Some of the besthorrorcomes in ebbs and flow, building up tension to deliver shocking moments or a well-timed jump scare. It has long been established that building up a story to moments of terror is essential in crafting a perfect horror movie. However, some filmmakers look to challenge that notion by creating a story that starts at a place of horror and does not let up until the credits roll.
It is undoubtedly a rare feat to make a movie stay consistently scary from start to finish, but these 10 films do just that. Whether supernatural terrors, unstoppable killers, or the horrors from within, these movies will keep you on the edge of your seat.
10’Terrified' (2017)
Opening with the brutal death of a man by a supernatural entity,Terrifieduses the instance to set a curse upon those neighboring the home where the incident took place. This includes a young mother who loses her son after he is hit by a bus and another man haunted by a tall, looming figure. The police are called in, along with paranormal investigators, to try to determine the source of unrelenting evil terrorizing a community.
A Community Haunted by Violent Spirits
Terrifiedhas violence in spurts, but it manages to establish a consistent sense of dread and unease by jumping between different ghastly hauntings; the image of a child ‘returning’ as a decayed corpse at a dinner table is an unshakable bleak vision.Terrifiedalsoeffectively uses jump scares, leaning on atmosphere and gore to build up to and deliver on some of the most shocking sequences committed to film.The movie lives up to its namesake by being terrifying from start to finish.
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9’Rec' (2007)
A television crew following a group of firefighters in a piece highlighting their daily lives ends up following them on a call as first responders into an apartment building where a woman has been reported to be ill. Once they arrive, they are soon confronted with the reality thata zombie-like disease may be spreadingthroughout the building. With the residential space on lockdown, the crew and a few tenants must try to survive unrelenting attacks.
The Scariest Film of the 2000s
[Rec],and its follow-up[Rec] 2,were integral in shaping the modern found-footage horror genre,delivering consistent terror up close and personal, unlike anything that had come before it. The set-up is brief and straightforward, a means to get to the horror that follows and does not relent once it starts going. As it gets pieced together throughout the franchise, the lore around the film also allows for revisits of the original with a new appreciation.
8’The Sadness' (2022)
The Sadness
A city is consumed by the sudden outbreak of a disease that causes those affected to divulge any perverse and violent desire. Two couples get caught up in the chaos at the other ends of the city and fight through a chaotic landscape of death and terror to find each other.
A City Full of Killers
Unrelenting and unapologetic,The Sadnessis one of the goriest and most over-the-top horror films ever made. Yet, it is not just shocking for the sake of shock value, with the central story of separated partners working as an ideal draw to become emotionally invested in the survival of the two. This balance is impressive, given within the film’s first few moments, director Rob Jabbaz delivers a series of violent altercations across the busy streets of Taipei.
7’Haze' (2005)
InHaze, a man awakes in a maze with little memory of who he is or how he got there. A claustrophobic space that forces him to wade through pools of blood, drag his teeth along bars, and push himself through tight corridors with jagged edges, his existence is a living nightmare. He eventually meets another person also stuck in the same loop and experiencing memory loss. The two attempt to piece together who they are and why they are there.
Claustrophobic and Bloody
A ghastly maze that focuses on discomfort and pain to torture those trapped within,Hazestarts intensely to create a sense of mystery around the cruel punishment. The movie slowly reveals its inner workings, taking an abstract approach to storytelling. Still, most of the runtime is focused on close-up shots of gross and bloody navigation within a confined space. At just under an hour,Hazedelivers from start to finish.
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6’Be My Cat: A Film for Anne' (2015)
Be My Cat: A Film for Anne
Adrian (Andrian Tofei), an aspiring filmmaker, is obsessed with getting Anne Hathaway to star in his film. He entertains this obsession by hiring local actors to play Anne’s role in his movies. Yet, when he gets them alone, he begins a slow, torturous murder of them.
No Escape From One Man’s Madness
Director Andrian Tofei createdan unsettling piece of found-footage horrorby focusingon one man’s unhealthy obsession with actor Anne Hathaway. The consistent horror comes from Tofei’s chilling performance of an eccentric transfixed on a singular goal; his dialogue is always unsettling and leads up to moments of extreme cruelty to those he captures. The repetitious cycle of madness and murder makesBe My Cat: A Film for Annegripping and horrifying from beginning to end.
5’The Texas Chain Saw Massacre' (1974)
Texas Chain Saw Massacre
Transgressive and revolutionary for the horror genre on release,The Texas Chain Saw Massacrechallenged normal norms of the genre by presenting an unrelenting tale of horror at the hands of a deranged family of killers.
Real Moments of Terror Caught on Camera
In a process that is now irreplaceable, director Tobe Hooper, his cast, and crew put themselves through hell to film the movie, endangering the lives of those involved and inducing real moments of terror.The Texas Chain Saw Massacreremains iconic decades after its releaseand is an exercise in non-stop horror, extremes, and cruelty.
4’Last Shift' (2015)
Last Shift
Rookie police officer Jessica Loren (Juliana Harkavy) oversees a police station in decommissioning, a job that should only entail staying in and waiting for the following day. However, shortly after her arrival, she receives a series of calls from a desperate woman claiming to be the prisoner of a cult whose leader has long been dead. This sparks a series of events tied to her past, a long-gone cult, and her turbulent relationship with her father, who also served on the force.
A Night Alone, Terrorized by a Cult
Last Shiftcreatesan engaging horror mysteryby telling bits of its story between jump scares and thick atmospheric dread. Director Anthony DiBlasi creates a constant guessing game,highlighted by moments of tension fluctuating between unsettling and profoundly disturbing. Those who enjoy cult-driven horror films will further appreciate the many nods to infamous cases like the Manson Family in crafting the lore behind the haunting of Officer Jessica Loren. DiBlasi would revisit the film in the sequelMalum, which does not quite live up to the original but is still worth checking out.
3’In a Violent Nature' (2024)
In a Violent Nature
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When a group of teenagers end up stealing a locket from a collapsed tower in the woods, they accidentally awaken a brutal killer named “Johnny.“In a Violent Natureputs the viewers into the eyes of Johnny, who stalks various victims and disposes of them with extreme, bloody cruelty after shortly setting up the legend that is Johnny.
Through the Eyes of A Killer
In a Violent Natureis one of those films that will connect with an audience and immerse them in a consistent sense of unease or fall flat and into the realm of tedium; that happens when you take an experimental approach and attempt to deconstruct a genre. Still, spending the entire time with the killer as he embarks on a violent killing spree can be an unnerving and horrifying experience for those willing to immerse themselves in the concept. The movie has been called both terrifying and dull by horror fans, but viewers owe it to check it out themselves.
2’Inside' (2007)
A widowed woman, Sarah (Alysson Paradis), finds herself in the late stages of her pregnancy, trying to deal with the upcoming birth of her child and the weight of her loss. A mysterious visitor at her doorstep turns her night into horror as she finds herself fighting for the life of her child, whom the woman has come to steal from her womb.
A Bloody Night Inside
TheFrench extreme movement of horroroffered plenty of high-octane, nonstop horror films, many of which are worthy of making this list. Still,Inside’ssimple premise of one woman fighting against another in a bloody battle to save a kid makes for one continual terrifying experience. The graphic violence throughout is not for the faint, but for those who love boundary-pushing cinema,Insideis unforgettable; Béatrice Dalle’s menacing performance as a baby-stealing intruder does not hurt either.
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1’When Evil Lurks' (2023)
When Evil Lurks
Two brothers are called on to help remove a man from a home who has become grotesquely ballooned and vile, an indication of a curse that the residents have long had to fight against. Yet, when they are transferring the abomination, an accident leads to the body escaping. This causes a curse among the residents of a small town, with evil confronting them at every turn and taking over their bodies to spread its malice further.
A Curse Blankets a Town
Director Damien Rugna started our list withTerrified, and he will also end it withWhen Evil Lurks.Rugna is one of the most exciting directors currently working, crafting deeply disturbing stories of supernatural horror that are unrelenting and unapologetic. There is no chance to rest with the film, as it opens with the disposal of a bloated body hosting an evil spirit and instantly transitions to a curse that takes over multiple small-town residents. The most pervasive and shocking thing about Rugna’s work is that he creates evil that does not play by any rules and does not discriminate against victims.
