Not every movie is what it seems to be at first glance. Every now and then, the marketing for a movie does nothing to prepare viewers for what they are actually in for. Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness took the MCU into much darker territory than the previous films, but some movies have taken it even one step further.
- Filmmakers seem to really enjoy making unsuspecting movies terrifying, and many Redditors seem to enjoy sharing the horror that they found in unexpected movies. With Disney’s new Pinocchio remake turning out just as terrifying as the original, it is worth looking into a few more films that Reddit believes are secretly horrors.
Some films, whether they are classified as sci-fi, thriller, or even comedy, can turn out to be straight-up horror movies upon viewing. Given how many flicks seem to delve into horror unexpectedly, Redditors took the opportunity to discuss which films gave them the most surprising scares.
Jumanji (1995)
Stream on Tubi or rent on AppleTV
Just because a film is targeted at families doesn’t always mean that it can’t be downright frightening at the same time. Redditor DiddlyTiddly points this out with “Jumanji with Robin Williams. There was something eminently tragic about his character trapped in the survivalist horror of the game, alone with the terrifying nature of said game.”
Even though Jumanji seems to have a fun premise at first, as a children’s board game comes to life as the characters play it, it quickly turns south as every roll unleashes some new monstrosity that tries to kill them. Even worse, Robin Williams’ character is revealed to have been trapped inside the game for years, desperately trying to survive. It is some dark material for a children’s movie.
Mulholland Drive (2001)
Rent on AppleTV
Most projects made by David Lynch are going to be very surreal and likely a bit unsettling, and Mulholland Drive definitely contains many Lynch trademarks. As Redditor Unholymanserpent wrote, “Surprised no one has mentioned Mulholland Drive. Both the diner scene and the very end tripped me out.”
The entire film has an aura of unease to it, with creepy characters and several enigmatic plot threads, but two sequences especially veer completely into horror territory. A scene at a diner contains one of cinema’s best jump scares, and the entire final act is an existential nightmare.
Click (2006)
Stream on Netflix and HBO Max
Before the likes of Uncut Gems, most people knew what they were getting into with an Adam Sandler movie. Goofy humor, silly voices, and Rob Schneider turning up somewhere. While on the surface Click seems to be one of these, it quickly goes incredibly dark.
Redditor vivianmay02 summarizes the film with “Click. It’s a movie about a remote that fast forwards your entire life all the way to death.” In the film, Sandler buys a universal remote that can affect his real life, and while playing around with it ends up skipping through major life events like a divorce, the loss of his father, and even hastens his own death. Sandler’s movies are usually harmless fun, so delving into existential horror was likely a huge surprise to many viewers.
Requiem For A Dream (2000)
Stream on Tubi and rent on AppleTV
The psychological drama Requiem For A Dream isn’t scary because of any monster or surprise violence, but rather for the realistic and haunting way that it depicts addiction. The film follows four central characters as they spiral and self-destruct due to their heroin addictions.
There are a few hallucination scenes in the movie that are frightening on their own, but what truly makes Requiem For A Dream a horror is the sickening fates each character meets, which include amputation, forced prostitution, and electroshock therapy. Redditor darkuen said, “Requiem For A Dream definitely helped make me never want to take drugs.” and Redditor OmgOgan agreed “The movie is a masterpiece that leaves you completely hollow after.”
Watership Down (1978)
Stream on HBO Max
What could be scary about a kid’s movie with cute little bunnies? Many fans likely asked when Watership Down first released. Unfortunately, that question was very quickly answered upon watching the movie. Redditor Naomi_honey89 said, “I haven’t watched this movie, but trailers and things I’ve read about Watership Down (1978) seem exceedingly frightening and disturbing”
Indeed they are, as despite Watership Down’s cuddly protagonists, it is also filled with shockingly visceral and bloody violence between the animals, a genuinely unsettling villain, and several haunting scenes of the rabbits being offed in frightening ways. Watership Down likely scarred generations of children expecting a fun movie about rabbits.
Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
Stream on Disney+
As Watership Down proved, just because a movie is a cartoon doesn’t mean it can’t be terrifying. Who Framed Roger Rabbit is mostly a joy to watch, until the moment villain Judge Doom steps on screen. Not only is Doom menacing by himself, he has devised a way to brutally murder the otherwise indestructible Toons with his special “dip”.
Reddit user Amatuersamurai429 says of the film, “I was terrified of Who Framed Roger Rabbit for a while. Lots of nightmares about being melted in a vat of chemicals.” Watching cute cartoons meet such a grisly fate is frightening enough, but the climax of the film also shows Doom being horrifically crushed by a steamroller before revealing his true, even scarier form. This movie definitely led to some childhood nightmares.
Se7en (1995)
Crime thrillers often delve into some very dark and spooky subject matter, but few do it quite so effectively as Se7en. Following two detectives tracking a serial killer murdering victims based on the seven deadly sins, it is in these murders that Se7en’s horror roots start to show.
Much of the gore is left to the viewer’s imagination, but that arguably makes some deaths even worse The implication of what occurred with the likes of the Greed and Lust victims will especially send shivers up anyone’s spine. Plus, few viewers are likely to forget Se7en’s famous box reveal, or that terrifying moment with the Sloth victim. Redditor Multichromatic-NOW hit the nail on the head by writing, “Seven is scary as hell, but not really horror at the same time. Nice pick!”
The Cable Guy (1996)
Stream on Hulu
Jim Carrey has proven his talents in everything from serious dramas to his particular brand of slapstick comedy, but he is still likely not someone many people would picture when they think “horror movie”. But his work on The Cable Guy veers dangerously close.
Reddit user Actioncomicbible agrees with the pick, saying “The way that Jim Carrey’s character completely steals everyone and everything out of Matthew Broderick’s life is absolutely terrifying to me.” The film centers around Carrey’s character becoming dangerously obsessed with Broderick’s, and taking it to some frightening lengths, including having him both fired and arrested. The Cable Guy was partially intended to be a comedy, but is well aware of its horror roots as well.
No Country For Old Men (2007)
Ask anyone what the first thing they remember about the Coen brother’s No Country For Old Men is, and they will undoubtedly say Javier Bardem’s terrifying villain Anton Chigurh. User jarvispeen goes so far as to describe the film as the “Best bogeyman story ever told.”
Lumpy-Professional 4o agreed “This movie is scary as s***. Genuinely unnerved me in a way that was all too realistic.” It’s hard to argue. Chigurh can stand alongside many slasher movie villains as one of the most intimidating antagonists in film history. He is emotionless, ruthless, and takes the film from a neo-noir into full-on horror.
The Elephant Man (1980)
The Elephant Man is the true story of John Merrick, a man born with a severe disfiguring disease. The fact that Merrick’s affliction was entirely real is tragic, and the way that he is treated in the movie makes it even worse. Plus, the film’s prosthetics are unsettlingly convincing.
As Redditor klavanforballondor perfectly summarizes that the film “terrified me… that people could be that cruel… And the fact that the film closes with the same dissonant music that plays at the start as if to signal that nothing has ultimately changed - very, very unsettling. Don’t think I’ll watch it again.”
Zodiac (2007)
Horror movies based on true stories are almost always scarier because they seem based on reality. David Fincher’s Zodiac is technically a mystery thriller, but given that it is based on the actual unsolved Zodiac Killer case, it ramps up a bit in terms of scares.
Fincher fills the movie with a palpable sense of dread and a few absolutely spine-chilling scenes. Reddit user remember2079 calls out one specific scene with “Zodiac (2007) is a thriller but that basement scene was something else, creepy af.” This basement sequence alone can send viewers running out of the room as quickly as Jake Gyllenhaal’s character, and the rest of the movie is not much less terrifying.
Come And See (1985)
Stream on the Criterion Channel
Very few good movies about World War II are cheery affairs, but the Soviet film Come and See presents the horrors of the Eastern Front like few movies ever have. As User Sea_Shoddy sums up, “Come And See is the most disturbing movie I’ve ever watched. It’s about the partisans in Belarus during WWII with surprisingly little gore. But the movie is made so that it will haunt you forever.”
Come and See follows a young boy who joins up with the Belorussian partisans and very quickly learns how brutal war really is. The film contains many unflinching depictions of Nazi war crimes, and is full of hauntingly realistic scenes of human suffering. Come and See will stick with viewers long after the credits roll.
Willy Wonka and the Choclate Factory (1971)
Roald Dahl’s books are mostly charming and whimsical, but Dahl does not shy away from the occasional childhood-scarring moment. The classic Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory manages to perfectly encapsulate both the magic of the original and the abject horror.
Reddit user edee160 points out, “Wizard of Oz and Willy Wonka with Gene Wilder. In fact, TMC includes them in the scariest movie countdown every year and they are high on the list.” Wizard of Oz is scary enough, but Willy Wonka is somehow even creepier. Throughout the movie the children are slowly picked off one by one in various candy related accidents as Wonka seems eerily nonchalant. Not to mention that terrifying boat ride.
Annihilation (2018)
Stream on Paramount+
Few sources seemed to agree on what genre the phenomenal Annihilation was. Some called it science fiction, some mystery, and some action. Redditor totallynotalssa correctly pegged it as straight horror though by saying, “Annihilation. that s*** messed me up”.
It is not hard to see why, as Annihilation’s thoroughly haunting premise leads to a whole host of disturbing scenes. The film features a moment of literal stomach-churning body horror, a subtext-laden alien doppelgänger, and one of the scariest non-horror movie monsters to ever appear on a movie screen. For those who didn’t know what they were getting into, Annihilation almost definitely led to some nightmares.
Threads (1984)
Stream on AMC+ and Shudder
Redditor TSG61373 named a popular Reddit choice for secret horror movie, by saying “Check out the made-for-TV-movie Threads if you can. Fictional documentary that realistically depicts a nuclear apocalypse, and it’s hands down the scariest movie I’ve ever seen.”
Nuclear war has been depicted in numerous movies, but none quite like Threads. The documentary-style filming makes the entire experience feel even closer to home and does not shy away from brutal depictions of societal and environmental collapse. The movie itself is scary enough, but the scariest part is that it theoretically could really happen. In the words of Redditor jpjtourdiary, “Threads is the only piece of media to literally give me nightmares. It’s terrifying.”
Next: 15 Best Horror Movies On Netflix, According To Rotten Tomatoes
