Are you looking for a modern horror classic to watch this Halloween weekend?
Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered with our personal 12 recommendations of horror gems that you (may or) may not have seen or heard of. These are some of our favourite movies and TV shows - from found footage frights to deep psychological portrayals of grief.
Hell House LLC (2015)
Image courtesy of Terror Films, Cognetti Films, Marylous’ Boys
Hell House is a found-footage movie which became a cult classic, with the franchise now spanning five films which delve deeper into the backstory of the Abaddon hotel and the clowns who reside in Carmichael Manor. This first instalment follows the team of ‘Hell House’, a haunted house attraction who set up shop in the abandoned Abaddon hotel. An unexplained tragedy on Halloween’s opening night leaves nearly all of the staff dead, with the team’s video diaries leading up to this point sharing the real cause of the disaster and the strange goings on beforehand. These clowns are scarier than IT!
The Bay (2012)
Image courtesy of Roadside Attractions, Alliance Films, Baltimore Pictures, Haunted Movies, Alliance Films, IM Global, Hydralux Entertainment, Automatik Entertainment
Another found footage gem, The Bay takes place on Maryland’s Eastern Shore during the town’s Fourth of July celebration. As dozens of residents start falling ill, the hospitals fill up and people succumb to the strange lesions that have appeared on their bodies. Through rookie news footage, video diaries from oceanographers and clips from terrified passers-by, it is revealed what is lurking below the surface of the town’s polluted waters and eating people from the inside out. Warning - this movie is not for the weak stomached!
Talk to Me (2022)
Image courtesy of Screen Australia, South Australian Film Corporation, Adelaide Film Festival Investment Fund, Head Gear Films, Metrol Technology, Bankside Films, Causeway Films, Maslow Entertainment, Umbrella Entertainment, Ahi Films
A wonderful example of original modern horror and powerful storytelling, Talk to Me centres around a teenager, Mia, who is grieving the death of her mother. At house parties with friends, the teenagers have begun experimenting with an embalmed hand which is said to summon spirits and cause temporary possession. They take turns holding the hand and talking to the spirits, which first begins as fun and turns tragic, as Mia’s best friend’s younger brother Riley takes a turn and ends up hospitalised in critical condition. Horror which centres around grief is one of my personal favourites, and Mia’s story is as touching as it is terrifying.
The Fourth Kind (2009)
Image courtesy of Universal Pictures, Mandate Pictures, Gold Circle Films, Focus Films, Dead Crow Productions
Set out like a documentary re-enactment, when I first watched this film I was genuinely convinced that it was real. A psychologist working in a remote town in Alaska speaks to multiple patients who are seeing the same vision of a white owl outside their windows at night. Through hypnotherapy, she uncovers their hidden memories - that the owl is an alien and these patients are being abducted. While playing the dramatized and the ‘real’ footage side by side, views are sucked into a false sense of authenticity which makes The Fourth Kind stand out in its portrayal of alien abduction horror.
Widows Bay (2026)
Image courtesy of Apple Studios, Chum Films, Spooky Tree Productions
Sorry, I meant, ‘The next Martha’s Vineyard and definitely not cursed’. Lightening up this list slightly, this delightful horror comedy won 14 Emmy’s at the recent awards ceremony for its first season, which are well-deserved. Tom, the mayor of Widow’s Bay, is trying to turn the New England island into a vibrant tourist hotspot, but he must battle against the quirky residents, supernatural spirits and rumours of a deadly curse. Patricia’s standout in episode 4 is my favourite, but I have no absolutely no QUALMS (watch and you’ll get it) that you’ll find something to love about this show.
When Evil Lurks (2023)
Image courtesy of Shudder, Aramos Cine, Machaco Films, IFC Films
You may have heard of this supernatural Spanish horror because of its shocking dog scene. What When Evil Lurks does extremely well is unsettle the viewer by contrasting between punch-to-the-gut gore and a slower, thematic take on possession, showcasing how it can slowly and sinisterly take over an entire town. One of the scariest things about this storytelling is that it confirms that the consequences of our choices is what lets the evil in and secures our downfall.
The Dark and the Wicked (2020)
Image courtesy of RLJE Films, Unbroken Pictures, The Traveling Picture Show Company, Inwood Road Films
In The Dark and the Wicked, demonic possession creeps into the isolation of grief to take hold of a family on a Texas farm. Two siblings return home to visit their ill father and their mother who has been caring for him. That night, their mother hangs herself in the barn, following fears that an entity was preying on her husband. The siblings are tormented by the entity who takes on the form of their ill father, their deceased mother, a priest, a nurse and a young girl. Unable to determine what is real, but refusing to leave behind their father and have him succumb to evil, this movie is truly a masterpiece in the feeling of despair.
The Ritual (2017)
Image courtesy of Netflix, eOne, The Imaginarium
In this supernatural psychological folk horror, four friends embark on a hiking trip through a Swedish forest six months after a tragic robbery gone wrong. After one of them becomes injured, they take a shortcut through the forest and discover Runic symbols carved into the trees. A sudden storm forces them to take shelter in an abandoned cabin, where they find a terrifying effigy made of twigs. They wake in the night following a nightmare in various panicked states: catatonic, having wet themselves, bleeding and injured, and praying to the effigy. As they continue hiking and try to find a way out of the woods, a sinister presence seems to be following them.
It Follows (2014)
Image courtesy of Northern Lights Films, Animal Kingdom, Two Flints, RADiUS-TWC
A truly original take on psychological horror, It Follows has become a renowned modern horror classic with a cult following. Maika Monroe stars as Jay, a college student who, after having sex with her boyfriend for the first time in his car, is chloroformed and wakes up strapped to a wheelchair. He explains that he has sexually transmitted to her a curse where she will be relentlessly followed by an entity that only she can see. This figure can take on the appearance of anyone, always knows where she is and will be following her at all times. If she doesn’t have sex with someone else, she will be followed until the entity catches and kills her. Does she subject someone else to this fate, or run forever?
Shutter (2008)
Image courtesy of 20th Century Fox, Regency Enterprises, New Regency, Vertigo Entertainment, Ozla Pictures
An American remake of the 2004 Thai horror of the same name, Shutter follows newlyweds Ben and Jane who have just moved to Japan for Ben’s job. After a tragic car accident that leads to the death of a young girl, Ben begins noticing strange blurs in many of his fashion shoot photographs, which Jane suspects is the spirit of the dead girl that they killed. But when scary things keep happening, Jane discovers that Ben is keeping a horrifying secret from her about the girl, with his own horrific video footage exposing the deadly truth.
The Haunting of Hill House (2018)
Image courtesy of Netflix, FlanaganFilm, Amblin Television, Paramount Television
A true Mike Flanagan genius take on horror, The Haunting of Hill House blends genuine scares with complex family dynamics, gut-wrenching portrayals of grief and alternate timelines. The story follows the Crain family - Hugh and Olivia and their five children - who move into Hill House in 1992. They experience increasing supernatural phenomenon in the house, resulting in a tragedy and the family fleeing the house. 26 years later, the family returns to the house following a devastating loss and has to confront how the past has affected their present. This is genuinely one of the best series, horror or otherwise, that I’ve ever seen. It makes you jump, cry, and laugh in equal measure.
Barbarian (2022)
Image courtesy of 20th Century Studios, Regency Enterprises, Almost Never Films, Hammerstone Studios, BoulderLight Pictures, Vertigo Entertainment
If you’ve been enthralled by Weapons and Resident Evil over the past year, make sure you didn’t miss Zach Cregger’s solo screenwriting and directorial debut. Barbarian follows a young woman who arrives at a Detroit rental home for a night before a job interview, only to find it has been double-booked and a strange man is staying there. They stay together and discover a hidden room in the basement with a camera and a stained mattress, as well as an underground tunnel. When they enter this tunnel, the film expertly pulls the rug under viewers, with unpredictable twists, misdirection and a striking original story that keeps you guessing until the end.
Written by Ally McLaren
Editor
Hi, I’m Ally, Editor of This Modern Struggle Magazine.
You may have seen my writing in Mouthy Magazine or Darling Magazine. I currently work in Marketing and PR and do freelance copywriting on the side. I also have experience in journalism and feature writing for women’s magazines and national press.
When I’m not writing you can find me eating pizza, stroking my cat and watching true crime documentaries.
I started this magazine for all the fellow strugglers who feel the same way that I do; like everyone else has it all figured out and you just don’t know what you’re doing in life.