Gothic: The Dark Heart of Film

The Little Stranger

Lenny Abrahamson (Room, Frank) directs this Gothic mystery, with Domhnall Gleeson as a doctor helping the heir of a haunted stately home (Ruth Wilson).

Horror
Thriller
2018
111 mins
Lenny Abrahamson

The Limehouse Golem

Bill Nighy plays the arch detective investigating a series of grisly murders around the music halls of Victorian London, in this pungent Gothic mystery.

Crime
Thriller
2017
109 mins
Juan Carlos Medina

Dead of Night

A group of guests assembled at a country house swap uncanny and supernatural stories in this classic Ealing chiller from 1945.

Anthology
Fantasy
1945
99 mins
Alberto Cavalcanti, Charles Crichton & 2 others

Dracula (1958)

Hammer's 1958 version of Stoker's Gothic novel was the most exciting to date, boasting lavish costumes and sets, a vibrant score and red, red blood.

Horror
1958
82 mins
Terence Fisher

The Mummy

Classic Hammer horror of a reanimated ancient Egyptian mummy, who returns from his tomb to seek vengeance on its desecrators.

Horror
1959
88 mins
Terence Fisher

Frankenstein

The gothic horror that ushered in a wave of cinematic terror, starring Boris Karloff as the reconstructed monster with a human soul.

Horror
Science Fiction
1931
70 mins
James Whale

Ghost Stories

Being scared has never been this much fun, as Martin Freeman, Andy Nyman and Paul Whitehouse bring the chilling London stage play to the screen.

Horror
2018
98 mins
Jeremy Dyson and Andy Nyman

The Curse of Frankenstein

Meddling with nature has devastating consequences in Hammer's first Gothic horror, a visceral take on Mary Shelley's novel.

Horror
Science Fiction
1957
83 mins
Terence Fisher

Possum

"Can you spy him deep within? Little Possum. Black as sin." The reliably deranged Sean Harris is plagued by an evil puppet in this dark, brooding fable from Matthew Holness.

Horror
2018
85 mins
Matthew Holness

The Blood on Satan's Claw

Depraved sexual practices and satanic violence envelop a remote country village in this exciting period horror.

Horror
1971
96 mins
Piers Haggard

The Witches

Joan Fontaine stars as an ex-missionary drawn to investigate the sinister undercurrents beneath the surface of English village life.

98 mins
Cyril Frankel

Witchfinder General

A witchfinder traverses 17th-century England executing those he suspects of witchcraft.

Horror
1968
87 mins
Michael Reeves

A Ghost Story

David Lowery's haunting exploration of love and loss, with Rooney Mara and Casey Affleck is a high-point of recent independent American cinema.

Drama
2017
92 mins
David Lowery

Blanche Fury

Valerie Hobson stars as the scheming governess with designs on taking over the Fury estate, in this atmospheric Gothic melodrama

Melodrama
Period drama
1948
94 mins
Marc Allégret

The Man in Grey

James Mason, Margaret Lockwood and Stewart Granger star in the first of the fantastically successful Gainsborough melodramas.

Melodrama
Period drama
1943
116 mins
Leslie Arliss

Night of the Living Dead

Landmark film from 'zombie godfather' Romero, whose makeshift heroes fight for their lives against a new and terrifying enemy.

Horror
1968
96 mins
George A. Romero

Psychomania

The greatest zombie-biker, toad-worshipping-Satanists horror in British cinema is an undisputed cult classic brimming with exciting action and fantastical mayhem.

Horror
1973
91 mins
Don Sharp

Where Has Poor Mickey Gone

A fairground showman (Warren Mitchell) exacts a terrible revenge upon the hooligans who terrorise him in this haunting tale of mystery and magic

56 mins
Gerry Levy

The Fall of the House of Usher

An eerie British version of the classic Poe chiller, strong enough for a rare 'H' (for Horrific) certificate.

Horror
1950
71 mins
Ivan Barnett

The Tell-Tale Heart

What's under those floorboards? A man is driven to murder in a modern retelling of Edgar Allan Poe's ghoulish story shot by the legendary cinematographer Jack Cardiff.