10 Best Horror Movies Without Jump Scares (2024)

As a true staple of horror cinema, the use of a great jump scare can give audiences a terrifying, heart-racing thrill that startles them for a moment, but jump scares alone cannot evoke the brand of visceral terror that stays with viewers long after the credits roll. Offering ample proof of this, these horror movies crept under the skin of their audiences to make a lasting impact without the use of jump scares.

Instead, these movies create an aura so utterly terrifying by employing eerie visuals and settings, unusual and intense atmospheres, and harrowing scores to embed themselves in the minds of viewers with haunting results. Ranging from ghost stories and possession movies to cult/folk horrors, and from modern classics to iconic films that have stood the test of time, these legendary horror pictures are famous for their ability to terrify.

10 'The Poughkeepsie Tapes' (2007)

Director: John Erick Dowdle

Off the back of the success of The Blair Witch Project, the idea of found-footage realism became a significant trend in horror throughout the 2000s with 2007's The Poughkeepsie Tapes a thoroughly grim and unnerving offering of the subgenre. It mixes its raw found-footage aesthetic with the morbid intrigue of murder mystery and serial killer intrigue as it focuses on the contents of a serial killer's vast collection of homemade snuff films which are uncovered in a police raid.

With each new tape the police - and, by extension, the audience - watch, more of the killer's heinous and twisted crimes come to the fore as he documents the abduction, mistreatment, murdering, and postmortem mutilation of his victims. The Poughkeepsie Tapes is a great film for found-footage fans and horror lovers who crave morbid and disturbing stories, but for many others it may prove to be too bleak and confronting.

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9 'Goodnight Mommy' (2014)

Directors: Veronika Franz, Severin Fiala

A psychological thriller from Austria, Goodnight Mommy played out like one of the Brothers Grimm's twisted fairy tales as it focused on a complex relationship between a mother and her twin sons. Having undergone facial cosmetic surgery, a woman returns to her isolated lakeside home covered in bandages where her treatment towards her boys startles the two brothers, with one of them in particular being ignored by their mother unless he misbehaves, in which case he is punished harshly.

With its dreamlike, disorienting cinematography and its quaint and concentrated story, Goodnight Mommy excelled as an art house horror film that immerses viewers in its menacing and forthright atmosphere. The film's final moments have an uncanny knack of leaving viewers speechless as well as chilled to the bone.

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8 'The Witch' (2015)

Director: Robert Eggers

Robert Eggers emerged as a master of modern horror, a reputation that was ignited with his stunning directorial debut, The Witch. Set in 1630s New England, it tells the story of a family exiled from a Puritan settlement who build a farm near a huge forest and start to fall apart when their newborn goes missing. Amid the panic and despair, the family soon turns against the eldest daughter Thomasin (Anya Taylor-Joy).

With incredible performances from the entire cast coupled with a rich sense of isolation and creeping evil, The Witch excels with its palpable atmosphere which strives to — and succeeds at — creating a deeply unsettling experience that viewers simply cannot look away from. It has been heralded as one of the creepiest films ever made and is undoubtedly one of the best scary movies without jump scares.

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7 'Lake Mungo' (2008)

Director: Joel Anderson

A terrifying Australian horror film that has become a notorious cult classic on account of its ability to creep up on audiences with its paranormal eeriness, Lake Mungo is viewed by many to be one of the most underrated and scariest horror movies ever made. In the wake of a teenage girl's drowning, her struggling family hires a parapsychologist with hopes of finding an explanation for some strange occurrences around their house, leading to some unexpected discoveries that prompt them to go to Lake Mungo.

While its supernatural chills and psychological prowess make it a relentlessly unnerving movie, Lake Mungo also finds a lot of its weighted punch in its dramatic elements and the authenticity depicted in the rattled family's grieving. That gripping base makes the horror all the more impactful and the shocking twists and turns have a tendency to rattle audiences even days after they watch the movie.

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6 'The Blair Witch Project' (1999)

Directors: Eduardo Sánchez, Daniel Myrick

When The Blair Witch Project first premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 1999, an instant cult classic was born. The cast and crew behind The Blair Witch Project managed to tell a story so realistic and convincing that audiences became more terrified of what was off-screen than what was on it. The cast was only given a basic outline of the narrative and had no idea exactly what they would encounter in the paranormal forest, with each actor improvising many of the most horrific moments.

It was, of course, the rampaging, low-budget success that inspired a wave of found-footage horror to dominate the genre throughout the '00s, but none were able to match the impact of the original classic. Without any jump scares or even any strikingly scary imagery, The Blair Witch Project created an atmosphere drenched in terror and remains the gold standard of found-footage horror.

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5 'Night of the Living Dead' (1968)

Director: George A. Romero

While jump scares were a growing trend in horror at the time, George A. Romero's pioneering zombie horror classic instead relied on chilling music, creepy special effects, and strong acting performances to evoke a sense of dread and petrified terror in audiences. It follows a group of strangers who find themselves seeking shelter in a farmhouse when reanimated corpses rise from the grave and start feasting on human flesh.

It is a testament to its horrifying brilliance that Night of the Living Dead remains such an iconic title in its own right well over 50 years since it was released. It is even more impressive that it remains at the pinnacle of zombie horror when so many other zombie movies have had to rely on jumpy moments and intense gore to garner a response from viewers.

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4 'The Wailing' (2016)

Director: Na Hong-jin

Korean horror films have garnered a reputation for being some of the most terrifying, and The Wailing is no exception. After the arrival of a mysterious stranger in the small village of Gokseong, an infection breaks out and begins to spread hysteria and panic among the locals. Bloody and haunting, heartbreaking and shocking, The Wailing utilizes every component of horror to treat genre fans to a true masterpiece.

Interestingly, just about the only horror trope the film doesn't employ, is jump scares which makes it all the more astounding that across the film's two-and-a-half-hour runtime, there is seldom a dull moment. In addition to its gripping horror narrative, the film also features spectacular cinematography and a flawless grasp of tone, which helped it garner a stunning score of 99% on Rotten Tomatoes.

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3 'Midsommar' (2019)

Director: Ari Aster

A true gem of modern horror which was rightfully celebrated as such, Midsommar meshes folk horror and psychological suspense with an eerily serene setting and a spectacular breakout performance from Florence Pugh to be a truly unnerving film. It follows a small group of American students who travel to their classmate's ancestral commune in a remote area of Sweden to attend a midsummer festival.

Doing away with the typically bleak horror aesthetic, Midsommar instead thrives as a nightmare amid a paradise as the beautiful imagery clashes violently with disturbing rituals and an ominous energy that takes hold from the film's opening minutes to make for a sickeningly tense viewing experience. While there was some infrequent use of graphic gore, the film excelled as a deeply psychological horror and has scarred many of its viewers.

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2 'Rosemary's Baby' (1968)

Director: Roman Polanski

As an Academy Award-winning horror film, Rosemary's Baby is a defining genre classic that has lost absolutely none of its visceral impact since it was released over half a century ago. The chilling masterpiece combines supernatural and psychological terrors to immerse audiences in a world of demonic dread as it follows a pregnant woman who grows suspicious of her new neighbors when she experiences strange happenings when she moves into an old apartment complex with her husband.

A mounting sense of paranoia is at the heart of Rosemary's Baby as viewers are nurtured into a similar state of delirium as Rosemary (Mia Farrow) as she is manipulated by those dearest to her for a sinister purpose. There can be no doubt that the film is one of the most disturbing horror movies ever made, and while it is shocking, it never resorts to jump scares.

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1 'Hereditary' (2018)

Director: Ari Aster

Hereditary has garnered quite a reputation, becoming an immediate horror classic with many fans even labeling it definitively the best horror movie of the 21st century so far. The notorious picture follows Annie (Toni Collette) as she and her family mourn the death of her mother before a series of strange occurrences haunt them, leading them to discover the disturbing truth of their ancestry.

With several notably terrifying scenes throughout, Hereditary excels as director Ari Aster uses just about every horror tool there is to terrify the audience – except for jump scares. While the film uses eerie sound design, disturbing and darkened imagery, powerful acting performances, and supernatural entities, it doesn't see the film revert to jump scares as it depicts the Graham family's descent.

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NEXT: The Best Horror Movies of All Time, Ranked