Most great horror movies derive quality from the strength of their moody atmospheres. Without an impactful setting, horror often loses its X factor – you need a location and a vibe that will terrify viewers to their core. Even the mosthilarious horror comedy movieshave a certain mood about them that distinctly places them within the horror genre, even as they provide audiences with reasons to laugh. Even horror films that aren’t atmospheric carry a sense of identity in their visual grammar, from preferred camera angles to the construction of sets.
Some of the besthorror movies have monsters that are actually nightmare fuel. These monsters have a terrifying presence that is most commonly complemented by a haunting aesthetic, with dim and angled lighting, eerie sounds, and creepy architecture. The impact of architecture and lighting can be experienced best through someclassic black-and-white horror movies that still hold up today. Some of them define the gothic aesthetic, which has continued to enthrall and inspire filmmakers over the years. Some campy and cheesy gothic horror films have drawn out many horror fans' inner goth, influencing their fashion and lifestyle choices.
Underworld
Cast
Underworld is a 2003 action-horror film directed by Len Wiseman. The plot revolves around Selene (Kate Beckinsale), a vampire warrior caught in a centuries-old conflict between vampires and Lycans, a race of werewolves. As she delves deeper into the ongoing war, Selene uncovers hidden truths that challenge her allegiance and perception of both factions. The film features a dark, gothic aesthetic and blends elements of horror and thriller genres.
While it received generally negative reviews and was panned by critics, the cult filmUnderworldintroduced a fascinating and well-developed world with surprisingly deep lore for a cheesy action movie. Yes, the story is inconsistent, and the overuse of guns takes away from the appeal, as there was a lot of scope for great physical combat. However, at least one element of the film held up back when it came out, and still does, over two decades later. The gothic aesthetic is so good that it grew into a franchise despite the negative reception.
Every Film in theUnderworldFranchise
2003
2006
2009
2012
Måns Mårlind and Björn Stein
2016
Anna Foerster
The costumes inUnderworldand its dark and brooding world are the very definition of gothic. Selene’s leather catsuit and leather trench coat give her a fashionable appearance and a mystical silhouette.The rain, the underexposed cinematography, and the moonlit frames– fans of gothic architecture and fashion will find themselves feeling infected byUnderworld’s beautifully slick appearance. It makes the film, which is otherwise quite insufferable, worth watching. Kate Beckinsale’s committed delivery of her cheesy lines is a big plus point too.
Bram Stoker’s Dracula
Bram Stoker’s Dracula, set in 19th century England, follows Count Dracula as he journeys to London. There, he encounters Mina Harker, who bears a striking resemblance to his long-lost love.
Francis Ford Coppola’s most famous films, theGodfathermovies, have defined his legacy, but his brilliance as a filmmaker gives him an uncanny ability to make great films in all genres. His latest film,Megalopolis, was an indulgent2024 movie flop that could become a cult hitin the future. While it was panned by critics, it’s impossible to deny that Coppola’s vision has epic proportions, like many of his other movies.
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So, what can you expect when one of the most iconic horror stories gets adopted by one of the greatest filmmakers of all time? A cheesy and funny horror film that maintains the atmosphere of its source material but introduces an over-the-top vibe that makes it campy and even more iconic. Among other things, the performance aspect inBram Stoker’s Draculais most pronounced in Winona Ryder and Keanu Reeves' roles.The latter especially has an unconvincing British accent. However, the gloomy atmosphere and the unforgettable fashion make the movie ideal for any goth!
The Rocky Horror Picture Show
Originally based on a stage play, The Rocky Horror Picture show is considered one of the most significant countercultural films of all time and maintains a wide cult following to this day. The film stars Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon, and Barry Bostwick, and follows Brad and Janet, a young couple who, after experiencing car trouble on a stormy night, are taken in by scientist Dr. Frank-N-Furter, an alien transvestite who lives in a nearby castle with his equally colorful servants.
Tim Curry’s screen-acting career turns 50 this year asThe Rocky Horror Picture Showwill celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2025. It’s based on the Tony Award-nominated musical written by Richard O’Brien. O’Brien, a fan of sci-fi and B-horror, created a show thatfeatures elements of both genres to pay homage to them and parody some of their most celebrated works. Curry’s character, Dr. Frank-N-Furter, an alien drag queen, wasn’t as campy when he was originally conceived. The exaggerated mannerisms and the style of speaking similar to Queen Elizabeth were decisions that Curry made when playing him for the theater.
The doctor’s whimsical but scary antics, which include violent acts that come off as comical due to Curry’s performance, embody lighthearted Gothic behavior. He has dark instincts, is provocative, and hilarious, and will leave an infectious impression, prompting you to try to pull off his sense of style. Dedicated fans haveThe Rocky Horror Picture Show’s fabulous quotesmemorized by heart and participate in themed watch parties of the film every year, which rightfully look and feel like gothic fashion shows.
The Crow
The Crow, directed by Alex Proyas, follows Eric Draven, portrayed by Brandon Lee, as he returns from the dead to avenge his and his fiancée’s tragic murders. Set in a moody, atmospheric cityscape, the film blends elements of supernatural and action as Draven seeks retribution against the criminals responsible.
Who is more punk and gothic than a rock star? A rock star who has been brought back to life for revenge! Based on the 1989 comic by Jimmy O’Barr,The Crowtells the story of rock star Eric Draven, who was killed, and then resurrected by a crow. The mythology in the world of the movie says that crows help souls cross the world over to the afterlife, but can bring back souls to life if they die in tragic ways. Draven soon realizes his body heals itself, and decides to go down the path of vengeance.
There was recently a remake ofThe Crowin 2024, directed by Rupert Sanders, starring Bill Skarsgård as the titular vigilante, but despite Skarsgård’s inspired performance, the film falls flat in comparison to the original.
Draven, played by Brandon Lee, who tragically died during the movie’s production, dons tight leather pants, a black top, black boots, and a large black leather trench coat. He also paints his face in white and black,a look that seems inspired by the members of the rock band KISS, although comic writer O’Barr denies being influenced by them. Draven’s look and over-the-top cheesy ’90s one-liners, and his mission motivated by love, make him a gothic icon, whose look and music permanently changed rock music, especially metal.
Interview with the Vampire
Based on Anne Rice’s 1976 novel, Interview with the Vampire tells the story of two vampires, Lestat and Louis, and their complicated relationship after Lestat turns Louis in 1791. Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt star as Lestat and Louis respectively, with a cast that includes Kirsten Dunst as Claudia, the two men’s young charge who Lestat also turns in an attempt to keep a disillusioned Louis from leaving. Christian Slayter rounds out the cast as Daniel Molloy, a reporter to who Louis tells his story in the mid-1990s.
1994 was the year of immortal gothic icons with bloodlust because it’s also the year whenInterview with the Vampirecame out. Christian Slater plays Daniel Malloy, a curious reporter who’s listening to the life story of Louis (Brad Pitt), who claims to be a vampire. Louis talks about his transformation at the hands of Lestat (Tom Cruise) in 1971. They later became parents to a dying child in 1975, after turning her into a vampire to save her life.Kirsten Dunst was cast inThe Interview with the Vampireas the child in her acting debut.
His eye makeup, thirst for blood, and brooding personality round out the Goth in him.
Dark alleys, vintage architecture with gargoyles, and a lack of sunlight– visually,Interview with the Vampireis as gothic as it gets in its setting. Moreover, Pitt and Cruise’s appearances are also goth, but chic. They move in the upper circles of society and dress the part, but especially Louis, who dresses a lot in dark colors, is a contrarian who doesn’t see being a vampire as a powerful gift. So, in his beliefs, and his appearance, this man is a gothic icon. His eye makeup, thirst for blood, and brooding personality round out the goth in him.
Donnie Darko
After troubled teen Donnie Darko (Jake Gyllenhaal) wakes on a local golf course after a night of sleepwalking, he has a vision of a man in a rabbit suit telling him that the world will end in 28 days. Returning home, Donnie sees that a jet engine has fallen on his bedroom in the night, and begins to feel increasingly detached from reality. Scrambling to make sense of the bizarre and unexplainable events that have altered his life, Donnie finds himself unravelling a tangled web of disaster and fate.
Jake Gyllenhaal plays the titular character ofDonnie Darko, a troubled teenager who narrowly escapes death while sleepwalking one night. He is met by Frank, a ghost-like figure in a rabbit suit who lets him know that the world will end in less than a month.Donnie Darkoprimarily feels like a dark sci-fi movie because of its non-linearly told story involving time travel and the chaotic events that occur around the protagonist, some perpetrated by him.
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However, Frank’s appearance is reason enough to call it a horror movie as well. He’s a literal ghost, irrespective of the goofy rabbit costume he wears. The sinister tone of the film is undercut by the cheesy dialogue and the rabbit costume, but that doesn’t detract from the movie’s atmosphere. Few filmsscream gothic likeDonnie Darko, despite featuring no goth characters. It’s in the sense of impending doom, the imposing suburbs, and the dark visuals of the film thatDonnie Darkoinvokes Gothic culture. So does Gyllenhaal’s skeleton suit, which is a Halloween classic.
Beetlejuice
Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice stars Michael Keaton as the titular “bio-exorcist”, an obnoxious spirit who specializes in driving living occupants out of homes. When Barbara (Geena Davis) and Adam Maitland (Alec Baldwin) die suddenly, they pass into the spirit realm, and must stay in their home. However, in the living world, the Deetz family purchases the house and moves in, prompting the Maitlands to enlist the help of Beetlejuice to drive them away.
It is hard to choose which, amongSleepy Hollow,Corpse Bride,Sweeney Todd,Edward Scissorhands, andBeetlejuice,is the most Gothic film that Tim Burton has directed. However, the cheesiest of them all is easilyBeetlejuice, thedirector’s third amazing movie after two good onesthat he started his directorial career with. It is a quirky horror movie with an unshakable legacy as a classic that still inspires costumes to this day.
Winona Ryder recently reprised her role as Lydia Deetz in the 2024 sequelBeetlejuice Beetlejuice, bringing back the legendary Gothic look for her now-adult character.
Winona Ryder’s iconic look as Lydia Deetz inBeetlejuiceprompts children to dress up as her every year on Halloween. She’s the quintessential gothic teenager and has influenced the fashion and lifestyle choices of many young women during their adolescence. Shedresses all in black, wears her hair messily, wears a choker, and can literally see ghosts– if you’re looking to revitalize your inner goth, look no further than her.
Ginger Snaps
Ginger Snaps is a Canadian Horror film directed by John Fawcett and starring Emily Perkins and Katharine Isabelle. The plot sees one of two sisters undergoing a transformation into a werewolf as the other attempts to find a cure.
A feminist icon and the titular Ginger fromGinger Snaps, Ginger Fitzgerald is an inspirational goth. No, watching her doesn’t make one want to experience what she does, but she’s relatable in a way thateven the least goth person will find a dormant goth in them waking up. Vampires are the mythological horror creatures more linked with sleaziness and the gothic aesthetic, but Ginger brings that same vibe to her transformation into a werewolf.
Ginger can be seen exclusively wearing black and rejecting modern society as an introverted nihilist.
Before her transformation begins, Ginger can be seen exclusively wearing black and rejecting modern society as an introverted nihilist. It’s hard to get more goth than that. The experience of being bitten by a werewolf and transforming into a form she isn’t familiar with, which gives her instincts she’s never felt before, can be interpreted as an allegory for puberty. So, Ginger is a relatable character with gothic sensibilities.
The Craft
The Craft is a 1996 teen horror movie starring Robin Tunney, Neve Campbell, Fairuza Balk, and Rachel True. The Andrew Fleming-directed film focuses on a group of outcasts at an LA high school who practice witchcraft and create their own coven. The film received mixed reviews but was a surprise hit at the box office for Columbia.
1996 was a great year for Neve Campbell. She broke through in Hollywood as the protagonist ofScream, which introduced the world to Ghostface, amovie character who helped reshape its genre expectations. She also starred in the cult classicThe Craftas a teenage witch Bonnie Harper, one of the main characters of the film. It doesn’t get much more gothic than social misfits who use occult powers to enact revenge and improve their lives, does it?
With tongue-in-cheek dialogue and memorable costume design,The Craftmakes an impression as a Gothic movie right from its beginning. The four main characters are all goths, and they egg each other on as they start delving deeper into the darker side of witchcraft. Thesense of sisterhood, the black skirts and boots combinations they all wear, and the petty teenage instincts–The CraftisMean Girlsfor goths.
The Addams Family
The Addams Family is directed by Barry Sonnenfeld and follows the eccentric Addams family as they reunite with a man claiming to be the long-lost Uncle Fester. As the family plans a celebratory gathering, suspicions arise about Fester’s true identity, challenging the family’s trust and unity.
The first people who I see in my head when I hear the words cheesy and Gothic together are the members of the titular family fromThe Addams Family. Ever since Charlie Addams created the characters forThe New Yorkerin 1938, they have been loved by anyone who has discovered them. Live-action and animated shows and movies, video games, and musicals – the characters have been adapted for every possible medium of storytelling.
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Morticia and Gomez Addams embody the gothic spirit as they live in a mansion with gargoyles and arches, profess their love for each other through macabre metaphors, and are always clad entirely in black. Their daughter, Wednesday, takes the morbid taste too far at times, performing violent pranks that could endanger people, even though she’s well-intentioned. With a butler who resembles Frankenstein’s monster and a disembodied hand,The Addams Family’s main characters have influenced goth culture for years. The family is funny and adorable, and they’re perhaps the least intimidating goths in the history of fiction.
