Our Top 10 International Horror Films
Halloween is just around the corner! So to get you in the mood for spooky season, we’ve gathered together our top 10 international horror films! So make yourself a hot drink, get yourself comfy and take a look at our top picks!
1. AMERICA – Halloween (Dir. Carpenter, 1978)
One of the first ever slasher movies, Carpenter’s 1978 masterpiece makes it clear why killer Michael Myers is right up there in the horror villain hall of fame. Even today, Michael still makes audiences want to hide behind their sofas without saying a word.
2. UK – The Wicker Man (Dir. Hardy, 1973)
Police Sergeant Howie, a devout Christian, travels to the mysterious Scottish island of Summerisle to investigate the disappearance of a missing child. He soon discovers that the island residents are all practicing ancient pagan rituals, and they claim that the missing child never even existed. As soon as Howie arrives on the island, the mystery will draw you in and keep you guessing, until the horrifying truth is revealed.
3. GERMANY – Blood Red Sky (Dir. Thorwarth, 2021)
What initially appears as a hijacking thriller takes a sudden turn in this high-octane bloodbath in the sky. Single mother Nadja must protect her son Elias from the hijackers, but little do they realise they are the ones that need protecting from Nadja – a vampire trying to find a cure for her condition in America.
4. SOUTH KOREA – Train to Busan (Dir. Yeon, 2016)
Zombie movies feel lazy and sluggish at times, but that is not the case at all here! A mysterious virus has swept through Korea, and a father is taking his daughter from Seoul to Busan on the KTX bullet train. After an infected stowaway makes their way onto the train, each carriage falls one by one to the horde. Just like the infected masses, the action and thrills in this film are unrelenting.
5. RUSSIA – Sputnik (Dir. Abramenko, 2020)
1983, the height of the Cold War. Two Russian astronauts crash on re-entry, with only the commander surviving. However, it soon becomes clear that something has come back to Earth with him. This chilling Russian “Alien” meets “The X-Files” thriller is a great slow burn, with some brilliant moments of sheer dread.
6. NORWAY – Trollhunter (Dir. Øvredal, 2010)
The first of two found-footage entries on this list follows a group of students investigating a series of mysterious bear deaths. At first, they seem to be a result of poachers, but after meeting a mysterious hunter named Hans, the students uncover a whole new terrifying world. Hans is actually a troll hunter working for the Norwegian government, and he must eliminate some particularly dangerous individuals that have escaped their territory.
7. AUSTRIA – Funny Games (Dir. Haneke, 1997)
Anna is home alone in her family’s lakeside cabin while her husband and son are out sailing. Two men introduce themselves as friends of the neighbours, but they soon refuse to leave. When Anna’s husband Georg returns and tries to remove the two men, things turn violent, and the family ends up being held hostage and forced to play horrific games. To make things even worse, one of the invaders even addresses the audience directly, doubling down on the nightmarish situation.
8. ITALY – Suspiria (Dir. Argento, 1977)
Dario Argento’s masterful cinematography. Goblin’s mystifying, unsettling soundtrack. This giant of Italian Giallo Horror follows Suzy Bannion surviving the mysterious Tanz Akademie and all the mind-bending horrors that hide within. You certainly won’t forget this film in a hurry.
9. SPAIN – REC (Dir. Balagueró, Plaza. 2007)
Another found-footage icon, REC follows TV reporter Angela through the lens of her cameraman Pablo as they report on a local Barcelona fire brigade. The duo follows them on a call to a nearby apartment where an old woman is trapped. They are soon trapped inside the building with the other horrified residents, and something else truly evil.
10. AMERICA – Scream (Dir. Craven, 1996)
My answer to Ghostface’s iconic question; “What’s your favourite scary movie?”. Wes Craven’s classic arguably changed the genre forever. Roger L. Jackson’s voice is still as chilling now as it was in 1996 and will have you scared of a ringing phone for a long time after watching.
We hope you enjoy our picks for 10 International Horror Films! If you’ve got any frightful favourites you’d like to share, get in touch with us here or join us on social media!
In the mood for foreign films?
It’s a comment you may have heard expressed before by many native English speakers: despite possessing an interest in foreign films and a willingness to embrace their ‘quirkiness’, it sometimes feels as though you have to be “in the mood” to watch them. After watching a French film the other night and hearing my housemate make this exact comment, my thoughts consequently drifted to how world cinema seems to have rapidly gained popularity over the last ten years in the U.K. (more…)