The best superhero horror movies

Key things

• Superhero movies are typically exciting but not terrifying, but some, like Priest, explore darker themes.
• Constantine creates a bleak atmosphere and veers away from a happy ending, deviating from typical superhero movie tropes.
• The film Blade presents a unique vampire anti-hero that deviates from the usual gothic horror or romantic portrayal of vampires.

Superhero movies are essentially their own genre, consisting of courageous individuals who use their powers to save the world from supervillains while causing millions in property damage. These films generate excitement and adrenaline as they watch heroes and villains go toe to toe and head for one side or the other.

What they don't normally do is illicit feelings of fear or unease with terrifying visuals in the form of characters, places or themes explored. While no superhero movie will have audiences cowering behind their pillows for safety, there are still a few of these movies that border on the dark side.

6 Priest

A trained warrior must face dangerous vampires

• Release date: May 13, 2011
• Director: Scott Stewart
• Progress: 1h 27m

Vampires and humans have been at war for centuries, devastating the world and leading to the establishment of a theocracy and a group of elite trained warriors to give humanity a fighting chance, called the Priests. When the war ends, the priests try to reintegrate into society, but one priest is called out of retirement to rescue his niece, who has been kidnapped by a vampire who has torn her family apart. The priest acts outside the church's authority and urges them to send other priests after him.

His journey will span multiple locations and show an alternate Earth ravaged by war, creating a somewhat dystopian and grimly dark world befitting the monsters that inhabit it. With startling revelations about Lucy's parentage and the Church's refusal to acknowledge the evidence thrown at their feet, the story Priest it's genuinely gripping, with plenty of twists and turns, which sets it apart from other superhero movies that tend to be more cut and dry.

5 Brightburn

A darker take on the Superman story

• Release date: May 24, 2019
• Director: David Yarovesky
• Progress: 1h 30m

Everyone knows the story of DC's Superman. As a child, he collapses to the ground and is taken in by a kind couple. He uses his powers for the good of the world and is one of the noblest superheroes of all time. But what if Superman wasn't the benevolent alien that most media portrays him to be? Brightburn explores this idea as Brandon, a child found at the bottom of a crater by Tori and Kyle Breyer, who take him in and raise him as their own.

As his powers begin to manifest, so do the darker sides of his nature. He becomes increasingly aggressive, which makes for a terrifying combination with his ability to fly and supernatural strength. As is customary with superhero movies, Brandon seems to conquer all of his enemies, including his own family. The film ends on an ominous note that this could just be the beginning of their world's problems, as there is no one strong enough to face him.

4 Constantine

An occult expert who fights demons

• Release date: February 18, 2005
• Director: Francis Lawrence
• Progress: 2h 1m

In the world Constantinethe contract that prevented demons from entering earth is broken when the demons try to reach the mortal level through their human victims, and John Constantine is one of the few willing to do the dirty work, exorcise them from humans and drive them back to hell, the whole he was battling lung cancer at the time. He knows he's on the clock, but instead of living his life to the fullest, he continues his work, much to the displeasure of the angel Gabriel.

Constantine it has a very dark feel present throughout the film provided by the dying protagonist and the demon infested world. Although he outsmarts the devil at the end and is brought back to life and spared the flames of hell, it still doesn't feel like the happy ending that superhero movies usually provide. Even though he triumphed, it doesn't feel like a complete victory for Constantine, and it's up to the audience to decide whether he wins Lucifer's gambit or if he ends up with a soul.

3 Blade

A daywalker who hunts vampires

• Release date: August 21, 1998
• Director: Stephen Norrington
• Progress: 2 hours

One of the more forgotten and overlooked Marvel movies, but still the most classic, Blade it certainly deserves more time in the sun, metaphorically speaking. This fierce-fanged superhero owes his special powers not to being an alien or being bitten by a radioactive spider, but to being a bloodthirsty creature of the night.

More of an anti-hero than a straightforward hero, he uses his nature to do good rather than harm, cleansing the world of the scourge of his vampiric brethren, specifically a vampire named Deacon Frost who revels in his nature and hosts iconic blood. – rave at his club in LA. Vampires are more often used for gothic horror or romance as seen in films such as Let the right one in or Only the lovers remained aliverespectively Having the lead role in a superhero movie being a vampire is definitely a new and unique movie and it paid off as this movie is nothing short of excellent.

2 Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

The multiverse leads to strange and terrifying places

Jumping from dimension to dimension is bound to lead to some weird and crazy places, and that's exactly what happened in Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness. Marvel's first stab at a surreal horror film involved the Scarlet Witch, who would do anything and sacrifice anyone to be reunited with the two children she had in her spin-off TV series. She travels across different universes in search of the power she needs, with Strange trying to stop her machinations.

Marvel movies always boast beautiful and impressive visuals thanks to the efforts of their SFX team as well as a substantial budget. Multiverse of Madness it borders on surreal horror, with scenes of twisted madness and twisting of characters in a way that the likes of John Carpenter would only dream of. For anyone looking for a truly terrifying superhero movie, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness should already be on their radar if they haven't seen this movie yet.

1 Crow

An epic tale of love and revenge

• Release date: May 13, 1994
• Director: Alex Proyas
• Progress: 1h 42m

The night before Halloween, the day they were supposed to get married, Eric Draven and Shelley Webster were brutally murdered. A year later, a crow arrives at Eric's grave and raises him from the dead to right the wrong done to them a year ago. He experiences flashbacks of tragic events, so he knows exactly who to go to.

The film is spent with Eric working on his murderous to-do list, taking out dangerous, rowdy and demented gang members, often in extremely brutal and creative ways. Once his work is done, his body returns to rest and his spirit departs with Shelley. It's a bittersweet ending that sees the two lovers reunited, but Sarah is left alone and has lost her friends again. Crow it maintains a melancholic and gothic feel throughout the film, which are not normally themes in mainstream superhero films.