10 Disturbing Movies Like Hereditary That Will Haunt You

Hereditary announced Ari Aster as horror’s most disturbing new voice. Toni Collette’s grief-stricken mother carries the film on her face, and that final shot is designed to colonize your nightmares. If you can handle more of this, these ten films will deliver.

1. Midsommar (2019)

Aster’s follow-up trades darkness for blinding Swedish sunlight, which somehow makes things worse. Florence Pugh’s breakup vacation turns into cult indoctrination, and the flower crown ending is either liberation or doom. The bear is unforgettable.

2. The Witch (2015)

Robert Eggers’ Puritan horror is all period dialogue and creeping dread. A family exiled from their settlement encounters something in the woods. Black Phillip became a meme, but the religious terror underneath is genuine.

3. Get Out (2017)

Jordan Peele’s directorial debut wears its social horror openly. Daniel Kaluuya visits his white girlfriend’s family, and the microaggressions escalate into something much worse. The Sunken Place is one of horror’s great modern images.

4. The Lighthouse (2019)

Eggers again, this time trapping Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe in a lighthouse. The aspect ratio squeezes them together, the language gets increasingly Melvillean, and the descent into madness plays like a fever dream. What is that light?

5. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

The template for psychological horror. Jodie Foster’s Clarice and Anthony Hopkins’ Lecter create tension through conversation alone. The Buffalo Bill sequences are genuinely scary, but the movie’s real horror is human intelligence turned predatory.

6. Alien (1979)

Ridley Scott’s original still works because the creature is so sparingly shown. The chest-burster is body horror perfection, and the claustrophobic ship makes escape impossible. Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley set the template for final girls.

7. The Shining (1980)

Kubrick’s adaptation of Stephen King is more nightmare than novel. Jack Nicholson’s descent plays out in the Overlook Hotel’s endless corridors, and the twins, the blood elevator, and “Here’s Johnny” are burned into horror history.

8. Se7en (1995)

Fincher’s serial killer procedural builds dread through rain-soaked atmosphere and methodical kills. Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman follow the breadcrumbs, but the ending’s cruelty still shocks. The sloth victim is unwatchable.

9. Oldboy (2003)

Park Chan-wook’s revenge thriller isn’t strictly horror, but its final revelation hits with the force of any jumpscare. The fifteen-year imprisonment alone would drive anyone mad. The consequences go further.

10. Annihilation (2018)

Alex Garland’s adaptation ventures into body horror territory. Natalie Portman’s team enters a zone where biology mutates, and the transformations get increasingly disturbing. The bear that screams with a human voice is nightmare fuel.

Horror That Lingers

Hereditary works because Aster understands that grief is its own horror. These films share that ambition. They’re not interested in making you jump. They want to leave something behind, a feeling that follows you home.

Start with Midsommar if you want more Aster. Try The Witch for similar period dread. Get Out mixes scares with pointed social commentary.

Browse more horror films in our collection.