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I'm trying to find "mild" horror movies, any suggestions?
To preface, I'm trying to find horror movies that may be considered more on the mild side, something that's more accessible to someone not familiar or comfortable with horror or thriller movies.
Happy Death Day and it's sequel are already on my list, especially since there doesn't appear to be overt nudity / sex and the language is mild.
I suppose it could be described as PG-13 horror, but even the Scream series is actually kinda mild on the gore/violence side of you really break it down, as they have a whodunit plot more than a "let's douse the protags in blood" vibe.
Oh and of course Tremors is always on every list of all time great movies.
Cabin in the Woods
Also my first thought. It makes fun of itself and the genre, and all the horror is mixed with a bit of comedy to alleviate it.
I know there's a lot of other suggestions in this thread, but honestly this is probably the only movie that truly fits the request.
I will also add Army of Darkness though, just to add some more substance (but it's probably too far on the comedy side).
I was going to mention Army of Darkness, so will be glad to also endorse it here. It's been one of my favorite films since it was released in the 90s.
As the parent insinuated, the plot could easily pass for horror, but the movie never takes itself seriously enough to really enter that territory. That said, if you enjoy wry, laconic humor, this is the one.
Cabin in the woods feels like the SCP foundation was made into a movie. I enjoyed it.
Oh I'm definitely adding this to my list. If I just say "It has Thor in it" that will work for most people, right?
Actually, it depends. I had a colleague who was not into horror movies at all. She couldn't stand too much gore or scary things.
Our office wanted to watch a horror movie and I suggested Cabin in the Woods because I thought that was mild and it was also humorous. I assured my colleague this is one of the more mild horror movies. It'll be fine.
She did not enjoy it. It was still too much for her and she didn't get half the jokes because the jokes depended on you having watched plenty of horror movies to get them. Since she doesn't watch horror movies, the satire just went right by her.
So it really might not work as well as you think.
Either that, or my ex colleague's threshold is insanely low.
I apologized to my colleague profusely after.
Tucker and Dale VS Evil is a great horror comedy. It's got some incredibly quotable lines, memorable characters, and really funny parodies of some horror tropes. It might be a good fit!
One of my all time favorites, to be honest. Usually with just about any movie, but especially with horror, I’m good with just one viewing. I’ve seen Tucker and Dale Vs Evil multiple times, and it’s always a hoot.
Nope was pretty mild IMO. No cheap jump scares in any case.
We did watch Nope, the most unnerving part to my wife was when OJ was in the barn by himself and the kids were creeping on him with the alien costumes! I absolutely loved that entire bit.
All of Peele's movies are pretty mild on the "horror" but great. Nope might be the worst of the three in fact (but also the least horror like).
Get Out, for me, was top notch horror. It felt a bit liken70s horror films like The Stepford Wives and Westworld but also tapped into the everyday existential horror that is being a Black person in America. And it was also wryly funny.
ETA: Now that I think of it, the 70s horror movies i listed might work for OP, and other ones like The Boys From Brazil, The Amityville Horror, The Exorcist, Carrie.
(ETA2: Fixed autocorrect)
I'm going to throw The Shining in. It's definitely a creepy movie, and does get placed in the horror genre. I feel that it's more psychological horror. It's a cult classic with Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall. My biggest complaint I have is abuse Kubrick put members of the team, and especially Duvall through. Not making excuses for Kubrick, but he was eccentric.
Putting aside production woes, I like the movie very, very much, and I'm not a horror movie kind of person. It's a mild horror movie (Rated R).
I generally hate horror movies, but The Shining is definitely my favorite. It’s so high quality and creepy without being so gorey and unnerving that you can’t sleep for days.
I would further strengthen that recommendation as someone who enjoys movies but isn't usually a Horror-Mobile person:
The shining is a good movie, thrilling, but not scary in a jumpy way.
I really like The Thing (1982). It's got some gore but it's mostly gore of a shape-shifting alien, which might make it more palatable to some. I tend to really dislike super gross torturous horror. This movie isn't like that at all and is super smart, well written, and exciting!
My wife specifically doesn't want to watch The Thing since I made the mistake of watching the prequel first with her. But for me it's certainly on my list. It's such a classic not only in horror but just insanely good storytelling on general. So many movies have endings and plots spelled out to you, but to this day you still are not sure who was infected at the end.
You just taught me that The Thing has a prequel!! I had no clue. Do you like it?
I think they're referring to the 2011 film, I saw it in theatre. It's not nearly as good as the original, but if you liked the original you'll probably like it as well.
It's the kind of movie you watch, don't specifically hate, and then forget you ever watched it.
I'll give it a shot then, can't hurt. I really love The Thing.
I never watched horror movies until maybe like a year or so ago? I saw the first Scream and was like, wtf that was amazing? THEN, I got into a tabletop rpg called Mothership which is grimey space themed. Basically Alien. So I watched Alien and AGAIN I was like, that was amazing I need to watch more horror! And finally I watched The Thing and just basically made me realize I had been dismissing horror for no reason.
I still feel like I'm looking for a specific kind of horror though. Satanic/demon stuff gives me the ick just because I grew up religious, and though I'm not now, I can't get some of that stuff out of my head.
But yeah, I've seen 4 horror films in my life lol. Alien, Scream, The Thing, and most recently Barbarian. I need to find more that fit my vibe.
You've basically listed all of my favourite horror movies, so I guess I'm going to say we may have similar tastes. As such, I'll list a few more I love just in case they also fit your style:
If you end up watching any and liking them, let me know!
I promise I'll watch some and report back! Love finding someone that has the same favs.
The only movie I have already seen on this list is 10 Cloverfield Lane. And I loved it too! Like a lot. I came away from the theater shocked by how much I liked it. Not that I thought it would be bad, I just was indifferent.
John Goodman and Mary Elizabeth Winstead KILLED.
spoiler
literallyedit: idk if I can do Deep Blue Sea and The Meg lmao. I'm going to try but deep water movies tend to fill me with anxiety. I almost drowned a few years ago and me and water have a contentious relationship. Which is kinda wild because I really like The Life Aquatic w/ Steve Zissou
Ah yea, if water movies fill you with anxiety, do not watch them lol. It's not worth it. There's lots of other good stuff out there, hopefully you find a few more!
Have you seen The Platform? Would you consider that horror at all?
I have never even heard of that one haha, so I can't comment.
Give it a chance if you have time! And enjoy critique on hierarchy, capitalism, human nature, etc. It comes from Spain I beleive, so it's also subtitled. Pretty sure it's on Netflix. https://youtu.be/RlfooqeZcdY
edit: dark, horrid atmosphere. tension that would suffocate a room. depraved acts of desperate humans. It does a lot to invoke horror-like feelings.
I enjoyed the Platform and thought it was a really cool and unique concept.
It definitely has some horror elements to it, but I'd call it more of a thriller than a horror movie.
It's one of those films that stays with you. Every now and then it pops back into my head and I ponder the story and its meaning.
I found it so unsettling, but I'm glad I watched it. It was a very good film in addition to the fact that I need to watch more foreign cinema.
The Platform and Parasite both hit similar little spots in my brain. I know the themes they explored aren't exactly new territory, but they're currently important themes and they absolutely nailed the execution in my opinion.
The prequel is sadly mostly forgettable, but it does have a couple scenes which are quite well done. If you're craving more then I highly Peter Watts' short-story The Things.
https://clarkesworldmagazine.com/watts_01_10/
It's an excellent companion to the 1982 film.
I love the original movie. Was excited for the prequel... it's totally forgettable. Not horrible but not really worth watching.
There was actually a video game sequel that was pretty good. I dunno how well it holds up though (it came out 20 years ago).
I gotta throw out the 1973 folk horror classic The Wicker Man. Don't let the Nicolas Cage bastardization's reviews or experience put you off of it. Truly awesome flick
This is exactly what I've heard about this. I don't know what the remake was smoking but I'd sure like some of it if that's what came out of it.
Alien (1979) is quite mild and my favourite movie by far.
I'd direct you to Hitchcock: Psycho, Vertigo, The Birds, Rope, Frenzy.
Also Brian de Palma's Dressed to Kill, Alan Parker's sui generis neo-noir Angel Heart, and Devil's Advocate with Keanu Reeves.
On television, The X-Files is mild horror a lot of the time. And a good one at that.
Fringe hits some of those same mild horror notes that The X-Files does.
I had to stop watching Fringe, it was too much for me. Definitely goes farther than X-Files, probably because it's newer
Regarding Hitchcock, I haven't watched Rope or Frenzy yet, but I adore the other three, especially Vertigo.
I'll definitely add the others to the list. It's been so long with Devil's Advocate that I honestly don't remember anything from it, so it's perfect for a fresh watch!
@insomniacpyro can you better define exactly what you mean by "mild"? Does it only mean "no gore" or it has to be mild overall? What about jump scares?
Because there are so many movies without jump scares or a single drop of blood that will make your heart stop... And a lack of definition is getting you some pretty terrifying suggestions :P
Just curious ;)
The Japanese Ring (1998) started the entire J-horror craze, with lots of ghost women with their hair hanging down their face. It's pretty mild (some prefer the US remake for more in-your-face FX) and it got a neat story.
Get Out (2017) mixes paranoia, satire and US race relations, which doesn't sound like a good cocktail, but it all fit together rather well.
The Twilight Zone TV series had some pretty spooky episodes. Really well written, I think.
Generally, if what you want is to avoid is sex and gore, then "psychological horror" is likely what you're looking for.
Is The Ring (Japanese) mild?? It doesn't have gore or sexual things in it, but it has been the only movie to make me rotate my TV to face the wall so Sadako couldn't get me.
The Ring is so not mild lol. That movie fucked me up.
My kids wanted to watch a horror movie, but they're still young enough that there's no way I'd allow that.
Then I remembered how mild Vincent Price movies are! We watched The House on Haunted Hill, The Bat, The Last Man on Earth and House of Wax.
We all loved them! The kids initially said that the first movie sucked because it was in black and white, but by the end, they were discussing how the black and white provided for a spookier atmosphere and they couldn't imagine watching colorized versions. So overall, they were quite the success. And these movies themselves are a ton of fun to watch.
The original 13 Ghosts from 1960 is a lot of fun, too. The only caveat is that the (non-gory) death of the villain might be too upsetting for some of the younger kids.
William Castle and Roger Corman could be your go-to guys for awhile!
Shaun of the Dead. It definitely qualifies as a mild horror movie (although genuinely scary at times) but has a lot of laughs and was very clever. It's one of my favorite movies.
If you want something campy and not necessarily scary scary, Cocaine Bear and M3gan might fit the bill. Maybe also the Chucky and Leprechaun series. There's a new movie called The Blackening that just came out but I haven't read any reviews yet (to prevent being spoiled).
Also, as I mentioned in another post, you might focus in 1970s psychological and occult horror films like The Eyes of Laura Mars. When a Stranger Calls, or Suspiria.
ETA: Black Mirror -each episode is its own mild horror mini movie. No gore, just lots of existential chills. I'd recommend watching the first four seasons (the newer seasons have really fallen off).
I'm not quite certain what you're looking for, so be sure to check DoesTheDogDie out before going in blind with my recommendations.
1: I'd like to point this one out specifically because it's not a well known film. Highly recommend it. Make sure to find a copy with good sound, because the use of sound is nothing short of ingenious.
2: Feel free to watch the American re-make if you'd like. It's the exact same film, almost shot by shot, but I prefer the Austrian version.
How is Funny Games mild in any shape or form????
Mild films and mild horror films are not the same.
If anything, Funny Games is a perfect recommendation for someone who's looking for a mild horror film because of Haneke's sensibilities on the subject. The film itself is a criticism of how we, as the audience, have been accustomed to violence and how the film industry normalized it as entertainment.
Is it a mild film? No, absolutely not. It's many times over more disturbing than any random horror film you can find on Netflix. Is it mild in its horror elements? Yes.
Funny Games is the sort of technically correct recommendation that could end up costing someone friends in my view. Psychological horror also exists on a scale and that movie rests far above mild. As horror fans we are likely desensitized, but a person who is "not familiar or comfortable with horror or thriller movies" is not going to properly appreciate Haneke's metacommentary and be left with a very disturbing, bleak home invasion/torture movie.
yeah. I think it's slightly unclear what exactly the OP is asking about, but I readily admit that I scarequitted Funny Games rather early.
I can't find it currently but one of my favorite reviews by Roger Ebert was of Funny Games and how much he hated it.
Good list, but I wouldn't say this movie about giving birth to the Antichrist is mild :P
Right, but @insomniacpyro wrote even Scream series is rather mild to them. Rosemary's Baby is a lot more disturbing than Scream, but it's also pretty sterile compared to it.
I'd consider Rosemary's Baby an order of magnitude scarier than Scream. Unless if you're only measuring gore, however.
I agree, since I said I find it a lot more disturbing than Scream. But it doesn't have any jump scares, nor any on-screen murders. It's a psychological horror.
I was. My interpretation of what @insomniacpyro wanted, which I pointed out I wasn't sure of, was that they are looking for films implicit in their horror, something disturbing, more than films that are crude and resort to cheap tricks to momentarily frighten their audience.
Ooo, I'm saving this list! The Birds is so good. The novel delves deeper than the movie, but still a great adaptation.
The Changeling, 1980, with George C. Scott fits this bill.
I'm fond of Brotherhood of the Wolf as being horror-adjacent. It's more of a mystery to me, but it's still an October favorite. There is sex (it's European), and there's some gore from fights, but more in a martial-arts style than in a "show them the entrails" manner.
Even in the trailer I loved the implied mood of Midsommar. Daylight is thankfully easing it's way into Horror and I'm all for it.
Midsommar does not seem mild from what I've read. I haven't seen it because I am a scaredy-cat, but according to IMDb's parent's guide it is "Very disturbing and incredibly graphically violent", "the many deaths throughout may be difficult for many viewers", and in general it sounds traumatizing.
Poltergeist has the most low key scare that actually made me jump. Like it was such a simple effect but it spooked me good.
Spoiler for the specific scare I’m talking about
When she turns around and the chairs have all been stacked. It’s effective because of the camera work. There’s no cut, and the camera moves so casually that it just sneaks up on you, just like it does to the character. Even after it is set up with multiple small chair movements, her turning around and seeing that stack was somehow still so unexpected. I was doing double takes every time I walked past my kitchen for the rest of the week
Everything in The Blair Witch Project is psychological horror. There's no "killer chasing" scenes, no gore, no visible monster. I'm not sure if that's the scale of "mild" you're going for, or not.
Oh that's definitely in the periphery, I watched the first one maybe a year or two after it came out and it did such a good job of capturing the mystery of found footage while also telling a story that worked so well without anything but a empty forest.
I would say 'I am the pretty thing that lives in the house' might be the most mild horror movie I've ever seen lol. I will also throw in Lake Mungo, which has a fun vibe to it and slow burn.
Definitely have Mungo on my list thanks to the Dead Meat podcast episode on it. It was spoiled for me but I still want to watch it.
Not a movie, but the first thing I thought of when I read "mild horror" was the TV series Ghosts. The original BBC version has a slight edge over the American remake, but both are very entertaining with very low stakes, family friendly, horror.
It may not be what you were looking for, but there are plenty of movies with horror themes that aren't horror movies.
The Mummy (1999, PG-13) is a good example. Archaeologists accidentally awaken an ancient Egyptian mummy, who seeks to resurrect his long-dead lover and re-establish his kingdom, killing all who get in his way. Unlike other Mummy films before it, this one is decidedly an adventure movie rather than horror.
Jurassic Park (1993, PG-13) is a fantastic movie that most have probably already seen. A power outage in a theme park full of dinosaurs leads to its inhabitants breaking free and terrorising the guests.
Cloverfield (2008, PG-13) is a handicam movie similar to the Blair Witch Project. It recounts initial moments of a Kaiju invasion from the perspective of some young adults and their video camera.
Lastly, I'll suggest Independence Day (1996, PG-13). It's about America fighting back an alien invasion. The aliens in this movie creeped the hell out of me as a kid, and I think they hold up pretty well today.
For thrillers with horror elements, I enjoyed Bird Box (2018) and The Orphanage (2007 Spanish). Both are rated R however for depictions of violence, disturbing images, brief sexuality, and trigger warning
Ready or Not
You can always go artsy. The "smartness" makes you less scared.
28 days later (zombies) or sunshine (space stuff) from Danny Boyle are great. The original Night of the living dead is great and not really that scary.
Event horizon is another cool space demon thing (lots of blood though).
I really love it follows, which someone else mentioned. The monster in it is slow as hell and just looks like a random person, just won't stop.
The Wolf of Snow Hollow.
It's mostly funny, but with good moments of horror.
A well-made psychological horror/thriller that still crosses my mind from time to time is I Melt with You (trigger warning: storyline deals with a suicide pact.)
April Fool's Day (1986) is fundamentally a cheap 80s slasher, but it has very little gore. It's not scary at all, but it's fun. It's also one of the best acted movies from the genre.
I cannot recommended enough Robert Wise's The Haunting - the original one, not the early 2000s remake. It was tough to find, but I found a copy through my library, it was on my must-watch list and I'm glad to recommend it.
Shaun of the Dead, as another poster mentioned, is a great balance of comedy and horror. I also really enjoyed Wallace and Grommet and the Curse of the Wererabbit - great for kids but I still enjoy it as an adult, it's funny!
Drag me to hell. I think it is mild and I like Sam Raimi movies.
The Conjuring is pretty tame. It was only rated R for being “too scary” which honestly is more of a marketing thing. It would be fine if slapped with a PG-13 rating.
Ouija: Origin of Evil is pretty good (especially compared to its derided predecessor). It’s from Mike Flanagan and is actually PG-13.
Always up for Flannigan, he has a great pulse on horror.
I would like to add in my thoughts on t his before you sit down and assume The Conjuring is tame.
It is by far my favorite scary movie, however it does NOT fill the "mild" requirement. I would not recommend watching this if you're expecting mild chills.
Alfred Hitchcock Presents is a series of oldies but a goodies
I really like Smile (2022) for low key thrills, not too much blood, no nudity.
If you end up enjoying Happy Death Day, I'd recommend Freaky and The Final Girls.
I’m not really into the horror genre and I don’t like gore, so I’m the last person you should be taking recs from. But I really enjoyed 1408 with John Cusak and Samuel L. Jackson. It was mild enough for my tastes, which I think qualifies it for mention here.
Vivarium
Rec. I recommend the original, in spanish, but the us remake is ok, too.
Deadstream.
It Follows.
The Invitation (2015, not the one from 2022).
Gerald's Game.
And, well, there's not a lot of blood in Bone Tomahawk, but it's hard to call this one "mild" because its ending is utterly unforgettable.
Going thriller horror, which is still mild for horror but edge of seat, try Don't Breathe. Make sure it's the right one as there have been a few movies called Don't Breathe or similar.
The other one I'd suggest is The Boy. Definitely keeps you on your toes but isn't too horror and has some great twists and turns. No spoilers coming from me.
There's a darkly funny murder comedy called Big Nothing that might fit the bill. My "horror movie" friends and I liked it a lot. (Starring David Schwimmer & Simon Pegg.)
An oddly unsettling, virtually zero-budget SF flick is Sound of My Voice, although it may be a bit too far on the mild side of what you seek. It's rather slow moving with some intriguing concepts and implications along the way. Subtly spooky, I'd say, but still worth watching.
Session 9 is a sufficiently creepy, low-budget film that works well for what it’s doing.
A very forgotten movie by seemingly everyone but me when I talk about it.
I'm trying to get into horror movies a little bit, so I've also been trying to find milder ones. I thought The Witch was great for me. It's a bit of a slow burn and moreso feels unsettling rather than giving you nightmares for weeks. I really enjoyed it and if you haven't seen Eggers other work, it'd be a great intro to The Lighthouse and The Northman (neither of which are horror, but they're both excellent).
It's a bit of an oldie, but the 1985 movie 'House' is a good "mild" horror movie - it's got some good scares but also some humor.
I would recommend some classic pg-13 thriller/horror movies such as The Others(about an old house and the new family moving in) and Signs(strange happenings around a farm). Try to avoid spoiler beyond what I've written, these movies are 2 decades old at this point, so it's easy to come across spoilers but they are best to go in blind.
Another from the late-90s/early-00s boom of PG-13 movies is Darkness Falls. I would consider it mild and enjoyable, despite it's bad reputation.
More modern are the productions of Team Starkid. There are sexual references and swearing, but light as far as gore and horror go. They have musicals like The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals and Black Friday which are comedy/horror. They also have Nightmare Time which are table reads of Twilight Zone style stories.
https://youtube.com/@starkid
Somewhat like you, I'm not in particular a horror-movie person, but one that surprised me in it's mildness and yet was a movie I very much recommend as a classic is the Silence of the lambs, with Hopkins excellent performance.
Any hammer horror at this point is mild
There is so many "corny" 70s horrors with incredible setdec, the abominable dr. phibes for example.
Someone else mentioned folk horror, there was a recent doco (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13938338) and boxset with lots of great films