The Best Horror Movies to Watch on Shudder – Den of Geek UK

Oldboy (2003)

Park Chan-wooks shocking, twisty revenge thriller sees a man held hostage in a hotel room for 15 years with no idea of why. When hes finally released he has just days to track down his captor and discover his motives. The second part of director Parks Vengeance Trilogy (which is also a standalone though Sympathy for Mister Vengeance and Lady Vengeance are also available), its packed with standout sequences like the infamous corridor hammer massacre and the eating of a live octopus. The ending is bonkers too.

A mythical quest into the depths of hell dressed up as a hoodie horror set in a Glasgow high rise, Citadel sees a young man with agoraphobia venture into a terrifying tower to battle demonic youths who have taken his baby. As a modern take on classical tropes its clever and well observed but it works just as well as a twisted urban horror.

Very much a film of three parts, it starts as what looks like a low budget Japanese zombie film gone wrong, morphs into an interesting meta movie, and ends with a final third thats more joyful than you could possibly imagine. The fun is in the discovery so try to avoid reading about this, instead hang around until the end for a clever, funny, and uplifting love letter to indie film-making.

Directed by Clive Barker based on his novella The Hellbound Heart, Hellraiser is an infernal body horror featuring S&M demons whove found a way out of a dark dimension and want to take you back there. This is the movie which introduced chief Cenobite Pinhead (played by Doug Bradley) who would return for seven more Hellraiser sequels. But the first is of course, remains the edgiest and the best. Hellbound: Hellraiser II is also available.

A cyberpunk hybrid of Eraserhead, Blade Runner, Scanners, and your worst nightmares about machines run amok, Tetsuo: The Iron Man was the first feature by iconoclastic Japanese filmmaker Shinya Tsukamoto (who also stars in the picture). Surreal, shockingly violent and unforgettably relentless, Tetsuo is a fever dream of orgasmic human/metal mating and murder that is almost indescribable and utterly strange. You cant unsee this perverse triumph of twisted imagination

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The Best Horror Movies to Watch on Shudder - Den of Geek UK