Secret societies. Underground cults. Government cover-ups. Conspiracy theories proliferate around the world, ranging from beliefs in vast political schemes to claims about UFO sightings. For those who prescribe to these ideas, nothing in the world is as it seems, making conspiracy theories exciting subject matter for anyone making a horror movie.
Horror movies, just like conspiracy theories, strike people by tapping into their fears of the unknown. Whether through comedic scares or body horror sequences or subtle, slow-burn tension, the films on this list do an excellent job of leaving viewers feeling as if nothing in the world is what it seems.
The Vast Of Night (2019)
Set in 1950s New Mexico, UFO sightings and government plots to cover them up. Sierra McCormick and Jake Horowitz co-star as a switch operator and DJ whose show is interrupted by a strange radio signal.
After the signal ends, a man calls in to share his experiences working for a covert military operation involving a large, unidentified object. In this slow, hushed science fiction gem, all of the talk and noise culminates with something moving around in the night sky.
The Return Of The Living Dead (1985)
The premise of this cult horror-comedy hinges on a conspiracy theory related to Night of the Living Dead. Frank, the foreman at Uneeda Medical Supply in Louisville, Kentucky, tells his new employee Freddy that George Romero's zombie film is actually based on a true story involving an experimental US Army chemical that reanimates the dead.
Frank's story comes true when he accidentally ruptures a container full of the toxic gas, which leads to another zombie apocalypse – as well as another government plot to make the whole thing go away.
The Boys From Brazil (1978)
While it's true multiple German Nazis absconded to Central and South America to escape imprisonment after World War II, The Boys from Brazil takes this premise to extreme, schizophrenic levels. Based on the novel by Ira Levin, the film follows a man who stumbles upon a covert gathering of Third Reich war criminals hiding out in Paraguay.
Gregory Peck stars as the infamous Nazi Dr. Josef Mengele, and Laurence Olivier plays his foil, the Nazi hunter Ezra Lieberman. It turns out Mengele and his associates have been creating Hitler clones in preparation for another world war.
They Live (1988)
John Carpenter's They Live takes consumer culture to extremes, focusing its lens on an alternate reality wherein the ruling class is actually a species of aliens who control the masses through subliminal messaging. Roddy Piper stars as an unnamed drifter who comes across a pair of sunglasses that allow him to see the world as it really is.
Fans of the deep state and the lizard people will find some familiar themes in They Live. Instead of reveling too much in these conspiracies, the film takes an action-packed approach to criticizing the capitalist state.
The Omen (1976)
The Book of Revelation from The New Testament hypothesizes about the coming of the Antichrist, and untold theories about how and when this figure will arise have been explored every since. The Omen is the ultimate horror movie expression of the Antichrist's arrival.
Gregory Peck and Lee Remick play the Thorns, the unfortunate parents of Damien Thorn. As Damien grows up, a series of unfortunate and deadly events force the Thorns to contend with their heir's fate.
Without Warning (1980)
An inspiration for Predator, Without Warning is an underrated, low budget science fiction film full of intrigue and paranoia. The film traces a classic alien invasion that arrives in the form of jellyfish and an elusive, humanoid creature that haunts a group of campers.
The film feels like a slasher with its pacing, and the tall, alien creature at the center of the action hunts humans for sport. Jack Palance and Martin Landau give unhinged performances as locals who try to warn the campers of the terror to come.
North By Northwest (1959)
Alfred Hitchcock's beloved cross-genre thriller digs into the world of spies, playing into the public's fascination with espionage conspiracies. Cary Grant plays advertising executive Roger Thornhill, who is mistaken for George Kaplan, a government sleuth targeted by multiple agencies.
Thornhill is forced to fight for his own life after the government refuses to rescue him, which sends him on a cross-country journey to find the real Kaplan. It doesn't take long for Thornhill to find out Kaplan actually was invented by the US government, putting Thornhill in an even more precarious position.
Society (1989)
Brian Yuzna's singular body horror feature takes all the conspiracy theories about the lifestyles of the rich and famous to insane places. Based on the belief that Hollywood is one vast and demented secret cult, Society follows a young man who comes to realize everyone around him is implicit in the elite society – even his parents.
Bill Whitney is a Beverly Hills teenager who could care less about luxury or status. His family and friends, on the other hand, are of a gruesome cult for the high class, one that participates in deadly orgies.
Kill List (2011)
Ben Wheatley's a strange cult.
In the film, a soldier name Jay returns home from a stint in Kyiv, where he accepts work as a hitman. Jay takes on a series of jobs from a mysterious client, ultimately embroiling himself in an esoteric, bloody ritual that comes to a shocking conclusion.
Body Snatchers (1993)
Abel Ferrera is the third director to adapt Jack Finney's 1955 novel The Body Snatchers into a feature film, but Ferrera's film is the only one set on a military base. This location gives the story of an alien species who invade human bodies a conspiratorial twist.
In Ferrera's film, an EPA scientist moves with his family onto an Alabama military base to test the ecological effects of recent exercises. What the family stumbles upon instead is a surreptitious takeover of every human lifeform in the area by extraterrestrial pod creatures.
