The cold climate may be one of the best settings to base around a horror film. You can’t run away from danger for too long with freezing temperatures. Add to that snow and ice, you could very well be trapped indoors. Depending on your company, that could prove to be a life-or-death struggle for survival.
The 1980 Kubrick horror classic The Shining is full of cabin fever and ghosts, but there are many other things to go bump in the night. From Iceland, Norway, and even the great tundra that is Antarctica, movie monsters have laid claim to these locations. The Overlook Hotel is intimidating but it’s not the only thing to create dread. If you find yourself stuck indoors come the winter months, pick one of these to experience a horror that will make your blood run cold.
1. Misery (1990)
A cozy shelter in the woods during winter sounds like the ideal cottagecore vibe. Except when you’re author Paul Sheldon (James Caan) and you’re trapped with a superfan. By all appearances, Annie Wilkes is a quirky teddy bear. But there’s a reason as to why acting legend Kathy Bates won an Oscar for her performance. Annie is a complicated villain, one who is just as much of a danger to herself as she is to others. Don’t get on her bad side or you’ll get a lesson on what hobbling means, all the while soothing classical music is being played to ease its pain.
2. Rift (2017)
In this twisty Icelandic thriller, nothing is what it seems. When ex-boyfriends, Gunnar and Einar, reunite at an isolated house, post-breakup issues may be the least of their worries when they start to believe someone or something is lurking outside. Then again, maybe their breakup does have something to do with the creepy happenings. The jump scares are few and far between in this one. Director Erlingur Thoroddsen, in his second feature film, chose to go for a building sense of dread, through sound design and visuals. Iceland is a beautifully scenic landscape and from this film, it might just make you want to travel. But it might also make you uncertain about what could be hidden within the abandoned ruins found across the land and that creeping uncertainty is where Rift succeeds.
3. The Lodge (2019)
Austrian directing duo, Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala, first made their names known to horror fans with Goodnight Mommy. In their English-language debut, The Lodge retains several notable elements of theirs. There are children with murky morals and a maternal figure unable to rein them in. Actress Riley Keough plays a soon-to-be step mom with a trauma from the past that seems to be returning with vengeance to the present. And as the film’s title suggests, Keough is stuck in a snowbound cabin with her future step-kids. No one grows closer, they only grow further apart. Set during Christmas, this is the feel-bad movie for the yuletide holiday that is both unnerving and atmospheric.
4. 30 Days of Night (2007)
Welcome to Barrow, Alaska, one of the most northernmost places in the world. Trapped within a single, constricted location is one thing but in this movie, a whole community has access to their town and it doesn’t do them any good. During the quickly approaching polar night, the residents won’t have sun for a month. That works in favor for a clan of vicious vampires, who will have free reign and many meals to choose from. It started out as a failed film pitch that found new life as a comic. Finally, it got its chance to be made for the big screen, with various figures denying their original rejection, one being among the film's producers.
5. The Children (2008)
Sure, zombies are scary but what if an undetected and unexplainable illness infected kids, turning them into ruthless killers? A secluded winter retreat with extended family brings together young siblings and cousins. But once whatever it is takes over the young ones, there is no reasoning with them. And the parents who survive the initial attacks are forced to consider, how do you protect yourselves from your own kids? There are no easy answers.
6. Cold Prey (2006)
In this Norwegian slasher, a group of friends take refuge in a closed down ski resort to escape a storm. No surprise, the snowy onslaught outdoors is the least of their worries. There is a killer, wonderfully referred to as The Mountain Man, that begins to pick them off. It's a welcome entry to the slasher subgenre, released not too long ago when the Saw franchise was picking up steam in the United States. With a cast of likable actors, a menacing killer, and a great wintry setting, Cold Prey shouldn’t be a lost gem.
7. Frozen (2010)
For first-time and professional skiers out there, have you ever stopped and wondered your predicament if a chairlift stopped midway? Boost up the cold and involve a pack of wolves below you, then you would have Frozen. Thanks to a bad mistake, three skiers get stuck on said chairlift when a ski resort closes for the night. With plummeting temperatures and that wolf pack full of snarling teeth, the situation is an unpleasant and dire one. It would make you feel very thankful for watching it by a glowing fire place or warm heater.
8. The Thing (1982)
Remakes usually suck. But iconic director John Carpenter figured out a way to not only remake The Thing From Another World successfully; he made a film that stood the test of time. It bombed at the box office initally before, years later, collecting adoration. Antarctica becomes ground zero for a shape-shifting “thing” that causes paranoia among a research team. If anyone could be the monster, who's to trust? It’s become a beloved cult classic, full of great trivia tidbits, such as the reason for actor Keith David always wearing gloves onscreen. It wasn't simply because his character was in a freezing climate. It was mainly to cover up the cast David had on one of his hands due to an injury.
9. Orphan (2009)
With a prequel on the way, it may be time to revisit this gem belonging to the horror subgenre of “creepy children.” As Esther, young actress Isabelle Fuhrman swiftly cemented herself as a scary icon due to her subtle performance when needed, before unleashing all kinds of unhinged mayhem. There’s a reason children make great characters to be unnerved by. They’re still learning about morality and that being mean isn’t a positive trait. But pushed to the maximum, what if there is no teaching them right from wrong? An even more horrifying thought: what if that strange child holds a very dark secret they will do whatever it takes to keep hushed up.