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Haunted house horror has never really left us, but some of its best offerings definitely flew under the radar. While The Conjuring and Sinister soaked up the spotlight, several haunting gems quietly delivered top-tier frights in dimly lit hallways and creaking staircases. These films didn’t have blockbuster hype or Blumhouse backing, but they knew how to terrify, unsettle, and leave you checking your rearview mirror on the drive home.
Below are five underappreciated haunted house flicks from this century that deserve your attention. Some are slow burns, others come out swinging, but all have earned their place among the most underrated.
5. Veronica (2017)
- Streaming On: Netflix
- RT Score: 86%
- Director: Paco Plaza
Plot: Let’s get one thing straight: Veronica was never the scariest movie on Netflix, no matter what the memes told you. But what is it? An atmospheric gut punch of a ghost story that mixes teen vulnerability with dark spiritual consequences.
Director Paco Plaza (REC, REC 2) takes the Spanish urban legend of a real-life possession case and gives it a fever-dream treatment. Veronica (Sandra Escacena), a 15-year-old girl trying to connect with her dead father during a solar eclipse, plays a Ouija game that invites something sinister into her home. The result is a haunted-house-possession hybrid packed with religious imagery and real emotional stakes. And now, with a prequel on the way, there’s never been a better time to revisit it.
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4. Under the Shadow (2016)
- Streaming On: Netflix
- RT Score: 99%
- Director: Babak Anvari
Plot: If your safe space becomes your scariest place, Under the Shadow is what it looks like. Set in Tehran during the Iran-Iraq War, this story isn’t just about spirits—it’s about survival. Bombs are falling. Society is crumbling. Inside one apartment, a mother and daughter are being stalked by a Djinn.
Director Babak Anvari doesn’t give you easy scares. Instead, the horror builds—layer by layer—until the house itself feels like it’s pressing in. Is the haunting real, or just war trauma playing tricks? That question lingers long after the credits. Critics loved it. Audiences missed it. Fix that!
3. The House at the End of Time (2013)
- Streaming On: Peacock
- RT Score: NA
- Director: Alejandro Hidalgo
Plot: You probably haven’t seen this Venezuelan horror flick. But if you like The Others or The Orphanage, you absolutely should. This film isn’t just scary, it’s smart. And emotional. And mind-bending in a way most horror doesn’t even try to be.
It follows Dulce, a mother accused of killing her husband and losing her son on the same terrifying night. Decades later, she’s released and returns to the same cursed house to uncover what really happened. Without spoiling the twist (because wow), this is a ghost story that folds in time travel, guilt, and grief without ever losing its edge. It’s Venezuela’s top-grossing horror film for a reason.
2. The Woman in Black (1989)
- Streaming On: Amazon Prime Video (US)
- RT Score: 100%
- Director: Herbert Wise
Plot: You probably know the 2012 version starring Daniel Radcliffe. But this is the version horror fans whisper about. The 1989 TV movie, directed by Herbert Wise, is a pure Gothic atmosphere. Set in a crumbling English mansion surrounded by marshland, it’s quiet, brooding, and unnerving.
Arthur, the young solicitor tasked with sorting a dead woman’s affairs, finds himself stalked by a spectral figure. The twist? Everyone who sees her dies. This adaptation stays true to Susan Hill’s novel in tone and pacing, and the Woman herself? Genuinely chilling. Forget the jump scares, this one settles in your bones.
1. The Innkeepers (2011)
- Streaming On: Peacock & Prime Video
- RT Score: 81%
- Director: Ti West
Plot: Ti West doesn’t do chaos. He does slow, agonizing build-ups that explode in the final act—and The Innkeepers is textbook. Set in a soon-to-be-closed hotel, this movie turns ghost hunting into an eerie character study.
Sara Paxton and Pat Healy play two bored employees trying to summon the hotel’s ghost before they shut the place down. The banter is funny. The tension is real. And when the hauntings finally go full throttle? It really hits. It’s not flashy, but it’s effective. And it’s a must for fans of practical scares over CGI chaos.
Haunted houses are the horror genre’s bread and butter. But it’s easy to overlook the films that didn’t break records or spawn sequels. These underrated gems deliver the same chills, often with a little more heart and a lot more risk. Whether it’s a political allegory or a low-budget masterpiece, each of these five flicks proves you don’t need a massive budget to terrify an audience.
So the next time you scroll past the horror section, dig a little deeper. Because in this genre, the real scares are often hiding just out of sight!
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