Summary

• Abstract horror films create fear through unsettling atmospheres and explore psychological themes.
• Movies like Babadook and Under The Skin use symbolic creatures to reflect deeper emotional struggles.
• From confinement in The Lighthouse to bizarre visuals in House, abstract horror offers imaginative, boundary-pushing experiences.

Abstract horror is a unique genre, crafting fear not through traditional monsters or jump scares, but by creating deeply unsettling atmospheres and exploring psychological, surreal, and existential themes. Films in this category often embrace the abstruse, leaving viewers with questions and disturbing impressions that linger long after the credits roll.

From eerie childhood nightmares to descents into isolation-induced madness, these films showcase horror in its most imaginative, boundary-pushing forms. Through symbolic creatures, bizarre settings, and open-ended storytelling, these movies deliver some of the most unforgettable experiences in horror, often holding up a mirror to those watching and asking them to consider what it all means.

1 Skinamarink

Childhood Fears Come To Life

• Release Date: July 25, 2022
• Director: Kyle Edward Ball
• Runtime: 100 minutes

Perhaps an example of a film that’s a bit too abstract, Skinamarink is a Canadian experimental horror film inspired by the strange fears and imaginings of childhood.

This divisive experimental film employs odd camera angles and drawn out shots of door frames to create a dreamlike atmosphere that makes viewers feel disconnected from reality. After their parents disappear, the windows and doors of the house begin to go as well, leaving a young brother and sister with no escape from the monster inside their home.

2 It Follows

A Slow But Certain Death

• Release Date: March 27, 2015
• Director: David Robert Mitchell
• Runtime: 100 minutes

It Follows centers on a terrifying sexually transmitted entity that takes various human forms and relentlessly pursues its target, albeit at a slow pace.

Besides taking the crown for scariest STD known to man, this intentionally ambiguous creature chases the characters through a world full of strange anachronisms that add to the sense of liminality and prevent viewers from ever truly getting their bearings. Its open-ended storytelling and eerie atmosphere contribute to its status as a modern abstract horror classic.

3 Babadook

Bedtime Stories Gone Bad

• Release Date: November 28, 2014
• Director: Jennifer Kent
• Runtime: 94 minutes

Based on Kent’s short film, Monster, The Babadook is an Australian psychological horror film that centers on a single, bereaved mother and her troubled child, using an unsettling children’s storybook creature as a symbol for deeper psychological themes. Rather than focusing solely on jump scares, the film uses the titular Babadook to delve into the main character’s grief, depression, and repressed emotions.

The creature itself—ambiguous and rarely fully seen—reflects these intense inner struggles, haunting the mother as both a literal and metaphorical presence. This ambiguous presentation lets the film remain open to interpretation, resulting in it being more about the fear of unresolved trauma than a conventional monster.

4 Under The Skin

More Than Meets The Eye

• Release Date: March 14, 2014
• Director: Jonathan Glazer
• Runtime: 108 minutes

An adaptation of Michel Faber’s novel of the same name, this sci-fi horror stars Scarlett Johansson as an alien masquerading as a woman in order to lead men in Scotland to their deaths.

Under the Skin showcases an extraterrestrial’s detached perspective of humanity, divorced from empathy and understanding, in order to provide a deeper understanding of humankind as a whole. The minimal dialogue, haunting visuals, and pervasive feeling of isolation amplify the sense of alien horror and create a sense of dread that’s both atmospheric and existential.

5 House

An Avant-Garde Horror Flick

• Release Date: July 30, 1977
• Director: Nobuhiko Obayashi
• Runtime: 88 minutes

One of the strangest horror films to come out of Japan, House blends horror, surrealism, and camp in a uniquely abstract way that defies genre conventions. The story follows a schoolgirl and her friends who travel to her aunt's remote country house, only to encounter supernatural forces that defy any conventional logic.

From a piano that eats people to a demonic cat, House revels in absurdity, and its bold, kaleidoscopic visuals make every scene feel like a chaotic nightmare. Its bizarre imagery and unpredictability create a disturbing yet strangely whimsical atmosphere, cementing it as an abstract horror experience like no other.

6 The Menu

Eat The Rich

• Release Date: September 10, 2022
• Director: Mark Mylod
• Runtime: 107 minutes

With a performance by the lovely Anya Taylor-Joy of The Super Mario Bros. Movie fame, The Menu serves up a chilling satire on class and privilege, following a group of wealthy diners at an exclusive restaurant on a remote island.

As the courses progress, the chef’s intentions turn sinister, forcing guests to confront their secrets and darkest impulses. Balancing horror and dark humor, the film critiques consumerism and elitism in shocking ways, blending high-end dining with a sense of claustrophobic dread that intensifies with each dish, further enhancing the abstract atmosphere.

7 The Lighthouse

There Is No Reality

• Release Date: October 18, 2019
• Director: Robert Eggers
• Runtime: 109 minutes

In The Lighthouse, Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson star as nineteenth-century lighthouse keepers in an extremely remote area who slowly descend into madness, having bizarre hallucinations amidst a lack of contact with others and intense storms.

The black-and-white cinematography and square aspect ratio create an oppressive, claustrophobic atmosphere, which intensifies the psychological horror. With strange visions of mermaids and ominous seagulls, the film blurs the line between reality and delusion, crafting an unsettling exploration of isolation and human fragility that lingers long after the final scene.

8 Midsommar

Fear In Full Sun

• Release Date: July 3, 2019
• Director: Ari Aster
• Runtime: 148 minutes

With a performance by Florence Pugh, Midsommar follows a group of friends visiting a remote Swedish commune for a midsummer festival, which initially seems harmless but turns increasingly sinister. Unlike typical horror, it unfolds in bright daylight among a multitude of flowers, with disturbing rituals being presented against the backdrop of a picturesque rural setting.

Themes of grief, trauma, and manipulation are woven into the narrative, exploring cultural contrasts and existential dread. Midsommar is as beautiful as it is terrifying, immersing viewers in a nightmare that’s both uncanny and eerily grounded in reality.

9 The Killing Of A Sacred Deer

A Cursed Story

• Release Date: October 20, 2017
• Director: Yorgos Lanthimos
• Runtime: 121 minutes

The Killing of a Sacred Deer is an anxiety-inducing tale of guilt, revenge, and moral ambiguity. A surgeon’s life spirals when a boy he has befriended begins enacting a curse that affects his family in disturbing ways.

Known for his stark, deadpan style, director Yorgos Lanthimos infuses this story with discomforting precision, where strange dialogue and an eerie score create a freakish, clinical atmosphere. The film’s cold, methodical horror lingers, leaving viewers questioning fate, justice, and the consequences of past sins.

10 Beau Is Afraid (2023)

Mommy Issues

• Release Date: April 1, 2023
• Director: Ari Aster
• Runtime: 179 minutes

Beau Is Afraid explores the paranoia and anxieties of its protagonist, Beau, as he embarks on an odyssey to visit his mother. Ari Aster’s surreal take on generational trauma combines dark humor with bizarre and often disturbing situations that blur reality and nightmares.

Spanning themes of guilt, fear, and maternal control, the film is a chaotic, introspective journey. Its fragmented structure and absurd visuals craft an unusual horror-comedy, capturing the terrifyingly strange inner world of its protagonist.