Good Scary/Thriller/Crime Drama/Horror Films with Minimum Gore
by WingedCreature | created - 25 Apr 2012 | updated - 1 month ago | PublicI hate gory / horror movies but that doesn't mean that I don't like scary movies. If you're like me and think that "The Ring", "Paranormal Activity" and "Insiduous" are lame and pretty much unwatchable - perhaps you might enjoy the movies in this list. Some of these movies are scary and some - not so much.
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1. The Skeleton Key (2005)
PG-13 | 104 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
A hospice nurse working at a spooky New Orleans plantation home finds herself entangled in a mystery involving the house's dark past.
Director: Iain Softley | Stars: Kate Hudson, Peter Sarsgaard, Joy Bryant, Gena Rowlands
Votes: 122,979 | Gross: $47.81M
2. The Cell (2000)
R | 107 min | Crime, Horror, Sci-Fi
An F.B.I. Agent persuades a social worker, who is adept with a new experimental technology, to enter the mind of a comatose serial killer in order to learn where he has hidden his latest kidnap victim.
Director: Tarsem Singh | Stars: Jennifer Lopez, Vince Vaughn, Vincent D'Onofrio, Colton James
Votes: 109,093 | Gross: $61.33M
3. Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (2006)
R | 147 min | Crime, Drama, Fantasy
Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, born with a superior olfactory sense, creates the world's finest perfume. His work, however, takes a dark turn as he searches for the ultimate scent.
Director: Tom Tykwer | Stars: Ben Whishaw, Dustin Hoffman, Alan Rickman, Francesc Albiol
Votes: 265,765 | Gross: $2.22M
4. The Woman in Black (1989 TV Movie)
Not Rated | 102 min | Horror, Mystery
A lawyer travels to a small seaside town to settle the estate of a recently deceased woman, but soon becomes ensnared in something much more sinister.
Director: Herbert Wise | Stars: Adrian Rawlins, Bernard Hepton, David Daker, Pauline Moran
Votes: 6,127
5. The Orphanage (2007)
R | 105 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
A woman brings her family back to her childhood home, which used to be an orphanage for handicapped children. Before long, her son starts to communicate with an invisible new friend.
Director: J.A. Bayona | Stars: Belén Rueda, Fernando Cayo, Roger Príncep, Mabel Rivera
Votes: 163,589 | Gross: $7.16M
6. Kalifornia (1993)
R | 117 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A journalist duo goes on a tour of serial-killer murder sites with two companions, unaware that one of them is a serial killer himself.
Director: Dominic Sena | Stars: Brad Pitt, Juliette Lewis, Kathy Larson, David Milford
Votes: 58,200 | Gross: $2.40M
7. Joy Ride (2001)
R | 97 min | Action, Mystery, Thriller
Three young people on a road trip from Colorado to New Jersey talk to a trucker on their CB radio, then must escape when he turns out to be a psychopathic killer.
Director: John Dahl | Stars: Steve Zahn, Paul Walker, Leelee Sobieski, Jessica Bowman
Votes: 75,936 | Gross: $21.97M
8. Jack the Ripper (1988)
TV-PG | 91 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A Scotland Yard police inspector, battling the booze, investigates the Jack the Ripper murders and discovers a conspiracy that leads all the way up to the Queen.
Stars: Michael Caine, Armand Assante, Ray McAnally, Lewis Collins
Votes: 5,675
9. The Ripper (1997 TV Movie)
R | 96 min | Thriller
In 1888, in London, a prostitute is slaughtered on the street. The Scotland Yard Chief Inspector Jim Hansen is in charge of the investigation and realizes that the killer is a person with ... See full summary »
Director: Janet Meyers | Stars: Patrick Bergin, Gabrielle Anwar, Samuel West, Michael York
Votes: 638
10. Rosemary's Baby (1968)
Approved | 137 min | Drama, Horror
A young couple trying for a baby moves into an aging, ornate apartment building on Central Park West, where they find themselves surrounded by peculiar neighbors.
Director: Roman Polanski | Stars: Mia Farrow, John Cassavetes, Ruth Gordon, Sidney Blackmer
Votes: 235,135
11. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
R | 118 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A young F.B.I. cadet must receive the help of an incarcerated and manipulative cannibal killer to help catch another serial killer, a madman who skins his victims.
Director: Jonathan Demme | Stars: Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, Scott Glenn, Ted Levine
Votes: 1,547,982 | Gross: $130.74M
12. The Innocents (1961)
Not Rated | 100 min | Horror
A young governess for two children becomes convinced that the house and grounds are haunted.
Director: Jack Clayton | Stars: Deborah Kerr, Peter Wyngarde, Megs Jenkins, Michael Redgrave
Votes: 33,060 | Gross: $2.62M
13. The Staircase (2004– )
TV-MA | 629 min | Documentary, Crime, Drama
The high-profile murder trial of American novelist Michael Peterson following the death of his wife Kathleen Peterson in 2001.
Stars: Michael Peterson, David Rudolf, Ron Guerette, Martha Ratliff
Votes: 27,201
This is a true-crime reality show following a murder trial and is excellent.
14. Minority Report (2002)
PG-13 | 145 min | Action, Crime, Mystery
John works with the PreCrime police which stop crimes before they take place, with the help of three 'PreCogs' who can foresee crimes. Events ensue when John finds himself framed for a future murder.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Tom Cruise, Colin Farrell, Samantha Morton, Max von Sydow
Votes: 584,278 | Gross: $132.07M
15. Demon Seed (1977)
Approved | 94 min | Horror, Sci-Fi
A scientist creates Proteus--an organic super computer with artificial intelligence which becomes obsessed with human beings, and in particular the creator's wife.
Director: Donald Cammell | Stars: Julie Christie, Fritz Weaver, Gerrit Graham, Berry Kroeger
Votes: 10,002
16. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2009)
R | 152 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A journalist is aided by a young female hacker in his search for the killer of a woman who has been dead for forty years.
Director: Niels Arden Oplev | Stars: Michael Nyqvist, Noomi Rapace, Ewa Fröling, Lena Endre
Votes: 223,336 | Gross: $10.10M
17. Cracks (I) (2009)
R | 104 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
A look at the lives and relationships among girls at an elite boarding school.
Director: Jordan Scott | Stars: Eva Green, Juno Temple, María Valverde, Imogen Poots
Votes: 21,099 | Gross: $0.02M
18. Flatliners (1990)
R | 115 min | Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi
Five medical students experiment with "near death" experiences, until the dark consequences of past tragedies begin to jeopardize their lives.
Director: Joel Schumacher | Stars: Kiefer Sutherland, Kevin Bacon, Julia Roberts, William Baldwin
Votes: 93,423 | Gross: $61.49M
19. Snow White: A Tale of Terror (1997)
R | 100 min | Adventure, Fantasy, Horror
In this dark take on the fairy tale, the growing hatred of a noblewoman, secretly a practitioner of the dark arts, for her stepdaughter, and the witch's horrifying attempts to kill her.
Director: Michael Cohn | Stars: Sigourney Weaver, Sam Neill, Gil Bellows, Taryn Davis
Votes: 11,373
20. Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Silk Stocking (2004 TV Movie)
TV-14 | 99 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A serial killer stalking the teen-aged daughters of the aristocracy brings Sherlock Holmes out of his drug-filled semi-retirement.
Director: Simon Cellan Jones | Stars: Rupert Everett, Nicholas Palliser, Neil Dudgeon, Ian Hart
Votes: 2,792
21. Ripley's Game (2002)
R | 110 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A dying family man in need of money is persuaded to assassinate a European crime boss.
Director: Liliana Cavani | Stars: John Malkovich, Dougray Scott, Lena Headey, Ray Winstone
Votes: 19,455
22. The Lovely Bones (2009)
PG-13 | 135 min | Drama, Fantasy, Thriller
Centers on a young girl who has been murdered and watches over her family - and her killer - from purgatory. She must weigh her desire for vengeance against her desire for her family to heal.
Director: Peter Jackson | Stars: Rachel Weisz, Mark Wahlberg, Saoirse Ronan, Susan Sarandon
Votes: 179,917 | Gross: $43.82M
23. The Countess (2009)
Not Rated | 98 min | Biography, Drama, History
A 17th century Hungarian countess embarks on a murderous undertaking, with the belief that bathing in the blood of virgins will preserve her beauty.
Director: Julie Delpy | Stars: Julie Delpy, Daniel Brühl, William Hurt, Anamaria Marinca
Votes: 8,659
24. The Perfect Host (2010)
R | 93 min | Comedy, Crime, Thriller
An on-the-run convict looking for temporary cover finds it at the house of a very colorful character.
Director: Nicholas Tomnay | Stars: David Hyde Pierce, Clayne Crawford, Nathaniel Parker, Tyrees Allen
Votes: 28,459 | Gross: $0.05M
This movie is not that scary but it's filled with twists and turns - starts off a little slow and then gets really good.
25. The Monk (2011)
R | 101 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Madrid, in the seventeenth century. Abandoned at the doorstep of a monastery, Ambrosio has been brought up by the Capucin Friars. After becoming a friar himself, he becomes an unrivaled ... See full summary »
Director: Dominik Moll | Stars: Vincent Cassel, Sergi López, Jordi Dauder, Joséphine Japy
Votes: 4,127 | Gross: $0.01M
26. Anna (VII) (2013)
R | 99 min | Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
A man with the ability to enter people's memories takes on the case of a brilliant, troubled sixteen-year-old girl to determine whether she is a sociopath or a victim of trauma.
Directors: Jorge Dorado, Occultum Luciferus | Stars: Mark Strong, Taissa Farmiga, Brian Cox, Saskia Reeves
Votes: 25,109 | Gross: $0.00M
27. The Wicker Man (1973)
R | 88 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A puritan police sergeant arrives in a Scottish island village in search of a missing girl, who the pagan locals claim never existed.
Director: Robin Hardy | Stars: Edward Woodward, Christopher Lee, Diane Cilento, Britt Ekland
Votes: 92,271 | Gross: $0.06M
28. The Seventh Sign (1988)
R | 97 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
Abby Quinn is eagerly awaiting childbirth but is haunted by dreams where she suffers a miscarriage. When she decides to rent a room to a mysterious stranger, she realizes a chain of events that will unleash the end of humanity.
Director: Carl Schultz | Stars: Demi Moore, Michael Biehn, Jürgen Prochnow, Peter Friedman
Votes: 15,675 | Gross: $18.88M
29. Murderous Intent (2006)
PG-13 | 110 min | Crime, Horror, Mystery
A forensic psychologist (Collette) is tasked with determining whether or not a minor should face murder charges for killing his schoolmate.
Director: Gregory Read | Stars: Eddie Redmayne, Tom Sturridge, Toni Collette, Richard Roxburgh
Votes: 5,507
This is sick and twisted and has a little bit of gore - but is quite good.
30. Split (IX) (2016)
PG-13 | 117 min | Horror, Thriller
Three girls are kidnapped by a man with a diagnosed 23 distinct personalities. They must try to escape before the apparent emergence of a frightful new 24th.
Director: M. Night Shyamalan | Stars: James McAvoy, Anya Taylor-Joy, Haley Lu Richardson, Jessica Sula
Votes: 553,380 | Gross: $138.29M
31. The Call (II) (2013)
R | 94 min | Drama, Thriller
When a veteran 911 operator takes a life-altering call from a teenage girl who has just been abducted, she realizes that she must confront a killer from her past in order to save the girl's life.
Director: Brad Anderson | Stars: Halle Berry, Evie Thompson, Abigail Breslin, Morris Chestnut
Votes: 129,755 | Gross: $51.87M
WARNING - This movie is scary and intense. This movie had me in the fetal position the whole time and not much scares me.
32. White Noise (I) (2005)
PG-13 | 101 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
An architect's desire to speak with his wife from beyond the grave becomes an obsession with supernatural repercussions.
Director: Geoffrey Sax | Stars: Michael Keaton, Deborah Kara Unger, Ian McNeice, Chandra West
Votes: 50,801 | Gross: $56.39M
33. The Bone Collector (1999)
R | 118 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A quadriplegic ex-homicide detective and his partner try to track down a serial killer who is terrorizing New York City.
Director: Phillip Noyce | Stars: Denzel Washington, Angelina Jolie, Queen Latifah, Michael Rooker
Votes: 184,940 | Gross: $66.52M
34. The Awakening (I) (2011)
R | 102 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
In 1921, England is overwhelmed by the loss and grief of World War I. Hoax exposer Florence Cathcart visits a boarding school to explain sightings of a child ghost. Everything she believes unravels as the 'missing' begin to show themselves.
Director: Nick Murphy | Stars: Rebecca Hall, Dominic West, Imelda Staunton, Lucy Cohu
Votes: 68,895
35. Haunted (1995)
R | 108 min | Drama, Horror
A skeptical professor visits a remote British estate to debunk allegations of psychic phenomena, but soon finds himself haunted by a ghost from his own past.
Director: Lewis Gilbert | Stars: Aidan Quinn, Kate Beckinsale, Anthony Andrews, John Gielgud
Votes: 7,368
36. Voice from the Stone (2017)
R | 94 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Set in 1950s Tuscany, Voice from the Stone is the haunting and suspenseful story of Verena, a solemn nurse drawn to aid a young boy who has fallen silent since the sudden passing of his mother.
Director: Eric D. Howell | Stars: Emilia Clarke, Marton Csokas, Caterina Murino, Remo Girone
Votes: 12,175
37. The VVitch: A New-England Folktale (2015)
R | 92 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
A family in 1630s New England is torn apart by the forces of witchcraft, black magic and possession.
Director: Robert Eggers | Stars: Anya Taylor-Joy, Ralph Ineson, Kate Dickie, Julian Richings
Votes: 300,688 | Gross: $25.14M
38. The Limehouse Golem (2016)
Not Rated | 109 min | Crime, Mystery, Thriller
In Victorian London, a Scotland Yard inspector hunts down the sadistic killer behind a series of gory, Jack the Ripper-Like murders.
Director: Juan Carlos Medina | Stars: Douglas Booth, Olivia Cooke, Sam Reid, María Valverde
Votes: 23,318
This movie has some pretty disturbing bits
39. A Cure for Wellness (2016)
R | 146 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
An ambitious young executive is sent to retrieve his company's CEO from an idyllic but mysterious "wellness center" at a remote location in the Swiss Alps, but soon suspects that the spa's treatments are not what they seem.
Director: Gore Verbinski | Stars: Dane DeHaan, Jason Isaacs, Mia Goth, Ivo Nandi
Votes: 109,602 | Gross: $8.11M
40. Dracula (2020)
TV-14 | 90 min | Action, Drama, Fantasy
In 1897 Transylvania, the blood-drinking Count draws his plans against Victorian London.
Stars: Claes Bang, Dolly Wells, Morfydd Clark, Lydia West
Votes: 52,562
41. The Girl in the Spider's Web (2018)
R | 115 min | Action, Adventure, Crime
Young computer hacker Lisbeth Salander and journalist Mikael Blomkvist find themselves caught in a web of spies, cybercriminals and corrupt government officials.
Director: Fede Alvarez | Stars: Claire Foy, Beau Gadsdon, Sverrir Gudnason, LaKeith Stanfield
Votes: 51,827 | Gross: $14.84M
This is an Action/Thriller and is surprisingly good. It's not as good as the original Swedish version of "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" but a lot better than the Swedish follow ups to the original.
42. Behind Her Eyes (2021)
TV-MA | 50 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
It follows Louise, a single mum with a son and a part-time job in a psychiatrist's office. She begins an affair with her boss and strikes up an unlikely friendship with his wife.
Stars: Simona Brown, Eve Hewson, Tom Bateman, Robert Aramayo
Votes: 75,072
This one isn’t really scary but it is good and has unexpected twists.
43. The Good Nurse (2022)
R | 121 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
An infamous caregiver is implicated in the deaths of hundreds of hospital patients.
Director: Tobias Lindholm | Stars: Eddie Redmayne, Jessica Chastain, Denise Pillott, Dartel McRae
Votes: 79,519
44. The Watcher (2022– )
TV-MA | 332 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
A married couple moving into their dream home are threatened by terrifying letters from a stalker, signed - "The Watcher."
Stars: Naomi Watts, Bobby Cannavale, Mia Farrow, Terry Kinney
Votes: 79,445
45. Young Sherlock Holmes (1985)
PG-13 | 109 min | Adventure, Fantasy, Mystery
When assorted people start having inexplicable delusions that lead to their deaths, a teenage Sherlock Holmes decides to investigate.
Director: Barry Levinson | Stars: Nicholas Rowe, Alan Cox, Sophie Ward, Anthony Higgins
Votes: 23,405 | Gross: $19.74M
46.
Black Mirror (2011– )
Episode:
USS Callister
(2017)
TV-MA | 76 min | Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Capt. Robert Daly presides over his crew with wisdom and courage. But a new recruit will soon discover nothing on this spaceship is what it seems.
Director: Toby Haynes | Stars: Jesse Plemons, Cristin Milioti, Jimmi Simpson, Michaela Coel
Votes: 59,870
47. Advantageous (2015)
Not Rated | 90 min | Drama, Family, Sci-Fi
In a near-future city where soaring opulence overshadows economic hardship, Gwen and her daughter Jules do all they can to hold on to their joy together, despite the instability surfacing in their world.
Director: Jennifer Phang | Stars: Jacqueline Kim, James Urbaniak, Freya Adams, Ken Jeong
Votes: 5,964
48. Elizabeth Harvest (2018)
R | 108 min | Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller
An extremely wealthy, and brilliant scientist, has the nasty habit of brutally killing his wife, cloning her, marring her again, and then repeating the process.
Director: Sebastian Gutierrez | Stars: Abbey Lee, Ciarán Hinds, Carla Gugino, Matthew Beard
Votes: 9,636
49. Inside Look: The Assassination of Gianni Versace - American Crime Story (2017–2018)
TV-MA | 3 min | Documentary, Short
An inside look at the making of American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace.
Stars: Darren Criss, Giovanni Cirfiera, Ricky Martin, Penélope Cruz
Votes: 10,467
50. The Ninth Gate (1999)
R | 133 min | Mystery, Thriller
A book broker discovers his latest find may summon Satan.
Director: Roman Polanski | Stars: Johnny Depp, Frank Langella, Lena Olin, Emmanuelle Seigner
Votes: 197,467 | Gross: $18.66M
51. Heavenly Creatures (1994)
R | 99 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
Two teenage girls share a unique bond; their parents, concerned that the friendship is too intense, separate them, and the girls take revenge.
Director: Peter Jackson | Stars: Melanie Lynskey, Kate Winslet, Sarah Peirse, Diana Kent
Votes: 67,401 | Gross: $3.05M
52. M3GAN (2022)
PG-13 | 102 min | Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller
A robotics engineer at a toy company builds a life-like doll that begins to take on a life of its own.
Director: Gerard Johnstone | Stars: Allison Williams, Violet McGraw, Ronny Chieng, Amie Donald
Votes: 142,361 | Gross: $93.88M
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