Entertainment
The Best Gothic Horror Movies
The best gothic horror movies expertly combine the terror and frights that audiences expect from the horror genre, with a tragic romantic story that inevitably ends in heartbreak and pain. This bizarre parring may seem counterintuitive at first glance, but it has slowly grown to become one of the most influential, powerful, and beautiful subgenres in all of cinema. Gothic horror has always been a staple in popular culture, from Edgar Allen Poe to Mary Shelly to Guillermo Del Toro, these stories have transcended generations and only continue to get more powerful and relevant as time goes by.
Each film on this list is prepared to equally horrify audiences and break their hearts, all the while showcasing breathtaking sets, an eerie atmosphere, and dreamlike symbolism. From the classics of the '30s like Frankenstein and Dracula, to modern-day gothic tales like Crimson Peak and Let the Right One In, there is undoubtedly a film here for every horror fan.
Vote up the best gothic horror movies of all time, and be sure to check out the scariest movies of all time.
list ordered by
- This iconic horror film follows the obsessed scientist Dr. Henry Frankenstein (Colin Clive) as he attempts to create life by assembling a creature from body parts of the deceased. Aided by his loyal ...more
- In this highly influential silent horror film, the mysterious Count Orlok (Max Schreck) summons Thomas Hutter (Gustav von Wangenheim) to his remote Transylvanian castle in the mountains. The eerie ...more
- Dr. John Markway, an anthropologist with an interest in psychic phenomena, takes two specially selected women to Hill House, a reportedly haunted mansion. Eleanor (Julie Harris), a lonely, eccentric ...more
- After recovering from injuries sustained in the mob attack upon himself and his creation, Dr. Frankenstein (Colin Clive) falls under the control of his former mentor, Dr. Pretorius (Ernest Thesiger), ...more
- The dashing, mysterious Count Dracula (Bela Lugosi), after hypnotizing a British soldier, Renfield (Dwight Frye), into his mindless slave, travels to London and takes up residence in an old castle. ...more
- Grace (Nicole Kidman), the devoutly religious mother of Anne (Alakina Mann) and Nicholas (James Bentley), moves her family to the English coast during World War II. She awaits word on her missing ...more
- Based on the classic story "The Fall of the House of Usher" by Edgar Allan Poe and directed by legendary filmmaker Roger Corman, this thriller features Vincent Price as Roderick Usher, a man who ...more
- This film is a 1964 British horror film directed by Roger Corman and starring Vincent Price. The story follows a prince who terrorizes a plague-ridden peasantry while merrymaking in a lonely castle ...more
- Elizabeth Barnard Medina (Barbara Steele) has died in the prime of life, and her brother, Francis (John Kerr), wants to know why. Elizabeth's husband, Nicholas (Vincent Price), and her doctor offer ...more
- Based on the Henry James story "The Turn of the Screw," a psychological thriller about a woman who takes a governess job for two orphans in a Victorian home. She begins to see what she believes are ...more
- 11Story of a young woman who marries a fascinating widower only to find out that she must live in the shadow of his former wife, Rebecca, who died mysteriously several years earlier. The young wife ...more
- In 1944 Spain young Ofelia (Ivana Baquero) and her ailing mother (Ariadna Gil) arrive at the post of her mother's new husband (Sergi López), a sadistic army officer who is trying to quell a guerrilla ...more
- Jane Hudson (Bette Davis) is an aging child star left to care for her wheelchair-bound sister Blanche (Joan Crawford), also a former child actress. Stuck living together in a mansion in old ...more
- Arthur Kipps (Daniel Radcliffe), a lawyer, is recently widowed and grieving the loss of his wife when he is sent to a remote village to put a deceased eccentric's affairs in order. Soon after his ...more
- A young wife comes to believe that her offspring is not of this world. Waifish Rosemary Woodhouse (Mia Farrow) and her struggling actor husband Guy (John Cassavetes) move to a New York City apartment ...more
- After marrying the charming and seductive Sir Thomas Sharpe, young Edith (Mia Wasikowska) finds herself swept away to his remote gothic mansion in the English hills. Also living there is Lady ...more
- Set in 1799, "Sleepy Hollow" is based on Washington Irving's classic tale "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." Faithful to the dreamy custom-bound world that Irving paints in his story, the film mixes ...more
- At the request of Count Dracula (Jack Palance), solicitor Jonathan Harker (Murray Brown) visits Transylvania in order to help the count finalize a real estate purchase. While there, he's bewitched by ...more
- In this silent horror classic, aspiring young opera singer Christine Daaé (Mary Philbin) discovers that she has a mysterious admirer intent on helping her become a lead performer. This enigmatic ...more
- The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is a 1920 German silent horror film, directed by Robert Wiene and written by Hans Janowitz and Carl Mayer. Considered the quintessential work of German Expressionist ...more
- Testing his theory that in every man dwells a good and an evil force, the reserved Dr. Jekyll (Fredric March) develops a formula that separates the two, turning him into a violent ruffian named Mr. ...more
- Mary Henry (Candace Hilligoss) ends up the sole survivor of a fatal car accident through mysterious circumstances. Trying to put the incident behind her, she moves to Utah and takes a job as a church ...more
- In the 14th century, William of Baskerville (Sean Connery), a renowned Franciscan monk, and his apprentice, Adso of Melk (Christian Slater), travel to an abbey where a suspicious death has occurred. ...more
- 24Suzy (Jessica Harper) travels to Germany to attend ballet school. When she arrives, late on a stormy night, no one lets her in, and she sees Pat (Eva Axén), another student, fleeing from the school. ...more
- Adaptation of Bram Stoker's classic vampire novel. Gary Oldman plays Dracula whose lonely soul is determined to reunite with his lost love, Mina (Winona Ryder). In Britain, Dracula begins a reign of ...more
