Top 10 Horror Movies You Have to Watch TWICE

Like many of David Lynch’s works, you could watch “Eraserhead” many times and always have a different interpretation. The surrealist director’s first full-length film follows Henry Spencer as he raises his bizarre, misshapen “child.” It unfolds more like a collection of unsettling images than a discernable plot, and countless frames are stuffed with symbolism that will have you doing a double take. With everything from dirt-filled grocery bags, strange pencil factories and one unlucky chicken, the amount of offbeat details can be overwhelming after just one screening. “Eraserhead”’s ability to invite new and complex analogies after each viewing has helped make it both a cult classic and a worthy directorial effort for Lynch.

Wes Craven’s cult classic is not just another slasher flick. “Scream” centers around Neve Campbell’s character Sidney, who’s being pursued by the mysterious and elusive Ghostface serial killer. The movie deserves another go around just because of its climax, as knowing who the murderer is makes the original kills even better. The film is also an example of mid-‘90s meta humor, constantly making references to itself and its framework. Heck, you could make a drinking game out of it: one drink for every meta joke. Actually, don’t do that, you definitely won’t last until the end!

Watching a David Cronenberg film usually deserves multiple viewings, and “Videodrome” let his audiences know that early on. This sci-fi and body horror flick introduces us to Max Renn, a TV executive who discovers a strange satellite broadcast depicting unforgivable violence. Naturally, he sees this as the future of the entertainment industry. During an initial watch, you might not be able to think far beyond the movie’s shockingly disturbing content, but a closer look reveals plenty of allegory and social commentary. Media desensitization, misuse of technological performance platforms and contemplations on the nature of reality are all explored here. Repeat screenings invite “Videodrome”’s watchers to peel back its complex layers and contemplate the dark tale’s relevance in our current digital society.

Our next entry is as mysterious as they come. Initially, “The Others” SEEMS to be about Grace Stewart and her family being tormented by shady servants and supernatural occurrences. Cut to the twist, Nicole Kidman’s character and her family are actually the ones who are supernatural - i.e. dead. In fact, Kidman took her children's lives and then her own out of grief, and they’re now haunting the current occupants of the house. Only finding this out at the end means that watching the horror thriller a second time will completely change how you see “The Others.” Maybe you’re a ghost too… probably not though.

Evil doppelgangers, mysterious underground tunnels, Tim Heidecker in a half serious role - there’s a lot going on in this movie. Wait, TWO Tim Heideckers in the same movie? Now that’s enough to make your spin! In the follow-up to his critically-acclaimed horror debut, “Get Out,” filmmaker Jordan Peele ups both the weird factor and the thematic complexity. “Us” is many things: stylish, funny, and terrifying. But easy to understand is not on that list. Sure, the basic plot is simple enough - evil doppelgangers rise from their subterranean world to murder and take the place of their surface-dwelling counterparts. But what does it all mean? Who are these people and what’s up with those tunnels? Once you find out, it’s time for a rewatch!

Thanks to Lewis Carroll and “Alice in Wonderland”, “down the rabbit hole” is a common way of saying that someone has crossed over into a surreal state or strange perspective. Well, we’d like to suggest “climbing jacob’s ladder” as a potential substitute. Because this movie is seriously messed up. Released in 1990 and starring Tim Robbins, “Jacob’s Ladder” is a psychological thriller/horror film that takes you to the very darkest corners of the human psyche. Our protagonist, Jacob, is a Vietnam vet who, upon finding himself back home in NYC, is plagued by increasingly strange, violent and grotesque hallucinations. Jacob’s mind is not to be trusted, but we’re almost exclusively tied to his perspective, making this one heck of a trip down the rabbit hole.

In the first entry of the “Saw” franchise, audiences watched in fear as characters Adam Stanheight and Dr. Lawrence Gordon struggled to survive the first “Jigsaw Killer” game. If you’ve already watched it once, you know that Jigsaw is actually very much present the whole time - just not in a way anyone could have predicted. This makes the film more enjoyable to watch a second time around, as does knowing Dr. Gordon’s real fate thanks to “Saw 3D”. Not to mention, you’ll also realize that the bathroom reappears in later films in the franchise.

While we could have gone with Ari Aster’s debut feature “Hereditary”, (xref) we think “Midsommar” is more of an in-depth mindbender. When a troubled couple travels to Sweden to participate in a rare cultural festival, they become more horrifyingly involved than intended. The concept was initially meant to be an obvious slasher movie, but Aster drew inspiration from his actual life to give the story thematic texture. It meditates on emotional trauma, disloyalty and the collapse of relationships–all while creeping the bejesus out of the audience. On a second watch, you might better identify these themes and unearth the subtext of this strange tale, or you might further appreciate the thoroughly researched sets and costumes. Who knows? It might even help you through a difficult breakup!

M. Night Shyamalan’s brilliant psychological horror introduced audiences to a boy who can see dead people, and the dedicated child psychologist trying to help him. If you’ve been hiding under a rock for over 2 decades and you don’t know the twist, we won’t ruin it here. But suffice to say, there are countless hints throughout, and it takes multiple viewings to notice them. Either way, after watching the end, you won’t be able to watch it the same way again. It becomes a different movie, one much spookier, but also more poignant.

It’s one of the greatest horror movies ever filmed, and for that reason alone you can’t just watch once! Stanley Kubrick’s masterpiece traps us in the Overlook Hotel with a family going mad from cabin fever, or haunted by ghosts, or…both? The ending famously includes Jack Torrance’s body in the snow, frozen with the ax he’d used to attack his family. There’s actually a deleted scene where we learn that police were unable to find Jack’s corpse, which was meant to double down on “The Shining”’s ambiguity. This unique Stephen King adaptation has prompted a lot of discussion about its meaning and inspired multiple interpretations of its imagery. Study up with multiple viewings before offering your analysis! Just don’t bring up that moon-landing theory…




What horror movie left you scratching your head the first time you saw it? Tell us in the comment below!