What makes a horror movie a cult horror movie? In a word: rewatchability. And with Halloween nearly upon us, the question of what frightening, shocking, silly, classic, or demonically camp movies to press play on again (and again) has never been more pertinent. Here at Vogue, of course, we dole out extra cult horror points if a movie can hold its own sartorially. Dario Argento’s Suspiria has inspired everyone from Nicolas Ghesquière to the Rodarte sisters; Yves Saint Laurent designed Catherine Deneuve’s costumes for the blood-soaked romance The Hunger; and Eiko Ishioka’s Japanese-influenced creations for Bram Stoker’s Dracula are just as striking now as they were in the ’90s. Below, Vogue rounds up 40 favorite cult horror movies, ranging from the very new to a few select tried and tested (and especially chic) classics.
- Red Rooms (2024)
- I Saw the TV Glow (2024)
- Infested (2024)
- Oddity (2024)
- Out of Darkness (2024)
- Starve Acre (2024)
- The Substance (2024)
- The Devil’s Bath (2024)
- Longlegs (2024)
- The First Omen (2024)
- M3GAN (2023)
- Evil Dead Rise (2023)
- Talk to Me (2023)
- When Evil Lurks (2023)
- Infinity Pool (2023)
- Pearl (2022)
- Smile (2022)
- Speak No Evil (2022)
- Barbarian (2022)
- Lamb (2021)
- The Night House (2021)
- Midsommar (2019)
- In Fabric (2018)
- Hereditary (2018)
- The Love Witch (2016)
- The Witch (2015)
- American Psycho (2000)
- The Blair Witch Project (1999)
- Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992)
- Heathers (1989)
- The Hunger (1983)
- The Shining (1980)
- The Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)
- Halloween (1978)
- Suspiria (1977)
- Carrie (1976)
- Don’t Look Now (1973)
- Rosemary’s Baby (1968)
- Blood and Black Lace (1964)
- What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)
No, that isn’t what makes a movie a cult horror movie. Standing the test of time does, and that requires at least a decade to have passed.
Unless the movie is about a cult, which I was hoping the list would be about.