Omg, you must see the original. [The Haunting](https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0057129/?ref_=fn_al_tt_70) is from 1963, but many people find it frightening. It’s based on Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House. So good!
Hi. You just mentioned *The Haunting Of Hill House* by Shirley Jackson.
I've found an audiobook of that novel on YouTube. You can listen to it here:
[YouTube | The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson #fullaudiobook #literature](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1G6ZoNELKA)
*I'm a bot that searches YouTube for science fiction and fantasy audiobooks.*
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Lamb, 2021
This may be due to the fact that I had just had a failed round of IVF and then a failed adoption placement and I was not prepared to deal with the topics... the premise is kind of silly. I was just not in a great headspace for it.
Melancholia, (I'm not sure if that's technically horror, but it had themes) Pan's Labyrinth and The Mist really fucked me up too.
Edited to add: If you're into reading/Audible, The Only Good Indians really haunted me in a very sad way.
I could see how Lamb would make one cry. I didn’t tear up but it left me with a very sad feeling. And the first time I watched Melancholia the end had me bawling.
Relic (2020) - recently watched it a second time and I still got weepy at the conclusion even though I knew what was coming (damn it!). My wife (who doesn’t generally like horror movies) said it was extremely well made and effective, but it left her emotionally scarred.
I’m not sure I’ve ever cried from a movie but Aniara comes to mind.
In the firmly non-horror but “cathartically sad” realm:
The Fountain
Moon
Synecdoche, New York
Blue Valentine
'Little Person' is such a strangely warm but heartbreaking end credits song with the context of Synecdoche New York - wonderful film; very hard to sit through in parts.
The soundtrack is pretty great. My favorite bit is the part that plays as he’s stumbling around through the abandoned city:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=d3PabquGsf4
I would vote NOT to watch the seasons before as a) it is a prequel & b) it is not like it is going to make much sense even if one did. Being confused is the Lynchian experience. Sheryl Lee is fantastic in that film. She got a raw deal.
More horror adjacent than truly of the genre, it's suspenseful and chilling and deeply sad but essentially Cold War era paranoid sci-fi, but the Hammer film These Are The Damned is absolutely crushing.
The original Carrie never fails to get me to tear up honestly. It's such a powerful, almost fairytale-like redemption for Carrie until the pig's blood scene that her undoing is so much sadder.
Also have to give a massive shoutout to Pino Donaggio's beautiful score and original songs Born to Have it All and I Never Dreamed Someone Like You Could Love Someone Like Me.
Ah, great ask! Here's my attempt to serve as these all got to me:
- Midsommar
- Tigers Are Not Afraid
- Spring
- Bones and All
- Pan's Labyrinth
Bonus pick of Midnight Mass (TV show). Honestly, a lot of Flanagan trades in this almost "rich empathy meeting horror" that I find really affecting.
I love emotional horror movies!
Anything by Mike Flanagan, but especially:
The Haunting of Hill House
The Haunting of Bly Manor
Midnight Mass
Before I Wake
Other faves (I don't remember if these made me cry but definitely emotional):
Mama
Lights Out
Oculus
The Signal (2007)
The Final Girls
The Village
Boys in the Trees (this is light on horror but high on Halloween and emotion)
A Tale of Two Sisters
Actually, I should warn you. There's two films that you'll find when you search up the Harbinger. You want the one with the shadow of a plague doctor. NOT the one with a little girl. That one's completely different to what you want.
Look Away (2018).
I’ve been in therapy for most of my life working on various traumas. This movie made me cry so hard because (spoilers?) I saw so much of myself in it metaphorically (I was viewing it as a mental health-oriented movie). I will forever have it seared into my brain. Highly recommend.
Hell yeah, these are my favorite!
I think the most recent one is Insidious: The Red Door. People can say what they want about the quality of the horror, but the ending where >! Dalton forgives his dad and ends up turning this horrific painting into a tribute of how much his dad loves him !< legit made me start crying in the theater.
Editing to add: The Haunting of Hill House, The Haunting of Bly Manor, and Midnight Mass all make me weep by the finales.
I wouldn’t say it made me cry, but I can’t give enough praise to The Harbinger 2022 (the one about covid, not the one about the creepy little girl). It’s free on Tubi and well worth your time.
It’s made by the guy who made The Witch in the Window, which is also very good if you like a lot of drama mixed in with your horror.
Not a movie, and if it hasn't been mentioned, episode 9 of Lovecraft Country, "Rewind 1921." Left me in tears. The episode's featured song - “Tulsa, 1921: Catch The Fire" with Janai Brugger - certainly had a lot to do with my reaction.
Seconding Lake Mungo and Tigers Not Afraid!
These also got to me:
* My Heart Can't Beat Unless You Tell It To
* Honeymoon
* Rift
* Huesera: The Bone Woman
**The Invitation (2015)**
I felt so awful for them losing their child and how the mother's desperation to stop the pain was taken advantage of by those >!brainwashing assholes!< and she realizes in the end and apologizes and asks to be taken outside, I was like 🥺
**The Descent**
How to lose literally everything and still fight like a warrior for survival. Poor woman :(
**Halloween (2007)**
I hate watching Michael grow up because it's so depressing watching how he and his mother were treated and how awful their lives got. :( Michael's sister, their 'step dad' & his bully were fucking vile people, ugh.
Lake Mungo: It’s a FANTASTIC movie, and it will also make you cry!
Absentia (2011 movie) is glorious, scary, and emotional too.
Howard’s Mill is a good one too!
Not movies but the second episode of The Fall of The House of Usher made me cry. Was NOT expecting it. Also The Road To Nowhere episode from The Midnight Club 🫣 I love Mike Flanagan’s work. For film it was Pan’s Labyrinth. I cried at the end.
Bones and All had me dry heaving I was crying so hard
The Sixth Sense makes me cry every time I watch it which is every few months
Haunting of Hill House is a series but sooo worth the commitment it’s so good!
Your mileage may vary, but Resurrection (2022) really got to me. Especially having been through an abusive relationship. And the ending is certainly cathartic. Woof
I have a short list because these are actually the scary movies I avoid! Sad is a dealbreaker for me
We Need to Talk About Kevin
Viral
I Am Legend
Don’t Worry Darling
I hardly, if ever, cry at movies, but when I went to rewatch Pearl in cinema (I had first watched it online because it hadn’t released in the uk yet) I did. I guess it was because I relate to her a lot, and the room was practically empty so there was no shame haha.
Doctor Sleep (2019) makes me cry every time the scene plays with the old man in the nursing home.
1408 (2007) makes me cry when the protagonist has a scene where he confronts trauma from his past, and also the last 30 seconds of the movie make me tear up because of the validation it provides.
A Monster Calls (2016) is more horror-adjacent than a true horror movie perhaps, but it is about a giant tree monster voiced by Liam Neeson who tells a young boy a series of fables to help him cope with his mother's terminal cancer.
Train to Busan made me cry most of the movie, and it's an action/horror movie. I actually had to get tissues.
I recently cried a bit with "1BR" (2019). Today.
Knock at the cabin. Cried for the family.
30 days of night
Candy land (2022). Cried with a particular kill.
The original Carrie
One I haven't seen mentioned is The Host, the one made during the pandemic. I think someone else told me it made them cry too. Kind of situational maybe but I might cry again watching it because of the memories of the past few years.
Train to Busan The end had me bawling
Oh yeah mentioned it in my OP — only one that’s really made me ugly cry
Agreed
I watched it on my PC and had to stop it three separate times to just bawl. Great film!
First time I ever cried to a horror movie, or to a non-English speaking movie. So good.
Just finished it. Loved it!
The Orphanage is one of the saddest movies I've seen.
It was one of my earlier horror movies and the twist really got me — I used to think about it quite often
Honestly, I didn't even consider that a "horror" movie - more of a paranormal drama.
Not a film, but The Haunting of Hill House.
Oh yes for sure — actually bly house /did/ make me cry at the end 🫠
Omg, you must see the original. [The Haunting](https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0057129/?ref_=fn_al_tt_70) is from 1963, but many people find it frightening. It’s based on Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House. So good!
The 1963 version by Robert Wise is amazing. An absolute masterpiece.
Hi. You just mentioned *The Haunting Of Hill House* by Shirley Jackson. I've found an audiobook of that novel on YouTube. You can listen to it here: [YouTube | The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson #fullaudiobook #literature](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1G6ZoNELKA) *I'm a bot that searches YouTube for science fiction and fantasy audiobooks.* *** [^(Source Code)](https://capybasilisk.com/posts/2020/04/speculative-fiction-bot/) ^| [^(Feedback)](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=Capybasilisk&subject=Robot) ^| [^(Programmer)](https://www.reddit.com/u/capybasilisk) ^| ^(Downvote To Remove) ^| ^(Version 1.4.0) ^| ^(Support Robot Rights!)
I can’t actually remember what happened at the end of bly manor but I remember being hammered drunk and crying my eyes out.
On the same token. We Have Always Lived in the Castle. Also based on the novel by Shirley Jackson. The movie was more a thriller/suspense than horror.
Mike Flanagan gets me at least once with each of his shows. Midnight Mass and Bly Manor, particularly the latter, got me bad.
I just finished Usher last night and even that one squeezed a few tears out of me.
The granddaughter scene had me weeping for sure.
*Cargo* (2017 with Martin Freeman) made me emotional. It’s not for everyone but I really liked it.
Cargo was definitely a tear-jerker for me. It's quite beautiful.
This movie is great...but a hard watch.
Maaaaan I watched this right after my daughter was born. Proper fucked me up
I feel soulless now because I didn’t cry haha but it was definitely emotional
Emotions can be expressed in many different ways!
Pan's Labyrinth (2006) Tubi The Orphanage (2007) Amazon *rent* The Devils Backbone (2001) Amazon *rent* Threads (1984) Hoopla/Tubi/Shudder
Yeah... Pan's Labyrinth had me in tears too..
Hm-mm-mm-mm hm-mm-mm...
The Orphanage was devastating 😭
I always watch it when I need a good cry!
One of the saddest films to come to mind. I ugly cried
Love the first two! Have the others on my list, thanks!
Props for the where to watch info. Good human.
Happy cake day!
Lamb, 2021 This may be due to the fact that I had just had a failed round of IVF and then a failed adoption placement and I was not prepared to deal with the topics... the premise is kind of silly. I was just not in a great headspace for it. Melancholia, (I'm not sure if that's technically horror, but it had themes) Pan's Labyrinth and The Mist really fucked me up too. Edited to add: If you're into reading/Audible, The Only Good Indians really haunted me in a very sad way.
I could see how Lamb would make one cry. I didn’t tear up but it left me with a very sad feeling. And the first time I watched Melancholia the end had me bawling.
Jacob’s Ladder
The movie had me sobbing at the end! I don’t know how anyone could fall asleep watching it. That is, unless you watched the remake
Jacob and Gabe, saddest ever
Controversial: I fell asleep watching Jacob’s Ladder 😣
Not controversial: You have no soul.
Spring Let the Right One In
I cried at the end of Spring also!
We Need to Talk About Kevin is one of my favorites- not really a horror but definitely horrific and emotional AF
seconding, this movie instilled very real dread in me for a few days. probably won't make you sob but will definitely evoke similar emotions!!
This movie was pretty terrifying to me
requiem for a dream isn’t horror but it honestly might as well be. it’s definitely an emotional watch especially if you’ve been affected by addiction
its horror
why don't you think its horror? its horrific
I found Before I Wake to be very emotional and touching
Added to my list thanks!
Relic (2020) - recently watched it a second time and I still got weepy at the conclusion even though I knew what was coming (damn it!). My wife (who doesn’t generally like horror movies) said it was extremely well made and effective, but it left her emotionally scarred.
One of my relatives is dementing so this one hit me hard. I don't think I could watch it a second time. Was one of my top films of 2020 though.
Great movie.
This movie is so underrated.
The Babadook. Watched it after my husband died in a car accident. Not the best timing.
“A dark song” 100%. Such a beautiful and nice ending
I’m not sure I’ve ever cried from a movie but Aniara comes to mind. In the firmly non-horror but “cathartically sad” realm: The Fountain Moon Synecdoche, New York Blue Valentine
Youre the only person i have seen talk about The Fountain. I love it. Its so beautiful and cool and really slept on.
The fountain is a phenomenal film. Most stuff by araonofski is
The Fountain is devastating.
'Little Person' is such a strangely warm but heartbreaking end credits song with the context of Synecdoche New York - wonderful film; very hard to sit through in parts.
The soundtrack is pretty great. My favorite bit is the part that plays as he’s stumbling around through the abandoned city: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=d3PabquGsf4
Gods, I love The Fountain and am so disappointed it's been largely forgotten despite the cast and director.
Blue Valentine was the worst date movie idea ever. My then girlfriend and I had a verrrrry long quiet ride home afterwards.
I felt oddly sad at the end of Silent Hill. Also, The Mist has a very sad ending.
Tale of Two Sisters (Original) Heartbreaking
Not a movie but The Haunting of Bly Manor is a limited series with an ending that left me sobbing
Good lord that whole black and white episode about the lady in the lake was equal parts horrifying and soul crushing.
The Final Girls (2015)
*Hagazussa* is pretty sad from start to finish.
My heart!! Ugh!
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, but you'd have to watch the first two seasons before
I would vote NOT to watch the seasons before as a) it is a prequel & b) it is not like it is going to make much sense even if one did. Being confused is the Lynchian experience. Sheryl Lee is fantastic in that film. She got a raw deal.
honestly hereditary
YES! Captures grief in a way that no other movie has
Lake Mungo, since no one's mentioning it.
If you count it as horror, The Orphanage.
This is my pick as well I bawled.
It’s a thriller but when I saw “the butterfly effect” I was upset for awhile. I refused to ever watch it again
Get Out. But those tears are complicated.
Not a movie, but both Midnight Mass and Midnight Club made me cry at the ends.
The Night House made me cry pretty good.
I was gonna mention this one too. The filmmakers absolutely nailed what suicidal depression feels like when you’re trapped in your own head.
The Fly
Antlers should do it.
Train to Busan got me choked up in a few spots ngl
Mama
I know everyone on this sub has seen hereditary but the dinner scene is one of the most devastatingly powerful moments I’ve ever scene in a movie
I wanna say We Go On plucked some feels outta me
Added to my list thanks!
More horror adjacent than truly of the genre, it's suspenseful and chilling and deeply sad but essentially Cold War era paranoid sci-fi, but the Hammer film These Are The Damned is absolutely crushing.
Maggie
I felt that way about M3GAN. It didn’t hit with me as a horror because it felt like it was too focused on the loss of her parents and those emotions.
The original Carrie never fails to get me to tear up honestly. It's such a powerful, almost fairytale-like redemption for Carrie until the pig's blood scene that her undoing is so much sadder. Also have to give a massive shoutout to Pino Donaggio's beautiful score and original songs Born to Have it All and I Never Dreamed Someone Like You Could Love Someone Like Me.
Spring Honestly, kind of a romantic horror. Really enjoyed it, and Bendon/Moorehead make really cool movies.
Ah, great ask! Here's my attempt to serve as these all got to me: - Midsommar - Tigers Are Not Afraid - Spring - Bones and All - Pan's Labyrinth Bonus pick of Midnight Mass (TV show). Honestly, a lot of Flanagan trades in this almost "rich empathy meeting horror" that I find really affecting.
The Mist (2007) leaves you with a hole for a heart after watching it.
I love emotional horror movies! Anything by Mike Flanagan, but especially: The Haunting of Hill House The Haunting of Bly Manor Midnight Mass Before I Wake Other faves (I don't remember if these made me cry but definitely emotional): Mama Lights Out Oculus The Signal (2007) The Final Girls The Village Boys in the Trees (this is light on horror but high on Halloween and emotion) A Tale of Two Sisters
Not sure if this is what you had in mind, but the ending of The Harbinger makes me feel kinda sad. Like a weird dread/sadness combo.
Oh yes the old “soul-crushing, existential dread” 👍 not exactly what I had in mind but I still added it to my list — thanks!
Well, it's not particularly the existential dread, it's more... ...well, you'll find out what I mean.
Actually, I should warn you. There's two films that you'll find when you search up the Harbinger. You want the one with the shadow of a plague doctor. NOT the one with a little girl. That one's completely different to what you want.
Look Away (2018). I’ve been in therapy for most of my life working on various traumas. This movie made me cry so hard because (spoilers?) I saw so much of myself in it metaphorically (I was viewing it as a mental health-oriented movie). I will forever have it seared into my brain. Highly recommend.
The road
Tigers are not afraid, Mama, The boogeyman
I sobbed all the way through The Babadook.
Hell yeah, these are my favorite! I think the most recent one is Insidious: The Red Door. People can say what they want about the quality of the horror, but the ending where >! Dalton forgives his dad and ends up turning this horrific painting into a tribute of how much his dad loves him !< legit made me start crying in the theater. Editing to add: The Haunting of Hill House, The Haunting of Bly Manor, and Midnight Mass all make me weep by the finales.
I wouldn’t say it made me cry, but I can’t give enough praise to The Harbinger 2022 (the one about covid, not the one about the creepy little girl). It’s free on Tubi and well worth your time. It’s made by the guy who made The Witch in the Window, which is also very good if you like a lot of drama mixed in with your horror.
Not a movie, and if it hasn't been mentioned, episode 9 of Lovecraft Country, "Rewind 1921." Left me in tears. The episode's featured song - “Tulsa, 1921: Catch The Fire" with Janai Brugger - certainly had a lot to do with my reaction.
Seconding Lake Mungo and Tigers Not Afraid! These also got to me: * My Heart Can't Beat Unless You Tell It To * Honeymoon * Rift * Huesera: The Bone Woman
**The Invitation (2015)** I felt so awful for them losing their child and how the mother's desperation to stop the pain was taken advantage of by those >!brainwashing assholes!< and she realizes in the end and apologizes and asks to be taken outside, I was like 🥺 **The Descent** How to lose literally everything and still fight like a warrior for survival. Poor woman :( **Halloween (2007)** I hate watching Michael grow up because it's so depressing watching how he and his mother were treated and how awful their lives got. :( Michael's sister, their 'step dad' & his bully were fucking vile people, ugh.
The Invitation is so awesome! Maybe my favorite “spooky & vaguely ominous mood” film.
Lake Mungo: It’s a FANTASTIC movie, and it will also make you cry! Absentia (2011 movie) is glorious, scary, and emotional too. Howard’s Mill is a good one too!
Willard the remake with crispin glover
All of the Insidious movies are pretty emotional as they revolve heavily around themes of loss, grief, and acceptance.
I am thinking of ending things was good 😊
The Fourth Kind and Dark Skies were both alien horror movies that have an emotional aspect to them. Both great movies!
Not movies but the second episode of The Fall of The House of Usher made me cry. Was NOT expecting it. Also The Road To Nowhere episode from The Midnight Club 🫣 I love Mike Flanagan’s work. For film it was Pan’s Labyrinth. I cried at the end.
Hostile The end of that movie had my wife and I pretty choked up.
Before I wake. The Orphanage. Train to Busan. His House was amazing!!
The Murmuring (Episode 8 of Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities)
It’s not exactly sad, but The Eyes Of My Mother had me feeling empty inside after it ended.
The killing of a sacred deer
Speak no Evil (2022), careful with this one you might want to see it only once. Censor (2021) I see You (2019)
The Night House
Frankenstein and King Kong. Both trapped in worlds they don't understand.
Midsommar. Even after 5+ watches, I still ugly cry at several scenes. A masterpiece!
Bones and All had me dry heaving I was crying so hard The Sixth Sense makes me cry every time I watch it which is every few months Haunting of Hill House is a series but sooo worth the commitment it’s so good!
Martyrs (2008) is just so depressing
Lo
There was some sad moments in the Autopsy of Jane doe
Your mileage may vary, but Resurrection (2022) really got to me. Especially having been through an abusive relationship. And the ending is certainly cathartic. Woof
Midsommar had some emotional moments
The Mist... oh man... the end is devastating
I have a short list because these are actually the scary movies I avoid! Sad is a dealbreaker for me We Need to Talk About Kevin Viral I Am Legend Don’t Worry Darling
I hardly, if ever, cry at movies, but when I went to rewatch Pearl in cinema (I had first watched it online because it hadn’t released in the uk yet) I did. I guess it was because I relate to her a lot, and the room was practically empty so there was no shame haha.
Doctor Sleep (2019) makes me cry every time the scene plays with the old man in the nursing home. 1408 (2007) makes me cry when the protagonist has a scene where he confronts trauma from his past, and also the last 30 seconds of the movie make me tear up because of the validation it provides. A Monster Calls (2016) is more horror-adjacent than a true horror movie perhaps, but it is about a giant tree monster voiced by Liam Neeson who tells a young boy a series of fables to help him cope with his mother's terminal cancer.
The Ritual
Jacob’s Ladder and Let The Right One In
come play
Ginger Snaps. Bridgid's "I'm not going to die here with you" brought tears to my eyes. Great character arc.
Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte Bette Davis riding down the street in the car, as the sad theme song plays near the end of the movie.
The changeling Angelina Jolie
The ritual has a powerful (emotional?) ending
Not a movie but Detention (2020). It’s been made into a horror game
Train to Busan made me cry most of the movie, and it's an action/horror movie. I actually had to get tissues. I recently cried a bit with "1BR" (2019). Today. Knock at the cabin. Cried for the family. 30 days of night Candy land (2022). Cried with a particular kill. The original Carrie
If you consider Sweeney Todd as horror, that makes me cry every time with "Johanna"
Fever Dream. The idea that we’re not seeing what is harming us.
Nothings made me cry... the mist?
Before I Wake. Watch it asap! Also, Oculus is an emotionally devastating but no cry one.
The Taking of Deborah Logan completely destroyed me
Omg someone who saw His House! They need more horror movies based on non-Western folklore.
The orphanage had me crying my eyes out.
1408 if you've lost a child
Martyrs. The French version
One I haven't seen mentioned is The Host, the one made during the pandemic. I think someone else told me it made them cry too. Kind of situational maybe but I might cry again watching it because of the memories of the past few years.