10 Cosmic Horror Films To Scare You Into Oblivion

What’s scarier than space? The deep sea, of course.

A surprising addition to this list, Underwater is the 2020 film directed by William Eubank and starring Kristen Stewart.

On a drilling base at the bottom of the Mariana Trench, disaster strikes. A huge earthquake-like force hits the facility and strands a group of workers. They have to travel along the sea floor to the backup escape pods before the facility explodes.

This may sound like a deep sea horror, but it’s so much more. The sea has always been rife for myth telling and speculation. From the Loch Ness Monster, to “The Blip,” to mermaids, humans have often wondered about the monster-like creatures that could lurk in the deep. And, as around 80% of the ocean is still left unexplored, these myths can’t be wholly disputed.

The creatures in Underwater aren’t just giant sharks or squids, but Lovecraftian abominations. In fact, the design of the alpha creature was based on Lovecraft’s Cthulu.

The cosmic nature of the horror comes from the fact that these beings have been lurking underneath our seas with humanity none-the-wiser. And the humanoid shapes of their bodies opens up more questions – are these creatures related to us? Are they deities from another galaxy?

Combine all of this existential questioning with some serious claustrophobia/thalassophobia and you’ve got a movie that will keep you up at night for weeks to come.