Self-referential horror
Horror movies, both pre- and post-Scream, that can be considered self-referential.
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- DirectorWes CravenStarsNeve CampbellCourteney CoxDavid ArquetteA year after the murder of her mother, a teenage girl is terrorized by a masked killer who targets her and her friends by using scary movies as part of a deadly game.The Scream series inspired many horror movies that are more or less self aware. The references in those movies are often somewhat clumsily executed, sadly.
- DirectorWes CravenStarsNeve CampbellCourteney CoxDavid ArquetteTwo years after the first series of murders, as Sidney acclimates to college life, someone donning the Ghostface costume begins a new string of killings.
- DirectorWes CravenStarsDavid ArquetteNeve CampbellCourteney CoxWhile Sidney and her friends visit the Hollywood set of Stab 3, the third film based on the Woodsboro murders, another Ghostface killer rises to terrorize them.
- DirectorWes CravenStarsNeve CampbellCourteney CoxDavid ArquetteTen years have passed, and Sidney Prescott, who has put herself back together thanks in part to her writing, is visited by the Ghostface Killer.
- DirectorJohn LafiaStarsTobias MehlerAngela KeepBrendan CowellTragedy strikes a small town's monster movie festival when the monster featured in the films comes to life.The actual horror scenes in this movie are so-so, but it does a good job portraying a small town obsessed with a series of horror movies filmed there.
- DirectorWes CravenStarsHeather LangenkampRobert EnglundJf DavisA demonic force has chosen Freddy Krueger as its portal to the real world. Can Heather Langenkamp play the part of Nancy one last time and trap the evil trying to enter our world?Wes Craven's New Nightmare takes place in the real world, where Freddy Krueger is just a movie character. Or so it seems.
- DirectorTom HollandStarsChris SarandonWilliam RagsdaleAmanda Bearse"Fright Night" sees a teenager believing that the newcomer in his neighborhood is a vampire. He turns to an actor in a television hosted horror movie show for help to deal with the undead.This movie includes Peter Vincent, a character who used to be an actor in horror movies and now works as a horror host. I can't recall many other movies that feature or even reference a horror host.
- DirectorFred DekkerStarsAndre GowerRobby KigerStephen MachtA group of young monster fanatics attempts to save their hometown from Count Dracula and his monsters.
- DirectorScott GlossermanStarsNathan BaeselAngela GoethalsZelda RubinsteinThe next great killer and psychopath has given a documentary film crew exclusive access to his life as he plans his reign of terror over the quiet town of Glen Echo.Fun in that an actual horror movie-style serial killer walks the reporter filming a story on him through the usual tropes of slasher films.
- DirectorJoe DanteChuck JonesStarsZach GalliganPhoebe CatesHowie MandelThe Gremlins are back, and this time, they've taken control of a New York City media mogul's high-tech skyscraper.While the first Gremlins movie could arguably be called a horror movie, the same isn't really true for the sequel. However, it does feature a horror host.
- DirectorEdgar WrightStarsSimon PeggNick FrostKate AshfieldThe uneventful, aimless lives of a London electronics salesman and his layabout roommate are disrupted by the zombie apocalypse."We're not using the Z-word!" We do, however, cram this movie full of references to zombie movies without resorting to just naming or quoting them.
- DirectorRolfe KanefskyStarsCraig PeckWendy BednarzMark CollverWhen a horror film buff tries to warn his friends spending spring break in a house in the woods of impending danger, they scoff at him, that is, until a huge mutant frog starts to pick them up one by one.Spoiler alert: There is. And nobody listens to Mike until it's too late for most of them.
- DirectorMatt FlynnStarsDanica McKellarJay Kenneth JohnsonJuliet LandauWanting to raise their grades, a handful of college kids are randomly selected for a field trip to study wildlife, but don't get the chance as cliché horror film-style murders occur.Somebody tries to reenact death scenes from various horror movies. This movie, unfortunately, is one of those that makes its references feel awkward and clumsy.
- DirectorBigas LunaStarsZelda RubinsteinMichael LernerTalia PaulA controlling mother uses telepathic powers to send her middle-aged son on a killing spree.Its self-referential aspects come less from referencing other horror movies and more from focusing on the act of watching a (horror) movie.
- DirectorPeter StricklandStarsToby JonesAntonio MancinoGuido AdorniA sound engineer's work for an Italian horror studio becomes a terrifying case of life imitating art.The movie largely takes place in a sound studio where the audio for a horror movie is recorded.
- DirectorJoseph KahnStarsJosh HutchersonShanley CaswellSpencer LockeAs a copycat killer named after movie villain Cinderhella stalks the student body at Grizzly Lake High School, a group of co-eds band together to survive while serving detention.Cinderhella, the killer in a popular, Saw-like horror franchise starts killing teenagers in real life, too, but that's not even the weirdest thing happening at the local high school.
- DirectorDrew GoddardStarsKristen ConnollyChris HemsworthAnna HutchisonFive college friends head out to a remote cabin for a getaway, but things don't go as planned when they start getting killed. They soon discover that there is more to the cabin than it seems.A love letter to the horror genre, jam-packed with references to horror films and their tropes. Easily one of the best self-aware horror movies.
- DirectorEli CraigStarsTyler LabineAlan TudykKatrina BowdenAffable hillbillies Tucker and Dale are on vacation at their dilapidated mountain cabin when they are mistaken for murderers by a group of preppy college students.Horror tropes become prejudices in this fun horror comedy that sees a group of college students off themselves as they attempt to flee from two harmless, good-natured hillbillies.
- DirectorQuentin DupieuxStarsStephen SpinellaRoxane MesquidaWings HauserA homicidal car tire, discovering it has destructive psionic power, sets its sights on a desert town once a mysterious woman becomes its obsession.So meta it has an audience built right into the film.
- DirectorTodd Strauss-SchulsonStarsTaissa FarmigaMalin AkermanAdam DevineA young woman grieving the loss of her mother, a famous scream queen from the 1980s, finds herself pulled into the world of her mom's most famous movie. Reunited, the women must fight off the film's maniacal killer.A group of young people become stuck in a famous horror film (obviously based on Friday the 13th) and need to navigate classic slasher tropes to survive. Very imaginative and quite touching.
- DirectorAlfonso Gomez-RejonStarsAddison TimlinVeronica CartwrightAnthony Anderson65 years after a masked serial killer terrorized the small town of Texarkana, the so-called "moonlight murders" begin again. Is it a copycat or something even more sinister? A lonely high-school girl may be the key to catching him.Some nice camera work and interesting interplay between the story as portrayed in the 1974 film of the same name and the "real" story (as the 1974 film was loosely based on real events), but ultimately there is nothing of substance to the film.
- DirectorMark HerrierAlan OrmsbyStarsJill SchoelenTom VillardDee WallaceA master of disguise deranged killer begins killing off the college students who are organizing a horror-movie marathon in an abandoned theater.The movie is a homage to gimmick-heavy movies like those of William Castle, although the film's actual plot is more that of a slasher.