Here are 15 recommended supernatural horror movies that will keep you on the edge of your seat.
Just like drama or comedy, horror movies are also divided into several sub-genres. Now one of the most favorite sub-genres (especially for Indonesian audiences) is supernatural horror (supernatural horror).
As the name implies, this sub-genre features horror stories or elements that are mystical or supernatural in nature. Some examples include: Ghosts, demons, devils, spells (amulets), or things that are between existence and nonexistence. You get the idea.
Well based on that definition and seeing how the culture of Indonesians has been in responding to such things. Then again, it’s no wonder that the supernatural horror sub-genre is a favorite over other horror sub-genres.
Based on all of this, here are 15 supernatural horror movie recommendations that are guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat.
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Criteria for Listed Films
Before I start there are 2 things I want to emphasize. First, this list is SUBJECTIVE and second, as we all know horror movies often combine several sub-genres in their movies.
Such as Nicole Kidman’s (Batman Forever) movie The Others (2001). Now this movie does feature ghosts in it. But it also features a sub-genre of psychological horror.
Now if we watch the movie, between the two sub-genres, the one that is more dominant in the movie is the psychological horror sub-genre.
Therefore, once again, even though the movie features ghosts and can also be included in this list. However, since the psychological sub-genre is more dominant, the movie cannot be included in this list. The Others is more suitable to be included in the list of psychological horror movie recommendations.
In essence, what makes this list is a movie with a dominant supernatural horror look or theme.
And oh yes one more thing, if the movie has a sequelArti sekuel dalam film mengacu pada film yang dibuat sebagai kelanjutan dari film sebelumnya. Dalam... More/ prequel (serialized), then only one of the movies is included in the list. Okay if it’s clear, let’s just start the discussion below.
1. The Conjuring 2 (2016)
The first supernatural horror movie recommendation that will make you close your eyes constantly is The Conjuring 2.
Actually, the first movie, The Conjuring (2013) was also scary. But this sequelArti sekuel dalam film mengacu pada film yang dibuat sebagai kelanjutan dari film sebelumnya. Dalam... More is somehow much more creepy in its look and theme. Whether it’s the plot, or the setting of London, England in the mid-70s, everything has a spooky vibe.
And of course, another thing that makes this sequelArti sekuel dalam film mengacu pada film yang dibuat sebagai kelanjutan dari film sebelumnya. Dalam... More stand out is the debut of our favorite demon sister, Valak aka The Nun (Bonnie Aarons).
2. Insidious (2010)
The next supernatural horror movie recommendation is the first Insidious movie. Okay, the second movie is also okay. Even the 3rd and 4th movies are still fun.
But still the one that is still cool and memorable is the first film. This is because in this first movie, the mystery element is still strong. It’s natural because it’s the first movie. So we call it still “introductory edition.”
As a result, we are even more curious about what and how the world of “The Further” can exist. Then how did the magical visionary grandmother, Elise Rainier (Lin Shaye), know and penetrate her world in the first place?
Then why are the demons so obsessed with kidnapping Dalton (Ty Simpkins) into that world. Although indeed in the sequelArti sekuel dalam film mengacu pada film yang dibuat sebagai kelanjutan dari film sebelumnya. Dalam... More and prequel later we will find out the answer. But there’s no denying once again that the mystery and curiosity we felt in the first movie is what makes us still excited about the movie until now.
3. Annabelle: Creation (2017)
Ever since the spinoffSpin off dalam film adalah konsep di mana sebuah film baru dibuat berdasarkan karakter, dunia,... More of Sera Mini Girl Doll was released in 2014. There’s no denying that we have a sudden phobia of dolls. Yes, of course you still cringe every time you see or remember her beautiful scary face?
Now the phobia is even more pronounced when watching this prequel. But the crazy thing is that in the midst of the paranoia/horror, we can also feel emotional ourselves.
Because as we know, this movie also tells the story of the closeness of two friends who are both orphans, Janice (Talitha Bateman) and Linda (Lulu Wilson). The closeness of these two friends is like biological brothers and sisters.
As a result, when Annabelle’s demon spirit starts messing up and ruining their relationship. We can’t help but feel sad when we see it. Not to mention some of the complexities of the doll’s origin which is really complex but we can still follow the whole movie.
Anyway, among the three movies so far, I think Annabelle: Creation is more well-structured, emotional, but it doesn’t lose the characterization of the dolls and the Conjuring franchise.
4. Paranormal Activity (2007)
We can say that after The Blair Witch Project (1999), it is rare to find a movie in the found-footage genre alias “documentary” that is very convincing.
It makes us, as the audience, debate by ourselves or with friends whether the movie we are watching is really from a documentary or just made up.
And after a long wait, finally 8 years later this movie appeared. I really remember at that time many of my friends were noisy themselves questioning the legitimacy of the movie. Because like The Blair Witch, Paranormal Activity really looks like the real thing.
In addition, the two main actors, Katie Featherston and Micah Sloat, were not very famous at that time. So it’s no wonder that many believed that the two were a real-life couple who experienced real-life events as well.
But yes, once again in the end we know that Paranormal Activity is just a lie. But yes, because of this fact, it’s no wonder that until now. This first movie still looks and feels fun and fresh even though we may have watched it up to 50 times.
5. Mama (2013)
Long before wowing us with the remake of IT (2017, 2019), Andy Muschietti initially wowed us with this movie.
For those of you who may have forgotten, Mama tells the story of two orphaned sisters, Victoria (Megan Charpentier) and Lily (Isabelle Nellsse). Both were orphaned after their parents died in an accident.
5 years later, the two, who lived in the cabin alone during that period, were adopted by their late father’s twin brother, Jeffrey (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau). But strangely and creepy, Victoria and Lily now think that they are not alone.
They now have (are protected by) “Mama.” Mama herself is a supernatural entity. Suddenly, when the two live in Jeffery’s house with his wife Annabel (Jessica Chaastain), various terrifying supernatural events haunt the two couples.
What makes Mama keren is not only the story aspect, but also the cinematography concept which is really gothic. Anyway, if you like things that smell like goth, Mama must be on your watch list.
6. The Omen (1976)
The name of the story of the devil’s child (literally) will always be interesting. Yes, who is not interested or curious about the figure of a child who was born from a human fetus but while in the womb, he was possessed or “pelleted” to become the devil’s sperm seed?
This is the main premise of this classic movie. With the name of the child, Damien Thorne (Harvey Spencer Stephens) and the mention and appearance of the number “666”everywhere, no doubt making The Omen until now, one of the classic supernatural horror films of all time.
Oh yeah, almost missed it. Stephens’ performance and super creepy blank stare as Damien is another factor why The Omen is one of our must-see horror movies. Anyway, make time to watch this movie. You won’t regret it!
7. The Exorcist (1973)
If you’ve ever heard, read or watched a video discussion of this William Friedkin (Killer Joe) directed movie. I’m sure you’ve heard that The Exorcist is the scariest movie of all time.
It was even rumored that many audiences fainted suddenly when watching the movie in the theater. Also, many of the world’s top celebrities consider The Exorcist, as the scariest horror movie they have ever seen.
Well, fear is basically very subjective. So there are those who are indeed afraid of this story of Regan MacNeil (Linda Blair) who is possessed by the demon Pazuzu (Mercedes McCambridge).
But there are also many who take it for granted or even laugh at themselves when they see it, like me. I’m not trying to be brave or anything. Now just imagine. Wouldn’t you laugh if you saw a demon speaking all those “typical” western curses?
But then again that’s me. Maybe for you The Exorcist is still a really scary movie. Now based on this reason for the movie’s creepiness, it made the list. Anyway, just like The Omen, make time to watch this movie.
8. Host (2020)
The next supernatural horror movie recommendation that will make you close your eyes continuously is a movie that became a viral hit in 2020.
Yes, back in the days of the COVID-19 pandemic, this movie, which aired through a streaming service specializing in horror movies and thrillers, Shudder surprised us all.
Apart from being one of the most entertaining shows during the quarantine period, Host is a movie that has a rather refreshing idea. Indeed, in 2014 we have witnessed a similar idea in the movie Unfriended.
However, Host is much cooler in execution. It also makes more sense plot-wise. Specifically, all of the Zoom Call participants are performing an online spirit summoning ritual. It’s not just a spirit (spirit) that suddenly comes and kills its victims through a PC or laptop screen.
9. Unfriended (2014)
Now, let’s discuss the movie Unfriended further. Yes, before Host, it was Unfriended that successfully surprised us by introducing a new sub-genre of horror at that time, cyber horror.
Of course, the name of this sub-genre is named after the content of the movie. Namely, the scary terror that comes from the PC or laptop screen and generally when we are online.
Well once again, Unfriended is very successful in introducing and bringing the concept of the sub-genre to life. Even though this movie is very fictional, it still succeeds in making us paranoid about the internet or specifically, doing group chat through the top application, Skype.
Also Unfriended makes us think 100 times about bullying our schoolmates. Because as we saw in the movie, those who bully Laura Barns (Heather Sossaman), are immediately killed by Laura’s spirit.
And the crazy thing is, the ways in which each of their victims died were extremely sadistic and gruesome.
10. Poltergeist (1982)
Similar to the case of The Exorcist back then. Many also consider Poltergeist to be the scariest movie of all time. And I don’t know. Again, fear is a very subjective thing.
Now if we want to compare, The Exorcist is still much scarier than The Poltergeist. But there’s no denying that this Tobe Hooper (The Texas Chain Saw Massacre) directed movie has its audience who find this movie really scary.
Especially if you are a person who is typically afraid of scary odd things such as when looking in the mirror suddenly seeing your own face damaged or “talking” with a spirit that communicates to us through the television screen.
Or furthermore, if you’re the type who’s afraid of skulls, then yep, I highly recommend this movie to you as a guts test. Besides that, another reason why this movie is on the list is the story of the making of the movie which is super mystical again terrible.
11. Dead Silence (2007)
James Wan (The Conjuring) and the Ventriloquist puppet. Yep, there is no denying at all that these two aspects are indeed “horror soul mates”. Because through Wan’s distinctive direction (signature), the figure and scary story that has this hand puppet character, becomes so terrible.
Not only that, Dead Silence also successfully popularized the doll character, Billy (Enn Reitel). Specifically, Billy through this movie successfully became one of the most iconic horror movie characters of all time.
If you like demonic doll movies (but not murderous like Chucky) and also, really like the police procedural genre, I highly recommend Dead Silence .
12. The Medium (2021)
The only movie release that is still fresh or not too old on this list. The Medium is a mocumentary concept film with a touch of the supernatural which is the fruit of collaboration between Thailand and South Korea.
At first, many of us may have felt uncertain or doubtful about The Medium. Even I, personally, initially thought it was an ordinary drama movie. It’s understandable that at that time I didn’t know anything about the existence of this movie.
But when we finally saw the movie, we were surprised that The Medium is a supernatural horror movie. Furthermore, a very creepy supernatural horror.
And I don’t know why, even though I’ve seen many movies where the main character is possessed. Still, if the name of an Asian horror movie, especially from Thailand (Thai Horror), will be many times the horror.
Then again, the movie is shown in a documentary format that looks like a real documentary in general.
As a result, when we watch the movie, we really feel like we are seeing a real possession event experienced by the main character, Mink (Narilya Gulmongkolpech).
13. Final Destination 5 (2011)
Since the first movie was released in 2000, there’s no denying that this movie has redefined the horror of the supernatural horror sub-genre.
We can even say that Final Destination me redefines the body horror sub-genre (although not 100%). This is because this movie franchise features supernatural threats aka death that may seem absurd, but are executed very cool.
Now of the five movie releases, the one I recommend here is this last movie. Because not only does the movie feature scenes (ways) of death that are crazy and “creative.”
Also, the ending reveals that this movie is basically a prequel to the first movie. Or in other words, it’s just a “swap” of victims.
14. The Witch (2015)
Honestly, when I first heard about this movie, I was very skeptical. Because not only was it a supernatural horror (which honestly isn’t my favorite sub-genre favorite), but it also featured a lot of names that were unfamiliar at the time.
Specifically, the two foreign names are the director, Robert Eggers and the lead actress, Anya Taylor-Joy. Now both of them, especially Taylor-Joy, have become top names. But again, in this movie, her name is still unfamiliar.
It was through The Witch that Taylor-Joy made her feature film debut. Both of these things, plus the setting of the movie is set in 1630. Which, I don’t really like movies set in 1500 and 1600.
But how surprised I was when I watched the movie. This is because The Witch is a very different kind of supernatural horror.
From the era-specific English dialog, the dark and creepy elements, the total performance of the entire cast, and of course Eggers’ direction. It all looks and feels very refreshing.
The point is, don’t pay too much attention to the old English dialog format. Just follow the flow of the story, you’ll love it. Especially if you’re a big fan of Taylor-Joy and/or Eggers’ movies so far.
15. The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005)
And here’s a recommendation for a supernatural horror movie that will make you close your eyes for the last time.
In fact, I really remember when I used to watch the advertisement trailerTrailer adalah cuplikan singkat dari sebuah film yang dirilis sebagai promosi sebelum film tersebut tayang... More of this movie. Or in other words, the terrible impression is already very visible. And when we finally watched the movie, we immediately felt the horrible impression too.
This is not only due to the masterful direction of Scott Derrickson (Doctor Strange). Both the cinematography and the jump scare scenes also contribute to the aura of horror.
But more importantly. Don’t forget about Jennifer Carpenter’s (White Chicks) performance as the movie’s title character, Emily Rose.
Carpenter’s appearance really looks creepy when in his possessed state. Anyway, it’s very different from his previous appearances which were much more dramatic or comedic. Anyway, his appearance traumatizes us, aka we will remember it forever.
Okay, that’s 15 recommendations for supernatural horror movies that will make you close your eyes all the time. Of these 15, which supernatural horror movie do you want to watch immediately?
As for those of you who have seen all 15 movies or half of them, which of the movies on this list is your favorite?
