10 Horror Movies Shot From The Killer’s Perspective

Those rare horror movies where we actually follow the killer.

Maniac Elijah Wood
IFC Midnight

The overwhelming majority of horror films, like most other movies in general, are shot from the point-of-view of the hero(es), because why wouldn't they be? 

When we're expected to root for the Final Girl to eventually prevail over the masked killer, it makes sense to have the mayhem unfold from their perspective, right?

But sometimes horror movies like to deviate from what's expected, to stray from the typical formula and dare to do the boldest of things - have audiences follow the killer instead.

It's a tough trick to pull off and can go wrong so many different ways, but when it works it really works.

And that it certainly did in these 10 horror films, each of which shied away from the victims and focused instead on the perpetrator, whether a more ambiguously sympathetic killer or a downright repugnant murderer.

It's an approach that inherently turned some viewers off, but for more adventurous viewers willing to follow these films down their unconventional rabbit holes, some truly original, unexpected horror awaited.

Love or hate these movies, each bravely dispensed with predictability and instead had us keep company with these bonafide killers...

10. In A Violent Nature

Maniac Elijah Wood
Shudder

Upcoming slasher film In a Violent Nature has such a brilliant conceit it's honestly amazing it hasn't been done before - at least not quite like this. 

The movie has a deceptively simple premise, of a mute masked killer hunting down a group of teens in the Canadian wilderness, but here's the genius rub - we follow the killer rather than his victims.

Since its recent premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, critics have praised director Chris Nash's inversion of the typical slasher movie setup, with the camera following behind the killer for long stretches of time, while dialogue is generally only heard when he gets close to his intended targets.

Rather than spend most of our time with the hapless teens, we hang out with the villain for the film's majority, Nash capturing the killings with a chilly objective detachment which begs the audience to consider their own relationship with the horror genre as entertainment.

 
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Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes). General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.