There’s nothing like a dark and gothic film to capture an appropriately spooky mood. Chances are you’ve already seen your favorites a million times, though.
If you need to expand your dark horizons beyond beloved classics like Beetlejuice, The Crow, and Addams Family Values, this is the list for you. From the whimsical to the downright horrific, here are some lesser-known goth movies to soothe your dark spirit.
This chilling, sensual take on the source novel stars Frank Langella as a Count so magnetic you can’t help but fall under his spell. Lushly textured and beautifully shot—with a bombastically creepy score by John Williams—this is one of the best screen adaptations of Dracula to date.
2. Coraline
Master of macabre whimsy Neil Gaiman penned the children’s book this 2009 film is based on. It tells the story of a girl who discovers a parallel world populated by button-eyed doppelgangers. But this tempting new world with its “other mother” turns out to have sinister secrets. Although Coraline is a kids’ movie, viewers of all ages can appreciate its charmingly dark depiction of growing up.
3. The Hunger
Tony Scott’s hypnotic 1983 horror romance movie stars David Bowie and Catherine Deneuve as a vampire couple whose centuries-long relationship is on the rocks, with Susan Sarandon as the hapless human who gets pulled into their orbit. If that wasn’t enough to whet your thirst for blood, it also features goth band Bauhaus performing their classic single, “Bela Lugosi’s Dead.”
Goth looks to the past for inspiration, and it doesn’t get much darker than F.W. Murnau’s silent German Expressionist classic from 1921. It stars Conrad Veidt (of Casablanca fame) as a mysterious Somnambulist in black eyeliner. He wanders a fractured dreamscape, bidden to commit hideous crimes by forces he cannot understand.
5. Gothic
This dreamlike, haunting 1987 film dramatizes the summer when Percy and Mary Shelley stayed with Lord Byron on Lake Geneva, where a ghost story contest spawned the tale that would become Frankenstein. It’s a bit campy and over the top, full of flashing lightning and ghostly visions, as befits a story about the forebears of gothic literature.
6. Dead Man
Jim Jarmusch’s 1995 gothic western movie chronicles the story of accountant-turned-outlaw William Blake in ravishing black and white. Blake befriends a Native American wanderer named Nobody, and the two embark on a strange, psychedelic journey. Featuring a literal scenery-chewing cameo by Iggy Pop and a desolate, minimalist score by Neil Young, this is a dark voyage you won’t soon forget.
7. Hellraiser
From the twisted mind of Clive Barker comes a film that mingles body horror and dark desire. Hellraiser (1987) follows a man obsessed with experiencing the extremes of sensation. He summons demons of pleasure and pain with a mysterious puzzle box, with deadly consequences. With its goth aesthetic and oceans of gore, this film is destined to stick with you...for eternity.
This lush and engrossing tale was adapted in 2006 from a novel by Patrick Suskind, and it seethes with sensuality. The film tells the story of an 18th-century French perfumer driven to murder young women in his pursuit of capturing their essence in scent. This story of passionate obsession will appeal to anyone with a nose for the macabre.
Part dark comedy, part horror movie, The Love Witch (2016) follows Elaine, a young witch determined to find a man to love her by any magical means necessary. With its technicolor visuals highly reminiscent of 70s cinema, this film is a feast for the eyes. Don’t be fooled by its bright and cheerful color palette though—this movie has a pitch-black heart.
10. Quills
This dark thriller from 2000 tells the story of the notorious Marquis de Sade, a disgraced aristocrat who publishes salacious writings from inside an insane asylum with the help of a chambermaid played by Kate Winslet. The two develop an intense relationship that ends in tragedy. With its themes of madness, obsession, and the taboo, this movie belongs on every goth’s watchlist.
This 1959 classic from king of the spine-tinglers William Castle stars Vincent Price as the delightfully creepy owner of a haunted mansion who offers a group of strangers a cash prize to spend the night there. (Also he may or may not be planning to murder his wife.) What it lacks in special effects it more than makes up for with dry ice and spooky atmosphere.
12. Nightbreed
Another Clive Barker movie, this one from 1990 is about Boone, a man driven to find the mysterious underground city of Midian, where monsters and outcasts are accepted. Pursued by a serial killer psychiatrist played by director David Cronenberg, Boone finds his place among the Nightbreed, but his peace is short-lived. Part dark fantasy movie, part real-world allegory, Nightbreed combines spellbinding creature effects and biting social commentary. (Be sure to seek out the superior Director’s Cut).
What makes a movie goth?
Well, the most obvious clue is the visuals. A dark, atmospheric production design has a lot to do with it. A dash of campiness also helps tip a film into gothic territory. Many goths have a lot of affection for cheesy ‘50s monster movies, the practical effects in '80s horror movies, and the highly aestheticized films of Tim Burton, to name a few examples.
Goth is a sensibility as much as an aesthetic, meaning it embraces a certain dark, romantic mindset as well as a creepy look. In addition to having eerie and often supernatural subject matter, the best goth movies tend to have outsider protagonists who find themselves alienated from the world around them.
Are all horror movies goth?
Just because a film is in the horror genre, that doesn’t necessarily make it goth. Slasher films with a masked monster chasing down teens are not particularly goth, for example. A gothic film is going to showcase a monster that is sympathetic on some level, or at least plunge the viewer into a monstrous perspective. The darkness and horror are often romanticized, which is why so many horror romance movies made this list.
That being said, goths love horror movies! Whether you’re more into gooey splatter-fests or tense psychological horror is a matter of personal taste.
Goth is subjective. The only real requirement is a film that speaks to your inner darkness. Hopefully this list will help you find some inspiration for your next goth movie night.