10 Movies That Should Have Been Horror

Is there really that much difference between Carrie and Matilda?

Contagion Matt Damon
Warner Bros.

In order for a movie to gain entry to the horror genre, it has to pass a certain set of requirements.

The film has to invoke a feeling of fear through either scaring or repulsing an audience through heavy subject material or gruesome sights. It has to push the boundaries on what would traditionally be acceptable to show on screen. A sombre ending is usually on the cards, and there should always be an unknown or unexplainable sensation conveyed throughout the film.

And being a horror movie certainly has plenty of pros from a creative aspect: namely the fact that a horror movie is completely unchained when it comes to what it can show, and the punch it can carry is arguably unlike anything else in the world of film.

Whether it be through capitalising on the scares that were already in place, or really letting go of the brakes and taking the overall potential down a new direction, there are plenty of films that have an abundance of horror aspects already to them, without necessarily being in the genre itself.

With that in mind, here are some films that surely would have benefitted by taking things further down these routes and investing more into the horror.

10. Room

Contagion Matt Damon
A24 Films

Released in 2015, Room is an independent movie directed by Lenny Abrahamson and based around a 2010 novel of the same name.

Starring Brie Larson and Jacob Trembley, the film revolves around a mother named Joy and her son Jack who have spent seven years living in captivity confined to just one small room. Their captor is a man named Nick, Joy's ex-partner and Jack's biological father, who routinely beats and abuses the mother and son.

The pair eventually escape their captor in a wonderfully thrilling action sequence, and the film's second act follows the two of them adjusting to life back in the real world. However, the film focuses more on the themes of coming of age and the love between a mother and her son, rather than being an outright dark crime story and ultimately ends on a reasonably positive position for the pair.

Room's dark premise is plucked straight from a nightmare and could have very easily lead to one of the darkest horror movies of the year being released.

Upping the amount of graphic material on show and altering a couple of scenes to help with a more sombre tone would have been fairly easy, and could have really helped bring out the true nightmare feel of the film's story.

Contributor
Contributor

Horror fan, gamer, all round subpar content creator. Strongly believes that Toad is the real hero of the Mario universe, and that we've probably had enough Batman origin stories.