A Glean movie guide
Atmospheric Chills: Horror Without the Gore
Scary, not messy.
Terrifying films that rely on dread, shadows, and psychological tension instead of blood.
Handpicked for this guide
The movie list
- 01
The Others
A masterclass in Gothic suspense where the unseen is far more terrifying than the seen.
Grace is a religious woman who lives in an old house kept dark because her two children, Anne and Nicholas, have a rare sensitivity to light. When the family begins to suspect the house is haunted, Grace fights to protect her children at any cost in the face of strange events and disturbing visions.
- 02
The Conjuring
A relentless barrage of expertly crafted jump scares and supernatural dread.
Paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren work to help a family terrorized by a dark presence in their farmhouse. Forced to confront a powerful entity, the Warrens find themselves caught in the most terrifying case of their lives.
- 03
The Blair Witch Project
Proof that your own imagination is the most effective special effect in horror.
In October of 1994 three student filmmakers disappeared in the woods near Burkittsville, Maryland, while shooting a documentary. A year later their footage was found.
- 04
A Quiet Place
A high-stakes survival thriller that uses silence to build unbearable levels of tension.
A family is forced to live in silence while hiding from creatures that hunt by sound.
- 05
The Babadook
A deeply unsettling exploration of grief manifested as a terrifying storybook monster.
A grieving single mother and her child fall into a deep well of paranoia when an eerie children's book manifests in their home.
- 06
The Ring
Visually haunting and conceptually chilling, this mystery leaves a lasting psychological mark.
Rachel Keller is a journalist investigating a videotape that may have killed four teenagers. There is an urban legend about this tape: the viewer will die seven days after watching it. Rachel tracks down the video... and watches it. Now she has just seven days to unravel the mystery of the Ring so she can save herself and her son.
- 07
It Follows
A dreamlike, persistent nightmare that creates a constant sense of being watched.
A young woman is followed by an unknown supernatural force after a sexual encounter.
- 08
Lake Mungo
A slow-burn mockumentary that proves a single, grainy image can be more frightening than any monster.
After 16-year-old Alice Palmer drowns at a local dam, her family experiences a series of strange, inexplicable events centered in and around their home. Unsettled, the Palmers seek the help of a psychic and parapsychologist, who discovers that Alice led a secret, double life. At Lake Mungo, Alice's secret past emerges.
- 09
The Orphanage
A beautifully shot ghost story that balances emotional weight with genuine, skin-crawling scares.
A woman brings her family back to her childhood home, which used to be an orphanage, intent on reopening it. Before long, her son starts to communicate with a new invisible friend.
- 10
Paranormal Activity
A minimalist experiment in tension that turns everyday household noises into sources of terror.
After a young, middle-class couple moves into what seems like a typical suburban house, they become increasingly disturbed by a presence that may or may not be demonic but is certainly the most active in the middle of the night.
- 11
Under the Shadow
A claustrophobic blend of wartime anxiety and supernatural folklore set in 1980s Tehran.
After Shideh's building is hit by a missile during the Iran-Iraq War, a superstitious neighbor suggests that the missile was cursed and might be carrying malevolent Middle-Eastern spirits. She becomes convinced a supernatural force within the building is attempting to possess her daughter Dorsa, and she has no choice but to confront these forces if she is to save her daughter and herself.
- 12
The Sixth Sense
A perfectly paced supernatural mystery that prioritizes character and atmosphere over shocks.
Following an unexpected tragedy, child psychologist Malcolm Crowe meets a nine year old boy named Cole Sear, who is hiding a dark secret.