5 gothic horror movies — Moon Mausoleum
This is a collection of movies that really have that nice sublime gothic feeling about it, with all the elements that makes something gothic and would make Ann Radcliff proud.
The woman in black (2012)
Stiff British people unable to communicate, an overgrown and cursed house out in the marches, creepy kids? An unpleasant village in the countryside unwelcoming to strangers? Yes, yes, yeeees.
This movie was directed by James Watkins and written by Jane Goldman. It is the second adaptation of Susan Hill’s 1983 novel of the same name, which was previously. Susan Hill has become somewhat of an iconic author of these creepy gothic tales. The film stars Daniel Radcliffe, Ciarán Hinds, Janet McTeer, Sophie Stuckey, and Liz White.
The plot, set in early 20th-century England, follows a young recently widowed lawyer who travels to a remote village where he discovers that the vengeful ghost of a scorned woman is terrorizing the locals. And as the lawyer he is, he will battle this ghost with: PAPERWORK!
The Awakening (2011)
A tormented soul, pining for her dead boyfriend. A house too big for anyone, creepy kids and the reason why we fear to take a bath in old creepy houses. This is a twisty story that honors and mocks the time and the culture that surrounded the paranormal community at the start of the new century. Beside, Rebecca Hall is just the bonafide gothic queen. directed and co-written by Nick Murphy and starring Rebecca Hall, Dominic West, Isaac Hempstead-Wright and Imelda Staunton.
In 1921, Florence Cathcart is a published author who works with the police to debunk supernatural hoaxes and thus to expose charlatans. It is revealed that she lost her lover in the war and that she “hunts” ghosts in an attempt to see if it is possible to bring him back. She receives a visit a teacher from a boys’ boarding school in Cumbria. There have been sightings of the ghost of a child at the school and that such a sighting might have been the cause of the recent death of a pupil. And she goes to expose the hoax.
Mama (2013)
This movie shows, that gothicness didn’t die in the late 1800s. Pulling with all of its tropes into the modern world, this take on the woman in white legend, will linger.
Directed and co-written by Andy Muschietti in his directorial debut and based on his 2008 Argentine short film Mamá. The film stars Jessica Chastain, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Megan Charpentier, Isabelle Nélisse, Daniel Kash, and Javier Botet as the titular character.
The film follows two young girls abandoned in a forest cabin, fostered by an unknown entity that they fondly call “Mama”, which eventually follows them to their new suburban home led by two adults after their uncle retrieves them.
The others (2001)
It was written, directed, and scored by Alejandro Amenábar. It stars Nicole Kidman, Fionnula Flanagan, Christopher Eccleston, Elaine Cassidy, Eric Sykes, Alakina Mann and James Bentley.
A woman who lives in her darkened old family house with her two photosensitive children becomes convinced that the home is haunted.
Talk of a remake is just the most unnecessary. This is an all time favorite. A balance of the drama and the horror is just, sublime. sublime is the word. Also it ticks all the boxes, you guessed it, big mansion too big for just three, creepy kids and sorrow, just so much painful sorrow.
The Orphanage (2007)
Also a modern take, but inspired by the classics. This is also set in an orphanage, so that means, creepy kids, so already points, points, points. The house is big, and the trauma runs deep. The unholy gothic trinity.
This movie was the debut feature of Spanish filmmaker J. A. Bayona. The film stars Belén Rueda as Laura, Fernando Cayo as her husband, Carlos, and Roger Príncep as their adopted son Simón. The plot centers on Laura, who returns to her childhood home, an orphanage. Laura plans to turn the house into a home for disabled children, but after an argument with Laura, Simón goes missing.
Originally published at https://moonmausoleum.com on June 3, 2020.
