Superhero movies have an interesting relationship with horror. Between the MCU and DCU, some of the best directors in the superhero genre have gotten their start making horror movies. Be it Saw’s James Wan directing Aquaman, or Evil Dead director Sam Raimi’s work on the original Spider-Man trilogy, a background in horror translates surprisingly well to superheroes. Maybe it’s because horror has always allowed for the kind of bold visuals and ideas that are also ripe for comic book movies.
Each of these 5 superhero films has taken inspiration from horror in some way. Whether their directors had prior experience in the genre, or they were simply influenced, these movies carry the torch for some of cinema’s greatest horror classics. They may have killers. They may have monsters. But what’s true is that each uses horror to elevate the average superhero flick, creating something truly unique in the process. And one of these films turned out even better than what inspired it.
For many Batman fans, 2022’s The Batman delivered on what they’d been waiting years for: a Batman film that actually let him be a detective. Indeed, Matt Reeves’ The Batman is as much a mystery as it is a superhero film, centering on Batman (Robert Pattinson) as he attempts to find The Riddler (Paul Dano), a serial killer targeting the corrupt of Gotham. When it comes to the film’s influences, David Fincher’s classic thriller Se7en has been cited as a key inspiration. It’s not hard to see why, with The Batman embracing Se7en’s same style of gritty police procedural. Even the way Batman pieces together the mystery is similar to Somerset and Mills in Se7en, and when it comes to The Riddler and Se7en antagonist John Doe, both are out to prove a sermon about corruption to their respective protagonists.
Now, in case Seven doesn’t count as enough of a horror movie for you, Reeves has also cited John Carpenter’s Christine as another source of inspiration. Christine, adapted from Stephen King’s novel of a possessed Plymouth Fury, influenced The Batman’s depiction of the Batmobile, turning the car into an object of horror. And it shows with the Batmobile’s almost demonic roaring, and the way it hunts down The Penguin in the film. Between this and how The Batman is influenced by thrillers like Se7en, it’s clear Matt Reeves is building the darkest version of Gotham yet.
There was a time it seemed The New Mutants would never actually come out. After numerous delays caused by Disney’s acquisition of Fox, the film would finally hit theaters in August of 2020. The New Mutants follows a group of young mutants stuck inside the same medical facility, who are forced to team up to escape. According to director Josh Boone, A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors served as a core inspiration for the film’s “rubber reality horror.” The third entry in the Nightmare on Elm Street series, Dream Warriors centers on a group of teens at Westin Hills Psychiatric Hospital, whose dreams are all being terrorized by Freddy Krueger.
Just as each of the teens in Dream Warriors is in some way troubled, the ones in The New Mutants also harbor past trauma. In Dream Warriors, it’s their fears that allow them to unlock their “dream warrior” abilities; New Mutants sees a very similar arc for its mutant characters, with both films using antagonists that personify fears. Unfortunately, The New Mutants failed to make the same impact as the film which inspired it. It was a box office bomb, receiving criticism for its awkward balance of comedy and horror. It’s a shame, as Dream Warriors is the perfect template for a misfit team-up movie like this. At the very least, The New Mutants tried to do something different than most superhero films, and it used one of horror’s most beloved sequels as inspiration.
Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy remains one of the most beloved pieces of superhero media to date. A large reason for this is Raimi’s direction. Raimi, known for directing the original Evil Dead trilogy, brings to Spider-Man some of the same techniques as Evil Dead. This is evident in the “Raimi-Cam,” or the way the director keeps the camera in rapid motion at all times. The Evil Dead movies, regarded for their mix of horror and humor, are a surprisingly good source of inspiration for Spider-Man, capturing the larger-than-life feel of the comics through both campy humor and action. Ash Williams himself, Bruce Campbell, even cameos in all three films.
And then there are times Raimi transforms his Spider-Man movies into horror. The original Spider-Man, for instance, has a scene in which the Green Goblin’s victims evaporate into skeletons. Most-remembered, however, may be from Spider-Man 2. When Doc Ock is undergoing surgery, his tentacles awaken, leading to them horrifically slaughtering the doctors in a scene that feels right out of Evil Dead. It stands as one of the best examples of horror elevating a superhero movie.
Werewolf by Night is the MCU’s first true foray into horror, making it feel different in the best possible way. Dropping on Disney+ in October of 2022, this special by Michael Giacchino sees a group of monster hunters competing for control of the mystical Bloodstone. Shot primarily in black-and-white, Werewolf by Night acts as an homage to the Universal Monster movies of the ’30s and ’40s, retaining both the tropes and aesthetic of that era. This can be seen in the film’s use of light and shadows, as well as the gothic manor the character finds themselves in. Darkness lingers in every shot of Werewolf by Night, making you wonder what’s a monster and what’s only your imagination.
While the special would later be released in color the next year, it’s the black-and-white version which feels the most true to itself. As for the actual werewolf, Jack Russell, Giacchino brings about his transformation through practical effects, making him the perfect tribute to Lon Chaney Jr.’s Wolf Man from 1941.
We end this list with another Sam Raimi flick, but Darkman is far stranger than Spider-Man. After Raimi was unable to direct an adaptation of The Shadow, he came up with Darkman, the story of a scientist whose disfigurement leads him to hunt down the criminals responsible. Just like Werewolf by Night, Darkman draws inspiration from the Universal Monster movies, specifically The Phantom of the Opera. Raimi uses the film’s titular Phantom as the basis for Dr. Peyton Westlake, who becomes Darkman. Much like The Phantom, Darkman serves as a tragic character; he isolates himself from society, trying to win back his former love.
Even just looking at him, Darkman looks a lot like the Phantom, especially in the way he conceals his disfigured face. But Darkman also has something the Phantom doesn’t: superpowers. After an experimental procedure, Darkman gains heightened strength and an inability to feel pain. In typical Raimi fashion, this allows for some truly wild action sequences, and coupled with an over-the-top performance by Liam Neeson, Darkman isn’t just a superhero movie inspired by Phantom of the Opera; it turns the Phantom into a superhero. In a way, that’s so much cooler.
