Auteur Horror
This section gathers films we call Auteur Horror — works with a strong directorial vision that remain accessible. In American film criticism, they’re often labeled Elevated Horror, a journalistic term meant to separate quality genre films from sterile, unwatchable factory products.
The term was even referenced in Scream (2022) by Jenna Ortega right at the start, though the film itself, in my opinion, is mediocre at best. It couldn’t ride on plot and meta-irony alone. Sterility won. It’s the complete opposite of the Evil Dead (2023) reboot, which, on a much smaller budget, delivers stunning direction and raw honesty.
The goal of this section is to separate auteur horror films from those that are equally auteur-driven but of a different kind: heavy on symbolism, metaphor, and surrealism — like The Neon Demon, Male, Antichrist, and similar titles. This need comes from personal experience.
Tired of repetitive, sterile, tasteless, and unwatchable horror films, I wanted to watch horror with a director’s vision, not hardcore arthouse. If I’d known in advance, I would’ve spared myself. No, I didn’t get traumatized or shocked, but at that moment I wanted different emotions. I wanted to see a quality horror film.
I don’t read reviews or synopses before watching. I prefer to go in completely blind, relying only on tags assigned by rating boards, streaming services, and festivals. And those tags don’t always reflect what the film actually is.
For example, if a drama contains one bloody scene of violence, a rating board will slap an 18+ restriction on it and add a “Horror” tag. That’s completely understandable for classification purposes. But as a cinephile, it creates a minor inconvenience. Without watching, it’s hard to tell what dominates: horror or auteur vision.
That’s why I created the “Auteur Horror” section. On the flip side, I broke the common understanding of “arthouse horror” by moving some films from the Art-Horror section here. Many films that aren’t actually arthouse horror frequently appear in “arthouse horror” lists and picks — like Get Out, Us, or The Witch. And that’s understandable: they’re original and stand out. But viewers shouldn’t have to decode academic terms and classifications.
Choosing a film from this section means you can be sure: auteur vision leads, but it’s horror first — not arthouse with a drop of fear. In other words, auteur horror films that feel closer to traditional genre expectations.