The Best Horror Movies of 2020

10. The Wolf of Snow Hollow

A fresh take on the old werewolf tale. Director, writer and star Jim Cummings does a great job as the bumbling drunk deputy in a town where a werewolf is seemingly on the loose. Successful horror comedies are rare but the cast makes this one happen. 

9. His House

His House is the story of a couple of refugees from South Sudan trying to escape the horrors of their past. They come to believe their house is haunted by an evil witch that is trying to reclaim a debt. Haunting imagery in the house as well as flashbacks from their past. 

8. Scare Me

Can Aya Cash just be in everything please? Two authors stuck in a cabin act out scary stories to each other, complete with sound effects. Very well written and strong acting all around. 

7. Impetigore

Two friends travel to a small village in Indonesia hoping to collect on an inheritance. What they find is a village full of people who believe their family has something to do with a curse that has fallen on the village. A gorgeous film with a lot of great practical effects. 

6. Vampires vs. The Bronx

2020 is apparently the year of the horror comedy.. Or maybe just the year I needed it. This movie is about a group of kids noticing that vampires and moving into the Bronx and trying to fight them off. All of the actors are wonderful and it’s a great story about being part of a neighborhood. 

5. The Dark and the Wicked

Gotta love a movie about the devil himself. Despite the overuse of stingers and an ending that doesn’t quite land, some of the shots in this movie have stuck with me still. 

4. Freaky

From the same director as Happy Death Day, I finally decided to give this a shot even as a $20 rental. Very glad I did. It starts off super gory and creatively so in the first few minutes and keeps that up throughout the film. Vince Vaughn is hilarious acting like a teenage girl. Another great horror comedy this year. 

3. The Rental

Dave Franco cemented his place as my favorite Franco brother with this film (it was never close). Two couples rent a cabin to get away when they find a hidden camera in the shower and it only gets weirder from there. You hate most of the people but that makes it easier when the plot twist comes. 

2. Host

If there was ever a movie to show someone in the future to describe what 2020 was like, here it is. It is incredible what director Rob Savage did while filming remotely, never mind that the movie is terrifying. 

1. Possessor

Wow this movie came out of nowhere for me. I liked the cast so decided to give it a shot and holy cow. I honestly don’t even know what to say. Andrea Riseborough and Christopher Abbott are incredible in this movie. Director Brandon Cronenberg obviously has big shoes to fill and really knocks it out of the park with this film. 

Honorable Mentions: La Llorona, Sea Fever, The Mortuary Collection, The Deeper You Dig, Come to Daddy

Top 15 Horror Movies of the Decade

15. Southbound

My favorite anthology of the decade! Great stories that were all connected and incredible sound design.

14. I Saw the Devil

A South Korean flick about a serial killer and the man trying to exact revenge for his murdered fiance. Gets super gory within the first 10 minutes and doesn’t stop there!

13. A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night

An Iranian vampire western you say? And it’s black and white? I’m in!

12. Willow Creek

That 18-minute long shot of them in the tent just made the movie. Super awesome Bigfoot movie and very well-researched by Mr. Bobcat Goldthwait.

11. Absentia

The movie that made me a Flan-girl.

10. The Witch

For a while I wasn’t even sure this would be on my list. I was a damn fool.

9. Baskin

I learned Turkish for this god damn episode, you best believe it’s on the list. Plus the sing-along!

8. You’re Next

Favorite home invasion movie and best ensemble cast for me. Love these guys. Just typing the words Looking for the Magic gets the song stuck in my head.

7. The Babadook

I still think about this movie a lot. So well written, the pop-up book is incredible and I love the monster.

6. The Ritual

Best monster and one of the rare instances where the movie is better than the book (the book is very much still worth reading, it kept me up at night!).

5. What We Do in the Shadows

Best horror comedy, I swear I could watch this movie every week and never get sick of it.

4. Raw

3. It Follows

Loved the fresh take on the slasher trope of teenagers having sex and getting killed. Bonus points for being set in Detroit!

2. Us

Great acting from everyone involved, especially Lupita Nyong’o. Loved the story, loved everything about it.

1. Midsommar

If you would have told me after I watched Hereditary that the same director would direct my favorite horror movie of the decade, I would have punched you in the face. It’s got everything: awkward sex, comic relief, fun illustrations, menstrual mocktails and awesome acting by Florence Pugh.

Honorable Mentions: Train to Busan, The Visit, Bone Tomahawk, Evil Dead

Best Horror of 2018 | Karen's Picks

Well another year has come to a close, which means I have been trying like mad to catch up on all the horror movies from 2018 that I haven’t had a chance to watch yet. There are still others I want to see, but I had to call it at some point.

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10. Ravenous

A French-Canadian film. There is no shortage of zombie movies, but this one was just different enough to keep my interest. The zombies don’t act like you would expect and it makes you feel just as unsettled as the characters trying to survive.

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9. Mom and Dad

Only one of the Nicolas Cage movies in my top ten, which is a sentence I never thought I would type. Who knew that he was just a horror star waiting to happen? This movie was a fresh take on the kids trying to kill their parents movie and Nic and Selma Blair played the roles perfectly.

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8. Revenge

This is one of the movies that kept growing on me well after I watched it. There were some gratuitous ‘artsy’ shots that got distracting after a while, but this is a very well done revenge movie that empowers the main character and has the audience cheering along.

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7. A Quiet Place

Why do movies always have to show the monsters? It hardly ever helps and it is definitely the case in this movie. This was a terrifying concept and well-made, but the ending was a bit over the top and that’s why it’s not higher on my list.

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6. Mandy

I predict next year, Nic Cage will be in 3 of my top 10. He seriously cannot be stopped. I had a hard time even picking an image for this because the movie is just so cool looking. It’s a bit longer than I would have liked, but watching Red get revenge for a solid hour was mesmerizing enough to keep my interest.

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5. Terrified

I finally broke down and got Shudder mostly to watch this (and Summer of 84, but meh) and I was not disappointed. An Argentinian horror movie about weird happenings in a neighborhood that keeps us guessing with what will show up next. Very solid practical effects and good acting made this movie stick with me long after it was over.

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4. The Endless

Cults?  Weird time loops? Benson and Moorhead? You had me at cults. I loved Spring and I love these guys. The movie looks awesome and is definitely a fresh take on the cult film. I cannot wait to see what they come up with next.

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3. Bird Box

I had very high expectations for this movie as I absolutely loved the book (by a Michigan native and a quick read - check it out!) and I think this was a great adaptation. It was pretty faithful to the book and the things that they changed made sense and didn’t take away from the overall story.

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2. The Ritual

Another film based on a book that I loved. This book kept me up at night and that never happens anymore. This movie has cults, monsters, Norse mythology… what else could you want?

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1. Halloween

If you’re surprised by this, you don’t know me at all. This movie was made for me.