Summary
The horror genre has become a large entity over the years, telling stories through the mediums of novels, video games, and movies across a variety of subgenres that guarantee there is a subset of horror for everyone. The cosmic horror genre is something that was tapped into asfar back as the 19th century, startling readers with the fear of the unknown or unseen.
Cosmic horror involves horrors that extend beyond the scope of human comprehension and drive home the chilling fear of how microscopic humanity is on the grand tapestry of the universe. Even with the wonders of modern knowledge and technology, there is still so much unknown about space — and even the oceans of this planet. Who knows what might be out there right now, watching and waiting…
Updated June 17, 2025, by Mara Cowley:Cosmic horror remains one of the most popular horror genres, always pushing the boundaries of reality and sanity. Whether it is directly based on existing works or heavily inspired by the grandfather of all things cosmic, HP Lovecraft, these horror movies are often mind-bending and surreal experiences that usually leave the viewers with more questions than answers. For those looking to further delve into the hidden realms, this list of the best cosmic horror experiences has been expanded, so that viewers can further expand their horizons of forbidden knowledge.
11The Endless
Two Brothers' Return to Camp is Anything but Peaceful
Summer campis normally a place where fond childhood memories are formed, but brothers Justin and Aaron are split down the middle when it comes to Camp Arcadia. The latter recalls the camp as friendly, whereas the former suspects them of being a UFO death cult. The two brothers decide to return, as they have made very little of their lives since camp. By returning, Justin’s suspicions are only deepened by the strange instances that occur.
The movie verges into full cosmic horror by presenting the two with time loops and fear of the unfathomable in the form of the entity. This entity is interpreted distinctly by different cultures, demonstrating how far its influence spread. Deeply unnerving and fraught with psychological tension,The Endlessis a never-ending source of fear.
10The Void
Explores Humanity’s Insignificance on a Cosmic Scale
A group of people inside a hospital soon find themselves in the company of robed cultists who begin taking over the facility for their own nefarious purposes. Powell runs the cult, and is purported to have the power to transform people into grotesque creatures, a fate that befalls some of those not inducted into the cult, as well as the bodies of the deceased. Even unborn babies are not spared.
Featuring cultists with unknown powers, transmogrified humans, and tentacled creatures,The Voidisn’t shy about hitting many themes of cosmic horror, and to great effect. The film leaves viewers with a feeling of unease as they witness these horrors.
9Event Horizon
Explores the Horrors of Space Through a Lovecraftian Lens
In the not-so-distant future, the starship that gave the movie its name has been found drifting near Neptune after disappearing for years during its maiden voyage 7 years prior. A rescue squad aboard the Lewis and Clark respond to the distress call and board the ship, stepping straight into a series of horrors.
One crew member falls into a portal, and reemerges in a catatonic state from wherever he found himself. All the crew are visited by vivid and horrifying hallucinations. According to Weir, the ship’s drive is actually a portal to an unknown dimension. The ship has gained a semblance of sentience, which offers explanations for the strange events, but doesn’t make them any less unsettling,
8Uzumaki
A Surreal, Reality-Bending Experience
Junji Ito’s work leans heavily into the strange and unusual. Even inhis manga collection, which is a biographical look into his life living with his two cats, he often draws their cute little faces with more mischievous or even evil expressions. His magnum opus is up for debate still, butUzumakiremains as one of the strongest contenders.
The 2000 Japanese movie translated the work to the medium of film as a village comes under the reality-twisting effect of the spiral. The exact nature of the spiral is entirely up for debate. Is it a living entity of some sort, a disease, or a supernatural phenomenon? Its mystery drives home the cosmic fear of the unknown and shrouds the village in existential dread that is often the crux of this subgenre of horror.
7In The Mouth Of Madness
Tests The Very Boundaries Of Reality
Deriving its title from the Lovecraft storyAt the Mountains of Madness,In the Mouth of Madnessis a strong tribute to all things Lovecraft and cosmic with loose ties to some of Carpenter’s other movies (The ThingandPrince of Darkness).
In this movie, John Trent finds himself looking into the works of an author by the name of Sutter Cane, whose work is said to have detrimental psychological effects on those with weaker minds. Ever the skeptic, Trent believes it is all a publicity stunt until he and Linda arrive inthe fictional settingfor the books, known as Hobb’s End. They are trapped in the confines of the town, along with all the townspeople that act as written in the books. The titular final manuscript is as cosmic as it gets, inflicting madness on those who witness its words, and in Cane’s belief, will allow the Old Gods to emerge on Earth and drive humanity to extinction. What is real or not is up to interpretation.
6The Color Out Of Space
Based On The Popular Lovecraft Story
Though Lovecraft was not the pioneer of the cosmic horror genre, he is the one that defined and indelibly influenced the genre with his works. He crafted short stories delving into Old Gods rising from their slumber, the palpable dread of the unknown, as well as creepy cults and secret societies. One such short story wasThe Colour Out of Space, which received a movie adaptationstarring Nicolas Cagein 2019.
The Gardner’s lives change irrevocably when a bright purple meteor crashes into their front yard, changing the land around it and the family that dwell there. Reality and sanity both unravel as the color begins to take everything as it attempts to turn the surrounding land into where it originated from, another dimension inhabited by tentacled monsters. Time and space have no meaning when the color is around, playing into the transdimensional angle of cosmic horror.
5The Mist
A Strange Phenomena Grips An Entire Town
Waking up one day to find one’s hometown gripped by a mysterious mist and a cornucopia of horrifying beasts would be nothing less than a nightmare, and one anyone would desperately want to wake up from. Unfortunately, this is the very terrifying reality for a group of people who have barricaded themselves inside a supermarket.
Based on the Stephen King novelof the same name,The Mistis cosmic in nature. Human nature itself begins to unravel as the survivors spend longer together in the confines of the store, one woman seizing power and becoming the judge, jury, and executor of anyone who dares to question her reign. But, any fear she sows is completely eclipsed by the fear of the unknown — the monsters that not only prowl the mist outside, but are also finding their way inside.
4Re-Animator
A Loose Adaptation Of A Classic Lovecraft Story
Things don’t get more cosmic than Lovecraft’s own work, which proved to be the most influential cosmic horror stories of all time, thus coining the termLovecraftian to describe things beyond the scope of human imagination, themes of existential dread, influences of being from other dimensions, transformations, and fear of the unknown. One such work isHerbert West Re-Animator, which inspired the movieRe-Animator.
The main character, Herbert West, concocted a fluid that is capable of bringing the dead back to life, but with rather dire consequences. Those that are re-animated come back with violent and vicious tendencies, with one of the reanimated even being able to control others that have been brought back from the dead. While not a typical cosmic horror movie,Re-Animatoris still an excellent example of a cosmic short story brought onto the screen.
3Annihilation
An Experimental Lovecraft-Inspired Sci-Fi Movie
Transmogrification of people and land, a meteorite that is the origin of the strange phenomena, and the dread of horrors that are beyond human — these are all key ingredients of true cosmic horror founded in work by authors such as Lovecraft and movies likeAnnihilation.
A location in Florida has become home to a zone known as the Shimmer, brought about by a crashed meteorite from outer space. An expedition of five women traverse into the Shimmer, encountering strange phenomena such as mutated plants and animals. The Shimmer has the power to change any material within its confines, including people. This is where the existential dread and paranoia of all things cosmic comes into play, as well as the otherworldly influence of the Shimmer. It also demonstrates exemplary horror, such as the scene of the mutated bear that is nothing short ofnightmare inducing.
2Jacob’s Ladder
Heavy Cosmic Overtones Of Otherworldly Beasts & Slipping Reality
War has a way of changing everyone involved in it, and none suffer more than the brave soldiers on the front lines. Injuries, loss of limbs, death, PTSD…these are all very real risks that come with the job, and the latter could be an explanation for the strange sights and experiences Jacob Singer is exposed to when he tries to live a normal life in America. But is there more to these visions than trauma?
Stated to have been a source ofinspiration forSilent Hill,Jacob’s Laddercontains some extremely disturbing visions that only become even more startling as the movie progresses. Creatures that defy human explanation and figures that seem slightly adjacent to ordinary humans — there is something undeniably cosmic about the horrors on display. Jacob’s sanity is thrown into question as he confronts these unknown terrors.
