Incredible films often go overlooked, but horror fans can tell you more than most that there is a bounty of hidden gems and cult classics just waiting to be discovered.
Comic Book Resources named 25 underrated horror movies that are “flawless from beginning to end” that offer “everything a horror fan could want”, from strong performances and terrifying scares to creepy and well-crafted lore. The site says these films may have been “overshadowed by more mainstream releases, suffered from limited marketing or were simply ahead of their time”. But each is said to deliver “a masterclass in horror filmmaking” with some becoming cult classics, while others are waiting for more widespread acclaim.
7. The Woman In Black
This is a 2012 Gothic supernatural horror directed by James Watkins based on Susan Hill’s 1983 novel of the same name, which spawned one of the longest-running stage shows on the West End.
Starring Daniel Radcliffe, it follows a young, recently widowed lawyer who travels to a remote village where he discovers that the vengeful ghost of a scorned woman is terrorising the locals.
Radcliffe’s first role post-Harry Potter, CBR said the film “reveals a career just getting started.” It added that Watkins delivers “intense scares with a PG-13 rating” and “a ghost whose tragic background doesn’t diminish her ability to frighten.”
(Image: The Woman In Black)
6. House on Haunted Hill
This is a 1999 American supernatural horror directed by William Malone and starring Geoffrey Rush, Famke Janssen, Taye Diggs, Ali Larter, Bridgette Wilson, Peter Gallagher, and Chris Kattan.
The plot follows a group of strangers who are invited to a party at an abandoned insane asylum, where they are offered $1 million each by an amusement park mogul if they are able to survive the night.
Opening at number one at the US box office, CBR said the film was the best of the ‘90s remakes of producer William Castle’s horror classics and genre films.
(Image: House on Haunted Hill)
5. Ravenous
This is a 1999 film directed by Antonia Bird. Set in 1840s California, it stars Guy Pearce, Robert Carlyle, Jeffrey Jones, and David Arquette.
Loosely based on real events, it follows an army regiment that receives reports of missing persons to discover that a wagon train of people was murdered by a colonel gone rogue, only to find themselves lured into a trap.
The film was not a box office success and failed to recoup much of its $12 million budget. However, despite initial reception being mixed, it has since garnered a reputation as a “little-seen cult chiller”. CBR called its use of cannibalism a “dark symbol of manifest destiny”.
(Image: Ravenous)
4. Lord of Illusions
This is a 1995 American neo-noir supernatural horror written and directed by Clive Barker, based on his own short story. It stars Scott Bakula, Kevin J. O’Connor, Famke Janssen and Daniel von Bargen.
The story follows occult detective Harry D’Amour embarking on an investigation involving a stage illusionist named Swann and a cult led by a sorcerer named Nix.
CBR called Barker a “true Renaissance man” and Lord of Illusions his best film, despite his other two being better known. It said that Scott Bakula, who inspired the character of D’Amour, is the film’s “real draw.”
(Image: Lord of Illusions)