Summary
- Lo-fi horror movies embrace low production value, grainy visuals, and limited budgets for terrifying storytelling. (114 characters)
- Examples like We’re All Going to the World’s Fair, Skinamarink, and Session 9 showcase the allure of lo-fi horror. (109 characters)
- Films such as Gretel & Hansel, Lake Mungo, and Valerie and Her Week of Wonders take classic lore to new, chilling heights. (123 characters)
Lo-Fi horror movies such as I Saw the TV Glow have become increasingly popular over the years, with many examples in the genre standing out alongside the recent release. Lo-fi, meaning “low fidelity”, refers to an artistic style that can be applied to music, movies, and TV shows that is characterized by a lower production value, embracing imperfections and doing the most on a limited budget. For those that made it to the end of I Saw the TV Glow, there are a bevy of captivating similar films that emulate this style just as well, if not better.
As far as horror movies go, lo-fi projects can be identified by their visuals. Grainy found-footage, dramatic, fuzzy colors, and less-than-HD cinematography all characterize lo-fi filmmaking, pairing with the horror genre especially well due to the ambiguity that such visuals imply, barely disguising sinister threats hiding within the static of the screen. These types of horror movies are made on limited budgets, typically utilizing psychedelic visuals, surreal environments, and otherworldly terrors in their stories.
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10 We’re All Going to the World’s Fair
2021
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We’re All Going to the World’s Fair RHorrorDrama
Director Jane Schoenbrun Release Date April 22, 2022 Writers Jane Schoenbrun Cast Michael J. Rogers , Anna Cobb , Theo Anthony , Holly Anne Frink Runtime 86 Minutes Main Genre Horror Expand
A fascinating blend of psychological horror and a coming-of-age story, We’re All Going to the World’s Fair is a decidedly unique experience worthy of the lo-fi genre. The story follows Casey, a lonely teenage girl who seeks viral fame by replicating the “World’s Fair Challenge”, a ritual similar to the classic “Bloody Mary” game or the “Candyman” ritual from the movie of the same name. She’s soon connected with a middle-aged man partaking in the same challenge, which might be more deadly than either of them realize.
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We’re All Going to the World’s Fair marries schoolyard mysticism with the digital age, being one of the few movies that succeed in replicating the intrigue of internet-based urban legends. The visuals are dripping with lo-fi goodness, as Casey is bathed in the glow of her monitor just barely staving off the surrounding darkness. At once an awkward story of teen discovery and a haunting horror film, We’re All Going to the World’s Fair has few peers.
9 Beyond The Black Rainbow
2010
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Beyond the Black Rainbow RSci-FiFantasyHorrorThriller
Director Panos Cosmatos Release Date April 22, 2011 Writers Panos Cosmatos Cast Michael Rogers , Eva Allan , Scott Hylands , Marilyn Norry , Rondel Reynoldson , Ryley Zinger Runtime 110 minutes Main Genre Sci-Fi Expand
Surviving off the strengths of its art direction alone, Beyond the Black Rainbow is a psychedelic horror masterpiece bathed in lo-fi aesthetics. Taking place in a bizarre alternate version of the 80s, the film revolves around Elena, a powerful psychic and telekinetic a la Stranger Things’ 11 who is imprisoned within a disturbing facility, controlled by a mysterious psychically-active crystal. Experimented upon by the evil Dr. Nyle, Elena has to find a way to escape internment for the first time in her life.
The striking colors and methodical movements of the mysterious “Sentionauts” have a distinctly lo-fi flair to them, becoming all the more terrifying when the true extent of Elena’s powers is explored.
The nonsensical world of Beyond the Black Rainbow makes for a captivating image, with gorgeously intentional cinematography addressing the film’s themes of mysticism and the occult of New Age spirituality. The striking colors and methodical movements of the mysterious “Sentionauts” have a distinctly lo-fi flair to them, becoming all the more terrifying when the true extent of Elena’s powers is explored. Ascending past the material realm, Beyond the Black Rainbow is a dizzying horror experience.
8 Gretel & Hansel
2020
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Gretel & Hansel PG-13Horror
Director Oz Perkins Release Date January 30, 2020 Writers Rob Hayes Cast Sophia Lillis , Alice Krige , Jessica De Gouw , Charles Babalola , Samuel Leakey , Ian Kenny Runtime 87 minutes
Dark horror fantasy movies might not seem like they would easily blend with lo-fi sensibilities at first, but Gretel & Hansel definitively proves this supposition wrong. Based on the classic fairy tale described by the Brothers Grimm, Gretel & Hansel expands on the lore of the story with its own unique additions, including Gretel’s implied magical abilities and a more fleshed-out origin story for the witch, Holda. These additions turn an otherwise simple recitation of an iconic story into a horrifying supernatural thriller.
While the fantasy film doesn’t rely on analog cinematography that would feel out of place in the setting, its striking use of shadows and genius compositions somehow manage to evoke the same quality in a vastly different setting.
The rich visual presentation of Gretel & Hansel is by far its strongest attribute. While the fantasy film doesn’t rely on analog cinematography that would feel out of place in the setting, its striking use of shadows and genius compositions somehow manage to evoke the same quality in a vastly different setting. The hazy fable-like logic of the narrative also helps plant viewers of Gretel & Hansel in a dreamlike headspace analogous to other lo-fi horror pictures.
7 Valerie And Her Week Of Wonders
1970
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Valerie and Her Week of Wonders Not RatedHorrorAdventureDramaFantasy
Director Jaromil Jires Release Date October 16, 1970 Writers Vitezslav Nezval , Ester Krumbachová , Jaromil Jires , Jirí Musil Cast Jaroslava Schallerová , Helena Anýzová , Petr Kopriva , Jirí Prýmek , Jan Klusák , Libuse Komancová , Karel Engel , Alena Stojáková Runtime 77 Minutes Main Genre Horror Expand
While lo-fi and analog horror might’ve become more popular in recent years, it’s important to remember that the retro aesthetics that inspired the genre have a very real basis in past movies. One of the most prescient examples of an early lo-fi horror film is easily Valerie and Her Week of Wonders, a little-known surrealist scary movie out of Czechoslovakia. The film follows a young girl, the titular Valerie, as she wanders through a harrowing nightmare realm, beset by all manner of monstrous figures.
Like all the best lo-fi horror, Valerie and Her Week of Wonders follows its own brand of puzzling phantasmagorical logic. It’s this disconnect from even simple causality that bathes the film in a lo-fi quality, not to mention the breathtaking 70s visuals dripping with eye-popping color. Essentially serving as a dreamlike metaphor for one girl’s sexual awakening, Valerie and Her Week of Wonders is at once alluring and terrifying, making for an unforgettable experience.
6 Lake Mungo
2008
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Lake Mungo RHorrorDramaMystery
Director Joel Anderson Release Date January 29, 2010 Writers Joel Anderson Cast Rosie Traynor , David Pledger , Martin Sharpe , Talia Zucker , Tania Lentini , Cameron Strachan , Judith Roberts , Robin Cuming Main Genre Horror
One of the best films to come out of Australia, Lake Mungo is a horror staple that deserves more credibility. A rare horror film presented in the mockumentary format, the movie follows a family grappling with the tragic death of their beloved daughter after she drowns in the titular body of water. Before long, mysterious circumstances surrounding her demise begin to surface, with the young woman’s very spirit possibly returning from a watery grave.
Lake Mungo is an incredibly grounded horror film that looks believable as a video diary, making it feel all the more real despite the terrifying supernatural implications of its developments
Lake Mungo is an incredibly grounded horror film that looks believable as a video diary, making it feel all the more real despite the terrifying supernatural implications of its developments. Rather than jumpscares, the film wrings terror out of menacing shapes lurking in the background, with the low-fidelity video disguising the horror until it’s too late. There’s also an intense melancholy tone that runs throughout Lake Mungo like a strong current, creating a narrative that’s just as sad as it is scary.
5 Session 9
2001
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Session 9 RHorrorMystery
Director Brad Anderson Release Date August 10, 2001 Writers Brad Anderson , Stephen Gevedon Cast David Caruso , Stephen Gevedon , Paul Guilfoyle , Josh Lucas , Peter Mullan , Brendan Sexton III Runtime 100 minutes Main Genre Horror Expand
Many lo-fi horror films admittedly sacrifice some level of actual scares in order to maintain their aethetics, but Session 9 has no such shortcomings. A shining beacon of analog horror, the film follows a crew of workers tasked with removing the asbestos within a creepy abandoned asylum. Before long, the workers find eerie recordings of the facility’s former patients, spurring a chilling sequence of events that leaves them paranoid, fearful, and even violent.
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Filmed on 24p HD digital video, the blurry, grainy presentation of Session 9 truly gives the impression of a faded video relic that no one was ever meant to find. The stifling atmosphere feels just as toxic as the asbestos the film’s characters were originally meant to remove, smothering the viewer with a prolonged sense of dread as the characters move deeper and deeper into the haunting location. The fact that Session 9 is as creepy as it is is quite impressive considering that director Brad Anderson had previously only helmed romantic comedies.
4 Skinamarink
2022
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Skinamarink Not RatedHorror
Director Kyle Edward Ball Release Date January 13, 2023 Writers Kyle Edward Ball Cast Lucas Paul , Dali Rose Tetreault , Ross Paul , Jamie Hill Runtime 100 minutes Main Genre Horror Expand
If there’s one film that might single-handedly represent the lo-fi horror genre, it’s 2022’s Skinamarink. Taking place entirely within a simple family home, the chilling movie revolves around a pair of siblings whose house is invaded by a mysterious malevolent entity. Before long, the young children are terrified and confused by the invader’s presence, which causes their very reality to slowly distort into madness. Even if Skinamarink’s villain is only a disembodied voice, it’s by far one of the most malicious horror creations of the 2020s.
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Skinamarink‘s visuals are as lo-fi as they come, with grainy digital video footage comprising most of the film. Most shots are fairly empty, with even the main characters only barely on screen. Instead, Skinamarink is content to turn its focus on fuzzily-rendered walls, floors, and objects as the true horror unfolding just off-screen is chillingly implied. It’s hard not to watch Skinamarink without constantly scanning for the evil within the graininess of its footage, harnessing a surreal, nightmare reality that emulates the childhood terror of being up past one’s bedtime.
3 Eraserhead
1977
Eraserhead rHorrorThriller
Director David Lynch Release Date March 19, 1977 Writers David Lynch Cast Jack Nance Runtime 89minutes Budget $100,000 Expand
One of David Lynch’s best-known films and an infamously disturbing experience, Eraserhead is a lo-fi horror film whose terror is difficult to quantify. The loose plot surrounds a young man who accidentally gets his girlfriend, who he doesn’t seem too attached to pregnant, forcing them to suddenly live together in an effort to raise the child. Their infant is born as a wailing, inhuman monstrosity, unraveling the couple’s sanity as they struggle to provide for the beast and live up to societal expectations.
There’s so much to dissect about Eraserhead. The low-fidelity black-and-white footage obscures the horrific imagery with a smooth layer of doubt, which goes doubly-so for the eerie fantasy sequences featuring a disfigured dancing woman confined within the protagonist’s radiator. The narrative of Eraserhead, as much as it can be said there is one, is entirely incidental to the nauseating imagery and visual metaphors, all wrapped up in a disturbing lo-fi body horror package.
2 The Blair Witch Project
1999
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The Blair Witch Project RHorrorMystery
Director Eduardo Sánchez , Daniel Myrick Release Date July 30, 1999 Studio(s) Summit Entertainment Distributor(s) Summit Entertainment Writers Daniel Myrick , Eduardo Sánchez Cast Joshua Leonard , Michael C. Williams , Heather Donahue Runtime 81 minutes Franchise(s) Blair Witch Sequel(s) Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 Expand
The film that revolutionized the found-footage horror genre, it’s easy to forget that The Blair Witch Project can also technically count itself as a feature in the limited library of lo-fi horror films. The film uses a documentarian’s camera to diegetically tell the story of the search for the elusive Blair Witch, an urban legend and cryptid said to inhabit a specific wooded area. While camping within these woods, the sparse crew of the budding documentary slips further and further into madness.
The Blair Witch Project‘s pop culture impact needs little introduction, popularizing multiple horror subgenres with one fell swoop. The low-quality shakycam footage keeps the true terrors of the woods always just out of reach, with only the evidence of their presence directly shown off in broad daylight. It’s the performances of the film’s forlorn cast that truly sell the visceral terror of the film alongside the visuals, however, all the way down to the iconic final close-up.
1 Inland Empire
2006
Inland Empire RDramaDocumentaryHorrorMysteryThriller
Director David Lynch Release Date September 6, 2006 Studio(s) Absurda Distributor(s) Absurda Writers David Lynch Cast Laura Dern , Jeremy Irons , Justin Theroux , Karolina Gruszka , Jan Hencz , Krzysztof Majchrzak Runtime 180 minutes Main Genre Drama Expand
Eraserhead wouldn’t be David Lynch’s only brush with the lo-fi horror genre, eventually returning to the space with Inland Empire in 2006. Lynch’s most recent movie to-date, the film stars Laura Dern as a budding starlet who begins to take on the personality of her character while filming on a supposedly cursed movie production. From there, the narrative goes off-the-rails as fiction, reality, past and present all blend together in a confusing carnival ride of surreal horror.
Filmed entirely by Lynch himself on a simple Sony camcorder, Inland Empire is as lo-fi as it gets, using its cheap materials to its advantage in creating an unsettling aura that permeates the entire production. Laura Dern is excellent as the split personality of Nikki and Sue, dancing back and forth between the two on the uneasy reality that Lynch intentionally leaves ambiguous. Chilling, impenetrable, and laden with eerie symbolism, Inland Empire might as well be lo-fi horror royalty.