There are two types of people: one who loves watching scary movies and one who avoids them at all costs. Watching extreme horror movies can cause dopamine release, a high feeling, and a temporary release from reality. It also causes the feeling of euphoria. Moreover, a study published by the University of Westminster suggests that watching horror movies can also aid in weight loss.
So, with Halloween approaching, we thought it would only be fair to have some hair-raising, spine-chilling, blood-curdling horror movie list ready to watch.
Below are some extreme horror movies list compiled to throw you into a panic-inducing, petrifying experience.
List of Extreme Horror Movies to Watch this Halloween:
Don’t Breathe
Release Date: 26 August 2016
Director: Fede Alvarez
Cast: Stephen Lang, Jane Levy, Dylan Minnette, Daniel Zovatto, Franciska Törőcsik, Emma Bercovici, Christian Zagia, Katia Bokor, Sergej Onopko
IMDB Rating: 7.1
Movie Plot: This movie is about three youngsters: Rockey, Alex, and Money, who rob wealthy people. This time they decided to rob a blind retired veteran who turned out to be not an easy target as it seemed. The whole movie is like an intense episode of cat and mouse chase with elements keeping you hooked on the edge of your seat. With the twisted sense of morality portrayed by all the characters, the movie is full of unpredictable events.
Goodnight Mommy
Release Date: 30 August 2014
Director: Severin Fiala, Veronika Franz
Cast: Susanne Wuest, Elias Schwarz, Lukas Schwarz, Hans Escher, Elfriede Schatz, Karl Purker, Georg Deliovsky, Christian Steindl, Christian Schatz, Erwin Schmalzbauer
IMDB Rating: 6.7
Movie Plot: Goodnight Mommy is a rivetting and intriguing psychological horror/thriller. It is one of those movies which you need to watch twice to get all the answers. The story revolves around two brothers and their mother, who recently came home after major surgery. The boys identify her as an imposter and consequently torture her to get her to spit out the truth.
The film has stunning cinematography and great acting from two brothers. There are many creepy scenes, including one where they slit open their mother’s abdomen and see cockroaches coming out of it. Moreover, it has an unpredictable twist towards the ending.
Sinister
Release Date: 11 March 2012
Director: Scott Derrickson
Cast: Ethan Hawke, Juliet Rylance, Fred Thompson, James Ransone, Clare Foley, Michael Hall D’Addario, Vincent D’Onofrio, Cameron Ocasio, Blake Mizrahi, Nick King
IMDB Rating: 6.8
Movie Plot: This movie revolves around Ethan Hawk, who plays the character of a true-crime writer, named Ellison. Ellison moves into a new home with his wife and two beautiful children, unaware of what fate has in store for him. Upon exploration of their new house, Ellison came across a suspicious box in the storeroom. The box contained an 8 mm camera and a selection of films showcasing gruesome murders.
This film is all about how these murders are interlinked to his family and how he makes efforts to save his family from the gloomy shadows of death. The story is artistically written and executed. It is captivating and creepy straight from the beginning and lacks a single dull moment.
The Witch
Release Date: 27 January 2015
Director: Robert Eggers
Cast: Anya Taylor-Joy, Ralph Ineson, Kate Dickie, Harvey Scrimshaw, Ellie Grainger, Lucas Dawson, Julian Richings, Bathsheba Garnett, Sarah Stephens, Wahab Chaudhry, Axtun Henry Dube
IMDB Rating: 6.9
Movie Plot: The movie has adapted from C.S.Lewis’s famous novel, “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.” It is a soul-shaking, period supernatural horror film set in the 1630s. In Puritan New England, an English settler, William and his family got banished from their home over a religious dispute. Certain events took place. That led to the whole family’s suspicion towards Thomasin, the oldest daughter, to be a witch. It is different from the average jump-scare movie with unexpected twists. It is a more subtle but lingering horror movie that keeps you in haze many days after.
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May
Release Date: 13 January 2002
Director: Lucky McKee
Cast: Angela Bettis, Chandler Riley Hecht, Jeremy Sisto, Anna Faris, Nichole Hiltz, James Duval, Ken Davitian, Kevin Gage, Merle Kennedy, Rachel David, Nora Zehetner, Will Estes
IMDB Rating: 6.6
Movie Plot: May is a psychological horror story about a lonely young girl named May. She had a troubled childhood partly because of her lazy eye. May never had a lot of friends except for a doll named Suzie, made by her mom. She was an assistant to a vet and did the sewing tasks for him. May got involved in a young mechanic named Adam. But things did not work out between them. Later, he got scared away by May’s eccentric behavior. Finding difficulty finding a real friend, May embarked upon her journey to make one friend for herself by taking parts from different people and sewing them together.
The movie contains many gruesome scenes especially, one where many blind children crawl over broken glass. It is a perfect specimen of an extreme horror movie.
You’re Next
Release Date: 10 September 2011
Director: Adam Wingard
Cast: Sharni Vinson, Nicholas Tucci, Wendy Glenn, AJ Bowen, Joe Swanberg, Sarah Myers, Amy Seimetz, Ti West, Rob Moran, Barbara Crampton, Simon Barrett, Lane Hughes, Larry Fessenden, Kate Lyn Sheil, Calvin Reeder
IMDB Rating: 6.6
Movie Plot: You’re Next is an extreme horror movie having a cult following. It starts with a happy family reunion that turns into a massacre. Ugly bloodshed kills all the family members one by one by an animal mask-wearing gang. Only one member of that family: Erin, survives, thanks to her survival training. The villains dubbed plainly as Fox Mask, Tiger Mask, and Lamb Mask create a terrorizing effect. The kills in the movie are graphic, explicit, brutal, and unique, thus adding extreme horror effects to the project. Moreover, it has a perfectly executed storyline that is a treat for horror movies lover.
The Autopsy of Jane Doe
Release Date: 9 September 2016
Director: André Øvredal
Cast: Emile Hirsch, Brian Cox, Ophelia Lovibond, Michael McElhatton, Olwen Kelly, Jane Perry, Parker Sawyers, Mary Duddy, Mark Phoenix
IMDB Rating: 6.8
Movie Plot: The Autopsy of Jane Doe is another extreme supernatural horror movie. It revolves around an examination of a corpse of a young lady found in a shallow grave. The film is spooky and spine-chilling, as the dead body played by Olwen Kelly gives it a more realistic effect. The story starts with the arrival of a dead body in the morgue. But when Tommy and his son, Austin, started examining her, certain supernatural things occurred. Later on, we witness a series of creepy and harrowing scenes that chain us to our seats. This movie is a masterpiece in the horror genre.
The Human Centipede
Release Date: 30 August 2009
Director: Tom Six
Cast: Dieter Laser, Ashley C. Williams, Ashlynn Yennie, Akihiro Kitamura, Rene de Wit, Andreas Leupold, Peter Blankenstein
IMDB Rating: 4.4
Movie Plot: The Human Centipede is the creepiest and sickest movie on this list. It is too graphic and sadistic in its portrayal of characters and its idea of making a human centipede, which it claims to be 100% medically accurate. It revolves around two young girls who get stuck in bewilderment in Germany and find shelter in an isolated villa. The villa belonged to a retired accomplished surgeon who had some twisted ambitions of making a human centipede. He already had another hostage. With this trio of hostages, he wanted to make a human centipede by stitching their mouths to each others’ rectums.
It is a soul-shaking, disturbingly, nightmarish picture with many horrendous scenes that linger in your memory. This movie will continue to disgust you even days after watching.
So, these are some of the unsettling films that you need to watch this Halloween. Grab some candy, corn, turn off the lights and burn some calories by watching horror. I wish you an entertaining yet cathartic experience.