The Best HORROR Movies to Watch ALONE
Watching horror movies alone? It’s worth a try, provided you choose the right movie. For obvious reasons, it’s better to avoid all horror movies where the hero or heroine is in a situation similar to ours, so they are at home and experience terrible events in it – so movies like Paranormal Activity (2007), Strangers (2008), Sinister (2012) or The Ring (2002). If you don’t have a companion or just like to watch horror movies alone, here are six suggestions for you.
Frankenstein (1931)
A good old classic! Watching movies alone is a great time to catch up on the classics of horror cinema – it is unlikely to scare the modern viewer and will give you a chance to appreciate the artistic craftsmanship of these films. The cult film based on the famous novel by Mary Shelley is a perfect proposition for the evening. Frankenstein can be successfully exchanged for another film from the Universal studio. It was this studio that in the 1920s, 30s, 40s and 50s produced a series of horror films based on the classics of horror literature, shaping the iconography of the genre for many years. The Phantom of the Opera (1925), Dracula (1931), The Mummy (1932), The Black Cat (1934), The Raven (1935), The Werewolf (1941) and Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954) are other Universal movies and great suggestions for lonely horror movie night.
Blacula (1972)
Horror blaxploitation? Sounds like a great idea for a lonely evening with a horror movie. African-American cinema of exploitation was born in the 1970s on the wave of movements fighting for the equality of black people. The main characters of blaxploitation are African American men and women who are causative, independent and in control of their destiny. This subgenre broke stereotypes about black people, showing them in a way that cinema, especially that made by white people, never did. Blacula is just such an example – the vampire Dracula, known from literature and horror movies, here becomes Blacula – the first black vampire in history. Locked in a coffin for hundreds of years, he is awakened in Los Angeles in the 1970s, where two interior designers have moved a purchased sarcophagus. Because the cinema of exploitation is a low-budget and amateur cinema, so is Blacula, therefore it is a good idea for a light, lonely screening. The film does not scare, but it has a sense of humor and great, soul-funk music that will make the screening more pleasant.
Carrie (1976)
Brian de Palma’s film based on Stephen King’s novel is a great proposition for a solitary screening. The protagonist of the film is 16-year-old Carrie White (Sissy Spacek), who has telekinetic abilities. She is shy, withdrawn, and bullied by her peers at school. Carrie is raised by a religious mother (Piper Laurie) who does not make life easy for her teenage daughter. When the heroine is humiliated, her telekinetic powers will get out of control. Carrie is a good idea for a lonely screening, because apart from being a horror film, it is also a bit of a typical high school movie that takes up many different threads – adolescence, social ostracism or religious fanaticism.
The Cabin in the Woods (2011)
The plot of Cabin in the Woods follows a typical horror film pattern – a group of teenagers decide to spend the weekend in a cabin in the woods. It turns out that bloodthirsty beasts lurk around. And although in the introduction to this text I wrote that it is better not to watch movies about heroes locked at home alone, contrary to appearances, this is not a typical horror film. It turns out that the teenagers are subjected to a mysterious experiment that they have no idea about. The filmmakers dress their film in traditional garments, but what lies beneath their surface is something completely fresh. Their film is both a horror film and a satire on excessive violence in horror cinemas. For this reason, A house in the depths of the forest is a good proposition for a solitary screening.
Midsommar (2019)
A great choice for a solitary screening is simply a daytime horror movie. We have a lot to choose from – I suggest a film by Ari Aster (director of Hereditary). It tells the story of a young American, Dani (Florence Pugh), who visits a Swedish village with her boyfriend and his friends on vacation. Its inhabitants are practically cut off from the world and lead a peculiar life devoid of the comforts of the modern world. They are preparing for the traditional festival of the summer solstice – Midsommar. A group of heroes will be involved in bizarre and increasingly terrifying rituals. Midsommar is not only an original folk horror, but also a story of trauma and mourning, and attempts to work through them.
A Quiet Place (2018)
John Krasinski’s film is another film that takes place mainly during the day, and in addition in complete silence. A Quiet Place is a post-apocalyptic horror film about a world overrun by sightless monsters with above-average hearing, who murdered most of the human population. At the center of the film is the Abbott family – parents Evelyn (Emily Blunt) and Lee (John Krasinski) and their three children. They live on a farm isolated from the world, located near the forest. The family tries to live as quietly as possible – they use sign language to communicate, and their home is properly secured. A Quiet Place is suspenseful and scary, but it’s perfectly fine to watch alone.
Michalina Peruga