Independent horror films are among the best because the directors aren’t tied to any studio politics, and so they can put as much shock and, let’s be real, gore into their movies that they want. Here are five movies made independently that are guaranteed to scare the pants off you.
- Donnie Darko (2001)
A teen is told of the world’s impending doom by a hallucinatory vision of a man dressed in a rabbit costume. Need I say more?
- The Terminator (1984)
Action and horror collide as a future machine, a Terminator (Ahnold), is sent back in time to kill the mother of a human resistance leader. A sci-fi masterpiece from James Cameron, this movie has plenty of thrills and chills.
- The Evil Dead II (1987)
Bruce Campbell plays a man who fights an evil force, consisting of the grossest ghouls. It’s Sam Raimi’s comedy horror classic, and infinitely better than Spider-Man.
- Night of the Living Dead (1968)
George A. Romero’s independent classic is the penultimate zombie flick, second only to Romero’s “Dawn of the Dead” a decade later. In the original, zombies awake and start attacking people in a lone cabin. They’re in a for a long night.
- The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
Tobe Hooper’s movie features Leatherface, a pure psycho who uses his chainsaw for its unintended purpose. A group of unlucky teenagers happen upon Leatherface and his demented family, but maybe a few have enough smarts, and luck, to survive.