Source: Parrish Lewis / Universal Pictures and MGM Pictures
Boo! It’s Friday the 13th and we have just the vibe for you. While the world of thrilling, horror films is not filled with Black talent, we found a perfectly terrifying list of our favorite 13 Black horror films to get you in the Halloween spirit. Check out our list inside.
While researching “best Black horror movies of all time,” we realized that in the countless years of cinema there aren’t a lot of scary movies made by Black storytellers or featuring Black talent. This is an age-old tale that most industries face. Still, there are a few films that star amazing Black talents like Lupita Nyong’o, Octavia Spencer, Yaya Abdul-Mateen II and more. Many of these films debuted in recent years. While some of these are classics dating back to 1972.
Whether you are into Jordan Peele’s psychological thrillers like Get Out or you are into a classic, twisted drama like Kasi Lemmons’ Eve’s Bayou, there’s a spooky film for everyone on our list. So sit back this Friday the 13th and binge 13 of the best Black horror films.
This is a short list, so comment your favorites below in case we missed any. We want to know if there are movies that are not on the list, but you believe they deserve a spot.
Hopefully, this will inspire future creators to make more scary movies — for us, by us.
Watch the trailers for 13 Black horror movies that you can watch this Friday the 13th:
1. Get Out (2017)
Jordan Peele’s thought-provoking horror film that tackles societal issues along with spine-tingling scares.
2. Us (2019)
Also from the mind of Peel, who tells the story of a family who’s hauwnted by a traumatic experience from the past.
3. Ma (2019)
A lonely middle-aged woman befriends some teenagers and decides to let them party in the basement of her home. But there are some house rules: One of the kids has to stay sober, don’t curse, and never go upstairs. They must also refer to her as Ma. But as Ma’s hospitality starts to curdle into obsession, what began as a teenage dream turns into a terrorizing nightmare, and Ma’s place goes from the best place in town to the worst place on Earth.
4. Blackbox (2020)
After losing his wife and memory in a car accident, a single father undergoes an agonizing experimental treatment that causes him to question who he really is.
5. Candyman (2021)
From director Nia DaCosta, Candyman tells a haunting story. For decades, the housing projects of Chicago’s Cabrini-Green were terrorized by a ghost story about a supernatural, hook-handed killer. In present day, an artist begins to explore the macabre history of Candyman, not knowing it would unravel his sanity and unleash a terrifying wave of violence that puts him on a collision course with destiny.
6. Beloved (1998)
In 1873 Ohio, Sethe (Oprah Winfrey) is a mother of three haunted by her horrific slavery past and her desperate actions for freedom. As a result, Sethe’s home is haunted by a furious poltergeist, which drives away her two sons. Sethe and her daughter (Kimberly Elise) endure living with the spirit for 10 more years, until an old friend, Paul D. Garner (Danny Glover), arrives to run it out. After Garner moves in, a strange woman named Beloved (Thandie Newton) enters their lives, causing turmoil.
7. Antebellum (2020)
Successful author Veronica Henley is finishing a book tour before she returns home to her husband and daughter. But a shocking turn of events is about to upend Veronica’s existence, plunging her into a horrifying reality that forces her to confront her past, present and future — before it’s too late.
8. Tales From The Hood (1995)
A creepy mortician, Mr. Simms (Clarence Williams III), attempts to scare teenage drug dealer Stack (Joe Torry) and his friends straight by telling them four horrifying stories. One is about a guilt-riddled cop (Anthony Griffith) who goes crazy after ignoring his corrupt partner (Michael Massee). He also tells of a meek schoolboy (Brandon Hammond) with terrifying supernatural powers. Although the young thugs want to take their drugs and escape Mr. Simms, he still has two more tales to tell.
9. His House (2020)
A refugee couple makes a harrowing escape from war-torn South Sudan, but then they struggle to adjust to their new life in an English town that has an evil lurking beneath the surface.
10. Eve's Bayou (1997)
Scary enough for us. Over the course of a long, hot Louisiana summer, a 10-year-old black girl, Eve Batiste (Jurnee Smollett), discovers that her family’s affluent existence is merely a facade. The philandering of her suave doctor father, Louis (Samuel L. Jackson), creates a rift, throwing Eve’s mother, Roz (Lynn Whitfield), and teenage sister, Cisely (Meagan Good), into emotional turmoil. Eve, though, manages to find some solace with her quirky psychic aunt, Mozelle (Debbi Morgan).
11. Vampires Vs. The Bronx (2020)
A trio of friends discover a sinister plot to destroy their neighbourhood. They decide to band together to save their town from vampires.
12. Blacula (1972)
During a visit to Transylvania, an African prince (William Marshall) gets turned into a vampire by Count Dracula (Charles Macaulay). Sealed in a coffin for several lifetimes, “Blacula” reawakens in 1970s Los Angeles. Leaving a trail of bloodless victims in his wake, he pursues Lina (Vonetta McGee), a woman who bears a striking resemblance to his dead wife. Meanwhile, Dr. Gordon Thomas (Thalmus Rasulala) and top cop Lt. Peters (Gordon Pinsent) are hot on the bloodsucker’s trail.
13. Blackenstein (1973)
A war veteran (Joe DeSue) whose limbs were medically restored becomes a killer when his physician’s (John Hart) aid switches his medication.
