For better or worse, the scariest movies ever leave an impression on anyone who sees them, as they’re left disturbed, terrified, and afraid. While great horror movies have the power to make us quake in our boots, these aren’t the only films that tap into our deepest fears, as the same can be said for dramas or psychological thrillers.
Whether it’s upsetting explorations of addiction and trauma, dark accounts of someone in the throes of obsession, or a family in a deep state of grief and suffering, all of these films tap into universal anxieties that linger well after the credits roll. Cinema has the power to confront the darkest aspects of the human experience and reflect our fear back onto us.
Requiem For A Dream (2000)
Some movies are just so deeply disturbing that they can only be watched once, and this was certainly the case for Darren Aronofsky’s exploration of addiction and trauma in Requiem for a Dream. Based on Hubert Selby Jr’s original novel, this story of four characters falling deep into drug addiction showcases the horrific nature of dependency.
Whether it was watching Jared Leto’s morals crumble, Jennifer Connelly being sexually exploited, or Ellen Burstyn being overtaken by delusion, Requiem for a Dream highlighted how drugs strip us of who we are. With an Oscar-winning turn from Burstyn, her role as the kindhearted mother-turned-pill-popping-addict Sara Goldfarb was the standout performance.
Eraserhead (1977)
There’s an argument to be made that a list exploring the scariest movies of all time could be made up entirely of David Lynch films, as the nightmarish worlds he created tapped into our deepest unconscious fears. However, this all began with his feature debut, Eraserhead, an odd and perplexing exploration of fears around fatherhood and responsibility.
Set in a desolate industrial landscape, watching Jack Nance’s Henry Spencer encounter his own alien offspring and interact with increasingly absurd characters kept viewers on edge from start to finish. While movies like Blue Velvet and Mulholland Drive were also shockingly scary, everything that made Lynch’s style so unique was on display already here.
One Hour Photo (2002)
We all know the late, great Robin Williams for his zany comedy roles, but he was also an incredibly talented dramatic actor, as seen from his dark turn in One Hour Photo. With Williams as a lonely photo technician, things take a sinister turn when he becomes obsessed with the lives of a family who use his service.
Since he works at a one-hour photo lab, Sy Parrish (Williams) has unique insight into his customers’ personal lives, and after discovering that the father of his favourite family is having an affair, he starts taking matters into his own hands. This was dark, disturbing, and deranged, and was made all the more terrifying considering Williams’ usually lighthearted persona.
Hereditary (2018)
Few modern horror movies were granted classic status as instantly as Ari Aster’s Hereditary. With an all-time great performance from Toni Collette as the grieving mother Annie Graham, the way Hereditary explored a family in a state of trauma truly tapped into our most innate nature and deepest fears, anxieties, and psychological troubles.
There were also supernatural underpinnings to this story that connected Hereditary with earlier classics like Rosemary’s Baby and The Exorcist. All the pieces were there for a classic horror, but it was shocking scenes like the decapitation of a young child that meant its disturbing imagery would be seared into our brains for eternity.
Threads (1984)
The apocalyptic TV movie Threads depicted the effects of mutually assured destruction as Britain was left to ruin following an atomic attack. Described by Black Mirror creator Charlie Brooks as “possibly the most frightening drama broadcast on British television” on his series How TV Ruined Your Life, this was a depressing glimpse into the Cold War anxieties of the 1980s.
With survivors forced to roam a desolate landscape, Threads showcased the fickle nature of society and how, in a state of emergency, the threads keeping us safe start to fall away. Considering current international conflicts with the Middle East, Russia, and North Korea, the dark implications of Threads remain as terrifying as ever.
Uncut Gems (2019)
Watching Adam Sandler shed his comedic persona to play a skivvy, selfish, and unsympathetic gambling addict in Uncut Gems was fascinating to see. As an anxiety-inducing crime thriller, the way the Safdie brothers depicted how a man will throw it all away for the rush of gambling is truly terrifying and all too real.
While the heart-racing tension of Uncut Gems turned off some viewers with just how depraved Sandler’s character was, it was those dark impulses that made the film so engaging. Although Uncut Gems didn’t appeal to everybody, those who got on board with its nailbiting style were left with a powerful film that had your heart pounding from start to finish.
Sinister (2012)
Trying to determine what is definitively the scariest movie of all time is not easy, but when scientists tried, the answer they came up with was Sinister (via Nerdist.) A 2020 study by Broadband Choices, based on heart rate data from viewers who watched over 100 horror movies, found that Sinister caused the biggest spike in fear receptors.
With Ethan Hawke as a true crime writer who discovers snuff films of gruesome murders, Sinister was a horror that did not shy away from the most depraved of human actions. While it might be as well-known as horror classics like The Exorcist, the statistics don’t lie when it comes to Sinister.
Come And See (1985)
Cinema has the power to showcase the brutality of war in a way few other media can, but nothing can match the horrific terror of Come and See, a Soviet-Belarusian anti-war movie that saw a child caught in the midst of the Nazi occupation of Belarus. As an unrelenting glimpse into atrocity and human suffering, this truly makes for difficult viewing.
Aleksei Kravchenko gave an incredible performance as the teenager Flyora, who witnesses the worst acts of humanity after joining the resistance movement. With a mix of hyperreal and surrealist imagery, Come and See played out like a terrifying nightmare and was the kind of movie that’s so brutal you can only watch it once.
Martyrs (2008)
As a part of the New Extremity film movement, French filmmaker Pascal Laugier truly embraced ultra-violence with Martyrs. Following the story of a young woman enacting her revenge against those who tortured her as a child, everything about this film was upsetting and grim.
However, this distressing premise was not enough to prepare audiences for the over-the-top violence and horrific sexual imagery it contained. Martrys was so intense that it became the subject of the documentary Martys vs. Censorship, which addressed the brutality of the film and its reception around the world.
The Exorcist (1973)
Even though it was released more than 50 years ago, The Exorcist is still the benchmark by which all other scary movies are judged. Not only has it left an undeniable mark on popular culture, but its reputation for causing audience members to literally faint in theaters has meant it will never be forgotten.
Telling the story of a young girl possessed by a terrifying demon, The Exorcist addressed innate fears and paired them with religious concepts, making for a compelling and thought-provoking film. While there’s been plenty more released in the demonic possession subgenre of horror in the years since, none come close to the impact of The Exorcist.