Horror by Mood
Low on fear and intensity, still good
Every film on this list scores 3.5 or lower on Watch Darkly's 0–10 fear axis and 5.5 or lower on intensity, the axis for how hard a film is to sit through. Every film also scores 7 or higher overall, so these are good horror films that go easy on you, not weak ones. Easy starting points lead the list, and the rest are ranked by overall score.
Gore is not capped, so some of these are gory. If blood is the problem, check a film's gore score before you pick it. Intensity is our newest axis and not every film has been scored on it yet, so a gentle film missing from this list may simply be unscored.
The Freelings' suburban home becomes the center of paranormal activity that opens a portal to the 'other side'. With help, they must cross over to get their daughter back.
Val McKee and Earl Bassett are in a fight for their lives when they discover that their desolate town has been infested with gigantic, man-eating creatures that live below the ground.
Columbus has made a habit of running from what scares him. Tallahassee doesn't have fears. If he did, he'd kick their ever-living ass. In a world overrun by zombies, these two are perfectly evolved survivors. But now, they're about to stare down the most terrifying prospect of all: each other.
When his dysfunctional family clashes over the holidays, young Max is disillusioned and turns his back on Christmas. Little does he know, this lack of festive spirit has unleashed the wrath of Krampus: a demonic force of ancient evil intent on punishing non-believers.
Caleb, a coder at the world's largest internet company, wins a competition to spend a week at a private mountain retreat belonging to Nathan, the reclusive CEO of the company. But when Caleb arrives at the remote location he finds that he will have to participate in a strange and fascinating experiment in which he must interact with the world's first true artificial intelligence, housed in the body of a beautiful robot girl.
American tourists David and Jack are savagely attacked by an unidentified animal while hiking on the Yorkshire Moors. After retiring to the home of a beautiful nurse to recuperate, David soon begins experiencing disturbing changes to his body and mind.
Police sergeant Neil Howie is called to an island village in search of a missing girl whom the locals claim never existed. The investigation is further complicated as Howie’s religious views clash with those of the island’s residents.
Adjacent horror. It is here for what it offers horror fans.
When Lou Bloom, desperate for work, muscles into the world of L.A. crime journalism, he blurs the line between observer and participant to become the star of his own story. Aiding him in his effort is Nina, a TV-news veteran.
The residents of San Francisco are becoming drone-like shadows of their former selves, and as the phenomenon spreads, two Department of Health workers uncover the horrifying truth.
Charley Brewster, a high school student, accidentally discovers the true and creepy nature of Jerry Dandrige, his dashing and enigmatic new neighbor; but no one seems willing to believe him.
FBI Agent Will Graham, who retired after catching Hannibal Lecktor, returns to duty to engage in a risky cat-and-mouse game with Lecktor to capture a new killer.
When average, law-abiding citizens suddenly turn to a life of hedonistic behavior and violent crime, Detective Tom Beck is tasked with helping young FBI agent Lloyd Gallagher determine the cause.
A band of soldiers is dispatched to war games deep in the woods. When they stumble across a rival team slaughtered in camp, they realize they're not alone.
When two bumbling employees at a medical supply warehouse accidentally release a deadly gas into the air, the vapors cause the dead to rise again as zombies.
In the year 2019, a plague has transformed almost every human into a vampire. Faced with a dwindling blood supply, the fractured dominant race plots their survival; meanwhile, a researcher works with a covert band of vampires on a way to save humankind.
After a bizarre and near fatal encounter with a serial killer, a newswoman is sent to a rehabilitation center whose inhabitants may not be what they seem.
Ruth and Harry decide to take a romantic backpacking trip through the Pacific Northwest, but amongst the beautiful scenery, Ruth makes an unexpected discovery that sets her off on a strange, frightening new path. The couple aren't alone in the woods, and they might not be the same when they come out...if they come out.
When a mutating, highly contagious fungus escapes a sealed facility, two employees – joined by a grizzled bioterror operative – must survive the wildest night shift ever to save humanity from extinction.
A lone drifter stumbles upon a unique pair of sunglasses that reveal aliens are systematically gaining control of the Earth by masquerading as humans and lulling the public into submission.
A dysfunctional couple head to a remote cabin to "reconnect", but each has secret intentions to kill the other.
Homicide detective John Hobbes witnesses the execution of serial killer Edgar Reese. Soon after the execution the killings start again, and they are very similar to Reese's style.
A teenage boy and his friends face off against a mysterious grave robber, known only as the Tall Man, who employs a lethal arsenal of unearthly weapons.
A seductive stranger prowls the streets of Glasgow in search of prey: unsuspecting men who fall under her spell.
In Whitewood, Massachusetts, a presumed witch places a curse on the town before she is burned at the stake. 300 years later, a college student arrives and checks into the mysterious Raven's Inn to research the town's history with witchcraft.
In Arborville, California, three high school students try to protect their hometown from a gelatinous alien life form that engulfs everything it touches.
After a mysterious cosmic event rips Oak Street from suburbia and transports their neighborhood to someplace unknown, the Platt family soon discovers that their very survival depends on them sticking together as they navigate their now unrecognizable surroundings.