The Phantom of the Opera (1925)

A young solicitor, administering the will of a recently dead old lady, is drawn into a sinister web of events centring on her abandoned house.

Nothing is quite as scary as puberty in this exuberant feminist pre-teen body horror from first time Malaysian director Amanda Nell Eu.

Like Ghostwatch reimagined as a cheesy 1970s chat show, this deviously clever found-footage horror has scares to spare.

In Charlotte Colbert’s strikingly gothic film, an ageing actor recovering from a mastectomy taps into a mysterious power at a remote Scottish retreat.

Bringing a whole new meaning to the term ‘period film’, Andrew Cumming’s Palaeolithic horror movie is a true original.

Australian filmmaking brothers Danny and Michael Philippou’s feature film debut nods to their background as viral-video sensations.

Stunningly photographed drama about a young American boy caught up in the nightmare of a sinister rural community.

An author becomes convinced he's unearthed a feline conspiracy to control mankind.

A dying vampire swears vengeance on the townsfolk who killed him. The promise seems to have been realized when, years later, plague arrives.

An ageing countess finds that if she bathes in the blood of virgins her youth is restored.

This powerful documentary from a Palestinian-Israeli collective might be one of the most important films of this year.

Oscar-winner Cillian Murphy delivers a stunning performance as a coal merchant who discovers horrific secrets about his local convent.

Shujun Wei's slow-burn noir draws us inexorably into its mysterious psychological journey.

Ian McKellen is in delicious form as London's most vicious critic, who strikes a Faustian pact with a struggling actor (Gemma Arterton).

Justin Edgar's pioneering feature comedy about a neurotic filmmaker enlisted to make a film with a class of wheelchair-users.

What if unrequited love spanned the centuries? Alice Lowe's time-jumping fantasy rom-com is a colourful, darkly funny treat.