While most horror lovers have watched quite a lot of American movies and relatively new horror movies, rich in high-quality special effects, many haven’t found the chance to venture in less well-known films of earlier periods. Therefore, this list is aimed at horror lovers who want to expand their viewing experience to some older and perhaps more primitive, but nonetheless just as fascinating, horror movies from European countries.
Demons from Soviet Russia, rats from Croatia, and early horror attempts from most well-known European film industries are guaranteed to give you brand new experiences to satisfy your appetite for horror movies.
Spirit of Evil (Soviet Union, 1967)
Directed by Konstantin Yershov and Georgi Kropachyov, this film from the Soviet Union has been listed in the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die and received acclaim for its special effects at the time. The plot revolves around a seminary student, Khoma, who is forced to spend three nights at a chapel, praying over the corpse of a young woman, who happens to be a witch he encountered the previous night.
As Khoma descends into madness because of supernatural powers, the viewer experiences a tale of demons, witches, and human vices, which can be entertaining to any horror lover.
Suspiria (Italy, 1977)
Suspiria is a classic in the great career of the Italian director Dario Argento, who had already shown his enormous talent from his earlier and equally masterful Deep Red (1975), but also from his earlier Giallo in the early 70s. The movie presents the journey of an American ballet dancer to a prestigious company in Germany.
The dancer, portrayed by Jessica Harper, is excited to move to Europe, but after many violent incidents, she finds out she’s in danger because of a conspiracy of supernatural powers. The film received critical acclaim and is still considered very successful, also thanks to the progressive-rock score by the Italian band Goblin.
Diabolique (France, 1955)
This movie, directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot, is a great choice for horror lovers who appreciate thriller elements. The movie revolves around two women, a wife and a mistress, who plan to kill the man who has been abusing them both. But after the crime has been committed and concealed, the two women discover that the body is missing.
Not only that, but there seems to be more evidence that the murdered man is in fact not gone. Critics found the movie very smart, with some complaining about it being too blunt and horrid while audience reviews on Rotten Tomatoes give it an approval rating of 95%.
The Rat Savior (Croatia, 1976)
This film, listed as one of the best Croatian films of all times in 1999, was entered for the 49th Academy Awards by Yugoslavia (as Best Foreign Language Film), but in the end, it wasn’t nominated. Rat Savior, directed by Krsto Papić, tells the story of a writer who finds out that an extraordinarily intelligent species of rats has been impersonating human beings and going unnoticed.
The writer joins a small group of people fighting against the rat people, who have been dominating the human world. The film bears some resemblance to Ionesco’s play Rhinoceros.
The 4th Man (Netherlands, 1983)
Based on Gerard Reve’s novel De Vierde Man, this film directed by Paul Verhoeven is quite a good reason for you to watch a film in a different language. The plot features a Catholic writer who travels to Vlissingen to deliver a speech at a literature club.
The writer becomes sexually involved with his treasurer, a mysterious woman named Christine, but later finds out she is actually a widow with a liking to murdering her lovers. He then takes measures to make sure he doesn’t become her fourth victim. The film was entered for the Best Foreign Language Film award by the Netherlands, but not accepted.
Hour of the Wolf (Sweden, 1968)
Ingmar Bergman writes and directs Hour of the Wolf, a movie which was negatively received by critics in Sweden but was loved by the audience and other institutions such as the British Film Institute, as it has an 89% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The film is involved with the disappearance of the painter Johan Borg, a fictional character who has been suffering by severe insomnia and hallucinations because of his childhood trauma.
Johan goes on to have a supernatural adventure searching for his former lover, Veronica, while his wife, Alma (wonderfully portrayed by Liv Ullmann), goes on a journey to save him.
Let sleeping corpses lie (Spain-Italy, 1974)
This Spanish-Italian production directed by Jorge Grau was mostly filmed in Italy and released in the US and the UK under different names. The plot is about two young people traveling in the English countryside, who are chased by police but eventually get trapped by zombies, as the currently used pesticides are bringing the undead to life with a desire for human flesh.
Many found the film had too much in common with The Night of the Living Dead, but it is pretty much well-liked, with an average rating of 6.8/10 on IMDb.
Laurin (West Germany, 1989)
Laurin is a movie from West Germany, directed by Robert Sigl. It has been described as a very impressive movie because of the dream atmosphere and the unexpected plot twists. The story is about a young girl who starts having visions related to some disappearing children in a 19th-century German village.
The nine-year-old who has the visions tries to save the children from a supernatural threat and puts her own life at risk. The movie has been described as a “dark fairytale” and one of Germany’s best movies. The film earned Robert Sigl an award for Best Young Direction at the Bavarian Film Awards.
The Church (Italy, 1989)
Dario Argento is this time one of the producers of a horror movie directed by Michele Soavi. La Chiesa, mostly shot in the Matthias Church (Budapest) revolves around the cathedral’s librarian, Evan, who discovers signs of unusual supernatural action when he defies the orders about not entering the catacombs underneath.
A slaying of a village by the Teutonic Knights, which dates back to the 12th century is causing problems, as ghosts try to resurrect an ancient demon and trap a number of people in the church. The score of the film is once again by Goblin, received positive reviews, and was praised for its technical aspects.
Fascination (France, 1979)
In the last film featured in this list, Jean Rollin directs a cat and mouse story, where a runaway thief enters a castle and takes hostage the two chambermaids who are expecting the arrival of the Marchioness. The man soon finds out that he’s been trapped in a vicious circle of sexual relationships and killings, which end up threatening his life. The film received critical acclaim for the depiction of erotic encounters and was thought to be a good example of French horror erotica.
The film has a 6.1/10 rating on IMDb, with many comments about how the last two-thirds seem to be better paced than the first. Still, it can make one’s skin crawl.
