10 Intense Slow Burn Horror Movies That Keep You Guessing

10. The Wicker Man

To first pay homage to one of the big daddies of literal slow burn horror before breaking into the contemporary stuff, The Wicker Man has to make an appearance on this list.

Now, I don’t mean the infamous Nicolas Cage version which you should definitely watch for a bunch of other, less scary reasons, but Robin Hardy’s 1973 original. Travelling to a strange island to investigate the disappearance of a child, an investigator becomes embroiled in a strange Pagan community, and attempts to uncover the truth of his situation. It’s the classic tension builder and remains fresh for viewers even over 40 years later, setting a benchmark for psychological horror since its release - as well as plenty of adaptations.

Hardy’s version is a solid, upstanding entry, and will have you desperately working alongside the detective to get to the bottom of the whole creepy situation. Adamantly denying the child's existence at all and surrounded by actions that defy the devout Christian beliefs of our protagonist, it's a clash of cultures that both questions religion as well as demonstrates it in terrifying extremism, resulting in a third act that will quite literally burn itself into your memory.