Best Horror Movies That Subvert Your Expectations
September 30, 2021 | Benjamin Carpenter
Movies are often very predictable. They can be formulaic and filled with genre cliches, especially when it comes to horror movies. Many horror movies use tired and overused elements in their stories, despite the fact that the purpose of the genre is to keep audiences on their toes. However, every once in a while, you get a horror movie that’s different from the rest. These horror movies stand out as some of the best because of how they use our expectations against us and continue to surprise us at every turn. This blog post goes through the 10 best horror movies that subvert your expectations.
10 Horror Films That Will Keep You Guessing
10. Tucker and Dale vs Evil
Tucker and Dale vs Evil parodies the common, formulaic horror movie and uses our expectations of typical horrors against us to create laugh-out-loud moments. Tucker and Dale vs Evil is about two affable hillbillies, Tucker and Dale, who are on vacation at their run-down mountain cabin but are mistaken for murderers by a group of preppy college students. This is one of the best horror comedies to watch if you need a good time.
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Tucker and Dale vs Evil is a great movie to watch if you want a subversive horror movie but it’s also a great movie to watch if you want a great comedy. Check out our list of the 25 Best Comedies Released In The 2010s to find other great comedies to watch.
9. Don’t Breathe
Don’t Breathe takes the classic home invasion story and twists it completely on its head. The film is about a trio of young thieves who break into a blind man’s house to steal a fortune, but the blind man turns out to be not as helpless as he seems. The suspense built from the unique situation is palpable and it will take you back to the Hitchcock era.
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8. Ready or Not
It’s easy to make a subversive horror film with comedy. You can use humor to poke fun at typical genre conventions, which makes the experience a lot more lighthearted overall. This is precisely what Ready or Not achieves. Ready or Not centers around a bride’s wedding night which takes a sinister turn when her eccentric new in-laws force her to take part in a terrifying game.
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7. The Empty Man
From the marketing, the trailers, and even the title, The Empty Man sounds like a creature feature similar to The Bye Bye Man or Slenderman. However, the film is not what you expect it to be. It’s atmospheric, slow moving, and deeply philosophical. The film was released last year during the quarantine but was overlooked because of the constant news cycles about COVID-19. Now, audiences are beginning to discover the film and give it the recognition it deserves. The Empty Man is about an ex-cop who is looking for a missing girl when he comes across a secretive group attempting to summon a terrifying supernatural entity.
Where To Watch The Empty Man
6. Don’t Look Now
Don’t Look Now is a hauntingly atmospheric film that starts to get under your skin from the very first scene. The film is very different from other horror movies. It doesn’t even feel like a horror for most of the film until an unexpected twist shifts the tone completely. Don’t Look Now was released the same year as The Exorcist which might explain why it has been so underappreciated over the years. The film is about a married couple who are grieving the recent death of their young daughter in Venice when they encounter two elderly sisters, one of whom is a psychic and brings a warning from beyond.
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5. Get Out
Jordan Peele made a huge directorial debut with Get Out. This horror film is Peele’s subversive response to the horror genre by having a black man as the main character instead of as someone expendable or in a supporting role. It’s also Peele’s subversive response to Hollywood by playing off the white savior cliche and using it against the viewers. Get Out quickly became a cultural phenomenon because of how it examined race in a terrifying yet entertaining way. The film follows a young African-American who visits his white girlfriend’s parents for the weekend, where his simmering uneasiness about their reception of him eventually reaches a boiling point.
Where To Watch Get Out for $3.99
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4. You’re Next
Injecting the final girl horror movie trope with new energy, You’re Next is a film in which the female lead fights back against her attackers. The film is about the Davison family who comes under attack during a wedding anniversary getaway. However, the gang of mysterious killers soon realizes that one of their victims harbors a secret talent for fighting back.
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3. Cabin in the Woods
If there was a film that embodied the term subversive, it would be Cabin in the Woods. The film was created as a horror-comedy to poke fun at all the cliches and tropes commonly used in horror movies. The film is about five college friends who vacation at the quintessential cabin in the middle of the woods. While they are there, they get more than they bargained for, discovering the truth behind the cabin.
Where To Watch Cabin in The Woods
2. Scream
One of the most well-known subversive horror movies ever made. Scream is a horror film made to play on the classic horror genre conventions in a very meta way. The film centers around a teenage girl who is terrorized by a killer that uses horror films as part of a deadly game. Scream is one of the main reasons why subversive horror movies are so popular today.
Where To Watch Scream
1. The Exorcist
The Exorcist is not like other horror movies. It doesn’t focus on jump scares or twist endings. Instead, it focuses on a 12-year-old girl who is possessed by a demon and the havoc it wrecks on her life. Although you would expect the film to be sensitive in the actions the 12 year old girl does while being possessed, William Friedkin, the director, does not hold back. The horror of the film comes from the likeness of a 12-year-old girl being forced to do disturbing things while being controlled by a demon. The film was very divisive in its initial release. At many theaters, paramedics were called to treat viewers who fainted or became hysterical.
Where To Watch The Exorcist
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Subversive Horror Movies Will Always Be Popular
Horror movies like Psycho and The Exorcist have already pushed the boundaries on what audiences expect to see out of a film. However, as horror movies got more popular, formulas and tropes became the norm. Now we are seeing a resurgence of subversive horror movies, which push our boundaries even further. With Halloween fast approaching, we’ll have to wait and see what new subversive horror flicks come out this year.
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