Think DC Isn't Scary? These 8 Movies Prove Otherwise

The first thing you may notice is that Batman-related stories are on here a lot, but he's also DC's biggest moneymaker, so that doesn't negate its spooky impact. But Clayface feels like a more definitive entry as it's tied to a larger universe of heroes and villains. Yet seeing Matt Hagen slowly go from a scarred and lost actor to a twisted mass of clay is genuinely unsettling.

I love how the film leans on The Fly (1086) in terms of how we see an otherwise normal person embrace his darker half through his evolution and also embrace it. While we root for his revenge, we see him get lost in it, and it makes for a movie great for monster movie fans.

A lot of people don't know that A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) director Wes Craven was the one who brought the DC creature feature, Swamp Thing, to the big screen. When it comes to iconic monsters, it's hard to beat the story of a scientist transformed into a swamp monster who protects the Green. Swamp Thing itself was limited by its budget and time, but it still managed to achieve cult classic status.

What makes Swamp Thing so scary is that it's a unique but traditional monster mash. For younger viewers, seeing these creatures duke it out can be pretty scary. For adults, the idea of a man who can never get his old life back and is trapped in a body of roots and leaves hits hard. Whichever way you slice it, Swamp Thing is perfect for people wanting a different type of creature feature.

V for Vendetta has all of the Orwellian dystopia of 1984 (1956) while mixing the action and spectacle of the Wachowski Sisters' best work on The Matrix (1999). It's not a creature feature like Swamp Thing. Still, V for Vendetta is utterly terrifying because of the totalitarian state that mirrors Nazi Germany and also feels timeless as modern governments try to overreach into our lives.

There's a lot of fun action and great character moments between V and Evie. The thriller aspect comes when we don't know if the government will capture and torture them, and the horror comes when we see V's origin. It's a film that is ideal for anyone who loves a bit of action in their dystopian movies.

Tim Burton's Batman films are some of the most important comic book movies ever, as they proved these characters are deserving of a chance and a large budget. Batman Returns is what happens when Burton has more freedom and his knack for nightmare-inducing moments comes in full force.

Seeing the Penguin bite a guy's nose, Catwoman cut up a guy's face, or Max Shreck's charred remains are enough to make you jump. But it's the dark atmosphere that makes this Christmas movie very spooky to me. This is a story about a villain so evil he wants to drown babies, and that alone is scarier than anything Swamp Thing could do. It's the best Batman film that leans into terror and is perfect if you want to see the weird side of Gotham.

When it comes to DC movies that are perfect to watch during Halloween, Constantine is still the number one option. Though it changes many aspects of the source material, Keanu Reeves masters the tortured soul of a man who challenges the forces of Heaven and Hell and maintains the balance between them and Earth. But my favorite part of the film is how he's so jaded by the biblical back-and-forth that he doesn't care; even if he does deep down.

Constantine is a great movie for anyone who thinks The Exorcist (1973) is too serious. The stakes are there, and Constantine is a charismatic lead, but the scares and the ideas of the afterlife stick with you long after the credits roll. What makes this movie scary goes beyond what you see; it's how it makes you think about what's beyond.

The Odyssey (2026) proves that Christopher Nolan is a director who could bring us horror if he tried. With The Dark Knight, I saw that in fleeting moments that still stick with me. While it's a long cop drama where the Joker steals the show, it also creates a story so enthralling that I forget about its many jump scares and the twisted energy the Joker brings to the film.

What I think makes this movie so scary boils down to the look of the Joker; this is a guy you don't want to see in an alley at night, and his unpredictability makes you laugh out of nerves and not because he's funny. His actions are twisted, and his careless attitude makes him feel inhuman to the point that the horror of the story is that this man sees humans and cities as toys, and he doesn't care what happens to them, making this a perfect movie for people who love light scares.

Todd Phillips' Joker (2019) is a film that blew up at the box office and didn't even have Batman in it. However, in hindsight, it's hard to say if hype or the story had anything to do with that. Still, I think the only thing that led to that success is the way the movie feels like a fuse inching closer and closer to the dynamite. We aren't seeing a guy go insane from chemicals; we are seeing a man slowly lose his sanity and turn into a killer thanks to a city that forgot him.

Joker isn't a cautionary tale that wants us to pity Arthur Fleck. The horror is that we are watching a man lose his grip on reality, and it ends in a moment where he thinks he's taking control, but he's actually just scaring an entire city. When I saw his descent framed as a misguided ascension, it was chill-inducing because it showed how psychological and scary this iteration of Joker was, making it a great choice for people who love a good psychological thriller.

The Batman may be set during Halloween, but it's not a horror movie. It's a neo-noir mystery where a city has to come to grips with a man dressed as a bat helping the police. But what I think makes this movie scary is that it's not hiding the fact that Gotham City is a haunting place to live.

Danger is around every corner, and the presence of Batman breeds escalation. We see how scary the Riddler can be, and each riddle and murder is scarier than the last. Even the tease of a grotesquely scarred Joker shows that this is a universe that won't pull its punches. The Batman is a scary movie because of how it makes you scared of what's around the corner, and it's great for people who want a scare without being horrified.