10 Underrated Horror Movies With a Cult Following

While there will always be an inherent joy from watching the largest blockbuster releases and the most popular films of all time, there can be a greater joy from watching an underappreciated gem of equal or not higher quality. Many of these gems can reach such levels of notoriety that they in themselves achieve their own cult followings of dedicated fans who spread the good word and excitement of the film’s many skills. While every film genre has its own array of cult classics, horror is a genre that feels built from the ground up to create cult classic experiences.

It comes with the territory of horror films already being seen as relatively taboo and non-consumer-friendly to wider audiences, which makes a great horror experience being different from any other genre. Word of mouth has already played a major part in the spread and popularity of horror films, with cult classic horror experiences only amplifying these grassroots conversations surrounding the true hidden gems of the genre. This applies in a variety of methods, whether it be decades-old films that took until widespread video stores or the digital era to receive their followings or modern released films that went under the radar for standard audiences but found more passionate audiences in the process.

10 ‘Malignant’ (2021)

Directed by James Wan

James Wan has been a standout name in the world of horror ever since his big splash co-creating the legendary Saw franchise and has since gone on to direct classics like Insidious and The Conjuring. This makes the very notion of one of his directorial horror outings being a cult classic outlandish, yet audiences and critics alike simply didn’t know what to think of Malignant upon its release. The film has a strange, campy tone that feels completely different than any of Wan’s other horror films, yet it is this same style that has helped it become a modern horror cult classic.

Malignant knows exactly how to build up its mystery and most confounding aspects, leaving the audience in a lulling state of confusion until its brilliant reveal, where it not only pulls no punches but makes it fully aware that all of its strange choices were intentional from the get-go. It certainly didn’t help matters that Malignant was advertised as a standard horror affair in line with Wan’s other works instead of the genre-bending thrill ride that it was. While it didn’t make as many waves on release, it has quickly grown a following as one of the most memorable original horror films of the 2020s.

9 ‘My Bloody Valentine’ (1981)

Directed by George Mihalka

While horror as a genre is often always associated with the Halloween holiday, there are various other unexpected films that attempt to bring scares to other holidays, with one of the most unexpectedly beloved being My Bloody Valentine. The film takes place on the twenty-year anniversary of a painful Valentine’s Day tragedy that caused the deaths of a group of miners. However, one miner in particular, Harry Warden, seemingly returns from the grave to enact his revenge on a group of teenage sweethearts, causing a massacre of bodies in the process.

While My Bloody Valentine is a clear and blatant copy of the holiday-centric silent slasher premise of Halloween, the striking visuals and top-notch execution make the film make it a standout among 80s slashers. Warden is a powerful and deeply intimidating slasher villain, with the breathing of the miner mask going a long way in terms of adding to the inherent terror and dread of the murder on display. The film has become a notable cult classic that is often revisited by horror fans every Valentine’s Day, as one of the romantic holiday’s only premiere horror experiences.

8 ‘Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon’ (2006)

Directed by Scott Glosserman

Self-aware and meta-contextual horror films saw a massive rise in popularity following the major success of films like Scream, yet one of the most under-the-radar yet widely acclaimed takes on a meta-slasher is Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon. The film follows a documentary crew who have exclusive access to cover the ins and outs of Leslie Vernon, the self-proclaimed “next great psycho killer”, as he sets up his prey in the vein of other icons like Jason Vorhees and Michael Myers. While initially hesitant about the horrific implications, the crew can’t help but fall for Leslie’s inherent charm, yet this charm begins to fade once the killings are about to occur.

Behind the Mask is a love letter to the slasher genre as a whole, paying great attention to the conventions and clichés of the genre to use as worldbuilding tools and elements of its storytelling. It pulls off the double feat of being both an effective comedy and satire of the slasher genre while also masterfully pulling off a smart and reflective use of the genre’s greatest strengths. Due to its nature of being made by horror fanatics for horror fanatics, it was all but certain to become a cult classic in horror circles who could more greatly appreciate the filmmaking at hand.

7 ‘Event Horizon’ (1997)

Directed by Paul W. S. Anderson

While science fiction horror and supernatural horror are both greatly successful and widely explored subgenres in their own right, there have been very few opportunities to combine the two genres together. One of the few great standout examples is Event Horizon, which starts out with a classic sci-fi setting yet divulges into a much more sinister, allegorical and biblical state by the film’s gripping end. The film follows a group of future astronauts sent to investigate the wreckage of a mysteriously disappeared starship, as they soon make a terrifying discovery aboard the ship.

Event Horizon is simply one of many sci-fi films with high aspirations that were cut short due to studio decisions heavily editing down the original cut, resulting in a film that disappointed at the box office upon its initial release. However, the film soon grew an ever-growing audience when it hit home video, with its combination of sci-fi and demonic aesthetics proving to captivate audiences by showing them something they’ve never seen before. While the film’s original cut is still lost, the film has retained a cult following and is considered one of the most underrated horror films of the 90s.

6 ‘May’ (2002)

Directed by Lucky McKee

An effective trend not just in horror movies but in hard-hitting dramas and thrillers is to have a story focusing on the downward spiral and fractured psyche of a disturbed and misunderstood individual. Films like Joker, Pearl, and American Psycho have all found great success and amassed cult followings thanks to their layered and dynamic portrayal of these infamous killers, with one of the most underrated yet still beloved iterations of this concept being May.

May finds great success for many of the same reasons that these other character study films have found success, off of the backs of powerful lead performances that suck audiences in and leave a commanding impression upon them. Angela Bettis‘s performance as the socially awkward yet obsessed with perfection May Canady is one of the most inspired and effective horror performances of the 2000s, finding a perfect balance between innocence, rage, and lust. The film has continued to connect with audiences and become a cult classic since its release, especially with its themes of social isolation being much more impactful in a post-COVID-19 pandemic world.

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5 ‘One Cut of the Dead’ (2017)

Directed by Shinichiro Ueda

Zombie movies were one of the most dominating trends throughout the 2010s, making it so amateur and new zombie stories truly had to be special to stand out among the competition. Thankfully, Japanese horror-comedy One Cut of the Dead created one of the most ingenious and creative takes on a zombie film, and it is considered one of the best international zombie films. The film follows a low-budget crew attempting to shoot a zombie film in an abandoned warehouse before having their shoot terrorized by a group of actual zombies.

It’s difficult to get into the intricacies and brilliance of One Cut of the Dead without spoiling its greatest twist halfway through the film, as this factor has both alienated audiences and created fans for its execution. Its setup and major draw as a film that appears to be shot in a singular cut makes for a deeply impressive feat of filmmaking, one that grows to be even more impressive given the full context of the film. The film still hasn’t found as massive an audience as other horror comedies due to being an international film, yet those who have experienced it are quick to sing their praises for it.

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4 ‘Angst’ (1983)

Directed by Gerald Kargl

The fine line that horror films often play with realism is something that very few even attempt to tap into, fearing the possibility of harshly alienating audiences in the process of achieving realism. This puts the more intentionally realistic horror films in the prime position of becoming cult classics over time, with one of the premiere examples of a disturbingly realistic horror film being Angst. The film follows the perspective of a deranged killer after having been released from prison as they break into a remote home with plans to kill a woman and her two children.

The very essence and goals of Angst to create one of the most viscerally disturbing and uncomfortable home invasion horror experiences possible has made it difficult to approach from standard audiences, even hardcore horror fans. However, the film achieves its goals near-flawlessly, creating a despicable and haunting portrait of a painful horror figure and becoming a major influence for home invasion films to follow. While the number of fans that the film has may be small, it’s simply undeniable that Angst is one of the scariest horror movies of all time.

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3 ‘Altered States’ (1980)

Directed by Ken Russell

Psychological horror is an intricate and complicated beast in itself in the world of horror, with its abstract concepts allowing for near-limitless possibilities in terms of disturbing visuals or symbolic messaging. It can serve to be greatly overwhelming for general audiences, yet those dedicated enough will surely find a glorious buffet of brilliant imagery and poignant themes, such as the case with fans of Altered States. The film follows a scientist who, on a quest to research the boundaries of consciousness, conducts various disturbing tests using sensory deprivation and psychoactive drugs to bring out the truth about the universe.

Altered States is a cinematic experience that isn’t afraid of alienating audiences and carving its own path with an array of deeply disturbing imagery, confusing visuals, and overwhelming subtext. However, it’s these very alienating aspects that have made the film so enthralling and captivating for those willing to give the film the time of day, being a one-of-a-kind experience that is as equally disgusting as it is clever. It’s a psychedelic trip of a film that will continue to enthrall the select few who seek it out for decades to come as one of the premiere sci-fi horror films of the 80s.

2 ‘Ginger Snaps’ (2000)

Directed by John Fawcett

One of the greatest strengths that come from the territory of risque content that horror provides is their ability to touch upon taboo themes that would be deemed too difficult or unsavory for wider audiences. This is most especially seen in the case of horror films with more feminist themes, as they were able to push barriers long before other genres would tackle these concepts, with one of the best examples being Ginger Snaps. The brilliant female coming-of-age allegory follows a duo of sisters who are forced to deal with the consequences when one of them is bitten by a werewolf.

Ginger Snaps fundamentally understands the strengths and value that werewolf stories can provide in terms of complex themes and storytelling, weaving together a beautiful tale of sisterhood and the female experience in the process. While these themes were always present and intended within the film, it would take a deep examination of the film years after its release for a dedicated cult following to sprout up in support of the film. Nowadays, the film is widely beloved for its feminist themes and is considered the quintessential werewolf hidden gem.

1 ‘House’ (1977)

Directed by Nobuhiko Obayashi

Horror allows filmmakers to express their wild creativity and limitless possibilities for risque, adult-oriented art in an avenue that so very few genres or even mediums come close to tackling. No film quite understands the importance of creative expression like the Japanese horror masterpiece, House, a film that goes out of its way to create the most wild and zany visual style imaginable, especially for the era it was released in. The film follows a group of young girls who travel across the countryside to spend a vacation at an ancestral house owned by one’s aunt, yet the house proves to have various disturbing and deadly attributes.

From colorful effects used to amplify the action and gore on the screen to performances that lean more intentionally silly than genuinely disturbing, House presents an aura of untapped whimsy and chaos that is uncontested by other horror films. It makes for one of the most stylized horror movies of all time, as well as something that is impossible to watch without a smile on one’s face and a deep respect for the craft at hand. It’s a cinematic experience that simply needs to be seen to be believed, as it grows to be one of the quintessential faces of what an underrated horror hidden gem can be.

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