10 Hidden Gem Supernatural Horror Movies

The best kept supernatural secrets of horror.

by Andrew Pollard
House 4
New Line Cinema

With ghosts, ghouls, spirits and spectres - plus plentiful things that go bump in the night - the supernatural horror movie is forever a popular corner of cinema. Slashers and monster features are all well and good, but sometimes there's nothing quite like a great supernatural effort for those looking to have the willies sent up them.

Of course, everybody has their favourites when it comes to this particular horror subgenre, with 13 Ghosts, Poltergeist, House on Haunted Hill, Dark Water, The Conjuring and The Babadook a few standouts that immediately come to mind.

Like so many other genres and subgenres, the realm of supernatural horror also has plenty of brilliant, terrifying pictures hidden away. For whatever reason, those films have flown under the radar of the masses and don't quite ever get the love they absolutely deserve - and it's on some of those movies that the attention is on here.

With that in mind, then, here are ten genuinely great supernatural films that any and all horror fans should make sure to check out sooner rather than later.

10. The Pact

House 4
Entertainment One

With an extremely select cinema release in 2012, The Pact is one of supernatural horror's best kept modern-day secrets.

Of course, writer/director Nicholas McCarthy would clearly have preferred The Pact to be a hugely known, popular picture, but those who have seen this film can at least appreciate how darn great it is.

Very much a family affair on the spooky front, the focus of The Pact is on the Barlow clan. When their mother dies, strained sisters Annie (Caity Lotz) and Nicole (Agnes Bruckner) are left to prepare the funeral. After Nicole and a cousin go missing, Annie becomes embroiled in a supernatural mystery tied to their family home - all while Casper Van Dien's cop suspects Lotz's character of having her own nefarious intentions.

As much as The Pact is a supernatural movie, it ends up becoming just as much a 'whodunit?' picture once it gets into its final act. There are certain truths to be uncovered as the film goes on, and those truth reveals are accompanied by some great scares and moments of suspense.

It's also worth adding that a pre-Arrowverse Caity Lotz is on top, top form here, with so much of the film's heavy lifting put on her shoulders.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.