Eyes of My Mother terrified me of barns, eyes, and strange maternal relationships for about a year. Funny Games swayed my opinion of remote boat houses and anyone wishing to solicit anything on a porch. Recently, Jordan Peele's Us turned me against mirror mazes in carnivals and twins—horror hounds dish on the creepiest films to send shivers throughout your body. 

1. The Others (2001)

Meditations between life and death offer eye-opening discourse on what it means to be human. Nicole Kidman stars in this creepy film about a religious mom who moves into a new house with her children during World War II. The family longs for their father to return from his unknown whereabouts, and the kids believe they see otherworldly apparitions occupying their home. Just wait for the spine-chilling twist. 

2. Dogtooth (2009)

Yorgos Lanthimos' directorial style evades norms and hones in on niche black comedy. Dogtooth showcases a satirical exploration of what it means to be a helicopter parent. This suburban family disallows their children to leave the house until their dogtooth comes out. Since the parents homeschool the kids, they teach them the wrong vocabulary words, which stunts their growth and perpetuates their ignorance. The worst part is that they realize one day they can remove their dogtooth by smashing their mouth with a solid device.  

3. Afterschool (2009)

Before disturbing reports of Ezra Miller's hostile behavior overtook national headlines, he portrayed uber-disturbed high school kids in films. In Afterschool, the American actor depicts a school kid who stumbles upon the tragic death of two classmates and films the occurrence. The teachers then ask him to compile a remembrance video, all while the viewer contemplates his innocence. 

4. Parents (1989)

Many movies from the 80s adopt a schlocky, campy script to entertain the masses and pull away from any real discourse over horror. But then, there are movies like Parents, a successful array of terrifying images that reflect on hidden identities. When Michael and his parents move to a new home, he watches the fridge fill up with unsettling meat he refuses to eat. His parents grow tired of his temperament and try to force him to eat, though he knows the contents of the food come from other humans. 

5. Compliance (2012)

Who isn't guilty of a prank call? What about a prank call to a fast food chain that leads to decades of trauma encountered by the workers and managers? Compliance is a retelling based on a series of true events wherein a random man phoned a fast food manager and instructed her to boss around one of her employees. He impersonated a higher-up in the company, causing the manager to blindly follow his instructions, strip-search her employee, and humiliate the worker. 

6. The Loved Ones (2009)

Have you ever been asked to prom by someone who wouldn't take no for an answer? That's the plot of The Loved Ones, an Australian film centering around two promising high school students, Lola and Brent, and their unrequited love story. Lola asks Brent to prom, and with her deep dismay and to his immense regret, he says no. She kidnaps her classmate and subjects him to unimaginable torture inside her home while her father watches. 

7. Tusk (2014) 

Tusk is a misunderstood masterpiece about a crude podcast host determined to find the next weird subject for his online show. He discovers a strange recluse while traveling, and he sets off to the hermit's house. The quiet man alerts him of his passion for walruses and the tight bond he formulates with the tusked creatures. The man drugs and mutilates the podcast host, turning him into a human walrus.

8. Snowtown (2011)

Something about horror based on reality unsettles me more than fictional stories based on myths and fables—Snowtown centers around The Snowtown Murders, a series of bodies discovered in Snowtown, Australia, in 1999. Jamie strikes up a close relationship with his mom's new partner, a racist and homophobic man determined to seek revenge on anyone who commits bad deeds. This film draws out the brutality of those crimes with bleak cinematography, a haunting score, and talented actors.

9. Polytechnique (2009)

Before Denis Villeneuve began his work on the Dune series, he created a black-and-white masterful retelling of the Montreal Massacre of 1989. The assailant breaks into a college, determined to murder every female student studying at the university. Villeneuve shot in black and white to avoid violent images of blood distracting from the film's true message. 

10. Creep (2014)

What do you get when you take a hopeful yet struggling cameraman and an off-putting middle-aged man inviting him to his cabin? One of the best-found footage films of the 2010s. Creep starts with a young man (Aaron) accepting a film job. He believes he will film a documentary for the subject's wife and future son, but through slow admittance, the truth unravels. Aaron learns how much danger he is in. 

11. Spree (2020)

Most people know Joe Keery for his quaffed-hair, dad character Steve Harrington in Stranger Things and not as Kurt Kunkle, an aspiring YouTuber who makes extra money on an off-brand Uber app. Kunkle starts his career with promise, looking for any challenge to boost him into the algorithm, but he resorts to filming crimes he commits, which drives up his popularity and begs the question, “How far would you go for fame?”

12. Be My Cat: A Film for Anne (2015)

Be My Cat: A Film For Anne challenges the idea of idolizing celebrities. The main character, Adrian, believes his soulmate— and the new subject of his films— is A-list actor Anne Hathaway. To solidify their relationship, Adrian enlists local actors to star in his reels, which he hopes to impress Anne with. However, Adrian muddies the line between the actor's safety and his own sanity. 

13. The Dirties (2013)

Two bullied students exact revenge on their enemies by creating a film where they “kill” the attackers. The kids plan to show their comedy film to the entire school, along with their bullies. The only problem is one of the friends doesn't think the film is a comedy, and he orchestrates a plan to deliver real revenge on the perpetrators. 

14. Fresh (2022)

Never go out with a man that approaches you in the grocery store. Sebastian Stan (Steve) and Daisy-Edgar Jones (Noa) star in this horror comedy about a morbid group of people: cannibals. Steve and Noa strengthen their relationship, finding solace in each other's company. When Steve invites Noa over for the weekend, she glistens. Once they arrive in his loft, Noa realizes he satiates his hunger with one thing: human flesh. 

15. Megan Is Missing (2011)

Now, this film polarizes film buffs. One side believes it is a trashy comic romp popularized by TikTok and Gen Z, and the other side views it as a horrifying insight into what could happen when a child meets a stranger online. Megan, a teenager, talks to random men on various chat websites until she settles on meeting one in person. She never returns. 

16. Frozen (2010)

This isn't the cartoon that popularized the phrase “Let It Go,” but once you've viewed this film, you won't be able to let the visuals go. Three friends head out to a ski resort for an adventurous weekend, and when they board the final ski lift, the attendant doesn't see them, so he shuts off the lift. The group remains suspended above the frigid nature and hungry wolves.

17. The Fallout (2021)

I believe this is Jenna Ortega's breakthrough performance. She depicts a character stuck in the aftermath trauma of a school shooting. We witness everything from the moments before the shooting to the moments right after the firing and the relationships that strengthen and fall apart weeks and months after the tragedy. 

18.  The Descent (2005)

Imagine a creepier setting than navigating an underexplored cave with five of your closest friends. My friend watched The Descent on a first date and never saw the man again. The characters realize that they might be stuck underground with creatures they don't recognize.

19. Hereditary (2018)

Critics deemed Ari Aster's Hereditary the scariest film since The Exorcist for a reason. The bleak horror drama revolves around a grief-riddled family who realizes the deaths in their kin share a sinister relationship. After the son accidentally causes the beheading of the youngest daughter, the parents descend further into a swirl of sadness and madness, turning to communities posing as support groups but carrying on sinister undertones.

20. Eyes of My Mother (2016)

This black-and-white film focuses on a young girl, Francisca, who witnesses her mother's death. Before her mother passed on, she shared her surgical skills—demonstrating how to remove animals' eyes— with her daughter. Francisca's father pursues revenge on the killer by changing up the man in the barn. Francisca further mutilates the man, uncovering a need to hurt others with a skill passed down by her mother.  

Source: Reddit.