Movies and TV often make boarding school seem like great fun — whether it’s gallivanting around Hogwarts or dancing with Wednesday Adams at Nevermore. But boarding school is also a terrific setting for thrillers and horror films, where students and teachers alike are isolated and trapped.
There have been plenty of (enjoyable) B-grade horror films set in boarding schools involving vampires, serial killers, ghosts, and satanic rituals. Most of these have scored a thumbs down from Rotten Tomatoes, but a select few are revered and critically acclaimed. From ladies finishing schools to dance academies and orphanages to mysterious learning institutes, some of the best horror movies are based in boarding schools.
10 ‘The Awakening’ (2011)
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 63%
In the 1920s, Florence (Rebecca Hall) works to reveal fake psychics and spiritualists. She travels to a remote boarding school to investigate a ghost, which she initially determines is a hoax. However, as Florence bonds with schoolboy Tom (Isaac Hempstead Wright), the viewer learns all is not as it seems at the school — and with Florence herself.
Critics commended the performances of Hall and Imelda Staunton (who plays the school housekeeper, Maud) and the evocative period atmosphere of the haunted boarding school. Many, however, agreed The Awakening didn’t quite live up to its potential as a spine-tingling thriller.
9 ‘The Woods’ (2006)
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 64%
Rebellious teen Heather (Agnes Bruckner) is sent to remote Falburn Academy, run by headmistress Ms. Traverse (Patricia Clarkson). Heather’s classmates disappear one by one, and she is ensnared by woodland vines when attempting to escape. It turns out there’s a witchy secret behind Falburn requiring the sacrifice of its entire student body.
The Woods, set in 1965 New England, was praised by critics as a tight, slickly made horror film that paid homage to Dario Argento’sSuspiria. However, some criticized its weak storyline and anticlimactic ending.
8 ‘Suspiria’ (2018)
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 65%
This remake of the 1977 film sees Susie Bannion (Dakota Johnson) attend a prestigious (and immediately creepy) dance school in West Berlin. As her fellow students go missing, it is revealed the school’s staff are actually a coven of witches. They are in the midst of picking a new leader, something that unexpectedly involves Susie.
Suspiria was polarizing among critics, some praising its fresh, bold interpretation of the original while others found it bloated. The film’s wider narrative around post-war guilt was similarly divisive among critics. Most, however, agreed the Suspiria was visually striking, particularly in regards to (highly memorable Olga-as-a-pretzel) body horror.
7 ‘Phenomena’ (1985)
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 74%
Before she danced with David Bowie in Labyrinth, Jennifer Connolly starred in Suspiria director Dario Argento’s Phenomena. Connolly plays a Swiss boarding school student, Jennifer Corvino, who discovers she can talk to insects. This proves to be a nifty skill in helping catch a serial killer terrorizing the school.
Phenomena, released as Creepers in some countries, was acclaimed for its beautifully shot landscape and enjoyably “berserk” storyline. Other critics found the film too over the top, although most agreed Tanga the chimpanzee gave a fine performance (even if he did allegedly bite Connolly’s finger).
6 ‘The Blackcoat’s Daughter’ (2015)
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 75%
Schoolgirls Kat and Rose are the only students left behind at Bramford Academy during a school break. Rose (Lucy Boynton) fears she might be pregnant, while Kat (Kiernan Shipka) begins to act increasingly strange, kneeling trance-like in the boiler room and correctly predicting the death of her parents. Their story is interwoven with that of Joan (Emma Roberts), a young runaway from a psychiatric facility.
The Blackcoat’s Daughter, released in some countries as February, was first shown at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival. It was not theatrically released until 2017. Critics lauded the film’s brooding, slow-building horror and its avoidance of damsel-in-distress cliches.
5 ‘Level 16’ (2018)
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 83%
Sophie (Celina Martin) and Vivien (Katie Douglas) are students at a restrictive, repressive boarding school with a hyper-fixation on cleanliness and obedience. The school has no windows, purportedly to protect the girls from toxic air. Misbehaving students are sent ‘downstairs’ and never seen again. From being forcibly sedated at night to creepy, unconscious meetings with potential “adoptive parents,” the viewer gradually learns the shocking truth about the school’s true purpose.
Level 16 slowly builds to a dark, unexpected reveal that effectively blends sci-fi with horror. Critics praised Level 16 as an intellectual feminist film exploring the social status placed on women’s youth and beauty.
4 ‘Picnic at Hanging Rock’ (1975)
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 91%
On Valentine’s Day 1900, a group of Australian schoolgirls from Appleyard College attend a picnic at Hanging Rock. Three students, Miranda, Marion, and Irma, and a teacher, Miss McCraw, go missing. Only Irma is found in unexplained circumstances one week later. The shadow of the unsolved mystery slowly destroys the school and those within it.
Picnic at Hanging Rock was a landmark for Australian cinema and director Peter Weir, gaining widespread acclaim for its beautiful cinematography and deeply unsettling atmosphere. The latter was further enhanced by Gheorghe Zamfir’s evocative (and creepy) pan flute solo featuring prominently on the soundtrack.
3 ‘The Devil’s Backbone’ (2001)
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 93%
Carlos (Fernando Tielve) arrives at a boarding school for orphans during the Spanish Civil War. He begins to see the ghost of a former student, Santi, who went missing the day the school was attacked by General Franco’s army. Meanwhile, groundskeeper Jacinto plots to steal a stash of gold hidden at the school by its Republican-supporting staff.
The Devil’s Backbone was positively received by critics for its pacing, creepy atmosphere, and powerful historical background. Director Guillermo del Toro again received critical success five years later with Pan’s Labyrinth, also set during the Spanish Civil War.
2 ‘Suspiria’ (1977)
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 94%
Suzy (Jessica Harper), an American ballet student, becomes caught up in a series of grisly murders occurring at her German dance school. Her roommate Olga (Barbara Magnolfi) “throws herself” out the window while her friend Sara (Stefania Casini) is murdered in a razor-wire death trap. Suzy gradually discovers the school’s teachers are secretly witches who will kill anyone who comes too close to learning the truth.
Suspiria has become a horror classic, famous for its vivid use of color and soundtrack by prog-rock group Goblin. Dario Argento was lauded for creating a genuinely artistic horror film that was beautiful while gleefully gory.
1 ‘Les Diaboliques’ (1955)
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 95%
Michel Delassalle (Paul Meurisse) is the tyrannical, cruel headmaster of a French boarding school. His wife, Christina (Véra Clouzot), and mistress Nicole (Simone Signoret), form an unlikely alliance to murder him. They successfully sedate and drown Michel, only for his body to disappear. The two women become increasingly spooked and haunted by what appears to be Michel’s vengeful ghost.
Les Diaboliques is a classic film, celebrated by critics both on its release and in the present day for its dark, suspenseful atmosphere and brilliant twist ending. A remake starring Sharon Stone and Isabelle Adjani was released in 1996 and widely panned by critics (not the least because it changed the film’s iconic ending).