Summary
- Psychedelic horror movies stand out as visual feasts that craft engaging, unique tales.
- Mandy, Beyond the Black Rainbow, and Suspiria shine as psychedelic horror masterpieces.
- Films like Annihilation and Hausu push the boundaries of psychedelic horror with stunning visuals and terrifying narratives.
Psychedelic horror movies are a niche, but incredibly satisfying type of scary movie, with the best examples being terrifying visual feasts. Of all the horror subgenres, psychedelic horror doesn’t get enough credit as being some of the best around, crafting engaging tales that are uniquely suited to the medium of film. Psychedelic horror refers to horror films with far-out, fantastical visuals, nightmarish blurs between the real and conceptual, or esoteric plots that eschew traditional storytelling.
The best psychedelic horror movies lean into all these aspects while still crafting a well-produced and skillfully realized film. Some rely on the nonsensical natures of their unorthodox narratives to illicit the uneasy feeling of a terrifying trip through a nightmarish alternate reality. Others focus instead on the visuals, making a colorful spectacle out of an otherwise straightforward horror story. Whatever the case, the best of psychedelic horror can stand with some of the greatest horror films of all time.
Related 10 Best Historical Horror Movies, Ranked
There are several films within the horror genre that use significant moments in history as the backdrop for their spooky and thrilling stories.
10 Mandy
2018
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2018’s Mandy is a Horror and Action film starring Nicholas Cage. Written and directed by Panos Cosmatos, Cage plays a recovering alcoholic that lives a solitary life with his girlfriend who ends up kidnapped by a mysterious cult. The remainder of the film sees Cage embarking on a bloody quest for revenge.
Director Panos Cosmatos Release Date September 14, 2018 Cast Andrea Riseborough , Bill Duke , Linus Roache , Nicolas Cage , Richard Brake Runtime 121 Minutes
Nicolas Cage is known for having quite eclectic roles in horror movies or horror-adjacent projects, playing everything from speechless pinball aficionados to Dracula himself. But among Nicolas Cage’s filmography, Mandy stands out as being a truly impressive and disorienting tale of terror and revenge told with a decidedly psychedelic style. On paper, the premise of Mandy doesn’t seem to particularly qualify for falling within the subgenre, being a straightforward revenge flick about a lumberjack who attacks the biker gang that murdered his wife.
With strange, curvaceous axes and impractically-long chainsaws being the primary tools of justice over simple guns or knives
However, it’s the way Mandy is shot and presented that gives it such psychedelic flair, taking place in a hazy world of inky black darkness, blaring neon lights, and depraved criminals whose appearances are more demonic than conventional. Even the choice of weaponry for the splatter film leans to the mind-bending, with strange, curvaceous axes and impractically-long chainsaws being the primary tools of justice over simple guns or knives. A blood-fueled rampage through a devious twist on reality, Mandy certainly qualifies as a psychedelic horror masterpiece.
9 Beyond The Black Rainbow
2010
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A woman with unique powers is held captive in a specialised medical facility while she becomes the victim of a scientist’s bizarre experiment and tries to figure out how to escape.
Director Panos Cosmatos Release Date December 3, 2010 Cast Michael Rogers , Eva Allan , Scott Hylands , Marilyn Norry , Rondel Reynoldson , Ryley Zinger Runtime 110 minutes
Not only is Beyond the Black Rainbow a decidedly psychedelic horror story in terms of its tone and presentation, but its very narrative is deeply rooted in the 60s new age spirituality that heavily popularized the use of the psychedelic drugs which coined the term. Essentially a darker version of 11’s origin in Stranger Things, Beyond the Black Rainbow tells the story of Elena, a powerful psychic, telepath, and telekinetic who is trapped within a mysterious scientific facility. The film follows her attempting to get out from under the thumb of the evil Dr. Nyle.
Beyond the Black Rainbow has a fairly cohesive story, but deliberately leaves strange elements like the strange “Sentionaut” guards or the devious “Devil’s Teardrop” ceremonial dagger as mysterious factors evoking at a larger, incomprehensible mythos. Elena’s own abilities are just as horrific as the experiments expanding upon them, and the looming alternate caricature of the 80s that is the film’s time period is as much as a character as her or Nyle. For its mastery of aesthetics and horrific imagery, Beyond the Black Rainbow defines the psychedelic subgenre.
8 Suspiria
1977
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Suspiria, directed by Dario Argento, is a horror film set in a prestigious German ballet academy. The story follows American dancer Suzy Bannion, played by Jessica Harper, as she uncovers the academy’s dark and supernatural secrets. The film is renowned for its striking visuals, stylistic cinematography, and haunting score by the band Goblin.
Director Dario Argento Release Date August 12, 1977 Cast Jessica Harper , Stefania Casini , Flavio Bucci , Miguel Bosé , Barbara Magnolfi , Susanna Javicoli , Eva Axén , Alida Valli Runtime 92 Minutes
Often mislabeled as an Italian giallo film, the original Suspiria is in fact better described as a member of the elite psychedelic horror cabal. While the excellent 2018 remake has its own brand of haunting assaults on the senses, the original 70s classic is a true forerunner of darkly confusing psychedelic horror movies. Both films follow an aspiring American ballerina who travels to study under a prestigious German ballet academy, only to learn that the organization is a front for the practices of ancient witches.
Despite the straightforward supernatural antagonists, Suspiria manages to unbalance its viewer with decidedly psychedelic visuals, pioneering some of the shocking editing choices, nauseating gore, audacious color schemes, and dizzying camera angles that would go on to inspire legions of imitators. The world of the insidious witch coven also operates mysteriously and without overt logic, hurling the viewer into a delicate ballet of despair-inducing confusion. There’s a reason Suspiria is so widely revered as psychedelic horror royalty.
7 Color Out Of Space
2019
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Directed by Richard Stanley, Color Out of Space is a 2019 Horror film starring Nicolas Cage. The film follows a meteorite that strikes the Earth, leading to strange occurrences on a farm. The release features Lovecraftian elements.
Director Richard Stanley Release Date January 24, 2020 Cast Nicolas Cage , Madeleine Arthur
Despite being one of the most popular horror authors of all time, the works of H.P. Lovecraft aren’t all that easy to adapt for film. His writings typically relied on vague descriptions of horror so perverse that they defied description, leaving filmmakers little to work off of as a template for visual adaptation. However, Color Out of Space managed to faithfully bring to screen one of the author’s most famous short stories, The Colour out of Space, with dazzling flying colors.
The science fiction horror film stands with the best of the subgenre
Just as in the original volume, the film’s premise centers around a mysterious meteor that crash-lands on Earth, seeping into the land and poisoning the Gardner family farm with obscene alien influence. Combining the stunning Lovecraftian visuals with Nic Cage’s performance, obscene as ever in a psychedelic horror flick, Color Out of Space somehow manages to translate Lovecraft’s horrors that surpassed all description into a thrilling cinematic visage. From the nauseating cosmic infections to the incomprehensible alien creatures, the science fiction horror film stands with the best of the subgenre.
6 Mad God
2021
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Director Phil Tippett Release Date June 16, 2022 Cast Alex Cox , Niketa Roman , Satish Ratakonda , Harper Taylor Runtime 1hr 23min
It goes without saying that animation is often better suited to psychedelic visuals, with films like Yellow Submarine pioneering the aesthetic by stepping outside the constraints of 3-D space. This rings true for horror as well, with the film Mad God presenting some of the most terrifying, appalling psychedelic horror visuals ever conceived via intricate stop-motion filmmaking. Created by the legendary Phil Tippett, known for his SFX work on lauded series like the original Star Wars trilogy and Jurassic Park, the film infamously took 30 years of development to see a final cut.
Looking at the finished product of Mad God, it’s easy to see why this was the case, with each frame of the lovingly hand-rendered characters being a masterpiece of dizzying terror. The film’s plot is vague and nonsensical, without a drop of dialogue to spoil the mood, following a mysterious figure known only as the assassin on a demented journey deeper and deeper into a twisted underworld of nightmarish creatures. The fuzzy, wordless narrative further disorients the viewer alongside the jaw-dropping artistic vision, making for an unforgettable feast for the eyes.
5 Under The Skin
2013
Under the Skin 
3.5 2
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Under the Skin is a sci-fi thriller directed by Jonathan Glazer and starring Scarlett Johansson. Johansson plays “The Female,” an alien from another world that hunts men in Scotland. Despite receiving high praise upon release, Under the Skin was a box office bomb, only making a little over half of its budget.
Director Jonathan Glazer Release Date April 4, 2014 Cast Dougie McConnell , Lynsey Taylor Mackay , Jeremy McWilliams , Scarlett Johansson , Kevin McAlinden Runtime 108 minutes
One of the films that truly proved Scarlett Johansson’s value as not just a marketable blockbuster star, but a verified genius actor, Under the Skin marries seduction and terror in a twisted psychedelic collision. The film stars Johansson as an unnamed woman who turns out to actually be a shapeshifting alien being, luring scores of men to their deaths with her charm. Eventually, she’s discovered and tracked down by determined human interlopers, resulting in a tense chase.
Everything about Under the Skin is chilling in a subtly mind-bending way. From the quiet narrative to the esoteric depiction of how exactly Johansson’s creature consumes her prey, the throughline of the film is a distinct sense of unease that breaches the surface with each incomprehensible visual. The fact that the film features Johansson driving around in-character through Scotland to pick up real people in one sequence grounds the despair uncomfortably close to reality, making for an uncannily realistic sense of dread to anchor the far-out premise.
4 Midsommar
2019
Midsommar 3.0 6
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Ari Aster’s Midsommar follows a group of American college students who travel to a friend’s isolated rural hometown in Sweden to experience their renowned midsummer festival. What starts out as idyllic quickly becomes a disconcertingly violent pagan ritual, with the friends engaged in a ruthless competition that will test more than just their friendship. Florence Pugh stars alongside Jack Reynor, Will Poulter, and William Jackson Harper.
Director Ari Aster Release Date July 3, 2019 Cast Julia Ragnarsson , Rebecka Johnston , Henrik Norlén , William Jackson Harper , Gunnel Fred , Anna Åström , Will Poulter , Archie Madekwe , Louise Peterhoff , Björn Andrésen , Isabelle Grill , Jack Reynor , Florence Pugh , Liv Mjönes Runtime 147 minutes Expand
Visionary horror director Ari Ater’s sophomore film, Midsommar is a grueling blend of multiple subgenres that merges folk horror and psychedelic horror into an unrelenting festival that assaults the senses. The movie centers on a young woman, Dani, played by Florence Pugh, grappling with the sudden murder-suicide of her parents at the hands of her mentally unstable sister. Far too soon after, she goes on a research trip with her boyfriend to an isolated community in Sweden to observe their mid-summer rituals, resulting in a parade of horrific deaths.
The cult members’ use of hallucinogenic substances informs the psychedelic imagery of Midsommar in a diegetic way while providing a great avenue to explore some authentically hallucinatory imagery, with Dani’s world warping and throbbing around her in a unending cacophony of sensation. All the way down to Midsommar‘s hotly-discussed ending, the true meaning and interpretation of the film’s events and symbolism remain just barely out of reach, prompting endless dissection at the hands of fascinated fans. Midsommar proves that even in broad daylight, psychedelic horror can be startlingly effective.
3 Jacob’s Ladder
1990
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Jacob’s Ladder is a horror mystery centering on a mourning father and scarred Vietnam War vet named Jacob that is dealing with dissociation. After his child dies, Jacob struggles to separate reality from his delusions. Jacob’s Ladder stars Tim Robbins alongside Elizabeth Peña, Danny Aiello, Matt Craven, and Jason Alexander.
Director Adrian Lyne Release Date November 2, 1990 Cast Ving Rhames , Danny Aiello , Matt Craven , Eriq La Salle , Tim Robbins , Elizabeth Peña , Pruitt Taylor Vince , Jason Alexander Runtime 113 minutes
Films like Apocalypse Now had previously toed the line of psychedelic imagery with their depiction of the gruesome Vietnam War, but Jacob’s Ladder takes the concept much further in a decidedly horror-focused direction. The movie centers on a Vietnam veteran plagued by haunting visions of his time in the military, which become more pervasive and supernatural in their content as time goes on. Soon, the titular Jacob finds that he isn’t the only member of his old unit suffering from such experiences, prompting the investigation of a dark mystery.
Jacob’s Ladder is simultaneously a thoughtful and nerve-shattering experience that pits the audience alongside Jacob against the entire outside world, scared and confused at the violent events they’re forced to witness. The non-stop assault of terrifying, contextless imagery is hard to keep up with in the best way, seeding a palpable paranoia in the hapless protagonist. At once a horror flick, war movie, and artsy statement piece, Jacob’s Ladder is a piece of psychedelic terror that’s hard to forget.
2 Hausu
1977
House (1977) 1
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House is a Japanese horror-comedy film released in 1977 and was directed by Nobuhiko Obayashi. A schoolgirl and her group of friends travel to the countryside to visit her aunt only to discover the house is haunted as it slowly consumes the girls.
Director Nobuhiko Obayashi Release Date July 30, 1977 Cast Kimiko Ikegami , Miki Jinbo , Ai Matubara , Kumiko Oba , Mieko Sato , Eriko Tanaka , Masayo Miyako , Yōko Minamida Runtime 88 Minutes
Hausu may sit at an odd place in the pantheon of all-time greatest Japanese horror films. Whether the film is genuinely a masterpiece or a mere ironically-enjoyed failure of storytelling is up for debate, but in either case, Hausu demonstrates an unparalleled understanding of psychedelic horror. The movie follows a group of young female friends who stay at one of their aunt’s home for summer vacation, only to fall prey to the unending terrors of the woman’s insidious haunted estate.
Hausu is undeniably hilarious as a horror movie, from the relatively cheap special effects to the fact that each of the main cadre of girls’ names is a simple personality trait or affinity, like “Gorgeous” or “Kung Fu”. Yet through its editing choices and vertigo-inducing horror imagery, Hausu flexes a thorough thesis statement about what makes psychedelic horror work. Even if it’s more cheeky and comedic than scary, the 70s haunted-house movie is rightfully assured in its ability to confuse and confound with the truly bizarre and outrageous.
1 Annihilation
2018
Annihilation 3.5 2
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Alex Garland’s Annihilation is based on the novel of the same name by Jeff VanderMeer. It follows a group of explorers – comprised of biology professor Lena (Natalie Portman), psychologist Dr. Ventress (Jennifer Jason Leigh), physicist Josie Radek (Tessa Thompson), geomorphologist Cassie Sheppard (Tuva Nvotny), and paramedic Anya Thorensen (Gina Rodriguez) – as they enter “the Shimmer”, a quarantined zone of mutated plants and animals caused by an unknown extra-terrestrial phenomenon. Lena agrees to enter the Shimmer in search of her husband, Kane (Oscar Isaac), who was sent in as part of a special forces operation.
Release Date February 22, 2018 Cast Sonoya Mizuno , Kola Bokinni , Jennifer Jason Leigh , Gina Rodriguez , Cosmo Jarvis , Oscar Isaac , Tessa Thompson , Tuva Novotny , Natalie Portman , David Gyasi Runtime 2hours
Based on a novel of the same name, Annihilation is a sleek, modern take on Lovecraftian and psychedelic horror that’s as beautiful as it is terrifying. Starring Natalie Portman as a cellular biology professor and former U.S. Army Soldier, the film follows Portman’s character, Lena, on an expedition alongside several other scientists into a bizarre anomalous bubble of mysterious light known as the Shimmer. They quickly discover just how deadly the effects of the Shimmer’s influence are on biological life.
Annihilation thrives in the disgusting realm of its mutated organic life, pitting the hapless investigators through all kinds of unspeakable horrors while also allowing them to witness ethereal, otherworldly beauty. The dual nature of the Shimmer makes for a fascinating visual language, not to mention the poignant philosophical conversation to be had regarding its base need to copy and proliferate itself. For the questions it asks, the imagery it unveils, and the perplexing terror it inspires, Annihilation is some of the best psychedelic horror around.