10 Most Original Horror Films

In a lot of the horror I watch these days, I tend to look more for originality than anything else. I pay close attention to mood, atmosphere, and clever new modes of navigation on the old familiar tropes, but the biggest thing I look for is a new spin on the genre completely. Below are some of the 10 best that come to mind. There is really no ranking here, as it's hard to place a tag on which effort is more creative than the other.


I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives In the House (2016) 
(Category: Paranormal)
This was the first horror movie I had ever seen to delve completely into the damaged, confused psyche of an apparition. It's basically a character study in the midst of a slow-burn, atmospheric ghost story, but for the first time, writer/director Oz Perkins shifted into the mindset of an wayward spirit with haunting, poetic prose narration and a score that's cold and unsettling. Perkins takes the paranormal ghost story and flips it on its head here.

The Descent (2005)
(Category: Creature Feature)
The premise isn't really all that original, but the casting decisions are. The only male we really see comes as a short, snippet means to an end, giving background information and character development for the lead, Sarah. The movie, tough as nails and bloody as heck, is carried by an all female cast, battling a brood of humanoid bat-like creatures down in the bowels of the earth. The twist ending also alludes to the fact that we're not only trapped in a creature feature, but a paranormal haunter as well.

The Last Shift (2015)
(Category: Paranormal/Psychological/Cults)
Writer/director Anthony DiBlasi makes indie horror gems in his sleep, including this one, Extremity, and the little-known psychological torture-twister, Dread. His first, The Last Shift, takes the Manson Family, throws them into a satanic blender, and tosses in an ounce of ghost story. The end result is every bit as brilliant as it sounds.

Frankenstein's Army (2013)
(Category: Creature Feature/Found-Footage)
Frankenstein's Army is an original take on the found-footage sub-genre, taking a group of Soviet soldiers through the wartime horrors of dead soldier reanimation. There's nothing worse than a Nazi, except for maybe a walking dead Nazi fused to iron claws, plane propellers, and industrial-sized drills. This is one of those "what am I watching"-type flicks, but one in which you find yourself surprisingly charmed by the time the credits role.






















Mortal Remains (2013)
(Category: Found-Footage/Mockumentary)
Mortal Remains is based on the lore surrounding the lost black and white horror film, Fury of the Demon. The film explores the defamed legend of the infamous gore director Karl Atticus, who supposedly used real corpses in his movies, which have been banned and have disappeared completely. Interviews reveal the eerie mystique of Atticus and his film adaptations of an Anton LeVey/Aleister Crowley-inspired occultist author. This really plays more like a documentary than a movie, which is a brilliant approach.

The Blackcoat's Daughter (2015)
(Category: Psychological/Demons)
The Blackcoat's Daughter is about as organic and grounded as a demon horror flick gets, making it all feel very real. Another atmospheric slow-burn from the demented mind of Oz Perkins, this one keeps it real on so many levels, jumping back and forth in time for a shocking, ambiguous, open-ended conclusion.

As Above, So Below (2014)
(Category: Found-Footage/Psychological/Demons)
I love this one not only because it focuses on the Paris catacombs, not only because the heroin is a brilliant, adventurous archaeologist, but that it reminds me so much of the Indiana Jones flicks I grew up on. Part adventure, part claustrophobic, psychological nightmare, this one is one of my all time favorites.

Starry Eyes (2014)
(Category: Demons/Cults)
Starry Eyes is Rosemary's Baby meets Neon Demon, but it's completely original, as it imagines how success comes with personal, and literal, sacrifice. It's a highly metaphorical gem that pits Sarah Walker (Alex Essoe) against Hollywood itself, and old school producers with ominous hand brandings. It also makes room to incorporate some good, old-fashioned body horror, and it has a killer retro score in a day and age re-surged by the Stranger Things phenomenon.

The Autopsy of Jane Doe (2016)
(Category: Witch)
The reason this one is so original is because all the calamity and chaos that follows a father and son team of coroners is spurred forth from a faraway-staring, opaque-eyed corpse. Jane Doe never moves an inch, but sets forth the downfall of the duo with absolute repose. Give this one a shot on Netflix and be dazzled.

Braid (2019)
(Category: Psychological)
Braid is a childhood game gone wrong, carried over into young adulthood to find out just how twisted it can become. This is fever dream of betrayal and reluctant loyalty within the same breath, boasting vivid colors, neutral tones, and a score that's both sinister and sweet. It contains a minimal cast, but does the most with it, once again proving that less is sometimes more. It's also another female-driven horror/thriller in which the mind becomes a prison and the prison has a 'til death sort of mentality.