With just under a week to go until Halloween, we've been watching a lot of horror films here at Female First! After ranking 15 of our favourite classics from the 80s, we've decided to also rank 10 of the best lesser-known horror flicks, that you probably haven't seen. Many of those on our list are from recent years, but didn't get the acclaim they deserved. If you can get your hands on a copy of these scary movies, then you should grab a bowl of popcorn and get watching!
10. Babysitter Wanted (2008)
Written by Jonas Barnes, who also serves as director alongside Michael Manasseri, Babysitter Wanted takes some typical tropes of horror, including scary phone calls, and tilts them on their head. Hoping to support herself in college through a babysitting gig, Angie (Sarah Thompson) finds herself in a fight for survival not only for herself, but for the young boy she's been tasked in looking after. It may sound like your usual creepy movie, but there's a huge twist that will shock even the most perceptive of viewers...
9. Live! (2007)
Eva Mendes is absolutely incredible as television executive Katy in Live!, who develops what she hopes will become the most-watched and talked-about television show of all time: one in which six contestants play Russian Roulette, resulting in one of them being killed on live TV. With suicidal people signing up and $1,000,000 being offered to each of the contestants, Katy decides to change things around, because she only wants players involved who genuinely want to live. She says that each of the survivors will be given $5,000,000, whilst the family of the person who is killed will receive nothing. Tense and brutal throughout, this is one rollercoaster ride of a horror flick that pushes all the boundaries.
8. Triangle (2009)
This psychological thriller follows the journey of a single mother and her group of friends, who go on a boating trip that quickly turns into a disaster. Convinced that they are being stalked when abandoning their vessel for a derelict ocean liner, allies quickly turn to enemies, as suspicions are raised and paranoia sets in.
7. Dying Breed (2008)
This Australian horror sets the scene in Tasmania in the 1800s, and follows the hunt for an escaped convict known as The Pieman. Though authorities are on his tail, he escapes after murdering one of the police officers, before audiences are brought to the modern day. Special effects may not be the film's strong point, but that doesn't matter when the writing is so slick, and the characters are so well-rounded.
6. Pathology (2008)
Milo Ventimiglia leads the cast here, as a medical student who finds himself in the centre of a deadly game alongside fellow students, who are taking turns to try and commit the perfect murder. Those who aren't taking their turn must work together to try and work out exactly how each victim was killed, leading to some inventive kills and incredibly-compelling viewing.
5. Darkness (2002)
Darkness is a movie that was released in the UK with all of the best bits cut out. It was turned into an unwatchable mess, but if you're able to get your hands on an uncut, unrated copy of the flick, it's one of the strongest modern-day horrors the world has seen. Anna Paquin is brilliant throughout, and director Jaume Balagueró does an awesome job of building intensity before its highly-unsettling finale.
4. Session 9 (2001)
There's honestly no better setting for a horror flick than a Mental Hospital, and that's exactly where the biggest chunk of action takes place in this psychological horror, from director and writer Brad Anderson. With an asbestos abatement crew working in the abandoned asylum, tensions begin to rise and a former patient's disturbing story comes to the forefront. An intense ride from start to finish.
3. The Hamiltons (2006)
Following the tragic death of their parents, a group of orphans move into a new home, but quickly find it hard to cope without their mother and father around. Everything that comes thereafter is one big shock after another, so the less you know, the better!
2. The Slumber Party Massacre (1982)
Slasher films in the 80s are a dime a dozen, but this is one that should have been given more love than it got at the time! It kickstarted the first horror franchise in history whose films were directed exclusively by women, bringing an early flair of feminism to the genre; and who doesn't love that?
1. Creep (2014)
With Patrick Brice serving as director, writer and star, alongside fellow writer and star Mark Duplass, Creep is made by a close-knit team, and is all the better for it. Brice takes on the role of videographer Aaron, who answers an ad from a man called Josef (Duplass), but when their relationship begins to flourish, Aaron discovers his client isn't the man he was expecting. It sounds typical, but it's anything but. Grab a copy and sit back with a pillow by your side; you won't regret it!
Tagged in Halloween