21 More Non-Horror Movies That People Believe Are Scarier Than Some Standard Horror Films

    It turns out the horror genre doesn't have a monopoly on nightmares.

    Allie Hayes
    by Allie Hayes

    BuzzFeed Staff

    We recently took a look at a Reddit thread that asked, "What non-horror movie is actually really scary?" and those answers sparked even MORE terrifying responses from our very own BuzzFeed Community! Here are just a few of the scariest films that definitely weren't marketed as "horror" in the traditional sense:

    1. Return to Oz (1985)

    Buena Vista Distribution

    "This should have been number one on this list...and it's for CHILDREN. Even the good guys are scary as hell! It's so terrifying!"

    —dawnw42c9bb8ed

    2. Bad Times at the El Royale (2018)

    20th Century Fox

    "That movie seriously messed with my head because it was so twisted. It had cults, statutory rape, people spying on/recording each other in hotel rooms, murder, more murder, even MORE murder...and that's not even all of it."

    —macsully7

    3. Jumanji (1995)

    Sony Pictures Releasing

    "Not the recent ones with Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart, but the original with Robin Williams. Especially as a kid, I had nightmares of animals trampling me for years."

    —katiedee

    4. A Beautiful Mind (2001)

    Universal Pictures

    "I was very freaked out by this film when I first saw it. Especially when he’s in the mental institution and he's cutting his wrist open because he believes he has a tracking device located under his skin."

    —joannaw4377e18ce

    5. Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland (1989)

    Hemdale Film Corporation

    "Does no one remember this movie?! It's a kids movie that is just SO creepy..."

    —youngdog88

    6. Mulholland Drive (2001)

    Universal Pictures

    "No further comment necessary."

    —kaleighfranco

    7. Knowing (2009)

    Summit Entertainment

    "I had nightmares for weeks. The whole idea that these numbers are given in a seemingly random order, but this father has to figure out what they mean and how to save his son...it was just too scary for 11-year-old me."

    —dbabyg

    8. Annihilation (2018)

    Paramount Pictures

    "That bear scene was enough to make that a full-on horror movie for me."

    —CKaden

    9. The Last Unicorn (1982)

    Jensen Farley Pictures

    "I loved it — though not as much as my sister, who wanted to watch it all of the time. I had the same nightmare every single night after watching it for about a decade. I’d love to see Guillermo del Toro take on a live-action version!"

    —Aero2054

    10. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

    MGM

    "The second half of this film is profoundly, truly terrifying — and yet the movie is somehow rated G?!"

    —testuser0

    11. The Black Cauldron (1985)

    Walt Disney Pictures

    "This is a straight-up horror movie. It scares me to this day. How did Disney make that movie and market it to kids?!"

    —Syd

    12. Melancholia (2011)

    Nordisk Film

    "I'm not even sure what genre this is, but that movie messed me up big time. The idea of inevitable destruction and nothing beyond...I’m not religious, but the way that it was presented hit me hard with despair."

    —briannap41187a38a

    13. Interstellar (2014)

    Paramount Pictures

    "Okay, this movie scared the living daylights out of me. It touched on some really deep fears I have and frightened me more than any horror movie I've ever seen. I left the theater in tears and haven't seen it since."

    —Femkat

    14. Men in Black (1997)

    Sony Pictures Releasing

    "I know it's a sci-fi comedy, but this movie used to scare the hell out of me."

    —BlueJay98

    15. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)

    Paramount Pictures

    "Monkey brains, pregnant snakes, giant bugs, and a seriously messed-up tribal ceremony? It fueled my nightmares for years."

    —Clothilde

    16. The Paperboy (2012)

    Millennium Films

    "That movie is a nightmare and ruined John Cusack for me for a very long time. I still think about the plastic scene in the motel with Zac Efron screaming at Matthew McConaughey..."

    —tiffanyr40116845e

    17. Pinocchio (1940)

    Walt Disney Studios

    "I still feel uneasy watching it as an adult."

    —rachel161

    18. Prisoners (2013)

    Warner Bros. Pictures

    "That is all."

    —Chach92

    19. We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011)

    Oscilloscope Laboratories

    "I was pregnant when I first watched this movie, and it made me terrified to become a parent and raise a child, for obvious reasons."

    —melmel33

    20. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)

    Universal Pictures

    "I'm sorry, but this wrinkly weirdo is STILL scary. I haven’t finished watching that film in 27 years."

    —chelsea-courtneyb

    21. And finally, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)

    New Line Cinema

    "Okay, so this is more of a childhood trauma story than anything, but it scared the shit out of me. I was like 5, and for some reason my daycare provider thought it was a good idea to let us watch it? I remember nothing except the scene with the big-ass spider. It scarred me for life and gave me nightmares for three weeks. I haven’t seen the movie since, and I now have severe arachnophobia because of it."

    —rachelm4fbeb15db

    Now it's your turn! What's the scariest non-horror movie ever made? Can you outdo these? Share your nightmares in the comments below!

    Some submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.