My partner, his family, and my family were, and sometimes still are, vehemently against horror films of any kind, period. While some people are hesitant and others bold, horror is one of the most polarizing genres and has some not watching, or watching less, for likely decent reasons. I’ve seen many posts and online rants about the overall decline in the quality of horror films. Yet, with so much great horror coming out recently, it seems as good a time as any to offer an entry point for those fans that don’t put horror at the top of their watch list.

I’ve gathered ten entry-level-friendly (all in their own unique ways) films that would likely go over well with a novice or first-timer to the genre. They range from family-friendly animation with stories dark as the fairytales of old to older gems that showcase the beginnings of mainstream horror and modern staples that range from the riotous to the raw.

Take your pick newbies and those looking to eased friends and loved ones into the riches of genre entertainment; this list was meant for those looking to begin their horror journey.

A curious stop-motion coming-of-age tale that turned 15 years old in 2024, Coraline (2009) was a film ripped from the novella of the same name by Neil Gaiman.

Produced by the singular creativity that is Laika Studios (Kubo and the Two Strings), this was a visually stunning, star-studded tale of boundaries crossed and powers of old. Coraline Jones is a perfectly curious eleven-year-old who has moved to a new apartment called the Pink Palace. While her parents are completely disengaged from their child, working all day and giving her mundane tasks to keep her busy, Coraline is busting at the seams. She longs for adventure, and a tiny door, once bricked up but one night found open into a tunnel leading who knows where, is the answer to her boredom.

Witches, new evil worlds created from a single thread, and talking cats voiced by Keith David—the film did nearly everything perfectly for a novel I regularly listen to as I’m drifting off to bed.

Dripping with childhood memories and a feeling of both dread and nostalgia, Coraline is an excellent and safe horror movie that even children have learned to love.

The book scared me senseless, and with minimal gore and effects, the original picture had me covering my eyes. Pulled from the pages of the horror maestro himself, Stephen King, Pet Semetary (1989) is a classic that ups the ante a little when it comes to tension while never going over the edge.

The Creed family is another family on this list dealing with a move, this time from bustling Chicago to sleepy rural Maine. The move is for a job. Louis is a physician, already talking happily with his neighbor Jud, who shows them an old pet cemetery (misspelled ‘semetary’). Louis has an ominous dream with visions of a dead man leading him to the cemetery, and warning him against ever going there. Awakening from what was only a dream to find dirt on his feet. When the Creed’s cat Church is killed by a truck, it’s Louis’s choice to either put the animal to ground for good or find out why the cemetery is so taboo.

For those that haven’t read or seen it, I won’t go too much further in, but this film, especially with its epic casting of Fred Gwynne, is a horror classic that would be a good time for someone looking to get scarier than a cartoon, as well as pay respects to the classics.

With family tragedy and chills to spare, this a legitimately creepy watch that recently celebrated its 35-year anniversary.

A social media slash and dash with an adorable Joe Keery as the lead, Spree (2020) doesn’t look like much on its face, but hop inside and have a ride if you’re curious.

Kurt Kunkle is an aspiring influencer, but he hasn’t made it very far. Though he’s shared his life online for nearly a decade trying to make videos, his engagements aren’t high, and he is ready for a final video to get some viewers or die trying. Kurt’s Spree application will be taking him to unsuspecting victims this Friday evening, as Kurt plans a way to kill his way to the number one viewing position on the web. Without spoiling the whole thing, Joe Keery is a darling who plays Kurt to perfection, all oblivious well-meaning posts before, but now, desperate and violent.

Keery was the baby face to fit Kurt’s innocent façade, but played the role well enough that you could see the hinges falling off. “I’m taking you home!” he says to a captive, clarifying the statement, “Not your home, my home.”

Comedic but twisted, Spree was a decent and timely watch that might give someone who’s ready to get off social media the last push they need.

Part groovy 60s period piece, part urban social nightmare, Last Night in Soho (2021) took massive talents from Anya Taylor Joy, Matt Smith, and star Thomasin McKenzie, turned on the disco ball, and set us back with stars in our eyes.

Not quite terribly bloody, bleak but not dreary, it’s the story of one particularly special girl’s relation to her waking hours and sleeping ones. Eloise wants to be a designer more than anything. Surrounded by sarcasm and harped on by her cruel roommate, Ellie longs to bury herself in her work and decides to skip the dorms and the terrible roommate and get an apartment in the heart of Soho alone. Ellie’s dreams are vivid the first night, visions of a beautiful girl longing to be a singer, a man, handsome and well connected, and just like a fairytale, things start to unfold… and since it’s a fairytale there has to be monsters for our leading ladies.

A feminist statement that love between women can span a lifetime and a tragic reminder that the ghosts of our past will always haunt only us, Last Night in Soho is a blinking sign to your new favorite bar, beckoning you in with live music, a drink served neatly, and smoke-hazed shows of the beautiful, lost girls of London.

Riotous, loud, bloody, and fun, Zombieland took the gravity out of the apocalypse and added in some humor, some Twinkies, and a set of rules for surviving.

It’s been two months since a strain of mad cow disease mutated and became infectious to humans, turning them into zombies. As survivors dwindle, college student Columbus (survivors are encouraged to use their place of origin to avoid exposing their personal information) leaves Austin, Texas, and heads toward Ohio, trying to get back to his parents. On his way, he encounters Tallahassee, played by Woody Harrelson, a man who’s been through plenty, lost plenty, and is reluctant to make friends. However, he offers the kid a ride, and the two begin getting to know each other and Columbus’ set of rules on how to survive. When the pair run into a pair of sisters working a grift, though, survival and revenge are the only things worth crawling towards.

Comedic, creative, and deserving of a sequel titled Double Tap, Zombieland is all things bloody and fun with a likable cast and an uncomplicated plot.

For action fans and zombie lovers, this will be a winner, and it is a worthy first-time watch for those who don’t explore the genre often.

Yet another film on this list that recently celebrated a 15-year anniversary, Jennifer’s Body is a teen scream that was too far ahead of its time.

Embracing then “it girl” Megan Fox in the title role of Jennifer and supporting her with Amanda Seyfried as Anita “Needy”, the two played the odd couple best friends. Jennifer Check is the local small-town babe that everyone is still trying to get a piece of. A long-time friend of Jennifer, Needy, is a quiet, shy girl with a long-term boyfriend she loves deeply. While Jennifer is out to get one of the boys in the band who’s visiting their small town from the city, a fire breaks out in the club, incinerating guests and barely allowing Needy and Jennifer to escape alive. Though Jennifer is in shock, the band member most interested in her, Nikolai Wolf (Adam Brody), offers to take her in his van with the band to settle down.

What happens next puts Jennifer’s soul in the balance. A fantastic girl power film with enough implied gore and nudity without ever making it tasteless, sign me up. Jennifer’s Body had a concept ahead of its time, and while it wasn’t rewarded by critics, fans continue to turn to this tried and true gem.

A mostly fun, and sometimes disturbing, rollick of a film, Jennifer’s Body is something you might want to goad your buddies into for the promise of hot girls gone wild (They’ll figure out what the “go wild” part means later).

A fantasy land where some of us can shine brighter than others, Doctor Sleep picked up the dreamy, terrifying magic that made The Shining unforgettable.

Following Danny, son of Jack Torrence (previously played by Jack Nicholson), it shows his battle with his shine and a harrowing journey to crawl out from under the weight of addiction. Danny is on the run from himself, landing in a sleepy northeast town where he finds there’s another person who can feel his shine. Connecting through a chalkboard in his room, Danny finds himself shining again, and a little brighter at that, without the booze. But when his new little friend from far away turns out to be a prime target for those who use shine for food, Danny has to move fast to stop a senseless, torturous murder.

With connections to The Shining and a whole new cast of characters hunting shine like its game, Doctor Sleep was a true success that was not heavy on scares but knew it had a powerful story to tell.

An older selection from 1991, this influential horror film plays like a game of cat and mouse, a battle of wits to ensnare a monster, starring Anthony Hopkins as the great Hannibal Lecter and Jodie Foster as the wide-eyed Clarice Starling.

An FBI trainee, Starling, is immediately put to the task and told to interview the incarcerated Hannibal Lecter. Clarice’s chief hopes that getting Lecter to talk might enlighten them about a killer on the loose: Buffalo Bill. Killing and skinning overweight women, the police are going to dark places to try and locate this monster. With two masterful performances from Hopkins and Foster, this was an intricate police hunt turned psychological profiling by a dangerous consultant. Though Hannibal doesn’t do much cannibalizing, Buffalo Bill’s frenzy and Lecter’s sinister intelligence create enough horrifying scenarios should you be caught by either one.

This horror film works exceptionally well as a tense crime mystery-thriller, so it’s a perfect gateway to the genre for those who don’t typically watch horror films.

Blade is my first and my favorite, my own introduction to horror that I personally recommend everyone give a watch.

Before Marvel was what we know it as today, it was a floundering studio pawing in every corner for a hit. A Wesley Snipes-led vampire odyssey was Marvel’s shocking breakthrough, leading straight to the Spiderverse to start and leading us to whatever phase we are in now. Blade, having all of a vampire’s strengths and none of their weaknesses (except the thirst), is an excellent hunter, training since his youth to snuff out bloodsuckers. When one of his greater enemies, the as cool in real life Stephen Dorff as Deacon Frost, hatches plans to change the vampire hierarchy forever, it’s time for the Daywalker to step in.

Blade is perhaps for someone who enjoys the darker side of comics like Joker, Venom, and Morbius (ok, probably not Morbius) but wants to take it to the next level in terms of the genre blending. Executed with a gothic ’90s style with no signs of aging, Blade is an action-packed dark dive into the world of mainstream vampires that is getting a reboot and makeover—perhaps sometime next year (it was originally scheduled for a 2025 release, but production issues and setbacks have pushed it indefinitely).

Though it is bloody and gritty, don’t let it deter you; the dark wit, constant action, and the pitch-black superhero tale are one of a kind and succeeded on release.

Another animated feature, this Tim Burton tale with a celebrity cast of voice actors is as heartwarming as it is heartbreaking, with creepy imagery to spare.

Victor’s (Johnny Depp) family is new money, tacky in the eyes of old money that doesn’t have so much cash flow anymore. Victor is to marry Victoria, another repressed child of money forced into a marriage of convenience and necessity. In the world of the living, there is no color, only the black and white portrait of bleak unhappiness from street to street. After botching his vows and nearly igniting his mother-in-law with a candle, Victor takes to the forest, reciting vows and unknowingly placing his ring on the finger of a corpse – a corpse bride (Helena Bonham Carter) – who is ready to say “I do” and show Victor the vivacious land of the dead.

A pick that’s friendly for almost every age group, this is a dip into some of Tim Burton’s special style of spookiness accompanied by the essential soundtrack developed by Danny Elfman.