In connection with Alex Garland’s Men we have a list of arthouse horror or elevated horror (as some like to call it) that most film critics seem to love but has divided film fans or vice versa.

Under The Skin (2014)

This was the one that saw a certain Scarlett Johansson, drove around the streets of Glasgow in a wig, brown fur coat and a white van. This was during the time when the American actress was established in MCU as Black Widow, it was amazing to think she went about unrecognised. This was Jonathan Glazer’s that some may not think as a horror, it’s also not a straight up sci-fi either. A blend of Kubrick and Claire Denis coming in the shape of a  transcending polarising visual experience. Based on 2000 Michael Faber novel of the same name, Johansson is a voyeuristic female extraterrestrial who hunts men luring them into her lair. You don’t truly learn her motives what we get is an unnerving, unpredictable films that lives up to it’s title – Gets Under Your skin.

Midsommar (2019)

Ari Aster’s folk horror left many many bewildered in what they where watching. You can clearly see the Wicker Man influences in the shape of Swedish folklore. This maybe more exploitive than his debut which once again plays on personal tragedy and mental health. It also plays on toxic relationships in the shape of terrible boyfriend who finds his fate on this trip. If you fear the dark, you may fear the sunlight with this one.

Hereditary (2018)

Ari Aster’s breakthrough horror which is not truly a horror in the conventional sense of things. The horror is wrapped around grief and family drama that makes you fear those dark corners of your home. It needs the viewer to invest in the family especially Toni Collette as Annie in what is a nightmarish journey into depression. The end scene is absolutely bonkers

It Follows (2015)

If you enjoy the metaphorical messages from Men, you’ll dig this one. David Robert Mithell’s 2015 indie horror circles young adults and there sexual health. This is a slow burner and those scares in this one are slow and psychological and they have a tension that gives us chills as the the threat is unseen and you’ll never see it when it hits you.

Climax (2018)

Gaspar Noe’s acid trip, a psychological horror which amazingly was improvised for it’s 95 minute running time. When a dance troupe celebrate an intense rehearsal with some drinks. As they drink and ance they start to realise LSD in the Sangaria which mentally destroys them. This one I didn’t personally like, however it which shows horror isn’t just about the scares.

The Witch (2016)

Robert Eggers debut plays on the paranoia of fear and most of all your mind. The Shinning, even a little of The Devils, Witchfinder’s General inspire this one. Thanks to the film’s sound design and dark palette set during the Puritan-era immerse us in an alien world. This is one of those films that’s psychological horror than a scare a minute horror which pushed many away from this one.

Notable others – Repulsion, The Lighthouse, Saint Maud, Mandy, A Field In England, Mother!, Raw, The Babadook, Antichrist, Suspiria (original and remake)