You can probably tell by listening to our latest album Nameless Horrors (WoS review here) that we are massive horror fans, the slow burn, the icy breath, the eruption of rage and violence! Well, these are some of the movies that we love and have inspired us at some point. You’ll find amongst our list visually stunning cinematography, horrifying psychological torture, complex characters, blood, violence, vampires and cult classics.
Hopefully you’ll even find a new favourite... Happy Halloween y’all and don’t conjure up anything we wouldn’t!
#13 - 13 Ghosts (2001)
A freaky dead uncle's ghost house with spells carved into the glass walls that is actually a machine powered by the dead to open a portal to hell? And to do that you need the 13 Ghosts of the Black Zodiac!? Uh yes please!! The ghosts are terrifying - holy shit I can’t decide who is scarier - the Jackal, the Angry Princess or The Torso wrapped up in glad wrap?? It’s creepy, will make you jump and it’s loads of fun.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1yZl9HVLd0
#12 - Hellraiser (1987)
One of the most iconic and utterly terrifying characters in horror - Pinhead. Pain, torture, darkness and despair and intensely scary with super horrible monsters/demons/cenobites. Cult classic and the movie got introduced me to the genre.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mOn4h0lgKQ
#11- A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014)
Set in Iran and the story of a skateboarding vampire. It's a minimalist, way too cool for school western style arthouse film. Its eerie, dark wave and creepy but shot so beautifully you can’t tear yourself away from it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YGmTdo3vuY
#10 - The Voices (2014)
While appearing super cute and glossy of the surface, Ryan Reynolds, candy bright colours and a talking dog and cat. You soon realise the reality of this film is horrendously dark and unsettling. It's a slippery slope for poor Jerry and even though he’s a serial killer, you do kind of want to get on board with him…until you see what his world really looks like!!?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hQpV9Q0A7E
#9 - Let the Right One In (2008)
Swedish vampire movie of a different kind. It’s devastating in its fragility, stark and cold. A brilliant, thoughtful film with some rather bloody scenes. Captivating yet heartbreaking - you’ll love it for its simplicity.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgwwDgDHwFk
#8 - The Lost Boys (1987)
“If all the corpses buried around here were to stand up all at once, we'd have one hell of a population problem.” Absolute 80s gold that has everything you could want! - Rock star vampires, the 2 Coreys, classic one liners and a greased up muscly sax player. You could watch this 100 times and never get sick of it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1Iqy6m7U7c
#7 - Constantine (2005)
Dark wave gothic story with stone cold demon killer Keanu Reeves as John Constantine. Awesome storyline and themes, the villains and demons here are just superb - GavinRossdale and TildaSwinton are brilliant yet evil as shit. Father Hennessy's death scene is not one you’ll forget anytime soon
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEa508Xmmio
#6 - Blade (1998)
Seriously one of the coolest vampire movies and it literally has THE BEST opening sequence to a film EVER! Gory, bloody, violent and if you haven’t witnessed the fitness with Wesley slashing up uber cool hipster vamps with a sword - Its high time you did.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kaU2A7KyOu4
#5 - Us (2019)
A hidden underground world, evil AF doppelgängers and a myriad of themes all entwined in a horrifying masterpiece. Gripping, bloody and in parts just nasty. The tethered mirroring those above the ground was disturbing to say the least and those damn scissors…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNCmb-4oXJA
#4 - Midsommar (2019)
Freaky and deeply disturbing cult movie - it all looks terribly idyllic and sunny over in Sweden, but no. Despite being so visually stunning, it’s a bloody, violent, intense mindfuck with so many wtf, omg, holy shit gross, uh no moments. The cliff scene is particularly gruesome and there’s more where that came from…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Vnghdsjmd0
#3 - Hereditary (2018)
OMG THE DECAPITATION SCENE?!!! This movie is unnerving, tense and horrifying. You will love and hate this. Its a physiological creeper that gets into your bones and stays with you, there are literally so many simply awful scenes in this film to turn the stomach of the most staunch horror movie connoisseur.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6wWKNij_1M
#2 - Susperia (2018)
Visually stunning and both horrifying and beautiful at the same time. This remake of the 1977 film follows a prestigious ballet school in Berlin and the discoveries made by the new lead dancer. It is bloody, evil, cruel and so, so sinister plus it has the most brutal and disturbing death scene we’ve ever seen. You will be deeply unsettled by this movie but unable to look away. Plus the soundtrack is amazing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BY6QKRl56Ok
#1 - Mandy (2018)
THIS IS THE BEST HORROR MOVIE EVER MADE GO AND WATCH IT RIGHT NOW! It is so dark, so bloody and so brutal. The story is amazing, the villains are terrifying on so many levels and the use of colour is so visually bewitching you will feel like you have entered an alternate universe.
Its the story of true love, the ultimate revenge, chaos, destruction and the sacrifice of your own soul. This is BLACKENED DEATH METAL on your screen. This is not just a film is an experience from the visuals to the score to the sense of dread and rage. Nicolas Cage is so compelling in this and that fucking weapon OMFG!
Oh, you’re welcome btw…
Words by ÆTHERIAL's Cassandra George and Shep Sheppard
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rI054ow6KJk
Stalk ÆTHERIAL on Facebook and Instagram
Stream their new album Nameless Horrors here
ÆTHERIAL – Nameless Horrors tracklisting
1. Indifference To Suffering
2. It’s Only Blood
3. The Grave Empties Itself
4. The Evil Age
5. Second Death
6. Insatanity
7. Kill The Master (Resurrection)
8. Spitting Out Teeth
