Mike Flanagan's Movie Recommendations for Horror Fans
Plus, dive into our interviews with some of his favorite filmmakers.
The Haunting of Hill House
Horror writer/director Mike Flanagan maintains an ever-evolving list of favorite horror films on his Letterboxd account, offering horror fans a curated selection from one of the genre's most respected modern voices.
We enjoyed his The Life of Chuck this year and are now waiting on his announced projects with Amazon, including a new take on Carrie, an Exorcist film, and a series based on The Dark Tower.
The Letterboxd list contains 262 films sorted by release date, and Flanagan notes he's "left a LOT out" and will be "updating this list forever."
You might be a big horror fan, like so many of us around here, or you might be an aspiring horror filmmaker. Either way, this list is a great place to start learning what works in the genre. Let's dive into some of his deep cuts, many of which we've covered by speaking to the filmmakers!
Watcher
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Chloe Okuno's psychological thriller follows Julia (Maika Monroe), who moves to Romania with her fiancé and notices a man in the window across the way who's always watching. The film captures the paranoia of being alone in a foreign country, unable to speak the language, while a serial killer stalks the city.
Okuno's feature debut demonstrates strong pacing and stunning cinematography that make danger feel omnipresent. The director explained her attraction to horror when we spoke to her.
"It's a way of controlling my anxiety, watching and absorbing things that are frightening. But you're doing it in a situation where you know it's not real."
The film draws inspiration from classics while feeling thoroughly contemporary. Okuno cited Rosemary's Baby and Se7en as influences, noting she wanted to create "a true psychological thriller" where tone comes from production design and cinematography.
Read our full interview with Chloe Okuno.
Exhuma
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This South Korean horror film quickly became one of Korea's most successful films, with Flanagan praising its "smart writing, good performances, and some terrific effects" that "elevate this ghost story into something far more modern and original than I expected."
The film follows renowned shaman Hwa-rim and her protégé as they deal with the supernatural consequences of unearthing a cursed grave.
Unlike many horror films that rely on jump scares, Exhuma is structured into chapters and a journey of mythos and beliefs.
V/H/S/Beyond
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The V/H/S found footage series has become a proving ground for emerging horror directors, each film featuring multiple short segments from different filmmakers.
It makes sense that Flanagan would highlight this one, since his wife and frequent actor, Kate Siegel, directed a segment from Flanagan's script.
"The closer you get to day one of filming, the more it's just a million questions in a row," Siegel said. "This or that, that or this? How does this look? Where do you want that, this? And so I started alone with me and my arts and crafts, and I ended up just in a constant interrogation of people and questions."
Read our full interview with Siegel.
Oddity
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Flanagan called Damian McCarthy's film "absolutely excellent," praising it as "a masterclass in dread, atmosphere, and tension" and confirming that McCarthy "is the real deal."
McCarthy's approach to horror impressed the Hush director.
During the film's SXSW premiere, McCarthy explained his philosophy to us. "You could make a slasher movie in a way, but not have so much of a build-up. It would just be that scene. Or it could take a ghost story. But again, without that slow build-up, you could just have that scare."
Read our interview with the Oddity team.
Censor
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Prano Bailey-Bond's debut feature stars Niamh Algar as Enid, a film censor in Thatcher-era England during the rise of the "video nasty" (exploitation horror films that outraged conservative Britain and led to prosecution and banning). When Enid thinks she spots her missing sister in one of the horror films she's meant to regulate, reality begins to fracture.
The film serves as both a period piece about moral panic and a meta-commentary on horror cinema itself.
Bailey-Bond and cinematographer Annika Summerson created "quite a clear color arc through the film," starting with "the bleak Thatcher-era '80s" and evolving as Enid descends into the world of video nasties.
Bailey-Bond gave us advice for aspiring horror filmmakers. "It's about finding your unique way into the genre. It's such an imaginative genre, and that's what I love about it."
Read our full interview with the Censor team.
The Autopsy of Jane Doe
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André Øvredal's English-language debut follows father-and-son coroners (Brian Cox and Emile Hirsch) performing an autopsy on an unidentified woman found in a house where a family was murdered. While the corpse at first seems normal, her body betrays a sinister backstory.
This one should be a great inspiration for anyone needing to tell a character-focused, single-location horror story.
The Invitation
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Another single-location film with serious scares. Karyn Kusama's movie follows Will (Logan Marshall-Green) as he attends a dinner party hosted by his ex-wife and her new husband. The evening takes increasingly disturbing turns.
Flanagan discussed this one with Rotten Tomatoes and said, "The last harrowing moments are something to behold, but it's the final moment of the film—as quiet and simple as any I've seen—that carries with it an implication of true horror. The shot itself is innocuous; it's what it means that will haunt you."
Jennifer's Body
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Kusama again. While it was initially panned, this has undergone significant reevaluation since its initial release and is now a cult classic among horror fans. Written by Diablo Cody, the unabashedly campy film stars Megan Fox as a high school student possessed by a demon.
The film's blend of teen movie tropes and commentary on female friendship and male violence connects with audiences today.
Learn more about horror subgenres.
Society
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Brian Yuzna's cult body horror film pushes practical effects to grotesque extremes in its infamous "shunting" climax. The story follows a wealthy teenager who discovers his family and their elite social circle are literally inhuman creatures who feed on the lower classes.
The film's "flesh-blending orgy scene" is a landmark in body horror that uses visceral imagery for biting social satire.
Possession
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Andrzej Żuławski's portrait of an unraveling marriage stars an absolutely unhinged Isabelle Adjani and Sam Neill as a husband and wife swept up in infidelity, violence, and possession. Shot in 1980 in West Berlin, the film is notorious for its intensity and Adjani's subway scene meltdown.
The film has a unique look with the camera almost constantly moving, shot from strange angles that keep viewers off-balance. Cinematographer Bruno Nuytten and camera operator Andrzej J. Jaroszewicz created a visual language that matches the characters' psychological disintegration.
"Zulawski's visceral, unclassifiable exploration of love and divorce plays like an actual fever dream, and Isabelle Adjani is nothing short of stunning in the role," Flanagan wrote in his review.
The film's use of body horror, psychological breakdown, and Cold War Berlin as backdrop creates a uniquely unsettling experience.
Read more about Possession's unique cinematography.
