5 Creepy Southern Gothic Movies (and 1 Miniseries) to Watch if You Loved ‘Sinners’
Tragic characters, generational trauma, isolation, madness, slavery, racism, wealth inequality, addiction and hoodoo spirituality are all common subjects of Southern Gothic stories.
Southern Gothic is a subgenre inspired by the dark and moody atmosphere of the American South. Tragic characters, generational trauma, isolation, madness, slavery, racism, wealth inequality, addiction and hoodoo spirituality are all common subjects of Southern Gothic narratives. The stories are a stark contrast to the way the Antebellum South is typically idealized.
Famous movies told in the Southern Gothic style include A Streetcar Named Desire (1951), The Night of the Hunter (1955), To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), Angel Heart (1987), Flowers in the Attic (1987), Eve’s Bayou (1997), Frailty (2001) and The Beguiled (2017). Horror staple The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) could also be described as a Southern Gothic horror movie because the story includes Southern Gothic elements like the decaying finances of the nefarious characters, the loss of jobs at the slaughterhouse, an eccentric/insane family and an overall sense that things were better in the past.
The latest Southern Gothic movie is Ryan Coogler’s Sinners. Set in the Mississippi Delta in 1932, the film sees twin brothers returning to their hometown to open up a juke joint. The movie highlights poverty, racism, religion and music from that time period along with telling a scary story about vampires. The horror in Sinners also comes from the presence of the Ku Klux Klan in the area.
If you loved Sinners and want to watch movies with a similar vibe, here are some creepy Southern Gothic movies to check out:
Angel Heart (1987)
A psychological horror movie about a private investigator who travels to New Orleans to solve the mystery of a singer’s disappearance.
Eve’s Bayou (1997)
A psychological drama that follows 10-year-old Eve in Louisiana as she grapples with a family secret and seeks advice from her hoodoo practicing aunt.
Frailty (2001)
Two boys being raised by their father in rural Texas are shocked when he comes home with news that God intends for the family to begin killing “demons”.
The Skeleton Key (2005)
A caregiver takes a job in a remote Louisiana parish where her employer warns that the home’s former servants were powerful hoodoo practitioners. However, there’s something more sinister than ghosts roaming around the old plantation house.
Sharp Objects (2018)
A Gillian Flynn miniseries about a troubled writer who returns to her hometown in Missouri to report on a local serial killer and digs up family drama in the process.
A House On The Bayou (2021)
A family vacationing at a remote bayou house in Louisiana is disturbed by uninvited guests.
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