Allthe best horror movieshave an acute understanding of emotion and the ways in which they can harness them to create fear within the viewer. It is not rare to find them utilizing elements traditionally found in drama and melding them with the less grounded approach thathorror moviesallow for. This can lead to more metaphorical approaches to real human drama, leading to sometimes even more exposing portraits of human issues that are more sad than scary.
Real horror can be found in human emotions,and the best of the genre are able to utilize them towards more revealing portraits of humanity. Often, the greatest directors and writers in horror are able to use darker places than most to tell truly remarkable stories. Be itbody horror greats like Cronenbergor legends like Carpenter, there will often be entries into the genre that deal more heavily with the emotions at play than the actual horror. Like it or not, there is terror in sadness, and these movies exhibit that horror more than most.
The Fly
Cast
The Fly follows scientist Seth Brundle as he makes a groundbreaking teleportation experiment. During testing, he inadvertently merges with a housefly, leading to unforeseen consequences.
David Cronenberg is no stranger to horror movies that focus upon emotion, his best entries into the genre often focusing upon the more cerebral side of terror.Fear in his movies is never as simple as a masked killer,andThe Flyis no exception to that rule. It follows a scientist’s gradual metamorphosis into a fly after an experiment goes wrong. His changes are slow at first and initially appear beneficial, but it is the woman he loves that begins to grow afraid.
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As the changes become more disturbing and Chris Walas' disgusting creature effects begin to take hold, the film reveals how truly frightening it can be. Despite this, however, it is the scenes following Jeff Goldblum as his partner that reveal the true sadness in his change. It is one ofGeena Davis' best movies, and her lack of control over the horror befalling her partner is truly frightening to watch. The movie features some of the best body horror ever put on screen, but it is the fear of loss that makes this such an arresting watch.
The Devil’s Backbone
The Devil’s Backbone is a Spanish Gothic horror film directed by Guillermo del Toro. Set during the Spanish Civil War, the film follows a young boy named Carlos who is left at a remote orphanage. As he navigates the eerie and troubled environment, Carlos uncovers the dark secrets of the orphanage, including ghostly apparitions and hidden pasts. The film explores themes of loss, betrayal, and the lingering effects of war.
Ghost stories often detail experiences of grief and loss, their concept closely tied with both emotions.The Devil’s Backboneis no exception to that rule, its story revolving closely around both those themes. It follows the experience of a young child as he is brought to an orphanage during the Spanish Civil War and the ghost that he finds lingering in the halls. It is a powerful movie, and Del Toro manages to maintain a suppressing, ominous atmosphere throughout.
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As the film plays out, it only becomes clearer how dark the backstories behind every person stuck within the walls of the orphanage are. Marisa Paredes and Eduardo Noriega are especially tragic figures in the story, one who has given everything to the children of the orphanage and the other willing to take everything away from them. It is violent and often gruesome, but it is the light that you can see within the children that only makes it sadder as they attempt to survive both the horrors of man and legend.
8Razorback (1984)
Directed By Russell Mulcahy
When describing the plot ofRazorback,it would be easy to believe that this may not be quite as sad a story. The threat of a giant razorback pig roaming across the Australian outback may not instill everyone with fear, but Mulcahy makes sure that it does within the first five minutes. Opening with the titular pig charging through the walls of a house and killing a child in its wake, the viewer is subjected to seeing the grandfather of the child being called into question and his credibility ruined for telling the truth.
The movie is filled with beautiful and surreal imagerythat act as backdrops to actions of violence precipitated by the isolation of the outback. The movie has numerous scenes which are difficult to sit through and features various moments revealing the horror of both humans and animals. It is a violent and stark look at what can gestate in such an isolated environment, and a truly mean watch for what it inflicts on its characters and the viewer.
The Addiction
The Addiction, directed by Abel Ferrara, follows a vampiric doctoral student who struggles to embrace the philosophy of a fellow night dweller while grappling with an insatiable thirst for blood.
It does not take much deduction to determine what a vampire movie entitledThe Addictionmay be alluding to. The film follows a college student as she begins to experience her slow change into a vampire and feels an uncontrollable thirst for blood. Abel Ferrara usesthe story of vampirism to address ideas of drug addiction and longing, looking at vampirism as more of an addiction to addiction, rather than to blood. It is that approach which has made it one of thebest vampire movies of the 1990s.
The film follows Lili Taylor’s vampire closely, examining her eventual fall into addiction and her various attempts to pull herself out. As the film pays so much attention to Taylor and her stalking of prey, it never feels as much a horror film as it does an examination of a vampire’s urge. She hurts those around her and drags them down into her addiction where they may never be able to come up for air again. It is the guilt she feels, however, that truly grapples with the sad horror of succumbing to one’s addiction.
Altered States
Altered States is a 1980 science fiction-horror film directed by Ken Russell. The movie stars William Hurt as Edward Jessup, a psychologist who uses sensory deprivation and hallucinogenic substances to explore altered states of human consciousness. Blair Brown co-stars as his wife, Emily. As Jessup delves deeper into these experiences, he uncovers troubling, primal transformations that blur the line between reality and delusion.
Much like Cronenberg’sThe Fly,Altered Statesis a movie about losing oneself and the ways in which that affects those around us. The movie follows a scientist as he investigates a hallucinogenic he received from a Native American tribe, conducting tests in sensory deprivation tanks. As he conducts further and further experiments, we are forced to see those around him being either pushed away or drawn too close to his dangerous and obsessive testing.
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The movie is filled with immensely experimental and surreal sequenceswhich see William Hurt’s lead pushed to the limits of his mind and body. Blair Brown’s performance as his ex-wife attempting to pull him from the changes he subjects himself to is truly heartbreaking. It is an excellent exploration into the regression of the human brain and how changes can devastate our relationships.
Don’t Look Now
Grieving parents John and Laura Baxter travel to Venice following the accidental drowning of their daughter, Christine. While in Venice, they encounter two elderly sisters, one of whom claims to be a psychic who can communicate with Christine’s spirit. As Laura becomes increasingly convinced of the psychic’s abilities, John begins experiencing eerie visions of a small figure in a red coat, reminiscent of what Christine was wearing when she died.
As much as it is a horror movie,Don’t Look Nowis a movie about grief and the effects of tragedyon people. Following the accidental death of their young child, a couple head to Venice for work, only to meet a woman who claims to have visions of their daughter. It is how Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie play the grief-stricken couple that makes the movie so heartbreaking, at once able to reckon with her death and at others completely unable to accept it.
The editing and camera work emphasize the disorientating nature of grief and draws the viewer closer to the emotions of the characters. By lingering on passing moments and focusing more on various shifting perspectives, the film manages to capture a unique side of grief that would never land outside a horror movie. It is an exceptionally surreal and devastating approach to grief that has only grown more powerful with age.
Candyman
Candyman, directed by Bernard Rose, is a 1992 horror film based on Clive Barker’s short story “The Forbidden.” The plot follows graduate student Helen Lyle, played by Virginia Madsen, as she explores the urban legend of the Candyman, a vengeful spirit with a hook for a hand. Tony Todd stars as the titular character, whose presence is summoned by those who dare to speak his name five times in a mirror.
A film heavily coded with themes of race and economic disparity,Candymanis an approach to horror that reveals a great deal throughout its runtime. Following the investigation of a college professor into an urban legend, the film takes her through the Cabrini Green housing project and forces her to reckon with past traumas inflicted on the Black community. The Chicago setting is unique and allows for Virginia Madsen’s lead to move from her expensive apartment to the haunting and spray-painted concrete of Cabrini Green.
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As the film continues, her investigation reveals theCandymanmyth to stem from a horrific act of violence committed against a Black man in the 19th century. It is a fascinating dissection of the ways in which white privilege can make the traumas of Black people seem more like folklore than reality, until they finally become exposed to something too horrifying for them to even have imagined.
Train to Busan
Train to Busan is a South Korean action-horror film released in 2016. Directed by Yeon Sang-ho, it centers on passengers aboard an express train from Seoul to Busan during a sudden zombie outbreak. As the virus spreads, the survivors must navigate the chaotic and dangerous environment to reach safety.
At first glance, it would be easy to assume that the more action-heavyTrain to Busandoes not appear as devastating as other horror films. It is a riveting and exciting portrait of passengers stuck aboard a train filled with zombies and their attempts to survive. The lead, played by Gong Yoo, is on a trip planned to make up for missing his daughter’s recital, so when the terror begins it appears as though the only way it could turn out is bad. It is ahorror film about fatherhoodjust as much as it is about zombies.
It is the relationship between the father and daughter that makes the movie so powerful, especially whentheir desperate attempts to survive become increasingly dangerous. It is not just their relationship, however, that makes the film so sad. Every character is well-developed and possesses enough heart to cause any death to be a horrifying development. It is a powerful story of survival and one that has maintained its strength.
Hereditary
The feature film debut of writer-director Ari Aster, Hereditary tells the story of the unwittingly cursed Graham family. Annie Graham (Toni Collette) lives with her husband Steve (Gabriel Byrne) and their children Peter (Alex Wolff) and Charlie (Milly Shapiro). After the death of Annie’s mother, the family is beset by disaster and stalked by a supernatural entity that dredges up a past that Annie had spent her life trying to overlook.
If there is any scene that a viewer can remember fromHereditary,it is certainly the most traumatic and heartbreaking moment. Following a family after the death of their mysterious grandmother, Ari Aster’s masterwork delves quickly into the at first subtle and then downright disturbing events that take hold. The movie’s title quickly makes clear that there is more beyond a simple haunting at play in the story, and it is that link which makes it all the more disturbing.
The film reveals the traumas that linger and fester within family history, never to appear until it is too late to deal with. Toni Colette’s stunning performance as a woman unsure of the mother she lost and attempting to reckon with a past she doesn’t know is at times difficult to bear. It looks at the secrets that family members keep to themselves and how they can eventually damage those around them.
It is a depressing watch, but as Ari Aster has proved time and time again, it is his bread and butter. As much asthe threat of King Paimonis scary, it is the family and their issues that make it such a strong entry into the genre.
The Haunting
Dr. John Markway, a paranormal investigator, assembles a team to explore the notorious Hill House. Among the group are Eleanor, a troubled woman with a history of supernatural experiences, and Theo, a clairvoyant. As they delve into the house’s dark past, strange occurrences intensify, challenging their sanity and survival.
Just like Shirley Jackson’s novel, Robert Wise’sThe Hauntingis a subtle yet terrifying approach to the haunted housegenre. It follows a relatively simple plot, revealing the experiences led by an assortment of people brought together by a doctor to investigate a supposedly haunted mansion. The film’s subtle approach toward horror allows for the characters to bring forth numerous themes relating to mental illness and isolation.
It is a one of a kind horror movie and proves that some themes may only be investigated through horror.
The film’s lead, played with amazing warmth by Julie Harris, is someone still reckoning with the trauma inflicted upon her by a cruel mother and hateful family. She comes to the house as an escape from the life she has failed to live, having been tied down by her dying mother for years.
While the story is distinctly supernatural, screenwriter Nelson Gidding saw the story as one of a woman’s mental breakdown, which is exactly how the film reads. It is a sad and frightening watch, which only grows more depth as years pass. It is a one of a kind horror movie and proves that some themes may only be investigated through horror.
