Television series

Hex

Name: Hex
Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Horror
Released: 2004
Cast: Jemima Rooper, Jamie Davis, Amber Sainsbury, Colin Salmon, Laura Pyper

Coming-of-age

Hex is a British supernatural drama about two schoolgirls whose lives unravel after a chance encounter with a centuries-old demon. It's genuinely unsettling—part teen mystery, part folk horror—with a gift for building dread through mundane moments that suddenly aren't. For anyone who loves their drama with teeth and isn't afraid of darkness.

TVMaze rating

3.8

If you liked this

Buffy the Vampire Slayer1997

The template for smart horror wrapped in school life. Joss Whedon perfected the tone Hex aspires to: supernatural stakes grounded in real teenage friendships and consequences that actually matter.

But Seven seasons is a commitment, and the early episodes look dated. The tone shifts between comedy and tragedy can feel jarring if you're not in the mood.

The Craft1996

Four girls, forbidden power, social hunger, and everything spiraling into genuine darkness. It understands what Hex does: that supernatural agency feels most dangerous in teenage hands, especially hands that are hurt.

But Trapped somewhat in 90s aesthetics. The third act leans into revenge fantasy in ways that feel slight compared to Hex's moral complexity.

Grange Hill1978

British school drama that refuses to soften its world. While Hex adds the supernatural element, both share an unflinching look at adolescent cruelty, class, and how institutions fail their students.

But It's from 1978. If you need slick production and quick editing, this will feel glacially slow. The horror here is social, not visceral.

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

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

The Wailing2016

Both refuse the comfort of clear villains. Evil in each is tangled up with human weakness, circumstance, and the terrible logic of survival. Both ask: how much do we actually know about people we think we know?

South Korean horror that shares Hex's moral fog: good people make terrible choices, faith and doubt are weapons, and no one is quite who they seem. Builds from intimate drama to cosmic dread. Unforgettable.

But Two hours forty minutes and deliberately enigmatic ending. Requires active thinking rather than passive consumption. The violence is sudden and visceral.

Penny Dreadful2014

Gothic horror done with literary depth and psychological complexity. Like Hex, it trusts its audience to sit with dread rather than jump scares, and finds terror in character rather than spectacle.

But Showier and more baroque than Hex. Some find the literary references laborious, and it trades school-life intimacy for Victorian grandeur.

Supernatural2005

Two brothers, monsters-of-the-week structure, but real emotional stakes underneath. If you want more of that mix of procedural horror and genuine character pain that Hex nails in its best episodes.

But Fifteen seasons long. The mythology becomes bloated and inconsistent. Early seasons are tighter; later ones lose the thread entirely.

The Haunting of Hill House2018

Family trauma filtered through supernatural horror. Shares Hex's interest in how the past bleeds into the present, and how emotional wounds are as real as any ghost.

But Slower burn than Hex, with more time spent on adult reflection. If you want constant momentum and teenage energy, this introspection might feel like treading water.

Goodnight Mommy2015

Austrian horror that understands childhood perception and gaslighting in ways most genre films ignore. Visually precise and morally ambiguous in the way Hex admires.

But Genuinely disturbing and bleak. No catharsis, minimal humor. If you need your horror to be fun, this will feel punishing.

The Midnight Club2022

Teenagers in supernatural peril, building mythology week by week, with real warmth between characters even as the horror tightens. Captures that Hex balance of stakes and intimacy.

But Netflix production means it's slicker and glossier than Hex. Some find the mystery less convincing than the character work.

The Blair Witch Project1999

Proves that the scariest horror often comes from suggestion and the space between scenes. The dread is entirely earned, with minimal budget and maximum psychological pressure.

But Found footage and handheld camera. If motion sickness or deliberate ambiguity frustrate you, this will feel like wasted time rather than atmosphere.

Carrie1976

Both center on teenage girls acquiring power they never wanted, in communities that made them invisible and then punished them for it. Both understand that the real horror is what people do to each other before any supernatural element arrives.

De Palma's masterpiece about female power, shame, and revenge. Every frame is controlled dread. Thelma would recognize herself in Carrie's isolation; the ending is Hex's logical extreme.

But Older film stock and pacing won't suit everyone. The final twenty minutes are operatic rather than realistic. Some find it dated despite its craft.

Berberian Sound Studio2012

Both understand that horror's real power is psychological penetration—the way it changes your relationship to the mundane. Hex does it through narrative; Berberian does it through sound and suggestion. Both prove that the scariest stories don't need to show you everything.

An English sound engineer in Rome becomes psychologically consumed while working on a lost Italian giallo horror film. It's about how horror corrupts perception, how violence on screen bleeds into reality. Deeply unsettling.

But Deliberately fractured and abstract. No plot in the traditional sense. Shot mostly in studio spaces, emotionally claustrophobic rather than visually spectacular. Requires patience.