10 Best Horror Movies About Skinwalkers

When we’re discussing horror myths and stories, there’s hardly a creature more terrifying than a skinwalker. These malevolent spirits often have a gruesome story of origin, they are marked with an insatiable hunger and often have gruesome body features. Often associated with shape-shifting and the occult, Skinwalkers are pulled straight out of our nightmares and so it’s no wonder they have been included in many forms of horror media over the years. In today’s post, we’re going to focus on cinema as we bring you the 10 best horror movies with skinwalkers.

1. Skinwalker (2021)

This Western thriller centers around a long-forgotten curse that won’t stay buried forever. The movie is set in Arizona High Country in 1883, Benny and Hugo, two travelers by chance run into a Native-American burial site. Despite the logic going that you shouldn’t mess with the bodies of the long-deceased, the two decide to loot the buried remains in their search for treasure and various knick-knacks they can sell.

Unknowingly to them, they are on their way to release a skin-walker. After Hugo gets bitten by a snake the process is complete and he gets possessed by a skinwalker. The demon is now unleashed onto an innocent populace surrounding the burial site.

2. Dawn of the Beast (2021)

Dawn of the Beast starts with another mythical creature in mind. Two students embark on a journey through a wooded area of the Northeastern wilderness in hopes to catch a glimpse of the legendary Bigfoot. They are led to believe that the creature is inhabiting these forests due to numerous sightings that people reported over the years.

However, the creature in question is not a Bigfoot, it’s something far more evil and sinister than they could ever imagine. The hunters become the hunted in this chilling horror movie.

3. The Retreat (2020)

Gus and Adam are best friends. Adam is getting married and the two decide to celebrate the upcoming nuptials with one last grand adventure. The idea of Adam getting married does not sit too well with Gus, because this means that he will move and the two will spend less time together if any.

They decide that their one last grand adventure together will be through Adirondack High Peaks. After the first night of camping and some innocent fun tragedy strikes, Adam is dead and Gus is now alone potentially hunted by a demon from Native-American legends.

4. Skinwalkers (2007)

We’re moving out of the territory of Native-American myths and the next movie on this list features another type of malevolent shapeshifting, werewolf. Timothy finds himself in the middle of an ancient prophecy that involves the ending of the curse of bloodlust. The turning point is supposed to be his thirteenth birthday. He unwillingly gets caught up in an all-out war between two factions of werewolves with conflicting philosophies and worldviews.

5. The Descent (2005)

Sarah is a thrill-seeker and one day during an outing with her friend and family they are involved in a horrific accident in which she loses her husband and daughter. After some time Sarah is struggling to reclaim her life and her group of friends organizes another adventure. They are supposed to go spelunking through the Appalachian Mountains.

One of the friends decides that the marked route through the cave is “too safe” and seeking a more intense thrill the friend decides to lead them through the unmarked parts of the cave system. Unknowingly to them, the unmarked caves are infested with something far more sinister than they could ever imagine existing.

6. Ravenous (1999)

Our next movie features a similar creature to skinwalkers, also stemming from the Native-American folklore, a shape-shifting Wendigo. Second Lieutenant John Boyd is exiled to Fort Spencer after a remote military outpost. One night a stranger comes to the outpost’s doorstep by the name Colqhoun, bearing news of terrible atrocities committed, chiefly among them, canibalism.

A rescue party is at once formed in an attempt to locate any survivors, they are warned about Native-American myths featuring a terrible demon Wendigo, that possesses a human that eats another man’s flesh. The search party finds evidence of such depravities and suddenly realizes that danger is not with them, instead, they left the danger back at Fort Spencer.

7. Devil in the Dark (2017)

Adam and Clint are two brothers who, despite their differences attempt to reconnect during a weekend hunting trip. However, the parts of the forest they will visit are infamous for being haunted and they are forewarned that the last person to hunt there disappear without a trace. The brothers brush off the notion and still decide to go hunting, soon after arriving in the woods, they are haunted by a supernatural demonic presence that Adam is strangely drawn to. Two brothers will need to learn how to bury the past rivalry if they plan on surviving this encounter with the devil in the dark.

8. The Wendigo (2022)

The Wendigo is a found-footage horror movie that follows the story of a young social media influencer and his friends as they take on the woods of North Carolina. Matthew disappears on a camping trip, the circumstances around his disappearance are truly mysterious and his friends set out to figure out what happened to him.

They are forewarned about the dangers and ancient folklore demons that roam that area, but they decide to ignore them. Soon, they will find out more than they ever wanted about the disappearance of their friend as they try to escape a fate worse than death.

9. Skinwalker Ranch (2013)

Skinwalker Ranch is a horror movie based on a true story. The movie revolves around a cattle ranch in Utah that has allegedly been visited by UFOs in the past as well as haunted by strange and unexplainable phenomena. Matters are made worse when the rancher’s son disappears without a trace. An investigative team is formed and they visit the site, employing modern technologies to find the root of the problem. They are warned by a Native-American man about haunting legends that shouldn’t be trifled with.

10. Antlers (2021)

Last but not least movie on our list is a supernatural horror movie called Antlers. Frank waver is not a model citizen by any means, he runs a meth lab stationed in an abandoned mine. One day while visiting his „workplace“ Frank and his accomplice are attacked by a strange and unseen entity. His 7-year-old-son waits in his truck and is seemingly safe from the creature. Both Frank and Aiden survive the encounter but with horrifying consequences that will reflect catastrophically on Frank’s older son 12-year-old Lucas.