Wilderness horror!

Be it forests, moors, swamps, the open ocean or the deserts: when it comes to horror film settings, there’s not a more primal or elemental one than the lonely vastness of the great outdoors.

The seemingly empty expanses outside of civilization have been a staple of horror films for decades, a highly relatable and highly available backdrop for stories of the dangers and terrors that lurks in remote places, far from help or rescue.

The inherent fear of the wilderness is a fear that is literally hardwired into our very DNA.

Below, you will find tips for some of the many many wilderness horror films that exists. This list has been carefully curated by the Rookies, being a group of people that have seen their fair share of all things horror.

Enjoy! 🙂

Title	Year	IMDb
YellowBrickRoad	2010	4,7
Rogue	2007	6,2
Body at Brighton Rock	2019	4,7
Backcountry	2014	6,7
Ravenous	1999	6,9
Eden Lake	2008	6,7
The VVitch	2015	6,7
Southern Comfort	1981	7,1
Anaconda	1997	4,7
The Ruins	2008	6,9
The Ritual	2017	6,4
Long Weekend	2008	5,1
Deliverance	1972	7,6
Antichrist	2009	6,5
The Blair Witch Project	1999	6,5
The Hills have Eyes	1977	6,3
Just Before Dawn	1981	6,0
Open Water	2003	5,8
The Ruins	2008	5,9
Sator	2019	5,1
Never Let Go	2024	5,4
Wilderness	2006	6,1
Wolf Creek	2005	6,2

Others are checking out:

32 Liminal horror movies

Let's begin with the beginning: what in the world is "liminal" - and "liminal horror"? The word liminal itself is defined quite differently by different sources, but the essence is as follows: - a state/position at or on both sides of a threshold/border - a transition between states or the initial phase of a process of change As far as I understand, Liminal horror points to both this and at the same time to what is called liminal spaces , which are: - areas and architecture that lead you from something to something else, and which are not intended as anything more/other. Corridors, underpasses, aqueducts, airports, queues, waiting rooms... 'Non - destinational places', as my husband called it when I tried to explain it. Apt term! 😍 - Emotionally, liminal spaces are, for example, grief and growing up - Psychologically and socially, it's is 'nothing' between different feelings or states: the state of post partum and detox are two examp...

Krampusnacht! Krampus & Christmas horror

Krampus is a mythological figure in the folklore of Central Europe, especially in the Alps (Austria, Bavaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, Slovakia and South Tyrol). He is traditionally a figure who punishes disobedient and naughty children at Christmas time, in contrast to St. Nicholas (who is the equivalent of Santa Claus), who rewards the good with gifts. His name probably comes from the German word "krampen", meaning claw. Krampus appears on the evening of December 5, known as Krampusnacht (Krampus Night), the night before St. Nicholas' Day. Krampus is usually described as a devil or monster-like figure, often half goat and half demon. He usually has large buck horns, a fur-covered body (often made of goat or sheepskin), claws, a long tongue, and a hoof on one or both feet. On Krampusnacht 2025, as ominous gusts of wind carried supercooled rain across Scandinavia, the rookies at the Horror Rookie Academy decided to flock together. They dug into th...

Feinschmecker giallo films!

It's really hard not to like giallo when you like horror movies. If you ask me. It has the seventies feel to it, it has slashing, practical effects, razors and negligees, black gloves and mansions. ...and the names of these movie, my goodness. "Aunt Martha does dreadful things", for example. 😍 One of our rookies is a regular cornucopia of knowledge of giallo, and he dug into his mind looking for the more obscure giallo movies. Enjoy! ✌ Murder Obsession (Riccardo Freda, 1980; Italian: Follia omicida) aka Fear, aka The Wailing, aka The Murder Syndrome The Secret of Seagull Island (Nestore Ungaro, 1981; Italian: L'isola del gabbiano) Madhouse (Ovidio Assonitis, 1981) aka There Was a Little Girl Tenebrae (Dario Argento, 1982) aka Unsane The Scorpion with Two Tails (Sergio Martino, 1982; Italian: Assassinio al cimitero etrusco / Murder in the Etruscan Cemetery) A Blade in the Dark (Lamberto Bava, 1982; Italian: La casa con la scala nel buio / The House with the Dar...

Escapism in horror, sci-fi and absurd film

Quite a reality we live in, huh? 🥴 It's kinda messed up. Kamikaze-trained harp seals with GoPros on their heads swim around our oceans while geopolitical toxic masculinity literally spills out across all continents. On top of it all: AI. There seems to be no end to it all. That's why the Horror Rookie Academy offered a whole week of escapism in early February 2025. ...but what exactly is escapism in horror, sci-fi and absurdist film? It's not a genre, is it? We introduced the topic like this: - SUBJECTIVE: For some, _all_ films can actually be an escape from reality. Here we are looking for tips on which films/series (horror/sci-fi/absurd) are an escape from reality for you. There are no right or wrong answers here. 😁 - HUMOR: Humor strikes me like a joker in this game. For example, I laughed my way through The Human Centipede; for me it was a very unrealistic comedy - and then I know that my mother would perceive the film a little differently. (I accidentally saw David...

Iä! Iä! Lovecraftian horrors

H. P. Lovecraft (1890–1937) was an American author best known for his influential contributions to the genre of "weird fiction," especially cosmic horror. His work is characterized by a unique blend of science fiction, horror, and the supernatural, often exploring themes such as forbidden knowledge, humanity's insignificance in the universe, and the fragility of reason. Lovecraft created a mythos—a loosely connected universe populated by ancient, powerful beings such as Cthulhu, Nyarlathotep, and Azathoth. This "Cthulhu mythos" became central to his legacy, and was later expanded upon by other writers. So, to the eternal question: what does this almost etherial term "Lovecraftian" actually mean? I think Wikipedia says it well: "Lovecraftian horror, also called cosmic horror or eldritch horror, is a subgenre of horror, fantasy, and weird fiction that emphasizes the terror of the unknown and incomprehensible more than gore or other shock elements....

Sci-fi or DIE!

Sci-fi is nothing short of glorious entertainment. Science fiction takes you to the outer realms of space, to strange planets inhabited by alien creatures whose workings are unbeknownst to us. It also takes you deep into the human fear of technology, of hybridization, alien lifeforms, artificial intelligence, time travel, cyborgs and into our very future itself. One starry night, as there were no skies covering the Scandinavian peninsula, the rookies of The Horror Rookie Academy looked up towards the skies. They let their gaze wander between stars, the moon and the infinite expanse of our universe. They let their minds drift, their fantasy wander. They stared into the the very void itself. Awe-stricken by it all, their minds simply set ablaze by cosmic complexity, they decided it was time to put their heads together. The goal? To curate an extensive list of tips on top notch science fiction movies and series. Below, you find no less than 96 movie tips on sci-fi movies ...

Queer roles in horror

At the Horror Rookie Academy , a very interesting exchange of opinions emerged in the spring of 2022 on the topic of queer roles in horror . In the following, I will explain why I think it is both okay and important to lift queer roles in horror films. The text represents the author's opinion. In the wake of a really interesting analysis done by Dread Central (a must-read!), it was suggested that queer roles may take the focus away from the horror in horror films. This got me thinking. Thinking real good. Could it be that queer roles, roles protraying people like me, among the majority may be perceived as unnecessary to the plot in horror films? As something forced? Queer people are very used to seeing a different type of love than our own being central to the films we watch. One of the things that makes me love films in general, and horror in particular, is that you get to enter situations where you are sort of exempt from constantly having to connect your own situat...

The origin of the Horror Rookie Academy

The Horror Rookie Academy has been operational for 15 straight years now! Good heavens, it's almost unbelievable. It's time for a little look back at the origin of the Academy. When I was little, my dad worked as a captain in foreign trade, and my brother and I used to join the boat during the summer holidays. (It was a simpler time, before the age of HSE...) Norwegian seafarers are so lucky to have the Norwegian Sailor's Church (Sjømannskirken) which works for their well-being. The Sailor's Church used to run a library service on Norwegian ships, providing books and films for the sailors. Either someone responsible for such things at the Sailor's Church was a horror and sci-fi lover, or their insight into the contents of the films of the time was so-so: the library cabinet onboard the boat was filled with the VHS tapes that basically made me the horror fanatic I am today. Jaws, Frankenstein, The Shining, Poltergeist, Rosemary's Baby, The Thing... All of which w...

Hillbilly vs outback horror!

Hillbilly Horror is an American subgenre, often rooted in the concept of Southern Gothic , where a group of "civilized" outsiders (often young people from the city) venture into remote, rural areas—typically the Deep South, Appalachia, or the Southwest—and encounter a family or group of violent, often inbred, degenerate locals. Key Conventions of hillbilly horror are: Setting: Remote, isolated locations like deep woods, decaying farmhouses, abandoned roads, and dilapidated small towns, usually suggesting an area "forgotten" by modern society. The Villains: The antagonists are typically a family unit , often characterized by inbreeding, physical deformities, cannibalism, and extreme violence. They represent an unhinged, "monstrous" version of the rural poor. The Conflict: It's fundamentally a Clash of Cultures —city dwellers vs. country folk. The horror stems from the characters being stripped of their modern conveniences (like cell service or relia...

Body horror!

A truly unsettling and fascinating subgenre indeed, body horror (also known as biological or organic horror) is a type of horror fiction where the primary source of terror comes from the grotesque or psychologically disturbing violation, transformation, degeneration, or destruction of the physical body. It often plays on deep-seated anxieties about physical vulnerability and loss of control over one's own body. A key element is that the body's violation is usually not the result of immediate or initial violence, but rather a loss of conscious control over the body due to mutation, invasion, decay or scientific interference. The horror often centers on an individual watching their own body betray them, change, or collapse, rather than being hunted by an external creature. Guillermo del Toro famously described body horror as the "betrayal of the flesh." The genre intentionally invokes intense feelings of physical and psychological disgust, pushing the limits of what the...

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