Quality horror films are quite rare.
Horror films are usually rated poorly for characteristic reasons: many of them aim to shock, lack a quality story, and because of the frequent use of templates and clichés – these types of films require originality.
Despite this, among the most advanced projects there is still lighting – films that, thanks to their exciting plots and high image quality, are able to hold visual attention and evoke deep emotions.
Today I am looking at just such films. They are also accustomed to the phenomenon.
1. Dead Silence (2006)
Original title: Dead Silence
Genre: horror
Audience rating: ⭐️ 6.7 (KinoPoisk), ⭐️ 6.1 (IMDb)
Country: USA
Director: James Wan
Cast: Ryan Kwanten, Amber Valletta, Donnie Wahlberg, Michael Fairman, Joan Heaney
About what: Newlyweds Jamie and Lisa receive a package with no return address, which is found to contain a ventriloquist’s dummy. That same evening, the monster brutally kills Lisa, and Jamie, being the main suspect, decides to look into her mysterious death himself.
The guy returns to his hometown, where he sees his father for the first time in a long time and learns the details of local legends – many years ago, the ventriloquist Mary Shaw lived here, who bequeathed to bury herself along with all her dolls.
Where to watch: VK Video
2. Mandy (2017)
Original title: Mandy
Genre: thriller, horror, fantasy
Audience rating: ⭐️ 6.3 (KinoPoisk), ⭐️ 6.5 (IMDb)
Country: UK, Belgium, USA
Director: Panos Cosmatos
Cast: Nicolas Cage, Andrea Riseborough, Linus Roache, Ned Dennehy, Olwen Fouéré
About what: 1983 Lumberjack Red and his friend Mandy live peacefully in a picturesque forest next to a lake. Nothing good, but evil has settled in the forest – a religious cult in company with a hellish biker gang.
As if at the wrong time, Mandy went for a walk in the forest, where the evil of the cult leader Jeremiah took a liking. He orders the bikers to kidnap the girl, drugs her and ritually burns her. And leave no choice for Woodcutter Red but to take the path of places.
Where to watch: Kinopoisk
3. Opened (1978)
Original title: Halloween
Genre: thriller, horror
Audience rating: ⭐️ 7.0 (KinoPoisk), ⭐️ 7.7 (IMDb)
Country: USA
Director: John Carpenter
Cast: Donald Pleasence, Jamie Lee Curtis, Nancy Kyes, P.J. Soules, Charles Cyphers
About what: Psychopathic killer Michael Myers fathered his own sister as a child as an act of protest. 15 years later, the maniac takes up his old ways again and terrorizes a small town. He escaped from a mental hospital to kill again in public.
Where to watch: VK Video
4. Terrifying 2 (2022)
Original title: Terror 2.
Genre: thriller, horror
Audience rating: ⭐️ 6.2 (KinoPoisk), ⭐️ 6.1 (IMDb)
Country: USA
Director: Damien Leone
Cast: Lauren LaVera, David Howard Thornton, Elliott Fallam, Sarah Voight, Kaylee Hyman
About what: Having risen from the dead, the maniac clown Art goes to the laundry, where he meets a girl similar to himself. Meanwhile, high school student Sienna approaches the performance and sews a costume based on the design of her recently deceased father.
Although she is looking forward to going to a party with her friend, the girl begins to be overcome by an uneasy feeling. And for good reason. Art also prepared for the holiday, made himself a weapon and began his favorite pastime – perverted murders.
Where to watch: Eevee
5. Trick or treat (2007)
Original title: Trick ‘r Treat
Genre: thriller, horror
Audience rating: ⭐️ 6.3 (KinoPoisk), ⭐️ 6.7 (IMDb)
Country: USA, Canada
Director: Michael Dougherty
Starring: Dylan Baker, Rhelle Aytes, Anna Paquin, Quinn Lord, Lauren Lee Smith
About what: In four overlapping historical heroes, it’s traditional to break the rules and get themselves into a lot of trouble.
We meet a teacher who is actually a serial killer; a virgin student waiting for her prince; a married couple in which the husband loves All Saints’ Day, but the wife does not share his enthusiasm; and teenagers thinking about a cruel prank.
Where to watch: Google
6. They (2018)
Original title: Haunt
Genre: horror
Audience rating: ⭐️ 6.1 (KinoPoisk), ⭐️ 6.3 (IMDb)
Country: USA
Director: Scott Beck, Brian Woods
Cast: Katie Stevens, Will Brittain, Lauryn Alisa McClain, Andrew Caldwell, Shazi Raja
About what: Seemingly looking for a thrill, the group comes to town on a “Panic Room” ride that promises to bring to life the nightmares of the worst college horror films.
Soon the friends realize that they are in the wrong place for games; under the masks of clowns it is not people, creatures from another world that are revealed, but themselves – now the heroes of a real horror movie, and they must try very hard to get out of the hellish wildlife attraction.
Where to watch: Kinopoisk
7. Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (2019)
Original title: Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark
Genre: thriller, horror
Audience rating: ⭐️ 6.3 (KinoPoisk), ⭐️ 6.2 (IMDb)
Country: USA, Canada, Mexico, Hong Kong
Director: Andre Øvredal
Cast: Zoe Margaret Colletti, Michael Garza, Gabriel Rush, Austin Abrams, Dean Norris
About what: allegedly 1968. High school student Stella, a big fan of scary stories, and her two friends dress up in ridiculous costumes and go for a walk. It so happens that the guys take the school bully and hooligan Tommy out of school and, escaping from him, meet a non-local guy, Ramon, and then go to an old abandoned mansion.
A home maintained by the Bellows family, all of whose members mysteriously disappeared nearly 100 years ago, and the family’s daughter Sarah is still the subject of eerie legends – with the expectation that she might kill while telling the story.
The friends go to the secret room, and Stella takes home the book where Sarah wrote her stories, and on the pages on which a new bully appears that evening, Tommy has disappeared without a trace.
Where to watch: Kinopoisk
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Source: Iphones RU

I am a professional journalist and content creator with extensive experience writing for news websites. I currently work as an author at Gadget Onus, where I specialize in covering hot news topics. My written pieces have been published on some of the biggest media outlets around the world, including The Guardian and BBC News.