Spooky season is here, so why not take a look at some movies about ghosts? And when you think about them, which ones immediately come to mind? The Sixth Sense is probably the first, and that’s because it’s still one of the biggest references in the genre, thanks to how versatile it is and how it shows that horror, drama, and mystery can all work together. And even if you can already see the twist coming from a mile away (or already know it since it’s so unforgettable), the movie still manages to deliver one of the best experiences. On the other hand, all that history has also meant that plenty of other supernatural productions have been overshadowed.
And you know what? Some of them have stories that are just as interesting, or even find more creative ways to develop their plots. A good ghost story doesn’t necessarily need to follow the same structure as The Sixth Sense (or try to top its ending); it just needs to take a familiar idea and find a fresh way to explore it. These 4 movies do exactly that.
If you know and like movies such as Poltergeist and The Ring, then you should know they owe a lot to The Changeling, an ’80s movie that understands how sometimes less is more. Its story follows John Russell (George C. Scott), a composer who, after losing his wife and daughter, moves into a huge old mansion hoping to finally find some peace — only, of course, that doesn’t happen. Soon, strange noises, objects moving on their own, and other unsettling events make him realize that something is wrong with the house, leading him to investigate who or what is behind the haunting. But that isn’t an excuse to just throw a ghost on screen.
In fact, The Changeling is very careful with its plot, with the focus being on mystery and tension, to the point that even today, people who watch it are often surprised by just how scary it can be. Each new discovery helps Russell understand a little more about the house’s past, but that never creates the need to explain or show everything. And one of its main strengths is the fact that the protagonist reacts to the supernatural like someone trying to rationally understand a situation that is totally absurd. If you compare it to The Sixth Sense, one is special for mixing a ghost story with a very human drama, while the other does something similar but takes a darker approach with an investigative angle that makes it even more engaging.
Do you know who made The Devil’s Backbone? Guillermo del Toro, one of the biggest names in horror. This highly acclaimed movie tells a story set in Spain in 1939 and follows Carlos (Fernando Tielve), a boy who goes to live in an orphanage during the final days of the Spanish Civil War. There, he learns about Santi (Junio Valverde), a boy who disappeared after a mysterious incident and whose ghost still seems to be wandering around the place. But as Carlos tries to figure out what happened to him, he also realizes the adults at the orphanage have some dangerous secrets of their own. And unlike many productions in the genre that focus exclusively on being scary, this one actually gives its story some meaning (after all, we’re talking about del Toro, right?)
Santi isn’t just a ghost created to scare Carlos and the audience; his presence is connected to the orphanage’s past and what happened during the war, so finding out the truth about him also means understanding the violence that shaped the place. Just like The Sixth Sense, The Devil’s Backbone brings the supernatural together with a deeply emotional plot in a way that only a filmmaker like del Toro can pull off. Everything has a purpose and a larger context, giving you plenty to think about when it comes to war, guilt, and the consequences of violence.
Some people consider this one of the best haunted house features ever made. The Orphanage follows Laura (Belén Rueda), a woman who returns to the old orphanage where she grew up with her husband and adopted son, Simón (Roger Príncep), planning to turn the place into a home for children. But Simón starts talking about a friend that no one else can see, and when he disappears, she begins investigating the orphanage’s past to find out what happened to her son. It’s a story that really pulls you in because the more Laure discovers about the place, the more the mystery becomes connected to her relationship with Simón and her own childhood memories. Does it have jump scares? Yes, but the experience of watching it isn’t about that.
The film knows exactly how to hold back its standout moments instead of turning every scene into an opportunity to scare you. In fact, just to give an idea, The Orphanage has a lot of Hitchcock’s approach to building tension, so if you’re a fan of that, there’s plenty to enjoy. The Sixth Sense is almost always remembered for understanding that a ghost narrative can work even better when there’s a strong drama behind it, but this one feels like proof that the same formula can deliver something more meaningful and immersive.
The Others isn’t that underrated (at least, not in the traditional sense), but it’s also not a movie you see people talking about all that often, which is a shame since this is one of the most excellent ghost films. The story focuses on Grace (Nicole Kidman), a mother who lives with her two children in a huge, isolated house during World War II. However, because the children have a condition that makes them extremely sensitive to light, all the windows have to remain covered, leaving the house in darkness most of the time. So, when new servants arrive, Grace starts noticing that doors are coming from empty rooms, and her children are talking about presences she can’t quite explain.
For anyone who specifically likes The Sixth Sense, The Others ends up right alongside it as they deal with similar ideas while going in very different directions. The house itself is one big mystery, and the fun is trying to figure out what’s actually happening before the movie gives you the answers. Of course, a lot of its appeal also comes down to Kindman’s performance, since her character is a mother desperately trying to protect her children and maintain some control over the situation. Still, The Others is more restrained, but it’s packed with details that gain much more weight as the story goes on, to the point where the twist is genuinely fantastic. More than two decades have passed since its release, and it’s still one of the greats of the genre.
