Here are Cinephile Corner’s 10 recommendations for horror movies like The Mist:
A Quiet Place: Day One
Michael Sarnoski sits in the director’s chair for A Quiet Place: Day One and delivers a movie that often feels like an A Quiet Place movie and a Michael Sarnoski film – just not at the same time. The softer moments between Lupita Nyong’o and Joseph Quinn are great, but often feel out of place in this larger world.
Handling the Undead
Handling the Undead is Thea Hvistendahl’s debut directorial feature, and while there are aspects of the movie that are fascinating (and even quite profound), the story is drawn out for far too long. The emotional bite is there in doses, but there’s a general feeling of malaise that washes over you and drowns you out.
Barbarian
Zach Cregger‘s Barbarian is still refreshing and thrilling, and it’s easily one of my favorite theater experiences of 2022. Films try over and over again to use the schlocky marketing bit of audiences screaming in theaters only to be disappointing in actual terror when places in front of you – but Barbarian is genuinely jaw-dropping.
Cobweb
Cobweb might be accused of adhering to some familiar horror tropes, but its commitment to its genre roots is what makes it stand out. The movie surpasses expectations with its tight narrative, commendable performances, and a commitment to delivering unadulterated horror.
Evil Dead Rise
There aren’t many horror franchises able to reinvent themselves as often as Evil Dead does while still maintaining relevancy and quality. Maybe it’s because Sam Raimi holds his creation so close to his heart that only a select few are able to take on the premise, or maybe it’s because the premise seems simple and malleable enough to make nearly anything work. It can shoot for the downright zany and ludicrous with Evil Dead II or Army of Darkness, or it can strive to be like Lee Cronin’s newest spin Evil Dead Rise – a movie so sick and twisted that you can’t help but give it its dues by the time the credits roll.
Doctor Sleep
There is supposedly a better director’s cut of Doctor Sleep out there that fills in the gaps of a few character traits, motivations, and decisions. Honestly, I’m not sure I care. This is about as rigorous and uninteresting as any horror franchise rebooted in recent memory. It’s a glossy, airless, and ultimately unnecessary return to a world that was perfect as is.
Pulse
Kiyoshi Kurosawa‘s Pulse feels as though its the little brother to Cure, his cult hit now hailed as a classic decades later. Pulse carries with it that same eerie, atmospheric energy that serves to envelop you and disturb you. There isn’t much to Pulse that is out and out terrifying as it moves at its own mundane pace and rarely relies in sonic cues to make its impact. Instead, Pulse works almost entirely because of Kurosawa’s offbeat pacing and intricate combination of editing and shot selection.
Presence
Presence is another fascinating experiment from Steven Soderbergh, a filmmaker who has spent the last decade pushing his own creative boundaries. With films like Kimi and Magic Mike’s Last Dance, he’s proven he can reinvent genres with an auteur’s touch, and Presence continues that trend—this time through a unique first-person POV horror/thriller. While the movie doesn’t entirely stick the landing, its technical craftsmanship and conceptual ambition make it an intriguing entry in Soderbergh’s ever-evolving filmography.
Final Destination Bloodlines
Final Destination Bloodlines is the rare horror legacy sequel that understands exactly what it is—and more importantly, what its fans want. Directed by Zach Lipovsky and Adam B. Stein, this blood-soaked revival of the Final Destination franchise doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it absolutely fine-tunes it, delivering gory set pieces, a slickly paced plot, and just enough lore expansion to make it feel like more than a rehash. It’s self-aware without being snarky, brutal without being mean-spirited, and surprisingly clever in how it weaves its mythology into something new.
Ring
Ring is among the most influential movies to ever come out of Japan. Setting aside it’s successful attempt to blend Japanese filmmaking into the mainstream, Hideo Nakata‘s wildly successful 1998 film is one of the horror genre’s most well-regarded releases. It transcended where it came from, becoming an international powerhouse and spawning and English-language remake due to its popularity.
READ MORE: The Mist (2007)
