BY KAILEY TEDESCO
If you’re anything like me, you watch horror movies so often that it’s becoming increasingly difficult for a film to actually frighten you. I don’t believe that a movie needs to unsettle its viewer to the point of sleeplessness for it to be good horror. Sometimes, when looking for a new film to watch, I prefer those that are subtle in their scares and aesthetically captivating above all else. Every now and then, though, I sort of miss the uncomfortable feeling of being afraid. It reminds me that I am still working and growing through my own traumas and that I can empathize with the pain of others, even when I know the pain is only pretend.
The following films vary widely in their aesthetic delivery and subtlety, but each one genuinely (and in some cases delightfully) frightened me.
Maybe they’ll keep you up, too?
1. The Blackcoat’s Daughter (2017)
Why it will keep you up: Have you ever felt so lonely and afraid, you’d embrace the company of anyone (or anything)? Contemplate this thought as you stay awake staring at the ceiling after your viewing of this film.
Where to watch: Netflix, Prime, Youtube
2. Psychopaths (2017)
Why it will keep you up: This one is a slow burner with a serious content warning for scenes of graphic violence. You might leave wondering what exactly it was you just watched, but after sitting with Mickey Keating’s (director of Darling) film for a few days you’ll begin to wonder about the transference of evil and the ways cruelty impacts the entire universe.
Where to watch: Tubi, Youtube
3. Lake Mungo (2008)
Why it will keep you up: Are you afraid of death? How about ghosts? What if someone were to tell you that it’s possible your own ghost has been after you? Get ready to spend the entire night afraid to shut your eyes for fear of what they’re waiting to show you.
Where to watch: Tubi, Prime, Youtube
4. Braid (2018)
Why it will keep you up: We repress so much of our childhood selves and, at the same time, we over-romanticize our childhoods for the sake of nostalgia. This film begs us to confront our present selves and traumas through the whimsical, albeit disturbing, logic of our pasts.
Where to watch: Prime, Vudu, Youtube
Kailey Tedesco's books These Ghosts of Mine, Siamese (Dancing Girl Press) and She Used to be on a Milk Carton (April Gloaming Publications) are both forthcoming. She is the editor-in-chief of Rag Queen Periodical and a performing member of the Poetry Brothel. Her work has been nominated for the Pushcart. You can find her work in Bellevue Literary Review, Hello Giggles, UltraCulture, Poetry Quarterly, and more. For more, please visit kaileytedesco.com.