10 Indie Horror Movies That’ll Scare You — And Impress You

Depending on how you feel about this movie, it either suffers from the mega-hype surrounding the viral marketing campaign that made it a huge success or it stands up as a near-perfect indie horror flick that relies more on suspense and mood than overblown scares. The now-classic tale of three filmmakers who ventured into the Maryland woods to investigate a centuries-old supernatural presence is likely as divisive now as it was 15 years ago, but you have to admit it’s still unsettling. [Where to stream The Blair Witch Project]

One of the spookiest and most intriguing horror films in years came from Sweden. Based on the novel by John Ajvide Lindqvist, Let the Right One In examines the destruction of childhood innocence when a young boy learns the deadly truth about the little girl next door: she’s a vampire. At times both hauntingly beautiful and disturbing, the film went on to be remade, with the Americanized version starring Chloe Grace Moretz. [Where to stream Let the Right One In]

Ti West’s homage to the slasher / supernatural horror flicks of the ’70s and ’80s stars Joceline Donahue as a young college student who takes a last-minute babysitting job from a strange couple. Holed up in their looming and creepy mansion, the young woman realizes that her temporary employers may not be who they seem, and soon she finds herself the potential victim of a Satanic cult. [Where to stream The House of the Devil]

A remake of the Uruguayan film La casa muda, Silent House uses the real-time, single-shot conceit to craft a surprising thriller that begins with a simple home invasion and eventually turns into a paranoid horror film that’ll leave you shaking by the final reel. [Where to stream Silent House]

When pseudo ghost-hunters hold a stakeout in a condemned asylum, their staged reality TV set becomes a nightmarish reality. Written and directed by enigmatic filmmaking duo The Vicious Brothers, Grave Encounters is inventive as it is critical of what’s become of haunted house horror tropes in this bonafide frightening lesson in leaving the dead, dead.—Olivia Armstrong [Where to stream Grave Encounters]

A veteran turned hitman will do anything to protect the financial security of his family, even if it brings him within the crosshairs of a Satanic cult. Director Ben Wheatley toys with a slow and steadily disturbing build reminiscent of John Cassavetes and Stanley Kubrick, but manipulates his audience in such a shocking and profound way, Kill List offers a final twist that’s not only brilliant, but wholly unprecedented.—Olivia Armstrong [Where to stream Kill List]

Three masked murders terrorize an extended family at their country vacation home — but lurking under what seems like your standard, run-of-the-mill home invasion may lie something much more personal and sinister. [Where to stream You’re Next]

A documentary team sets out to direct a film focusing on an elderly woman (the titular Deborah) who is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. But soon Deborah begins to behave strangely, and her family and the documentarians deduce that her illness is actually a demonic possession. [Where to stream The Taking of Deborah Logan]

This Australian indie has a lot of style, invoking the moody aesthetic of the German expressionist directors like Robert Wiene and Friz Lang. But it also packs quite the punch, offering a full-throttle psychological roller-coaster with intense scares and a thoughtful and powerful look at the effects of grief and parental expectations. [Where to stream The Babadook]

Based on a graphic novel and produced by Elijah Wood, this moody atmospheric thriller takes place in a nearly deserted Iranian town called Bad City, where the few remaining residents have no idea that there’s a lonely female vampire stalking all of them. [Where to stream A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night]