Five Films That Inspired the Indie Horror Film Sorrow

Sorrow is not your typical horror film. There is a predator, and there is prey, but what happens when that prey fights back? Mila Sweeney, the film’s protagonist, is kidnapped and tortured by unhinged serial killers but manages to escape to exact her revenge.

Writer and director Millie Loredo is a horror movie buff, and five classic horror films and thrillers inspired her script. She studied these screenplays and watched the films over and over again to make sure her indie horror film lived up to its predecessors in the genre.

1. The Devil’s Rejects (2005) – Written and directed by Rob Zombie

 This film is a sequel to Rob Zombie’s 2003 film House of 1000 Corpses. The film centers on three members of a psychopathic, homicidal family on a killing spree.

2. The House on the Left (1972) – Written and directed by Wes Craven

This film inspired not only the gritty look of Sorrow but also its plot centered on vengeance. Escaped prisoners murder a young girl, and her parents exact revenge.

3. I Spit On Your Grave (2010 remake) – Written by Stuart Morse and directed by Steven R. Monroe

This film is a remake of the controversial 1978 film Day of the Woman. It follows the story of a novelist named Jennifer who is brutally raped by a gang of men and then seeks revenge against her rapists.

4. Natural Born Killers (1994) – Written and directed by Oliver Stone, story by Quentin Tarantino

This film follows the deranged love story of Mickey and Mallory Knox, two survivors of childhood abuse who fall in love and become mass murderers.

5. Reservoir Dogs (1992) – Written and directed by Quentin Tarantino

This Tarantino classic is a crime thriller that tells the story of a diamond heist gone wrong, filled with both emotional and physical violence.