5 Best Under-The-Radar Winter Horror Movies
Winter is spooky because it is the season when plant life dies and the landscape becomes barren.
The brisk air is ghostly. The days are darker and the cold temperatures lead to a maddening cabin fever. What’s scarier than a haunted house? A haunted house with a blizzard outside so you can’t escape.
While we have extensively cataloged winter horror movies and winter films in general, here we’ll look at some great winter horror movies that often fly under the radar.
Curtains (1983)
Pro tip for aspiring actresses in horror films: never attend auditions at a remote mansion. Horror movie fans know too well that remote mansions are breeding grounds for disaster. In Curtains, six actresses throw caution to the wind and gather at just such a mansion for an audition. Chaos ensues as a masked killer begins to stalk them, leading to chilling chases across icy landscapes, through snowy woods, and even on a snowmobile. A thrilling 80s classic from start to finish.
Devil’s Pass (2013)
A found footage horror movie that explores the well known unsolved mystery called the “Dyatlov Pass incident“. Five college students from Oregon decide to retrace the hiker’s steps to make a documentary. The group may find answers as to what happened to the hikers, but it comes at a terrible price. A reviewer at Rotten Tomatoes said: “A mixture of Blair Witch and Chernobyl Diaries, Devil’s Pass is an intense and frightening thriller.”
The Blackcoat’s Daughter (2015)
In The Blackcoat’s Daughter, Kiernan Shipka plays a boarding school student left behind over a holiday break, while Emma Roberts’ character embarks on a tense journey back to the school, hitching a ride with a mysterious couple. These two storylines converge in a haunting and gruesome climax.
Oz Perkins crafts a chilling, atmospheric tale that stands out among possession stories. With standout performances and a layered narrative, what begins as a seemingly straightforward supernatural thriller evolves into something far deeper and more unsettling. It’s easy to see why Mike Flanagan counts this as one of his favorites.
The Lodge (2020)
This is the perfect movie to watch when you’re snowed in or just too cold to venture outside. It follows Grace (Riley Keough), a soon-to-be stepmother, as she joins her fiancé and his two children for a Christmas vacation at a remote lodge. Tensions rise when the father leaves for work, isolating Grace and the kids. Strange and unexplainable events begin to unfold, creating a chilling atmosphere. Equal parts creepy and captivating, the film masterfully captures the haunting stillness of a dark winter.