Basements are a commonly-used horror trope. Many moviemakers use basements to convey a sense of dread; after all, a basement is a rarely-used part of your home, and it may be dimly-lit as well. However, some directors use basements to a more horrifying effect than others. If you’re looking for a genuinely scream-worthy basement in an interesting horror movie, look no further than these infographic scariest basements in horror movies.
The Most Horrifying Basements in Horror Movies
The Amityville Horror – 5.8 Basement Evil Score | 6.2 IMDB
One of the reasons The Amityville Horror is so horrifying to many people is that it’s purported to be a true story. Sure, the “proof” of it being real is a little shaky, but the very thought that someone could have lived through something this terrifying is jaw-dropping. The creepy basement contains its very own “Red Room,” which is a small four-foot-by-five-foot crimson-painted room that wasn’t on any of the building plans. Amity Ville is one of the most horrifying horror movies, which is streaming on Amazon Prime Video. Click here for best horror movies streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
A Nightmare On Elm Street – 6.0 Basement Evil Score | 7.5 IMDB
A Nightmare on Elm Street was a leader in the “slasher” genre, and it made an impact by crafting a world where Freddy can only hurt people while they sleep. When people do sleep and enter the Dream World, Freddy is able to harm and even kill them, and they die in the real world as well. Freddy calls his boiler room the Nightmare Factory because he uses it to torture and kills people. A Nightmare On Elm Street is the one of best horror movie in the 1980s
Psycho – 6.6 Basement Evil Score | 8.5 IMDB
Psycho forever changed the horror genre and the public’s perception of movies in general. Thereee are many uniquely memorable moments in Psycho, and these are the moments that play on people’s expectations of movies, horror, and the general nature of the film. An especially horrifying and memorable moment occurs when the main character goes into Norman Bates’ fruit cellar. Here, she discovers the man’s mother as a mummified corpse.
The Evil – 9.0 Basement Evil Score | 5.8 IMDB
In The Evil, a husband and wife team are looking to open a rehabilitation center, and so they purchase a New Mexico home that happens to be in an area prone to sulfur pits. However, what they don’t know is that their home’s built on one of these pits. When the main character opens a trap door in the basement, they discover that these “sulfur pits” are actually a portal to Hell. Though public opinion is divided, many people who love horror movies agree that this a great one.
Get Out – 9.6 Basement Evil Score | 7.7 IMDB
By introducing horror concepts and then turning them on their head, Get Out ensures that you’re always surprised at something happening in the movie. The seemingly innocent architecture and exterior of the main home are actually just to throw you off the scent of what’s really going on. The main character, Chris, undergoes hypnosis in the basement, which is a process that ends up sending him to the terrifying Sunken Place. Read more
The Silence of the Lambs – 10.0 Basement Evil Score | 8.6 IMDB
If you want a truly terrifying basement, look no further than Silence of the Lambs. This movie is already horrifying because it essentially pits two serial killers against each other: Hannibal Lecter, who sort of helps the protagonist, and Buffalo Bill, who the protagonist is trying to stop. Throughout the movie, various horrifying and terrifying things happen. One particularly memorable basement-related moment revolves around the fact that Buffalo Bill has a dry well in his basement, which is where he starves women to death.
Conclusion
Horrifying basements may seem like a dime a dozen in horror movies, but there’s a difference between a truly horrifying basement and a horrifying scene that just happens to include a basement. Next time you want that horror experience, look no further than one of these movies, which will let you in on an overwhelmingly evil basement opportunity.
