10 Best Horror Movies Where the Terror is Metaphor

While horror films are often dismissed for being shallow or simply existing for scares alone, the genre is in fact frequently much deeper than it initially appears. The horror genre is able to use symbolism and metaphorical imagery in order to explore societal anxieties in unique and resonant ways, adding welcome texture to many classic as well as modern horror films.

In addition, metaphorical horror can often be significantly more impactful to audiences due to the dimension of relatability it adds – a viewer may not have ever transformed into a werewolf, but they can certainly relate to the experience of their body changing in uncomfortable ways. Touching on a variety of horror subgenres, these are 10 excellent horror films that use metaphor in the creation of their scares.

10 ‘Ginger Snaps’ (2000)

Directed by John Fawcett

Ginger Snaps is a 2000 Canadian werewolf coming-of-age horror movie directed by John Fawcett. The film follows teenage siblings Ginger (Katharine Isabelle) and Brigitte (Emily Perkins) and explores the changes that occur in their lives and to their bond when Ginger begins menstruating and is also bitten by a werewolf. As Ginger’s behavior becomes increasingly violent and out of control, Brigitte is left with the sole responsibility of curing or killing her.

The film is very clear about its metaphor, using lycanthropy as a metaphor for Ginger going through puberty and becoming unrecognizable from the young girl she once was. In order to bring this symbolism to life, the film utilizes gruesome practical effects to portray Ginger’s transformation. Katharine Isabelle is a prolific scream queen with a strong horror oeuvre, and her fierce performance perfectly showcases Ginger’s monstrous femininity. Darkly comedic, well-acted and one of the best werewolf films ever made, Ginger Snaps is a great example of metaphorical horror.

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9 ‘Under The Shadow’ (2016)

Directed by Babak Anvari

Under the Shadow is a 2016 supernatural horror film set in Iran, written and directed by Babak Anvari. Filmed in Jordan, the film is set during the 1980 War of the Cities in Tehran, and follows mother and daughter Shideh (Narges Rashidi) and Dorsa (Avin Manshadi) as they deal with the frequent threat of bombing and the emergence of a Djinn in their apartment building.

Focusing equally on its supernatural horror and its themes of familial drama and political unrest, the film uses the Djinn as a symbol for the terror and oppression that families faced in 1980s Iran, with Shideh struggling to keep her innocent young daughter safe. The titular ‘Shadow’ refers both to the shadow of the Djinn and the looming danger of political violence, with the film making great use of this central metaphor. One of the best international horror films of the 2000s, Under the Shadow is an underrated gem.

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8 ‘Men’ (2022)

Directed by Alex Garland

Written and directed by Alex Garland, Men is a 2022 British folk horror film. The film follows Harper (Jessie Buckley), a widow who journeys to a small English village in order to process and recover from her trauma. However, her idyllic break is quickly soured by her negative and eventually horrific encounters with the inhabitants of the village, all of whom are portrayed by Rory Kinnear.

As implied by its title, the film centers heavily on themes of gender and life under the patriarchy, with virtually every male character representing a different facet of toxic masculinity. This metaphor is made even more disturbing at the film’s grotesque body horror climax, in which a monstrous man continually gives birth to new versions of himself, showing how harmful attitudes are passed down through generations. Utilizing British folkloric imagery and featuring great performances from the leads, Men is a unique metaphorical horror film.

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7 ‘Eraserhead’ (1977)

Directed by David Lynch

Eraserhead is a 1977 surrealist horror film written and directed by David Lynch in his feature film debut. Set in an industrial wasteland, the film follows new father Henry (Jack Nance) as he becomes the sole caretaker of his deformed baby. The child cries constantly and cannot be pacified, gradually driving Henry to insanity.

The film centers on the struggles of a new parent, portraying Henry’s baby as a creature incapable of anything other than demanding attention and constantly making its father’s life nightmarish. As the film is highly surreal in its sound, visuals and storytelling, it has been theorized that the film may in fact be entirely from Henry’s subjective view, with his monstrous child being a metaphor for the anxieties of fatherhood. The film that put David Lynch on the map, Eraserhead is a striking symbolic horror film.

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6 ‘Talk to Me’ (2022)

Directed by Danny and Michael Philippou

Talk to Me is a 2022 Australian supernatural horror film directed by Danny and Michael Philippou. The film follows bereaved teenager Mia (Sophie Wilde) as she becomes involved in a bizarre occult party game in which players can commune with spirits by using a possessed model hand. As the supernatural begins to interfere more and more in the teens’ lives, Mia accidentally invites evil into her life.

Heralded as one of the scariest and best horror films of the 2020s, Talk to Me is genuinely creepy and disturbing, featuring uncanny visuals and horrific concepts. The strange game that Mia plays is a metaphor for drug use, with the film exploring themes of peer pressure and the way in which trauma and grief can lead to addictive behaviors in teens. An impressive horror debut from Danny and Michael Philippou, Talk to Me is elevated by its clever central metaphor.

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5 ‘Relic’ (2020)

Directed by Natalie Erika James

Relic is a 2020 Australian horror film directed by Natalie Erika James and co-written by James and Christian White. The film centers on three generations of women in the same family as they cope with the eldest woman, Edna (Robyn Nevin), suffering from dementia. However, her condition is revealed to in fact be something more supernatural when a mysterious black mold is found to be taking over her house.

The film is extremely emotional and will be particularly impactful for people with family experience of neurodegenerative diseases. The mold that fills Edna’s house and begins to destroy her body and mind is a metaphor for dementia, showing how people are gradually consumed by the condition, losing their own identities. Beautifully shot, sensitively written and well-acted, Relic is one of the saddest horror films of recent years.

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4 ‘Possum’ (2018)

Directed by Matthew Holness

Possum is a 2018 British psychological horror film written and directed by Matthew Holness. The film follows a puppeteer named Philip (Sean Harris) who moves back to his childhood home in rural Norfolk to live with his abusive uncle Maurice (Alun Armstrong) after experiencing trouble at work. Philip finds himself plagued by the disappearance of a young boy and by the burden of Possum, a horrific puppet that he is unable to destroy or get rid of, making his life nightmarish.

The film is unrelenting bleak, exploring heavy themes of childhood trauma and the aftermath of abuse. The titular puppet is used to elicit highly metaphorical scares, representing the literal emotional baggage that Philip is forced to carry with him and be weighed down by. Its haunting face resembles his own, while its spider-like body evokes a disturbing abusive act inflicted upon him, making the symbolism clear and powerful. Thoroughly grim and incredibly English, Possum is a symbolic horror masterpiece.

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3 ‘The Babadook’ (2014)

Directed by Jennifer Kent

The Babadook is a 2014 Australian supernatural psychological horror film written and directed by Jennifer Kent in her feature film debut. The film follows a widowed single mother, Amelia (Essie Davis), as she deals with her grief and her troubled relationship with her young son Samuel (Noah Wiseman). Amelia’s struggles are compounded when an entity known as the Babadook begins to torment her, making her lose control of her sanity.

Exploring the difficult dynamic between mother and son, the film centers heavily on themes of parenthood, grief and depression. The Babadook itself functions as a metaphor for depression and mental illness, infiltrating the household and changing Amelia in sinister and dangerous ways, and the film’s conflict centers on whether Amelia and Sam can defeat the entity or if they must make peace with it. Dark, visually striking and anchored by a phenomenal performance from Essie Davis, The Babadook features a powerful core metaphor.

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2 ‘I Saw The TV Glow’ (2024)

Directed by Jane Schoenbrun

I Saw the TV Glow is a 2024 coming-of-age horror film written and directed by Jane Schoenbrun. The film follows Owen (Justice Smith), a misfit who becomes obsessed with a television show called ‘The Pink Opaque’ as a teenager and finds a previously unrealized level of comfort and identification in the show. However, when Owen’s friend Maddy (Brigette Lundy-Paine) disappears mysteriously, Owen is forced to question whether the show may in fact be something more than it first appeared.

Similarly to Schoenbrun’s previous film, the excellent Gen-Z tech horrorWe’re All Going to the World’s Fair, I Saw the TV Glow explores experiences of gender dysphoria through the symbolic lens of media fandom. The TV show within the film is an allegory for queerness and transness, with Owen being explicitly characterized as a closeted trans woman, and the central horror of the film is a metaphor for the nightmarish experience of dysphoria. Beautiful, heartbreaking and utterly unique, I Saw the TV Glow is an exceptional metaphorical horror film.

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1 ‘Possession’ (1981)

Directed by Andrzej Żuławski

Possession is a 1981 psychological body horror film directed by Andrzej Żuławski, who co-wrote the script with Frederic Tuten. Set in West Berlin, the film follows Mark (Sam Neill), a spy whose wife Anna (Isabelle Adjani) suddenly announces that she wants a divorce. Their relationship becomes increasingly toxic in the wake of her decision, and it is revealed that Anna is hiding a disturbing secret.

As well as the Cold War, the film is intimately concerned with the subjects of marriage, divorce and volatile relationships, reflecting the director’s complex feelings about his own divorce. The film’s gruesome body horror element – a monstrous creature that Anna falls in love with and gradually begins to mutate into a replica of Mark – symbolizes the way that people can continue their toxic patterns even when they’ve left failing relationships. Dreamlike, frightening and thematically rich, Possession is a modern horror classic.

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