I love scary movies; the scarier, the better. However, I avoid the ones featuring duppies, we’re not trying to tempt fate here. My favourites are usually ones that include some social commentary and great use of sound or lack thereof. Keep reading to find out which 5 indie horror films are guaranteed to scare the hell outta you.
No music required
He looks harmless
Creep (2014) –
This indie horror film came highly recommended by my sister and it did not disappoint. Creep is directed by Patrick Brice and co-written with Mark Duplass. Both Brice and Duplass play the two main characters, Aaron and Josef. Embracing the found footage style, it has a simple premise; an ad on Craiglist offering $1000 to film someone for just a day. Josef places the ad and Aaron bites. What happens over the next 48 hours I will leave you to enjoy – or not – if you’re of delicate sensibilities. Despite Creep’s minimal setup, this does not hinder its efficacy in producing some unsettling and horrifying moments.
One of the things I loved about Creep was the lack of music. If you’re well-versed in mainstream and indie horror films, then you’ll know that music plays a key role in letting the audience know when to be scared and when the characters are in danger. However, Creep does not rely on music to do this. Instead, as an audience, we’re forced to rely on the devious dialogue for hints and clues as to what is really going on. This technique creates some incredible tension, sometimes unbearably so. The conversations between Aaron and Josef I was surprised to discover were largely improvised which makes them all the more impressive. Yet, it’s through these conversations that the plot hurtles forward and the real horror is unleashed.
One of the most unsettling things is watching Josef manipulate and disarm Aaron again and again. Aaron’s morbid curiosity and naivete are working against him in every sense. There are several incidents where you expect Aaron to sense the impending danger that he is in, but somehow Josef convinces him of his supposed fragility and innocence, and Aaron falls for it hook, line and sinker.
Creep is a brilliant indie horror film which, despite its short runtime, never feels rushed or paced too slow. Tips for watching: Turn off the lights and put your phone away. You won’t want to miss a single frame.
The indie horror with a strong social message
That face you make when you know something is not right
Get Out (2017) –
My love for Get Out knows no bounds. Jordan Peele writes and directs Get Out, a stunningly astute and frank debut that dissects racism and its impact on an interracial relationship in America. It’s 2020, and people are still quoting lines from Get Out as the script is razor-sharp in its social analysis. The story centres on Chris (Daniel Kaluuya), who is a Black man dating Rose (Allison Williams), a white woman. They’re planning a weekend away at Rose’s parents’ house, meaning Chris will meet them for the first time. Cue racial microaggressions aplenty which escalate as the day goes on. And boy, do they ESCALATE.
Watching Get Out was like looking into a non-spiritistic crystal ball. The dialogue’s ability to reflect the lived experience of a Black and Brown person with such infallible accuracy is awe-inspiring. Get Out is full of symbolism and not a single word or prop is wasted. You’ll never look at a china tea set in the same way again. Jordan Peele expertly shows us the horror in the domestic and make no mistake, Get Out is a horror film. Thankfully, with the addition of Lil Rel Howery, we get some much-needed comic relief and his comedic timing is masterful.
Where there is subtlety there is also graphic horror as the seemingly benign family visit gradually turns deadly. On first watch, the audience is drunk on paranoia and fear. Every word spoken has a double meaning and is laced with passive aggression masquerading as friendly curiosity and intrigue. For those of us who know what it’s like to be the only Black or Brown person in the room deciphering subtext in conversations has always been key to our professional and psychological survival.
Get Out forces the audience to confront their racism, implicit bias and assumptions as to what it means to be anti-racist in the 21st Century. The inclusion of an Asian character was largely discussed within the film community and I was pleased to note that Asian film lovers validated and confirmed anti-black bias within the Asian community. This character only speaks one line but his inclusion is purposeful. Get Out is not only entertaining us but informing us as well.
As an indie horror film debut, Get Out is as good as they come, and it cannot be overlooked that it made $255 million worldwide with a budget of only $5 million! Get Out is perfect for horror fans and those who appreciate great storytelling. It’s simply unmissable. Tips for watching: Ask yourself, ”Am I in the Sunken Place?” if you are, then Get Out.
The rewarding slow-burn
Let your faith light the way.
The Invitation (2015) –
Another indie horror film recommendation from my sister is The Invitation, which is our first film in this list directed by a woman of colour. Karyn Kusama directs this dizzying yet rewarding slow burn of an indie horror film. Made for only $1 million, Kusama manages to create plenty of suspense, all the while keeping her characters in the same location.
Set in the Hollywood Hills, Will (Logan Marshall-Green) and his girlfriend Kira (Emayatzy Corinealdi) accept Eden’s (Tammy Blanchard) invitation to her dinner party. Eden is Will’s ex-wife and their marriage ended after the tragic loss of their child two years ago. People deal with grief in different ways and while Will appears trapped in his grief, Eden has found a new lease of life with her new partner, David (Michiel Huisman).
We meet Will and Eden’s mutual friends, plus some mysterious strangers, and get a glimpse at what their life used to be like. Through flashbacks, we learn the devasting impact of losing a child, and The Invitation explores what happens when the grieving process is shunned in favour of forced healing and growth.
Make no mistake, this is a horror movie, and one thing that the horror genre is famous for is confronting the ugly truths about life. The emotions that we as human beings are afraid of feeling and the great lengths we go to to avoid sitting in discomfort or distress. The Invitation will make you bounce between paranoia and fear and the reward for sticking with our characters is very satisfying. Tips for watching: Keep an open mind, but not too open.
The indie horror that surprised me
A group therapy session would have been more effective
The Ritual (2017) –
Directed by David Bruckner, The Ritual, based on the book of the same name, is a British indie horror film about a group of men who go on a hiking trip in Sweden to commemorate their friend’s death. If horror movies have taught us anything never ever go off trail. Stick to the damn map. Maybe diversify your friendship group and have some Black friends; we’d never go off the map. (But who am I kidding, we wouldn’t have set foot in these woods).
It’s been 6 months since the tragedy and there is tension amongst the group as Luke (Rafe Spall) wrestles with feelings of guilt for the role he played in Rob’s (Paul Reid) death. Thanks to Dom’s (Sam Troughton) ”twisted meniscus” and some good old-fashioned bullying and peer pressure from Hutch (Robert James-Collier), he encourages the group to go off the map and trek through the Swedish forest, hoping to cut the journey time in half, and avoid 14 hours of Dom’s moaning.
But these Swedish woods aren’t just any woods, and what (or who) awaits our British friends is nothing short of frightening. Our British lads are plagued by vivid nightmares and carcasses hanging in trees, and in one terrifying scene, Phil (Arsher Ali) is found naked in an act of worship to an effigy made of twigs. The poor guy just wanted some sushi and a glass of red. But the boys are far from the comforts of home and instead of turning back and going the way they came, they soldier on deeper and deeper into the forest.
But one thing is clear. They are not welcome here. The only way to survive the horror is to confront their grief and have the courage to accept what it means to be human. Our protagonists have some hard choices to make as they try to survive and what follows is a well-executed portrayal of the friends’ shared trauma and feelings of shame, grief and regret.
I particularly enjoyed how The Ritual builds the sense of isolation, portrays the futility of machismo in the face of ancient religious belief systems and examines the horror of unresolved trauma. Tips for watching: Talk about your feelings
The all-female indie horror
Maybe try a spa break next time?
The Descent (2005) –
Made in 2005, hot on the heels of the success of James Wan’s Saw (2004), horror fans were dying for their next gory fix and Neil Marshall answered that call. Marshall writes and directs The Descent, a story about a group of adventurous women who love pushing things to the extreme. To hell with health and safety and once again, sticking to the damn map – that’s for sissies. Instead, one of our brave or stupid (I’ll let you decide) adventurers lures their fellow cavers into an unnamed cave hoping to discover it together for the first time and make their mark. But if horror films have taught us anything it’s that your curiosity will never go unpunished. Within 1 hour and 39 minutes, we learn the subtle dynamics of the women’s friendship, secrets that are eventually revealed and the impact of loss that still lingers and threatens to swallow our heroines whole. All within a dark, bloody, slimy, gooey backdrop, as this is a horror film, after all.
This is not an indie horror film for claustrophobics, though. Our heroines are fighting for their lives in subterranean conditions. It was too dangerous and cumbersome to shoot in a real cave so production built cave sets. But the acting from our protagonists never falters and you can feel their terror as they fight to make it to the surface. The dialogue is free from pretension and passes the Bechdel test as the women frequently talk about their lives, their grief, helping each other recover and how to repair their bond as friends. There is much realism amongst the horror and the audience can relate to these women as they try to navigate the changes in their lives and their shared grief and guilt.
There are famously two endings to The Descent, a British one known as the ”depressing” ending and the American one known as the ”happy” ending. Apparently, we Brits are pessimistic, so that is the one we got, but interestingly, in an interview with Vulture, Neil Marshall revealed that he believes the British ending is the ‘happy’ ending, and his explanation gave me pause.
I guarantee you will want to revisit The Descent as it is full of great scares and genuine horror and features an all-female cast who shatter the damsel in distress trope. The women are confident and daring, but alas, that thirst for adventure and notoriety comes at a heavy cost. You will root for them, you will certainly scream with them. In the words of my mother: ”Dem did want excitement, and dem did find excitement”.
Tips for watching: Stay still and don’t move.
Further Reading
Joker Film Review – Does society make us evil?
