Terrifying non-horror movies to give you waking nightmares all October long
10/1/2025
“Not a speck of light is showing / So the danger must be growing / Are the fires of Hell a-glowing? / Is the grisly reaper mowing?” (Lyrics from “The Wonderous Book Ride”)
Think the horror genre has a monopoly on fear? Oh, dear reader, how wrong you are. Prepare to have your pulse racing with these non-horror horror movie masterpieces. Far from the typical terrifying fare, each film is a genre-defying tale into the heart of dread. The following eight movies demonstrate, with unnerving precision, that what goes bump in the night is not confined to shadowy corners of haunted houses.
“The NeverEnding Story” (The Roku Channel)
“The NeverEnding Story” uses the fantastical realm of Fantasia as a mirror for the internal landscape of a child’s trauma. It is a coming-of-age story in its focus on Bastian’s emotional journey but a horror film in its exploration of core themes. The true “neverending story” is the battle against the void of despair, both in our world and within ourselves. The film horrifies not with what is there but with the concept of what is not — the loss of meaning, memory and hope. It is a chilling allegory for the fragility of imagination in the face of overwhelming sadness.
“The Secret of NIMH” (Amazon Prime)
Another animation full of scares, “The Secret of NIMH” explores terrifying concepts that live-action might struggle to convey so poetically. The true secret of NIMH is not intelligence, but trauma. The film horrifies by showing the grotesque and dangerous consequences of tampering with nature and the lingering terror of a past that refuses to stay buried. It is a nightmare dressed in the soft light of magic — but a nightmare, nonetheless.
“Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” (Netflix)
“Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” blends vibrant color and catchy music to deliver a deeply unsettling parable. Terror stems from the complete powerlessness of the children and their guardians in the face of Wonka’s whimsical sadism and his factory’s deadly machinery. (Looking at you, boat ride.) It is a nightmare about the dark side of desire, where a wish come true leads you not to a reward but into the lair of a madman who judges you worthy of a horrific fate.
“Grave of the Fireflies” (Netflix)
“Grave of the Fireflies” is an animate masterpiece that uses the medium not for whimsy but to amplify its horrors. The beautiful, painterly backgrounds contrast grotesquely with the children’s suffering, making their deterioration even more stark and unbearable. It is a drama in setting but a horror film in execution and effect. It does not just make you sad; it horrifies you by presenting a plausible, slow-motion apocalypse experienced through the eyes of its most vulnerable victims, leaving a scar that resonates long after the screen goes dark.
“Session 9” (Amazon)
“Session 9” is not a film about things that go bump in the night; it is a film about the silence that follows and what grows in that silence. It uses the tools of drama — character study, dialogue, performance — to horrifying ends. By meticulously dismantling its characters through atmosphere and psychological pressure rather than external threats, it achieves a level of terror that is far more realistic and frightening than any supernatural tale. It is a pure, uncut dose of atmospheric and psychological horror.
“Fallen” (The Roku Channel)
“Fallen” uses the framework of a detective story to lead the audience — and its hero — down a path of escalating dread toward an inevitable, horrifying truth. Its themes of pervasive evil, the fragility of the self, and the futility of fighting a force that is an integral part of the human ecosystem are pure horror in this otherwise thriller. The film terrifies not with gore but with the idea that the person next to you, or even you, could be a vessel for an ancient, malevolent entity, and there is absolutely nothing you can do about it.
