The Absolute Best Lovecraftian Horror Movies, According To Reddit

H.P. Lovecraft can be counted among a relatively small number of authors whose work has spawned a discreet subgenre. The term "Lovecraftian horror" ultimately has no strict definition, and its definition is in fact debated to some extent among its scholars. That said, in Lovecraftian horror, a human or group of humans must generally face a mystical monster or monsters. Lovecraftian monsters are generally supernatural, but not otherworldly. They're merely part of a fantastic, magical, and otherwise largely familiar world. Lovecraftian horror served as the basis for one of HBO's flagship series, Lovecraft Country. The series' viewership was comparable to that of the multiple Emmy-winning Watchmen, making a second season likely as of September 2020.

Reddit's "Horror" community, known among its members as "Dreadit," tabulated user votes for the best films within a variety of horror subgenres. Whether due to the presence of Lovecraft Country in the zeitgeist or simply by random chance, the community recently voted on its favorite Lovecraftian horror films. The result is a list of 20 films determined by the community to best exemplify the genre spanning the early '80s to the 2010s.

In the number one spot on Reddit's list of the best Lovecraftian horror films is John Carpenter's The Thing. Carpenter's classic remains a landmark in not just the Lovecraftian horror subgenre but among horror films at large, considered by some to be the best sci-fi horror film of all time. In the Mouth of Madness, another John Carpenter film, occupies the number two spot. After receiving the same number of votes, the third and fourth spots are shared by the sci-fi horror of Event Horizon and Re-Animator, the latter of which is based on a story by H.P. Lovecraft himself.

Coming in fifth place is The Mist, released in 2007, giving it the distinction of being the most recent film in the top five. Its distinct brand of cosmic horror centers around onset of a thick mist in which mysterious monsters dwell. It's followed by From Beyond, The Void, Dagon and Sam Raimi's original The Evil Dead. John Carpenter appears once again in 10th place with The Prince of Darkness, his trippy follow-up to The Thing. Next on the list are Evil Dead 2, Banshee Chapter (also based on a story by Lovecraft), the 2013 remake of The Evil Dead, and The Call of Cthulhu.

Taking the fifteenth spot is Hellbound: Hellraiser 2, the bloodier sequel to the horror genre landmark Hellraiser and the return of classic movie monster Pinhead. Rounding out the list are the recent It, Absentia, and a three-way tie between Bride of Re-Animator, The Mothman Prophecies and The Resurrected.

In early March 2021, the horror subreddit followed up its Lovecraft list by voting on the best Witchcraft horror films of all time. Polls to determine the best folk horror, guilty pleasures, Stephen King films and more are forthcoming.