19 underrated horror shows and movies ever made

Most horror fans stick to the same movies and shows and plenty of great horror gets ignored. Some had bad marketing. Some came out at the wrong time. Some never got the respect they deserved. The best horror isn’t always loud or in your face. The stories that stay with you are the ones that build slowly. Some creep in without you noticing. Some make you uncomfortable without using cheap jump scares. Some feel so real they mess with your head long after they end.

1) Session 9 (2001)

This movie never gives you a break. The abandoned Danvers State Hospital feels alive and watching. The recordings of Mary Hobbes are the scariest part. Her voice changes as her personalities switch. When her final identity speaks it is terrifying. The fluorescent lights buzz and the empty hallways stretch forever. One moment you think it is a psychological breakdown. The next you wonder if something supernatural is there. People overlook this because it is slow but that is what makes it terrifying.

2) The Empty Man (2020)

This starts like an urban legend but turns into something worse. The Bhutan scene is unforgettable. A man hears a whistle before finding a corpse-like figure in a cave. Later he watches a cult’s ritual and suddenly they all turn toward him. The movie feels like falling into something you cannot escape. It was ignored because of bad marketing and a rushed release. Now people are finally realizing how disturbing and well-made it is.

3) Lake Mungo (2008)

This is grief turning into horror. It feels like a real documentary. A girl drowns and her family finds ghostly images of her. The scariest moment is when she appears standing over her own buried body. The film unravels her secrets instead of just being a ghost story. It is not about jump scares. It is about how some things never leave you. People ignore it because it is quiet and slow but that makes it feel too real.

4) The Night House (2021)

This makes grief feel like something haunting you. Rebecca Hall makes every second of this movie unsettling. The moment when she realizes the shadow in her house is not a trick of the light but something reaching for her is horrifying. The film plays with space and silence in a way that gets under your skin. It was overlooked because it is more psychological than traditional horror but that only makes it more disturbing.

5) Noroi: The Curse (2005)

This feels like something you should not be watching. The slow build makes everything worse. A child starts screaming at something invisible. A cursed woman’s last moments are pieced together through disturbing footage. Every answer leads to something even more terrifying. It does not rely on shaky cameras or fake jump scares. It was ignored because it never got a wide release but it is one of the best found-footage films ever made.

6) Pontypool (2008)

This movie makes you afraid of words. The infection spreads through language itself. People hear certain words and suddenly their minds break. The horror builds inside a small radio station as the host and crew realize what is happening. The moment when a woman starts repeating a single word until her mouth fills with blood is terrifying. There are no zombies chasing anyone. The horror is in the way people lose control. It was ignored because it is too unconventional but that is what makes it unforgettable.

7) We Are What We Are (2013)

This movie makes family traditions feel like a death sentence. A religious father forces his daughters to carry on a horrifying ritual. The reveal of what they have been eating is disturbing but the dinner scene where one sister finally fights back is worse. The horror comes from the slow realization that they have no choice. Every scene feels heavier because of it. It is overlooked because it is too quiet and unsettling but that is exactly why it works.

8) Starry Eyes (2014)

This movie turns ambition into something terrifying. An aspiring actress will do anything for fame and it destroys her. The body horror gets worse with every scene. She pulls out clumps of her hair. She vomits black liquid. Her final transformation is horrifying. Hollywood horror rarely goes this far. It is more disturbing because it feels too real. It was ignored because it did not have a big release but it deserves to be mentioned with the best horror films of the decade.

9) Ghostwatch (1992)

This movie convinced people it was real. It aired as a live ghost investigation and by the end, viewers thought they had just witnessed something they should not have seen. The moment when the camera catches a figure standing in the shadows before disappearing is pure nightmare fuel. The fear comes in the slow breakdown of reality. The idea that something is leaking through the screen makes it worse. It was banned for years because people thought it was dangerous.

10) The Dark and the Wicked (2020)

This movie feels like pure despair. A brother and sister return home to their dying father but something is waiting for them. The mother’s fate is one of the most shocking moments in modern horror. She is there one second and gone the next. The film never lets up. The atmosphere is suffocating. Every second feels worse than the last. It was ignored because it is too bleak but that is what makes it one of the scariest films in years.

11) Marianne (2019, Netflix)

This show makes sleep feel dangerous. The witch Marianne does not just haunt people. She destroys their minds. The scene where she forces a woman to rip out her own teeth while laughing is pure horror. The show feels like a Stephen King nightmare set in France. It plays with reality until you cannot tell what is real. The scares never stop. It was ignored because it was not in English but it is one of the scariest horror shows ever made.

12) The Exorcist (2016-2018, Fox)

This show had no right to be this good. It expands the story of The Exorcist without ruining it. The first season’s twist, where the possessed girl is revealed to be an older Regan MacNeil, is one of the best horror reveals in years. The possession scenes are brutal. The slow corruption of Father Tomas is terrifying. The second season is just as strong. It was canceled because of low ratings but it deserves to be ranked with the best horror TV shows.

13) Channel Zero (2016-2018, Syfy)

This show does not rely on cheap scares. It makes horror feel like a slow infection. The Candle Cove season turns a children’s show into something that should never exist. The No-End House season creates a haunted house that eats memories. Butcher’s Block makes insanity feel contagious. The visuals are some of the most disturbing in modern horror. People ignored it because it was on Syfy but every season proves it was one of the best horror anthologies ever made.

14) The Terror (2018, AMC)

This show makes the cold feel alive. It starts as a historical drama but the horror creeps in slowly. The monster, the Tuunbaq, is terrifying but the real fear comes from watching the crew fall apart. The scene where a man walks into a tent and finds a pile of dead bodies arranged in a nightmare shape is unforgettable. The isolation makes every second worse. It was ignored because people expected action, but its slow horror makes it legendary.

15) Dead Set (2008, E4)

This show takes reality TV and turns it into a nightmare. The Big Brother house is supposed to be safe but when a zombie outbreak happens, it becomes a death trap. The contestants have no idea what is happening outside. The moment when a former housemate returns as a zombie and kills a friend is brutal. It feels too real. The horror is fast and relentless. It was overlooked because it came out before Black Mirror, but it deserves the same praise.

16) Archive 81 (2022, Netflix)

This show pulls you in with its slow unraveling horror. A man restores old videotapes and discovers something he should not have seen. The moment where a woman in the past looks into the camera and somehow sees the man watching from the future is chilling. The cult mystery, the eerie footage, and the Lovecraftian horror build into something terrifying. Netflix canceled it before it could fully explore its potential, but even one season was enough to make an impact.

17) The River (2012, ABC)

This show makes the Amazon jungle feel cursed. A famous explorer goes missing and his family searches for him, only to find something they never should have disturbed. The horror builds through found footage, making every shadow feel alive. The scene where a ghostly child stares through the boat’s window and vanishes is terrifying. It deserved more than one season. It was ignored because it came out when found-footage fatigue was high, but it delivered some of the best supernatural horror on TV.

18) Kingdom (2019-2021, Netflix)

This show reinvents the zombie genre. The undead move like a plague, rising at night and slaughtering everything. The scene where they pour out of a burning palace, chasing survivors through snow-covered fields, is unforgettable. The political drama adds weight to the horror. Every choice matters because the kingdom itself is rotting from the inside. It is underrated because people overlooked it as just another zombie show, but it is one of the best horror series ever made.

19) Harper’s Island (2009, CBS)

This show makes every episode feel like a countdown to death. A wedding on a remote island turns into a massacre. The kills are brutal and creative. The scene where a man is split in half by a boat’s propeller is shocking. The mystery keeps you guessing until the end. It is rare for network TV to go this dark. It was ignored because it aired at a time when slasher shows were not popular, but it remains a hidden gem.