Listicle: 10 horror movies Hollywood wishes it had made

Hindustan Times

04-07-2025

When Evil Lurks (2023). The Spanish supernatural drama was jointly produced by Argentina and the US. Brothers Pedro and Jaime discover that a man in their village has been infected by an unborn demon. But in trying to contain the threat, they release a dark entity. What follows is paranoia, featuring dismembered corpses, possessed villagers, and disturbing transformations. Plenty of jump-scares here, and lots of gore. But also despair and a sense that no one can really be trusted. The Spanish film When Evil Lurks is full of paranoia, dismembered corpses and possessed villagers.
In Raw, Justine, a vegetarian, tries rabbit kidneys and starts craving human flesh. Uh-oh.
Raw (2016). Before there was Substance, there was this French gem. Justine, a vegetarian, tries rabbit kidneys for the first time at veterinary school. Uh oh! Soon, she's developed a craving for human flesh. Everyone looks delicious. As she navigates classes, the peer pressure and hazing rituals throw life into chaos. Dance parties turn savage, dorm rooms are awash in blood. And amid it all, her sister has dark secrets of her own. The horse scene will NOT remind you of The Godfather.
The Korean film Exhuma explores the consequences of opening up an ancestor's grave.
Exhuma (2024). Korean horror is its own special hell. What does a rich family do when their newborn son falls mysteriously ill? They heed a shaman and (it's right there in the title) open up an ancestor's grave. Big mistake. It unleashes a malevolent entity and suddenly the baby is the least of anyone's problems. Cue bloody rituals, balls of fire, ominous rain, secrets buried under secrets and ghouls that must be vanquished.
Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum is based on a real-life psychiatric institution that's believed to be haunted.
Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum (2018). Based on a real-life psychiatric institution that South Koreans have long believed to be haunted. It's also a movie about a movie: A web crew goes looking where they shouldn't, when two boys go missing in the abandoned wards. What starts as an attention-seeking stunt soon turns eerie. There are whispers in the dark, doors slam shut on their own. Bad vibes all around. Can they hold on to their sanity? And to their cameras?
The line between civility and cruelty blurs in the film Speak No Evil.
Speak No Evil (2022). The 2024 remake, with James McAvoy, is just a polite version of the OG. A Dutch couple invites a Danish family to spend the weekend at their house. So far, so safe. But as the weekend unfolds, the hosts make stranger and stranger requests, crossing more and more lines – and it seems rude to refuse. The line between civility and cruelty blurs as we realise that evil thrives not on gore, but on the lack of resistance.
The Tamil mindbender Black is both nerdy and scary.
Black (2024). The Tamil mindbender is both nerdy and scary. A couple decides to escape to a quiet peaceful town to work out their problems. But wait. What's happening? Responses come to calls that were never made, mysterious gifts shatter on their own and reappear whole, and the house next door shows signs of human activity when it's not supposed to. It's two stories in one, each influencing the other. Plus, a statue of an angel that's more than it seems.
In the Mexican-Peruvian tale Huesera: The Bone Woman, pregnancy turns into something terrifying.
Huesera: The Bone Woman (2022). Pregnancy is hard. But in this Mexican-Peruvian tale, it's horrifying. Valeria's problems start as soon as she announces her first pregnancy. Why is she obsessively cracking her knuckles? Did she see a woman jump out the window? How is she still walking? Did she just hear her bones snapping again? Is it just stress? It's more than a metaphor for commitment phobia – there are real monsters involved.
The Wailing is about a Korean village infected by a mysterious illness, followed by a series of murders.
The Wailing (2016). When a stranger arrives in a small Korean village, a mysterious illness spreads, followed by a series of brutal murders. As corpses are reanimated and more locals get possessed, a local police officer turns to a shaman, with mixed results. His own daughter's health hangs in the balance. It's one man against a pandemic. And every saviour could be a wolf in disguise. The film's deleted ending has its own fandom on Reddit. No surprise there.
Lupt, a Hindi indie, follows a family that's on the verge of losing it after their trip goes awry.
Lupt (2018). You know things are going to get weird when a workaholic dad grudgingly takes time off to take the family on vacation in this Hindi indie. Getting there is half the fright: Inexplicable sightings, disturbing visions of ghostly children, and a mysterious hitchhiker that seems to be following the family everywhere. The scarier things get, the more the family starts to crack. Dad realises that the haunting isn't random. It's tied to an old truth that no longer wants to be ignored.
The Medium, a Thai mockumentary, follows the niece of a shaman who might be posessed.
The Medium (2021). The Thais mixed horror with mockumentary for this one. When the niece of a shaman shows signs of possession, the family believes that she is being controlled by the same goddess that supposedly possessed him. But this is no ordinary spirit; the girl acts stranger and more disturbing by the day. Time for a boss-level ritual. It backfires. She just gets crueller. Perhaps the goddess had nothing to do with the possession?
From HT Brunch, July 05, 2025
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