Some of the best horror stories ever told are all about taking something we find enjoyable and twisting it until it’s terrifying. Do you like relaxing showers? Look out — here’s Psycho. Want to spend a nice day at the beach? Not so fast — there’s Jaws. Were you really looking forward to holing up in an empty hotel for an entire winter with your mom and your weird dad? Well, The Shining’s here to ruin that dream scenario.
It’s no wonder, then, that many horror films over the years have taken those attempts to twist our enjoyment straight to the venues designed to entertain and delight us. This October, pizza places with not-at-all creepy animatronic mascots will be wrecked forever when Five Nights at Freddy’s hits theaters, and that got us thinking, What are the best horror films set in and around entertainment venues? So we’ve gathered 15 of our favorites, from opera houses stalked by killers to one very elaborate escape room.
The Phantom of the Opera (1925)
With all due respect to Andrew Lloyd Webber, the best version of The Phantom of the Opera ever put to film is the silent version, released by Universal Pictures back in the 1920s, starring Lon Chaney in the title role. Famous for its iconic jump scare in which the Phantom’s face is revealed, this Phantom is also just plain luxurious. It’s got visual splendor and tactile wonders the likes of which only the silent-film world could muster (the opera set alone is a jewel of cinema history), and Chaney’s costume while dressed for a masquerade ball mid-film is, as the kids say, a lewk.
Freaks (1932)
One of the most notorious movies ever made, Freaks is, as the title suggests, a movie about sideshow performers — and specifically what happens when those performers set out for revenge when one of their own is harmed. Director Tod Browning (best known today for Dracula) took the whole thing a step further by casting real sideshow performers with physical deformities, and the result is … well, it’s an uncomfortable watch for many reasons. But hey — you get to watch a guy with no arms and legs light a cigarette, and you get to say you saw Freaks, which gives you all kinds of horror street cred.
Phantom of the Paradise (1974)
The Phantom of the Opera has inspired dozens of imitations, riffs, and reimaginings over the decades, but the best is, without question (sorry, Phantom of the Megaplex stans), Brian De Palma’s horror-comedy rock musical about a gifted songwriter forced by a deranged record executive to haunt a concert hall. William Finley is magnificent in the title role, Paul Williams is deliciously evil as Swan, and, of course, don’t forget Gerrit Graham as everyone’s favorite trend-chasing rock star, Beef. Made for the age of glam rock and concept albums, it’s as fun to watch now as it was back then, and you’ll have the songs in your head for days.
The Funhouse (1981)
There’s a seedy quality to Tobe Hooper’s horror work (except for maybe Poltergeist) that makes him perfect for the carnival scene, and that’s a big part of why The Funhouse works. As a straightforward slasher flick during the golden age of the subgenre, it’s exactly what you’d expect: A group of friends is stalked and killed by a deformed slasher at a local carnival fun house. What puts it over the top is the way Hooper’s camera makes us feel like we’re in on the whole thing — and we might be on the wrong side. You may feel like you need a shower afterward, but it’s worth it.
Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983)
Jack Clayton’s underrated and underseen adaptation of Ray Bradbury’s novel of the same name went through a lot of postproduction strife — from reedits to apparent clashes between Bradbury and Clayton — but it’s hard to deny the dark spell the film was still able to cast in the end. The story of a small midwestern town that begins to shift in strange and horrifying ways, thanks to a traveling carnival and its mysterious proprietor (Jonathan Pryce in Villain Mode), it’s one of those movies in which the entertainment venue spills over the edges and flat out takes over the film. That makes it not just frightening but darkly beautiful … you know, like a Ray Bradbury story!
Demons (1985)
Directed by Lamberto Bava and produced by Dario Argento, Demons is the work of Italian-horror royalty who wanted to pile on the creature and gore effects and came up with the perfect scenario to make that happen. Set in a movie theater during a shady special screening, it’s all about what happens when a cursed mask ignites a plague of demonic metamorphoses throughout the evening, all while a horror movie that mirrors the real-life terror is playing out onscreen. What follows is a little bit like a zombie movie but with demons, but what sets this film apart is how vividly it shows the transformation from hapless human to otherworldly monster, splitting fingertips (ouch!) and all.
Opera (1987)
Any time Italian-horror legend Argento steps back into the giallo arena that made him famous, you know you’re going to get some deliciously inventive throwback gore, and with Opera, you get it complete with a show. The story of an opera production plagued by a mysterious killer, there are, of course, nods to the Phantom in here, but what stands out years later is how Argento makes an opera house cursed by violence his own. The results are absolutely savage, from a legendary kill involving a peephole to a device made of needles that, well … let’s just say if you’ve got a thing about eye trauma, you’ll want to hide under a blanket for that part.
Waxwork (1988)
We as a culture don’t go to wax museums like we used to, but that’s honestly part of the allure of Waxwork, Anthony Hickox’s film about a group of cynical youths transported to strange visions of terror by a magical local waxwork with a dark secret. The kids are just as skeptical as the audience is of the fun to be had, and when Hickox’s campy horror fun kicks in — John Rhys-Davies as a werewolf! Cult-movie legend Miles O’Keeffe as Dracula! — everyone is won over in some way or another. All these years later and it’s still a great movie to watch with friends who are into spooky-not-scary fun.
Popcorn (1991)
Part slasher film, part tribute to the God of Movie Gimmicks, William Castle, Popcorn follows a group of film students as it puts on an all-night B-movie marathon as a fundraiser. To boost sales, the students aim to do it with the aid of old-school gimmicks ranging from electrified seats to a giant flying mosquito monster that zip-lines through the theater. Of course, the killer waiting in the wings has other plans and transforms Popcorn into a gruesome, unpredictable delight that’s both a great horror movie and a love letter to watching horror movies. Long live the Theatrical Experience!
The Houses October Built (2014)
The Houses October Built isn’t the only found-footage flick based on haunted houses out there (more on that in a minute), but it sets itself apart by focusing heavily on what exactly draws us to these strange seasonal places where people leap out and scare us with violent fury. The story of a group of friends out to find the ultimate haunted house, it’s a deeply unsettling exercise in found-footage travelogue and a surprisingly deft commentary on the nature of thrill-seeking in the 21st century. Plus scary clowns! Everyone loves a scary clown!
Hell House LLC (2015)
Speaking of scary clowns, here’s the other found-footage haunted-house movie worth watching, the internet-famous Hell House LLC. The story of a group of friends and co-workers that moves into an abandoned hotel to transform it into a haunted attraction, the film’s more amateurish qualities are quickly and easily overshadowed by its ability to project near-constant unease and, often, flat-out terror. When the scares are at full throttle, and supposedly dummy clowns are coming to life to stand at the bottom of the stairs, you’ll be hard-pressed to keep your eyes on the screen the whole time.
Haunt (2019)
While it’s often overshadowed by the more widely released Hell Fest, a film with a similar setup released the previous year, 2019’s Haunt stands out as the better, and creepier, of the two films. Masterminded by A Quiet Place’s creators, Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, it’s a movie about a group of friends that goes to a haunted house that’s more than it seems. A lot of what happens next unfolds more or less exactly how you’d expect, but it’s where this one goes in the final act that really puts it over the top. Oh, and guess what? More scary clowns!
Porno (2019)
A horror-comedy film that’s got plenty to offer from each of the genres it hybridizes, Porno is a delightful blend of hangout movie and slow descent into gruesome madness complete with an old-school movie theater that will no doubt remind you of the kind of nonsense you got up to in high school (if you’re old like me). The plot is simple: Some sexually repressed teens who work at a movie theater find an old film reel containing what might be porn, decide to watch it, and unleash a sex demon in the process. That premise alone is a good enough reason to watch it, but since it’s set in the ’90s, there’s also a certain throwback Gen-X angst to the film that adds another layer to the fun. It’s like Clerks but somehow with even more porn.
Escape Room (2019)
What was it about 2019 that gave us so many movies about scary entertainment venues? Did we all subconsciously know that we were about to get locked in our houses for two years? Anyway, Escape Room is exactly what you think it is, even if you haven’t seen it. It’s a movie about a killer escape room complete with a cast of mismatched strangers who all find they have Something Mysterious in Common, a shadowy Puppet Master pulling all the strings, and puzzles that are Not What They Seem. I capitalize all these elements because the film clearly wants me to emphasize them. The movie’s not subtle, but it also shouldn’t be, and its utter earnestness makes it satisfying as well as the perfect tool for making the case for why you shouldn’t have to go to that escape room with your stepdad and his friends next weekend.
The Last Matinee (2020)
An under-the-radar slasher that deserves a wider audience, particularly during the Halloween season, The Last Matinee is a Uruguayan gorefest set in a falling-down movie palace in the 1990s. On one rainy day, a small group of theatergoers gathers in the movie house for a matinee (naturally), only to be picked off one at a time by a mysterious and utterly brutal killer in a dark coat. If you love slashers and movies steeped in great practical gore, this one’s got it all, from stab wounds that’ll make you wince to a rain of eyeballs (I’m exaggerating only a little bit — it’s gnarly, y’all). Throw in a beautifully grimy old theater and it’s a must-see.