Film

The Perished

Name: The Perished
Genre: Horror
Released: 2019
Cast: Courtney McKeon, Connor Lambert, Lisa Tyrrell, Fiach Kunz, Oisin Robbins

A grief-haunted woman recovering from abortion in an isolated religious facility confronts malevolent spirits in this Irish horror film. Uncompromising and atmospheric, it uses supernatural dread to explore trauma, isolation, and the cruelty of judgment. For viewers seeking horror that demands emotional reckoning alongside scares.

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The Babadook2014

A mother's grief manifests as a physical presence in her home. Like The Perished, it uses genre mechanics to excavate real psychological pain without flinching from either the horror or the humanity.

But Deliberately paced and visually bleak. If you want jump scares and catharsis, this refuses both in ways that can feel punishing.

Hereditary2018

Trauma compounds across a family across generations, with supernatural elements that feel like extensions of psychological breakdown. Shares The Perished's refusal to separate the supernatural from the emotional cost.

But Extremely dark and specific about violence and grief. Nearly three hours, and it does not offer relief or neat answers.

The Wailing2016

A Korean masterpiece about faith, doubt, and the impossibility of knowing truth. Uses horror and ambiguity to examine how belief systems fail people in crisis—thematically close to The Perished's interrogation of religious cruelty.

But Subtitled, nearly three hours, and deliberately obscure. The narrative refuses clarity even on repeated viewings.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from The Perished

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Under the Skin2014

Both films subordinate traditional narrative momentum to create a world in which the viewer remains fundamentally unsettled. Neither offers the comfort of explanation.

Jonathan Glazer's science-fiction horror uses an alien's presence in Scotland to examine predation, isolation, and bodies as objects. Shares The Perished's commitment to atmosphere over plot and its use of genre to provoke moral discomfort rather than release.

But Almost entirely visual and ambient. Dialogue is minimal, narrative is oblique, and it rewards patience with unease rather than satisfaction.

Carrie1976

A teenage girl's body and power are met with religious terror and social cruelty. De Palma's film connects female suffering to the supernatural with an urgency that influenced everything after it, including The Perished.

But The kills are brutal and the ending unsparing. It can read as dated in its visual language if you're accustomed to modern horror grammar.

The Innocents1961

A gothic masterpiece about ambiguity, corruption of innocence, and whether supernatural evil or human damage is more terrifying. Shares The Perished's commitment to lingering dread and moral uncertainty.

But Black and white and deliberately slow. Requires patience with ambiguity; it will not confirm what you're seeing.

The Killing of a Sacred Deer2017

Yorgos Lanthimos builds unbearable dread from isolation, family obligation, and the supernatural weight of an unspoken debt. The tone—clinical horror grounded in quotidian spaces—parallels The Perished's bleakness.

But Alienating and strange. The formal distance can feel cold even when the content is catastrophic.

Possessor2020

Brandon Cronenberg's body-horror film about violation and loss of self. Uses genre extremity to explore trauma and invasion in ways that demand something from the viewer.

But Graphic violence and sexual violation are central to the story. Visceral and intentionally uncomfortable rather than thrilling.

Thelma & Louise1991

A Scandinavian horror-thriller about a woman discovering supernatural abilities connected to her religious upbringing and sexual awakening. Quietly intense and deeply concerned with how doctrine harms the body.

But Deliberately paced indie film with a small scale. If you want spectacle or traditional scares, it moves in the opposite direction.

Arrival2016

Both use their genre frameworks—horror and sci-fi respectively—to interrogate reproduction, autonomy, and what society expects women to sacrifice. Both are formally restrained and emotionally devastating.

Denis Villeneuve's linguistic science fiction dwells on motherhood, loss, and the question of whether knowing suffering in advance makes it bearable. Transforms the genre by centering grief and choice rather than spectacle.

But Quiet and meditative rather than dramatic. The emotional payload is earned through patience, not released through plot turns.

A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence2014

Both view suffering with the same unflinching formality and use their medium—genre horror in one case, absurdist visual tableau in the other—to examine what societies discard. Neither offers consolation.

Roy Andersson's deadpan Swedish masterpiece observes human suffering, isolation, and the inexplicable cruelty people inflict on one another. Absurdist and visually precise, it shares The Perished's refusal to look away from damage.

But Structured as discrete scenes rather than narrative. Bleak, slow, and funny in ways that can feel remote from conventional storytelling.