The horror genre brings a variety of markers to subtly (or not so subtly) tell our brains that we are about to be spooked, creeped out, and jump-scared. But it’s all that more terrifying when a film shocks us without warning that it’s about to happen.

An internet user wanted to know what films people thought ended up being more frightening than most horror movies out there. People’s answers ranged from being freaked out as a child to films that cover psychologically disturbing topics. So take notes for your next movie night and be sure to upvote your favorites as you scroll through and comment your thoughts below. 

#1

Coraline – it’s technically a kids movie but it’s freaky as hell

Image credits: SpiritualSock9

#2

Does Watership Down count? The 1978 version. It’s not categorized as a horror but as a KIDS animation/adventure yet it has blood and gore in it. Scared the s**t out of me as a kid, couldn’t sleep for days. I still can’t watch it.

#3

Black Swan. That movie should be marked as horror.

Image credits: Lachimanus

The first unintentionally scary film may have been created near the beginning of cinema itself. Some readers might already be familiar with the stories of “L’Arrivée d’un train en gare de La Ciotat”, or “The Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat,” causing 18th-century moviegoers to run out of the cinema in a panic. The film showed a train, arriving at a station, with the camera positioned in such a way that makes it look like it will hit it. 

Despite being a great story, this is likely a myth. Firstly, this was a silent film, so it’s hard to believe that moviegoers would think a magically quiet train was fully real as it drove toward them. Similarly, why would an audience of real people suddenly forget that the world was not in black and white? Regardless, it does make for a compelling story about a film that managed to be unintentionally terrifying and only 50 seconds long at the same time. 

#4

In a weird way I find The Truman Show scary

Image credits: Daniele_Bellini

#5

HBO’s Chernobyl was hands down the scariest tv series I’ve ever watched. Radiation is terrifying

Image credits: PM_Me_UrRightNipple

#6

Who Framed Roger Rabbit scared the hell out of me, especially with the Judge Doom scene at the end when it’s revealed he’s a toon.

Image credits: Goose_Politician

Modern horror directors use a variety of “tricks” to make our brains believe we are in just as much distress as the characters on screen. The cheapest example is the use of high-frequency sounds played during the film. We don’t actually hear these, but prolonged exposure ends up putting us on edge and can even cause sleepless nights in the long run. So if you want to create a subtly hostile environment for your dinner guests, play something at 20–30 Hz.

#7

Schindler’s List. Can’t believe such horror actually took place.

#8

Mommy dearest. It’s about a narcissistic actress who adopts a child, shows love initially, then turns into a horrible, abusive monster when the child starts thinking for herself. If you’ve been in an abusive relationship, this movie hits harder than any horror flick

Image credits: hashedram

#9

Trainspotting. The baby scene, but also Robert Carlyle’s violently deranged character.

Image credits: greenvortex

Noise has other uses, including loud, contrasting, and clashing sounds that make our brains strive for consonance. Like an interrupted melody, we feel discomfort until the noise or melody is resolved. Directors will then just keep us on edge until the end of a sequence or scene. While this might seem like literally cheap thrills, it’s quite common in the industry nowadays. 

#10

Cats. It’s absolute nightmare fuel

Image credits: Conells

#11

Children of Men. And it’s only gotten more frightening in light of recent events.

Image credits: Cream_Gingerly

#12

I saw Return to Oz when I was a kid during a sleepover. I didnt get any sleep that night.

Saw it again a few years ago as a 30yr old. Still scary.

Image credits: Ol_Man_Rambles

Some unsettling techniques are not just used in horror. Psychological discomfort is as present in the crime or drama genres as in any slasher film. Lighting and shadows play tricks on our brains, putting us on edge. Normally, we as the viewer have a better understanding of what is visible than the characters in the scene. But some directors obscure things for the audience as well, making us tense as we try to understand what is happening on screen while the characters do the same. 

#13

Requiem For A Dream is scary as hell! If you really want your kids to understand why drugs are bad, just show them this movie (well, don’t show this movie to kids, maybe on their teen years)

A lot of frightening scenes, graphic moments and a sad ending.

Image credits: marmogawd

#14

AI: Artificial Intelligence. I watched that pretty young and the whole thing was fairly traumatizing.

Image credits: Big_Simba

#15

Not a movie but the handmaid’s tale f*****g scares me to death.

Despite most people not actually enjoying the adrenaline rush caused by horror films or scary scenes in general, people do have a fascination with unusual circumstances and darker themes. It’s important to note that fascination isn’t the same as enjoying something, as it’s more just our brain thinking that a situation contains valuable information that we need to acquire, even at the cost of sleepless nights, cold sweats, and a rapid heartbeat. 

#16

The Dark Crystal. no questions.

#17

7 year old me would say *Mars Attacks!*

Hell, I’ll still stand by it.

Image credits: JimothyJollyphant

#18

“Heathers” bothers me because when it came out, it was really far-fetched parody. Now, it’s f*****g uncomfortable because of how realistic it seems. I went to school in a high-achieving town, with a serious teen suicide problem, and a couple of credible bomb threats to the schools. It upset me that everything portrayed in the film was plausible in regards to the experience I had there.

#19

As a child, I was terrified of the Pinocchio donkey scene.

Image credits: nau818

#20

The Labyrinth. Gave me nightmares when I first saw it as a teen. Fucking Hoggle makes me shudder. Jim Henson for the creep factor. I saw one of the puppets in real life at a museum. I’ll never be the same.

Image credits: flammable1313

#21

A scene from The Elephant Man by David Lynch. When the disfigured man is laying in bed and the carnival guy breaks in through the window and charges people to see his face haunts me.

They way they dance around him laughing when he is dealing with so much mental anguish sticks with me.

#22

Parasite. It was not marketed as a horror movie but…you know what I’m talking about

Image credits: Politropos

#23

Dr who, the double episode with the angels

#24

The cable guy. If it wasn’t a comedy it would be one of the scariest stalker movies is ever seen.

Image credits: wilusa

#25

W***y Wonka and the chocolate factory.

#26

The Killing of a Sacred Deer, on Netflix. Holy c**p, this movie is disturbing. Honestly? I thought after it was over ‘I didn’t like that.’ But it stuck with me, and I thought about it for days afterward. That’s when you know it was a good movie. That kid… holy s**t… Barry Keoghan… his acting was incredible.

Image credits: librarianjenn

#27

Nightcrawler isn’t scary in the traditional sense, but it’s extremely unsettling

Image credits: 1spicytunaroll

#28

Titanic. It’s super scary to die in the middle of the ocean.

Image credits: anon

#29

Child Catcher. I always thought in the back of my mind if I misbehaved as a kid my parents would toss me outside for the Child Catcher to grab me and throw me in his cart.

Image credits: cornmill7

#30

Whiplash. Ever see JK Simmons and think “Boy, he’s pretty intense. He might be really scary if he weren’t so funny?”

Yeah. No one laughs during Whiplash.

Image credits: Stovepipe032

Source: boredpanda.com