Scares in color: The best animated horror movies to check out tonight

When you think of horror, animation is probably nowhere near the first medium you think of. However, there are plenty of great animated horror movies to watch. You’d probably know a few if you thought about it. If you need something to watch this weekend, check out these fantastic animated horror films. 

The Black Cauldron 

The bronze era at Disney was a strange time. Walt Disney had died a year prior to the release of The Jungle Book, highly regarded as the end of the silver era. There are some gems in the bronze era like The Aristocats, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, and The Rescuers – then there’s The Black Cauldron.

The Black Cauldron sounds like it would be a smash hit — a fantasy story based on Welsh mythology. However, the movie is insanely dark and scary for a child. Its villain, the horned king, is very scary compared to other Disney villains. He gives The Evil Queen from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs a run for her money. 

His mission is dark for a children’s film. He’s trying to find the Black Cauldron to use its power to unleash an army of immortal warriors. It’s just dark and scary compared to the other movies released in the Bronze era. It could have been worse – there are deleted scenes that are supposed to make the film even scarier. We recommend finding them; they are truly terrifying for a Disney movie, and they aren’t on Disney+. 

Batman: Gotham by Gaslight

Anything with Jack the Ripper is on the scary end when done right, and Batman: Gotham by Gaslight gets it right. While the poster art looks reminiscent of the Arkham Knight video game series, the actual animation is more reminiscent of your Saturday morning cartoon or the typical straight-to-home video animation. 

Batman: Gotham by Gaslight does turn Gotham into a British industrial revolution version which is quite fun. It might not scare you, but the suspense is sure to keep you guessing and on your toes. It’s about ninety minutes and a fun Elseworlds story. The comic books are always better than their animated movie adaptations. We wish it could have been Kevin Conroy’s iconic voice, but hey, what are you going to do?

Monster House

Monster House is probably our favorite children’s horror movie. It’s the perfect movie to watch on Halloween to get a scare but still have fun. It’s fun for everyone. Horror fanatics aren’t going to get scared, but for those of us who do get scared pretty easily, the balance between comedy and horror is perfect. 

Even for a children’s movie, Monster House has some scares. It does something interesting with the haunted house tropes. It can be very easy to take them over the top in animation where the sky’s the limit. However, the scares are perfect and align with the story. They never force the comedy or the scares. The best horror movies are when the scares are earned, and Monster House earns them and all the praise. 

Coraline

Coraline might not be scary for the majority of the film. However, you can feel the creepiness throughout the film. It doesn’t get scary until the finale, but the big bad is terrifying. The plot is nightmarish, and we would imagine a live-action version of the animated horror movie to dive deep into these scarier and darker elements. 

Seoul Station

New Line and The Conjuring and Saw director James Wan is Americanizing the South Korean zombie classic Train to Busan. First of all, the original is fantastic, and people need to get over the one-inch barrier. However, if you want an even better horror experience, the prequel animated horror film Seoul Station is fantastic. 

Despite releasing nearly a month apart, the animated film is just as scary and gory as the live-action sequel. Seoul Station and Train to Busan are two of the best zombie films ever made. Don’t let the subtitles keep you from watching the great animated horror movie and its live-action sequel. 

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What do you think of these films? Are there any other animated horror movies we missed? Let us know in the comments.