Genre · ranked
The best folk horror films of all time
25 ranked · updated June 2026
Folk horror excels when it anchors ancient, unsettling superstitions within the claustrophobic borders of isolated communities. These essential films demonstrate how local traditions and ancestral burdens can warp reality, proving that the most terrifying threats often emerge from the very ground we stand on and the legacies we inherit.
How this ranking works
Ranked by a Bayesian-weighted score (rating average + rating count) across films classified as Folk Horror.
Sinners
Ryan Coogler
This film earns its top spot by masterfully blending neo-noir tension with the inescapable dread of returning to a hometown built on dark, ancestral secrets.
The Wailing
Na Hong-jin
The Wailing excels through its relentless pacing and its profound exploration of religious doubt amidst a community fracturing under the weight of unexplained, xenophobic paranoia.
The Wicker Man
Robin Hardy
As a foundational pillar of the genre, this film perfectly illustrates the catastrophic clash between rigid modern belief systems and the primal, pagan forces of isolation.
Midsommar
Ari Aster
Ari Aster utilizes the jarring aesthetic of daylight horror to expose how deep-seated grief and toxic interpersonal dynamics can be weaponized within a ritualistic, cult-like setting.
Exhuma
Jang Jae-hyun
Exhuma stands out for its visceral approach to shamanism, grounding its supernatural threats in the tangible, high-stakes consequences of disturbing historical gravesites and long-buried ancestral curses.
Onibaba
Kaneto Shindō
Onibaba is a masterclass in atmospheric dread, utilizing its swamp-bound setting to heighten themes of survival, greed, and the suffocating nature of sexual jealousy during wartime.
Kwaidan
Masaki Kobayashi
This anthology earns its place by elevating traditional ghost stories into a stylized, haunting examination of karmic retribution and the inescapability of ancient moral consequences.
When Evil Lurks
Demián Rugna
When Evil Lurks is defined by its brutal depiction of contagion, transforming rural isolation into a breeding ground for an unstoppable, physical manifestation of demonic malice.
Fear Street: 1666
Leigh Janiak
This film effectively bridges the gap between historical colonial hysteria and modern generational trauma, showing how past witch-hunts continue to haunt the present day.
Picnic at Hanging Rock
Peter Weir
Picnic at Hanging Rock creates an unmatched sense of unease by focusing on the inexplicable disappearance of students, highlighting the tension between repressed society and untamed nature.
The Witch
Robert Eggers
The Witch is a definitive piece of historical folk horror that captures the psychological erosion of a family isolated by religious fanaticism and dark, unseen forces.
Tumbbad
Rahi Anil Barve
Tumbbad is visually arresting, using the backdrop of colonial India to tell a dark, cautionary tale about how insatiable greed acts as a permanent family curse.
Bone Tomahawk
S. Craig Zahler
Bone Tomahawk masterfully subverts the Western genre, replacing traditional frontier conflict with a visceral, claustrophobic descent into the horrors of an isolated, cannibalistic culture.
Don't Torture a Duckling
Lucio Fulci
This film highlights the dangers of mob mentality and superstition, showing how a remote town’s distrust of outsiders can lead to devastating, systemic violence and misogyny.
The Medium
Banjong Pisanthanakun
The Medium uses the found footage format to provide an intimate, terrifying look at the corruption of faith and the brutal reality of demonic possession in shamanistic traditions.
Common questions
What are some of the best folk horror films involving shamanism?
Two excellent examples of folk horror featuring shamanism are 'Exhuma,' which focuses on the consequences of disturbing ancestral gravesites, and 'The Medium,' a found footage film that examines the terrifying intersection of demonic possession and traditional shamanic practices.
Which folk horror movies are set in colonial or historical time periods?
Several films on this list are set in the past, including 'The Witch,' which depicts Puritan life in the 1630s, 'Fear Street: 1666,' which explores colonial witch-hunts, and 'Tumbbad,' which is set in 1918 India during the colonial era.
Are there any folk horror films that deal with cults and ritualistic festivals?
Yes, 'Midsommar' is a prominent example of this subgenre, focusing on a couple who visits a rural Swedish village for a midsummer festival that devolves into a terrifying, ritualistic experience driven by the community's dark traditions.