Supernatural psychological horror

A rookie with a long history at the Academy came up with the following request the other day:

I've seen the Australian Babadook 2014 and enjoyed it so much that I want to see more supernatural psychological horror films. I'm happy to receive film suggestions.

The rookies dove into the request, and the following little list of movie tips resulted.

Tittel	År
1408	2007
The VVitch	2015
The Wind	2018
The Innocents	1961
Grave Encounters	2011
Crimson Peak	2015
The Lighthouse	2019
Talk to me	2022
The Skeleton Key	2005
Below	2002
Sinister	2012
In the tall grass	2019

Others are checking out:

Automotive horror!

The term automotive horror , also referred to as "car horror" or "highway horror," refers to horror fiction where the primary source of dread, isolation, or violence is directly linked to vehicles and the culture of the open road. It essentially exploits the psychological terror of a machine turning malevolent or the vulnerability of being isolated on a desolate road. Automotive horror utilizes several distinct concepts to create terror: The Sentient/Evil Vehicle: The car itself is the monster. Christine (1983), anyone? It's often possessed, cursed, or supernaturally alive, acting with malevolent intent to kill, terrorize, or corrupt its owner. The topic of evil cars represents Technophobia , an underlying theme where technology, which is supposed to represent freedom and convenience, instead betrays you. Turns on you like a dirty street whore in the night. The Highway Hunter: The vehicle is simply a tool used by a human serial killer or psychopath who us...

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...

15 years of Academy headers!

A good header is a great thing ! Since 2011, the Horror Rookie Academy has focused quite a bit on page headers. The header constitutes the graphic profile of the Academy. It is what first meets the eye, what gives the first impression, and it sets the tone. Design- wise, we have kept the headers simple and symmetric -and a bit classy. We present to you: 15 years of Academy headers! (Laget av skrekkrutt Sørbø.) (Artwork: Kim Holm)

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....

Yūrei: pray you never encounter one!

Dear reader: a violent storm is approaching Scandinavia. Red alerts of all sorts have been issued, and the populus is busy removing loose objects, filling up their water tanks and checking if they have enough batteries to last. Later tonight, when all Hell breaks loose , they will huddle together, step away from the windows, brace themselves and excert a nordic form of calm born through experience with hellish weather. But i digress. Now, let me take this occasion, to tell you about the nightgown - wearing ghost. Her face is covered by her long black hair. She is the one that comes crawling down the stairs and out of closets in you nightmares. The ghost that make this throat gurgling "moaaaaaaaaaaaaa" - sound that makes your skin crawl. The one that that comes crawling towards you, behind you, in the darkness to pull you... away. Away from this world. Let me tell you about yūrei! I will do so by telling you about one of the world's most well known and dreaded yūrei: Kay...

Lunar horror!

An unholy lunar trinity occured september 7th 2025: a full moon, a blood moon and a lunar eclipse. The rookies at the Horror Rookie Academy looked forward to experiencing a lycantropic transformation the likes of which this world has never seen: knuckles cracking, hair protruding, teeth and claws developing... Alas. We all remained in our frail human form. No lycantropic wave across the globe. No shiny teeth chomping on human flesh. No claws ripping faces to shreds. Maybe next time! Filled with moderate disappointment, the rookies decided to put their heads together to conjure movie tips on lunar horror films: films orbiting (pun intended) the topic of the moon in horror. For your viewing convenience. Enjoy! 😁 Title Year IMDb Moon 2009 7,8 Sinners 2025 7,6 Silver Bullet 1985 6,4 The Company of Wolves 1984 6,6 An American Werewolf in London 1981 7,5 A Trip to the Moon 1902 8,1 Iron Sky 2012 5,9 The Dark side of the Moon 1990 4,9 Moonfall 2022 5,2 When Animals Dream 201...

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...

Masks in horror!

Masks are widely seen in horror films. But of course. Hidden identities and a visage without any visible emotions are the stuff nightmares are made of. Or masks made of the skin of a human head... Eeew! Leatherface, Jason Vorhees, Ghostface and Michael Myers were pioneers in the mask game. Those iconic roles have since been followed by a wide array of masked killers in horror. Increasingly cheezy, some might feel -myserlf being among them. The home invasion subgenre has in particular taken masks to its heart. The rookies at The Horror Rookie Academy recently endulged themselves in a Mask Saturday, shining a powerful mental light on masks in horror. Below is the list of 28 movie recommendations that followed. Enjoy! Nr Title Year IMDb 1 Scream 1996 7,4 2 StageFright 1987 6,6 3 Christmas Cruelty 2013 4,4 4 The Collector 2009 6,3 5 My Bloody Valentine 1981 6,3 6 My Bloody Valentine 2009 5,4 7 Onibaba 1964 7,8 8 The Orphanage 2007 7,4 9 Alice, Sweet Alice 1976 ...

Damer i skrekk: Skrekkruttskolens Ladies Night

Ladies night satt som ei kule på Skrekkruttskolen! Det er jo laget mye bra horror av, om og med råtøffe damer. Without further adue: her presenteres 31 stalltips innen film med "women in horror, strong female characters, scream queens and horror divas". Nr Tittel År IMDb 1 Whatever happened to baby Jane? 62 8,1 2 The Exorcist 73 8 3 Rosemarys baby 68 8 4 Misery 90 7,8 5 Texas chainsaw Massacre 74 7,5 6 Carrie 76 7,4 7 The Descent 2005 7,3 8 Audition 99 7,3 9 The Nanny 65 7,3 10 The Devils rejects 2005 6,9 11 Ms ...

Films similar to Smile and It Follows

One of the rookies asked the following question at the Horror Rookie Academy the other day: Hello rookies! I'm wondering if anyone has any recommendations for horror movies like "Smile" (the first one, I'm afraid of the second one; and not because I don't dare watch it...) and "It Follows"? I grew up with classic horror, from "Rosemary's Baby" via Freddie Krueger and other cute characters. Hm. Not the easiest question in the world to answer! These are two films that are a bit difficult to compare with other films, they have such an intrinsic uniqueness. And both are distinctly great horror films. It's almost as if one's a little hesitant to compare them with other films. As if one not dares. However: the rookies dug into their twisted minds to answer this question, which resulted in this little list below. Enjoy! Tittel År IMDb The Harbinger 2022 5.4 Gehenna: where death lives 2016 4.9 Never let go 2024 5.4 The Dead Center 2018 ...

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