10 Best Workplace Horror Movies, Ranked By IMDb

Horror can be utilized anywhere. Some horror movies are set in the vastness of space, millions upon millions of miles away, and some are set in the everyday confines of an office. The brilliance of horror is its malleability, its ability to be placed in any setting or any situation.

Workplace horror is certainly nothing new but it’s never not exciting. Perhaps it’s the everyday relatability of the setting itself that makes workplace horror movies so effective. Or perhaps it’s the low-budget charm of the movies themselves, with the setting a by-product of its limited budget.

10 The Belko Experiment (2016): 6.1

2016’s The Belko Experiment was a pretty unique horror film. Written and produced by James Gunn, the movie concerns a large group of American office workers living and working abroad in Colombia. After arriving for the day, they are locked inside the office building and told that they have to murder each other.

The office setting makes for a unique environment for a horror movie, and the movie contains all the fun and wacky, gory shenanigans one would expect from a James Gunn horror film.

9 Mayhem (2017): 6.4

Starring Steven Yeun and Samara Weaving, Mayhem is a brilliant horror-comedy that takes place inside a corporate law office. A mysterious virus is pumped into the office complex, causing the white collar bosses to go insane.

Like The Belko Experiment, Mayhem‘s everyday office setting is such an unexpected place for horror. It also contains its fair share of deliriously bloody action, and it conveys a surprising dose of social commentary that speaks to economic life in the 21st century.

8 Pontypool (2008): 6.6

Pontypool is a small, independent horror movie from Canada. Named after a tiny village in Ontario, Pontypool concerns a shock jock radio DJ and the employees of the station who become trapped inside the building during a zombie-like outbreak.

Most of the horror is auditory in nature, as the radio DJ speaks to callers and reporters outside the building who are experiencing the outbreak firsthand. Pontypool does an expert job in conveying fear and tension through sound and voice acting, and it makes for a great audio drama as much as it does a film.

7 The Autopsy Of Jane Doe (2016): 6.8

Serving as Norweigan director André Øvredal’s first English-language film, The Autopsy of Jane Doe largely takes place within the confines of a morgue. It concerns a father-son coroner team who are plagued by creepy supernatural events while performing an autopsy on a Jane Doe.

There’s obviously more to Jane Doe that meets the eye, and this exciting sense of mystery drives the film. It’s also bolstered by great lead performances from Emile Hirsch and Brian Cox.

6 The Cabin In The Woods (2012): 7.0

2012’s The Cabin in the Woods contains a very different sort of workplace, but a workplace nonetheless. The first half of the film takes place in a nondescript cabin in the woods (hence the title), but this cabin is simply a workstation controlled by employees hidden underground.

The employees rig various aspects of the cabin, like pumping pheromones into the cabin to elicit sexual desire and unleashing various monsters to attack the inhabitants. The second half of the film takes place in the underground bunker itself as the survivors discover its existence.

5 Day Of The Dead (1985): 7.2

Day of the Dead is the darkest and most apocalyptic entry in the original Dead trilogy, conveying a world completely overtaken by zombies. It begins in Fort Myers, Florida, in which audiences are witness to the horrifying sight of a zombie horde walking down the barren, garbage-strewn streets.

The action quickly moves underground, where a small band of survivors, scientists, and military men are attempting to find a cure. It’s here that most of the action takes place, including the extraordinary finale that sees Captain Rhodes’s iconic death.

4 The Lighthouse (2019): 7.5

Like Pontypool, The Lighthouse takes place entirely within the confines of a small location. It stars Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson as two lighthouse keepers who slowly go insane while tending to a remote lighthouse.

Of course, there’s more going on underneath the surface, and the movie toys with ideas of the supernatural, gaslighting, mental illness, and even Greek mythology. Is this just two lighthouse keepers losing their minds due to isolation and stress, or are supernatural elements driving their behavior? It’s a great question that the movie refuses to answer.

3 The Thing (1982): 8.1

The Thing is essentially Alien on Earth. It takes place entirely in a secluded scientific outpost in Antarctica, and it sees the scientists being hunted by a shape-shifting alien entity.

The movie works on the basis of two main factors – the terrific make-up and gore work (that remains revolting to this day) and the strong writing/directing that ensures a near-relentless atmosphere of dread and paranoia. It’s a classic, and it’s easily one of John Carpenter’s greatest creative outputs.

2 Alien (1979): 8.4

Once again, Alien makes for a very different sort of workplace horror. It takes place on board a spaceship called the Nostromo, which serves as a commercial vessel in the vein of modern-day trucks.

Its inhabitants are everyday people concerned with little else but their wages and work-life balance, but their lives are violently upended after answering a distress call and visiting a barren planet. It’s then that an alien gets itself aboard, and it proceeds to hunt and slaughter the Nostromo’s employees.

1 The Shining (1980): 8.4

The Lighthouse is essentially the 21st-century answer to The Shining. This Stanley Kubrick masterpiece is a workplace horror of sorts, as it takes place entirely within the confines of a secluded hotel. Jack Torrance is hired on as the winter caretaker, and he slowly loses his mind.

Like The Lighthouse, The Shining remains frustratingly and tantalizingly ambiguous throughout. The supernatural visuals are haunting, Kubrick’s filmmaking is both experimental and memorable, and Jack Nicholson gives a career-best performance. It’s a classic.

About The Author

Nathan Sharp
(852 Articles Published)

Nathan Sharp is a writer from outside Toronto, Ontario. He has a love of movies and television, having enjoyed them for more than twenty years. His preferences include drama, action, and horror, with the former being a particular point of interest and fascination.

He also has a love of video games, particularly those of Rockstar.

Whether it be about film, television, or video games, Nathan loves a good discussion and has written hundreds of articles for Screen Rant.

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