10 near-perfect horror movies that capture the monsters and mayhem of The Odyssey

Cannibals, giants, monsters, and more

Homer's classic poem tells a tale of a warrior and his crew of men struggling to return home on a journey full of horrifying monsters, witches, and the threat of an angry, open sea. Nolan leans into the horror of that story, depicting monsters like the Cyclops with horrifying detail that seems inspired by the creations of Guillermo Del Toro. Another scene featuring the witchy enchantress Circe (Samantha Morton) uses practical effects and animatronics to create a legitimate body horror sequence that would make David Cronenberg proud.

For Nolan, this may just be the beginning of his own journey into the realms of horror filmmaking.

“I’ve always been interested in doing a horror film,” he told the Empire Film Podcast. "Of all genres, it’s the most visceral. Where the direct response to the audience is the most important. That is to say, you’re trying to make people literally feel something in their bones about what’s going on on-screen.”

We’ll likely have to wait some time before we get a legit Nolan horror movie, but scary movie fans can rejoice in the possibility of something truly special in the future. In the meantime, here are 10 horror movies that share something in common with The Odyssey, whether that's its eldritch creature design, haunting practical effects, epic scale, or quasi-historical setting.

10 Godzilla: King of Monsters

• Director: Michael Dougherty
• Release date: May 31, 2019
• Streaming on: HBO Max

One of the scariest monsters in Greek mythology is the Scylla. Just Google it. Featured briefly and effectively in Nolan’s The Odyssey, the monster lives in a cave just off the sea and is made up of six long necks, with each head having three rows of sharp teeth. A version of the monster makes an appearance in Godzilla: King of Monsters, looking like a mix of a spider, a squid and a crab, and being introduced to the story after it is awakened by scientists to try to curb the impact of the alien King Gidorah.

9 The Mist

• Director: Frank Darabont
• Release date: October 18, 2007
• Streaming on: Prime Video

The Mist has a special place in the roster of Stephen King’s adaptations. It contains some of the elements that best work in Stephen King’s works, like the setting of Maine, a sturdy protagonist, and a group of people who surrender themselves to mob mentality. It’s also his best use of Lovecraftian horror, featuring a roster of frightening creatures that appear out of a mist. The unexplainable nature of the monsters, and the powerlessness of the movie’s protagonist make it a true parallel to The Odyssey, a story where humans are subject to the whims of gods and forces of nature.

8 The Thing

• Director: John Carpenter
• Release date: June 25, 1982
• Streaming on: VOD

More than 40 years later, The Thing still features some of the best practical effects ever put to screen. This ethos is one that Nolan has embraced throughout his career and is particularly resonant in Circe’s sequence, which depicted the men’s transformations with practical effects and clever camera angles. The Thing follows a group of researchers who encounter an alien life form that takes the form of other living creatures, terrorizing them in the arctic.

7 Nope

• Director: Jordan Peele
• Release date: July 22nd, 2022
• Streaming on: Netflix

One of the most discussed moments of The Odyssey is Polyphemus, the cyclops that traps Odysseus and his men in a cave. When it comes to big, scary, unknowable creatures, Nope features one of the great cinematic monsters, which is also a wholly original creation. The film follows two siblings and horse wranglers in California who witness what appears to be a UFO and develop an obsession with documenting it. They get what they want — and it’s not great!

6 The Hills Have Eyes

• Director: Wes Craven
• Release date: July 22nd, 1977
• Streaming on: Screambox

While Nolan's adaptation of The Odyssey shies away from it, Homer's epic poem indulges in one of the scariest horror tropes: cannibalism. And when it comes to cannibalism in horror, there’s no better example than The Hills Have Eyes, a film that has been remade a couple of times, though Wes Craven’s version remains the best thanks to his assured direction and pacing. It follows a suburban family stranded in Nevada, who become the target of a group of deformed cannibals.

5 The Blair Witch Project

• Director: Daniel Myrick, Eduardo Sanchez
• Release date: July 30th, 1999
• Streaming on: HBO Max

One of the most frightening sequences in The Odyssey features Odysseus and his men hunted by the Laestrygonians, a group of giants who chase them across an island. While the giants were plenty scary themselves, the part that scared me the most were the moving trees, which malevolently shifted to trap Odysseus’ men.

No movie better embodies this evil wooden aura than The Blair Witch Project. The found-footage thriller follows three college students who travel to the woods in Maryland to record a documentary about the local folklore. As they camp in the woods, they start to be terrorized by a supernatural force.

4 Open Water

• Director: Chris Kentis
• Release date: August 6, 2004
• Streaming on: HBO Max

Sharks make for great monster movies and survival horror, and both of these elements have a presence in The Odyssey. But, when it comes to the terror that the ocean is capable of inspiring, there’s one clear example that comes to my mind. Open Water is an independent movie from 2003, following a couple on a scuba diving trip who get left behind by their tour group. While sharks are one of the threats they face, the filmmakers pay special attention to the ocean and its vastness. It’s a film that inspires a sense of dread Nolan perfectly captured while depicting Odysseus’ sea voyage.

3 The Witch

• Director: Robert Eggers
• Release date: February 19, 2016
• Streaming on: Tubi

Circe has been depicted in different ways through the years, sometimes as a goddess and sometimes as a witch. The Odyssey, fully leans on the latter. While sympathetic, her character works due to Morton’s mysterious performance. Similarly, Robert Eggers’ The Witch takes advantage of the strangeness these figures inspire, blending it effectively with religion. Set in a New England village in the 1600s, the story follows a devout Puritan family that’s been banished to the woods, where they become the target of a woods witch.

2 The Village

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• Director: M. Night Shyamalan
• Release date: July 30th, 2004
• Streaming on: VOD

Directed by M. Night Shyamalan, The Village is one of his most controversial movies — and that's saying something. Set in a 19th century Pennsylvania community, the story follows a blind woman named Ivy (Bryce Dallas Howard) and her relationship with Lucius Hunt (Joaquin Phoenix), one of the residents of the enclave. The idyllic life of the community is disturbed by a mysterious monster, whose presence dictates the villagers’ lives.

1 The Green Knight

• Director: David Lowery
• Release date: July 30, 2021
• Streaming on: Netflix

The stories of Homer, like Arthurian legends, date back thousands of years, making for rich adaptations when handled by the right filmmakers. The Green Knight is one of the best Arthurian adaptations, depicting magic, witches and gorgeous landscapes with creativity and mystique. The story follows Gawain, a knight who embarks on a quest to find The Green Knight to honor a bet they once made. Like The Odyssey, it packs its fair share of horror and disquiet, including an encounter with a ghost that memorably recounts the tale of how she lost her head.