White Death: Snowy Horror Films
Horror films to watch while snowed in
For those of us living north of the equator, this is the time of year when the risk of a massive snowstorm forcing us to stay inside becomes an all too real concern. Assuming you’re all stocked up on food and supplies (and you haven’t lost electricity), it can be pretty boring to be stuck inside for days at a time. Worry not! I have some good news for you. You can simply marathon some horror films that also take place in a frigid snowpocalypse setting. I’m going to try to make this list as diverse as possible in terms of time periods, tones, and story elements so that there is something for everyone. Let it snow!
The Thing from Another World (1951) directed by Christian Nyby
The Thing from Another World is a classic example of 1950s Atomic Age horror that blends science fiction elements with Cold War paranoia. Based on the novella Who Goes There? by John W. Campbell, the film follows a team of Americans who discover a crashed flying saucer and its frozen alien pilot near an outpost at the North Pole. Considering this is a horror film, you can probably guess what happens when they thaw him out. It’s a fun little black and white horror film with some excellent special effects for the time as the people in the outpost try to survive being stalked by this alien menace.
The Shining (1980) directed by Stanley Kubrick
The Shining needs no introduction, but I’m going to give it one anyway. Though significantly different than the Stephen King novel of the same name that it’s based on, The Shining is a masterclass of slowly building tension and dread until everything explodes in the final act. The premise is incredibly simple on its surface: a family is stuck in a (potentially) haunted hotel, and the patriarch of the family slowly loses his mind. It’s the execution of that story that makes it a classic.
The Thing (1982) directed by John Carpenter
This should come as no surprise. John Carpenter’s remake of The Thing from Another World is practically synonymous with snow and cold weather. While it was a financial and critical bomb when it was released, it has since gone on to be regarded as one of John Carpenter’s greatest films. I personally consider it one of my favorite movies of all time regardless of genre. It’s a masterpiece that ratchets up the paranoia and dread from the original to the nth degree while changing the setting to Antarctica. It also features some of the best practical effects I have ever seen courtesy of Rob Bottin (with an assist from Stan Winston). It’s damn near a perfect movie, and its reappraisal by fans and critics has deservedly catapulted it into rarified air as one of the best horror films the genre has produced.
Misery (1990) directed by Rob Reiner
We have our second Stephen King adaptation on the list, but Misery is a much different film than The Shining despite also being about characters trapped in a single location. It’s about an author who suffers serious injuries following a car accident during a snowstorm and is coincidentally rescued by his biggest fan who nurses him back to health. Kinda. That fan (played magnificently by Kathy Bates who won an Oscar for her performance) happens to be a deranged psychopath with an unhealthy obsession with this author. There is nothing supernatural in this story. The horror comes from an all too plausible scenario.
The Last Winter (2006) directed by Larry Fessenden
The Last Winter is a hidden gem that I wish more people had seen. The film takes place at a remote oil drilling base in Alaska where a pair of scientists have been sent to study the environmental impact of the operation (much to the chagrin of the leader of the drilling operation played by Ron Perlman). The longer the group stays at the outpost, the more strange (potentially supernatural) occurrences they encounter and the more bizarre their behavior becomes. Much like The Thing, the situation devolves into infighting and paranoia as the members of the group begin succumbing to the horrors around them. It also has one of my favorite endings to a horror movie.
Let the Right One In (2008) directed by Tomas Alfredson
Who doesn’t love a good vampire movie? Let the Right One In is a Swedish film about a twelve-year-old-boy who is relentlessly bullied at school who befriends a new girl in town who just so happens to be a vampire. At times it feels more like a coming of age drama than a horror film, but the moments of horror are truly horrific. It’s a quiet, contemplative film punctuated by moments of terror. There is an American remake from 2010 called Let Me In if you have a strong aversion to subtitles, but I would recommend sticking with the original.
Trollhunter (2010) directed by André Øvredal
We have our first found footage horror film on the list! It also happens to be the first horror-comedy on the list. This is a very fun little film about a group of students in Norway attempting to make a documentary about a suspected bear poacher. It is soon revealed that this supposed poacher actually hunts trolls at the behest of the Norwegian government who wants to keep the existence of trolls hidden from the public. The film does an excellent job of riding the thin line between being too silly and too scary. The film also plays the whole thing completely straight with mostly dry humor.
The Lodge (2019) directed by Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala
The Lodge could not be more different than Trollhunter. If you’re looking for an incredibly dour psychological horror film that will leave you staring into the void, then The Lodge is the movie for you. It’s a film about the most awkward family retreat of all time as a father tries to get his two kids to bond with his new fiancée whom they blame for their mother’s death while staying in a lodge in the middle of nowhere. She also happens to be the lone survivor of a doomsday cult that committed mass suicide. What could go wrong? Turns out a whole lot can go wrong. There are some twists and turns in this one that I certainly did not see coming.
The Wolf of Snow Hollow (2020) directed by Jim Cummings
Written by, directed by, and starring Jim Cummings, The Wolf of Snow Hollow has become one of my favorite winter horror-comedies in recent years. Cummings stars as a deputy sheriff in a skiing resort town in Utah that has become terrorized by a string of murders and/or animal attacks. The nature of the murders leads some in the town to believe that the perpetrator is a werewolf. Cummings carries the film with his performance as an alcoholic losing control of his life as the bodies continue to pile up. The dialogue and witty banter is razor sharp, and the horror elements are handled extremely well. It’s a real hidden gem that feels destined to become a cult classic.
There are plenty of other strong snow-themed horror films out there, but this list will hopefully serve as a strong starting point the next time you’re stuck inside. Make yourself some hot chocolate and enjoy!