10 Saddest Horror Movie Moments

You wouldn’t think that Matthew Holness would be capable of making a horror film, but oh boy, did he just.

2018’s Possum is just a depressing watch from start to finish. It’s set in Norfolk for goodness sake, how much more miserable can you get?!

In all seriousness, Sean Harris delivers a career best as the hugely troubled Philip, a puppeteer who returns home after being publicly disgraced; we don’t know what for exactly, but the film isn’t subtle about what it could be. Then there’s his dilapidated home, his truly vile uncle (played brilliantly by Alun Armstrong) and the childhood trauma that haunts Philip throughout.

We can’t talk about this film without mentioning the puppet. It immediately creeps the viewer out, and when it runs around on its horrid spider legs it really doesn’t help make it look cute and cuddly. Yet when you take it into the context of the film, it becomes another aspect of the chokingly bleak world of the film.

The reason why the whole film makes the top spot on this list is because the entire runtime feels like one long, depressive episode. Everything feels heavy, and like all joy has been sucked out of the world.

The ending doesn’t help, yet it feels fully in place with the rest of the film and in a truly grim way, what was bound to happen. It’s an underrated masterpiece that looks and childhood trauma in a new, albeit unpleasant way. It’s measured, controlled and doesn’t rely on any traditional horror to make it so upsetting to watch.