While the UK isn't known for producing the greatest horror films of all time, that doesn't mean there aren't some amazing gems to come out of our home nation. This Halloween, get stuck into the gratuitous, the darkly humorous and the full-on disturbing with these twelve chillers...

Image courtesy of Pixabay

Image courtesy of Pixabay

1. The Descent (2006)

This film will make sure you never go spelunking ever again. From the director of Dog Soldiers, this follows a group of six friends who descend into a previously unexplored cave system and wind up trapped there. Their attempt to find a way out is soon made all the more deadly when they run into a group of flesh-eating humanoid creatures.

The Descent / Photo Credit: Amazon
The Descent / Photo Credit: Amazon

2. Double Date (2017)

Dating only gets harder the older you get, but nobody expects to be lured to a spooky house by two hot girls only to be the final ingredient in a gory occult ritual. But, alas, that's the fate of one almost-30-year-old virgin after his pal takes him on a night of wild partying. There's a lot to be said about waiting for the right girl to come along.

3. Ghost Stories (2018)

Starring Paul Whitehouse and Martin Freeman, the movie was adapted by Andy Nyman and Jeremy Dyson from their stage play and it's all about a man who is famous for debunking paranormal claims only to find himself visiting cases that neither he - nor his lifelong hero - can explain. Little does he know what torment is yet to follow.

Ghost Stories / Photo Credit: Amazon
Ghost Stories / Photo Credit: Amazon

4. Nails (2017)

Few people can say they've been clinically dead, but what does it mean when you get so close to passing through to the spirit world only to be snatched back? For one woman, it means she's haunted by a terrifying murderous ghost only she can see as she lays in hospital paralysed from a hit-and-run accident.

5. Let Us Prey (2014)

Everyone has a dark secret, but when you have a secret as dark as these characters', you can expect retribution in one form or another. Of course, no-one expects to be punished by the Devil himself, but that's exactly what appears to be in store for a group of police officers in Scotland who are lucky if they survive the night.

Let Us Prey / Photo Credit: Amazon
Let Us Prey / Photo Credit: Amazon

6. The Children (2008)

Children are supposed to be sweet and innocent, but thanks to horror films like this, there's also something really spooky about them. During a New Year family holiday in an isolated country home, all the children start exhibiting signs of illness. But vomiting is not even close to the worse sympton of their infection. Don't forget to lock the door this Halloween.

7. The Woman in Black (2012)

Daniel Radcliffe's horror debut and a real jump-out-of-your-seat spookfest. Based on Susan Hill's 1983 novel of the same name, it sees lawyer with his own personal tragedies sent to visit an old house to retrieve legal documents only to find that it's haunted by a terrible aparition who seems to be drawing children to their deaths.

The Woman in Black / Photo Credit: Amazon
The Woman in Black / Photo Credit: Amazon

8. Severance (2006)

Gratuitous and hilarious, this cabin-in-the-woods slasher flick puts a dark spin on teambuilding trips. It stars Danny Dyer, Tim McInnerny and Toby Stephens, who go on an adventure in Hungary with their work pals and end up being hunted one by one by Russian murderers. It sounds trite and overdone, but the black humour more than makes up for it.

9. Evil Aliens (2005)

Another horror-comedy that takes low-budget to a new level. There's an alien abduction in Wales which results in a bloodbath of a fight between extraterrestrials and humans. There's anal probing, alien fetuses, crop circles - the works. Immensely entertaining if not for the sole reason it's set in Wales.

Evil Aliens / Photo Credit: Amazon
Evil Aliens / Photo Credit: Amazon

10. Wilderness (2006)

Sean Pertwee, Toby Kebbell and Lenora Crichlow fight off killers in the woods when inmates at a juvenile facility are taken on a wilderness team-building trip. Yes, it sounds almost exactly like Severance, and well... it is a bit. Only there are no laughs in this bloody kill-fest.

11. Eat Locals (2016)

Jason Flemyng directs this tongue-in-cheek vampire flick which sees a fanged clan reuniting for a semi-centennial meeting, only to then become surrounded by Special Forces trained in vampire slaying. Just how are they going to get out of this one with hostages in the house and guns on the exits?

Eat Locals / Photo Credit: Amazon
Eat Locals / Photo Credit: Amazon

12. The Unfolding (2016)

Nothing in the world is more genuinely horrifying than the prospect of nuclear war. This found footage thriller combines that imminent threat with a haunted house, resulting in one of the most disturbing resolutions you could imagine.


by for www.femalefirst.co.uk