Horror movies come in all shapes and sizes, but some of the most interesting are when they are based on the world of noir filmmaking, whether this is classic film noir or neo-noir. These movies offer up stories often based on the world of pulp detectives, and many are shot in off-kilter styles, keeping the viewers off balance throughout.
Film noir got its start thanks to German Expressionism, and many early noir masterpieces, such as The Maltese Falcon, took the unique filmmaking techniques and added the pulp fiction style of gumshoe detectives to the mix. In later years, neo-noir films replaced classic film noir, updating the format for a new generation, and it crossed over into horror.
The Ninth Gate (1999)
The Ninth Gate is a Roman Polanski noir horror movie from 1999 with Johnny Depp starring as Dean Corso, a rare book dealer hired to determine if a classic book called The Nine Gates of the Kingdom of Shadows is authentic or not. However, the twist is that the book was supposed to be able to summon the Devil.
While Corso is not a detective, The Ninth Gate still uses classic neo-noir filmmaking to craft the story, as he is investigating the mysterious book, and he soon learns that there is truth to the superstitions surrounding its magical powers. This leads to a horrific story when Corso finds himself pulled into a great evil.
The ending pulls this straight out of the neo-noir atmosphere and into a terrifying supernatural movie about Hell on Earth. While it received poor reviews, it was a small box office success and has gone on to become a cult classic.
Shutter Island (2010)
In 2010, Martin Scorsese made a rare mainstream genre film when he directed the movie Shutter Island, based on the novel by Dennis Lehane. The film was set up as a neo-noir detective story, but there was a dark undertone to the action. Two detectives show up on a prison island where a patient mysteriously disappeared.
However, this is about more than a missing patient. Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Ruffalo star as the two detectives, and neither of them is who they claim to be. As with the best noir detective stories, there are twists and turns and deception at every corner. The story is full of dread and horror, and the ending shows why.
While Scorsese does not consider Shudder Island one of his better movies, it was an atmospheric thriller that masterfully blended neo-noir filmmaking with some genuine horror moments for a solid genre release.
Cat People (1942)
There were some brilliant early noir horror movies, after the German Expressionist era showed how to do it in basic horror. Following masterpieces like The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and Nosferatu, America followed up in horror with more genre-based films like Dracula and Frankenstein. While they used similar filmmaking techniques, it wasn’t the same.
That said, Val Lewton wanted to make something more serious with his horror movies, and one of the best to use the noir style to excellent effect was Cat People. This isn’t about detectives or investigations, but the filmmaking style and the mood of the film were a perfect match for the noir films of the 1940s.
The story follows a woman who starts to change into a black panther when she becomes aroused. When her husband begins to show signs of cheating, she begins to stalk the new woman with deadly consequences.
Angel Heart (1987)
Angel Heart is one of the best cases of making a pure neo-noir film in the horror genre. Directed by Alan Parker, Mickey Rourke stars as a New York City private investigator who is hired to solve the mystery behind the disappearance of a singer named Johnny Favorite. However, when he goes to New Orleans, he finds supernatural explanations.
This entire movie is a neo-noir, and even if it hadn’t taken a dip into the supernatural, it would have been a masterwork of the neo-noir genre. That said, when it does go to dark places, it is brilliant, with Robert De Niro playing Louis Cyphre, who is clearly the Devil in human form. The ending was as dark as it gets, which led to its cult classic status.
Critics praised the film for both its noir filmmaking style and its dark, hypnotic story. It earned three Saturn Award nominations and has stood the test of time for its dark and twisting story.
Nightmare Alley (2021)
The original Nightmare Alley was made in 1947 and is a straight film noir about a man lured in by a traveling carnival, only to suffer a great fall. However, Guillermo del Toro’s remake in 2021 turned it into something even more horrifying, as he focused a lot on the characters inside the carnival and their life and journey.
Bradley Cooper stars as the lead character, Stan Carlisle, who takes a job at a traveling carnival, on the run for a murder he had committed. He learns how to do the psychic act, where he learns how to read the crowd and puts on a show that makes it seem like he is making premonitions and revealing people’s fates.
As with the best film noirs, things do not go well for Stan, and he quickly learns that living life as a deceiver would have significant consequences down the line. Cate Blanchett also delivers a masterful performance as the femme fatale in the story. The film earned an Oscar nomination for Best Picture.
The Uninvited (1944)
Released in 1944, The Uninvited was a horror movie released just when film noir was becoming a huge sensation. Based on the Dorothy Macardle novel, Uneasy Freehold, the story follows a brother and sister who buy a house in England that seems to be plagued by paranormal and supernatural events.
The movie was a huge success when released, and was one of the year’s best at the box office. It was also a film that received mainly positive reviews as a horror movie, but retrospective reviews saw the film receive more praise for its filmmaking techniques and themes that were very different from other horror films of the era.
It did earn an Oscar nomination when released, and when looked at today, it remains one of the best ghost stories in cinema history, and uses film noir lighting techniques to tremendous effect.
The Night Of The Hunter (1955)
The Night of the Hunter remains one of the best thrillers in movie history, and the villain in the film, Harry Powell, remains one of the most frightening. Released in 1955, Robert Mitchum stars as Harry Powell, a serial killer who has taken on the identity of a traveling preacher who seeks out new victims to kill and steal from along the way.
What makes this movie so scary is that this latest target is a woman and her two children who live along the Ohio River. Harry shared a cell with the kids’ father, and he told Harry that his kids know where the money he stole was hidden, which makes them his target when he escapes prison. This was also pure noir, with the criminal sliding into the lives of the innocent kids.
The ending was horrifying, and it shows how a charismatic charlatan can even corrupt a child. That is a big part of why Harry Powell is such a brilliant antagonist in both noir and horror genres.
Lost Highway (1997)
David Fincher has always used a lot of film noir techniques in his films, and of all his movies, the one that really fits the blend of horror and noir was his 1997 release, Lost Highway. This also might be one of his most confusing films, as it jumps between a man in jail for murdering his wife and the life of a mechanic he suddenly finds himself in.
Bill Pullman, Patricia Arquette, and Balthazar Getty star in the twisting film about the man accused of murdering his wife, and the truth about what really might have happened. It is a movie that really lets Lynch play in the playground he loves so much, and Arquette is perfect as the femme fatale.
The movie was a box office flop, and a lot of it had to do with the confusing storyline that required a lot more attention than many moviegoers wanted to exert. Early reviews criticized the movie, but its legacy remains strong as a cult favorite and a movie a lot smarter than critics might have wanted to believe.
Cape Fear (1991)
Cape Fear is one of the Hollywood remakes that surpasses the film it was remaking. The original Cape Fear was a good movie, with Gregory Peck and Robert Mitchum in the lead roles as a man released from prison after serving time for rape who wants revenge against his attorney. The remake took the same story and made it terrifying.
Martin Scorsese directed the remake, with Robert De Niro as Max Cady, the man released from prison for raping and abusing a 16-year-old girl. Nick Nolte is the attorney he wants revenge against, and Juliette Lewis turned heads as his teenage daughter, who Max Cady targets next. Mitchum and Peck even had cameo roles in the film.
The Cape Fear remake was a fantastic neo-noir that delivered a terrifying antagonist and true threats to the family. It earned several award nominations, including Best Actor for De Niro and Best Supporting Actress for Lewis, who was 18 when the movie was released.
Seven (1995)
David Fincher took the neo-noir aesthetic and used it to brilliant effect in his 1995 thriller Seven. The movie stars Brad Pitt as a young, idealistic detective with a new wife (Gwyneth Paltrow) and a veteran partner (Morgan Freeman). However, things grow dark as night when the police start investigating a serial killer who murders based on the seven deadly sins.
The killer, only known as John Doe, is played menacingly by Kavin Spacey, and the entire film is a labyrinth of sin-themed murders that plays out to the shockingly downbeat ending, where the killer wins in the end, even if his victory comes at the expense of his life. Pitt is incredible as the cop who spirals into darkness.
When it comes to mixing horror and noir into one film, very few directors have done it better than David Fincher.
