Not every movie is what it seems to be at first glance, and Redditors have noted that even the most wholesome children’s releases are scary non-horror movies. Sometimes, the marketing for a movie does nothing to prepare viewers for what they are actually in for. Whether they are labeled as sci-fi, thriller, or even comedy, can turn out to be straight-up horror movies. Given how many films seem to delve into horror unexpectedly, Redditors took the opportunity to discuss which films gave them the most surprising scares.
Very few movies strictly stick to one genre, as comedies can be dramatic just as action movies can be funny. However, the movies singled out by these Reddit users have horror elements that are totally out of place, or they at least come out of nowhere that they give audiences whiplash. Whether that’s for better or worse, the scenes end up being scarier than actual horror films because of how unexpected they are, and Redditors have pointed to some of the most terrifying scenes ever shot. The whole tone of a particular movie can give audiences shivers, or one key scene in a lighthearted movie can be as terrifying as anything in The Exorcist.
16 Jumanji (1995)
Just because a film is targeted at families doesn’t always mean that it can’t be downright frightening at the same time. Redditor DiddlyTiddly points this out with “Jumanji with Robin Williams. There was something eminently tragic about his character trapped in the survivalist horror of the game, along with the terrifying nature of said game.” Even though Jumanji seems to have a fun premise at first, as a children’s board game comes to life as the characters play it, it quickly turns south as every roll unleashes some new monstrosity that tries to kill them. The whole movie is some dark material for a children’s movie.
15 Mulholland Drive (2001)
Most projects made by celebrated director David Lynch are scary non-horror movies, as they’ve surreal and pretty unsettling, and Mulholland Drive definitely contains many Lynch trademarks. As Redditor Unholymanserpent wrote, “Surprised no one has mentioned Mulholland Drive. Both the diner scene and the very end tripped me out.” The entirety of Mulholland Drvie has an aura of unease to it, with creepy characters and several enigmatic plot threads, but two sequences especially veer completely into horror territory. The scene at the diner contains one of cinema’s best jump scares, and the entire final act is an existential nightmare.
14 Click (2006)
Most Adam Sandler movies follow the same formula; Goofy humor, silly voices, and Rob Schneider turning up somewhere. While Click seems to be one of these on the surface, it quickly turns incredibly dark. Redditor vivianmay02 summarizes the film, “It’s a movie about a remote that fast forwards your entire life all the way to death.” Michael (Sandler) buys a universal remote that affects his real life, and playing around with it ends with him skipping through divorces, the loss of his father, and even his own death. Sandler’s movies are usually harmless fun, so delving into existential horror was a shock to audiences in 2006 when this underrated Adam Sandler movie debuted.
13 Requiem For A Dream (2000)
The psychological drama Requiem For A Dream isn’t scary because of any monster or surprise violence, but rather for the realistic and haunting way that it depicts addiction. The film follows four central characters as they spiral and self-destruct due to their heroin addictions. Redditor Darkuen noted, “Requiem For A Dream definitely helped make me never want to take drugs.” A few hallucination scenes in the movie are frightening on their own, but what truly makes Requiem For A Dream a horror is the sickening fates each character meets, which include amputation, forced prostitution, and electroshock therapy.
12 Buried (2010)
After so many box office bombs like X-Men Origins: Wolverine and Green Lantern, Ryan Reynolds revitalized his career with Deadpool, but he revived his career from a critical standpoint many years earlier with the criminally overlooked Buried. This Reddit user thinks Buried fits in with other scary non-horror movies, noting, “I felt suffocated watching it. Feel claustrophobic.” The movie is an isolated thriller movie, as Paul (Reynolds) wakes up in a coffin after being buried alive. The premise alone is terrifying, and while it might not technically be a horror movie, Buried’s setting scares audiences more than basic jump scares.
11 Watership Down (1978)
While it’s hard to believe that anything could be scary about a kid’s movie with cute little bunnies, Watership Down undoubtedly traumatized thousands of children. Redditor Naomi_honey89 said, “I haven’t watched this movie, but trailers and things I’ve read about Watership Down (1978) seem exceedingly frightening and disturbing.” Despite Watership Down‘s cuddly protagonists, it is also filled with shockingly visceral and bloody violence between the animals, a genuinely unsettling villain, and several haunting scenes of the rabbits being killed in frightening ways. Watership Down likely scarred generations of children expecting a fun movie about rabbits.
10 Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
Just because a film is a cartoon doesn’t mean it can’t a scary non-horror movie. Who Framed Roger Rabbit is a joy to watch until the moment Judge Doom steps on screen. Not only is Doom menacing by himself, but also brutally murdered the otherwise indestructible Toons with his special “dip.” Reddit user Amatuersamurai429 mentions, “I was terrified of Who Framed Roger Rabbit for a while. Lots of nightmares about being melted in a vat of chemicals.” Watching cute cartoons meet such grisly fates is frightening enough, but the climax of the film shows Doom being horrifically crushed by a steamroller before revealing his true, even scarier form.
9 Se7en (1995)
Crime thrillers often delve into the pitch-black dark subject matter, but few do it quite as effectively as Se7en. Following two detectives tracking a serial killer murdering victims based on the seven deadly sins, it’s in these murders that Se7en’s horror roots start to show. Redditor Multichromatic-NOW believes, “Se7en is scary as hell, but not really horror at the same time.” Much of the gore is left to the viewer’s imagination, but that arguably makes some deaths even worse. Few viewers are likely to forget Se7en’s famous box reveal or the terrifying moment with the Sloth victim.
8 The Cable Guy (1996)
Jim Carrey has proven his talents in everything from serious dramas to his particular brand of slapstick comedy, but he is still likely not someone many people would picture when it comes to the horror genre. However, his work on The Cable Guy veers dangerously close. Reddit user Actioncomicbible mentions, “The way that Jim Carrey’s character completely steals everyone and everything out of Matthew Broderick’s life is absolutely terrifying to me.” The film centers around Carrey’s character becoming obsessed with Broderick’s, and he takes it to some frightening lengths, including having him both fired and arrested.
7 No Country For Old Men (2007)
The most memorable part of the Coen brothers’ instant classic, No Country For Old Men, is Javier Bardem’s terrifying villain Anton Chigurh. User Jarvispeen goes so far as to describe the film as the “Best bogeyman story ever told.” Lumpy-Professional 4o agreed, noting, “This movie is scary as s***. Genuinely unnerved me in a way that was all too realistic.” Chigurh can stand alongside many slasher movie villains as one of the most intimidating antagonists in film history, making the 2007 release one of the most obvious scary non-horror films. He is emotionless, and ruthless, and takes the film from a neo-noir into full-on horror.
6 The Elephant Man (1980)
The Elephant Man is the true story of John Merrick, a man born with a severe disfiguring disease. The fact that Merrick’s affliction was entirely real is tragic, and the way that he is treated in the movie makes it even worse. The film’s prosthetics are unsettlingly convincing too. As Redditor klavanforballondor perfectly summarizes that the film “terrified me… that people could be that cruel… And the fact that the film closes with the same dissonant music that plays at the start as if to signal that nothing has ultimately changed – very, very unsettling. Don’t think I’ll watch it again.”
5 Zodiac (2007)
Horror movies based on true stories are almost always scarier because they seem based on reality. David Fincher’s Zodiac is technically a mystery thriller, but given that it is based on the actual unsolved Zodiac Killer case, it quickly becomes one of the scariest non-horror films. Fincher fills the movie with a palpable sense of dread and a few absolutely spine-chilling scenes. Reddit user remember2079 notes, “Zodiac (2007) is a thriller but that basement scene was something else, creepy af.” This basement sequence alone can send viewers running out of the room as quickly as Robert (Gyllenhaal), and the rest of the movie isn’t any less terrifying.
4 Come And See (1985)
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Very few movies about World War II are cheery affairs, but the Soviet film Come and See presents the horrors of the Eastern Front like few movies ever have. As User Sea_Shoddy sums up, “Come And See is the most disturbing movie I’ve ever watched. It’s about the partisans in Belarus during WWII with surprisingly little gore. But the movie is made so that it will haunt you forever.” Come and See follows a young boy who joins up with the Belorussian partisans and quickly learns how brutal war really is. The film contains unflinching depictions of Nazi war crimes and is full of hauntingly realistic scenes of human suffering.
3 Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971)
Even though his books are mostly charming and whimsical, Roald Dahl doesn’t shy away from scary sequences. The classic Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory manages to perfectly encapsulate both the whimsical magic of the original and the abject horror like many other scary non-horror movies. Reddit user edee160 points out, “Wizard of Oz and Willy Wonka with Gene Wilder. In fact, TMC includes them in the scariest movie countdown every year and they are high on the list.” Wizard of Oz is scary enough, but Willy Wonka is somehow even creepier. Children are slowly picked off one by one in various candy-related accidents, not to mention that terrifying boat ride.
2 Annihilation (2018)
Few sources seemed to agree on what genre of the phenomenal Annihilation was. Some called it science fiction, some mystery, and some action. Redditor Totallynotalssa correctly pegged it as straight horror though by saying, “Annihilation. that s*** messed me up.” It’s not hard to see why, as Annihilation‘s thoroughly haunting premise leads to a whole host of disturbing scenes. The film features a moment of literal stomach-churning body horror, a subtext-laden alien doppelgänger, and one of the scariest non-horror movie monsters to ever appear on a movie screen. Some audiences didn’t know what they were getting into, Annihilation’s marketing simply made it seem like a straight-up sci-fi flick.
1 Threads (1984)
Redditor TSG61373 named a popular Reddit choice for scary non-horror movies, noting, “Check out the made-for-TV movie Threads if you can. Fictional documentary that realistically depicts a nuclear apocalypse, and it’s hands down the scariest movie I’ve ever seen.” Nuclear war has been depicted in several movies, but not quite like Threads. The documentary-style movie makes the entire experience feel even closer to home and doesn’t shy away from brutal depictions of societal and environmental collapse, making it one of the many scary non-horror movies. However, the scariest part is that it theoretically could really happen.