Horror films often make us scream, shout, and even cry out as they terrify the living daylights out of us. Through the use of music, jump scares, and bloodcurdling sounds to help instill true fear, they leave our hearts racing and our bodies shaking, but what about quiet horror films? Can they be just as good as petrifying us?
Sound plays a huge part in any film, and that could be even more true of horror, where a well-placed creaking door, a cracking twig, or mouthless breathing can have us jumping in our seats. Music also plays a massive part, take the iconic use of violins in Hitchcock’s Psycho or the ominous duuun dun in Spielberg’s Jaws, both of which are used to create different moods – but are an integral part of the movie.
That isn’t to say that there has to be a lot of sounds; sometimes silence can work as a way to unnerve us, leaving us feeling on edge as we strain our ears just as the character on our screens does the same. There are plenty of horror films out there that don’t utilize shrieking witches or screams of terror to frighten their audiences. In fact, it’s the absence of noise that makes us feel like something bad is just around the corner.
For one Reddit user, they need to keep the volume in their house down as they watch their beloved horrors when the rest of their family has gone to bed, and they’re now asking the community for any recommendations for more silent but deadly bedfellows.
Having already ruled out the obvious options of A Quiet Place and Hush, horror aficionados started their quiet contemplation.
An acclaimed Swedish vampire horror story doesn’t resort to screaming and is chilling nonetheless.
This black-and-white horror keeps itself rather hush-hush.
Another user concurs, no need for a cacophony in this film, it doesn’t need it.
Midnight is a Korean horror that came out in 2021, following a deaf girl and her mother as they attempt to allude a serial killer.
Some wondered why the user hadn’t resorted to headphones, whilst still offering suggestions.
Caveat appears to be a popular choice, set in an isolated island mansion there is hardly a lot of noise to be made in the middle of nowhere.
This user set out a whole list the user might find helpful.
It only goes to prove just how flexible and versatile the genre is, anything can be made horror if you execute it the right way.