Horror films provide a unique adrenaline rush that can’t be matched. Sometimes, feeling scared is the best thrill there is. It’s the closest we can get to the danger of confrontation without actually engaging in it. It’s one of the best ways to feel alive from the safety of home. It takes a great director to tell a well-crafted and engaging story that makes the viewer genuinely afraid.
Update October 9, 2023: If you're a fan of unsettling and chilling non-horror films, you'll be happy to know this article has been updated with additional films by Federico Furzan.
A film doesn’t necessarily need to be a horror film to scare the wits out of the viewer. While plenty of horror films rely on occasional jump scares, brutal kills, and out-of-this-world scenarios, the movies on this list adequately deliver spine-chilling narratives without using common fright tricks. Indeed, these movies are not classified as horror at all. Some are about outlandish scenarios that dive into the depths of revulsion. Some take us on a tour of the darkest parts of humanity with stories that have and will occur. Some of these movies are even dark and twisted tales meant for children. Here are the top scariest films that are not horror.
19 Coraline (2009)
Dakota Fanning voices the titular character in this 2009 cult classic. Coraline is a girl in need of more attention from her boring parents. Upon exploring her new home, she finds a portal into an alternate reality where she receives everything she wants. Unfortunately, this happy new reality is actually a trap set up by the buttoned-eyed version of her mother. She wants Coraline's soul, as well as that of her parents.
This cult film, although meant for children, recognizes that being scared is an enlivening experience. Coraline takes some dark turns that could be frightening to children, but it comes with an important message of being careful what you wish for and is a good film that demonstrates the importance of overcoming one's fears.
18 Deliverance (1972)
From director John Boorman comes the 70s classic about a harrowing tale of survival. Deliverance sees a group of city men partake in a white-water rafting trip gone horribly awry, finding themselves stalked through the woods by murderous locals. This sounds like a horror film, but it's a survival film and a look at masculinity in the face of danger. It dances startlingly close to the edge of horror as it touches on key themes of male pride and macho weakness to discomforting degrees.
A heinous and unimaginable assault puts the four men to the test as they struggle to survive not only their assailants but to comprehend and acknowledge what has happened to them. Viewer discretion is advised for anyone going into this film as it involves sexual assault and themes that may be triggering to some.
17 We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011)
Chronicling a mother's profound struggle with failing to connect with her son and accepting his psychopathic tendencies. We Need to Talk About Kevin stars the always brilliant Tilda Swinton as a travel writer who is forced to face her titular child's violent nature after he goes on a chilling murder spree. Witnessing Swinton's character Eva as she struggles to relate and bond with Kevin (Ezra Miller) and the frightening fallout of his sinister actions is extremely hard to watch, as is observing her crumbling mental and emotional state.
The whole premise of the Lynne Ramsay picture is bothersome, hair-raising, and intense, and Swinton arguably delivered one of her most compelling and moving performances to date.
16 Testament (1983)
Epic drama Testament tells the story of what would have happened if America had finally succumbed to a nuclear attack during the '80s amidst tensions with the Soviet Union. However, the film's not exactly a war film. It never goes outside a suburban town where victims witness the uncertainty of a silent outside world.
Testament is told from the perspective of a wife and mother who's forced to see her family slowly disappear out of the effects of fallout, and it's as harrowing as it is unsettling. The scene in the bathroom, as she bathes one of her children, will give you goosebumps.
15 Nocturnal Animals (2016)
The Tom Ford film Nocturnal Animals goes full meta as it depicts a story within a story. What we see is a story that's written on paper, as it's given to a woman by her ex-husband. Then we see what she imagines.
The result is a blunt attack on the senses as the manuscript contains a horrific journey of a family being assaulted in a nonsensical fashion. Everything points to this book being a message addressed from a man to a woman he holds a grudge with, and this time, written words are definitely sharper and more effective than a conversation.
14 The Vanishing (1988)
Not to be confused with the American remake made in 1993 and directed by the same George Sluizer, The Vanishing is a jarring experience you won't ever recover from. It's an exercise in dread and nihilism that simply depicts evil without a single hint of justification. It just exists.
The film tells the story of a man looking for the man who took his wife at a rest stop. When he finally finds him and engages in conversation about why, things take a turn for the worse. This will probably cause two things: you will think first before stopping to pump gas and leave someone in the car as you buy some snacks, and you will lose some sleep for a few days.
13 The Night of the Hunter (1955)
The Night of the Hunter follows Harry Powell, an ex-convict on the hunt for his former cellmate's hidden stash of money. Upon his release, Powell misrepresents himself as the prison chaplain to get close to his cellmate's widow. He cons her into marriage as a way to learn of the cash's whereabouts, but after the vows are said, Powell starts to change for the worse. He soon becomes sadistic and intimidating in his search for fortune.
This film is a classic thriller, but the con's search and the pursuit of his cellmate's children, coupled with violence and sexual undertones, make for an incredibly disturbing film with an antagonist that puts Nightcrawler's Lou Bloom to shame.
12 The NeverEnding Story (1984)
Wolfgang Petersen's The NeverEnding Story is a solid '80s fantasy film that takes us on a journey of otherworldly creatures, prophecies, and bravery. It depicts a story within a book being read by a kid in a dark library. However, he gets too deep inside the story...
Is it a film for children? Hard to say. '80s kids were curated because of many creepy films that were originally targeted at them, but The NeverEnding Story takes things too far with a nerve-wrecking villain, a disturbing scene depicting the dead of the horse, and a couple of statues capable of dismembering you to pieces. This is horror, regardless of its catchy pop soundtrack and the optimistic ending.
11 Gravity (2013)
The very idea of being lost and floating in the endless abyss that is space is downright terrifying, and simply imagining the hopelessness and horror that one might experience while adrift is nightmare-worthy. Sandra Bullock's phenomenal performance as an astronaut stranded in outer space in director Alfonso Cuarón's breathtaking sci-fi thriller Gravity, rightfully earned her an Academy Award nomination, as the talented star poignantly captured the panic, fear, and anguish her character Ryan suffered in the picture.
The eerie and deeply unsettling film instantly grabs the attention of viewers and refuses to let it go, riveting moviegoers with its intense and jarring imagery of being helpless and abandoned. Cuarón's chilling story and spine-tingling visuals help make Gravity a difficult thriller for audiences to handle, as they are left feeling as untethered as Bullock herself.
10 Nightcrawler (2014)
Nightcrawler is a dark and discomforting look into the world of stringers: journalists who wait for stories to break, so they can record and sell the footage. One key piece that makes this film an unintentional horror masterpiece is Jake Gyllenhaal's performance as the unnerving and emaciated Lou Bloom. With the sole determination to move up in life, Lou enters the world of ambulance chasers, willing to do anything to get ahead. His methods are unethical and downright disturbing, both in the field and with his boss.
His wide-eyed and crazed visage keeps the audience feeling uncomfortable without even trying, and he gives us plenty of reasons to feel uncomfortable, proving that you don't need in your face terror or copious amounts of blood to be scared.
9 Akira (1988)
Akira received universal praise for its (at the time) groundbreaking animation, design, and thematic depth. Despite being animated, it's a pretty scary non-horror movie. In it, we explore a world ravaged by nuclear war through the eyes of a bike gang leader, Kaneda, as he searches for his injured friend, who was taken to a military complex for treatment. What makes Akira scary isn't the story but the jaw-dropping visuals.
The film is rife with visual horrors, from a sentient teddy bear, mutating bodies, fast-aging children, and many more. The musical score by Shoji Yamashiro adds an extra creepy layer. The film, as a whole, is a masterpiece, but most people often overlook just how terrifying it is.
8 Prisoners (2013)
Critically acclaimed director Denis Villeneuve's film Prisoners is horror for parents. Moms and dads everywhere know what it's like to intensely care for their child's safety, and they more than likely know the anxiety of imagining the worst happening to them. Prisoners sees a father's moral and spiritual core tested when both his and a friend's daughters go missing. Believing a disabled man to be responsible, he kidnaps him and severely tortures him for days to discover their whereabouts.
Hugh Jackman's performance as the distraught father is shocking yet understandable. This film forces the audience to reconcile with the knowledge that they too could be driven to extremes for their children, and it's scary to behold the boundaries crossed to ensure their safety.
7 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Stanley Kubrick's science fiction masterpiece is one of the most important films ever made. It's crafted by a masterful storyteller, and it's so rich in detail that you will find yourself living inside a compelling fable that will either move you to tears or leave you floating in a confused haze.
But yes, 2001: A Space Odyssey has that horror factor that all of Kubrick's films have. It's unnerving and violent and lacks any answers that will relieve you. This take on evolution and existentialism focuses on humankind dealing with technology, extraterrestrial intelligence, and the very roots of human reasoning.
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5 Requiem for a Dream (2001)
What makes Requiem for a Dream so scary is its devastating depiction of drug addiction. Darren Aronofsky's film follows four people in every stage of it, in an unflinching and sad look at a very real issue that many people face. We see everything here, from the beginning stages to the side effects, to the severe withdrawal symptoms when trying to get clean. Be careful rooting for the core characters in this film because not everyone gets a happy ending, finding themselves in despair most can only imagine. If ever you know of someone going through the trials of addiction, think of this film and know that the battle they face is one beyond normal comprehension.
4 Come and See (1985)
Many war films step closer to being horror than most traditional films as they illustrate mankind in its darkest hours. Come and See is arguably the darkest war film ever made as it depicts the very real atrocities of Nazis on the Belorussian front in 1944. The very depths of human depravity are on full display in this film, as seen through the eyes of a child in a dreamlike depiction. After finding an old rifle, he decides to join the Russian resistance against the Germans. He starts as a cheerful teenage boy, but by the end, he is scarred by the things he’s seen, and his hair has turned gray. It's a visceral look at humanity at its worst during one of the world's bloodiest conflicts.
3 Oldboy (2003)
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A loutish man wakes up one day to find himself imprisoned in a hotel-like room with no explanation for why he's there. Fast-forward 15 years, he is released back into the world. With nothing to lose, he sets out to find the man who locked him away and find out why. Part action film, part love story, Oldboy can also be considered an unconventional horror story through the use of imagery and its shocking conclusion. The viewer can't help but have a dirty feeling in the grimy world they are dropped into.
This feeling only continues to elevate as time goes on. Many consider Oldboy to be an action revenge film, but it takes a big step into revulsion horror along the way through brutal action sequences, self-mutilation, and horrifying moral ambiguity. Even if it's not the best action film or the scariest horror, Oldboy isn't a movie that will leave the mind so easily after watching.
2 Zodiac (2007)
While there have been countless films depicting the horrific acts of some of history's most infamous killers over the years, few are able to leave audiences on the edge of their seats like director David Fincher's mystery thriller Zodiac. The arresting and exceptionally creepy picture features a stellar A-list cast led by Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo, and Robert Downey Jr. It depicts the intense manhunt for the cryptic Zodiac Killer who went on a terrifying killing spree during the '60s and '70s in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Audiences witnessed the savage murders carried out by the mysterious serial killer, and the fact that these disturbing events actually occurred only adds to the deep-seated horror running rampant within the thriller. Also, knowing that the Zodiac killer is believed to have murdered 37 people and has never been apprehended is chilling, which is why Zodiac remains an unnerving and anxiety-inducing film.
1 Parasite (2019)
Parasite follows a Korean family, the Kims, living in squalor when an opportunity presents them with the chance to change their lives. They begin conning their way into the home of the Parks, a wealthy family, by getting the present house staff fired and acquiring their positions. When the Parks go on vacation, it allows the Kims to move in. However, when a bizarre encounter happens, everyone's lives are changed forever. Parasite starts as a comedy in the first half but gives way to a violent thriller afterward.
Bong Joon-ho expertly uses horror elements to animate the different relationships in class and experience. Revulsion separates the two wealth classes and helps to paint the Kims as parasites within the Park household. They are separated by layers of discomfort, but the two eventually slam into each other by the end as mayhem ensues, resulting in horrific death and bloodshed. Bong Joon-ho's expert blending of horror into his story earned him the Oscar for Best Picture, proving his expertise in filmmaking and deftly toeing the line of horror without crossing it.