The chilly autumn days and evenings of the Kekri season often send me straight to the sofa, tucked under a blanket with a cup of tea or cocoa and a craft project in hand. There is something comforting about watching the colours change outside from the warmth of indoors. As the evenings grow darker by the day, series and films also tend to take priority in my free time.
With All Saints’ Day just around the corner, streaming services are overflowing with horror films and series. As an avid horror fan, I wanted to put together a list of films that explore themes close to Semiphoras, such as spirituality, religion, symbolism, archetypes, psychology, and the depths of the human mind.
One of the advantages of horror films is the freedom they offer when exploring human psychology. They do not have to stick to realistic portrayals and subjects can be explored through symbolism or dreamlike (or rather, nightmarish) events. As a result, their imagery can be remarkably rich compared to that of realistic psychological thrillers.
I also wanted to challenge some of the conventions of the horror genre by putting together a list that would not be excessively violent or gory. Violence and blood are not entirely avoidable, but slashers such as The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and Friday the 13th are left off the list. On the other hand, the final films on this list are not always classified as horror, even though they feature elements commonly associated with the genre, such as an oppressive atmosphere and mystery. This way, even more sensitive viewers can explore themes from Jungian psychology that are familiar to Semiphoras.
Please note: Check content warnings for each film separately, as they are not listed here. This article contains some spoilers, but it does not cover every film in enough detail to determine whether it is suitable for you based on this text alone.
1. The VVitch (2015), Robert Eggers
Naturally, a witch film is the perfect way to begin this list. What makes this film unique is the director and screenwriter’s extensive research into the source material. This Gothic horror story is set in 17th-century New England, where a Puritan family is forced to leave their settlement and move to the edge of an ominous forest. Something unknown seems to be lurking among the trees preying on them.
From a Jungian perspective, the film delves into the archetypes of nature and the unknown, religious fear, and individuation.
While working on the screenplay, Eggers studied historical documents from the period, drawing inspiration for the characters’ speech, the production design, and the film’s portrayal of witchcraft. Crop failure and the children’s unruly behaviour are interpreted as the Devil’s doing, while various animals associated with witches become part of the story. Those interested in witchcraft, or who have studied it, may find plenty of details that others might overlook.
2. The Lighthouse (2019), Robert Eggers
Eggers makes a second appearance on this list with this genre-defying film. Once again, the story takes place in New England, this time towards the end of the 19th century, at a remote lighthouse where two men are responsible for its operation and maintenance. The Lighthouse is one of the most fascinating treasure troves of symbolism; one that Carl Jung himself could have spent a long time analysing.
The film is difficult to categorise because of its many possible interpretations. Its surreal content focuses heavily on the protagonists’ identities and inner worlds. This is reinforced by the isolated lighthouse island and the unusual aspect ratio. The imagery is also densely symbolic, blending mythology, supernatural elements, and psychology.
The film brings together the archetype of madness, the shifting boundaries between the ego and the shadow, isolation, and the disintegration of the psyche. The maritime setting, gruelling labour, dehydration, and unequal relationship between the men lead to increasingly intense scenes, during which the viewer’s own mind seems to unravel. Eventually, even sight itself becomes unreliable.
3. The Wailing (곡성, 2016), Na Hong-jin
From American cinema, we move to the continent of Asia! This South Korean supernatural horror film follows a police officer investigating mysterious deaths and illnesses in his small hometown while trying to save his own daughter. Much of the film’s richness comes from its exploration of human nature and the region’s folklore and beliefs, including shamanism and Christianity.
The central conflict emerges between a Korean police officer and a Japanese man who has recently moved into the village. The villagers and a mysterious female figure blame the newcomer for the events taking place. Uncertainty, an oppressive atmosphere, and questions about the nature of evil make this an intriguing murder mystery, coloured by local customs, religious diversity, body horror, and supernatural elements.
The film’s core explores questions about human nature, evil, and the influence of the spiritual world on everyday life, drawing on folklore, folk beliefs, and Christianity. The Wailing examines the tension between faith and doubt, questions of evil and morality, and the collective shadow. The result is a compelling murder mystery in which supernatural themes deepen the ambiguity of the events.
4. Saint Maud (2019), Rose Glass
Rose Glass’s debut feature follows a nurse named Katie, who calls herself Maud. After one of her patients dies on her watch, she converts to Catholicism and begins working as a private palliative carer for a former dancer Amanda. Katie’s religious experiences and personal traumas lie at the heart of the film, while the relationship between the two women and Katie’s own attitudes drive the tension further.
The film’s central concepts include the archetypes of the sacred and the shadow. Katie’s experiences fluctuate between her personal needs and the numinous (the presence of something sacred or supernatural) and the experiences it evokes. By focusing on Katie’s perspective, the film places her psychological world at the centre and draws the viewer into her position while observing her behavior.
Spiritual searching and psychological inflation, salvation and the desire to save others, and the tendency to confuse personal desires with experiences of the sacred all offer a critical perspective on the potentially dangerous psychological dimensions of the numinous.
5. Possum (2018), Matthew Holness
Possum is one of the more artistic portrayals on this list of the shadow’s return, repressed memories, and trauma. Its symbolic imagery, slow pace, and understated style make it somewhat challenging to interpret, but the film is rich in meaning despite, or perhaps because of, how unsettling it is. I recommend watching it with as little prior knowledge as possible and looking for interpretations only afterwards (not including trigger warnings).
The protagonist, Philip, returns to his childhood home in Norfolk after losing his job as a puppeteer. Waiting for him is his stern, ill-tempered uncle, who torments him with events from the past. A local teenage boy’s mysterious disappearance creates an ominous atmosphere from the very beginning. A spider-like puppet that seems to be alive haunts Philip throughout the film, confronting him over and over again.
The Freudian concept of the uncanny, the unsettling combination of the familiar and the strange, and the encounters that follow deepen the film’s exploration of trauma and the confrontation with the shadow.
6. Hereditary (2018), Ari Aster
Hereditary has already earned its place as a modern classic. Its horror elements focus heavily on psychological and emotional situations, making it an essential choice for this list.
The film opens with the funeral of the Graham family’s grandmother. At its centre is Annie, the late matriarch’s daughter, whose relationships with her mother, children, and husband are explored through grief and tensions within the family. Following the funeral, strange and mysterious events begin to lead Annie towards the truth about her mother, forcing the family to confront grief, guilt, and pent-up anger.
From a Jungian perspective, the film’s themes include the mother archetype, burdens passed down through generations, unconscious forces, and the shadow. The film is an intense experience, and the low bass that plays throughout grows louder during its most distressing moments. This can make the experience feel even more exhausting than horror films typically do. The cinematography and directing style also create a sense of the family’s isolation from the outside world, emphasising the characters’ lonely emotional landscapes.
7. The Love Witch (2016), Anna Biller
The Love Witch differs from the other films on this list, but its horror elements and esoterically rich imagery make it a fitting addition. The archetypes it explores bring some variety to the list, as the combination of the witch, the anima, and the erotic shadow has not yet appeared in the other films. It also contains the second-least amount of gore, making it the best option on this list for more sensitive viewers.
The Love Witch follows a woman named Elaine who has just moved to a new town and describes herself as a witch. She uses magic to make men fall in love with her, but the consequences are destructive. Eventually, she falls in love with a police officer investigating a suspicious death in town…
The film is highly stylised, with a playful colour palette, and takes a more artistically free approach to the modern witch film. It plays with occult imagery, femininity, romantic fantasies, and the idealisation of love along with its consequences. Its satirical approach to the pursuit of love leaves the viewer reflecting on power, desire, and gender roles.
From a Jungian perspective, projections, the idealisation of the anima, and the shadow are also worth exploring. These become apparent when the person we desire turns out not to match our own imagined version of them.
8. Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975), Peter Weir
If you prefer your films without gore, Picnic at Hanging Rock is the film for you! It falls into the mystery-drama category, but features strong themes related to folk beliefs and elements commonly associated with horror. The film follows a school trip from an Australian girls’ boarding school to an ancient rock formation, during which several girls disappear. The unexplained event continues to haunt both those who took part in the excursion and those who stayed behind.
The film’s central themes include crossing the threshold into the unknown, initiation, and wild nature. The journey to the rock formation, and the missing girls’ own exploration of it, can be interpreted as crossing the boundary between the familiar and the unknown. In this context, it could represent coming of age or a transition into the space between order and chaos.
There seems to be something mysterious and ancient about the rock formation itself, a force that defies humanity’s need for control. In the aftermath of the disappearances, collective repression and the shadow become important themes: no one seems willing to accept the mysterious disappearances or acknowledge the loss of control.
The film’s unexplained mystery speaks to themes central to Semiphoras, even if a symbolic and fever-dream approach may feel unfamiliar to some viewers. It focuses on the discomfort we experience when we cannot explain or understand something. It reveals our fears without offering clear-cut answers. That is precisely why it fits this list so well.
Final Thoughts
Horror films offer an intriguing way to explore themes central to Semiphoras. They can help us face questions we might not otherwise dare to approach in our own lives. In particular, confronting the shadow and exploring repressed subjects can feel easier when we first examine them from the outside, from the position of a viewer. Monsters, ghosts, and inexplicable events can act as mirrors reflecting our fears, the parts of ourselves we have pushed away, and the unknown that we cannot fully control. Perhaps that is why, during the darkest time of the year, it is sometimes worth looking into the darkness and asking what it might reveal to us.
Author: Meri Kallio
