7 horror movies you should watch more than once

Libby TorresApr 17, 2020, 02:26 IST

Jack Nicholson starred in "The Shining."Warner Bros.

While some horror movies lose their suspense and appeal after just one viewing, others only get better the more you watch them.
Movies like "Get Out," "Hereditary," and "Us" can take on new meanings during a second or third viewing.
And themes of films like "The Invisible Man" and "Audition" become more apparent once certain plot points are established.
While it might be hard to sit through another terrifying viewing, here are seven horror movies that you should definitely watch again.
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Some horror movies quickly lose their appeal after just one watch, but others — assuming you can sit through them again — only get better the more you watch them.

Films like "Get Out" and "Us," for example, both contain themes about race and class that become more apparent on subsequent viewings —once you can focus more on setting and characters, and less on suspenseful plot points and bloody murder scenes.

And even older movies, like Stanley Kubrick's horror classic "The Shining" and Takashi Miike's beautiful and bloody "Audition," take on new meanings the second (or third, or fourth) time around.

Watching these movies over again not only yields new insights, but also a deeper understanding of the themes and undertones that make them so memorable.

Here are seven horror movies you should definitely watch again.

Note: Numerous titles drop off the streaming services monthly, so the availability of titles below may change.

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Upon first watch, most of "Audition" seems to be a romantic comedy — but repeat viewers know that this isn't the case.

What it's about: "Widower Aoyama falls for the radiant and mysterious Asami. But as he delves into her past, he learns her former acquaintances have either gone missing — or have missing limbs. Will he be next?"

Where to stream: Available on Shudder for free or to rent on Amazon Prime Video

Why you should watch it again: Despite a deceptively sweet first half — which focuses on Aoyama as he quickly courts the beautiful Asami — "Audition" becomes a disturbing and deranged bloodbath in its final act, culminating in a scene with piano wire that's sure to give you nightmares.

Watching the movie again, the charming and rom-com-esque first half only serves to heighten the bloody drama in the second half — and will make you seriously question the wisdom of proposing to someone who you just met.

What it's about: Widower Aoyama falls for the radiant and mysterious Asami. But as he delves into her past, he learns her former acquaintances have either gone missing — or have missing limbs. Will he be next?

Where to stream: Available on Shudder for free or to rent on Amazon Prime Video

Why you should watch it again: Despite a deceptively sweet first half — which focuses on Aoyama as he quickly courts the beautiful Asami — Audition becomes a disturbing and deranged bloodbath in its final act, culminating in a scene with piano wire that's sure to give you nightmares.

Much of "The Shining" is focused on Jack's descent into homicidal mania — but subsequent viewings add new layers of meaning.

What it's about: "All work and no play makes Academy Award-winner Jack Nicholson, the caretaker of an isolated resort, go way off the deep end, terrorizing his young son and wife Shelley Duvall."

Where to stream: Available to rent on Amazon Prime Video, Google Play, and YouTube

Why you should watch it again: "The Shining" is one of the most discussed horror films of all time, even spawning a documentary, "Room 237," that focuses on the many, supposedly hidden meanings of Stanley Kubrick's landmark feature. Some believe that the film is an allegory for genocide or the Holocaust, while others believe it substantiates a claim that Kubrick helped NASA fake the Apollo 11 moon landing.

While most of these theories seem a little ridiculous, watching "The Shining" more than once will definitely make you think more critically about the classic horror film — and maybe discover some hidden themes of your own.

What it's about: All work and no play makes Academy Award-winner Jack Nicholson, the caretaker of an isolated resort, go way off the deep end, terrorizing his young son and wife Shelley Duvall.

Where to stream: Available to rent on Amazon Prime Video, Google Play, and YouTube

Why you should watch it again: The Shining is one of the most discussed horror films of all time, even spawning a documentary, Room 237, that focuses on the many, supposedly hidden meanings of Stanley Kubrick's landmark feature. Some believe that the film is an allegory for genocide or the Holocaust, while others believe it substantiates a claim that Kubrick helped NASA fake the Apollo 11 moon landing.

While most of these theories seem a little ridiculous, watching The Shining more than once will definitely make you think more critically about the classic horror film — and maybe discover some hidden themes of your own.

"Hereditary" becomes even more terrifying on the second watch.

What it's about: "When Ellen, the matriarch of the Graham family, passes away, her daughter and grandchildren begin to unravel cryptic and increasingly terrifying secrets about their ancestry, trying to outrun the sinister fate they seem to have inherited."

Where to stream: Available to rent on Amazon Prime Video and Google Play

Why you should watch it again: Even though it's pretty chilling during an initial watch, "Hereditary" becomes more terrifying on subsequent viewings, mostly because the gory fates of the Graham family are already known — and watching them unwittingly head to their bloody deaths is perhaps even more terrifying than watching the film with no knowledge of what happens next.

What it's about: When Ellen, the matriarch of the Graham family, passes away, her daughter and grandchildren begin to unravel cryptic and increasingly terrifying secrets about their ancestry, trying to outrun the sinister fate they seem to have inherited.

Where to stream: Available to rent on Amazon Prime Video and Google Play

Why you should watch it again: Even though it's pretty chilling during an initial watch, Hereditary becomes more terrifying on subsequent viewings, mostly because the gory fates of the Graham family are already known — and watching them unwittingly head to their bloody deaths is perhaps even more terrifying than watching the film with no knowledge of what happens next.

Once you know the twists and turns of "The Invisible Man," it becomes less of a thriller and more of a heartbreaking story about domestic violence.

What it's about: "'The Invisible Man' stars Emmy-winner Elisabeth Moss as a woman who fears she is being hunted by the unseen presence of her abusive ex (Oliver Jackson-Cohen)."

Where to stream: Available to rent on Amazon Prime Video

Why you should watch it again: Initially, most of "The Invisible Man" revolves around Cecilia (Elisabeth Moss) and her efforts to prove that her abusive ex Adrian is still alive and tormenting her, despite everyone around her believing he committed suicide.

But as the film goes on, it becomes clear that Adrian is still alive, and will stop at nothing to take back control over Cecilia. Once his deranged obsession with Cecilia is established, in subsequent viewings, the film becomes less of a tense thriller, and more of an emotional parable about the brutal effects of domestic violence.

What it's about: 'The Invisible Man' stars Emmy-winner Elisabeth Moss as a woman who fears she is being hunted by the unseen presence of her abusive ex (Oliver Jackson-Cohen).

Where to stream: Available to rent on Amazon Prime Video

Why you should watch it again: Initially, most of The Invisible Man revolves around Cecilia (Elisabeth Moss) and her efforts to prove that her abusive ex Adrian is still alive and tormenting her, despite everyone around her believing he committed suicide.

Much of "The Witch" focuses on the efforts of a New England family to determine if witchcraft is to blame for their problems.

What it's about: "Believing that a witch has cursed their family, pilgrims homesteading on the edge of a primeval New England forest become increasingly paranoid."

Where to stream: Netflix

Why you should watch it again: An unseen witch terrorizing a devout Puritan family in 17th-century New England causes most of the scares in "The Witch," but an initial viewing leaves a lot to the imagination — are the colonists imagining the menace, or is there actually a feral witch in their midst?

Subsequent viewings of Robert Eggers' excellent supernatural horror film make it clear that the witch is real, while making the family's infighting and eventual violence against each other even more horrifying.

What it's about: Believing that a witch has cursed their family, pilgrims homesteading on the edge of a primeval New England forest become increasingly paranoid.

Where to stream: Netflix

Why you should watch it again: An unseen witch terrorizing a devout Puritan family in 17th-century New England causes most of the scares in The Witch, but an initial viewing leaves a lot to the imagination — are the colonists imagining the menace, or is there actually a feral witch in their midst?

"Us" takes on a new meaning once you know the film's biggest twist.

What it's about: "Oscar winner Lupita Nyong'o stars as a young woman who goes with her family to a beach town where she once had a terrifying experience... only to encounter something even more horrific."

Where to stream: HBO Go

Why you should watch it again: One of the biggest twists of "Us" deals with finding out the truth about Adelaide's doppelganger (or "tethered") named Red.

Once you know about this twist, the film takes on a whole new meaning— for Adelaide isn't just trying to escape Red, she's trying to avoid acknowledging her part in Red's terrible fate.

What it's about: Oscar winner Lupita Nyong'o stars as a young woman who goes with her family to a beach town where she once had a terrifying experience... only to encounter something even more horrific.

Where to stream: HBO Go

Why you should watch it again: One of the biggest twists of Us deals with finding out the truth about Adelaide's doppelganger (or tethered) named Red.

Once you know about this twist, the film takes on a whole new meaning— for Adelaide isn't just trying to escape Red, she's trying to avoid acknowledging her part in Red's terrible fate.

The complex themes of "Get Out" are even more apparent on the second and third viewings.

What it's about: "A young African-American man visits his Caucasian girlfriend's cursed family estate."

Where to stream: Available to rent on Amazon Prime video, Google Play, or YouTube

Why you should watch it again: It's hard to appreciate the nuances and carefully crafted social commentary of "Get Out" during an initial viewing — you're so focused on Chris (Daniel Kaluuya) and his struggle to survive in his white girlfriend's house of horrors that some of the movie's powerful themes can get lost.

That's why a second watch is key — once you have a grasp of the plot, it's easier to appreciate (and notice) the movie's commentary about people of color and wealthy white Americans, making the ending of "Get Out" all the more memorable.

What it's about: A young African-American man visits his Caucasian girlfriend's cursed family estate.