15 Epic Meltdown Roles

The freedom that horror is given to explore the deepest, darkest corners of the human psyche is what brings its greatest value. Ever since I watched Zulawski’s 1981 film Possession, I have been obsessed with finding films with performances of the same caliber. For this list, I watched a ton of movies to find what I was looking for. It wasn’t enough that someone had to be a little insane - I wanted a performance pulled from somewhere deep, real, and disturbing. However these women achieved that - and whether those methods were ethical - is up for debate. Whether they were pushed, forced, tortured, or blessed, their performances are worth checking out for those who love a little bit of a psychological nightmare.

Bette Davis - Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?
1962, Directed by Robert Aldrich, Written by Lukas Heller (NR)

As a young person, my introduction to Bette Davis was unfortunately through a Kim Carnes song from 1981. My second introduction was through Whatever Happened to Baby Jane and Davis’ performance hasn’t left my mind since. The academy took notice and threw her a Best Actress nomination which was well-deserved. Davis plays Baby Jane, a former child star and spinster living with her paraplegic sister played by Joan Crawford. Perhaps too true to real life, we watch Baby Jane descend further into madness as she ages, refusing to let her glory days go and mistreating her sister. Even juicier, the conflict between sisters is palpable. “It was an open secret that Davis and Crawford loathed each other, and filming was contentious as their real-life hatred for one another spilled over into the production, and even after filming had wrapped.” This movie is an absolute must for horror fans or old film fanatics and is one of my favourite examples of a truly cracked mind. Her meltdown moment comes while singing “I’ve Written a Letter to Daddy”, the song that brought her childhood fame. Baby Jane catches her face in the mirror and seems to recognize and comprehend her age for the first time. Bette Davis’ haunting visage comes to mind at the most inopportune moments thanks to that iconic moment.

Natalie Portman - Black Swan
2010, Directed by Darren Aronofsky, Written by Mark Heyman & Andres Heinz (R)

Natalie Portman’s performance in Black Swan left me breathless. Portman plays a ballet dancer desperate to make a name for herself by playing the lead role in Swan Lake. Her inherent anxiety and compulsive behaviours spiral out of control until she is pushed to pure darkness. Part of this was due to her commitment to the role, she told Entertainment Weekly “There were some nights that I thought I literally was going to die. It was the first time I understood how you could get so wrapped up in a role that it could sort of take you down.” Portman lost a shocking amount of weight and trained for several hours daily in order to dance for the film (along with her dance-double Sarah Lane.) Her breakdown moment comes at the end of the movie, giving us a brilliant and broken finale and proving to everyone that she can play both roles - good and evil - perfectly.

Ellen Burstyn - Requiem for a Dream
2000, Directed by Darren Aronofsky, Written by Hubert Selby Jr. (R)

The second Aronofsky film on my list, Requiem for a Dream is a contender partly because it’s the only movie I haven’t had the stomach to watch more than once. This is mainly because of Ellen Burstyn’s incredible performance as Sara Goldfarb, an elderly woman who becomes mistakenly addicted to amphetamines for weight loss. Her descent into total ruin is horrifying. Sara is caught in the turmoil of her heroin-addicted son’s life and suffering that familiar loneliness and neglect of the aged. Watching her physical and mental transformation scarred me and still bothers me when I think about it. It’s worth noting she was completely robbed of her Academy Award, losing to Julia Roberts in Erin Brockovich.

Isabelle Adjani - Possession
1981, Directed & Written by Andrzej Zulawski (R)

I’ve talked about Adjani’s role in Possession incessantly since my first viewing years ago. Adjani's commitment to her character is something I have not seen replicated. Possession shines a spotlight on a failing marriage fraught with infidelity and disatisfaction. Throw in a phallic monster and you have a recipe for a genre-bending mindf * ck. Isabelle’s performance is one that left me starving for more, and every performance I see I subconsciously compare to her selflessly agonizing commitment. It’s hard to choose a specific moment to highlight, but a favourite tends to be her total meltdown in a subway tunnel. Pick your favourite moment, you’re sure to find one.

Seo Young-Hee - Bedevilled
2010, Directed by Cheol-soo Jang, Written by Kwang-young Choi (R)

I watched Bedevilled early in my horror obsession and it impressed me greatly. Seo Young-Hee plays a woman stuck on an island in South Korea. Her childhood friend returns to visit, reeking of the success and fortune of the city. Young-Hee begs her to take her away from the island - for good reason, as she is the victim of severe physical, mental and sexual abuse. Nobody takes her seriously until she quietly snaps. The scene where she finally makes a move is so natural and seemingly comes from nowhere that it will leave you shocked. If you’re a fan of revenge films, don’t miss this one. Yeong-Hee captures the quiet desperation of a woman who feels she has no other way out but through bloodshed.

Gena Rowlands - A Woman Under the Influence
1974, Directed & Written by John Cassavetes (R)

Alright, this one isn’t a horror movie per say, but I wasn’t surprised that I might have to venture onto the fringe of genre to find exactly what I was looking for. Gena Rowlands proved to give one of the best performances I’ve seen onscreen. Rowlands plays Mabel Longhetti, a woman clearly suffering from declining mental health. Her husband knows he has to do something about it, but struggles to make the decision to get her help. Rowlands is electric; my eyes never left her when she was onscreen. The intense climax scene of her psychotic break has earned her a spot on this list. I was struck immediately by how afraid the men in the film were of her unpredictable and uncomfortable behaviour - we were constantly shown their gaze as an indicator of how deranged her behaviour had become. This movie deserves a full review for its ultimate digestion. Rowland’s portrait of a woman desperate to stay sane amidst her marriage and children has shot this movie into my top 10 of all time.

Alex Essoe - Starry Eyes
2014, Directed & Written by Kevin Kolsch & Dennis Widmyer (R)

Alex Essoe is another actor I can’t stop talking about. Her brave and fierce portrayal of a young woman shooting for the stars in Hollywood is a noticeable achievement for such an early stage in her career. Without spoiling anything, Starry Eyes has a body horror element that is rarely done so well. It’s hard to say where Essoe’s character’s breaking point occurs, as there are so many levels to what’s going on inside her mind. This, to me, is closest to the quality of performance Adjani gives in Possession. This is no surprise, as Essoe has said it was a great inspiration for this role. Her knowledge of horror greats and her ability to draw inspiration from them fills me with great hope for anything she goes on to star in.

Shelley Duvall - The Shining
1980, Directed & Written by Stanley Kubrick (R)

Horror fans know the infamous stories of the torture of Shelley Duvall while filming The Shining. Kubrick reportedly pushed her to her mental, physical, and emotional limits. Duval was subjected to endless physically demanding takes, and stress to the point that her hair began to fall out. This comes across in her performance leading to a terrifying finale.
Forgive me for saying so, but my love for The Shining only goes so far. Part of this is because of Duvall’s nearly distracting performance. Critics laud her for her raw emotion, but it came with a price for me. Stephen King reportedly told the BBC that Duvall’s character was “One of the most misogynistic characters ever put on film. She's basically just there to scream and be stupid and that's not the woman that I wrote about.” Regardless of my feelings about it, The Shining is a must-see for any horror fan, so get out there and take notes.

Charlotte Gainsbourg - Antichrist
2009, Directed & Written by Lars von Trier (NR)

For a man who is accused of hating women, von Trier sure has some of the best actors giving him their loyalty. Charlotte Gainsbourg is my favourite example. She has an incredible depth to her performances and doesn’t rely on stereotypical roles to get her point across. Von Trier is known for pushing his actors to the absolute limit, so it was actually a challenge not to include too many of his colleagues on this list. Of the sexism controversy, Gainsbourg says, “People have said he doesn’t like women but I don’t see how you can portray characters with such depth and not feel for them, have no empathy? I think he loves women.”
Though there are at least three films in which Charlotte pulls from the absolute depths of human experience, I’ll focus on Antichrist for its horrifying climax scene involving self genital mutilation. Playing a grieving mother after the death of her child, she retreats to a cabin in the woods with her psychiatrist husband to devastating results. “She says that the hardest scenes to film were not those that required her to perform explicit sex acts or horrific violence … but those that tested her emotional limits.” This makes total sense for me, as I uncomfortable through the entire film - so much so that it took me three tries to finish.

Isabella Rossellini - Blue Velvet
1986, Directed & Written by David Lynch (R)

Basically everyone in Blue Velvet has a meltdown, but Isabella Rossellini gives it her all. Striking out from a modeling and cosmetics representative career, David Lynch offered her this opportunity to stand out - and boy does she ever. Playing the tortured Dorothy Vallens in an artful look at the underbelly of the American Dream, her breakdown comes slowly but begs great empathy. Join Jeffrey (Kyle MacLachlan) and follow a mystery as he witnesses the sadomasochistic treatment of Dorothy being held hostage, the kidnapping of her husband and son being waved over her head as a bargaining chip for violent sex. Her stark-naked simper, “he put his disease in me” has haunted me ever since my first viewing.

Halle Berry - Gothika
2003 Directed by Mathieu Kassovitz Written by Sebastian Gutierrez (R)

Bear with me as we go into an awkward time for horror. Perhaps nobody was more surprised than me when it turned out I enjoyed Gothika. Halle Berry is a psychiatrist who has somehow become the patient with no memory of how she got there. Plagued with visions of the dead and a growing sense of paranoia, her meltdown comes in hallucinations and violence that leads to a devastating reveal. Among my casual movie-going friends, this movie comes up repeatedly. I’d recommend it for your friend who isn’t that into horror - a familiar face and predictable story will keep them comfortable while you can enjoy a decent performance of a woman on the verge of losing it all.

Catherine Deneuve - Repulsion
1965, Directed & Written by Roman Polanski (NR)

As part of Polanski’s apartment trilogy, Repulsion is the exploration of a shattered mind in a small dwelling. While brainstorming ideas for this list, Catherine Deneuve was a name that came up almost unanimously among fellow cinephiles. Deneuve plays a beautician exhibiting almost a fear of men while staying with her sister - her discomfort with her sister’s sexuality and her own hidden desires wreaks havoc on her mind. She hallucinates and is filled with terror at the simplest interruptions to her day. Her violent breaking is so reminiscent of a woman’s desperate anger after being sexually assaulted that each time I watch I’m filled with a new sense of empathy. For fans of Repulsion, be sure to check out Darling - our leading lady there gives a similar role the ol’ college try, but you might appreciate it more than I did. The Bloodlust even did an episode on Darling.

Elisabeth Moss - Queen of Earth
2015, Directed & Written by Alex Ross Perry (NR)

In Hollywood it’s all too common to hear about an actor who would turn down a role because of how she would appear on screen. Elisabeth Moss is not such an actor - she is unafraid to show ugliness of humanity with her face and her heart. Queen of Earth starts with a stark and painfully real close-up of a sobbing and broken Catherine, having been dumped by her boyfriend. She retreats to the cabin of her best friend where we join in reliving memories of past summers and happier times. This movie is for those who prefer a somber and reflective look at the cracking of a mind, as you’ll have a lot more questions than answers by the time the film is complete. Elisabeth Moss has also caught my eye in the New Zealand TV Drama Top of the Lake which deals with “mature subject matter” - she has shown she can hold her own when the topic gets dark and the going gets tough.

Bjork - Dancer in the Dark
2000, Directed & Written by Lars von Trier (R)

Dancer in the Dark is a tough film to watch so I recommend it only to intense fans of Björk or von Trier, respectively. This is a thriller crossed with a musical and only one of those two things is done very well. Björk plays an immigrant mother going blind, who desperately works her life away to save money for preventative surgery for her son. When she’s accused of a crime she didn’t commit, things start to unravel. After starring in the film, an exhausted Björk accused von Trier of “emotional pornography” and “soul robbery”. While she has no clear breaking point in this film, her performance is notable - unfortunately the movie is such a tough ride that I won’t be able to sit through it ever again. Neither can Björk, as she dramatically swore off acting after it was completed. BONUS: This movie also features Catherine Deneuve!

Kathy Bates - Misery
1990, Directed by Rob Reiner, Screenplay by William Goldman (R)

I’m ashamed to admit that I didn’t see Misery until very recently, and I was blown away. Frankly, I didn’t expect much from the story and I am so glad I was proven wrong. Kathy Bates plays Annie Wilkes, an injured and stranded writer’s “biggest fan”. Rescuing him from his car accident and holding him up in her isolated cabin proves to be more than mere humanitarian aid; she has ulterior motives and she inflicts pain to get what she wants. The uneasy feeling of being around someone you know is going to lose it is exhausting, and it comes across in the film. You never know what move Annie’s going to make until she goes hog-wild and shows her true capacity for evil. Stephen King has said that Annie represents cocaine - an addiction he was prisoner to for some time. Somehow this knowledge makes Annie an even more formidable villain.

Honourable mentions: Julianne Moore - Safe, Kim Stanley - Seance on a Wet Afternoon, Faye Dunaway - Chinatown, Deborah Kerr - The Innocents, Lauren Ashley Carter - Darling

~ @bexbz

Best "Back-to-School" Horror Movies

It’s that wonderful time of year where parents send their precious little angels back to school to fill their heads with whatever nuggets of info the Board of Education has deemed appropriate. To celebrate, I bring you a list of school-related horror to fill your kid-free hours during the day.

Detention (2011)

Director: Joseph Kahn | Writers: Joseph Kahn, Mark Palermo | Stars: Josh Hutcherson, Shaley Caswell, Spencer Locke, Dane Cook (ikr?!)

An entertaining horror-comedy about a group of highschoolers who find themselves being terrorized by "Cinderhella", a killer named after a character from a popular horror movie. I happen to be a particular fan of these meta/self-referential horror-comedies and this one is funny, clever, and rather underrated, if I do say so myself.

The Faculty (1998)

Director: Robert Rodriguez | Writers: David Wechter (story), Bruce Kimmel (story), Kevin Williamson (screenplay) | Stars: Jordana Brewster, Clea DuVall, Laura Harris, Josh Hartnett, Shawn Hatosy, Salma Hayek, Famke Janssen, Piper Laurie, Christopher McDonald, Bebe Neuwirth, Robert Patrick, Usher, Jon Stewart, Elijah Wood, Daniel von Bargen, Summer Phoenix, Danny Masterson, Louis Black

Ok, so did you read that cast list?! Not only is this movie an entertaining and exciting piece of scifi-horror, but it has an impressively solid list of names. Granted, there are the typical “90’s movie” names (I’m talking to you, Josh Hartnett & Shawn Hatosy!), but you’re also lucky enough to see the likes of Robert Patrick & Famke Janssen. Shit, even Usher makes an appearance. If you’ve never seen this, do yourself a favor and give it a watch. You’ll learn how to defeat aliens with drugs - a lesson you probably weren’t taught in school.

Battle Royal (2000)

Director: Kinji Fukasaku | Writers: Koushun Takami (novel), Kenta Fukasaku (screenplay) | Stars: Tatsuya Fujiwara, Aki Maeda, Taro Yamamoto

Most horror fans are familiar with this dystopian novel & film, set in a future Japan. In this future, the Japanese government captures a group of unwilling high school students and forces them to fight to the death - all under the guise of the government's “revolutionary” Battle Royal act. The result is a bloody and vicious fight for survival - and you thought your high school years were tough.

Cooties (2014)

Directors: Jonathan Milott, Cary Murnion | Writers: Leigh Whannell, Ian Brennan | Stars: Elijah Wood, Rainn Wilson, Alison Pill, Jack McBrayer, Leigh Whannell, Nasim Pedrad, Jorge Garcia

Listen...people love seeing kids turn into little monsters and start running around, offing all the adults -- It’s a perfect setup for a dark comedy! So when a mysterious “cooties” virus hits an elementary school, the sweet, innocent little schoolchildren are transformed into feral, flesh-eating savages. Watching the remaining teachers attempt to work together to fight off hordes of snarling students is as entertaining as it is hilarious.

Check out The Bloodlust's review of Cooties here.

Carrie (1976)

Director: Brian De Palma | Writers: Stephen King (novel), Lawrence D. Cohen (screenplay) | Stars: Sissy Spacek, Piper Laurie, Amy Irving

I shouldn’t even have to explain this movie to you. If you’re a fan of horror (or of movies, in general), you’ve seen the original Carrie. You know exactly what scene is being referenced should you ever hear a group of highschool girls start to chant, “Plug it up! Plug it up!” This is one of those iconic horror films you watched when you were in your early teens and already had an ever-growing list of things to be afraid of. Puberty is no picnic, and when you add a religious, domineering mother and newfound telekinetic powers to the mix, it’s no wonder Carrie lost her cool.

Prom Night (1980)

Director: Paul Lynch | Writers: William Gray (screenplay), Robert Guza Jr. (story) | Stars: Leslie Nielsen, Jamie Lee Curtis, Casey Stevens

This movie has a perfect setup for a successful slasher: a terrifying, masked killer, upset about the accidental death of a young girl, stalks the four high school students who have been hiding this secret for years. It basically writes itself! Fans of the slasher-themed horror probably have this movie permanently placed in their movie canon. It’s really one of the classics that seems to get better (and cheesier) with age.

Scream (1996)

Director: Wes Craven | Writer: Kevin Williamson | Stars: Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, David Arquette, Skeet Ulrich, Matthew Lillard, Jamie Kennedy, Drew Barrymore

“What’s your favorite scary movie?” We’re all very familiar with this 90’s horror favorite from the master, Wes Craven. How could a person not be familiar with it? It did, after all, spawn a series of sequels, a series of parodies, numerous quotable lines, and was meta before being meta was cool. Granted, it wasn’t the first piece of metacinema in the horror genre - it wasn’t even the first for Wes Craven (check out Wes Craven’s New Nightmare)! However, just because it wasn’t the first, doesn’t mean that it didn’t significantly help pave the way for films like Cabin in the Woods and Final Girl. As a fan of the meta-style of film, Scream will always have a place in my lists.

Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975)

Director: Peter Weir | Writers: Joan Lindsay (novel), Cliff Green (screenplay) | Stars: Rachel Roberts, Anne-Louise Lambert, Vivean Gray

A teacher and group of students from an Australian girls’ school, vanish without a trace while out on a excursion to Hanging Rock. Personally, I’m a fan of the horror-mystery movies involving people or groups that go missing and the search for clues, etc. etc. They generally have just enough of that “true crime” touch to get me really interested. If you like this movie and others of a similar ilk, I recommend checking out Yellow Brick Road.

Suspiria (1977)

Director: Dario Argento | Writers: Dario Argento (screenplay), Daria Nicolodi (screenplay) | Stars: Jessica Harper, Stefania Casini, Flavio Bucci

This stylish Argento classic is an absolute must-see for fans of horror. In fact, if you haven’t seen it, stop reading immediately and go watch it. Everything from the music, to the colors, to the setting is all expertly used to create a seriously unsettling atmosphere. The story is a simple one: a dancer arrives at an elite German ballet school only to discover it’s actually being run by witches who will kill anyone who threatens them. That’s it. It’s a perfect example of how a good director can make a gorgeous, yet, unnerving horror film without relying heavily on plot.

The Awakening (2011)

Director: Nick Murphy | Writers: Stephen Volk (screenplay), Nick Murphy (screenplay) | Stars: Rebecca Hall, Dominic West, Imelda Staunton

This is one of those movies that doesn’t seem to get talked about much and I find that to be a shame. Set in 1920’s post-war England, paranormal activity debunker, Florence, heads to an appropriately creepy boarding school to investigate the sightings of a ghostly child. Ghosts have been used as fodder for horror movies since about forever and, because of this, many (if not most) ghost movies are complete shit. The Awakening, however, is a much-appreciated exception. I’m still a bit creeped out by a particular scene involving a dollhouse...

Suicide Club (2001)

Director: Sion Sono | Writer: Sion Sono | Stars: Ryo Ishibashi, Masatoshi Nagase, Mai Hosho

High school can really be a rough time for some kids. I mean, puberty is hitting most people (some harder than others), hormones are all over the place, the desire to fit in and belong is a constant presence...the list goes on. However, regardless of how bad your high school experience may have been, chances are 54 of your fellow students didn’t throw themselves in front of a train, sparking a string of student suicides across the country. Welcome to Suicide Club.

The Blackcoat's Daughter / aka February (2015)

Director: Osgood Perkins | Writer: Osgood Perkins | Stars: Emma Roberts, Lauren Holly, Kiernan Shipka

I’ll be honest, I have yet to see this one. However, since it’s on my “to watch” list, I’m adding it to the list. If you are familiar with Osgood Perkins (or Oz Perkins), you’ll know that his movie background isn’t exactly filled with horror titles. In fact, the two movies I recognized him from are Not Another Teen Movie and Legally Blonde. All that aside, The Blackcoat’s Daughter is a horror-thriller about two girls, who get left behind at boarding school and must deal with some mysterious evil force. If that’s the sort of storyline that does it for you, this may be a movie you’ll want to check out.

The Substitute (2007)

Director: Ole Bornedal | Writers: Ole Bornedal (screenplay), Henrik Prip (screenplay) | Stars: Paprika Steen, Ulrich Thomsen, Jonas Wandschneider

Our favorite token dude, Eddie, puts this movie in his favorite subgenre of “kids knowing something up but the adults don’t believe them.” It’s similar to The Faculty in that the kids are convinced their teacher is actually an alien. If you ask me, there should be more alien-related horror because I seem to dig most of the ones I’ve seen. This is a fun horror movie that has as many funny parts as it does creepy - there’s a particular scene where the teacher reads the kids’ minds that’s particularly great. A great watch if you’re with a group of friends!

Are there any we missed? Let us know in the comments!

5 Free* Mobile Horror Games Worth Playing

I confess, I'm not much of a mobile gamer. Though I love my PS4, I generally don't play anything on my cellphone. It's not that I'm elitist, I just prefer the feel of a controller in my hand. The other day, I was itching to play a horror game. I'd just finished Until Dawn and didn't have the luxury of enough disposable income to purchase a new game. I turned to my phone and thought, "I wonder what happens when you type 'horror' into the app store?" I was surprised by the amount of horror games that came up! Many were "escape" games, where you wake up in a dark room and have to find your way out. Some were survival games that I was terrible at. Some were jump scare prank apps that I presume you use on your friends. But some little gems were narrative, and I downloaded several to try them out.

*Now, of course, you could argue that most of these apps aren't really free. That's fair - several of them are free introductory episodes with subsequent episodes costing $2-$5. I love finding games like these, because you get a chance to try them out before you decide if you want to pay for any further episodes or in-app purchases. I played a lot of free games and most of them I uninstalled immediately after playing. I sifted through the sands of a barren desert to find the games that are worth your time!

Note: I have an HTC One M8 so these games were played on an Android device. I have noted where each game can be found, and whether you play on an Android or Apple device.

So, without further adieu, here are 5 Free Mobile Horror Games Worth Playing:

1. The Last Door
The Game Kitchen
Available on PC, Mac, Linux, iPad, iPhone, Android, Windows Phone and web browsers
www.thelastdoor.com

This was my absolute favourite of the bunch I tried. I was not aware that this game was a Kickstarter project initially backed by "213 supporters and released March 2013." The Last Door is a Victorian gothic narrative game about a man named Jeremiah who receives a mysterious letter from his childhood friend Anthony. Concerned, he travels to Sussex to search Anthony's eerie manor and determine the fate of his friend.

Immediately the game starts off with a man, a chair, and a rope in an attic. No direction is given - but you'll figure it out pretty quickly. This is a dark Lovecraftian story and I loved it. After the opening credits, you take control of Jeremiah and wander the halls of the home. There is no shortage of puzzles, locked doors, and creepy letters left around for you to discover.

The original music by Carlos Viola is amazing in this game. Beautiful, haunting piano fills the mansion as you explore every room for clues of the truth about your discovery. The use of sound and music was a treat and is best experienced with headphones: the floor creaks when you're upstairs, the basement drips, and tension is heightened at just the right moments.

At first, I was put off by the graphics. They were extremely pixelated and hard to make out at times. As the game went on, I began to appreciate the look - the vagueness of the characters and scenery allowed me to imagine the story as frighteningly as I wanted. This is not a horror game that relies on jump scares: it relies on atmosphere, dread, and your own imagination.

It goes without saying that I purchased full access to this game (The "Collector’s Edition") for $5. I'm glad I did, because Episode 2 is already better than the first. And with unique challenges and trophies, the replayability for The Last Door is pretty impressive. If you play only one game on this list, make it this one.

2. Hide and Seek: The Story of Dorothy
TabomSoft
Available on iPhone and Android devices

The look of this game had me at hello. Reminiscent of early Japanese RPG days with cute characters and no end to the nostalgia. Here you play as a young girl who fell asleep... while playing hide and seek. Wake up in a mansion and follow clues, chase scenes, and death traps to regain your memory and make your way out.

This is one of those games where you die - a lot. You might try to examine a painting that shoots knives, or you might accidentally walk through a door to a gaping maw of spikes. Have no fear: you have multiple lives! The only downside is that after you've run through them all, you have to wait real-time to get them back. Of course, you can always purchase more lives if you're impatient but I took those times as a welcome break.

This game employs riddles and creepy imagery in a way I really enjoyed. I wasn't very fond of the chase scenes, but they served to add some urgency that could otherwise be lacking. This is just one episode of many, with the option to buy more. It's unclear whether each episode is a self-contained story...I haven't been able to beat it yet!

3. The Jusou
Edges LLC
Available on both iPhone and Android devices

If you're particularly fond of Japanese horror such as Ringu and Ju-On, you'll be a fan of The Jusou. This is a simple little puzzle game that calls itself "an unspeakable memory from 25 years ago." We begin outside a small home where a mysterious tragedy occurred. Upon entering the home, your character tries to find out exactly what happened.

Explore the dark house as a ghostly woman makes her presence known. Who is she, and what happened to her? You'll need to find some batteries for your flashlight before you can find out!

There are some jump scares in this game, though none of them were particularly frightening. I enjoyed the moody atmosphere and dark graphics, even if I felt the story didn't pay off as much as I would have liked. This felt like a quick play compared to the rest, and I'd like to revisit it to see if there's anything I missed. This is the only game on the list that is 100% free!

4. Fran Bow Alpha Demo
Kill Monday Games
Available on PC, Mac, Linux, iPad, iPhone, Android, Windows Phone and web browsers
www.franbow.com

Fran Bow, like The Last Door, is also at the top of my list. Another crowdfunded game, this one claims to be “an intense story of pain, loss and acceptance.” Your character is Fran, a 9 year old girl in a psychiatric ward which of course, she's trying to escape from. Early on, she discovers pills that make her see hideous images, writing in blood on the wall, spirits, and clues. She knows she must get out, since her cat told her so.

Wander the halls of the ward, meet other troubled children, and fool the adults around you. Follow the clues to uncover something nefarious (probably). I thought the artwork in this game had a certain charm, and I’ll definitely be purchasing the full game to experience the complete story. This one is full of dark whimsy.

5. Into the Dead
Pik Pok
Available on iPhone, iPad, Android, Windows Phone, Facebook, and -- get excited -- this one's coming to Oculus Rift!
www.intothedead.com

Are you sick of zombies yet? Good, because this is a zombie game and it is seriously addictive. This is one of those simple “run as far and as fast as you can” games. In this one, you’re in the middle of a zombie apocalypse and you’re running for your damn life. Get caught by a zombie, and you’re back at the beginning. Unlock perks like weapons and companions to see how far you can make it, and outrun your friends scores for bragging rights!

Perfect for those times you’re waiting in line at the DMV, or you’ve just got a few minutes to spare, it’s worth a shot if you like constantly beating your own high scores (don’t judge my high score okay, I took this screenshot early on!).

There are a ton of mobile horror games in the app store, and I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the best ones are also available online or on Steam! If you’re new to these games, hopefully this list narrowed them down to help you get started in the right direction. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have The Last Door to continue playing...

@bexbz

*Honourable Mentions include: DearRED, Ellie: Get Me Out of Here, Murder Room, Slendrina: The Cellar, The Exorcist: Story of School, Haunted Circus 3D, Eyes - The Haunt*