10 Great Horror Movies With An Incredibly Simple Premise

This 2014 Austrian chiller plays on the fears of 10-year-old twin boys whose mother returns home from major cosmetic facial surgery. Over the course of the film, the twins begin to suspect that the woman underneath all of the bandages isn't their mother at all.

It's an unsettling concept played up for maximum creep factor as we gradually discover the dark past of the family.

While the general premise here is very simple, the journey the characters go on, as well as the closing plot twist, manage to subvert our expectations. It's the kind of plotting that warrants a re-watch to pick up on the numerous clues dropped along the way. The viewer’s taken on a ride where the end reveal makes perfect sense but is still a head-scratching shocker in the heat of the moment.

The emphasis on the kids’ relatively simplified perspective adds further to this. It allows the straightforward storytelling to perfectly set up a slew of unexpected and disturbing scares. Sharply written and acted, this well-executed chiller got a US remake last year that made the bizarre call to change up this film’s effective horror formula.