BODY HORROR

A horrific change of the body, be that through mutation, disfiguration, or any other disturbing transformation. Differs from gore due to the existential dread that comes with losing yourself.

“A Cure for Wellness” - 2016 “Videodrome” - 1983 “Uzumaki” - 2000 “Black Swan” - 2010

MELT MOVIES

A specific type of body horror that includes the melting of flesh and bone.

“The Blob” - 1988 “The Evil Dead” - 1981 “Gremlins” - 1984 “The Beyond” - 1981

FOUND FOOTAGE

But where was it found?

“Cloverfield” - 2008 “Grave Encounters” - 2011 “The Blair Witch Project” - 1999 “REC” - 2007

PSYCHOLOGICAL HORROR 

Horror that plays with your mind.

“His House” - 2020 “10 Cloverfield Lane” - 2016 “Cube” - 1997 “Silence of the Lambs” - 1991

HOME INVASION

Where you’re most vulnerable. 

“Us” - 2019 “Don’t Breathe” - 2016 “Hush” - 2016 “The Purge” - 2013

SLASHER

Surrounding a killer stalking and murdering a group of people. 

“Halloween” - 1978 “A Nightmare on Elm Street” - 1984 “Friday the 13th” - 1980 “Fear Street Part One: 1994″ - 2021

REVENGE HORROR

The perpetrators of an injustice getting their dues. 

“May” - 2002 “I Spit on Your Grave” - 2010 “American Mary” - 2012 “Ma” - 2019

GORE

What it says on the tin. Gore was very big in the ‘00s. 

“Martyrs” - 2008 “Saw” - 2004 “Hostel” - 2005 “Audition” - 1999

FOLK HORROR

Surrounding the darker side of “folk” - anything anti-modern and regionalised. Includes cults, lore, and sometimes ancient magic.

“In the Earth” - 2021 “Blood on Satan’s Claw” - 1971 “The Lighthouse” - 2019 “A Field in England” - 2013

WITCH-BASED FOLK HORROR

“The Blair Witch Project” - 1999 “The VVitch” - 2015 “Suspiria” - 2018 “Gretel and Hansel” - 2020

CULT-BASED FOLK HORROR

“The Ritual” - 2017 “Midsommar” - 2019 “Wicker Man” - 1973 “Kill List” - 2011

CANNIBAL HORROR

Horror surrounding the consumption of human flesh.

“Raw” - 2016 “Green Inferno” - 2013 “Cannibal Holocaust” - 1980 “The Hills Have Eyes” - 1977

GRINDHOUSE (AKA EXPLOITATION HORROR)

Often cheaply made, seen as trashy by some, uses sensationalist violence to draw in an audience.

“House of Whipcord” - 1974 “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre” - 1974 “Frightmare” - 1974 “Death Proof” - 2007

GIALLO

Heavily stylised Italian suspense/horror movies that feature shocking scenes of gore.

“Suspiria” - 1977 “A Lizard in Woman’s Skin” - 1971 “Deep Red” - 1975 “Blood and Black Lace” - 1964

VAMPIRE HORROR

The bloodsucking undead.

“Let the Right One In” - 2008 “30 Days of Night” - 2007 “Thirst” - 2009 “A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night” - 2014

GOTHIC HORROR

Gothic themes such as old manors, vampires, and dreary weather.

“Crimson Peak” - 2015 “The Others” - 2001 “Dracula” - 1958 “The Whip and the Body” - 1963

SUPERNATURAL

Unexplainable phenomena. Can include ghosts, but doesn’t have to.

“The Exorcist” - 1973 “It Follows” - 2014 “The Omen” - 1976 “The Babadook” - 2014

GHOST/SPIRIT HORROR

The one does need to have ghosts.

“Ringu” - 1998 “Veronica” - 2017 “The Conjuring” - 2013 “The Grudge” 2004

ZOMBIE HORROR

Remember when everyone was really into the idea of a zombie apocalypse? What changed…

“Night of the Living Dead” - 1968 “28 Days Later” - 2002 “Little Monsters” - 2019 “Planet Terror” - 2007

CREATURE FEATURES

I count this as anything with an animal threatening your life, to differentiate it from a monster movie - killer bees instead of Godzilla, a massive bear instead of Frankenstein’s monster. 

“Crawl” - 2019 “Jaws” - 1975 “The Birds” - 1963 “Lake Placid” - 1999

INDIE HORROR

Usually made for a lower budget, independently from a larger studio. 

“The Void” - 2016 “Creep” - 2014 “V/H/S” - 2012 “Resolution” - 2012

ALLEGORICAL

A film that has one story on the surface, but is a metaphor for another.

“Hereditary” - 2018 “The Platform” - 2019 “District 9″ - 2009 “They Live” - 1988

SCI-FI HORROR

A mixture of science-fiction and horror. 

“Event Horizon” - 1997 “The Fly” - 1986 “Alien” - 1979 “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” - 1978

COSMIC HORROR

Surrounding the unexplainable phenomena of deep space/alternate dimensions. Notoriously hard to represent visually.  

“The Endless” - 2017 “The Thing” - 1982 “Annihilation” - 2018 “in the Mouth of Madness” 1994

AQUATIC HORROR

The scary deep sea. Or other body of water.

“The Abyss” 1989 “Underwater” 2020 “Sea Fever” - 2019 “Sphere” - 1998