Looking for some analog horror movies that will keep you on your toes? There are a bunch of them out there, but here are some of the best analog horror movies that you should watch in 2026.
Analog horror movies is actually a new term for me. It seems like in recent years, a lot more terms have been coined for the horror genre and the types of movies that are out there. But I guess as movies evolve, so should the subgenres of them as well.
Am I the only one who has been out of the loop and hasn’t really heard of this particular subgenre before?
What is Analog horror?
Analog horror is an offshoot of found footage, and it is comprised of cryptic messages, static, and low-fidelity graphics.
The movies usually take place between the 1960s and 1990s and usually don’t have happy endings.
Analog horror movies
Learning about analog horror movies has only made me realize that I need to start looking deeper into horror movies. I thought I knew a lot about them, and I thought I was aware of a lot, because, ya know, I am a big horror fan. Until somewhat recently, I realized that I actually don’t know a whole lot. So, here’s the start of me getting back into horror and getting back up to date with it all!
The Ring
I feel like most of you are going to know The Ring. This was a highly popular movie back in the early 2000s.
I have a fun memory about going to see this one in movie theaters and laughing the whole time because the people I had gone with kept getting scared.
It does feel like this was one of the scarier movies of that time. It was different compared to other movies, and it attracted a huge audience. On top of that, it’s a PG-13 movie that seemed to take movies of that rating to a whole new level, whereas before they felt like child’s play.
If you haven’t heard of The Ring, then here is what it’s about.
The Ring is a movie that follows Rachel Keller, who is a journalist investigating a videotape that supposedly killed four teenagers, including her niece. This tape has an urban Legend revolving around it where the person who watches it will die in seven days after watching it. If the Urban Legend is right, then Rachel has to race against time in order to save her son and herself.
The Blair Witch Project
I was pretty young when The Blair Witch Project was released, so I didn’t get to watch this one until I was a little older. However, I remember the hype of this movie and a ton of people saying that it was the scariest movie of its time.
I do believe that it was ahead of its time, but I definitely don’t see it being one of the scariest movies out there. By the time I watched it, I had already watched quite a few scary movies that I had felt were better, but that doesn’t diminish what The Blair Witch Project was able to do.
Here is what The Blair Witch Project is about.
There are three amateur documentarians (Heather, the director; Josh, the cameraman; Mike, the sound recorder) who hike Black Hills Forest in order to find a legend. One year after that, in October 1994, there were no signs of those student filmmakers. The only thing that is left is the raw footage that they left behind. Was there actually something supernatural in the woods that led to their disappearance? They must have seen something.
Session 9
I’m actually kind of surprised that I haven’t heard of Session 9. Sometime after this post, I’m going to look into this and see if I can watch it on one of the streaming services that we have. It sounds really good and right up my alley. Have any of you watched it yet?
I have to admit, though, that I’m a really big fan of supernatural horror movies, and the fact that this takes place in an insane asylum is right up my alley!
Here is what Session 9 is about.
There’s a crew that wins a bid for an abandoned insane asylum. This should be a straightforward and maybe a little rushed job, but things get a little complicated by the personal histories of the crew. Hank is dating Phil’s old girlfriend, and Gordon’s new baby is unnerving him more than it should be. But when Mike plays the tapes made by a former patient with multiple personalities, things get even more complicated. Especially when Hank disappears after finding some old coins.
Backrooms
So Backrooms is getting a lot of attention to it as of lately. I can see where the hype is coming from because it’s really trippy. It seems like there is so much lore revolving around it and a lot of story behind it all.
This is one thing I’m really hoping to do some research on and find all of the lore behind it all. Those types of things really interest me, and I love reading about them.
However, I hope the lore and all that about Backrooms is much more interesting than this movie. I know that this one got a lot of hype, and it seems like there are a lot of people who really like it. For me, I just don’t get it. I don’t really understand the hype for this movie at all.
My husband and I went to see this one in theaters, and even though it does have some creepy and trippy aspects to it, the movie is actually quite boring. There’s little to no action, so take that for what you will on whether or not you want to watch it.
Here is what the Backrooms are about.
Backrooms is a mind-bending movie that follows a man who owns his own furniture shop. He’s going through a really rough patch with his wife as they are going through a divorce. This has caused him to have to live at the furniture shop for the time being. His day-to-day seems to be pretty boring for a while. That is, until he manages to find the backrooms. The story also partially follows a therapist who tries to find the shop owner (also her patient) and save him.
Late Night With the Devil
I went into Late Night with the Devil at the movie theater pretty blind. I didn’t really look into it much or watch many trailers for it. This is something that I have been doing quite a bit lately because I feel like most times when I do, I wind up enjoying the movie a lot more.
That’s highly dependent, though, because there have been a few bummers that I have come across. Now this movie was actually really trippy, though, and I loved it. It threw me off a little bit, and at first I wasn’t sure if I was going to like it at all. But I wound up really loving it.
Just a fair warning, though, this movie has an ending that I know a lot of people are not going to love. It took me quite some time to figure out if I even liked it or not (I did). But it does leave you with a bit of ‘what the hell just happened’ type of feeling.
I’m hoping I can try and rewatch this one again soon!
Here is what Late Night with the Devil is about.
It’s October 31, 1977, Johnny Carson and his rival Jack Delroy host a talk show called ‘Night Owls’. This show has a running history of being a trusted show for insomniacs around the country. A year after Jack’s wife’s death, the show’s ratings have plummeted. He’s desperate to turn things around, so he plans a Halloween special that’s different from the rest. He’s completely unaware of what evil he’s about to unleash in people’s homes across America.
Skinamarink
Skinamarink is another movie on this list that I actually haven’t heard of. It seems to be on the popular side, so I’m actually kind of surprised that I haven’t.
The premise of it sounds pretty interesting, so I might have to go and check this one out if I’m actually able to find it. I know a lot of horror movies like this seem to be only on Shudder, and that’s one streaming service that we don’t have at the moment.
If you’ve seen this one, though, then let me know in the comments what you thought about it!
Here is what Skinamarink is about.
When two children wake in the middle of the night, they realize that their father is missing. All of the windows and doors in their house are no longer there as well. To kind of cope with what’s going on, the kids bring pillows and blankets into the living room for a slumber party. They frequently watched videotapes of cartoons in order to help fill the silence of the home and distract themselves from the scary situation they have found themselves in. They have hope that some adults will come and save them, but it becomes exceptionally clear that something is watching them.
Conclusion to the best analog horror movies to watch
There are so many analog horror movies out there to watch, and I didn’t even scratch the surface of them. There is a very long list of them out there, and if I’m able to start watching some of them, then I may just add them to my list.
If you want to stay up to date with that, then make sure you’re following along with our newsletter, so when I do update this post, you’ll be the first to know!!