Suspiria & 9 Other Terrifying Horror Movies Inspired By Fairy Tales

Movies inspired by fairy tales do not always get the Disney treatment. In fact, quite a few horror movies are based on dark and twisted fairy tales that lack happy endings or silver linings. From “The Little Mermaid” to “Hansel and Gretel” to “The Little Red Riding Hood,” these creepy (but beloved) stories are pure nightmare fuel for all ages when transformed by the right director.

While some of these macabre cinematic fables are straightforward adaptations of their source materials, other films take these classic stories in new directions. Some even steal from regional parables to amplify scares.

10 Suspiria (1977)

Dario Argento’s witchy slasher about a dance academy that’s actually a front for a large, nefarious coven is loosely based on “Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.” The film’s main character and the academy’s latest recruit, Suzy Bannon, looks and acts just like Snow White as she realizes there’s a great evil lurking in the shadows.

Suspiria is considered one of the most beautiful horror films of all time, thanks to its elaborate set design, beautiful color schemes, and emphasis on theatricality. There’s no doubt this film is a modern fairy tale for adults.

9 Tale Of Tales (2015)

An anthology film, Tale of Tales is inspired by the works of Italian writer Giambattista Basile, the first to publish fables about the famous fictional heroines Cinderella, Rapunzel, and Sleeping Beauty. Each of the film’s three tales follows royals wrapped up in obsession – be it chasing lust, bearing children, or becoming fixated on insects.

Tale of Tales stars the likes of John C. Reilly, Salma Hayek, Vincent Cassell, and Toby Jones. Director Matteo Garrone takes these warped characters and settings originally intended to entertain children to the next level.

8 The Lure (2015)

Part musical and part horror movie, The Lure is a glittery Polish fantasy based on “The Little Mermaid.” In the film, two mermaid sisters named Golden and Silver begin performing in 1980s night clubs, serving as back-up for a popular rock band named Figs n’ Dates.

When one of the sisters, Silver, falls in love with the band’s bassist, Mietek, Golden becomes to worry the romance will end her infatuated sibling’s life. Meanwhile, Golden begins feasting on all the men in town.

7 Gretel & Hansel (2020)

“Hansel and Gretel” is one of the most disturbing fairy tales of all time, and few directors get close to the dark heart of the Brothers Grimm story like Oz Perkins’s Gretel & Hansel. In the film, the orphaned teenager Gretel wanders through the woods with her little brother Hansel, where they stumble upon the home of a cannibalistic witch who wants nothing more than to eat them.

Sophia Lillis from It plays Gretel, who must defend herself and her sibling from the demonic Holda’s grasp. A slow-burning, atmospheric film, Gretel & Hansel is fueled by stunning imagery and dread.

6 The Red Shoes (2005)

A South Korean film, The Red Shoes is adapted from the Hans Christian Andersen story of the same name. The film follows a woman named Sung-joon, a woman whose life changes forever when she finds a pair of cursed high heels abandoned in a subway car.

After acquiring the shoes, Sung-joon discovers her husband cheating on her, and things take a turn for Sung-joon and her daughter from there. Moody and psychological, The Red Shoes is a compelling reimagining of a 150-year-old fairy tale.

5 November (2017)

A kratt is a mythological character from Estonian folklore made out of hay or household items that is brought to life by blood and does the bidding of its maker. Kratts and other Estonian creatures are brought to life in the gorgeous, but terrifying, film November.

Shot in monochromatic black and white, November centers around a medieval Estonian village whose residents employ all kinds of magic treatments to ensure their personal health and prosperity. Stock full of dark humor and insane visual sequences, November is a one-of-a-kind fairy tale film.

4 Black Swan (2010)

Darren Aronofsky’s perverse psychodrama Black Swan sees Natalie Portman playing a physically and mentally exhausted ballerina stuck in a hallucinatory nightmare during a production of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake. Swan Lake is based on various folk tales from Russia and German, but it involves a princess who is turned into a swan by a sorcerer.

Portman’s character Nina Sayers is caught up between the dual lead roles of the White Swan Odette and the Black Swan Odile, who represent light and dark facets of the human psyche. Nina begins suffering from insane visions, making her connection to reality all the more fragile.

3 Bluebeard (1944)

Bluebeard is based on the infamous French fairy tale from Charles Perrault, which tells the story of a wealthy nobleman with a reputation for murdering his wives. In the film, 1940s Paris becomes the setting through which the titular character finds his victims.

John Carradine stars as painter and puppeteer Gaston Morrell, a serial killer nicknamed “Bluebeard” who strangles female models. Jean Parker co-stars as Lucille Lutien, a costume designer who engages in an ill-fated affair with Morrell.

2 Big Bad Wolves (2013)

Even more brutal and gruesome than its source material “Little Red Riding Hood,” Big Bad Wolves is an Israeli revenge tale. In it, three men interrogate and torture a schoolteacher they believe to be responsible for the murder of a young girl in the woods.

Fairy tale vibes collide with impressive contemporary thriller twists and turns to make a memorable moviegoing experience. Quentin Tarantino cites Big Bad Wolves as the best film of 2013.

1 Cinderella (2006)

The tense relationship between girls and their mothers reaches new heights in South Korea’s Cinderella. A fantastic update to the ancient fairy tale about the beautiful orphan and her glass slipper, Cinderella centers around a teenage girl whose mother is a renowned plastic surgeon.

Hyun-soo starts to raise questions about her mother’s practice, though, when her parent’s clients begin to commit suicide. Yoon-hee may not be the perfect mother after all.

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