Top 5: Scary Movies Outside of the Horror Genre

As Halloween season approaches, viewers everywhere reflexively pull out their trusted list of spooky favorites. But what about those films that aren’t categorized as horror but still possess the capacity to deeply disrupt and disturb? This eclectic list challenges and expands viewers’ understanding of truly chilling cinema.

5. “Spotlight” (Tom McCarthy, 2015)

There’s something chilling about a well-concealed truth slowly being forced to the surface of societal consciousness. This drama film follows the Boston Globe’s Spotlight team as they attempt to uncover the extensive history and concealment of child sex abuse within the hierarchy of the Catholic Church. With a star-studded cast including Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, and Rachel McAdams, this film probes the darker side of institutions that are not as consecrated as they initially seem. There’s nothing overtly violent or gory about “Spotlight” — that, however, is precisely what makes it so harrowing. From the calm complexions of priests that belie their crimes to the gradual emergence of survivor after survivor, this gripping, candid account of a momentous uncovering will have you on the edge of your seat.

4. “Alice in Wonderland” (Tim Burton, 2010)

As much as fantasy enchants, it also has the capacity to disturb. Particularly for younger viewers, Tim Burton’s sensational adaptation of Lewis Caroll’s famed novel boasts a resplendent universe of high castles, talking animals, and psychotic queens. Johnny Depp’s chilling portrayal of the Mad Hatter is at once disconcerting and inexplicably endearing, further elevating the delightfully outlandish and ominous elements of the film. Burton accentuates the disturbing qualities of the text’s iconic characters — including the ghastly grin of the Cheshire Cat and the oversized head of the sadistic Red Queen — to jarring effect. Despite its PG rating, “Alice in Wonderland” possesses an eeriness coupled with a subtle melancholy that has the capacity to haunt children and adults alike.

3. “No Country for Old Men” (Coen Brothers, 2007)

Centered on two simultaneous manhunts, one conducted by the Texan police force and the other by a rogue killer, “No Country for Old Men” is arguably the most compelling film ever directed by the Coen brothers. Grisly homicide and masterful suspense are more than cinematic gimmicks; they illustrate a subversive cat-and-mouse game between criminals and the police, as well as the palpable paranoia that follows in its wake. Javier Bardem’s Academy Award-winning embodiment of Anton Chigurh, a brutal killer with a chilling indifference to agony, is what makes the film so enduringly disturbing. In its refusal to extend a clear argument about the preservation of human good, “No Country for Old Men” foreshadows a grim posterity. Winning Best Picture at a riotously competitive Academy Awards — it beat out Paul Thomas Anderson’s “There Will Be Blood,” another sensational film with similar moral conundrums — the film stuns its viewership into sobering rumination.

2. “Burning” (Lee Chang-dong, 2018)

The plot of this mystery-drama is deceptively simple. An aspiring writer named Jong-su (Yoo Ah-in) meets Hae-mi (Jeon Jong-seo), whom he knew in high school. Shortly after reconnecting, Hae-mi goes on a trip to Africa that she has been saving up for. Upon her return, she is accompanied by a mysterious man known simply as Ben (Steven Yeun). As Jong-su spends more time with the two, he is forced to grapple with the unsettling, ambiguous nature of Hae-mi and Ben’s relationship, culminating in Hae-mi’s eventual disappearance. Adding to the harrowing effect is the swift replacement of Hae-mi with another young woman and the slow-burn reveal of Ben’s sociopathic tendencies. Perhaps the most eerie aspect of “Burning” is that everything — the images presented, the words spoken, the activities referred to — stand for something else. The film’s landscapes are largely mundane: storefronts, diners, a stretch of countryside bordering North Korea. It is the seemingly ordinary nature of the characters combined with their private perversions that unnerves most of all.

1. “Sesame Street”

As a kid, you loved it. As you grow older, you look back at these whimsical characters with mounting horror. Were their eyes always that glazed over? Did their voices always sound that maniacal? Although “Sesame Street” is not a film, the beloved franchise deserves a spot on this list — there’s something subtly sinister about the humanoid creatures that haunt our childhood memories. Whether it be the vapid death stare of Big Bird, the crazed grumblings of Cookie Monster, or the purple skin of Count von Count, “Sesame Street” hosts a bizarre cast that often does more to traumatize than to entertain. The erratic nods of heads and the lumbering gaits of these giant puppets are reminiscent of a childhood-classic-turned-horror-movie. Viewers often find themselves polarized over the franchise’s unsettling and lovable qualities: Most seem to settle for a happy middle.