Indie horror movies are making waves at the box office

Three very different indie horror movies are making a splash at the box office, showing that word of mouth is still key to getting audiences into theaters. 

Controversial body horror Infinity Pool, directed by Brandon Cronenberg, sees Alexandar Skarsgård plays a struggling novelist who goes on a vacation with his wealthy wife (Cleopatra Coleman) to a luxury resort in an attempt to shake off his writer's block. When he meets fellow guest Gabi (Mia Goth), however, things rapidly go off the rails, before descending into a bloody, gory frenzy of human cloning, orgies, and increasingly nefarious behavior. The movie opened on January 27 and made nearly $3 million in its opening weekend. 

Experimental horror Skinamarink, meanwhile, sees two children wake up in the middle of the night to find that their father has disappeared, along with all the doors and windows in their home, and the feature directorial debut from Kyle Edward Ball taps into all the things you forgot you were afraid of. Made on a budget of $15,000, the film has so far made $1.86 million in the US since it was released on January 13 thanks to strong word of mouth.

Finally, Fear, directed by Deon Taylor, follows a group of friends on a weekend away at a remote and historic hotel whose vacation turns into a nightmare as one by one they face their worst fears. The movie was self-distributed, but made over $1 million in its opening weekend after debuting on January 27.

Infinity Pool, Skinamarink, and Fear are all in US theaters now. Skinamarink is also in UK cinemas, while Infinity Pool will release across the pond on March 24 and Fear doesn't have a UK release date. For more viewing inspiration, check out our picks of the best horror movies of all time.