10 Movies That Are Almost Horror But Not Quite

Horror is arguably the most versatile genre of movies. A good horror movie does what it can to elicit feelings of fear, shock or disgust from its audience. Whether it's copious amounts of gore, jump scares or establishing a general aura of dread, there are countless methods by which horror movies can frighten their viewers. Effective horror movies attack the senses and play tricks on the mind.

Sometimes, there is overlap when integrating genre tropes and narrative elements. After all, not every movie is designed to fit within the constraints of just a single genre easily. These movies just fall short of being able to be classified as horror but still pack quite the visceral and often harrowing punch in the scares and tension department.

10 'Come and See' (1985)

Directed by Elem Klimov

Set in Belarus in the year 1943, Come and See follows a young boy named Flyora, who is eager to defend his homeland from an invading Nazi army. Despite his age, he joins an ill-equipped Soviet resistance movement and is forced to experience the horrors and atrocities of war from a particularly vulnerable vantage point.

Come and See is frequently touted as one of the most brutal and tragic anti-war movies ever produced. Soviet-Russian director Elem Klimov does not hold back when it comes to graphic imagery and extreme subject matter, resulting in a movie that is difficult to watch. While Come and See is, first and foremost, a war tragedy, it is also one of the most horrifying pieces of art ever created. It's a testament to the power of filmmaking and a window into the darkest aspects of human nature.

9 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' (2011)

Directed by David Fincher

Investigative journalist Michael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig) is hired by an elderly industrial tycoon to investigate the 20-year-old unsolved murder of his niece. Allowed a research assistant, Blomkvist is joined by Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara), a technically gifted and anti-social computer hacker. The deeper they dig, the more sinister the findings.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is as bleak and uninviting as thrillers come, a movie that's as dreary and icy as its snow-capped Swedish setting. An aura of dread permeates The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo as a sadistic and cyclical history of savagery is unearthed in the narrative, making for a compelling but not particularly easy watch. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is chilling, unnerving and unafraid to shock an audience into submission.

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8 'We Need to Talk About Kevin' (2011)

Directed by Lynne Ramsay

Eva (Tilda Swinton) becomes the mother of Kevin, a boy who only grows more difficult as he gets older. Even at his earliest stages, Kevin (Ezra Miller) displayed concerning and odd behaviors. Eva struggles to build a bond with Kevin, and a seed of resentment is planted between the two. Eventually, when Kevin is a teenager, Eva senses that he is a danger to those around him.

There are few things quite as horrifying as the concept of one's child turning into a monster. We Need to Talk About Kevin is the worst nightmare of any parent, a movie that puts to screen every possible anxiety associated with parenthood, and the results are harrowing. We Need to Talk About Kevin is brutal and unflinching, simultaneously difficult to watch yet impossible to look away from. Elements of horror are weaved into its narrative, but the movie never loses its grip on reality, a creative decision that makes We Need to Talk About Kevin all the more scary.

7 'Requiem for a Dream' (2000)

Directed by Darren Aronofsky

Requiem for a Dream presents four stories of addiction. A retired widow is addicted to television and lives in her fantasies. A young heroic addict and his friend set out to make it big as drug dealers. A bright and young aspiring fashion designer's life spirals out of control as she delves into the world of narcotics.

Requiem for a Dream spares absolutely no comfort for its audience, and it's all the more impactful as a result.

Requiem for a Dream is one of the most infamously disturbing movies ever made, so ghastly and upsetting that it demands to be seen and is likely to never be forgotten after watching. Requiem for a Dream spares absolutely no comfort for its audience, and it's all the more impactful as a result. Featuring terrifying hallucinatory sequences, all-too-convincing performances, and persistent psychological and physical torment of its characters, Requiem for a Dream is an exceedingly horrifying tragedy that will never leave the audience's memory.

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6 'A Clockwork Orange' (1971)

Directed by Stanley Kubrick

Set in future London, Alex DeLarge (Malcolm McDowell) leads a gang of psychopathic thugs that torment innocents for their entertainment. The group kills, steals and assaults with little remorse. Their twisted debauchery goes unpunished until a murder charge lands DeLarge in prison. There, he becomes the latest subject in an experimental rehabilitation program that promises to rid DeLarge of his dark urges.

A Clockwork Orange is a brilliantly disturbing satire that elegantly presents its taboo subject matter in a thoughtful, sometimes even humorous, manner. In bad taste by design, A Clockwork Orange is unflinching when it comes to presenting horrific acts of violence. Primarily a dystopian sci-fi crime movie, A Clockwork Orange isn't far off from horror—it's often upsetting and downright disturbing. The film left McDowell with a lasting injury and has become an infamous part of cinema, cementing its place as a classic of traumatizing cinema.

5 'The Road' (2009)

Directed by John Hillcoat

Several years following an apocalyptic event that left the Earth near inhospitable, humanity lives on in small, isolated pockets. A father (Viggo Mortensen) travels across a devasted America with his young son, their sights set on the coast. Unsure of what awaits them, the pair trudge through the ruins of society, scavenging as a means to survive. Food and fuel are a commodity, but hope proves to be an even rarer resource.

The Road is as bleak and dismal as movies come; this is a movie with virtually no levity whatsoever. The horrors of a world ravaged by an apocalypse are explored in full; the skies are left a permanent gray, corpses litter the landscape, and cannibalistic tribes stalk from dark corners. While light on conventional scares, thus barring it from being deemed a horror movie, The Road is an uncompromisingly gloomy glimpse into a future that can best be defined as Hell on Earth.

4 'No Country for Old Men' (2007)

Directed by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen

After happening upon a drug exchange gone wrong, unassuming war veteran Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) steals a satchel containing $2 million in cash. Hired to pursue Llewelyn and retrieve the money is Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem), a psychopathic and ruthlessly effective killer. As the distance between them closes, the body count rises.

No Country for Old Men borders so closely on horror for one reason: Anton Chigurh. Bardem's turn as the contracted killer is so chilling and well-embodied that it will make any viewer's blood run cold. At its core, No Country for Old Men could be described as a Western slasher movie. Chigurh (similar to any beloved horror icon) racks up an impressive body count and is unafraid to get creative when it comes to ending lives. The Coen Brothers' attention to depicting clinical psychopathy accurately certainly adds to the fear factor.

3 'Blue Velvet' (1986)

Directed by David Lynch

College student Jeffrey Beaumont (Kyle MacLachlan) returns to his quiet suburban town of Lumberton, North Carolina, to tend to his father's business. After he discovers a severed human ear in a meadow near his home, the local police aren't keen on giving out answers. Jeffrey takes it upon himself to investigate the bizarre set of circumstances surrounding his finding. His path dangerously intertwines with nightclub singer Dorothy Vallens (Isabella Rossellini) and sadistic drug dealer Frank Booth (Dennis Hopper).

Most of David Lynch's filmography borders closely on horror, and Blue Velvet is a shining example. Bizarre, often disturbing, and exceedingly provocative, Blue Velvet is a freakish beast of a movie that is utterly unforgettable. Frank Booth is perhaps one of Lynch's most ghastly creations. As thrilling as it is to watch Hopper perform the madman so passionately, his violent unpredictability and penchant for masochism is nothing less than horrifying. While Lynch keeps the focus mostly on erotic thrills, Blue Velvet offers some truly disturbing sequences that are difficult to unsee.

2 'Threads' (1984)

Directed by Mick Jackson

Tensions between the United States of America and the Soviet Union are at an all-time high. As the doomsday clock ticks closer to midnight, the working-class city of Sheffield, England, has no choice but to go about their lives. As the threat of nuclear war becomes an all-too-real possibility, they watch anxiously from their television sets, helpless to stop the incoming Hellfire that will leave their city and its population devastated.

Threads is an uncompromising depiction of a nuclear holocaust that leaves its viewers in a state of shell shock. Funded by the British Broadcasting Corporation, Threads showcases a horrifyingly realistic escalation of nuclear tensions building up to a worst-case scenario for humanity. It's always convincing and always harrowing—appropriately, there are no punches pulled. While in the literal sense, it would be difficult to classify Threads as a horror movie, there are few films quite as disturbing and bone-chilling as this one.

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1 'The Machinist' (2004)

Directed by Brad Anderson

The Machinist follows Trevor (Christian Bale), an insomniac industrial worker terrorized by his obsessive compulsions and paranoia. As mysterious post-it notes appear on his fridge and a new co-worker begins to stalk him, Trevor finds himself falling deep into a rabbit hole that might hold answers on the other side.

The Machinist is often referenced as the film in which Bale's appearance resembles a living skeleton. The imagery is unsettling, but it’s the atmosphere of the film and Bale's captivating performance that are certain to leave a lasting impression. The Machinist is a gloomy psychological thriller that effectively establishes a tone of dread and unease that never lets up. As the layers to the mystery are peeled back, The Machinist grows even more distressing, making for a compelling, challenging and genuinely creepy viewing experience.

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