Everyone loves a good scare, and movies like The Nun are rich in Gothic atmosphere and popcorn-spilling jolts.
Corin Hardy’s prequel to The Conjuring films focuses on a young nun and a priest who are sent to investigate a suicide in a Romanian abbey. Their faith is tested by a malevolent supernatural force that stalks the corridors…
If you love scary movies like The Nun, hide behind the sofa and peek out at these scary picks.
10 Dark Horror Movies like The Nun
1. The Babadook (2014)
A grieving mother is struggling to raise her troubled young son after the death of her husband. Matters are made worse when they read a mysterious pop-up book about a scary monster that manifests itself in their home…
Jennifer Kent’s mature psychological horror is built upon the compassionate central performance of Essie Davis as the distraught mother trying to hold things together.
With a gloomy atmosphere similar to movies like The Nun, The Babadook is a superb examination of grief as well as a film that will scare the hell out of you.
2. Crimson Peak (2015)
Fans of movies like The Nun with a strong gothic style should get a kick out of Crimson Peak, a gothic horror about a young author who travels to England with her shady husband and takes up residence in a vast old mansion with a ghostly secret…
Guillermo del Toro directs this spooky tale with his usual panache, starring a good-looking cast of Mia Wasikowska, Jessica Chastain and Tom Hiddleston.
As good as the cast are, the real star is the house itself, an eye-popping feat of production design that is a delight for viewers to explore.
3. The Innocents (1961)
A young woman is hired as governess to look after two orphaned children living in a stately pile in the countryside. She soon starts to believe that the house’s previous employees are possessing the children…
Jack Clayton’s chilling adaptation of Henry James’s The Turn of the Screw inspired del Toro’s Crimson Peak. Deborah Kerr gives a first-rate performance as the brittle governess plagued by ghosts.
The Innocents is one of the finest British ghost stories of all time, and fans of movies like The Nun should appreciate its dark, elegant atmosphere.
4. The Borderlands (2013)
Two priests and a cheeky tech guy are sent to investigate mysterious goings-on in a remote country church, only to find that the ghostly happenings are a symptom of a far greater evil lurking below…
Eliot Gouldner’s low-budget chiller is the most frightening found-footage horror movie since The Blair Witch Project, and also has surprising warmth due to the great chemistry between Gordon Kennedy and Robin Hill.
The Borderlands is genuinely scary with unsettling sound design, some well-timed jolts and a grisly end that will haunt you for days.
5. The Devils (1971)
Movies like The Nun touches upon elements of Nunsploitation, of which there is no finer example than Ken Russell’s controversial The Devils. It’s a religious horror about a dashing priest who is accused of witchcraft by a lustful, deformed nun.
The Devils is the perfect match of strong storytelling and Russell’s hyperbolic style, plus immense performances from Oliver Reed as the persecuted priest and Vanessa Redgrave as the nun whose soul is as twisted as her spine.
Almost 50 years on and The Devils has lost none of its danger, and it is certainly not for the faint of heart or easily-scandalized. Seek out the longer cut to see the film in all its glory.
6. Sleepy Hollow (1999)
Another enjoyably gloomy gothic tale as constable Ichabod Crane is sent to the small town of Sleepy Hollow to investigate a series of beheadings… and the local curse of the headless horseman.
Tim Burton’s twisted style is perfect for this supernatural fantasy that pays homage to the Hammer horrors of yore, with Johnny Depp delivering an offbeat performance as the cowardly copper on the case.
Sleepy Hollow is rich in gothic atmosphere and the headless horseman is an impressively fearsome creation. Great for Halloween.
7. The Omen (1976)
After his wife gives birth to a stillborn child, an American ambassador secretly adopts another baby to replace it. Turns out the kid is the Antichrist, and people who get too close to the truth meet their end in a series of freak accidents….
Richard Donner’s hit supernatural horror is thick with religious dread, helped by Jerry Goldsmith’s gloomy black mass score and earnest performances from a terrific cast including Gregory Peck, Lee Remick and David Warner.
The Omen looks a little dated at times but still hits the spot thanks to the spectacular death sequences which still have the power to take the breath away almost 50 years later.
8. Hereditary (2018)
A troubled family finds their life dogged by supernatural occurrences after the death of their matriarch, a strange old woman who harboured sinister secrets…
Ari Aster’s impressive debut builds a sense of unbearable dread before going completely nuts in the last act. Toni Collete delivers an Oscar-worthy performance.
Few modern mainstream horrors have a mood as dark and ominous as Hereditary, making it a must-watch for fans of films like The Nun.
9. The Autopsy of Jane Doe (2016)
Do you get jittery in horror films when characters visit a morgue? Well, that’s the whole movie in André Øvredal’s creepy English-language debut about father-and-son coroners examining the body of an unidentified woman…
The best performance comes from Olwen Catherine Kelly in her breakthrough role as the corpse, ably holding her own against reliable old hands Brian Cox and Emile Hirsch without moving or saying a word.
The ending may be a little disappointing but overall The Autopsy of Jane Doe is a cracking little horror mystery.
10. The Exorcist (1973)
The presence of evil offers another test of faith in The Exorcist, and no list of movies like The Nun would be complete without William Friedkin’s blockbusting religious horror.
Max von Sydow stars as Father Merrin, an old exorcist teamed up with a young priest who is doubting his faith when a young girl is possessed by an evil force…
The special effects look a little creaky these days but there is no denying the sheer power of Friedkin’s storytelling in this horror masterpiece.