A Glean movie guide
Smart Gore: Horror with Substance
Beyond the blood.
Visceral practical effects meet complex storytelling and high-stakes drama.
Handpicked for this guide
The movie list
- 01
The Thing
A masterclass in paranoia where the practical effects serve a tight, claustrophobic mystery.
A research team in Antarctica is hunted by a shape-shifting alien that assumes the appearance of its victims.
- 02
Hereditary
A devastating family drama that uses shocking violence to explore the weight of inherited trauma.
Following the death of the Leigh family matriarch, Annie and her children uncover disturbing secrets about their heritage. Their daily lives are not only impacted, but they also become entangled in a chilling fate from which they cannot escape, driving them to the brink of madness.
- 03
The Fly
A tragic, character-driven romance that descends into some of cinema's most effective body horror.
When Seth Brundle makes a huge scientific and technological breakthrough in teleportation, he decides to test it on himself. Unbeknownst to him, a common housefly manages to get inside the device and the two become one.
- 04
Train to Busan
A high-octane zombie thriller that anchors its intense action in a deeply emotional father-daughter story.
When a zombie virus pushes Korea into a state of emergency, those trapped on an express train to Busan must fight for their own survival.
- 05
Green Room
A relentless, grounded siege thriller that swaps supernatural tropes for brutal, realistic survival.
A punk rock band is forced to fight for survival after witnessing an act of violence at a skinhead bar.
- 06
Raw
A sophisticated coming-of-age story that uses cannibalism as a visceral metaphor for awakening.
In Justine's family everyone is a vet and a vegetarian. At 16, she's a gifted teen ready to take on her first year in vet school, where her older sister also studies. There, she gets no time to settle: hazing starts right away. Justine is forced to eat raw meat for the first time in her life. Unexpected consequences emerge as her true self begins to form.
- 07
Barbarian
A modern standout that subverts expectations with a wild, unpredictable plot and shocking physical horror.
In town for a job interview, a young woman arrives at her Airbnb late at night only to find that it has been mistakenly double-booked and a strange man is already staying there. Against her better judgement, she decides to stay the night anyway.
- 08
Bone Tomahawk
A patient, character-focused Western that culminates in one of the most harrowing finales in the genre.
During a shootout in a saloon, Sheriff Hunt injures a suspicious stranger. The doctor's assistant, wife of the local foreman, tends to him in prison. That night, the town is attacked and they both disappear—only the arrow of a cannibal tribe is found. Hunt and a few of his men go in search of the prisoner and the foreman's wife.
- 09
Talk to Me
A sharp, contemporary take on possession that uses its gruesome moments to examine the cycle of grief.
When a group of friends discover how to conjure spirits using an embalmed hand, they become hooked on the new thrill, until one of them goes too far and unleashes terrifying supernatural forces.
- 10
When Evil Lurks
A bleak and inventive possession film that builds a terrifying world through its own unique, brutal logic.
When brothers Pedro and Jimi discover that a demonic infection has been festering in a nearby farmhouse, they attempt to evict the victim from their land. Failing to adhere to the proper rites of exorcism, their reckless actions inadvertently trigger an epidemic of possessions across their rural community.
- 11
Martyrs
A challenging philosophical exploration of suffering that contains some of the most extreme violence ever filmed.
A young woman’s quest for revenge against the people who kidnapped and tortured her as a child leads her and her best friend, also a victim of child abuse, on a terrifying journey into a living hell of depravity.