Somemoviesterrify or upset the public with jump scares and unanticipated plot twists. Others, however, use a different, sly approach to disturb the crowd. They unsettle us witha slow-burning dreadthat sneakily insinuates into our minds, keeping us on edge throughout the whole experience. Through this more calculated method, these films often remain impressed in our memory for longer than traditional horrors or thrillers.
Examples of these types of movies are hard to classify, seemingly unable to fit in with a specific genre. They are hardly tales about monsters or curses, but if present, the supernatural element is mainly used as a metaphor for deeper, more twisted fears. These stories, however, don’t affect everyone the same way. What might disturb one viewer may not even faze another. From the portrayal ofeerily haunting visualsto the overwhelming sense of impending doom, some films have left me with an excruciating unease throughout the entire watch.
Midsommar
Cast
Ari Aster’s Midsommar follows a group of American college students who travel to a friend’s isolated rural hometown in Sweden to experience their renowned midsummer festival. What starts out as idyllic quickly becomes a disconcertingly violent pagan ritual, with the friends engaged in a ruthless competition that will test more than just their friendship. Florence Pugh stars alongside Jack Reynor, Will Poulter, and William Jackson Harper.
There is something tragically unsettling about the story of a traumatized young woman seeking a family, only to be ensnared by a cult that exploits her longing for love and acceptance. Instead of taking place in the dark corners of an abandoned mansion,Midsommarunfolds in the blinding daylight, tricking the viewer, as the sect does with Dani, into a reality of false bliss. The main character, played by Florence Pugh, is trapped in a downward spiral of grief, with little support from her emotionally distant boyfriend.
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Despite the idyllic atmosphere, however, it is clear from the beginning that something sinister lurks beneath the surface.Yet, all the way through the movie, I found myself mesmerized by its breathtaking scenery and the slow unraveling of its mystery.The need to see more kept me absorbed, even as an unshakable sense of unease crept in as both me and Dani were drowning deeper in the insidious game of the cult. Theincreasingly harrowing occurrences ofMidsommarnever left my mind.
We Need To Talk About Kevin
We Need To Talk About Kevin is a psychological thriller directed by Lynne Ramsay. The film stars Tilda Swinton as Eva, a mother grappling with the aftermath of her son Kevin’s (Ezra Miller) violent actions. Through a series of flashbacks, the film explores the complex and troubled relationship between Eva and Kevin, highlighting themes of guilt, motherhood, and the nature of evil.
We Need to Talk About Kevinis a psychological descent into a mother’s most terrifying nightmare as she struggles to come to terms with the traumatic events that caused her family to collapse.The story is seen through the eyes and memories of Eva (Tilda Swinton), as she gradually realizes that her firstborn might be a psychopath. Unfortunately, almost everyone around her appears oblivious to Kevin’s insidious nature.
We Need to Talk About Kevinis an exceptionally executed film, but the ominous narrative is unnerving, to say the least. For this reason, the spine-chilling movie should only be watched once.
Throughout most of the film, I felt forced to live through Eva’s inner restlessness. From fear and guilt to hope and despair, Kevin’s mother is stuck in an impossibly difficult situation. As I watched suspiciously the unfolding of a story that promised to be tragic from the start, I sensed a growing sense of unease, feeling trapped alongside Eva in a reality with no way out.We Need to Talk About Kevinis an exceptionally executed film, but the ominous narrative is unnerving, to say the least. For this reason,the spine-chilling movie should only be watched once.
Funny Games
A family’s vacation turns into a nightmare when two young men take them hostage in their remote holiday home. The captors subject the family to a series of sadistic games, testing their will to survive. The psychological terror escalates as the boundaries of pain and fear are pushed to their limits.
The most unsettling aspect ofFunny Gamesis not simply the sheer cruelty displayed by the characters, which is disturbing in itself. It is the complete absence of causality behind said brutality and the occasional lack of barriers between the public and the story. The two protagonists, Paul and Peter, randomly take a family hostage and torture them. But little is provided to explain their sadistic behavior.
However, the movie is not simply a vicious display of gratuitous violence.The characters draw the viewer into their reality. By breaking the fourth wall and through direct engagement, they appear to possess an unsettling awareness of the public’s presence, implying that the reasons for their actions might lie within us. During my first and only watch, I couldn’t shake the feeling that they were trying to make me complicit, as if the violence was somehow tied to my role as a viewer. While the trick ultimately failed, it still left me deeply unsettled.
Melancholia
Melancholia follows the story of Justine and Michael whose tumultuous wedding is overshadowed by the looming threat of a planet on a collision course with Earth. Set amid rising family tensions, the film explores personal and existential crises as the celestial body Melancholia approaches.
No movie in history was able to invest me with such a suffocating sense of foreboding as intensely as Lars von Trier’sMelancholiadid.The slow-burning unfolding of the movie’s narrative draws you in, creating an eerie, bleak atmosphere that promises to unravel something catastrophic. Ever since the beginning, the character of Justine embodies a profound sense of hopelessness that soon comes to mirror the impending cosmic threat the world has to face.
If, at first, Justine appears as an outsider among the lot, disconnected from the surrounding society, she soon emerges as a voice of chilling clarity.
Throughout most of the movie, I attempted to hold on to scattered shreds of hope that could reassure me that there would be a better outcome for the world, or at least a second chance for the few. However, Von Trier refuses to give any consolation, portraying the end of everything we know as an inevitable and unexplainable force.There is no relief, redemption, or meaning; only the crushing finality of an unavoidable fate.
Hereditary
The feature film debut of writer-director Ari Aster, Hereditary tells the story of the unwittingly cursed Graham family. Annie Graham (Toni Collette) lives with her husband Steve (Gabriel Byrne) and their children Peter (Alex Wolff) and Charlie (Milly Shapiro). After the death of Annie’s mother, the family is beset by disaster and stalked by a supernatural entity that dredges up a past that Annie had spent her life trying to overlook.
Ari Aster has a gift for craftingspine-chilling films that keep haunting you long after they’re over.Hereditaryis one of its most unsettling examples. What starts as a meditation on grief slowly unravels into something more sinister.The horrors plaguing the family at the heart of the story feel unreasonably cruel, preying on their pain and tragedy. For the whole run of the movie, there is an ominous weight hanging over the narrative, making every scene feel like the prelude to a catastrophe.
Toni Collette’s captivating performance as Annie pulls the viewer into her reality, establishing an emotional connection. As I watched the movie for the first time, it became increasingly difficult for me to detach myself from the raw anguish and despair experienced by the character. Moreover, although the supernatural elements of the story are chilling, it is the real-world fears and struggles they symbolize that intensify the terror, making the narrative, as improbable as it might seem, relatable.
Parasite
Parasite is a 2019 South Korean film directed by Bong Joon-ho. The film follows the destitute Kim family as they infiltrate the affluent Park household by manipulating their way into various household roles, leading to unforeseen consequences.
Never in my life have I watched a film as absurd yet thought-provoking asParasite, and I doubt I ever will. Bong Joon-ho’s masterpiece defied any expectations or preconceptions I might have had.Parasiteis a masterclass in suspense and manipulation, with a sharp critique that forces people to reflect deeply on uncomfortable but, unfortunately, undeniable realities we would rather avoid.
The tension in the story builds effortlessly. What appeared as a satirical black comedy soon acquired a more tragic and menacing tone.There is little redemption or relief for the characters in the film.Each twist feels like a step toward the damnation that has been waiting for them throughout most of the movie, but that, in a way, is also already part of their life.Parasiteexplores the devastating impact of the class divide, late-stage capitalism, and economic disparities, exposing the dehumanization that stems from them.
Speak No Evil
Speak No Evil is a psychological horror film directed by Christian Tafdrup. Released in 2022, the movie follows a Danish family who accepts an invitation to visit a Dutch family they met on vacation. As their stay progresses, the Danish couple starts to uncover the unsettling reality behind their hosts' hospitality, leading to a tense and disturbing climax. The film explores themes of social awkwardness and the dark undercurrents of human interaction.
More thanthe American remake, the original Danish version ofSpeak No Evilleft me with an unshakable sense of dread. The movie is a commentary on the dangers of letting evil go unpunished in the name of maintaining a fictitious sense of social decorum. From the moment Bjørn, Louise, and their daughter are welcomed into the isolated country house of their seemingly ordinary hosts, Patrick and Karin, an eerie sense of discomfort settles in.
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Throughout most of the movie, I found myself growing increasingly astonished, occasionally even irritated, not only at the disturbing behavior of the hostile couple but also at the lack of reactions on behalf of the protagonists.As Patrick and Karin became increasingly unhinged, the guests seemed shockingly numb before the continued offenses against them and their daughter.As the tension escalates, the film reaches its most horrifying conclusion, leaving no room for escape.
Requiem for a Dream
Darren Aronofsky’s Requiem for a Dream follows the lives of four drug addicts as they fall deeper into their addiction and pull their loved ones on a downward spiral along with themselves. The 2000 psychological drama is an adaptation of Hubert Selby Jr.’s eponymous novel and counts with a star-studded cast that includes the likes of Ellen Burstyn, Jared Leto, Jennifer Connelly, Marlon Wayans, Christopher McDonald, and Mark Margolis.
Perhaps no film other thanRequiem for a Dreamwas ever able to paint the harrowing brutality of addiction with such bleak hopelessness.Although not classified as a horror story, Aronofsky’s movie taps into a psychological terror that is difficult to ignore or forget. It might not have jump scares or blood-sucking vampires, but it still harbors its own terrifying monster—it simply takes a different form than we normally expect.
The nightmare-like elements of Requiem For A Dreamdo not stem from mysterious shadows in the dark, but from the insidious presences that never leave the protagonists, not even in the light of the day.All the way through the story, the suffocating sense of menace and doom felt inescapable, regardless of the presumed free will of the characters.The movie is divided into three chapters that mirror the seasons, yet Aronofsky deliberately ignores spring; offering, with biting cynicism, no hope of rebirth from addiction. The movie left a deep void in my heart.
Suspiria
Suspiria, directed by Dario Argento, is a horror film set in a prestigious German ballet academy. The story follows American dancer Suzy Bannion, played by Jessica Harper, as she uncovers the academy’s dark and supernatural secrets. The film is renowned for its striking visuals, stylistic cinematography, and haunting score by the band Goblin.
Dario Argento’s 1977 masterpieceis one of the most visually unnerving horror films of all time.Contrary to the many spine-chilling movies that kept me on edge throughout their entire run with their psychological tension and mind tricks,Suspiriaachieves its goal in a more physical, almost primal way. Ever since the first scene, the viewer feels forced into a head-spinning experience of sensory bombardment.
Suspiriatomefelt like a feverish nightmare from which I could never wake up.
Argento exploits a palette of vibrant colors and unsettling close-ups, enriching them with a haunting music score to create an enthralling yet disquieting sense of discomfort in the viewer.The demoniac atmosphere and malevolent presence effortlessly blend with the ethereal innocence of the background where the terror unfolds, a dance academy.Suspiriatomefelt like a feverish nightmare from which I could never wake up. Its unwavering beauty and impactful visuals kept me hypnotized before the screen, never once giving me the chance to turn the other way, even during the scariest scenes.
The Human Centipede
The Human Centipede is a horror film directed by Tom Six. It centers on a deranged surgeon, Dr. Heiter, who kidnaps three tourists and surgically joins them mouth-to-rectum, creating a human centipede. The film explores themes of human endurance and medical experimentation, with Dieter Laser portraying Dr. Heiter. The Human Centipede is notable for its controversial premise and harrowing depiction of bodily horror.
It feels surreal to believe that someone could ever not only conceive, but also bring to life a movie likeThe Human Centipede.The film brings the concept of body horror to an almost comically grotesque extreme. The sole premise, a deranged doctor kidnaps a group of innocent tourists to surgically attach them, mouth to anus, to create a human version of the centipede, is as terrifying as it is despicable.
The movie, in fact, did not unsettle me by manipulating my emotional vulnerabilities or by creating an impending, existential sense of doom. It simply elicited the most visceral sense of utter repulsion. After finishing the film, my body struggled to process what I had witnessed.The Human Centipedepushed boundaries that I did not know I had and, like many other people before me, became one of thosemovies that I will never watch again.
