5 Groundbreaking Indigenous Horror Movies to Watch Right Now

Blood Quantum

(Photo by © Shudder / Courtesy Everett Collection)

For decades, the horror genre has fed on Indigenous stories for inspiration like a horde of zombies feasting on the body of a victim. “Ancient Indian burial ground,” anyone?

While there is plenty of Indigenous-themed horror out there – 2017’s Mohawk, Ozploitation classic Dark Age, and Pet Sematary, for example – few have been made by Indigenous filmmakers and told from that perspective. Now, Indigenous creators are exorcizing their demons by reclaiming the narrative and making horror on their own terms.

These filmmakers are using the genre to comment on the effects of colonization (Blood Quantum), imagine ancient worlds (The Dead Lands), question what and who you believe (The Darkside), and represent themselves where they haven’t been represented before (The Dead Can’t Dance). And they’re doing it all as they challenge assumptions about the form of cinema itself (BeDevil).

Below are some of the most inventive horror and mixed-genre films of the last few decades – all made by and featuring Indigenous artists.

About the author: Rhianna Patrick is a Torres Strait Islander media professional with over 20 years experience. She’s worked across news, television, radio, communications, and Indigenous Australian mediaDive deeper on these titles and more in a piece she recently wrote for website IndigenousX. Follow her on Twitter at @RhiannaPatrick.







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