min | Comedy, Horror
Five interwoven stories that occur on Halloween: an everyday high school principal has a secret life as a serial killer; a college virgin might have just met the guy for her; a group of teenagers pull a mean prank; a woman who loathes the night has to contend with her holiday-obsessed husband; and a mean old man meets his match with a demonic, supernatural trick-or-treater.
Director: Michael Dougherty | Stars: Anna Paquin, Brian Cox, Dylan Baker, Rochelle Aytes
Votes: 104,610
29. Intruders (I) (2011)
R | 100 min | Fantasy, Horror, Thriller
Two children living in different countries are visited nightly by a faceless being who wants to take possession of them.
Director: Juan Carlos Fresnadillo | Stars: Clive Owen, Carice van Houten, Izán Corchero, Ella Purnell
Votes: 21,310 | Gross: $0.07M
30. Green Room (2015)
R | 95 min | Crime, Drama, Horror
A punk rock band is forced to fight for survival after witnessing a murder at a neo-Nazi skinhead bar.
Director: Jeremy Saulnier | Stars: Anton Yelchin, Imogen Poots, Alia Shawkat, Patrick Stewart
Votes: 139,195 | Gross: $3.22M
31. Feast (2005)
R | 95 min | Action, Comedy, Horror
Patrons locked inside a bar are forced to fight monsters.
Director: John Gulager | Stars: Navi Rawat, Krista Allen, Balthazar Getty, Judah Friedlander
Votes: 33,844 | Gross: $0.05M
32. Eden Lake (2008)
R | 91 min | Horror, Thriller
Refusing to let anything spoil their romantic weekend break, a young couple confront a gang of loutish youths with terrifyingly brutal consequences.
Director: James Watkins | Stars: Kelly Reilly, Michael Fassbender, Tara Ellis, Jack O'Connell
Votes: 94,808 | Gross: $0.01M
33. Cloverfield (2008)
PG-13 | 85 min | Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller
A group of friends venture deep into the streets of New York on a rescue mission during a rampaging monster attack.
Director: Matt Reeves | Stars: Mike Vogel, Jessica Lucas, Lizzy Caplan, T.J. Miller
Votes: 420,550 | Gross: $80.05M
34. Crimson Peak (2015)
R | 119 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
In the aftermath of a family tragedy, an aspiring author is torn between love for her childhood friend and the temptation of a mysterious outsider. Trying to escape the ghosts of her past, she is swept away to a house that breathes, bleeds - and remembers.
Director: Guillermo del Toro | Stars: Mia Wasikowska, Jessica Chastain, Tom Hiddleston, Charlie Hunnam
Votes: 158,257 | Gross: $31.09M
35. Final Destination (2000)
R | 98 min | Horror, Thriller
After getting a premonition about a plane crash on his school trip, Alex, a student saves a few of his classmates. However, their situation gets complicated when death starts chasing them.
Director: James Wong | Stars: Devon Sawa, Ali Larter, Kerr Smith, Kristen Cloke
Votes: 279,384 | Gross: $53.33M
36. Identity (2003)
R | 90 min | Mystery, Thriller
Stranded at a desolate Nevada motel during a nasty rain storm, ten strangers become acquainted with each other when they realize that they're being killed off one by one.
Director: James Mangold | Stars: John Cusack, Ray Liotta, Amanda Peet, John Hawkes
Votes: 267,103 | Gross: $52.16M
37. Salvage (2006)
Not Rated | 80 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Claire Parker is going to die at the hands of a sadistic and depraved killer, she will endure a terrifying, unimaginable brutal death, and it will all happen again, and again.
Directors: Jeff Crook, Josh Crook | Stars: Lauren Currie Lewis, Chris Ferry, Cody Darbe, Maureen Olander
Votes: 2,792
38. Lake Mungo (2008)
R | 87 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
Strange things start happening after a girl is found drowned in a lake.
Director: Joel Anderson | Stars: Rosie Traynor, David Pledger, Martin Sharpe, Talia Zucker
Votes: 28,925
39. The Endless (I) (2017)
Not Rated | 111 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
As kids, they escaped a UFO death cult. Now, two adult brothers seek answers after an old videotape surfaces and brings them back to where they began.
Directors: Justin Benson, Aaron Moorhead | Stars: Aaron Moorhead, Justin Benson, Callie Hernandez, Tate Ellington
Votes: 49,371 | Gross: $0.27M
40. Midsommar (2019)
R | 148 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
A couple travels to Northern Europe to visit a rural hometown's fabled Swedish mid-summer festival. What begins as an idyllic retreat quickly devolves into an increasingly violent and bizarre competition at the hands of a pagan cult.
Director: Ari Aster | Stars: Florence Pugh, Jack Reynor, Vilhelm Blomgren, William Jackson Harper
Votes: 402,767 | Gross: $27.33M
41. Cube (1997)
R | 90 min | Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi
A 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.
Director: Vincenzo Natali | Stars: Nicole de Boer, Maurice Dean Wint, David Hewlett, Andrew Miller
Votes: 247,577 | Gross: $0.50M
42. Amulet (2020)
R | 99 min | Horror, Mystery
An ex-soldier, living homeless in London, is offered a place to stay at a decaying house inhabited by a young woman and her dying mother. As he starts to fall for her, he cannot ignore his suspicion that something sinister is going on.
Director: Romola Garai | Stars: Carla Juri, Alec Secareanu, Imelda Staunton, Anah Ruddin
Votes: 4,644
43. Ghost Stories (I) (2017)
Not Rated | 98 min | Drama, Horror
After receiving a file with details of three unexplained cases of apparitions, skeptical professor Phillip Goodman embarks on a terrifying trip.
Directors: Jeremy Dyson, Andy Nyman | Stars: Samuel Bottomley, Deborah Wastell, Amy Doyle, Daniel Hill
Votes: 36,921 | Gross: $0.14M
44. Orphan (2009)
R | 123 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A husband and wife who recently lost their baby adopt a 9-year-old girl who is not nearly as innocent as she appears.
Director: Jaume Collet-Serra | Stars: Vera Farmiga, Peter Sarsgaard, Isabelle Fuhrman, CCH Pounder
Votes: 252,269 | Gross: $41.60M
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