Top 55: The Art of Horror
by JCarama | created - 21 Nov 2021 | updated - 3 days ago | PublicHorror movies that revolve around artists and/or mediums of art - paintings, illustrations, sculptures, murals, art photography, tattoo art, etc.
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1. The Devil's Candy (2015)
Not Rated | 79 min | Drama, Horror, Thriller
A struggling painter's possessed by dark forces after he and his young family move into their dream home in rural Texas, in this creepy haunted-house tale.
Director: Sean Byrne | Stars: Ethan Embry, Shiri Appleby, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Kiara Glasco
Votes: 21,869
2. Mandy (I) (2018)
Not Rated | 121 min | Action, Fantasy, Horror
The enchanted lives of a couple in a secluded forest are brutally shattered by a nightmarish hippie cult and their demon-biker henchmen, propelling a man into a spiraling, surreal rampage of vengeance.
Director: Panos Cosmatos | Stars: Nicolas Cage, Andrea Riseborough, Linus Roache, Ned Dennehy
Votes: 89,533 | Gross: $1.21M
3. Bliss (I) (2019)
Not Rated | 80 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
A brilliant painter facing the worst creative block of her life turns to anything she can to complete her masterpiece, spiraling into a hallucinatory hellscape of drugs, sex and murder in the sleazy underbelly of Los Angeles.
Director: Joe Begos | Stars: Dora Madison, Tru Collins, Rhys Wakefield, Jeremy Gardner
Votes: 5,685
4. Candyman (2021)
R | 91 min | Horror, Thriller
A sequel to the horror film Candyman (1992) that returns to the now-gentrified Chicago neighborhood where the legend began.
Director: Nia DaCosta | Stars: Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Teyonah Parris, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Colman Domingo
Votes: 75,780 | Gross: $61.19M
5. Hour of the Wolf (1968)
Not Rated | 88 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
While vacationing on a remote German island with his younger pregnant wife, an artist has an emotional breakdown while confronting his repressed desires.
Director: Ingmar Bergman | Stars: Max von Sydow, Liv Ullmann, Gertrud Fridh, Georg Rydeberg
Votes: 22,580
6. Maniac (2012)
Not Rated | 89 min | Horror, Thriller
As he helps a young artist with her upcoming exhibition, the owner of a mannequin shop's deadly, suppressed desires come to the surface.
Director: Franck Khalfoun | Stars: Elijah Wood, Nora Arnezeder, America Olivo, Megan Duffy
Votes: 40,363 | Gross: $0.02M
7. Mr. Jones (2013)
PG-13 | 84 min | Drama, Horror, Thriller
A young couple moves to the woods and soon finds their nightmares and reality colliding.
Director: Karl Mueller | Stars: Jon Foster, Sarah Jones, Mark Steger, Faran Tahir
Votes: 4,403
8. Anamorph (2007)
R | 103 min | Crime, Horror, Thriller
A psychological thriller based on the concept of anamorphosis, a painting technique that manipulates the laws of perspective to create two competing images on a single canvas.
Director: Henry Miller | Stars: Willem Dafoe, Scott Speedman, Don Harvey, James Rebhorn
Votes: 9,786 | Gross: $0.01M
9. Killer Toon (2013)
104 min | Horror, Thriller
Popular horror web-comic artist Ji Yoon finds life imitating her own work when her publisher turns up dead in a way, precisely mirrors the images in her latest comic.
Director: Yong-gyun Kim | Stars: Lee Si-young, Uhm Ki-joon, Lee Do-yeop, Oh Gwang-Rok
Votes: 2,266
10. The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945)
Not Rated | 110 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
A corrupt young man somehow keeps his youthful beauty, but a special painting gradually reveals his inner ugliness to all.
Director: Albert Lewin | Stars: George Sanders, Hurd Hatfield, Donna Reed, Angela Lansbury
Votes: 14,451
11. M.F.A. (2017)
Not Rated | 92 min | Drama, Horror, Thriller
An art student taps into a rich source of creative inspiration after the accidental slaughter of her rapist. An unlikely vigilante emerges, set out to avenge college girls whose attackers walked free.
Director: Natalia Leite | Stars: Francesca Eastwood, Clifton Collins Jr., Leah McKendrick, Peter Vack
Votes: 7,452
12. The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (1970)
GP | 96 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
An American expatriate in Rome attempts to unmask a serial killer he witnessed in the act of an attempted murder - and is now hunting him and his girlfriend.
Director: Dario Argento | Stars: Tony Musante, Suzy Kendall, Enrico Maria Salerno, Eva Renzi
Votes: 24,101 | Gross: $0.42M
13. Muoi: The Legend of a Portrait (2007)
Not Rated | 93 min | Drama, History, Horror
"Muoi" charts the path of a Korean writer who travels to Vietnam in search of stories for her second novel. There she learns about a mystery centered around a century-old vengeful spirit.
Director: Tae-kyeong Kim | Stars: Jo An, So-hee Hong, Hong-Anh, Yong-tae Kim
Votes: 1,102
14.
Night Gallery (1969–1973)
Episode:
Pilot
(1969)
Unrated | 98 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
A seemingly haunted painting drives a greedy man insane. A rich blind woman gets a new pair of eyes that allow her to see for only one brief ironic moment. An idyllic painting gives a Nazi war criminal in hiding some fleeting comfort.
Directors: Boris Sagal, Barry Shear, Steven Spielberg | Stars: Joan Crawford, Ossie Davis, Richard Kiley, Roddy McDowall
Votes: 2,042
15. Velvet Buzzsaw (2019)
R | 113 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A thriller about the contemporary art scene of Los Angeles, where big money artists and mega-collectors pay a high price when art collides with commerce.
Director: Dan Gilroy | Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo, Zawe Ashton, Tom Sturridge
Votes: 66,072
16. Ab-normal Beauty (2004)
R | 101 min | Drama, Horror
Jiney is a talented student of Arts with a trauma in her childhood and lack of communication with her mother, and excellent photographer that is not satisfied with her awarded works. When ... See full summary »
Director: Oxide Chun Pang | Stars: Race Wong, Rosanne Wong, Anson Leung, Michelle Yim
Votes: 2,602
17. The Stendhal Syndrome (1996)
Not Rated | 113 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A young policewoman slowly goes insane while tracking down an elusive serial rapist/killer through Italy when she herself becomes a victim of the brutal man's obsession.
Director: Dario Argento | Stars: Asia Argento, Thomas Kretschmann, Marco Leonardi, Luigi Diberti
Votes: 9,211
18. Blind Beast (1969)
86 min | Drama, Horror
A blind sculpter and his mother kidnap a young model.
Director: Yasuzô Masumura | Stars: Eiji Funakoshi, Mako Midori, Noriko Sengoku
Votes: 3,908
19. Diary of a Madman (1963)
Approved | 96 min | Horror
An evil spirit leaves the body of his human host, a criminal on death-row, and sneaks into the body of his next human host, a French magistrate.
Director: Reginald Le Borg | Stars: Vincent Price, Nancy Kovack, Chris Warfield, Elaine Devry
Votes: 3,056
20. Baba Yaga (1973)
Unrated | 89 min | Horror
A photographer finds herself falling under the spell of a witch.
Director: Corrado Farina | Stars: Carroll Baker, George Eastman, Isabelle De Funès, Ely Galleani
Votes: 2,242
21. Random Acts of Violence (2019)
Not Rated | 80 min | Horror
A pair of comic book writers begin to notice scary similarities between the character they created and horrific real-life events.
Director: Jay Baruchel | Stars: Jesse Williams, Jordana Brewster, Jay Baruchel, Simon Northwood
Votes: 3,009
22. The Vault of Horror (1973)
R | 87 min | Horror, Thriller
An anthology of five horror stories shared by five men trapped in the basement of an office building.
Director: Roy Ward Baker | Stars: Curd Jürgens, Terry-Thomas, Tom Baker, Dawn Addams
Votes: 6,256
23. Blackout (II) (2023)
Unrated | 104 min | Horror
A Fine Arts painter is convinced that he is a werewolf wreaking havoc on a small American town under the full moon.
Director: Larry Fessenden | Stars: Marshall Bell, Michael Buscemi, Joseph Castillo-Midyett, Kevin Corrigan
Votes: 229
24. Take Back the Night (2021)
90 min | Action, Horror
Finding herself the victim of a violent monster attack, Jane launches a vigilante campaign to hunt the beast that tried to kill her. Jane's efforts intensify, but her troubling history of ... See full summary »
Director: Gia Elliot | Stars: Emma Fitzpatrick, Angela Gulner, Jennifer Lafleur, Sibongile Mlambo
Votes: 614
25. The Portrait (I) (2023)
R | 86 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
After her husband is devastated by a tragic accident, a devoted wife obsesses over a mysterious portrait that resembles him as he was; but when it starts to terrorize her, she must decide if it's possessed or if she's losing her mind.
Director: Simon Ross | Stars: Natalia Cordova-Buckley, Ryan Kwanten, Virginia Madsen, Mark-Paul Gosselaar
Votes: 638
26. Dorian Gray (2009)
R | 112 min | Drama, Fantasy, Mystery
A corrupt young man somehow keeps his youthful beauty eternally, but a special painting gradually reveals his inner ugliness to all.
Director: Oliver Parker | Stars: Ben Barnes, Colin Firth, Rebecca Hall, John Hollingworth
Votes: 68,118
27. Deep Dark (2015)
79 min | Fantasy, Horror
An aspiring sculptor falls in love with a talking hole in the wall when it starts to produce award winning art.
Director: Michael Medaglia | Stars: Sean McGrath, Anne Sorce, Denise Poirier, Tabor Helton
Votes: 2,669
28. A Bucket of Blood (1959)
Approved | 66 min | Comedy, Crime, Horror
A dimwitted busboy at a beatnik cafe passes off a cat he accidentally killed and covered in plaster as a sculpture, prompting a demand for more art that compels him to commit murders.
Director: Roger Corman | Stars: Dick Miller, Barboura Morris, Antony Carbone, Julian Burton
Votes: 7,902
29. Perfect Skin (2018)
R | 102 min | Horror, Thriller
Katia Matuschak, 18, a Romanian ex-au pair is now adrift in London. She befriends Bob Reid, a seemingly friendly tattoo artist but Bob is not who he seems to be. His life is spiraling out ... See full summary »
Director: Kevin Chicken | Stars: Richard Brake, Natalia Kostrzewa, Kasia Koleczek, Perry Jaques
Votes: 876
30. Sweet Home (1989)
Not Rated | 100 min | Horror
A TV production crew are making a documentary about the infamous painter Mamiya Ichiro. When they start filming at his old home, they come under attack from the ghost of the painter's wife.
Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa | Stars: Nobuko Miyamoto, Shingo Yamashiro, Nokko, Fukumi Kuroda
Votes: 1,118
31. Blood Bath (1966)
Not Rated | 62 min | Horror
A crazed artist who believes himself to be the reincarnation of a murderous vampire kills young women, then boils their bodies in a vat.
Directors: Jack Hill, Stephanie Rothman | Stars: William Campbell, Marissa Mathes, Lori Saunders, Sandra Knight
Votes: 1,094
32. Portrait of Beauty (2019)
127 min | Drama, Horror, Thriller
Receiving important news about her father, whom she has not met for years, Nisan returns to her father's house with her husband and daughter. There are strange things happening in this ... See full summary »
Director: Umur Turagay | Stars: Burçin Terzioglu, Birkan Sokullu, Melisa Senolsun, Serkan Keskin
Votes: 3,183
33. Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth (1992)
R | 97 min | Horror
An investigative reporter must send the newly unbound Pinhead and his legions back to Hell.
Director: Anthony Hickox | Stars: Terry Farrell, Doug Bradley, Kevin Bernhardt, Lawrence Mortorff
Votes: 35,050 | Gross: $12.53M
34. Murder Party (2007)
Not Rated | 79 min | Comedy, Horror
A random invitation to a Halloween party leads a man into the hands of a rogue collective intent on murdering him for the sake of their art, sparking a bloodbath of mishap, mayhem and hilarity.
Director: Jeremy Saulnier | Stars: Chris Sharp, Kate Porterfield, Tess Porterfield Lovell, Puff Snooty
Votes: 12,300
35. The House with Laughing Windows (1976)
110 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Stefano, a young restorer, is commissioned to save a controversial mural located in the church of a small, isolated village.
Director: Pupi Avati | Stars: Lino Capolicchio, Francesca Marciano, Gianni Cavina, Giulio Pizzirani
Votes: 5,973
36. Muse (XII) (2017)
95 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
A painter's life is forever changed when a mythical and deadly spirit from Celtic lore -- a Leannán Sí -- becomes his muse and lover.
Director: John Burr | Stars: Riley Egan, Elle Evans, Kate Mansi, Lou Ferrigno Jr.
Votes: 438
37. The Driller Killer (1979)
Not Rated | 96 min | Drama, Horror, Thriller
An artist slowly goes insane while struggling to pay his bills, work on his paintings, and care for his two female roommates, which leads him taking to the streets of New York after dark and randomly killing derelicts with a power drill.
Director: Abel Ferrara | Stars: Abel Ferrara, Carolyn Marz, Baybi Day, Harry Schultz
Votes: 8,442
38. Spiral (I) (2007)
PG-13 | 90 min | Drama, Thriller
A recluse telemarkets at an office, where his boss is his only friend. As he befriends a new, social colleague and sketches/paints her, his dark mind surfaces.
Directors: Adam Green, Joel David Moore | Stars: Joel David Moore, Amber Tamblyn, Zachary Levi, Annie Neal
Votes: 3,923 | Gross: $0.00M
39. Don't Leave Home (2018)
86 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
An American artist's obsession with a disturbing urban legend leads her to an investigation of the story's origins at the crumbling estate of a reclusive painter in Ireland.
Director: Michael Tully | Stars: Bobby Roddy, Mark Lawrence, Sue Walsh, Alisha Weir
Votes: 1,736
40. The Visitor (2022)
89 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
After a series of tragedies, Robert moves with his wife back to her childhood home. After he discovers an old portrait of a man who looks like him, he goes down a rabbit hole to discover the identity of this mysterious doppelganger.
Director: Justin P. Lange | Stars: Finn Jones, Jessica McNamee, Thomas Francis Murphy, Dane Rhodes
Votes: 2,904
41. The Tattooist (2007)
R | 92 min | Drama, Horror, Thriller
A young artist unknowingly plays a role in releasing a deadly spirit as he attempts to learn tatau, the Samoan tradition of tattooing.
Director: Peter Burger | Stars: Jason Behr, Mia Blake, David Fane, Robbie Magasiva
Votes: 3,245
42. Night of Dark Shadows (1971)
GP | 95 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
A painter and his wife move into a home and find themselves plagued by ghosts and spirits of his ancestors that used to be witches.
Director: Dan Curtis | Stars: David Selby, Grayson Hall, Kate Jackson, Lara Parker
Votes: 1,836 | Gross: $3.05M
43. The Curse of Styria (2014)
Not Rated | 99 min | Fantasy, Horror, Mystery
Depicts the intense and fractured relationship between a lonely teenager and a beautiful stranger.
Directors: Mauricio Chernovetzky, Mark Devendorf | Stars: Stephen Rea, Eleanor Tomlinson, Julia Pietrucha, Jacek Lenartowicz
Votes: 3,574
44. Cellar Dweller (1987)
R | 77 min | Fantasy, Horror
A comic book artist Whitney Taylor is doomed to repeat history in a most grotesque way when she unleashes a demon after drawing it.
Director: John Carl Buechler | Stars: Yvonne De Carlo, Debrah Farentino, Brian Robbins, Pamela Bellwood
Votes: 3,027
45. The Dark Stranger (2015)
90 min | Animation, Drama, Horror
Haunted by a terrifying spirit out of her graphic novel, a young artist struggles to overcome her psychosis before it destroys her.
Director: Chris Trebilcock | Stars: Katie Findlay, Alex Ozerov-Meyer, Enrico Colantoni, Stephen McHattie
Votes: 691
46. Kolobos (1999)
R | 87 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Five young individuals agree to live in an isolated lodge together and have their daily activities filmed. But soon the house is locked down and they each run into the murderous clutches of... See full summary »
Directors: Daniel Liatowitsch, David Todd Ocvirk | Stars: Amy Weber, Donny Terranova, Nichole Pelerine, John Fairlie
Votes: 2,606
47. The Clairvoyant (1982)
R | 97 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Two uneasy friends, a police officer and a TV talk show host, each pursue the mysterious "handcuff killer" with the aid of an artist who sees - and draws - the killer's crimes before they're committed.
Director: Armand Mastroianni | Stars: Perry King, Norman Parker, Elizabeth Kemp, Kenneth McMillan
Votes: 708
48. Tattoo (1981)
R | 103 min | Drama, Horror, Thriller
Unbalanced tattoo artist Karl Kinsky grows obsessed with Maddy, a model he meets when he's hired for a photo shoot. As Karl's obsession grows, he determines that Maddy should bear his mark forever.
Director: Bob Brooks | Stars: Bruce Dern, Maud Adams, Leonard Frey, Frederikke Borge
Votes: 883
49. Color Me Blood Red (1965)
Not Rated | 79 min | Comedy, Horror
A crackpot artist kills various people to use their blood as his new crimson red color for his paintings.
Director: Herschell Gordon Lewis | Stars: Gordon Oas-Heim, Candi Conder, Elyn Warner, Pat Finn-Lee
Votes: 2,027
50. Allegoria (2022)
69 min | Horror
A group of artists' lives become unwittingly entangled as their obsessions and insecurities manifest monsters, demons, and death.
Director: Spider One | Stars: Krsy Fox, John Ennis, Scout Taylor-Compton, Bryce Johnson
Votes: 539
51. Painted in Blood (2022)
84 min | Horror
Malik, an aspiring painter, takes a job as a security guard at an art museum to make extra cash. However things quickly become terrifying when the figure inside one of the paintings starts speaking to him and walking around at night.
Director: Aaron Mirtes | Stars: Deiondre Teagle, Deborah Seidel, Brad Belemjian, Zach Lazar Hoffman
Votes: 200
52. A Quiet Place in the Country (1968)
R | 106 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
After moving into a dilapidated rural villa to reinvigorate his creative energies, a neurotic artist becomes obsessed with a beautiful countess who died there many years prior.
Director: Elio Petri | Stars: Franco Nero, Vanessa Redgrave, Georges Géret, Gabriella Boccardo
Votes: 2,040
53. Guinea Pig 5: Mermaid in the Manhole (1988 Video)
63 min | Horror
An artist rescues a mermaid in a sewer who develops bleeding sores all over her body, paints a portrait with her oozes and eventually disjoints her.
Director: Hideshi Hino | Stars: Shigeru Saiki, Mari Somei, Masami Hisamoto, Gô Rijû
Votes: 2,512
54. Candyman: Day of the Dead (1999 Video)
R | 93 min | Horror, Thriller
The Candyman is back, trying to convince his descendent, an artist, to join him.
Director: Turi Meyer | Stars: Donna D'Errico, Tony Todd, Alexia Robinson, Leonardo Guerra
Votes: 7,628
55. Separation (I) (2021)
R | 107 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
A young girl finds solace in her artist father and the ghost of her dead mother.
Director: William Brent Bell | Stars: Rupert Friend, Violet McGraw, Madeline Brewer, Mamie Gummer
Votes: 5,709
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