It will interest you
The end of the year means many things: darkness, rain, cold, snow, blankets, sof … And not everything has to be bells or carols, don't you think? Therefore, we have selected the best horror movies that you can find these days on Netflix, Amazon, Hulu and HBO,
So, get ready, turn off the lights, turn on the TV and enjoy a spooky marathon.
We start
'Item'
The 2017 adaptation of Stephen King's novel of the same name by director Andy Muschietti is currently the highest grossing horror film of all time, with the second half of the two-part saga coming to theaters in 2019. The story follows a group of childhood friends in the 80s, tormented by a terrifying supernatural entity that takes the form of a circus clown (among other nightmare images) and must face their fears to end the wave of killings. The film was an unexpected success, compared to the previous 1990 television miniseries that made Tim Curry famous as Pennywise the Clown.
HBO Now
‘Fraility’
This underrated 2001 thriller brings us to Matthew McConaughey as a man who shows up at an FBI office saying he knows the identity of a terrifying serial killer. McConaughey continues to describe his childhood and how his father, interpreted in an exceptional way by Bill Paxton, director of the film, believes that the angels had given him a sacred mission to kill demons that lurked on Earth, masquerading as humans. From that moment on, the story becomes even more frightening, combining the psychological horror of two young brothers who seem to witness their father's descent into violent and unpredictable madness with the most visceral horror of acts committed in the name. of that madness.
Amazon Prime
The Witch ’
The witch Robert Eggers draws on the Puritan heritage of the United States to create a disturbing and refreshingly direct story. The story takes place in a small town in New England. In it, William (Ralph Ineson), along with his family, faces exile.
William decides to leave on his own, taking his family to a natural place, settling in a forest. From ah, The witch It develops slowly and periodically, as supernatural forces affect the family in increasingly terrible ways.
Eggers prioritizes authenticity, with a formal dialogue and precise clothing and ensembles, with each scene illuminated only by natural light, either from the afternoon sun, peeking through the trees or a flickering candle in the dark.
Amazon
‘The Babadook’
Stunned by the death of her husband, Amelia (Essie Davis) struggles to raise her son, Samuel (Noah Wiseman), who is prone to frequent attacks.
Juggling her career as a nurse with a troubled child, Amelia's problems intensify when Sam asks her to read a disturbing book about a creature called Mister Babadook.
After reading the book to Sam, his behavior worsens, and Amelia begins to see a dark figure moving around her house. The Babadook It is an intensely personal horror film, which focuses on Amelia's pain and relationship with her son, which is so terrible that one may suspect that he is possessed. Director Jennifer Kent keeps the camera focused on details, sometimes catching Amelia and giving the film a terrifying intimacy.
Netflix
It Follows
The worst thing you can do in a horror movie, apart from stumbling in the basement, is having sex. Nothing catches the attention of a cinematic monster like the sound of young people in the middle of the passion.
For Jay (Maika Monroe), one night with her boyfriend Hugh (Jake Weary), it has deadly consequences, since Hugh reveals that he has transmitted a curse, which entails a transforming creature that chases her slowly unstoppable, until he catches her or He passes the curse to another person.
With the help of his friends, Jay struggles to keep moving and find the source of the curse. It still has a simple concept – it's creepy to have a stranger staring at you – and builds a big horror movie around it. Director David Robert Mitchell employs a series of techniques to increase terror, manipulating the camera to prevent the public from guessing if someone at the bottom of any scene could be the creature.
Netflix
The Woman in Black
Located at the beginning of the 20th century, The Woman in Black It is a little film that tells a story about ghosts that burn slowly in the Gothic tradition.
Still mourning the death of his wife, lawyer Arthur Kipps (Daniel Radcliffe) is thrown into the village of Crythin Gifford, where he oversees the sale of an old house in the swamp.
The villagers are distant and Arthur soon discovers why. While he rummages through the old house, he awakens a spirit that, when sighted, causes the children of the village to kill themselves. The Woman in Black keeps the titular ghost in the background, for the most part, leaving the viewer trapped in an atmosphere of terror.
Amazon
The Innkeepers
The Innkeepers Director Ti West begins in a strangely relaxed way to be a horror movie, introducing the viewer to Claire (Sara Paxton) and Luke (Pat Healy), employees of the Yankee Pedlar Inn.
It is the last night before the hotel closes forever, so that the two are free to spend the night chatting and joking.
It could be the beginning of any comedy and this casual opening helps define the characters before the movie starts.
Claire and Luke decide to spend their last night at work investigating the ghost that resides in the hotel, a woman who committed suicide after being abandoned at the altar.
From here, the film becomes a typical ghost story. The do uses a sound system to detect paranormal activity, a psychic appears and warns them about the danger, the objects move alone. West's firm direction and careful stimulation elevate the film above its formula, however, which constitutes a strange story.
Amazon
Let the Right One In
Oskar (Kre Hedebrant) lives in a quiet and cold Swedish suburb. Tormented by thugs, the 12-year-old boy spends his nights reading about the murder and plotting his revenge.
In fact, Oskar is a lonely boy, until he meets his new neighbor Eli (Lina Leandersson), a pale boy who only comes out at night and drinks blood.
Let the Right One In It's a vampire movie, and like the best vampire stories, it keeps track of the horror inherent in bloodsuckers. While Eli is kind to Oskar, the film constantly reminds the audience that she is a predator, that she pounces on the victims like a little leopard.
The relationship between Oskar and Eli is the central theme of the film, and despite Eli's murderous habits, it is easy to see why Oskar will be attracted to her.
The film is beautifully recorded, with constant camera movements that adapt to the frozen stillness of the film configuration. Disturbing, but lovely too sometimes, Let the Right One In It is the perfect antidote for those who are tired of vampire romances.
Hulu
Honeymoon
One of the ways to create fear is to take something mundane or, rather, something that people appreciate, and turn it into the opposite.
In Honeymoon, director Leigh Janiak transforms the getaway of a newlywed couple into numerous nightmares.
The couple in question, Bea (Rose Leslie) and Paul (Harry Treadaway), have chosen a remote cabin in the woods to enjoy their honeymoon. Although the holidays seem to be normal enough at first, the owner of the restaurant and his wife are inopportune strange lights appear in the forest at night, and Bea begins to behave erratically, leading Paul to investigate what really is happening in the place.
The film wisely explores the couple's relationship before throwing them into danger. Leslie and Treadaway also bring charm and nuance to their characters, and that makes the terror more intense when things start to go wrong.
Netflix
The Host
Horror enthusiasts tired of vampires, zombies and ghosts can find something refreshing and different in The Host, a Korean movie about a giant mutant fish and people who want to hunt it.
After a brief prologue in which American military scientists throw formalin into the Han River, the film cuts until a few years later, when a creature emerges from the river and wreaks havoc on the nearby population.
When the creature retires to its lair, it takes Park Gang-du's daughter (Song Kang-ho) with it. To retrieve his daughter, Gang-du and his family grab weapons and go to the sewers.
The Host It presents a simple and exciting story about monster hunting, showing even this strange creature from the beginning. The beast is grotesque and surprisingly animated, and its first attack is a masterpiece of disaster cinema.
Netflix
We Are Still Here
Hoping to move on after the death of his son, Bobby, Anne (Barbara Crampton) and Paul (Andrew Sensenig) buy a house in a remote New England town.
The house has a dark history, since it was previously used as a funeral home, and Anne begins to feel a supernatural presence that she thinks is Bobby's spirit. Anne invites her amateur psychic friends May (Lisa Marie) and Jacob (Larry Fessenden) to investigate. Without knowing everyone, the inhabitants of the city know more about what they are leaving. We Are Still Here It is based on a standard premise, the city with a dark secret, but well executed, slowly creating tension before unleashing a bloody climax.
The film relies heavily on the slower horror movies of the 70s, but spreads moments of terror to keep things interesting.
Netflix
I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives In the House
Osgood Perkins' movie begins in the dark, with snapping stories while a woman dresses in white.
The camera walks through a house at night, with a small circle of opaque light that reveals the interior. The story itself does not begin until about four minutes later, but I am the Pretty Thing That Lives In the House It is a film much more focused on the atmosphere that believes that the plot and its introduction sets a tone of pure terror.
The film follows Lily (Ruth Wilson), a young nurse assigned to take care of the elderly writer Iris Blum (Paula Prentiss). Lily is a bundle of nerves, and Iris's house, full of thresholds and oppressive shadows, wreaks havoc on her mind, as do the strange noises she hears at night.
This is a slow-paced movie, which gently raises tension. It is the cinematic equivalent to when you get on a roller coaster whose journey lasts for an hour and a half.
Netflix
Geralds Game
Stephen King's novel adaptation Gerald’s Game Follow a couple who decides to make a romantic getaway that ends terribly badly.
Jessie (Carla Gugino) and Gerald Burlingame (Bruce Greenwood) spend the weekend in a remote house near a lake, hoping to rekindle their relationship. With the idea of experimenting with something new, Gerald wife his wife in bed.
However, the situation does not quite please Jessie and in the middle of an argument, Gerald dies after suffering a heart attack, leaving Jessie handcuffed to the bed without any help.
If nobody helps her, Jessie begins to have visions. Go to Gerald making fun of her. Thus, this tense thriller is built around the outstanding performance of Gugino.
Netflix
‘Hellraiser’
This classic horror movie starts with Frank Cotton (Sean Chapman) who solves a puzzle. But when you complete it, hooked chains appear that make it pieces.
Frank's brother (Andrew Robinson) moves later to his house, along with his wife, Julia (Clare Higgins); and his daughter, Kirsty (Ashley Laurence). But when Larry cuts off his hand, spilled blood resurrects Frank, who begins to consume people to restore his body.
So, if Kirsty wants to survive and send Frank to hell, he must use the puzzle.
Hellraiser, despite the bloody special effects, a medical film, which develops slowly, but implacably.
Hulu
The void
Cosmic horror movies are a rarity these days, which is a shame, given the enduring quality of movies like The thingby John Carpenter.
That made The void, launched in 2016, was a very welcome surprise. It is a film rooted in old traditions of terror, a tribute to Carpenter's works with disgusting practical effects and disturbing creatures from beyond.
The film is set in a hospital, where Sheriff's assistant, Daniel Carter (Aaron Poole), brings an injured man who he found on the road.
Carter and the hospital staff are soon besieged abroad by a sect crowd surrounding the hospital, but the real horrors are inside. Although the plot is a bit disastrous, the truth is that there are some absurd turns, The void It is a solid tribute to the horror of the 80s, with some striking images.
Netflix
The monster
Sometimes, the simplest concepts work best when it comes to being scary. And the truth is that The monster, by Bryan Bertino, makes things very simple.
Thus, an alcoholic woman named Kathy (Zoe Kazan) and her daughter Lizzy (Ella Ballentine) are driving on a dark road at night, when they hit a wolf. Lizzy calls for help, but the driver is quickly attacked by an invisible creature.
Caught in the car, Kathy and Lizzy try to avoid getting the monster's attention. And that's how the film makes excellent use of its limited configuration, using darkness to keep the characters and the public at the limit.
Amazon
The Conjuring
James Wan has compensated his work with Saw with his later supernatural horror movies, in particular The Conjuring.
The film follows the paranormal investigators Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine Warren (Vera Farmiga), who face a very disturbing case.
The Perron family recently moved to an old farm in Rhode Island. In a short time, strange events begin to worry the Perrons, who turn to the Warren for help.
The Conjuring It is the work of a teacher, with an intelligent use of the camera, a disturbing sound design and a remarkable sense of moderation. The truth is that, in this case, the execution makes it one of the best movies of haunted houses.
HBO Now
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
One of the most influential movies in the history of terror, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Follow a group of young friends, including brothers Sally (Marilyn Burns) and Franklin Hardesty (Paul A. Partain) on a road trip through Texas.
After a strange encounter with a hitchhiker, they head to a well to swim and relax.
However, when they investigate the sounds that are heard in a nearby house, they encounter a horrifying horror story.
While many elements of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre They appeared in later films, this work is sustained thanks to a craft skill.
Despite the name, the film is light and bloody, leaving most of the violence involved; It frightens through sustained tension and grotesque design.
It's a movie that isn't just creepy. In this case, director Tobe Hooper took advantage of the paranoia of the 70s, when faith in American institutions was falling apart.
Amazon
* Updated on December 14 by Daniel Matus.
Editor Recommendations
