15 Suspenseful Horror Movies That Will Have You Holding Your Breath (2024)

What It's About: Top FBI trainee Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) is tasked with interviewing current prisoner, psychiatrist, serial killer, and cannibal, Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins), in hopes of getting insight into a case that they are struggling to solve.

How It Builds Suspense Well: With a serial killer who is beyond intelligent with an affinity for beautiful women and an FBI student who matches this description in terms of wit and beauty, this is quite a cat-and-mouse game. Although her goal is to learn details about Lecter’s past that she can use to help identify and capture the Buffalo Bill killer, the scenes drip in suspense. From Lecter asking Starling to come closer to his cell, to Starling granting some of his requests in order to get the coveted information, there’s a sinking feeling that two murderers will have to be caught. With the excess of protection, guards, cells, and weapons, the audience is left wondering how can Lecter successfully escape and what will he do when he does.

Scene That Makes You Hold Your Breath: Starling discovers that her interview subject is the murderer, Buffalo Bill, and she is alone in his home without backup. She needs to save a girl’s life and her own while outsmarting the killer who has been one step ahead all along.

What It’s About: Author Paul Sheldon (James Caan) is in a major car crash and was helped by his biggest fan and former nurse Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates). Her obsession comes through after she discovers that he is killing off her favorite character from his series and forces him to write what she wants.

How It Builds Suspense Well: There is no limit to a person’s mind or obsession. When Paul becomes incapacitated by his injuries he sustained from the crash, he is at his most vulnerable as a prisoner. Early on, the audience discovers that Annie’s passion has no bounds and there’s no telling what she will do to keep her favorite fictional character “alive.” This inability to know what the character will do next is what keeps the movie suspenseful in its entirety.

Scene That Makes You Hold Your Breath: Once Paul learns that he is Annie's prisoner, he begins planning his escape. He manages to leave his room whenever Annie is out. In one tense sequence, Paul sends Annie out to buy paper for the novel she's forcing him to write, only to realize - possibly too late - that this errand didn't take as long as he thought it would.

What It’s About: Paranormal investigators and demon expertsLorraine (Vera Farmiga) and Ed (Patrick Wilson) Warren are invited to the farmhouse of Carolyn (Lili Taylor) and Roger (Ron Livingston) Perron to investigate the supernatural spirit that only escalates in horrifying acts.

How It Builds Suspense Well:The Conjuringcontinuously builds on more creepy and scary moments, giving the audience no downtime to recover from the frights. The lighting and colors of the film pull attention to areas where the big scare isn’t happening, making the moments all the more petrifying.It’s not only the dark areas that are scary, it’s every inch of the house.

Scene That Makes You Hold Your Breath: WhenAndrea (Shanley Caswell) and Cindy (Mackenzie Foy) are getting ready for bed, the spirit presumed to be Bathsheba appears in a stealthy fashion. The armoire begins making noises and suddenly opens with the demon not appearing inside of it, but on top of it.

What It’s About: After Annie’s (Toni Collette) mother passes away, her family experiences supernatural and demonic entities that are linked to her family’s secrets.

How It Builds Suspense Well: With evil supernatural forces at work, the question arises, do they have deeper meanings? This film is a puzzle in and of itself, which leaves viewers questioning every moment and waiting for the other shoe to drop. The eerie occurrences all have hidden agendas which come to light in a slow burn manner.You can’t quite put a finger on the answers to the burning questions, but you know that this won’t end well for the Graham family.

Scene That Makes You Hold Your Breath: Peter (Alex Wolff) is in charge of his little sister Charlie (Milly Shapiro), and lies to his parents in order to attend a party. While he’s smoking weed upstairs, his sister begins to have an allergic reaction to walnuts in a cake that she ate. He grabs her and begins driving them in the car to get help only to swerve when a deer is in the road. When he does so, Charlie is decapitated by a telephone pole.

What’s It About: Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) and his family move into the Overlook Hotel, which he becomes the caretaker of in hopes that the change of scenery will cure his writer’s block. His son, Danny (Danny Lloyd) begins to have visions and premonitions while his father uncovers the hotel’s secrets, which cause him to lose control and become a murderous maniac.

How It Builds Suspense Well: This film proves that one of the greatest horrors doesn’t come from gore, but one’s own mind. The movie takes its viewers on a journey of how an alcoholic author plagued by writer’s block loses all control and transforms into something wild. The film was shot in wide-angle lenses, making it feel as though the viewer is there witnessing everything take place. The use of silence and building audio creates a sense of unease and dread with audiences preparing to jump out of their seats.

Scene That Makes You Hold Your Breath: When Danny is riding his tricycle around the hotel and the music takes an abrupt turn, he briefly encounters the murdered Grady twins before they disappear.

What It’s About: Four college friends reunite after the death of their friend to hike in a forest in Scandinavia. They make a wrong turn which leads them into the path of a Norse legend with an evil spirit that clings onto them.

How It Builds Suspense Well: The only goal of this film is to make it out alive. Despite each of the main characters’ flaws, the audience is found rooting for them to survive. The director prioritized character development while reminding viewers of the situation they’re in with unique plot twists. Each turn in this mysterious forest leads to an unexpected scare.

Scene That Makes You Hold Your Breath: When Dom is attached to a pole at a bonfire and acts as the sacrifice toJötunn. In the minute-long moment, viewers are left wondering if someone or something will save him.