10 Spanish Horror Movies You Must See Before You Die

It is very important to get used to reading subtitles. By not learning this essential skill, you are ignoring so many phenomenal horror films that could - no hyperbole - change your life. When talking about foreign-language horror, Japan, France and South Korea seem to get all the glory. However, Spanish cultures from Mexico to Spain have been making waves in the genre since the 1930s.

When discussing the best Spanish-language movies horror has to offer, the ol' inbox and comment section would be filled with more hate-mail than usual if Brazil’s iconic Coffin Joe didn’t get a shoutout despite our souls still being intact at midnight (as far as we can tell anyway). Portugal’s Tombs of the Blind Dead also deserves an honorable mention for inserting skeletal zombies of the Knights Templar into all of our nightmares. WhatCulture is also aware of the Living Dead located in an unspecified Manchester morgue. Film snobs can also simmer down because we all know a Spanish-language version of 1931's Dracula was filmed simultaneously with the classic Universal version.

Juan of the Dead, We Are What We Are and Witching and Bitching also all deserve to be honorably mentioned, but if you are in a life or death situation you could postpone watching these motion pictures until you survive the harrowing experience you find yourself in.

However, there are other Spanish-language horror movies that should be considered mandatory viewing before you leave this mortal plain. So whether you are being attacked by sharks or falling off a mountain, take some time out of your final moments to check out these essential Spanish horror movies.

Movies inspired by episodes of the Twilight Zone should really be its own horror subgenre. Most movies are subtle with their homages to the classic 1960s television series, but Mexico’s The Similars wears its Rod Serling inspiration like a garish badge of honor.

Completely set in a secluded bus station just outside of Mexico City, father-to-be Ulises and seven other people find themselves stranded as a freak rain storm prevents any hope of transportation. Tensions are already high, but things get weird and understandably out of control when everyone’s face begins to transform into Ulises’ face.

The film starts out as a fun game of “find the Twilight Zone reference”, to the obvious Serling-esque opening narration to the way shots are framed. As the film goes on, it takes its ludicrous premise seriously enough that the audience follows suit.

Alongside humorous moments, we are blindsided with some truly disturbing imagery. Twilight Zone aficionados will be quick to point out the similarities this film has to the episodes “Eye of the Beholder”, “It’s a Good Life” and “The Monsters are Due on Maple Street”, but The Similars still has enough originality to stand tall on its own two feet not to be wished away to the cornfield.