Previously I wrote this post detailing the top 12 maze movies of all time. Then I looked at The 5 Maze and Labyrinth Movies That Kids Will Love. Today, I delve into the Top 10 Maze Horror Movies. Each of these movies has a scene in them that involves a maze, whether it is a corn maze, a funhouse mirror maze or hedge maze. Of the over 90 movie reviews on the site, I count 33 that would be considered horror movies. If you want to see a full list in a sortable Google Sheet, I have that. But a few of them are really terrible. Like, really terrible. Let’s look at the movies worth watching if you want to watch a scary movie. #1 should not be a surprise.
THE 10 BEST MAZE HORROR MOVIES
In this case the house is a maze. The story resolves around a mother and daughter driving to an empty home of their mother / grandmother who has gone missing. All signs point to a woman who may have wandered off quickly. Minor spoiler coming….and then after a few days she just shows up in the kitchen as if nothing has happened. What is going on ? Speaking any more about the plot would give too much away about what happens…
A found footage movie that takes place in an abandoned hospital. A TV film crew thinks it would be a good idea to spend the night in the hospital and lock themselves in…but they do not realize the hospital has some maze-like qualities that resists them leaving. Will they survive the night ?
Based on the short film Foxes, which I also recommend, this film follows a young couple who buy their first home in a development and they can;t seem to leave. Ever. It is as if the housing development is a maze that can’t be solved. And things get weird from there. It is a comedy horror film with a really interesting concept and story. Not for everyone, but definitely worth a look. Just let me warn you that most people will search “Vivarium ending explained” after watching it.
We have a movie that centers around the grief of losing a husband unexpectedly and how a wife deals with his death. While she tries to come to terms with what happened she goes through his things and finds architectural drawings of a house that is designed like a maze. She also finds a book about the Caerdroia labyrinth. Things get weird and more interesting from here as she discovers more clues that may lead her to a place she does not want to go.
This movie begins with a group of sightseers being led through the mazelike catacombs under a cemetery. Of course, the one thing they can’t do is get lost…so they get lost. Luckily 5 of them find a room that contains a Crypt Keeper who tells 5 stories about how each of them might die. Each short story is fun and the last even includes a maze. Horror movies in the 70’s are very story oriented and less about the gotcha scare moment which I like.
#5 IT CHAPTER 2 (2019) (IMDB) (PRIME VIDEO)
Stephen King horror story ? Yes please. Getting stuck in a fun-house mirror maze with the sadistic clown Pennywise, no thank you. But that is one of the scenes in this follow-up to It. Great job in both films by Bill Skarsgård as Pennywise. The first film is the better of the 2, but this film brings back the Losers Club to Derry, Maine 27 years after their encounter last with Pennywise. Things do not go well.
#4 THE COLLECTION (2012) (IMDB) (PRIME VIDEO)
After escaping from a serial killer known as The Collector a man is sent back to the serial killer’s hideout to rescue a kidnapped girl. The only problem is that hideout is a booby trapped maze he needs to get thru to save the girl. The sequel to the 2009 movie The Collector.
#3 US (2019) (IMDB) (PRIME VIDEO)
Jordan Peele knows how to make an interesting horror film (Get Out anyone ?). A young girl wanders off from the amusement park on the beach and enters a deserted fun house. When the lights go out she tries to exit, but the mirror maze makes it difficult for her to find her way. Oh, and so does the girl in the mirror. And that’s when you know this thing is about to get sinister.
The next 2 movies should be familiar since they both made the top maze movies list regardless of genre.
#2 CUBE (1997)(IMDB) (PRIME VIDEO)
6 strangers wake-up in a giant cube shaped maze that is bobby trapped and trying to kill them. They don’t know why they are there or how they got there but they know they need to try and escape. Are they making the right or wrong choice as they choose each passageway ? Only one way to find out. Eventually became a trilogy, but go ahead and skip Cube 2: Hypercube because it is terrible. Watch Cube Zero, which answers a lot of questions you have about the cube.
#1 THE SHINING (1980) (IMDB) (PRIME VIDEO)
What else could it be ? Considered by some as the greatest horror film ever made it brings together Jack Nicholson, Stanley Kubrick and Stephen King. The movie prominently features a hedge maze in the plot. If you want to watch a scary movie this is the one !
And that concludes our countdown of the best maze horror movies. If you want to see where a movie is streaming I suggest using justwatch.
While you’re here check out some of my Maze art :