10 Underrated Horror Gems You Need to See

November 14, 2025

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Some of the most important and dynamic horror movies ever made have been seemingly forgotten, overshadowed by other, more mainstream and modern movies. Blockbusters like The Exorcist and Hereditary tend to dominate horror movie discussion. Yet some brilliant horror films have been quietly influencing the genre for decades.

Horror history is filled with underrated gems that never got the recognition they deserved. These hidden treasures range from silent-era nightmares to eccentric cult classics that helped shape what horror would become. Whether they’re surreal, grotesque, or darkly funny, each offers something truly special that fans of the genre shouldn’t overlook.

The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971)

The Abominable Dr. Phibes, Vincent Price looking angry

Horror icon Vincent Price stars as the eponymous Dr. Anton Phibes in the wildly stylish The Abominable Dr, Phibes. Phibes is a disfigured genius who seeks revenge on the surgeons he blames for his wife’s death. Set in an art deco fever dream of macabre elegance, the film blends camp and carnage in equal measure.

Phibes’ murders are styled after the biblical plagues. It’s a brilliant and gruesome touch that turns each kill into a darkly creative spectacle right up until it’s bleak horror movie ending. Despite its violence, Dr Phibes is strangely beautiful, with lavish sets and black humor that border on theatrical.

Often overshadowed by Price’s other work, The Abominable Dr. Phibes stands as one of his most inventive performances. It’s a horror film that embraces absurdity, crafting a villain so charismatic that audiences can’t help but root for him. Its mix of wit and wickedness makes it an essential, if underappreciated, classic.

November (2017)

This Estonian gothic fairy tale is unlike any other horror film. Set in a 19th-century village steeped in folklore, November follows peasants who use black magic, deals with the Devil, and sentient farm tools called “kratts” to survive the harsh winter. Shot in stark black-and-white, the film feels like a feverish dream.

November is part folktale, part nightmare. It weaves together pagan myth and surreal imagery to explore greed, love, and mortality in a world where souls and spirits coexist with the living. It’s hauntingly beguiling and extremely bizarre.

Few audiences outside of Europe have seen November, but it deserves far more attention. Its eerie beauty and emotional depth make it a standout example of modern folk horror. It’s both deeply unsettling and strangely romantic, a story that feels ancient yet entirely new.

White Zombie (1932)

White Zombie is the first full-length zombie film ever made. These original zombies were not the flesh-eating undead established in the seminal Night of the Living Dead, but rather mindless slaves created with voodoo. It starred horror movie icon Bela Lugosi as the sinister voodoo master Murder Legendre, who attempts to put a young woman under his thrall.

Set in Haiti, White Zombie is steeped in eerie atmosphere and early horror stylings. Its slow, dreamlike pacing and shadowy visuals create a feeling of unease that lingers long after it ends. Lugosi’s hypnotic performance is particularly chilling, cementing his legacy beyond Dracula.

Though primitive by modern standards, White Zombie is an essential piece of horror history. It established the zombie as a cinematic monster – one rooted not in viruses or apocalypse, but in spiritual enslavement and control. It’s a haunting artifact that deserves rediscovery.

The Old Dark House (1932)

A bearded man holds a frightened woman from the Old Dark House

James Whale’s The Old Dark House is the quintessential haunted-house movie: a stormy-night tale filled with strange characters, morbid humor, and eerie suspense. When travelers seek shelter from the rain, they stumble into a mansion run by the bizarre Femm family. The film mixes gothic horror with biting satire, creating a uniquely campy sense of menace and a particularly quotable horror movie.

Each family member is weirder than the last, from the hysterical Horace to the silent, terrifying butler played by Boris Karloff. Despite being overshadowed by Whale’s later hits (Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein), this is one of his sharpest and funniest works. The Old Dark House practically invented the “strangers trapped in a spooky mansion” trope.

The Old Dark House invented many of the tropes used in every haunted house movie ever. Yet delivers them more effectively than most of those who copied them. Regardless, The Old Dark House is terrifying and charmingly old fashioned.

Satan’s Little Helper (2004)

A boy in a mask sits on a sofa while Satan stands behind him in Satan's Little Helper. — Satan’s little helper – A boy in a mask sits on a sofa while Satan stands behind him

This low-budget black comedy horror from Jeff Lieberman is one of the strangest Halloween movies ever. Satan’s Little Helper follows a naïve boy who unwittingly teams up with a masked serial killer, believing the murders are all part of a video game. As the bodies pile up, the line between fantasy and reality blurs in deeply uncomfortable ways.

The film’s dark satire targets desensitization to violence. It uses absurd humor and awkward performances to make its horror even more disturbing. The killer’s mask design is genuinely unsettling, and could easily have become a horror icon if given the right opportunity.

Though often dismissed due to its campy tone, Satan’s Little Helper is smarter than it seems. Beneath the oddball acting lies a chillingly relevant message about innocence, media, and the way evil hides behind playfulness. It’s a bizarre, underseen gem that’s still ahead of its time.

Häxan: Witchcraft Through The Ages (1922)

The Devil appears in a convent in Haxan Witchcraft through the ages

Part documentary, part nightmare, Häxan is a silent Swedish film that examines witchcraft, superstition, and hysteria through surreal re-creations. Director Benjamin Christensen (who also plays Satan) combines historical analysis with shocking imagery, including scenes of demons, torture, and Satanic rituals. The result is unlike anything else from its time.

Häxan is an educational horror experience that feels disturbingly modern. Its depiction of mass paranoia and religious cruelty still resonates, decades later. Though initially banned in several countries, Häxan has since been recognized as a masterpiece of early cinema.

It’s both horrifying and tragic. For cinephiles, it’s a must-see: a strange, subversive blend of art and anthropology. In the years since, Häxan has been recognised as the first folk horror movie and has received numerous new scores and edits, including a live folk horror soundtrack by Britsh band, The Witchcraft and Vagrancy Act.

He Who Gets Slapped (1924)

Lon Chaney surrounded by clowns in He Who Gets Slapped

Lon Chaney’s heartbreaking performance anchors this silent horror-drama about a betrayed scientist who becomes a circus clown. Humiliated and broken, he turns his pain into grotesque entertainment. He becomes the titular He Who Gets Slapped for his audience’s amusement.

He Who Gets Slapped builds its horror not through monsters or violence, but emotional torment and despair. It also boasts some truly impressive primitive special effects and wildly surreal imagery. Chaney’s expressive face is a masterclass in silent film acting, transforming the film into a haunting meditation on humiliation and revenge.

Though largely forgotten, He Who Gets Slapped influenced decades of psychological horror and tragic antiheroes. It’s one of the first films to explore how personal trauma can twist the soul. This is a theme that would later define characters like the Joker and the Phantom of the Opera.

Theatre Of Blood (1973)

Vincent Price sports a disco outfit in Theatre of Blood

Vincent Price once again proves he’s the king of revenge horror in Theatre of Blood. This time, he plays a Shakespearean actor who murders the critics who mocked him, each death inspired by one of the Bard’s plays. The film is an excessively gory horror love letter to theater, mixing absurd violence with camp brilliance.

Critics are impaled, electrocuted, and baked into pies, all while Price delivers gleefully over-the-top performances straight from Shakespeare’s tragedies. Often lost among Price’s many horror classics, Theatre of Blood deserves more attention for its wit and creativity. It’s both a savage critique of art snobbery and a celebration of performance itself.

Price performs the role with his characteristic gusto. He again creates a villain that audiences end up rooting for. Rarely has murder been this theatrical – or this much fun.

Faust (1926)

F.W. Murnau’s Faust is one of the silent era’s most visually stunning masterpieces. It tells the timeless story of a man who sells his soul to the devil in exchange for youth and power – a deal that leads to cosmic catastrophe. Using groundbreaking special effects, Murnau transforms the screen into a living nightmare of angels, demons, and moral decay.

The film’s imagery boasts swirling smoke, giant shadows, and vast apocalyptic scenes. They still feel awe-inspiring nearly a century later. Though overshadowed by Murnau’s Nosferatu, Faust is just as essential to horror history.

Faust combines grand spectacle with moral depth. The result is a story about temptation and redemption that’s as terrifying as it is tragic. It’s the perfect combination of silent horror, camp and satanism.

The Man Who Laughs (1928)

Conrad Veidt poking his head through curtains in The Man Who Laughs 1926

Long before the Joker, there was Gwynplaine – a disfigured man forced to live with a permanent grin carved into his face. The Man Who Laughs follows his tragic life as he’s exploited by society and driven to despair by cruelty. Conrad Veidt’s performance is both beautiful and horrifying, capturing the pain behind a smile that never fades.

The film’s gothic sets and expressionist lighting heighten its sense of tragic horror. While not strictly a monster movie, its emotional intensity and imagery heavily influenced modern horror icons. His rictus grin became a major inspiration for the legendary comic book villain, the Joker.

The Man Who Laughs remains one of cinema’s most haunting tales. It’s a story about beauty, deformity, and the horror of being seen only as a spectacle. It is one of the greatest but often forgotten horror movies ever made.