10 Horror Movies To Watch If You Love The Outdoors

It was inevitable and, therefore, understandable that most of the entries on this list would feature the woods, seeing as they are the home of horror. 

However, few can transport you back through time to 16th-century New England quite like The Witch can. Robert Eggers has proved time and time again why he is the master of period pieces. 

Through his articulate aesthetic and distinct direction, he has taken us to the late 19th century to watch two lighthouse keepers subsequently lose their minds in 2019's The Lighthouse, the turn of the 10th century to witness a revenge-fuelled Alexander Skarsgård wreak havoc as a Viking in 2022's The Northman and as of 2024, eventually back to the 19th century for his admitted passion project, Nosferatu. 

The Witch delivers gut-wrenching tension that may give you heart palpitations at times. It's atmospheric and claustrophobic, as you can't help but feel part of the scene with how Eggers directs. 

The film features a spellbinding, star-in-the-making performance from a young Anya Taylor-Joy as well as the ever-reliable duo of Ralph Ineson and Kate Dickie who portray a deeply-religious family banished from their communal settlement and left to fend for themselves as unspeakable and unfathomable evil tears their family apart. 

And what might that evil be? Yep, you guessed it—Witches. The Salem Witch Trials heavily influenced Eggers' screenplay, and he and his actors truly conveyed the fear and terror that swept communities like those featured in the film at the time. 

Remember, "there is evil in the wood."