Underrated horror movies to watch on Halloween

A good scary movie has that perfect balance of fear and fascination, the kind that lingers long after the credits. Whether you're after a psychological or ghostly scare, here are some excellent, underrated horror movies with the right atmosphere, mystery, and emotions for Halloween.

Oculus

Rather than jump scares, Oculus toys with your perception of reality. Two siblings reunite to destroy an antique mirror that may have caused their family's tragedy. What unfolds is a mesmerising blend of memories, madness, and supernatural incidents. The film moves between past and present, leaving you unsure what's real and what's an illusion. Director Mike Flanagan crafts tension with precision, where every scene has its own plot twist, and the story is half of the horror itself.

The Autopsy of Jane Doe

Few horror films are as quietly anxiety-inducing as this one. Set almost entirely within a small-town mortuary, a father-and-son coroner duo begin examining an unidentified woman. As the autopsy continues, strange and unexplainable events mount, building dread in a slow, methodical rhythm. What makes the film brilliant isn't blood or chaos, but the way the movie builds on a silence, a stillness, and the growing sense for the viewer that something strange is going on.

What Lies Beneath

Michelle Pfeiffer and Harrison Ford bring emotional depth to a story that starts as a domestic drama and slowly unravels into a ghostly mystery. Set by a calm, glassy lake, the film's beauty contrasts sharply with the horror hidden underneath. It's about love, guilt, and the ghosts that memory can conjure. The result is suspense that feels both grand and deeply personal, a haunting story of the heart and a home.

The Others

If you like your horror steeped in atmosphere, The Others is essential. Nicole Kidman shines as a mother protecting her two children in a remote mansion, a setting that is homely and creepy. The film's slow pace invites you to lean in, to listen closely, and to question everything you see. The movie crafts a gothic world where every movement, every character and every scene has meaning. There are ghosts, belief, loss, and the fragile line between the living and the dead.

A Tale of Two Sisters

Beautiful, tragic, and deeply unsettling, this South Korean gem is a masterpiece of psychological horror. Inspired by an old folktale, it tells the story of two sisters returning home to an oppressive stepmother and them trying to solve a mystery. The film has haunting visuals that create a dreamlike unease that builds towards an unforgettable conclusion.

Each of these films captures a different type of fear— from the supernatural to the psychological. A good horror film doesn't just scare you; it unsettles you in ways you can't quite explain. Just a word of advice: don't watch them alone, and definitely keep the lights within reach. It's not what's on the screen that stays with you, but what your mind keeps seeing afterwards.

Tinath Zaeba is an optimistic daydreamer, a cat mom of 5 and a student of Economics at North South University. Get in touch via [email protected]