Neonhas a reputation for producing uniquely constructed horror movies that have a tenacious, offbeat feel. With a vast repertoire,Neon’s horror output covers a diverse range of sub-genres, includingsci-fi, body horror, psychological terror, folk horror, and horror satire.Established in 2017 by Tom Quinn and Tim League, Neon has quickly become a household name in reliably high-caliber film production.
From the visceral body horror ofTitaneto the psychological dread inThe Lodge,Neon’s films consistently push the boundaries of conventional horror.Each film offers a fresh and often provocative take on the genre, whether it’s the social commentary woven into the dark satire ofBad Hairor the eerie, post-pandemic paranoia inIn the Earth. Neon’s commitment to innovative storytelling and striking visuals makes it a standout in the horror landscape, delivering films that are as intellectually stimulating as they are terrifying.
The Bad Batch
Cast
The Bad Batch is a dystopian thriller directed by Ana Lily Amirpour. The movie follows Arlen, a young woman, as she navigates a desolate American landscape designated as a wasteland for society’s unwanted members. Marked by its vibrant visual style and unique narrative, the film explores themes of survival, societal segregation, and human nature. As Arlen encounters a variety of eccentric and dangerous characters, including cannibals and a mysterious hermit, she is forced to confront the harsh realities of this brutal new world.
The Bad Batchis a wild horror movie that showcases the kind of freedom that Neon gives filmmakers, but that does not always result in a great final product. The film followsa young woman named Arlen (Suki Waterhouse) living in a dystopian future in which she has been exiled to the desert. While roaming around in the blazing sun is dangerous enough, she encounters bands of cannibals and other deadly threats in her quest.
As a director, Ana Lily Amirpour creates some stunning visual moments and sequences.
The movie embraces its wild tone while also featuring some fun, untethered performances from a star-studded cast that also includes Jason Momoa, Jim Carrey, and Keanu Reeves. As a director, Ana Lily Amirpour creates some stunning visual moments and sequences. However, as a writer, she stretches the thin story too far, creating a movie that is unfortunately dull around the moments of excitement.
Bad Hair
A horror satire set in 1989 about a girl who decides to change her haircut in order to succeed at the television station where she works, but this is an industry obsessed with image and the new hair ends up making the young woman commit atrocities.
Bad Hairis a conceptually bold Neon production. With a 1989 backdrop,Bad Hairfollows music TV company executive assistant Anna (Elle Lorraine) as she rises through the ranks in a competitive and fast-paced media environment. When the new boss (Vanessa Williams) suggests a promotion for Anna, she implies that adjusting her hairstyle might enable her to move more swiftly through the ranks, yether new weave seems to possess a sinister sentience.
Withsupernatural and folkloric elementsexplored viaBad Hair’s witches and their mythology, Simien’s film is another curiously creepy Neon production. The absurdist anthropomorphized monster, which took possible inspiration from Peter Strickland’s equally bizarre 2018 filmIn Fabric, makesBad Hairan effective horror satire with a socio-political backdrop where black hair politics become the roots of the film’s terror.
She Dies Tomorrow
She Dies Tomorrow is a psychological thriller centered around a woman who becomes convinced that she will die the following day. As her belief spreads to those around her, the film explores themes of existential dread and human vulnerability.
Neon’sShe Dies Tomorrowtaps into a deeply universal fear and cranks it up considerably. Directed by Amy Seimetz, the film opens with Amy (Kate Lyn Sheil), who becomes inexplicably convinced that she will die the following day. Despite having no real rationale for this suspicion, her ardentness is unshakable. What’s more disturbing is that her conviction becomes contagious, spreading amongst her friends and family like a virus.
It’s a slow burn that eschews traditional horror thrills in favor of a more psychological approach, foregrounding existential dread and contagious paranoia.
She Dies Tomorrowis different from other pandemic horrorsreleased before COVID-19.It’s a slow burn that eschews traditional horror thrills in favor of a more psychological approach, foregrounding existential dread and contagious paranoia. Rather than relying on jump scares, the film delves into the terrifying psychological landscape of its characters, exploring how fear can become a self-fulfilling prophecy for self-destruction.
It Lives Inside
It Lives Inside is a supernatural horror film by writer-director Bishal Dutta. It follows an American high school student named Sam, who seeks to detach herself from her Indian heritage. However, when she finds that a dangerous spirit has possessed a former friend, she must embrace her lineage to find a way to defeat it.
The rise of the so-calledelevated horror movie trendhas allowed for some horror projects that explore different cultures and folklore.It Lives Insideis one such movie as it follows Sam (Megan Suri), an Indian-American teen who is struggling with her cultural identity. When she reconnects with a friend who she has drifted away from,Sam finds herself accidentally unleashing a dark supernatural entity her friend was keeping at bay.
The movie is an impressive debut from writer-director Bishal Dutta, who showcases a terrific talent for staging intense and terrifying scenes of suspense. The film also explores Hindu folklore in an interesting way, and while it does feel too close to some other teen horror movies to stand on its own as a totally original movie, these aspects allow it to stand out in the genre with its own commentary.
Longlegs
Longlegs is a horror thriller film by writer-director Osgood Perkins. When FBI agent Lee Harker is assigned to a serial killer cold case, their investigation leads them down a rabbit hole riddled with disturbing discoveries and the occult at the center of it all. When the trail of evidence reveals a personal connection, it becomes a race against time to prevent another murder.
Neon’s latest horror contribution,Longlegsfollows FBIAgent Lee Harker (Maika Monroe) who is thrust into the dark world of an unsolved serial killer case.In his fourth directorial credit, Perkins has taken unmistakable influence from serial killer investigation horror films such asSe7en,Silence of the Lambs,and evenZodiac.The unnerving Nicolas Cage horror moviemakes great use of sound and empty space, deftly negotiating the implication of danger.
The film’s first two-thirds are genuinely thrilling, drawing the audience in with a gripping narrative and an eerie atmosphere. Unfortunately,Longlegsstumbles in its final act, with a twist that disrupts the film’s momentum and leaves a somewhat underwhelming conclusion. Despite this, the film excels in its mise en scène. The cinematography, featuring lower tilted angles and wide shots, brilliantly enhances the sense of looming threat, making ita solid addition to Neon’s horror library.
Immaculate
Immaculate is a 2024 horror film directed by Michael Mohan and stars Sydney Sweeney. When a devout woman named Cecilia is offered a position at a prestigious convent in Italy, she takes it with little hesitation. However, Cecilia’s world is turned upside down when she discovers the terrible secrets hidden within her new place of faith.
Sydney Sweeney has starred in several horror moviesalready in her young career, butImmaculatestands out as the best of the bunch. Sweeney stars in the film as Sister Cecilia, a young nun who takes an opportunity to work in a convent in Italy. While the beautiful setting instantly sweeps her off her feet,she finds that she is given special attention by the others in the convent and soon discovers something sinister at hand.
However, the central mystery is gripping with an excellent payoff, while the whole thing is held together by Sweeney’s committed performance.
The movie blends together elements of other excellent horror movies of the past, such asThe OmenandRosemary’s Baby, while also having its own interesting ideas. Director Michael Mohan is not entirely successful in adapting the concept to the screen, with the storytelling feeling confused and messy at times. However, the central mystery is gripping with an excellent payoff, while the whole thing is held together by Sweeney’s committed performance.
Cuckoo
On a trip to the German Alps with her father and stepmother, Gretchen (Hunter Schafer from HBO’s “Euphoria”) discovers that the resort town where they’re staying hides sinister secrets, as she’s plagued by strange noises and frightening visions of a woman pursuing her. Soon, Gretchen finds herself pulled into a conspiracy involving bizarre experiments by the resort’s owner that echo back generations.
Cuckoois another example of how 2024 has been an exceptional year for horror movies. Hunter Schafer stars in the movie as Gretchen, a teen who reluctantly moves with her father to the German Alps for a new position. However, upon arriving,she finds that her father’s new boss (Dan Stevens) takes an unsettling interest in her. She eventually uncovers a terrifying truth hiding in the isolated community.
However, Schafer’s lead performance and Stevens' fun, chilling turn help to ground the story in interesting characters.
Cuckoois a bold and inventive horror movie with plenty of chilling moments and brutality that are going to win over fans of the genre. It also seeks to be its own unique genre entry with a wild story that bounces at a gripping pace and a dark sense of humor that can be a little distracting at times. However, Schafer’s lead performance and Stevens' fun, chilling turn help to ground the story in interesting characters.
The Lodge
2019’s The Lodge is a psychological Horror film that sees a man’s new wife stranded at a remote Lodge with his two children, who don’t take well to bonding with their new stepmother. Filled with paranormal-style events and some disturbing dream imagery, a cult-infused story plays out over the course of a few days.
The Lodge, directed by Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala, concerns siblings Aidan (Jaeden Martell) and Mia (Lia McHugh) during a Christmas getaway with their journalist father Richard (Richard Armitage) and new girlfriend Grace (Riley Keough). The isolated titular lodge is a fantastically ominous setting for the film’s events.
Franz and Fiala’s second-to-latest release highlights their continued interest inthe complexities of familial relationships and psychological trauma, sharing echoes of their previous film,Goodnight Mommy. While it doesn’t quite reach the same heights asGoodnight Mommy, it still delivers a gripping and more existentially frightening horror experience.
With twists and turns that keep viewers on edge,The Lodge’s unsettling atmosphere and psychological tension build suspense beautifully, though it isn’t without a few plot holes that may leave some viewers questioning the story’s logic. Despite its flaws,The Lodgeis a haunting exploration of isolation and paranoia, making it a notable entry in Neon’s productions. The chilling performances and eerie setting ensure that it remains a memorable, if imperfect, psychological horror.
Little Monsters
A man called Dave volunteers to accompany his nephew on a school trip after becoming interested in the boy’s teacher, Caroline, and tries hard to impress her in order to get a date. One thing no one expected, however, was that a terrible zombie apocalypse would happen.
Little Monstersis a film that balances the tricky combination of comedy and horror, delivering a very tongue-in-cheek and deeply meta-theatrical experience. Forsythe’s film follows Dave – a washed-up musician recovering from a recent breakup – who sets his sights on his nephew’s teacher, Miss Caroline (Lupita Nyong’o). Yet his plans to impress and pursue her are thwarted by a zombie invasion.
As one of the most challenging sub-genres to nail,this comedy-horror hybrid stands out as a bold and entertaining entry in Neon’s catalog.Nyong’o shines as Miss Caroline, bringing both charisma and wit to her role, and as far as comedy-horror goes,Little Monsterssucceeds in combining these seemingly antithetical genres into a seamless and enjoyable movie. It leans into the comedy more than the horror, so genre fans looking for big scares may be disappointed.
Based on a 1980 short story bylegendary author Stephen King, Neon’s 2025 movieThe Monkeyperfectly blends horror with incredibly dark humor. The premise of The Monkey is simple - a cursed toy monkey causes havoc in the lives of twin brothers Hal and Bill Shelburn (both played by Theo James). However, while the setup of the plot may be straightforward, this isn’t a weakness for director Osgood Perkins' entry into the celebrated roster of horror movies from Neon.
On the contrary, the lack of a complex plot givesThe Monkeyroom to focus on what it does best - deliver scene after scene of incredibly shocking imagery, and keep focus on the sharp and surprisingly witty script.The Monkeylacks the thematic depth or deeper message behind the likes ofImmaculateorLonglegs,but this is no bad thing.The 2025 Neon movie stands out for being a relatively straightforward yet incredibly enjoyable viewing experience, one that’s been repeatedly marked upon by critics as an example of horror-comedy done right.
