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If you love horror-thriller movies, but blood and guts make you weak in the knees, don't worry—you're not alone! The flicks on this list are guaranteed to leave you feeling shaken, not queasy, without sacrificing any of the scares.
The Conjuring
In The Conjuring, paranormal investigators Lorraine and Ed Warren are hired to oust a terrifying demonic presence from a family's new home. The film is based on a true story; the real-life Warrens were really paranormal experts whose most notorious case was the Amityville haunting.
Paranormal Activity
For a movie without gore, found-footage film Paranormal Activity is certainly one of the scariest of its genre. A young couple, Katie and Micah, attempt to document the supernatural entity haunting their home. Although Micah is a skeptic at first, he soon discovers that things are not as they seem.
The VVitch
Set in the 1630s, The VVitch follows a Puritan family in New England who are terrorized by evil forces in the woods beyond their farm. Rather than employing gore or jumpscares, the film relies heavily on a deep, slow-burning discomfort that will chill the viewer to their core.
The Shining
Frustrated writer Jack Torrance is hired as the caretaker at the empty Overlook Hotel. During their stay, Jack, his wife, and their clairvoyant son are plagued by the hotel's dark secrets, leading Jack's psyche to unravel. Although The Shining includes violent scenes and imagery, it is far more suspenseful than bloody.
The Ring
The Ring tells the story of a journalist who sets out to investigate a cursed videotape that kills the viewer within seven days of watching it. Instead of gore, the film relies on creepy music and jump scares to terrify its audience. The Ring paved the way for English-language remakes of Asian horror movies.
Psycho
When a woman on the run stops for the night at a shoddy motel, she meets Norman Bates, a young man with a complicated mother-son relationship and a knack for taxidermy. Despite the fact that Alfred Hitchock's Oscar-nominated Psycho does not include a single drop of blood, it is still widely regarded as one of the scariest movies of all time.
It Follows
Carefree teen Jay sleeps with her new boyfriend for the first time, only to learn that she has become the next recipient of a fatal curse that is passed on through intercourse. It Follows leaves gore behind in favor of the scariest premise of all—death is always a few steps behind.
The Invisible Man
An abusive scientist uses his own technology to turn invisible and terrorize his ex-girlfriend as she desperately attempts to escape him. While The Invisible Man does feature a fair amount of blood, you'll be too busy rooting for Elisabeth Moss to be distracted by the minimal ick factor.
The Grudge
After a man brutally murders his family in a fit of jealous rage, a deadly curse is passed on from victim to victim. Despite its violent and terrifying nature, The Grudge features little actual gore, aside from a character with a missing jaw. Most of the movie's ghostly murders happen off-screen.
Gerald's Game
For the most part, Gerald's Game is all about psychological warfare. A woman's husband dies during some steamy foreplay, leaving her handcuffed to the bed in their remote vacation home with no hope of escape. Toward the end of the film, there is a scene that involves some rather nauseating gore, but Gerald's Game is good enough that we suggest you watch and look away.
Fatal Attraction
In this classic 1987 psychological thriller, a woman scorned grows increasingly obsessed with the object of her affection, putting him and his family in harm's way. While Fatal Attraction isn't entirely devoid of blood, there are certainly no guts to be seen.
The Babadook
Plagued by the violent death of her husband, a single mother grapples with her son's fear of a monster lurking in the house. The Babadook is easily one of the most nerve-frying horror films from the last decade, but it also tells a beautiful and heartbreaking story of trauma and motherhood.
The Boy
The Boy follows Greta, a young nanny who is hired to care for a life-size doll as if it was human. The doll's "parents" use it to cope with the death of their son twenty years prior; it isn't long before Greta realizes that something is amiss. The film features mild gore and jumpscares.
Creep
In Creep, there is only one explicitly violent scene—however, the movie itself will shake you to your core. Told through found footage, Creep tells the story of a young man hired to document a dying stranger's video diary to his unborn child.
The Wicker Man
This classic 1973 folk horror film follows a seargeant who arrives on a small Scottish island to investigate reports of a missing child, only to find that the island's residents are less than helpful. The more he learns of the islanders' bizarre practices, the closer danger lurks.
Don't Breathe
Three Detroit thieves attempt to rob a supposedly "helpless" victim, but they soon make a shocking discovery that leads to a desperate fight for their lives. Most of the scares in Don't Breathe rely on the tenseness of the atmosphere rather than gore.
Misery
Misery is famous for one particular scene that may make you a little queasy, but this classic Stephen King adaptation is still well worth the watch. After a car accident, a novelist is rescued by his biggest fan, but her obsession soon takes a dark turn.
What Lies Beneath
What Lies Beneath is all ghost and no gore. One year after a doctor betrays his wife, she begins to see and hear strange things in the house. At first, he writes them off as delusions, but the couple then realizes that something is very wrong with their house.
Under the Skin
Under the Skin doesn't need gore to be disturbing. An extraterrestrial disguised as a human woman drives around Glasgow, luring unsuspecting men into her van, after which they are sent into a liquid abyss and preyed upon for food.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
In The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, a group of hitchhikers falls prey to a family of cannibals. Despite its name and gory legacy, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre actually features very little actual gore—a purposeful move by director Tobe Hooper in order to acquire a PG rating from the MPAA. However, Hooper's plan failed, and the film received an X rating, later reduced to R.
The Village
Deep in the forest, the 19th-century town of Covington fears the humanoid creatures who lurk outside the bounds of their village. When a young man is injured, his blind wife-to-be travels through the woods to acquire medicine; the audience discovers that Covington isn't what it seems. This M. Night Shyamalan period thriller relies on the fear of the unknown to frighten its viewers.
Rear Window
This classic Hitchcock thriller follows a news photographer who is confined to a wheelchair in his apartment after an accident. To pass the time, he spies on his neighbors—and may or may not witness a murder. Rear Window is a brilliant example of a film that builds chilling suspense without action or gore.
The Orphanage
Laura, Carlos, and their seven-year-old adopted son Simón return to Laura's childhood home—an orphanage that she wishes to turn into a facility for disabled children. During an argument, Simón goes missing, and ghosts of the past begin to resurface. Equal parts heartbreaking and terrifying, The Orphanage will sit with you long after the credits roll.
Signs
This 2002 sci-fi thriller is yet another Shyamalan production. Signs tells the story of a farmer whose perception of the world around him changes when crop circles suddenly appear on his property. The film's sound editing makes sure each terrifying shot packs the most punch.
The Blair Witch Project
The Blair Witch Project is one of the scariest films of all time, mostly because of what the audience doesn't see. Marketed as a true story, the movie centers around three student filmmakers who disappear while hiking in the woods, only for their equipment and footage to be discovered one year later.
Rosemary's Baby
A hallmark of art-horror, Rosemary's Baby follows a young, pregnant wife in Manhattan who suspects that her neighbors are members of a Satanic cult. Rosemary's Baby earned universal acclaim and won a number of awards, all without shedding a drop of blood.
The Sixth Sense
The Sixth Sense can be accurately summarized by a single, infamous quote: "I see dead people." Young Cole confesses to his psychologist that he has the ability to interact with the dead. Although the ghosts that Cole sees all experienced rather gruesome deaths, there isn't much violence in the movie itself.
The Mothman Prophecies
A journalist's wife has a vision of a moth immediately before her death. Two years later, while on his way to an interview, he finds himself hundreds of miles away, in a remote town that is known for its "Mothman" sightings and other strange phenomena.
Halloween
While there are violent moments in this classic 1978 horror staple, gore is hardly an issue for the first installment of the Halloween franchise. On the night before Halloween, the murderous Michael Myers escapes prison and returns to his Illinois hometown in search of his next victims.
Bram Stoker's Dracula
Bram Stoker's Dracula isn't necessarily for the faint of heart, but that's mostly due to the amount of no-holds-barred sex scenes. In the 15th cenutry, Count Dracula is condemned to survive on human blood for the rest of eternity; when a lawyer arrives at the prince's Castle, Dracula imprisons him and sets off to track down his fiancée.
Night of the Living Dead
Despite its zombie-centric theme, Night of the Living Dead is hardly as gory as its successors. Seven people are trapped in a western Pennsylvania farmhouse, which is under attack by a growing horde of undead ghouls with a taste for human flesh. The franchise includes five official sequels, none of which are appropriate viewing material for the squeamish.
1408
Adapted from a Stephen King short story, 1408 is far more psychological than physical in terms of scares. An author whose success rides on the debunking of supernatural phenomena spends the night in a haunted hotel room, where he begins to understand the meaning of true fear.
Gremlins
Although Gremlins is somewhat marketed as a children's movie, it's not for little kids. A Chinatown shopkeepers sells a man something called a "mogwai" as a pet, warning him that he must care for it properly. Things go awry, and the mogwai spawns small, evil monsters known as gremlins, which wreak havoc on the town.
Before I Wake
A young couple whose own son passed away welcomes a foster child into their home. They soon learn that his dreams can come to life while he sleeps—but so can his nightmares. Before I Wake is more heavily reliant upon supernatural phenomena than blood and guts.
Black Swan
In this critically acclaimed psychological thriller, a ballerina whose passion for her craft grows into an unhealthy obsession. When pitted against another dancer for the lead in Swan Lake, her psyche begins to fracture as their twisted friendship grows increasingly disturbing.
The Others
There's not much in the way of gore, but The Others is a terrifying and heartbreaking work of horror nonetheless. A religious mother and her two immunocompromised children move to a haunted estate on the English coast while waiting on word from her husband, who has disappeared while fighting in World War II.
Insidious
Insidious made Tiny Tim's "Tiptoe Through the Tulips" into something far more sinister. The first film in this popular horror franchise centers around a couple whose son slips into a coma and becomes a vessel for a variety of terrifying entities who wish to inhabit his body.
A Quiet Place
Minus a bit of blood when a character steps on a nail, A Quiet Place manages to evoke sheer terror without the use of gore. In a post-apocalyptic world where blind monsters with an acute sense of hearing hunt their prey based on sound, two parents attempt to keep their family safe.
Practical Magic
When a vicious boyfriend dies unexpectedly, two magical sisters take a crash course in witchcraft in order to resurrect him before the authorities catch on—but things go up in smoke when an evil spirit possesses his corpse. Filled with suspense, Practical Magic is all about tension and loss.
Invasion of the Body Snatchers
This sci-fi thriller remake is more about paranoia than violence. When a friend complains of her husband's strange behavior, health inspector Matthew Bennell assumes it's a marital issue. However, he quickly discovers that an invisible enemy is at large—humans are being replaced by alien duplicates devoid of human emotion.
A Ghost Story
A Ghost Story falls more on the side of drama than horror, but this supernatural film will certainly tug at your heartstrings. A man dies outside his home and, rather than moving on, drifts through time, observing in frustration as life moves on without him.
The Gift
A married couple encounters an acquaintance from the past who soon becomes an uninvited guest. After a series of mysterious gifts and drop-ins, a terrible secret comes to light. If you're looking for a movie that will mess with your mind, The Gift is certainly it.
The Changeling
In The Changeling, composer John Russell's family is killed in an automobile accident while on vacation. Sick with grief, Russell leaves New York City to live in a remote house on the other side of the country, where he encounters the ghost of a boy who died on the property; Russell makes it his mission to uncover the circumstances of the boy's death.
Drag Me to Hell
Drag Me to Hell banks on the general creepinesss of the atmosphere as opposed to body horror. Loan officer Christine's perfect life is turned upside-down after denying an old woman's request for an extension on her home loan. The hag places a curse on Christine, who must do everything in her power to break the curse.
Dark Water
A woman and her daughter move away from her ex-husband into a dreary tower block. They discover strange, dark water leaking through the ceiling of their apartment, which only worsens after the building's owner attempts to patch it up. Bizarre and unsettling, Dark Water pushes the edge of PG-13.
The Exorcism of Emily Rose
Faith and doubt are divided in The Exorcism of Emily Rose, loosely based on the story of Anneliese Michel. An agnostic lawyer acts as a defense attorney for a parish priest accused by the state of negligent homicide after performing an exorcism on a young woman named Emily.
Les Diaboliques
This classic French film is steeped in suspense, as much a horror as it is a thriller. Two women—a wife and a mistress—come together to plot the death of a cruel boarding school headmaster. However, after the man's body disappears, the crime begins to unravel at the seams.
The Birds
Melanie Daniel sand Mitch Brenner meet in a San Francisco pet store; she decides to follow him home and offers two love birds as a gift. Out of nowhere, a series of unexplained bird attacks begin to occur throughout Bodega Bay, California. The Birds is classic Hitchcock in all his glory.
Funny Games
Although Funny Games is easily one of the most disturbing films of the past two decades, it counts on the characters' terrifying and ruthless sadism to drive the plot. Two young men capture and torture a middle-class family on vacation, giving them until the next day to survive. The film is meant to be a reflection and criticism of violence in media.
I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House
A live-in nurse is hired to care for a reclusive elderly author suffering from dementia; she comes to suspect the house may be haunted. This slow-burning supernatural gothic horror film foregoes slasher horror and jumpscares in favor of something more poetic.
The Nameless
Years after the brutal death of their child, a couple is contacted by a young woman who could be their supposedly deceased daughter. An investigation involving a reporter and a detective targets a satanic cult who could be holding the girl hostage. This dark and atmospheric horror movie will keep you at the edge of your seat.
Lights Out
Lights Out will terrify you without the blood and guts. A supernatural entity has been haunting a young woman since childhood. Now, her younger brother is experiencing the same. The ghost appears to be drawn to their neglectful mother, ready to seek vengeance on the whole family.
Mama
On the day of their parents' deaths, two sisters vanish in the woods. Despite a fruitless search by the girls' uncle and his girlfriend, five years go by before the girls are located. However, adjusting to normalcy isn't as easy as it looks—especially since something appears to have followed them home.
The Craft
In The Craft, a group of outcasts with troubled backgrounds pursue witchcraft for their own personal gain, only to discover that the consequences are dire. When a minor spell causes a fellow student to lose all of her hair, the girls grow hungry for more power. Soon, things spiral out of control.
Polaroid
In this 2019 Netflix horror film, high school loner Bird Fitcher finds a vintage camera that wields dark and mysterious powers—anyone who is photographed by it meets a tragic death. Polaroid relies mostly on jumpscares to stir up the audience.
Repulsion
Roman Polanski's first English-language film follows a beautiful young manicurst who suffers from the pathological fear of interaction with men. Left alone in her apartment after her sister and roommate leave for vacation, she begins to experience terrifying hallucinations, gradually descending into madness.
Stonehearst Asylum
Stonehearst Asylum is loosely based on the 1845 short story "The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether" by Edgar Allen Poe. The film follows a new employee at a mental hospital who becomes attracted to one of his colleagues, but he soon becomes aware of a new and horrifying change in staff.
The Lodgers
Orphaned twins Rachel and Edward are bound to their home by a family curse. Forced to live by the rules of a haunting lullaby, the twins must be in their rooms by midnight, can never be apart, and may not let any outsiders into the estate. If the rules are broken, a sinister presence that lurks in the house after midnight will come to the surface.
The Skeleton Key
The Skeleton Key follows a well-natured New Orleans nurse who quits her job to work for an elderly woman, Violet Devereaux, whose husband is recovering from a stroke. As she explores the couple's mansion, secrets of the house continue to reveal itself—including the real reason for Mr. Deveraux's illness.
Under the Shadow
In the midst of 1980s Tehran a cursed missile collides with Shideh's building. Convinced that the missile is carrying malevolent spirits, Shideh must confront the possibility of evil forces to save her family. This ghost story is extra tense due to its setting in war-torn Iran.