Animated horror movies to enjoy with your friends

Let's face it, horror movies can be intense. You may not always be in a mood to watch a man in a clown mask riding a tricycle next to torture traps, or creepy little girls crawling out of TVs. And that's okay. Horror movies don't always have to be horrific. 

In that case, here are some animated horror movies you can opt for if you're not in the mood for chainsaws and summoning demons.

Monster House (2006)

Arguably the most true-to-horror contender on the list, Monster House, directed by Gil Kenan, has gained notoriety in pop culture due to amassing a large cult following since its release. The story follows three teenagers as they try to uncover what's going on with the Nebbercracker house, where the elderly Horace Nebbercracker terrifies the local kids from setting foot on the premises. 

Boasting an impressive cast of characters with an equally intriguing plot, Monster House has become a staple in countless lists of animated horror movies. What makes it truly stand out though, is how ugly it can be at times. That might sound contradictory, but the animation style of the movie, achieved through the process of performance capture, still holds up as visceral and memorable as it was at its time of release. 

Coraline (2009)

No horror movie list, animated or otherwise, would be complete without the inclusion of Henry Selick's adaptation of Coraline. Based on the widely acclaimed novel of the same name by Neil Gaiman, Coraline follows the harrowing adventures of the titular character as she uncovers the horrors that lie in her new house. 

The movie faithfully adapted Gaiman's novel into a new medium, coupling the source material's powerful worldbuilding with mesmerising stop motion animation and a whimsically unsettling score. If you're looking for a movie that you can get fully immersed in even after watching it, Coraline would be the best bet. The film is so full of minute details and intricacies which spawned hundreds of off-the-wall fan theories and interpretations, going through which can be a fun group or solo activity. 

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Corpse Bride (2005)

If you enjoy anything by Tim Burton, and spooky sequences related to mortality peppered in with catchy musical numbers, then Corpse Bride is the movie for you. Victor Van Dort, a painfully shy bachelor in Victorian London, accidentally brings a dead bride-to-be to life when he practices his wedding vows at her burial site. Victor then finds himself in a less-than-ideal marital affair with a corpse, trapped in the underworld, with jazzy skeletons and a morally bankrupt maggot. 

Corpse Bride doesn't match the intensity of neither Monster House nor Coraline, but it doesn't fall short in entertainment value by any means. The true charm of the movie lies in the music, which not only sets the spooky ambience of the movie, but also captures feelings of isolation in the underworld, as well as extremely snazzy exposition sequences. 

Fatima Jahan Ena is a sub-editor at Rising Stars.