25 Overlooked Horror Movies To Unearth This Halloween

Cynthia Bond stars in the 1990 cult horror gem ‘Def by Temptation.’

Vinegar Syndrome

Sure I watch lots of classic horror movies every Halloween season, from 1980s slashers like Friday the 13th to modern meta takes like Scream to black-and-white silents like Nosferatu. But for me, it’s not truly Halloween until I dive into the crevices of cinema to discover films that thrive in the shadows; the kinds of movies that quietly terrify, or delight, or confuse us before they vanish from the cultural bloodstream. Whether it’s bad marketing or poor timing or a movie is simply too strange for its time and place, the horror genre is rife with oddities. But obscurity has its advantages, and in my opinion the horror genre is the greatest home for these forgotten gems.

So if you’re looking for some out-of-left-field movies to watch this Halloween season, then I’ve got a list for you. I’ve selected 25 movies that, quite frankly, rank among my favorite horror flicks of all time. The maligned, the enigmatic, the forgotten, the arcane—these are the movies that, in my opinion, make Halloween the best season for movies. Below, I’ve divided these films into different levels. So just choose your favorite path, and enjoy!

Level 1: Cult Gems Hidden in Plain Sight

These are what I consider to be the gateway picks; the films horror fans whisper about, but the broader public somehow missed. These movies aren’t lost, just, sadly, neglected.

The Innkeepers (2011)

Ti West takes us to a haunted hotel to tell a ghost story that thrives in its quietest of moments and deadest of spaces, building dread through silence rather than spectacle. Ultimately, this nearly perfect movie is a love letter to curiosity, to cynicism, to boredom.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986)

I love the original, but I vibe the most with #2, as Tobe Hooper turns his touchstone classic into a blood-soaked carnival of grotesque comedy. It’s a film so strikingly about excess—of gore, of capitalism, of sequels—that it becomes the very definition of the word in the most wonderful (i.e. gory) of ways.

Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II (1987)

This Canadian sequel from Bruce Pittman abandons the original’s slasher roots for something far more ethereal. This true oddity is an eye-popping supernatural revenge story dripping with neon, camp and, like many great horror flicks, Catholic guilt.

Black Sunday (1960)

This is what I consider to be Mario Bava’s masterpiece of black-and-white horror. This hypnotic vision of gothic decay houses one of the all-time great dual performances, as Barbara Steele’s performance as both victim and witch is a standout in European horror.

The Old Dark House (1932)

James Whale, fresh off his genre-defining Frankenstein, decided to take a simple haunted house story and give it ghostly, celestial life. A razor-sharp satire of class, repression and English eccentricity, this oldie is creepy and intelligent and wickedly funny all at once.

Demons (1985)

Show this movie to your friends at horror movie night, and enjoy the ride. Few movies are as entertaining as Lamberto Bava’s Demons, which traps a group of moviegoers inside a theater as the film they’re watching comes to life—literally. It’s a meta bloodbath filled with Dario Argento’s fingerprints.

The Seventh Victim (1943)

Val Lewton, one of horror’s great producers, worked with director Mark Robson to deliver this haunting tale of a woman missing in New York’s underworld. Think of it as a proto-Rosemary’s Baby: its sense of existential doom lingers long after the credits roll.

Prophecy (1979)

If you’re interested in the strange sub-genre of eco-horror, then don’t miss John Frankenheimer’s Prophecy—part monster movie, part environmental fable. Yes, a mutant bear terrorizing campers in Maine might sound ridiculous, but its moral panic over pollution isn’t a joke.

Death Spa (1988)

Michael Fischa’s film is practically guaranteed to please any crowd that loves camp. If Tron, Carrie, and…I don’t know, Perfect, had a synth-powered baby, it would have haunted gym equipment, killer computers and enough spandex to fill a room—basically, Death Spa.

Level 2: Cult Classics Lost in the Shuffle

These films once had their moment, but never quite made the leap to long-lasting recognition. Some were too regional, others were too weird—almost all were too hard to categorize.

The Gorgon (1964)

Hammer Films is one of the most reliable sources for horror gems, and The Gorgon went straight up mythological with this eerie, melancholic story of a village cursed by a Medusa-like creature. It’s one of the studio’s most atmospheric works (and Terence Fisher’s best work), bathed in eerie moonlight and quiet sorrow.

Blood of Dracula (1974)

Part exploitation, part gothic, part melodrama, this oddball entry in the vampire canon from Paul Morrissey updates the myth for a changing America. It’s a story of control, sexuality and transformation hiding under its pulpy title.

Lips of Blood (1975)

Almost no filmmaker’s oeuvre is as dreamlike as Jean Rollin, and his absolute best vampire film unfolds like a half-remembered fairy tale in the best of ways. Demonic bodies drift through fog, ruins crumble and the line between life and death blurs into erotic reverie in this fever dream of a film.

Captain Clegg (1962)

This swashbuckling mix of pirates and phantoms from Peter Graham Scott is a Hammer Films deep cut, yet it masterfully blends adventure and horror in ways few contemporaries could match. This movie became proof the studio was more versatile than meets the eye.

The Church (1989)

Produced by Dario Argento and directed by Michele Soavi, this Italian gem practically defines the sub-genre of “church horror,” trapping its characters in a haunted cathedral built on medieval sins. It’s visually stunning, irreverently violent, strangely spiritual.

The Seventh Curse (1986)

This absolutely insane Hong Kong rollercoaster of a horror show from Lam Ngai Kai features Chow Yun-fat and a cursed doctor who battle demons, gangsters and ancient skeletons. Imagine Indiana Jones filtered through Evil Dead II, and…well, you’re at least in the ballpark. Have fun with this one.

Evil Dead Trap (1988)

This stunning critique of media exploitation kicks off with a Japanese broadcast producer who receives a snuff tape and investigates its source, leading to one of the most shocking and stylish horrors of the 1980s. Toshiharu Ikeda delivered quite a grotesque, hallucinatory masterpiece of neon violence.

Def by Temptation (1990)

James Bond III is a one-and-done director—but boy did he deliver on that one. A rare Black horror film from the early ’90s, the morality tale Def by Temptation explores seduction and faith through a vampiric lens, in a raw, ambitious manner.

Snapshot (1979)

This Australian thriller from Simon Wincer ranks among my most delightful horror discoveries. The story of a young model’s descent into the dark underbelly of society blends horror and social commentary with eerie precision. Part Repulsion, part Picnic at Hanging Rock, Snapshot is an overlooked Ozploitation gem.

Level 3: Deep Cuts and Forgotten Oddities

Here we enter true obscurity; the films that disappeared into the ether and only resurfaced because of restorations designed to oblige those begging on Internet forums.

The Unknown (1927)

Tod Browning and Lon Chaney deliver one of silent cinema’s most twisted love stories with this tale of an “armless” circus performer who, secretly, binds his arms to his body in pursuit of obsession. Don’t be scared of silent movies; they can surprise you—The Unknown is as perverse as it is moving.

The Cat and the Canary (1927)

Here’s another silent flick I can’t help but recommend—a blend of horror and comedy from Paul Leni that helped birth the haunted-house template. Creeping shadows meet slapstick timing in a film that provokes fear and laughter in equal amounts.

The Shadow of the Cat (1961)

This is the last Hammer production I’ll recommend, I swear…but hey, I can’t not pitch everyone on John Gilling’s sleek British revenge story in which a murdered woman’s cat stalks her killers. Its true power lies in its simplicity—poetic in its structure and delivery, and wildly satisfying in its feline fury.

Clash (1984)

This strange, rarely seen French horror film is probably the hardest movie to find on this list—which, to some, might make it the most intriguing. Little-known director Raphaël Delpard confrontationally bleeds memory into menace until you can’t tell what’s past, present or projection.

Tammy and the T-Rex (1994)

Perhaps the campiest horror film on this list, Stewart Raffill’s bizarre monster romance stars Denise Richards as she falls for a boy (Paul Walker!) whose brain is transplanted into a robotic dinosaur. I mean…do I really need to say more than that? It’s surprisingly well done (which is an understatement).

Slugs (1988)

“What if you replaced the sharks in Jaws with garden pests?” Spanish director Juan Piquer Simón probably asked. He then answered his own question with buckets of slime, absurd dialogue and some of the most brazen practical effects of the ’80s.

Deadly Games (1989)

Also known as Dial Code Santa Claus, this French precursor to Home Alone centers on a young boy who battles a deranged Santa in his mansion while his widowed mother is away. This tense, touching, completely deranged film ranks among the best Christmas horror movies ever.