Editorials
How To Start Getting Into Horror Part 14: Foreign
This may sound silly to some of you but I was born before there was such a thing as public internet. I clearly remember when getting online required listening to the horrible screeching of a dial-up modem and cycling through AOL chat rooms. Yeah, I’m a member of that generation.
One of the most amazing things, in my opinion, that the internet did was that it, in a way, removed country boundaries. People in one part of the world could suddenly start talking to someone in a completely different country without waiting for letters to be mailed or having to pay absurdly long distance calling fees.
As a result, the cultures, thoughts, and joys of these people became far more readily accessible in ways never before seen. And you damn well better believe that this included movies, especially the horror kind.
So, let’s talk about some great foreign horror films and how to get into them!
Perhaps the greatest joy I get from watching foreign horror films is that I get to see what scares other cultures, other people. It’s fascinating from an anthropological perspective because I simply observe, I don’t interact. This window into another way of life is something I relish.
While I know that many of you want me to recommend films like Martyrs, REC, High Tension, A Serbian Film, and similar titles, I’m sure that by now you know why I can’t do that. Those movies, while amazing, are way too intense and insane for someone who wants to dip their toes into the foreign horror ocean.
Rather, let’s start with Let The Right One In. One, it’s a beautifully crafted film, shot almost like a visual poem. That alone makes it a fascinating journey for any fan of cinema. But it’s how the movie actually plays out, slowly unwinding and earning your love and care for the two main protagonists: Oskar and Eli. The pain and suffering that Oskar goes through is something that many people can relate to while having someone like Eli is something many of us wish we’d had. Seeing Oskar’s bullies meet Eli was one of the most satisfying moments I’ve ever felt watching a film. However, that satisfaction quickly turned into self disgust as I realized what I’d just championed. It’s that incredibly range of emotions that makes me recommend this film.
Moving from Sweden to Spain, I recommend Pan’s Labyrinth. Once again, it’s another movie tat will utterly destroy your emotions. But that doesn’t make it any less horrific. The horrible situation that Ofelia has been thrust into makes her imaginary world beautiful but ever bitter. We know, even though we desperately don’t want to admit it, that her world isn’t real. It simply can’t be, regardless of how fantastical and appealing it is. So when that drop of Ofelia’s blood falls and her small smile slips away, we’re as crushed and broken as Mercedes. All the horrors and pain that she endured and we’re the ones left to pick up the pieces of our broken heart.
After watching these films, you’re gonna need something to prove that foreign horror isn’t all about breaking your heart and wrecking your emotions, right? What better than going to Japan and checking out Ringu? It’s creepy, it’s spooky, and it’s one of the films that really helped bring a wave of foreign horror to the American shores. Plus, it’s a great way to being the dark descent into J-horror, which features some of the most unique and absurd horror films I’ve ever seen.
Venturing down the rabbit hole of foreign horror can be incredibly daunting, so my ultimate recommendation is to go country by country and not try to leap boundaries. Take your time and really go into each culture to see what it has to offer because that’s the only real way to begin seeing patterns and themes, all of which will only enhance your viewing experience.
Check out the rest of our How To Start Getting Into Horror series.
A new month means a new guide as titles are added (and dropped) from streaming services. Let’s unpack the most exciting titles that are available to watch on Tubi in July 2026.
New to Tubi July Horror Films
Deep Blue Sea (1999)
- Premise: Searching for a cure to Alzheimer’s disease, a group of scientists on an isolated research facility become the prey as a trio of intelligent sharks fight back.
- Why Watch It? Let’s be frank: Director Renny Harlin has made some absolute dogs in the last few years (the less said about The Strangers trilogy the better, though this year’s Deep Water was actually ok). Deep Blue Sea remains one of the Finnish director’s best contemporary efforts, though. Between the great cast (Samuel L. Jackson, Saffron Burrows, Stellan Skarsgård, Michael Rapaport, LL Cool J, Thomas Jane, and Jane’s sleeveless wetsuit), the ridiculous premise, and that damn/dumb song (“My hat is like a shark’s fin”), you basically can’t go wrong with Deep Blue Sea. It’s one of two great shark films gliding onto Tubi this month, so why not stay out of the water and watch this instead?
- Streaming: July 1
Exorcist II: Heretic (1977)
- Premise: Reagan (Linda Blair), a girl once possessed by a demon, finds that it still lurks within her. Meanwhile, Father Lamont (Richard Burton) investigates the death of the priest who performed her exorcism.
- Why Watch It? August sees the release of documentary Boorman and the Devil, which is about the troubled production of this sequel. The notoriety surrounding Heretic has undoubtedly kept plenty of horror fans away from the sequel, but this truly is a “seeing is believing” kind of film. Real talk: it’s undeniably a disaster, but the John Boorman film has also become a minor cult film. Don’t you want to see it to make up your own mind?
- Streaming: July 1
Hostel: Part III (2011)
- Premise: Four men attending a bachelor party in Las Vegas fall prey to the Elite Hunting Club, who are hosting a gruesome game show of torture.
- Why Watch It? What does Hostel look like without Eli Roth? Part III kinda answers the question. Technically Roth is still a writer, but he hands over the directorial reins to Scott Spiegel (best known for acting in Evil Dead films). The result is a film with a terrible pedigree; it’s also the first (and last) entry to skip theatres before the franchise was permanently shelved (until that TV show with Paul Giamatti shows up?). For some horror fans, however, there’s something exciting about a bad low-budget sequel. Just bear in mind that the Hostel: Part III‘s biggest star is Kip Pardue…so adjust your expectations accordingly before hitting play.
- Streaming: July 1
Insidious 1-3 (2010/2013/2015)
- Premise: A family looks to prevent evil spirits from trapping their comatose child in a realm called The Further.
- Why Watch It? It’s hard to believe that the sixth (!) Insidious movie is coming out in a month and a half, but James Wan and Leigh Whannell‘s other horror franchise has been steadily chugging along for sixteen years. It’s a shame that Tubi doesn’t have all five films available to watch, but in terms of quality, you can do far worse than the original trio. The first film is iconic, and the second is basically an extended coda (with some admittedly problematic stuff going on). I’ll go to bat for Whannell’s 2015 directorial debut, though: there’s a few banger sequences in that film that people slept on.
- Streaming: July 1
Man Finds Tape (2025)
- Premise: After finding mysterious video clips, siblings investigate the strange recordings and uncover a disturbing secret spreading through their Texas town.
- Why Watch It? Writer/directors Paul Gandersman and Peter S. Hall‘s well-received found footage film did an extensive tour of the festival circuit, so now is a great time to check out one of the most contemporary titles debuting on Tubi this month. Surely a title that hails from producers Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead (Spring and The Endless) is worth a free look?
- Streaming: July 2
Only Lovers Left Alive (2013)
- Premise: A depressed musician Adam (Tom Hiddleston) reunites with his lover Eve (Tilda Swinton). However, their romance, which has already endured several centuries, is disrupted by the arrival of her uncontrollable younger sister Ava (Mia Wasikowska).
- Why Watch It? This beautiful, melancholy vampire film is courtesy of writer/director Jim Jarmusch, who doesn’t often dabble in genre fare. As always, some will quibble if this artsy drama qualifies as horror, but the existential ennui of an eternal life certainly qualifies (bonus: there’s also something inherently sexy about watching Hiddleston and Swinton just lay about). Plus: if Leviticus has you hankering for more Wasikowska, this is an under the radar pick.
- Streaming: July 1
The Shallows (2016)
- Premise:A mere 200 yards from shore, surfer Nancy (Blake Lively) is attacked by a great white shark, with her short journey to safety becoming the ultimate contest of wills.
- Why Watch It? What better time to watch a shark movie than July? The temperatures are soaring and the idea of escaping into the water is so tantalizing. This tight, contained thriller features a great performance by Lively (and that damn seagull!), but it’s the direction from genre fave Jaume Collet-Serra (Orphan; the House of Wax remake) that keeps the movie clicking along like clockwork. At 86 minutes, this is a perfect summer flick.
- Streaming: July 1
Vacancy (2007)
- Premise: Stranded in an isolated motel, a couple (Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale) become the unsuspecting subjects of a snuff film.
- Why Watch It? I’m not going to pretend that this Nimród Antal-directed home invasion film is high art, but it is a good time. You’ll likely wish there were deeper characterizations for Wilson and Beckinsale’s David and Amy in Mark L. Smith‘s screenplay, but this mid-aughts thriller is tense, exciting, and just the right amount of grimy. Plus: another short runtime, clocking in at an expeditious 85 minutes!
- Streaming: July 1
July Tubi Originals
The One Next Door (2026)
- Premise: When a mysterious stranger moves in next door to Robert and Tabitha, boundaries are tested, loyalty is questioned, and danger comes for all.
- Streaming: July 10
I Know Where You Live (2026)
- Premise: Sarah thinks she’s found “the one” until his flaws emerge. When she pulls away, chilling threats suggest he’s watching her from inside her own home.
- Streaming: July 24
What’s your favorite from the list above? Will you check out the new Original? Sound off in the comments below
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