Film

The Yellow Wallpaper

Name: The Yellow Wallpaper
Genre: Horror
Released: 2021
Cast: Alexandra Loreth, Joe Mullins, Jeanne O'Connor, Clara Harte, Mark P. O'Connor

Other titles called The Yellow Wallpaper: the 2011 film.

A feminist horror adaptation of Charlotte Perkins Gilman's novella about a woman prescribed enforced rest by her dismissive physician husband. Isolated in a country house, she becomes fixated on the yellow wallpaper of her bedroom, and her grip on reality fractures. It's claustrophobic and unsettling—the kind of film that makes you feel Jane's suffocation.

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The Haunting1963

Wise's masterpiece uses space and shadow to build dread without gore. A woman joins a paranormal investigation in a mansion that may be genuinely haunted—or may be breaking her mind. Perfectly calibrated psychological horror.

But Black and white; slow-burn pacing that won't satisfy anyone wanting jump scares or action.

Shirley2020

Elisabeth Moss as author Shirley Jackson, unravelling during the McCarthy era. It's fractured, formally adventurous, and obsessed with the space between a woman's inner chaos and what the world sees. Darkly funny too.

But More art film than narrative; the timeline is deliberately confusing and the tone veers between styles.

The Babadook2014

An Australian horror where grief and repressed rage take a monstrous form. A widow and her son are haunted by a creature that may be supernatural or may be their own unprocessed trauma. Stunning visual design.

But Relies heavily on you accepting ambiguity about what's real; some find it frustrating rather than haunting.

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

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Mulholland Drive2001

Both use narrative fragmentation and surreal imagery to make the audience experience psychological dissolution rather than just watch it. The wallpaper's logic is dream-logic; so is Mulholland Drive's.

Lynch's fractured Los Angeles nightmare about identity, ambition, and delusion. A woman and an actress navigate a dreamlike city where the rules keep breaking. Like *The Yellow Wallpaper*, it uses formal rupture to show a mind coming apart.

But Three hours, deliberately incoherent, and asks you to work hard; many find it pretentious or exhausting rather than rewarding.

Crimson Peak2015

A Gothic romance-horror about a writer who marries a mysterious nobleman and moves into a decaying mansion. Del Toro's direction transforms every room into a character. Ghosts, secrets, rot, and genuine atmosphere.

But Tonal shifts between romance and horror may feel uneven; some sequences lean gothic melodrama over sustained dread.

The Invisible Man2020

A woman's abusive ex uses invisibility technology to stalk and gaslight her. Leigh Whannell's direction is brilliant—the frame becomes a cage as emptiness becomes threat. Contemporary, angry, and terrifyingly smart.

But Intense scenes of domestic violence; the opening is extremely difficult if that's triggering for you.

Bug2007

William Friedkin's chamber piece about a woman and a paranoid drifter who become lovers and descend into shared delusion in a motel room. Claustrophobic, hypnotic, ambiguous about where sanity ends.

But Slow, claustrophobic, and increasingly unpleasant; no catharsis or comfortable answers.

Hereditary2018

A family unravels after a death; supernatural horror and psychological breakdown merge until you can't separate them. Ari Aster's control of tone and image is extraordinary. Genuinely devastating.

But Contains graphic violence and disturbing imagery; some will find it exploitative rather than meaningful.

The Woman in White2018

BBC's adaptation of Collins's Victorian mystery about a woman who stumbles into a conspiracy. Moody, slow, full of period detail and genuine unease. Laura Haddock is superb.

But Plodding in places and unfolds very slowly; the solution is less satisfying than the atmosphere.

A Dark Song2016

A grief-stricken woman hires an occultist for a ritual in an isolated house. Sparse, hypnotic, and deeply sad—a supernatural film that's actually about loss and forgiveness.

But Deliberately paced; almost nothing happens in conventional terms, and it builds on mood rather than plot momentum.

Repulsion1965

Both films trap a woman in a space and use that confinement to visualise mental breakdown. Both are anchored by female isolation and male neglect or cruelty, though Repulsion complicates it in ways The Yellow Wallpaper doesn't need to.

Polanski's nightmare about a woman alone in a London flat as her mind splinters into horror. The apartment itself becomes hostile and flesh-like. Grainy black and white and a sound design that crawls under your skin.

But Sexual assault and deeply misogynistic framing; the film's logic is shaped by what the male gaze finds disturbing about female sexuality.

The Lesson2023

Both are chamber pieces where power imbalance and social isolation warp perception. Both use a confined setting and careful observation to suggest psychological damage rather than dramatise it. Both trust the audience to feel the menace in what isn't said.

A Romanian film about a retired man who tutors a young girl; genteel on the surface, increasingly sinister underneath. Beautifully shot, formally controlled, and morally devastating. A masterclass in how restraint generates dread.

But Extremely slow; sexual threat and potential abuse are the emotional undercurrent rather than explicit plot. Many will find it oblique to the point of invisibility.