This post originally appeared on the DVD Netflix blog “Inside the Envelope.” That company folded in 2023, and the blog was shut down, but you might find some good stuff here.
“If you’re in a horror movie, you make poor decisions. It’s what you do.”
Have you ever seen the insurance commercial about making good choices? The one where a group of teens are being chased, and one asks why they can’t just get in the running car instead of weaving through the net of chainsaws?
The commercial is funny because we’ve probably all yelled in vain at our TV screens, warning movie characters not to do something stupid.
Many horror movies make you wonder just how dumb the producers think you are. That’s not to say those movies aren’t loads of fun!
There’s value in horror movies that actually make you think. The ones that make you want to watch them again to see all the clues you missed along the way. Sometimes, the best movies are the ones in which you don’t know who’s credible and who’s not. It’s often unclear what is a fantasy or a dream and what is real.
Here’s a list of seven horror movies that might just bend your mind into a pretzel while scaring the daylights out of you.
The Ring (2002) PG-13
Remember those artifacts called videotapes? Naomi Watts plays a journalist who wants to find out why her niece and three of her friends all died at the same time. It turns out a video is to blame and anyone who watches it dies seven days later. Our protagonist must find out why watching the tape is so deadly and how to save herself and her son from her niece’s fate.
Rosemary’s Baby (1968) R
The neighbors in the new apartment building seem so nice, yet there’s something not quite right with them, thinks a mother-to-be played by Mia Farrow. Her husband tries to reassure her, but then he starts acting strangely also. Is she crazy or are they?
The Wicker Man (1973) Unrated
Nicolas Cage plays a Seattle policeman summoned to a remote island to investigate the disappearance of his ex-fiancé’s daughter. He soon finds out that the girl is in real danger and he must race against the clock to save her. All is not as it seems, though, and he realizes that the path to hell is paved with good intentions. This is a remake of a 1973 film set in Scotland, which is also available from DVD Netflix.
Hereditary (2018) R
How much grief can one woman take? After her mentally ill mother dies, Annie (Toni Collette) and her family try to process their loss as more and more odd things happen around the house. Then unspeakable tragedy hits and the blame starts. This one will keep you guessing until the end.
The Sixth Sense (1999) PG-13
This is one of those movies you’ll want to watch twice. Just know that nothing is as it seems. So, pay attention and everything will make sense in the end. Bruce Willis plays a child psychologist assigned to counsel a boy who seems to be talking to ghosts. If you’ve ever heard the line, “I see dead people,” this is where it originated.
The Others (2001) PG-13
At first you’ll think that this mother is just plain overprotective, but you’ll eventually figure out why she is so over the top. Nicole Kidman plays Grace, a mom who’s staying in a creepy mansion with her two children who cannot tolerate direct sunlight. They’re all waiting for dad to come home from the second world war. The house seems haunted, the staff is creepy, and Grace fears for her children’s safety. Little by little she learns the truth.
Annihilation (2018) R
After her husband disappears on a mysterious mission and then returns a broken man, biologist Lena (Natalie Portman) is determined to find out what happened so she might save him. She joins an all-female team that ventures into a wilderness called the Shimmer in the Swamplands of Florida. What they find there is otherworldly and it will take some smarts to save the earth.
