True fans of horror movies know that the violent themes and terrifying images in these scary movies mean more than just thrills. Horror movies use their disturbing stories and imagery to reach a deeper part of humanity and tell a story that couldn’t otherwise be told.
While it’s hard for some viewers to look past the blood and guts, a good horror movie will always be worth watching, no matter what might be seen in the process. These horror movies with surprisingly deep messages may not surprise a true horror fan, but casual viewers could be shocked to learn a movie they’ve ignored out of fear might be just the movie they’ve been looking for their whole lives.
10 Alien Features A Company Willing To Sacrifice The People They've Hired
Alien has been popular ever since its release in 1979. Despite its title, however, viewers might be surprised to learn that the aliens of this movie aren’t the true problem — nor the real threat. In the end, the company that has hired everyone on board with the alien is the real threat, and they are willing to sacrifice everybody on board if it means the alien survives.
The alien consumes and destroys everyone it can capture, much like the capitalist industry does to unsuspecting workers just trying to survive. Alien is about more than extraterrestrials, but also about the terrestrials who torment others just to make a buck.
9 American Psycho Is A Horror Movie About Corporate Greed
Some consider American Psycho to be a thriller, some call it a drama, and still some think it’s a surreal satirical comedy. Any and/or all of these could be true, but American Psycho is also, of course, a horror movie. The audience realizes just as Patrick Bateman does that he is not the real bad guy here, though he does horrifying things.
The world around him is so unbothered by his horrifying life that it serves to disturb even Patrick even further. This commentary on the bleak capitalist culture and the madness of corporate greed grows more and more poignant — and frustrating — with each passing year.
8 Candyman Discusses The Racist And Sexist Structures That Exist In American Society
Nia DaCosta, Jordan Peele, and Win Rosenfeld will soon be bringing a brand-new Candyman to the silver screens, but the original Candyman is still as terrifying as it is intelligent. This movie comments on the way history is told (and by who), the horrors of gentrification, and, of course, the radical racist structure of society in the United States.
Even then, there are still extra layers to the film, such as the subversive commentary on how women are treated by medical professionals. Candyman is still one of the smartest and deepest horror movies out there to this day.
7 Cabin In The Woods Is Funny, Smart, And Unique In Many Ways
Like American Psycho, many people watch Cabin in the Woods and see a movie that isn’t all horror. Cabin in the Woods leans heavily towards the comedic end of horror movies, but not for no reason at all. In fact, Cabin in the Woods actually uses its comedic elements to serve its intelligent plot.
As the movie is happening, the characters — especially Marty — become aware, in a The Truman Show-esque way, that they are being manipulated. They try to use horror tropes in their favor, rather than having them used against them. The ending is one of the most memorable in recent horror history, and gives the movie the intelligent conclusion it deserves.
6 Day Of The Dead Is Hopeless In The Worst Possible Way
After the tragic and sudden ending of Night of the Living Dead, and the cautiously optimistic (but disappointing) ending of Dawn of the Dead, fans weren’t sure what, exactly, to expect from Day of the Dead. However, the third in George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead franchise is arguably the least hopeful of them all.
The humans fighting amongst themselves in Day of the Dead ultimately seal their own death warrants. Those that do survive this movie end up alone and isolated on an island by themselves, leaving no hope for humanity or the world they left behind. This movie is frankly as smart as it is downright upsetting, in the end.
5 A Nightmare On Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge Is A Queer Film With Heavy Subtext
Not many people know this, but A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge is arguably one of the best in the entire A Nightmare on Elm Street series — if one is able to read between the lines. This movie is heavily homoerotic, and the star, actor Mark Patton, has since discussed in-depth just how queer the film is.
His documentary Scream, Queen! My Nightmare on Elm Street talks about how this movie is essentially a coming-out film, and how reception at the time mirrored this realization. Both Mark Patton and Robert Englund played their roles with this in mind, Mark says, though the director, Jack Sholder, continuously voices his displeasure about this.
4 Saw Is Better Than Its Later Gratuitous Torture Scenes
For many viewers, Saw is synonymous with the gratuitous torture scenes put into the film franchise’s later sequels for no greater purpose than to gross audiences out. In the beginning, though, Saw was an intelligent franchise whose traps actually meant something.
The first three Saw movies — and especially the first one, titled (of course) Saw — are smart in their construction and their storytelling. The films explore morality in uncomfortable ways. Even the traps, while violent, are done in cinematically and narratively meaningful ways, while still sometimes being quite hard to watch.
3 Scream Explores The Tropes Of The Genre With Depth And Intelligence
After Scream came out, Scary Movie followed, parodying Scream, which was, itself, a satire of sorts (and a revival of other sorts) of the slasher horror genre. As a result, some casual viewers still see Scream as a parody movie just like Scary Movie was, while this could not be less true.
Scream has been underrated since its release and still holds up as both an intelligent commentary on slasher films, as well as a smart inclusion to the genre in its own right. The entire series, in fact, is intelligent and excellent in its own way — though, as with any series, the movies do dwindle in quality with each subsequent film.
2 Shaun Of The Dead Explores The Way Real People Would Handle A Zombie Apocalypse
As zombie movies on the whole only get more and more popular, it is relatively impressive that Shaun of the Dead still stands out as one of the best. This comedic take on a zombie thriller from the early 2000s isn’t just humorous, but it actually feels realistic and relatable in meaningful ways.
This movie is still one of the only zombie films that actually explores what would really happen in the event of a zombie apocalypse. Of course, regular people would need to figure out how to survive — and life, in many ways, would still continue on as normal, for better or for worse.
1 The Shining Explores The Human Psyche
After Stephen King wrote The Shining, Stanley Kubrick decided to change things about a bit when he translated the film from page to screen. Stephen King has been vocal about the changes he did not like, but viewers know that there is value in both the book and in the movie, which are both surprisingly deep in their own ways.
There are several layers to what’s going on at the Overlook Hotel in Kubrick’s movie. In fact, there is still so much to discuss that fans still theorize about the film decades later.