For my debut on WhatCulture.com, I am today going to share with you a list of 10 obscure horror movies that in my opinion you have to see. The very definition of obscure makes an article like this tricky, as the saying goes ‘every movie is somebodys favourite‘, but I decided that for me to class a movie as obscure, it needs to be one that didn’t make much of a splash at the box office, or was released straight to DVD/Blu Ray. Whilst a couple of movies on here have grossed a couple of million dollars in their worldwide total, that is a drop in the ocean compared to the $33.7 million opening weekend The Devil Inside had for example, and I know I’m not alone in hating that film. As a horror fan I find it hard to comprehend why films like that get a huge opening and others get little to no fanfare.
I appreciate people may have heard of some of the movies on my list (maybe even all of them, in which case I salute you!) but I’m hoping the majority of people will not have heard much or anything about them. I have tried to cover a selection of films from all over the world, and there are films from the UK, France, Korea, Australia and of course the USA. They feature vampires, serial killers, teenage female torturers, religious cults, cannibals, demons, alien parasites, time travel and bucket loads of blood, so hopefully something for every horror fan! There were so many great films I considered when trying to compile this list, and I had to rule some out once I saw how much money they had made at the box office (REC & REC 2 for example). Hopefully I can point some of you in the direction of a film or two you may not necessarily have heard of, and maybe, just maybe, you will check them out and enjoy it as much as I did. In no particular order here are my ten:
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62 Comments
I Saw the Devil is fantastic.
I’ll definitely be checking this out. Awesome list! Welcome to WhatCulture!
Thanks very much!! I like so many Asian films, but I Saw The Devil is on a par with Oldboy as my favourite.
I recently saw Grave Encounters, it was surprisingly good, its starts off a bit cheesy but builds tension really well. its well worth a look!!
Grave Encounters is something I have been meaning to check out for a while, and now the sequel is due out in a couple of months I really should get a move on! Thanks for the recommendation.
Hell yeah! Great list. Triangle is one of my favorite movies ever. Splinter is really awesome, too. There are plenty of horror gems out there. You just have to look. You’ll watch a ton of crap, but when you find that gem, it makes it all worth it. I’d throw in Dance of the Dead (2008). It is the Return of the Living Dead of the 00s.
Thanks Samuel. That’s the problem, there are so many that come out, but as you say it’s worth all the time you have lost watching something awful when you come across one that is brilliant. I haven’t seen Dance of the Dead, thanks for mentioning it I will hunt down a copy.
I must be completely out of touch with audiences because none of these films are anywhere close to what I’d call “obscure”. They are some good choices and I couldn’t agree with the choice any more than I already do. But to anyone who would read an article like this, some of these are Cult Classics and about as far from Obscure as you can get…
Hi Liam. As I mentioned at the start of my article, by definition it’s basically impossible to find something so obscure no horror fan has ever heard of or seen. I went with the theory that if it has grossed about $100k worldwide then that is pretty obscure in terms of cinema gross/dvd sales. I would disagree about them being cult classics, but then again like any list it’s all subjective, and I would love to read one you post, in the same way I love reading other peoples opinions as more often that not I see something that I hadn’t heard of. Whilst it hasn’t shown you anything new, I appreciate your comment and just hope someone out there finds something they haven’t heard of before :)
Lake Mungo. But watch it with an open mind. The first time I saw it, I was disappointed, expecting something akin to Paranormal Activity. Last month, I watched it again. Scared the #### out of me. It’s subtle, but it gets under your skin. And a certain scene involving a cell phone will stay on your mind for weeks afterward.
A few people have told me how good Lake Mungo is, I really must get round to watching it. Thanks again, I appreciate the comment Josh.
Kill List and Babysitter Wanted are two great obscure horror movies that are worth watching.
I may be alone but I didn’t really like Kill List. I think the hype around it from festivals and reviews built up my expectations, and ultimately the end ruined it for me. I will watch it again soon though, maybe I was a bit hasty in my thoughts last time. Never heard of Babysitter Wanted, I will try and check it out. Thanks for the suggestions Alexander.
I wish the guy who wrote this review would learn the difference between To and Too.
My apologies, I do struggle with that and really thought I had rectified them all. Obviously not. I hope it didn’t detract from the article too much. Mistakes are easily done on computers though, like posting comments twice :)
Lol
I wish the guy who wrote these reviews would learn the difference between To and Too.
Chill Ray, as Tyson has mentioned in a much more polite way than I would do, mistakes are obviously easy done for us all, as you have shown by doing a duplicate post!
Back on point, awesome list Tyson! I don’t see many subtitled movies, but those French ones you mention sound great, I will be sure to get them seen. Merci Beaucoup!
Thanks for the kind words Mickey. Martyrs & Frontiers are both brilliant films, very brutal but worth it if you can handle a lot of blood and torture. I watch a lot of subtitled movies, and it’s so much better to see them with subtitles in their native language, rather than the lazy way of watching stuff dubbed. Just my opinion anyway. Thanks again for the comment.
Grt artiicle tyson. Saw somw one em. totally obscure stuff. Have to catch others.
Cheers Mithil, appreciate it. As I’ve mentioned above, never going to please everyone with a list like this, but if people such as yourself check out films you maybe hadn’t heard of before (and like it ideally!) then it’s all worthwhile.
Great first article on here, Ty. Two good films I’ve seen, and some others that I need to see I think. I always like watching a good horror, so thanks for bringing these to my attention!
Thanks TSC. Appreciate you commenting over here, and glad to know I have been of some assistance and pointed some new stuff out for you! Hope you enjoy them as much as I did.
Great list! Anything with Meat Train has to grab my interest. I watched I Saw the Devil earlier this year. Very unorthodox but intense throughout!
Thanks Keith! I Saw The Devil is very intense I agree, just relentless and brilliantly done.
Good work out here my friend!!! Good work. Of course I have to disagree with you on Martyrs and, like Josh said, plug something like Lake Mungo or Bloody Bloody Bible Camp. Good work, amigo!! Good luck with this!!
Thanks for stopping by buddy! Lake Mungo is definitely getting watched now! I appreciate the encouragement and kind words :)
Fine list and article, Tyson. ‘Stake Land’ and ‘Splinters’ were a couple of my favorites from the last couple of years. Some of the others I’ve heard about, for sure. I have ‘Midnight Meat Train’ somewhere here in the house. I guess I need to get it out — next month sounds good . Well done.
Thanks mate I appreciate you commenting over here. You should dig out Midnight Meat Train, really is a good movie with an unexpected ending to say the least!
Man, these sound great! I remember adding I Saw the Devil to my Instant Queue at Netflix, but I never got around to watching it. A lot of these films have some big stars in. And French films aren’t afraid to lay on everything, aren’t they? :)
Thanks for the comment. You really should try get I Saw The Devil watched, it’s excellent, and really pushes the boundaries like Asian films love to do! As you mentioned, the French love that also, the ending scene in Martyrs is beyond the realms of belief :)
Great job on your first list Tyson. I look forward to reading more.
Thank you Vincent, much appreciated.
Great article and interesting read! I’ve seen a few of these still but only as they were suggested to me. Good job.
Thanks very much for the kind words Carly!
I got totally creeped out reading your reviews … in a good way :-) I love the idea of creepy movies, but I’m too much of the wimp to really watch them. Your reviews are deliciously evocative!
Thank you very much Marilyn! I make my wife watch a lot of these kind of films as she is always intrigued, but spends most of the time with her head behind a cushion! I appreciate your kind words, thanks again.
Excellent debut, Tyson! Great to see a couple of Aussie flicks in there too. And Midnight Meat Train is a surprisingly faithful adaptation of Barker’s story, despite the change in setting from NYC to LA . It really captures the sense of dread inherent in the source material. And I will definitely check out Triangle based on your recommendation (always up for a good mind-bender movie!). Looking forward to future posts!
Cheers Greg! The Aussies are some of the best for creating great horror movies. I really must try get hold of the story, did sound intriguing when I found out about it. Hope you like Triangle, really interesting concept and I loved it.
Solid list! Love Stakeland. I will be checking out some of the others. Great job.
Sean
Thanks very much Sean! Hope you like some of my other choices.
Great list. I’d also recommend ‘A Serbian Film’ and ‘Antichrist’ although I don’t know how they did at box office. . . ‘Dead Man’s Shoes’ is another favourite of mine, as is ‘Tyrannosaur.’ ‘I saw the devil’ was a fantastic film.
Thanks! I thought A Serbian Film was just a bit far…..I watched it but felt it was excessive for the sake of it. Really like Dead Mans Shoes though, not seen Tyrannosaur yet but it’s on my ‘must watch list’.
The word “Obscure” is not the best fit.These 10 movies including the Honorable mentions are capable candidates to make a “My Top 10 Horror movies of the decade” for a normal Horror Fan.If it has to obscure you could go for movies like “Wound” “Life & Death of a Porno Gang” “Lake Mungo” “Dread” etc stuff.But I must say that was good list.
I chose my route so to speak by going for films that made very little money, but that I felt were excellent films I could try and recommend to people. I agree there are definitely even more obscure ones, but this was just 10 I chose, not a definitive ‘most obscure’. Maybe I will do a part 2 and go for even more obscure titles! Dread is a great shout, considered that for this but just didn’t quite make the cut. Thanks for your comment.
Awesome list TC, a couple there that I haven’t heard of, will definately be checking them out. Can’t wait to hear more from you in the future. Keep up the good work.
Thanks very much The Dude, appreciate it!
Great article Tyson, I have to say that I haven’t seen any of these but I’ll now be adding several to my must watch list.
Thanks!
Cheers James, hope you get chance to catch some of them, and that you enjoy them! Thanks :)
seen them all but Stakeland (which i’m surprised hasnt been on netflix yet) and Frayed (which I never heard of but looking to get now) hope its as good as the others
Frayed surprised me, has a real Halloween feel to it and is very clever. Really enjoyed it, hope you get chance to see it.
I had to shut off Frayed, I couldn’t handle the horrific acting, the brutal scenes were great, but for example, the guy driving the car without looking at the road for a long time is just amateur, I do like the other films you posted!
I’ve only ever heard of three of these titles (Midnight Meat Train, The Loved Ones and I Saw the Devil). I haven’t seen any, though, but I’d like to see all of these. Great list Tyson!
Cheers Daniel! You should try check some of them (or all!) out and let me know what you think.
Great introductory article. Made me turn the corner on Triangle. I’ve circled it awhile trying to decide whether or not to give it a shot. I will now!
Thanks very much John. Triangle is great, as I’ve said before, so clever and different, really does leave you scratching your head at the end. Hope you like it!
Fantastic post! You really know your horror, man! I’d recommend one from my home country. It’s called “Somos lo que Hay” (We are what we are). It’s obscure, even over here in Mexico, but it’s gotten a wider release now after the inevitable American remake was announced. Not an all-out horror, more of a suspense film, but it’s about cannibalism, so I guess it qualifies as horror. It’s amazing: the acting, cinematography, score, directing are all great. Please check it out.
You know, I remember reading about that film but it has totally slipped under my radar. I will have to try and see if I can get hold of a copy. Thanks for reminding me, and for commenting Fernando, appreciate it!
Excellent choices here, Ty, and excellent reasons for choosing them all. Stakeland is probably my fave from this list with Splinter a second. Can’t wait to read more of your stuff! :)
Thank you Misty! Stake Land is arguably my favourite vampire film, just dark and grim, how a world full of vampires and crazy cults should be! Appreciate you commenting :)
Trick ‘r Treat was a fun one that sat on a shelf for 2 years, before eventually going straight to DVD in 2009. Very well done, with a stellar cast. Frozen (2010) was one I rolled my eyes at when I initially heard about it (Open Water on a ski lift), but I was very pleasantly surprised. I’ll go check out Triangle based on your recommendation. Thanks.
I liked Trick R Treat, but didn’t love it. I need to see it again I think. Frozen was pretty good too. Hope you enjoy Triangle! Thanks for the comment.
Nice list, I have wanted to watch Triangle for a while, so have made a note to check it out urgently :)
The Last Broadcast is a good obscure horror.. Definitely in the Blair Witch vein and released about the same time, it has a pretty similar storyline in fact but I think it is better and a lot more creepy and it leaves you disconcerted for a long while afterwards.. Dr.Sleep is another I would recommend, starring Goran Visjnic (it recently appeared on one of my WhatCulture articles) very scary, in a it will make you jump kind of way :)