The threat of some horror movies comes from malefactors like slashers in masks, demonic possession, and monsters. And some great horror films mine both terror and power from a troubling yet inevitable part of life: mourning.
The black cloud of grieving is full of possibilities for horror in the deft hands of the right filmmakers. Several of these films even go as far as to ask the audience if a supernatural threat can be as frightening as the rawest human feelings and internal struggles.
Hereditary (2018)
Some movies are about a family's navigation of grief, and their ultimate perseverance. Hereditary isn't one of those movies. Ari Aster's opus of endless suffering and head-spinning supernatural frights sees a family steadily destroy itself in the wake of a loss that proves crushing.
The ever-versatile, ever resplendent Toni Collette delivers a career-high turn as a matriarch who gradually loses every one of her marbles. It's the equal of Jack Nicholson in The Shining: scary, darkly funny, ultimately heartbreaking.
Midsommar (2019)
Aster's folk horror follow-up to Hereditary proved to be just as grotesque as its predecessor, and more darkly humorous. A broad-daylight horror in the vein of The Wicker Man sees a troupe of young Americans unwittingly attend a bizarre and gruesome pagan festival.
Two years after she caught the attention of critics and international audiences with a stunning turn in Lady Macbeth, Midsommar proved to be a critical moment in the career of Florence Pugh, volcanic as a young woman reeling from an earth-shattering loss as she navigates the final stretches of a deeply broken relationship. She ultimately finds a twisted empowerment.
The Descent (2005)
Neil Marshall's viscerally scary, graphically violent rollercoaster centers on a group of young British female friends who take a group retreat to the Appalachian Mountains, aiming for some therapeutic team-building. The women get lost in fathoms-deep darkness, and are confronted with cave-dwelling beasts who want to eat their entrails.
In The Descent, the cave-dwellers are only part of the threat. What's even scarier is the crumbling dynamics between the women, leading to quite literal backstabbing. Protagonist Sarah (Shauna Macdonald) is in a compromised state long before the bloodshed begins, grieving the dreadful loss of her child and partner in an auto accident. Followed by an inferior but not wholly meritless sequel.
Don't Look Now (1973)
Best known for strong performances from Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie, boundary-pushing sexuality and a shocking ending, Nicholas Roeg's film based on Daphne du Maurier's short story about a couple who relocate to Venice, Italy after their daughter dies in a tragic accident.
An impressive, elegant marriage of mature themes and shock value, Don't Look Now's reputation as one of the finest of all British films has only grown over nearly half a century.
Pet Sematary (1989)
The same year she directed Madonna's "Like a Prayer" video, Mary Lambert directed the first adaptation of Stephen King's novel about a young couple in Maine who try to counter the pain of loss with crude means of resurrection.
A 2019 remake, strategically on the heels of It's record-smashing success, was glossier, and underwhelming, B-grade and fluffy in a way this subject matter should never be.
A Quiet Place (2018)
With A Quiet Place, Jim from The Office made a massively successful, critically adored supernatural horror film for the ages. John Krasinski's first foray into genre filmmaking is set after giant alien sound-seeking spiders ravage planet Earth.
With exceptionally sympathetic characters (Emily Blunt won a SAG Award for Best Supporting Actress), A Quiet Place is as much about the external threat as the in-fighting and healing that comes with a tragic loss in the film's opening moments. This is the high point of "mom horror," a scary film that transcends its genre due to an irresistible emotional hook.
The Orphanage (2007)
J.A. Bayona's international breakthrough is now considered a bona fide classic supernatural thriller. Belén Rueda stars as Laura, a grief-stricken woman who believes spirits are trying to connect her to her long-missing boy.
The Orphanage intertwines gorgeous gothic visuals, heavy themes—and the kind of pure, cold-hand-on-the-back-of-the-neck scares that horror fans crave. Released at the height of the torture porn craze, the movie wowed critics It received a 10-minute standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival.
A Monster Calls (2016)
The only picture on this list that's suitable for audiences of all ages, or nearly all ages, doesn't skimp on deep emotion or astonishing fantastical world-building. Years after The Orphanage caught the attention of critics, audiences and the industry, J.A. Bayona adapted the haunting novel by Patrick Ness (who also wrote the script) about a tween boy (Lewis MacDougall), whose mother (Felicity Jones) is dying.
A Monster Calls blends low fantasy, coming-of-age and horror to near-perfection, and made Bayona one of the hottest names in genre filmmaking. His latest project is two episodes of Amazon's forthcoming Lord of the Rings series.
The Witch (2015)
Robert Eggers' painstakingly meticulous 1600s-set period piece lets you know what it is up front. In the opening moments, we see a baby kidnapped and ritualistically slaughtered in graphic detail. The Witch is about a family reeling from grief; more than that it's about suspicion, fear and, most ambitiously, the nature of evil.
Featuring breathtaking attention to period detail and a star-making performance from Anya Taylor-Joy, The Witch is set in a time that's supposedly far less enlightened than present day. Though, by the end of it, all kinds of questions are raised, we're traumatized and not so sure.
The Babadook (2014)
Just a few short years after the aughts' torture porn craze had run its course, and a year after The Conjuring was a massive hit, Jennifer Kent's The Babadook caught attention at Sundance and ultimately garnered critical praise unlike any horror film in ages. This is arguably where "elevated horror" begins.
Essie Davis and Noah Wiseman give two of the finest performances in the genre's history as a mother and son grieving a devastating loss, and taunted by a supernatural presence. The Babadook is scary as hell with unexpectedly powerful psychological depth and underpinnings.