Divya Meena
From the producers of critically acclaimed ‘Get Out’ and ‘Us’, ‘Antebellum’ is a psychological horror-thriller that follows a modern-day African American woman, a successful author Veronica Henley, who must escape from a horrifying reality that forces her to confront the past, present, and future. Starring Janelle Monáe, Eric Lange, and Jena Malone in lead roles, ‘Antebellum’ has a mind-boggling, complex, and topsy-turvy narrative which often pulls the rug out from under the audience. In its blending of past and present, fact and fiction, nightmare and reality, the movie echoes the racial systemic injustice of our current times.
If you are done watching ‘Antebellum’ and want to explore movies along the same lines like this, we’ve put together these bunch of exhilarating psychological horror thrillers that will poke at your psyche and put you through the wringer in all the satisfyingly best ways possible as an audience. You can watch most of these movies on Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, or other streaming platforms.
7. Secret Window (2004)
Based on the novella ‘Secret Window, Secret Garden’ by Stephen King, ‘Secret Window’ tells the story of a writer who moves to his idyllic lakeside cabin to find solitude. However, things don’t necessarily go as planned, when a psychotic stalker accuses the writer of plagiarizing his work and set up a camp in his house with utter refusal to leave him alone. Featuring brilliant performances by Johnny Depp and John Turturro, ‘Secret Window’ a slow burn, and makes you feel like you are going round the bend with the budding distress.
6. House at the End of the Street (2012)
‘House at the End of the Street’ tells the story of a young mother named Sarah Cassidy (Elizabeth Shue), and her daughter Elissa (Jennifer Lawrence). After Sarah goes through a divorce, she and Elissa move to a new neighborhood in an upper-middle-class suburb. Though the neighborhood seems tranquil, there’s a grisly story behind the house – and their owner Ryan (Max Thieriot) – at the very end of their new street. Against Sarah’s advice, Elissa and Ryan strike a friendship, which put Elissa in mortal peril as she uncovers the dark secret harbored by Ryan. This is one of Jennifer Lawrence’s lesser-known films before her career took off, but the staggering twist in the story is riveting enough for this movie to make this list.
5. The Babadook (2014)
The movie centers on a single mother, beleaguered by the violent death of her husband, who struggles with her son’s fear of a monster lurking in the house. Soon they both fall into a deep well of paranoia when she starts realizing a sinister presence all around her as well. What’s worse? The demon is a clear manifestation of a bedtime storybook called ‘Mister Babadook’ they innocently delved into. The black trench coat, a top hat, a pasty white face, and drawn-out, talon-like fingers – all inject dread into an already eerie atmosphere.
4. Unsane (2008)
Morbidly petrified for her life, Sawyer Valentini (Claire Foy) involuntarily checks herself into a mental care institution to escape her stalker (Joshua Leonard). With already held in a place against her wish, her worst fears are realized when she witnesses her dangerous stalker posing as one of the staff members. She must try to prove her sanity before it’s too late. With the premise already confined to a dismal setting of a mental institution, the palpable trepidation tugs at your heart by the minute.
3. The Lodge (2019)
‘The Lodge’s plot revolves around a soon-to-be stepmother (Riley Keough) who, along with her fiance’s two children (Jaeden Martell and Lia McHugh), becomes stranded at their cabin in the woods during Christmas. The three of them become entangled in a series of unexpected events that seem to be connected to her troubled past in a suicide cult. The fits-and-starts creepy and unnerving atmosphere makes it a skin-crawling horror show culminating in an even bizarre manner.
2. Mother! (2017)
Written and directed by Darren Aronofsky, ‘mother!’ is yet another gem of a movie that deserves to be engrossed in. A couple’s relationship is put through its paces when several uninvited guests arrive at their home, disrupting their tranquil existence. A knockout ensemble of the likes of Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem, Michelle Pfeiffer, Ed Harris, and Domhnall Gleeson has done full justice to the story. Utterly bewildering and disquieting on the surface, ‘mother!’ is in fact a visceral allegory for how humans have mistreated Mother Earth over the years. We bet you couldn’t shake it for days on end after watching it, because same.
1. The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2009)
‘The Killing of a Sacred Deer’ is director Yorgos Lanthimos’ (‘The Lobster’) most potent accomplishment in that it surpasses the disorienting and unsettling plots of the movies he has directed so far. Colin Farrell stars as Dr. Steven Murphy, a revered surgeon who lives a perfect suburban life with his graceful ophthalmologist wife (Nicole Kidman) and their two children. It all soon goes downhill when Steven takes a strange teen, Marin (Barry Keoghan), under his mentorship. The niggling tension quickly advances into full-blown primal horror when the full scope of Martin’s intent becomes menacingly clear to Steven. The story that is enigmatic and downright blood-chilling is bound to get lodged under your skin.
Read More: Antebellum Ending, Explained
