12 Incredible Horror Movies With No Jump Scares
5. The Ones Below (2015)
David Farr's feature directorial debut reads primarily as a suburban psychological thriller, but a few key similarities to Rosemary's Baby give this tale of motherhood paranoia just enough of a horrific tone to qualify for this list. Farr blends the horror and thriller genres in a nearly Hitchcockian manner, keeping viewers in rapt suspense as they wonder whether protagonist Kate's new neighbors are truly plotting to steal her baby or if Kate has just developed a nasty case of postpartum psychosis.
New neighbors Jon and Theresa begin to take the shape of horror villains early on. There's something strange about them long before Kate has any real reason to suspect them of anything, and even before they have much of a motive. When Kate reveals that she didn't always want to be a mother, the couple replies with stern countenance and dark tones, judging Kate as if her uncertainty regarding motherhood is enough to warrant malice on its own. After Theresa loses her own pregnancy, the plot begins to take shape.
Similar to Rosemary's Baby, The Ones Below takes its time. Kate's paranoia doesn't develop overnight, but it still leads to a terrifyingly dark place. Most interestingly, the scariest moment isn't where you would expect it to be. The actual twist ending is disappointing, predictable, and drawn out for far too long. Just before that, however, is a false ending far more terrifying than anything else in the film.
The Ones Below won't scare you with violence, supernatural entities or gore, but it will show you a depiction of very real and very frightening problems experienced by thousands of new mothers every day. Whether you're more inclined to fear postpartum mental illness or simply the pressure of keeping a new child safe, viewers expecting their own children may find The Ones Below far more terrifying than Rosemary's Baby on the sole basis of its realism.
Even those without children may find themselves developing severe trust issues after a journey through Kate's paranoid mind. Did you really just lose your favorite Pickle Rick socks, or is your creepy new roommate playing mind games with you? After a horror-thriller like The Ones Below, you won't trust yourself to know the difference anymore. That may or may not have happened to at least one viewer, anyway.