Skip to main content

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
14082007
The VVitch2015
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:

Uplifting horror with merry violence!

Things rarely go well for people in the movies we like.  Things mostly go straight to the black bowels of Hell.   (If you know, you know...) So what do you do when you're really into horror movies on the more cheerful side of the spectrum? A little bit of merry violence? You head over to the Horror Rookie Academy and ask the rookies for movie tips! Below you'll find tips that came in response to the following questions: Hey! Does anyone have any tips for uplifting horror? I'd love to have a good dose of happy violence also. Tittel År IMDb Evil Dead 2 1987 7,7 Army of Darkness 1992 7,4 Bubba Ho Tep 2002 6,9 Brain Damage 1988 6,5 Evil Ed 1995 5,5 Return of the living Dead 1985 7,3 Tucker and Dale vs Evil 2010 7,5 The Cottage 2008 6,1 Sightseers 2012 6,5 Severance 2006 6,4 Bad Boy bubby 1993 7,3 Rubber 2010 5,7 Space Station 76 2014 4,9 Motivational Growth 2013 5,7 Teeth 2007 5,4 The Crazies 2010 6,5 Slither 2006 6,5 Deadstream 2022 6,4 Scouts guide to the Zombie apocalypse 20...

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...

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....

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)       

Derfor bør ingen noensinne bade i havet

  Det lusker mangt under overflaten!   Enten man ferdes på havet, rusler elvelangs eller tar en dukkert i de glitrende innsjøer skal man huske at knivskarpe tenner og hungrige mager kan lure juuuuust below the surface.   Skrekkruttskolen presenterer her firogfemti stalltips innen skrekk og gru fra dypet!   Nr Tittel År IMDb 1 Jaws 75 8,1 2 The Abyss 89 7,6 3 The Host 6 7 4 Ocean Of Fear 7 7 5 The River 12 6,8 6 The Deep 12 6,7 7 Rogue 7 6,3 8 Dagon 1 6,3 9 Below 2 6,2 10 The Deep 77 6,1 11 Deep rising 98 6 12 Sphere 98 6 13 Alligator 80 5,9 14 Piranha 78 5,9 15 The Reef 10 5,8 16 Jaws 2 78 5,7 17 Deep Blue Sea 99 5,7 18 Leviathan 89 5,7 19 Open Water 3 5,7 20 Lake Placid 99 5,6 21 The Bay 12 5,6 22 Piranha 10 5,6 23 12 days of terror 5 5,5 24 Ghost Ship 2 5,4 25 Open water 2: adrift 6 5 26 Reykjavik Whale watching massacre 9 4,9 27 Frankenfish 4 4,8 28 The last Shark 81 4,6 29 Anaconda 97 4,5 30 Troglodyte 8 4,3 31 Eye of the beast 7 4,2 32 R...

Dental Horror!

Teeth are hard, calcified structures in the mouth that are essential for breaking down food through chewing, forming words for speech, and maintaining overall oral health. They are also dreadful sources of pain, an object for torture and things that can get smashed out of your skull in a bloody instant. One starry friday night, a night of icy gusts of wind and of gerenal unrest in the populus, the Rookies at the  Horror Rookie Academy  decided to dive into the topic of dental horror: the portrayal of teeth in horror films. We decided to limit the topic to mainly human teeth, but since the sphere of horror is a transcendant and messy one, we of course welcomed other types of teeth in horror as well. Tusks, for example. Or simply messed up tooth-related stuff.  The films listed below either centers around the topic of teeth or has predominant scenes portraying teeth in them. It is a creepy collection of films, this.  Films that make your molars ice and throb just by th...

The Rookies love Stephen King!

The calendar reads september 21st, and it's Stephen King's birthday! Just hearing or seing his name invokes strong feelings in the minds of those prone to horror. And those prone to books, of course. The bibliophiles that walk among us. The rookies, many of them confessing to both the love of books and of horror, are no exception: in fact, they love Stephen King so much that they dedicated an entire week to exploring his books and the films originating from them! One can say a lot about the film adaptions of Stephen King. Many of these film adaptations were made in the nineties, a time when... well, let's say the film industry was still finding its way into the "new" world. Some of these are brilliant, others are... well, effects, glitter and crap in a blissful mix. Several of these adaptations reside on the lower half of the IDMb scale. However,  they all have in common this... thing about them, then. This King thing.   A coming of age, cosy, creepy and often sli...

103 tips for 80's horror films!

The eighties were nothing short of awesome. This was before the world became dangerous and messed up, so there was a playful sense of ease strongly present. As was the case in eighties horror films too: they are often excellent testaments to an era that never gets old.   If it was cool and modern, you could bet you'd find it in horror films. Dudes in cropped tank tops, jocks and prom queens, the noble art of jumping into roofless cars without opening the doors, walkmans, hackers with long coats and head bands...  The horror films of the eighties had it all! The Rookies at the  Horror Rookie Academy  love eighties horror. Flat out loves it.  One dark and icy cold week, just as an unholy mist came rolling in from the sea to cover the jagged  shores of Scandinavia, the rookies put their weird and wonderful heads together to conjure no less than 103 movie tips for eighties horror films.  For your vieweing convenience, of course.  We aim to please...

Fresh out of surgery? These movies are for you!

Quite a few of us have to go under the knife at one time or another to be slashed by skilled wage earners.  Expert slashing. The Horror Rookie Academy originates and resides in Norway,  where we have a free health care system and a sick leave system in the workplace that allows for actually being sick when you are sick.  Or: in convalescence, which is what this post revolves around. (photo: Body Parts (1987) The other day, a question popped in from a surgically modified rookie who was lying flat in recovery asking for movie recommendations.    Rookies! I'm at home on the couch after recovering from shoulder surgery; 16 years in the same profession f*cked the dang shoulder up. I'm considering watching the entire Saw-franchise again to relieve inner angst and somatic discomfort, but I am more than open for suggestions. I really love body horror! A bunch of rookies got exited by this questions and dove into their sick (but beautiful) minds to compile this wee list ...

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 ...