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I’m not a horror fan. I don’t enjoy the feelings they bring—anxiety, fear, disgust, dread. I try to keep those emotions out of my daily life. Still, these films managed to creep onto my screen… and into my nightmares. Consider this a warning list—or an invitation, depending on your tolerance for terror.
1. Creepshow (1982)
Creepshow is a horror anthology with five segments, written by Stephen King (who even appears in one) and directed by genre legend George A. Romero. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead created the zombie subgenre, and Creepshow kicked off a franchise that later spawned sequels, comics, and TV spinoffs.
I saw this film on TV when I was maybe eight or nine years old, and it completely freaked me out. I was—and still am—terrified of cockroaches, and one scene left me sleepless for weeks. Honestly, it’s the only thing I remember about the movie, and even that is too much. It also taught me an important lesson: maybe horror just isn’t for me.
2. Wind River (2017)
Wind River isn’t technically a horror movie, but the horror of it lingered with me for weeks after the credits rolled. This crime drama, written and directed by Taylor Sheridan (Yellowstone, Hell or High Water, Sicario), stars MCU alums Elizabeth Olsen (WandaVision, Ingrid Goes West, Love & Death) and Jeremy Renner (Mayor of Kingstown, The Hurt Locker, The Bourne Legacy).
Part of the chill (pun intended) comes from its desolate Wyoming setting. A teen girl’s naked body is found in the snow, frozen to death on a Native American reservation. The graphic description of how she died still haunts me. The wildlife agent who discovers her teams up with an FBI agent to solve the mystery, and with every clue the story grows darker. By the climax, I was horrified. The film is fantastic—but I will never, ever watch it again.
3. Bone Tomahawk (2015)
Written and directed by S. Craig Zahler, Bone Tomahawk looks and feels like a western—for a while. Kurt Russell (Escape from New York, The Thing) plays a sheriff leading a posse to rescue kidnapped townsfolk. But towards the end, the film unleashes graphic horror on unsuspecting viewers—and that’s when the nightmares begin. It’s a good movie if you like westerns, but fair warning: this is not your dad’s cowboy flick.
4. A Clockwork Orange (1971)
I first saw Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange in college, and I was not ready for it. Based on Anthony Burgess’s novel, it follows the violent escapades of a gang led by Alex (Malcolm McDowell). The film explores themes of free will, the morality of rehabilitation, and youth rebellion—but it’s the graphic violence and Alex’s gruesome conditioning program that left me shaken. Many of those images stayed with me for years.
5. Requiem for a Dream (2000)
The psychological drama that is Requiem for a Dream is directed by Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan, The Wrestler) and stars Jared Leto and Jennifer Connelly as a couple whose lives are slowly destroyed by heroin addiction.
The film was widely praised on release for its style and editing. With over three times as many cuts as a typical Hollywood movie, many of its rapid-fire micro-montages show the ritual nature of drug use in brutal detail. But its artistry doesn’t make it easier to watch. I, and many others, struggled through the characters’ downward spiral. If Nancy Reagan’s “Just Say No” campaign hadn’t already driven home the message, this heart-wrenching movie would have sealed the deal.
Final Thoughts
Have you seen any of these films? Did they haunt your dreams too? What titles would make your nightmare list? Drop them in the comments—I’ll be watching through my fingers.