When it comes to horror movies, the Tamil film industry is known for some great ones. But the majority among the great ones are usually horror comedies that may not do complete justice to the genre. There are only a handful of pure Tamil horrors that makes one tremble in fear in their seats. Even though they do not have a large scale production value unlike its sub-genre film, these films are able to make use of their available resources and give the audience a terrifying experience. Let us look at some of such films that possessed the ability to strike fears within the hearts of people, staying true to its tag of being horror thrillers (in no particular order of importance):

1) AVAL:

This bilingual horror film, co-written and directed by Milind Rau, is set in the backdrop of a haunted house in which a neurosurgeon and his wife, a newly-wed couple, move into a new neighbourhood. The couple’s family get affected due to the paranormal activities caused by a ghost in the house next door.

WHERE TO WATCH- NETFLIX

2) MAYA:

This neo-noir horror, written and directed by Ashwin Saravanan, follows Apsara, a single mother, who is struggling to make ends meet by working in ad films. Her life turns into a twisted mess when a ghost starts haunting her and causes the death of people known to her.

WHERE TO WATCH- AMAZON PRIME VIDEO

3) JENMA NATCHATHIRAM:

An unofficial remake of the 1976 film The Omen, this supernatural horror directed by Thakkali Srinivasan tells the story of a man who adopts a baby after losing his own child. But a few years later, when he discovers that the baby is a spawn of Satan, the devil incarnate, he decides to kill him.

4) YAVARUM NALAM:

Written and directed by Vikram K Kumar, this horror film revolves around an engineer and his family who move into a new apartment on the 13th floor's 13B where he comes across a daily TV soap opera that mirrors the exact happenings in his household. Their peace is disturbed by the spirit that uses this medium to try and communicate with them.

WHERE TO WATCH- DISNEY+HOTSTAR (AVAILABLE IN HINDI VERSION TITLED '13B')

5) VAA ARUGIL VAA:

This supernatural horror, co-written and directed by Kalaivanan Kannadasan. Though the film may seem a little silly in this day and age with its wanky visual effects, it was considered a true fright fest in the 90's during its release. It tells the story of how a young girl's spirit possesses her favourite doll in order to exact revenge on her in-laws who had murdered her.

6) YAAR?:

Directed by Sakthi-Kannan, this supernatural horror tells the tale of an evil baby boy born on the day of the alignment of all eight planets who growing up disrupts the society with his evil deeds. Only a sage, who holds the secret to kill him, can defeat him once and for all.

7) LIFT:

Vineeth Varaprasad makes his directorial debut by writing and directing this horror thriller that tells us about how a routine working day turns into a nightmare for Guru and Harini when they are troubled and trapped by some vengeful spirits in their haunted office. A patterned game unlocks a mystery, and a lift is their only way out.

WHERE TO WATCH- DISNEY+HOTSTAR

8) SHOCK:

Directed by Thiagarajan, this supernatural thriller revolves around Vasanth and his wife Malini who move into the 12th floor of a new high-rise apartment building. They soon learn that the previous occupant of the flat was a young woman who had committed suicide after killing her child. After a while, Vasanth notices Malini's strange manners and behaviours after becoming oddly fixated with the story. This follows a series of inexplicable experiences that drive Malini to near madness.

9) NENJAM MARAPPATHILLAI:

Written and directed by Selvaraghavan, this horror film earned mixed responses from the audience and critics but stayed true to its genre doing justice to it. The film follows a woman named Mariam who is offered a job as a caretaker for a child from a rich family. However, after being sexually exploited and murdered by her employer, she returns as a spirit in order to exact revenge.

WHERE TO WATCH- ZEE5

10) DEMONTE COLONY:

This horror thriller, written and directed by R Ajay Gnanamuthu, follows four drunk friends who want to do something adventurous and hence decide to visit a haunted bungalow located in Demonte Colony. However, they do not realize that they have returned home with an evil spirit after one of them picks up a diamond necklace from the house resulting in their home becoming a sanctuary for supernatural activity.

WHERE TO WATCH- SONY LIV

11) PIZZA:

Karthik Subbaraj made his directorial debut with this horror film that tells us about how Michael, who works as a delivery boy for a pizzeria, who one day, while delivering food, goes to a bungalow where mysterious events begin to take place and how it brings a dramatic change in his life.

WHERE TO WATCH- DISNEY+HOTSTAR

12) PISAASU:

Written and directed by Mysskin, this horror film follows Siddharth, a violinist, who experiences paranormal activities in his flat after the death of a girl who he tried to save due to an accident. He later realizes that her spirit is actually helping him which in turn leads him to try and find out who killed the girl by accident.

WHERE TO WATCH- DISNEY+HOTSTAR