Summary

• Horror movies with groups of friends add emotional stakes, making the characters more relatable and the story more engaging.
• Unique takes on friendship dynamics in horror movies can create compelling narratives, ranging from comedic to chilling.
• Making a group of friends the center of a horror story adds an extra layer of complexity and impact to the overall theme of the film.

There are many examples of a groups of friends in horror movies that prove the ensemble approach is an effective storytelling tool in the genre. Some of the most exciting horror movies are about a group of friends who have fun while hanging out, only to realize they are in terrifying danger. Whether they’re about teenage serial killers or supernatural forces at work, these movies add emotional stakes. The most endearing and engaging horror movies are the ones where friends are in it together and look out for each other, even if not all of them make it out alive.

Slasher movie characters often fit the “group of friends” horror trope, usually involving young friends fleeing from some masked killer. However, there are a lot of interesting ways to explore the idea of friendship in horror movies with some stories telling genuinely touching stories of these close companions in horrific scenarios, while others test the limits of friendship with people turning on each other. While there are a lot of ways to approach horror movies, making a group of friends the center of the story has proven to add another layer to some of these standout horror gems.

25 Attack The Block (2011)

A Gang Of Youths Take On Invading Aliens

Attack the Block is one of the rare group of friends horror movies that focuses on a young cast. The movie follows a group of troublemaking youths, led by John Boyega in his breakout role. While they spend their time doing petty crimes and intimidating people, they find their chance to be heroes when aliens begin invading their city.

They are easy to root for, and it’s genuinely heartbreaking when they don’t all make it out alive.

Writer-director Joe Cornish is a longtime collaborator of Edgar Wright, and it is clear to see their similar styles with Attack the Block using the same comedic energy while never undercutting the thrills of the story. The young heroes make for an endearing group of friendswho are much more complex than they initially seem. They are easy to root for, and it’s genuinely heartbreaking when they don’t all make it out alive.

24 Green Room (2015)

A Punk Rock Group Is Targeted By Neo-Nazis

Part of what makes group of friends horror movies so effective is that, seeing these friends together makes them into richer characters that the audience wants to see survive the ordeal. That is all the more impactful when it becomes clear that not all of them will. Green Room is an exceptional, small horror movie about a punk rock band who reluctantly take a gig playing at a compound for neo-Nazis. However, after witnessing a murder, they find themselves trapped and targeted by their hosts.

The movie is also notable for giving Patrick Stewart his best villain role as the head of the Nazi group.

Green Room is one of the most unsettlingly realistic horror movies with the violence and evil in the movie being portrayed as so matter of fact. The friends are shown to be real characters who react in relatable ways without Hollywood storytelling flourishes. The movie is also notable for giving Patrick Stewart his best villain role as the head of the Nazi group.

23 Bodies Bodies Bodies (2022)

Friends Begins To Suspect One Of Them Is A Killer During A Late-Night Party

One of the most underrated A24 horror movies that have come out in recent years, Bodies Bodies Bodies mixes elements of horror, comedy, and a whodunnit mystery. The movie follows a bunch of young and spoiled friends having a wild party at the mansion owned by one of their parents. However, when their night of fun is shaken by one of them dying, they realize there is a killer in the group.

The movie does a number of clever things with its approach to the group-of-friends horror trope. It has a lot of fun satirizing as well as examining the young culture of the modern world with some funny and insightful things to say. It is also fun to see the group of friends turn on each other when it becomes a life-or-death scenario.

22 House Of Wax

(2005)

The 2005 film House of Wax is a remake of Mystery of the Wax Museum, which was released in 1933, and best known for Paris Hilton having a starring role. There are several characters in this group of friends horror movie who go on a road trip: Nick and Carly, who are brother and sister, and their pals Dalton, Blake, Paige, and Wade.

House of Wax
was critically slammed when it was first released, but it has since become something of a cult classic and something of a guilty pleasure.

While they’re trying to go to a football game, they find themselves in an abandoned area and stumble upon the wax museum, which is an incredibly creepy setting. It’s easy to imagine how freaked out everyone is and how they wish that they had never found this place at all. House of Wax was critically slammed when it was first released, but it has since become something of a cult classic and something of a guilty pleasure.

21 Host

(2020)

Host is one of the many movies born out of the COVID-19 pandemic, and for the most part, it’s one of the most successful and a great deadly friends movie. Haley and her friends are keeping in touch on Zoom during the COVID-19 pandemic but when Haley adds a medium to the chat, they are each attacked by spirits.

It’s a creative story, and the characters are clearly great friends as they have easy, natural conversations with one another. How well Host will age is uncertain, as being so closely connected to the event of the time of its release could hold it back.

20 As Above, So Below

(2014)

As Above, So Below is a found footage horror movie that tells the story of Scarlett, who wants to find the philosopher’s stone because that was her dad’s quest. The movie follows people visiting the Catacombs of Paris and filming their experience for a documentary. Scarlett explores with a guide named Papillon, Papillon’s pal Zed, Papillon’s girlfriend Souxie, and Scarlett’s ex George.

While it might borrow a lot of its narrative from
The Descent
it does enough differently to stand on its own.

It’s fascinating seeing a group of friends in this setting that mixes horror and adventure. While it might borrow a lot of its narrative from The Descent it does enough differently to stand on its own. What makes As Above, So Below most unique is its Paris setting, making for one of the surprisingly nicest-looking horror movies, even if it is mostly set in a cave.

19 Cabin Fever

(2002)

Horror movies set in the woods are a well-known trope of the genre and can make for an effective point of isolation for a group of friends to experience some real terror. Cabin Fever is exactly that, as it follows a group of friends stuck in a cabin when all hell breaks loose. While groups of friends in cabins is essentially a subgenre of horror, as there are so many of them, Cabin Fever does something much different with the formula.

Instead of a zombie attack or a demon possession, the movie is about a deadly virus that has disgusting effects. Bert, Paul, Karen, Marcy, and Jeff just want to have some fun on spring break by going away to a cabin, but they get more time in nature than they bargained for when they come across a flesh-eating virus.

18 Head Count

(2018)

Joshua Tree is a great location for a horror movie, as it’s in the middle of nowhere, and the sweltering heat certainly won’t help the situation, not to mention that the location is heavily linked to psychedelics, which will make any potential victims hallucinate the worst things. It is used effectively in the underseen horror movie Head Count.

The movie follows Evan, who is spending time in the picturesque area when he meets a group of friends who are all about having fun. He hangs out with them and ends up staying with them at their house rental. Head Count has it all: a close group of characters, a beautiful location, and a supernatural entity, as the teenagers summon a paranormal presence which mimics their appearances, a la The Thing.

17 Malevolent

(2018)

Malevolent offers an interesting twist on the usual group of friends horror movie plot, as Jackson and Angela are siblings who pretend to look into supernatural occurrences in houses. They work with a crew, and the characters have become friendly with each other as they are lying about what they can do and just trying to make money.

Florence Pugh has become a certified scream queen and one of the best horror actors working today

Malevolent is one of the best supernatural horrors that many people might not have seen, and Angela and Jackson are compelling, tough characters and interesting con artists. Between Malevolent and Midsommar, Florence Pugh has become a certified scream queen and one of the best horror actors working today, along with Jenna Ortega.

Malevolent
is available to stream on Netflix.

16 I Know What You Did Last Summer

(1997)

Following the phenomenal success of Scream, so many studios rushed slasher movies into production, and none of them made a bigger splash than I Know What You Did Last Summer. While it was criticized for being too derivative of Scream without the clever satire, I Know What You Did Last Summer is such an underrated late ’90s slasher movie with a great young cast that has incredible chemistry.

The 1997 movie isn’t attempting to reinvent the wheel, and it simply delivers on being a fun mystery movie involving a group of friends.

The 1997 movie isn’t attempting to reinvent the wheel, and it simply delivers on being a fun mystery movie involving a group of friends. The movie was also clearly inspired by classics like Prom Night and packaged into a cool 90s movie. I Know What You Did Last Summer is ultimately a great genre piece that the entire cast and crew were enthusiastic about, and it shows on the screen.

15 The Babysitter

(2017)

The Babysitter cleverly flips the idea of horror movies surrounding a group of friends on its head. While most examples see the friend groups being tormented by spirits, becoming possessed, or fighting for survival, the friends in The Babysitter are the bad guys. The 2017 movie follows Cole (Judah Lewis), a 12-year-old boy who finds out that his babysitter is part of a satanic cult.

Between the buckets of blood and the subtle humor,
The Babysitter
features a standout performance by Samara Weaving.

The Babysitter gets more outrageous when it’s revealed that the cult plans to kill Cole. The movie is a perfect blend of comedy and horror, and it’s full of energy, and for a horror movie, it’s surprisingly rewatchable. Between the buckets of blood and the subtle humor, The Babysitter features a standout performance by Samara Weaving. A sequel, The Babysitter: Killer Queen, which stars Jenna Ortega, was released in 2020 and is almost as good as the original film.

14 Joy Ride

(2001)

So many “group of friends” horror movies came out of the late ’90s and early 2000s and all had the same aesthetic, whether it’s I Know What You Did Last Summer or Final Destination. Joy Ride is one of those movies, but it has unfairly disappeared into obscurity and is criminally underrated.

Rusty Nails is also one of the most effective horror movie villains that is barely seen

The movie follows Lewis, who is giving the love of his life Venna a ride, and he ends up helping his troubled brother Fuller by picking him up too. The characters are tormented by Rusty Nail, a villainous truck driver, and while the movie is pretty cheesy, it’s a solid story of characters in a truly chilling scenario. Rusty Nails is also one of the most effective horror movie villains that is barely seen, with Ted Levine providing the sinister voice of the character to great effect.

Joy Ride
is available to stream on Hulu.

13 Haunt

(2019)

The 2019 release Haunt follows Bailey and Harper, who go to college together, and after meeting Evan and Nathan, the four new friends decide to visit a haunted house. However, it’s nothing like a typical Halloween attraction and it’s clear that it won’t be simple to escape this place, especially when they start getting attacked by masked killers.

The characters care deeply about each other but are scared for their own survival.

Like other slasher horror movies, the characters care deeply about each other but are scared for their own survival, and Harper is an especially good protagonist who knows how to take care of herself because of traumatic events from her past. The killers’ chilling masks are some of the scariest in a horror film , making their mark on the long history of slasher movie killers. The whole of Haunt is as if an episode of Scooby-Doo was turned into a genuine horror movie, and it works surprisingly well.

Stream on Prime Video & Hulu.

12 Final Destination

(2000)

All of the Final Destination movies have the same premise, as each one follows a group of friends who all survive near-death experiences, but as a result, the balance of life and death is disturbed, and Death comes after each one of the friends in an attempt to restore balance. Whether it’s avoiding an airplane crash or a rollercoaster disaster, every movie in the series has the same formula, but none have ever been able to top the original 2000 movie.

The movie has incredible practical effects and some great tension with the threat of Death striking at any moment.

Though its premise was weakened with each consecutive sequel, Final Destination has such a clever story, and it’s terrifying not only on a supernatural level, but it’s terrifying for anyone with a fear of planes too. The movie has incredible practical effects and some great tension with the threat of Death striking at any moment.

11 Annabelle: Creation

(2017)

In Annabelle: Creation, Esther and Samuel Mullins start an orphanage, and the children staying there come across a demon who makes their lives difficult and terrifying. The orphanage setting makes this movie stand out when compared to the other stories about the famous doll Annabelle, and it’s sweet seeing the children become close as they fight this evil.

The doll itself is inherently creepy, but creepy dolls in horror movies aren’t anything new, as M3GAN and The Boy are two very recent examples of horror films about dolls. However, what makes Annabelle: Creation a great “group of friends” horror movie is that it does what other movies of its ilk are afraid to do, as young children are the potential victims. Few other horror movies will go that far, with Evil Dead Rise being one of the few recent examples.

10 The Final Girls

(2015)

Final Girls sees a friend group being put in a unique situation: literally walking into a slasher movie from the 1980s. When a screening of the fictional movie Camp Bloodbath goes wrong, Max and her friends Duncan, Gertie Michaels, and Chris Briggs find themselves in the film. The movie is compelling as Max has to learn to get along with Vicki Summers, with whom she was once close, and Max also clearly misses her mother, who was the star of the movie.

While
Final Girls
isn’t quite a classic like
Scream
is, it’s just as entertainingly meta.

Final Girls has an entertaining story but has a stronger emotional undercurrent as Max feels closer to her mother through this experience, even though it still delivers great scares. Given the movie’s inclusion of horror movies in the narrative there are a lot of parallels to another deadly horror movie about friends, Scream. While Final Girls isn’t quite a classic like Scream is, it’s just as entertainingly meta.

9 It (2017)

Young Kids Face Off With A Demonic Clown

Another “group of friends” horror movie that is willing to let little kids be the one in danger is the 2017 adaptation of Stephen King’s It. The movie followsa group of young outcasts living in the strange and dark town of Derry. They are drawn together as companions but also learn that they share something in common — they are all tormented by the demonic clown entity known as Pennywise.

Pennywise is one of the most effective horror movie villains of all time, with one look at the sadistic clown being enough to induce nightmares. However, the movie would not succeed without the charm and fun of the young cast. Despite the terrifying elements of the movie, they always seem like kids who joke around and try to have fun. The second part of the story in which adult actors take over the roles was missing the youthful feel of this original cast.

8 Midsommar (2019)

A Grieving Woman Joins Her Boyfriend And Friends On A Visit To A Cult Festival

Florence Pugh stars in Midsommar which features another interesting take on the friend group dynamic. Pugh stars as a young woman who is still dealing with the trauma she experienced from a recent tragedy. In an attempt to cope with the ordeal, she joins her problematic boyfriend and his self-centered friends on their trip to a Swedish midsummer festival in an isolated community. However, the festival soon reveals darker aspects.

This is another movie that has fun tearing down the concept of the group of friends as Pugh’s character is the only one of the group who is not a self-involved and thoughtless person. They turn on each other, get in arguments, and generally are terrible friends and it is interesting to see that realistic dynamic play out within this surreal story.

7 The Descent

(2005)

The main characters in The Descent want to have a good time exploring a cave in North Carolina, but things take a turn for the worse pretty quickly. While the film has some legitimate scares, as there are creatures named crawlers who hunt them down, the story also focuses on the strong friendships between the characters.

The movie is wholly terrifying, and few other films feature as much blood as
The Descent

The Descent has two different endings, with one release being happy and the other being totally harrowing, and it’s up to audiences which one they choose to believe is the real ending. The movie is wholly terrifying, and few other films feature as much blood as The Descent. It’s also one of the rare instances where the sequel is just as good as its predecessor, as The Descent Part II achieved the impossible and is even scarier.

6 The Cabin In The Woods

(2012)

The Cabin in the Woods is another horror movie that walks a fine line between paying homage to the genre tropes and satirizing them. The movie follows a likable group of friends who venture into the woods to stay at an isolated cabin. However, before long they are fighting for their lives when a terrifying evil is unleashed, but soon discover that there is something even stranger at play.

Cabin in the Woods
leans into the cliches and tropes of deadly horror movies just as much as it subverts them.

While fans focus on this movie for its artistic ideas and references to other films, The Cabin in the Woods is also a smart friendship story. Satire in horror has never been done as well as it has in this 2012 film, as it’s a commentary on the tried-and-true formula, and Cabin in the Woods leans into the clichés and tropes of deadly horror movies just as much as it subverts them.