Last year had some big shoes to fill, following the huge horror presence in 2018. Jordan Peele won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for Get Out, A Quiet Place defined a new style of sensory-deprivation-horror, and there was no shortage of quality remakes and sequels.
Early on, 2019 saw the ripple effect of last years success, with Peeles Us securing his reputation as a horror auteur and more dont-talk-now movies looking for a hit. But there were plenty of new, original, high quality flicks to keep you up at night. Heres what to catch up with in a slower moment of the release calendar.
The Wilson familys peaceful vacation spins out of control when a family of violent doppelgangers appear in their driveway and insist on becoming untethered. The leader of the group is familiar to Adelaide (Lupita Nyongo) she and Red had a fateful meeting as children, and now Reds back to free herself and her fellow tethered.
Us presents a core spooky concept and spins it into something larger and more terrifying. The slow-and-steady build never lets the tension drop it only lets you catch your breath for a moment before plunging back in. Stylish throwbacks to 70s horror root this story in the genres long history, even as the visual symbolism white rabbits, shiny golden scissors stands out as wholly unique. The entire cast performs their dual roles impeccably, but Lupita Nyongo is especially mesmerizing as the lead protagonist and antagonist. This tense follow up to Get Out proves that Jordan Peele is not a flash in the pan, but a director of immense skill, capable of pushing an idea without losing sight of the overall story.
Stream on HBO Now/Go; rent on Amazon | Vudu
A group of strangers are drawn into the eponymous escape room and find the puzzles deadlier than expected. More than that, the clues and solutions to the puzzles are familiar so familiar that it cant be an accident. Will they escape alive, or will the group tear themselves apart before they reach the end?
Escape Room is selling a straightforward bill of goods, but the quality of its delivery makes it exceptional. The crew must strategize their way through different themed rooms, each a unique set-piece for daring stunts and emotional reveals. The tight configuration of the puzzles and solutions keeps the pace moving, but the real stand-out is the players themselves. Each character is quickly established and interesting in their own right, especially competent veteran Amanda (Deborah Ann Woll) and amiable Mike (Tyler Labine). The dynamic of the group is so strong that you cant help but root for them, which makes their progress tense and engaging.
Stream on Starz; rent on Amazon | Vudu
Having successfully survived the birthday time-loop of Happy Death Day, Tree (Jessica Rothe) quickly finds herself right back where she started: fighting off a masked killer, only to wake up back at the beginning of the day. Only now, she knows whats really happening; its a science-experiment gone wrong, and its up to her to solve it.
In the first movie, Tree was left with the feeling that she was given a second chance to save herself, repair her relationships, and make the most of her life. The sequel undercuts that in a great way what if she isnt special, but just the lucky victim of a time-loop accident? The plot meanders a little at first, clearly trying to find a way to refocus on Tree. Ultimately this is forgivable because Rothe delivers impeccable comedy in every scene. Although the first movie shifted tonally from scene to scene, Happy Death Day 2U finally fully commits to its humor potential, and its a better movie for it.
Stream on Starz; rent on Amazon | Vudu
Recommended viewing for any horror fan, Horror Noire is a documentary surveying years of horror movies made for black audiences. From The Birth of a Nation to Get Out, the survey covers a hundred years of cinema, tackled decade-by-decade, to give a thorough run-down of horror made by black artists, for black audiences. Icons like Tony Todd (Candyman), William Crain (Blacula), and Rachel True (The Craft) talk not only about their own contributions, but about the work of artists that inspired them. Anyone with an interest in horror, or in the positive effects of media representation, will find Horror Noire illuminating and likely end up with a nice list of classic horror to watch.
Stream on Shudder
Five years after a deadly poisoning, the remaining members of the Blackwood Family live an isolated life. Constance (Alexandra Daddario) cooks and cleans for sister Merricat (Taissa Farmiga) and their sick uncle Julian (Crispin Glover), and although the villagers ardently hate them, they have achieved a sort of peace in their mansion on the hill. At least, until their shrewd cousin Charles (Sebastian Stan) arrives for a visit, disrupting the familys careful balance.
A stylish gothic mystery, We Have Always Lived in the Castle captures an intensity that extends far past its genre trappings. The steady build of tension is so palpable even the characters themselves seem to feel the weight of it, bowing under the pressure until they can do nothing but break. This movie is all about the intense interplay of personalities too strong to resolve peacefully. Intense performances from the cast and an eye-catching sense of style elevate this family drama into a chilling tale of abuse and isolation. There are no jumpscares or gore, just a series of harrowingly realistic stepping stones leading you powerlessly to disaster.
Stream on Amazon; rent on Vudu
Dani (Florence Pugh) and Christian (Jack Reynor) are on the verge of breaking up (to the relief of everyone around them) when a family tragedy leaves Dani emotionally devastated. The couple agrees to attend a once-in-a-lifetime midsummer festival in rural Sweden, but the festivities arent as idyllic as they initially seem. By the time the group realizes how sinister the festival is, its far too late to turn back.
Audiences are generally divided between thinking that Midsommar was pure genius or meandering but everyone agrees that you should see it. The visual design provides more than enough sensory delights and terrors to make up for any weaknesses in the pacing. The acting, in particular Pughs grief-ridden intensity, makes the best scenes of the movie soar.
Stream on Amazon; rent on Vudu and Google Play
When her father stops responding to phone calls, Haley (Kaya Scodelario) drives headlong into a category 5 hurricane, only to find him trapped in the crawl space of their old home after being mauled by alligator. The alligators have them cornered, but theyre safe as long as they hide behind some low pipes. With the hurricane approaching and the water rising, theyre running out of options.
Crawl hits a lot of the hallmarks of a great creature feature, even if it doesnt necessarily hold up to closer scrutiny. But really, the subgenre is best served by moments of hell-yeah action, not introversion, and on that front Crawl delivers. At times it seems like it might stray into SyFy-style spectacle, but shlock master Alexandre Aja keeps it above water thanks to solid character development, a strong core relationship, and some truly unnerving gators.
Rent on Amazon, Google Play, and Vudu
Put the horror-comedy spirit of Cabin in the Woods, final-girl-fights-back attitude of Halloween (2019), and rich-people-are-monsters messaging of Succession in a blender and youll get Ready or Not.
The premise is delightfully ridiculous: On her wedding night, Grace (Samara Weaving) learns that her in-laws are going to hunt her down in a deadly game of hide and seek. You see, their ancestor, Great Grandfather Victor, made a deal with the sinister Monsieur Le Bail, who now requires regular sacrifices or else hell destroy the family or at least thats what the Le Domases believe. Its a goofy, gory movie with some incredible performances. (Andie MacDowell looks like shes having a ton of fun and it makes me really happy.) It all builds to an ending so explosive that it almost makes the first 90 minutes of bloody hijinks feel tame in comparison.
Rent on Amazon, Google Play, and Vudu
Evan (Isaac Jay) meets and follows a new crush, Zoe (Ashleigh Morghan), on a weekend trip with her friends, but he soon finds himself at odds with the group for insisting theres another person among them one hiding behind their ability to shapeshift. The first feature film by Elle Callahan shows impressive skills in creating the feeling of distrust in the viewer even while all the characters sense nothing amiss. Its The Thing by way of It Follows, while bringing its own style to the table.
The premise, combined with the excellent cinematography, does a great job in elevating otherwise mundane scenes into seriously scary moments. The group gathers to play a drinking game, the camera swinging in a wide arc so that nobody is visible the whole time. Youre just waiting for someone to disappear, or to appear twice, but you can never tell exactly whats going to happen. Though the special effects might leave you asking why bother showing the monster at all, the film more than makes up for it with the atmosphere alone.
Stream on Netflix; rent on Amazon and Vudu
When her mother disappears, Estrella (Paola Lara) is left to fend for herself, and ends up joining a group of homeless children lead by Shine (Juan Ramn Lpez). With three wishes at her disposal in the form of pieces of chalk, shes not entirely defenseless, but she soon learns that magic has consequences. In a neighborhood torn apart by gangs, the consequence is always violence.
Tigers Are Not Afraid is a dark, beautiful, violent tale of magical realism. Never does Issa Lpezs writing sound like an adult puppeting children, even when Estrella and Shine are talking about things that seem far outside their grasp. At a few moments the roughness of the CGI is distracting, but thats easy to forget because the world writer-director Issa Lpez conjures is otherwise so engaging. Although it isnt always scary in the way many horror movies are, the ever-present horror built into the story is enough to make anyone afraid.
Stream on Shudder
See the rest here:
The 9 best horror movies of 2019 now on Netflix, Amazon, and more - Polygon
- 'Immaculate' ending explained: Was the baby a demon? - Business Insider - April 2nd, 2024
- 10 Horror Movies That Would Have Ended Earlier If Their Heroes Were Smarter - CBR - Comic Book Resources - April 2nd, 2024
- Terrifier 3 director reveals they filmed 'most insanely horrific scenes' that nearly made lead actor vomit on set - UNILAD - April 2nd, 2024
- The Latest Stephen King Horror Movie Has A Killer Cast And Director - SlashFilm - April 2nd, 2024
- THE FIRST OMEN 2024: Release Date, Cast, Plot, And Everything You Need to Know - FANGORIA - April 2nd, 2024
- Sting Review | Excellent Creature Feature with an Emotional Backdrop - MovieWeb - April 2nd, 2024
- IMMACULATE Interview with Director Michael Mohan, Discussing the Making of the Film, Reactions to the Ending, and ... - Daily Dead - April 2nd, 2024
- Mood 'Windigo' - Book and Film Globe - April 2nd, 2024
- A 2016 Thriller Is The Top Movie On Netflix Right Now - HuffPost - April 2nd, 2024
- 10 Harsh Realities Of Rewatching Beetlejuice, 36 Years Later - Screen Rant - April 2nd, 2024
- All the Horror Movies We Can't Wait To See in 2024 - The Mary Sue - April 2nd, 2024
- A Buzzy Korean Horror Movie Is Sneakily One Of The Biggest Box Office Hits Of 2024 - SlashFilm - April 2nd, 2024
- Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey 3 horror movie confirmed, after second film debuted to a surprise perfect Rotten ... - Gamesradar - April 2nd, 2024
- Fear Street 4 Is Reviving An Old Horror Trend That Was Perfected 48 Years Ago - Screen Rant - April 2nd, 2024
- Lisa Frankenstein Hides The Fact That It Cast The Real Star Of 2023's Viral $181 Million Horror Movie - Screen Rant - April 2nd, 2024
- Finally, Someone Confirms That A Sequel To HELLRAISER Is In The Works - FANGORIA - April 2nd, 2024
- We're definitely hard at work on: Hellraiser Sequel Promises to Be Even More Terrifying as Producer Vows to Take ... - FandomWire - April 2nd, 2024
- Future Chucky Movie Will Connect To The Series, Says Don Mancini - Screen Rant - April 2nd, 2024
- After Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 2, Freddy and Jason Need to Cameo in the Poohniverse - MovieWeb - April 2nd, 2024
- Chucky Creator Reveals He is Working on a New Child's Play Movie: 'Whatever Keeps Me Working' - MovieWeb - April 2nd, 2024
- AI In Late Night With The Devil Sparks Controversy - Forbes - March 24th, 2024
- A horror movie based on a Stephen King novel with a disappointing Rotten Tomatoes score is climbing Netflix's top 10 - Gamesradar - March 24th, 2024
- This is why we're so obsessed with nuns in horror movies - according to the official source, a nun - Gamesradar - March 24th, 2024
- Stephen King reveals the one horror movie he couldn't sit through as he was too scared - UNILAD - March 24th, 2024
- Late Night With the Devil directors address the use of AI art in the film - JoBlo.com - March 24th, 2024
- David Dastmalchian on Late Night with the Devil, The Life of Chuck and Good Fiend Films - Kansas City Pitch - March 24th, 2024
- Welcome to the Poohniverse: Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey Team to Unite Pooh, Bambi, Tinkerbell and More in Low-Budget Horror Crossover (EXCLUSIVE)... - March 24th, 2024
- Late Night with the Devil is the best horror movie of the year so far - Yahoo Movies Canada - March 24th, 2024
- Sydney Sweeney 'wanted to be drenched in blood' in 'Immaculate' - Entertainment Weekly News - March 24th, 2024
- Film of the Week: 'Stopmotion' - The best horror film of 2024 so far - Euronews - March 24th, 2024
- How to Watch Immaculate: Is the Sydney Sweeney Movie Streaming? - TheWrap - March 24th, 2024
- THE FIRST OMEN: A Battle With The Devil And An NC-17 Rating FANGORIA - FANGORIA - March 24th, 2024
- Elevated Horror: The New Wave of Artful Scares Taking Over Hollywood - LRM Online - March 24th, 2024
- Late Night With the Devil Plot Explained: The True Meaning of the Movie - The Direct - March 24th, 2024
- David Chase is directing his first film in 12 years. Its a horror movie. - NJ.com - March 24th, 2024
- Us Was The Box Office Hit That Gave Jordan Peele True Power In Hollywood - SlashFilm - March 24th, 2024
- Cast of 'Gremlins': Catch Up With the Stars of the '80s Hit - First For Women - March 24th, 2024
- 'Immaculate' Review: Sydney Sweeney Is Wide-Eyed but Sly - The New York Times - March 24th, 2024
- Sydney Sweeney explains that bloody 'Immaculate' ending - Entertainment Weekly News - March 24th, 2024
- When Will Sydney Sweeney's Horror Film, 'Immaculate,' Be Available to Stream? - AOL - March 24th, 2024
- Blumhouse to Return Insidious and Other Titles to Theaters for Halfway to Halloween Fest - Hollywood Reporter - March 16th, 2024
- Every Movie In The Wrong Turn Franchise Ranked - SlashFilm - March 16th, 2024
- Blumhouse Celebrating 'Halfway to Halloween' With Five Horror Movies Returning to 100 AMC Movie Theaters - Bloody Disgusting - March 16th, 2024
- DeWanda Wise Sings Creepy Theme Of New Horror Film: 'Imaginary' - The Root - March 16th, 2024
- Hostel: Part II (2007) WTF Happened to This Horror Movie? - JoBlo.com - March 16th, 2024
- New LEPRECHAUN Movie Will Be Funny, Scary And Full Of Practical Effects - FANGORIA - March 16th, 2024
- Blumhouse Celebrating Halfway to Halloween With Five Horror Movies Returning to 100 AMC Movie Theaters - IMDb - March 16th, 2024
- The Horror Nail-Biter On Max With A Controversial Ending - Giant Freakin Robot - March 16th, 2024
- "Says the person who was in Madame Web": Sydney Sweeney is Getting Skewered for Saying Modern Horror Movies ... - FandomWire - March 16th, 2024
- First trailer for horror movie reboot The Crow features an unrecognizable Bill Skarsgrd on a bloody mission of revenge - Gamesradar - March 16th, 2024
- You'll Never Find Me Is Unforgettable Horror, See The Terror In Action - Giant Freakin Robot - March 16th, 2024
- The First Omen star has seen all of your internet theories about the horror movie prequel and, well, they're all wrong - Gamesradar - March 16th, 2024
- Sltface take on horror movies with their new single, 'Final Grl' - Dork Magazine - March 16th, 2024
- From 'Five Nights at Freddy's' to 'Imaginary': Why Blumhouse loves PG-13 horror - theday.com - March 16th, 2024
- The First Omen's Big Death Reveal Really Doesn't Bode Well For The Prequel - Screen Rant - March 16th, 2024
- 20 Scariest Horror Movies to Come Out in the Last 5 Years - MovieWeb - March 16th, 2024
- 'The Animal Kingdom' Exclusive Clip Previews the Gnarly Body Horror of Magnet's New Movie - Bloody Disgusting - March 16th, 2024
- 'Oddity' Review: This Supernatural Horror Film Will Tear You To Pieces | SXSW 2024 - Collider - March 16th, 2024
- "Marketing is failing this movie tremendously": David Dastmalchian's Late Night With the Devil Dubbed as One of the ... - FandomWire - March 16th, 2024
- STOPMOTION is a handcrafted tale of beauty and horror - Moviejawn - March 16th, 2024
- Horror Lovers Will Love this Dining Spot in Texas - klaq.com - March 8th, 2024
- Is Late Night With The Devil Based On A True Story? - Screen Rant - March 8th, 2024
- Kooky King: 6 of the Weirdest Stephen King Film Adaptations - Nightmare on Film Street - March 8th, 2024
- The Unknown, the Viral Willy Wonka Experience Villain, Is Already Getting Their Own Horror Movie - IGN - March 8th, 2024
- 13 Original Horror Movies We Can't Wait to See in 2024 - Screen Rant - March 8th, 2024
- From 'Imaginary' to 'Five Nights at Freddy's.' Why Blumhouse loves PG-13 horror - Los Angeles Times - March 8th, 2024
- Imaginary Movie Review: M3gan Meets The Boogeyman - Mama's Geeky - March 8th, 2024
- Christopher Nolan Originally Conceived Inception As A Horror Movie - SlashFilm - March 8th, 2024
- 'Whalefall' Movie in the Works From 'No One Will Save You' Director Brian Duffield - The Mary Sue - March 8th, 2024
- Horror Movie Based On THE UNKNOWN From Glasgow's WILLY WONKA Experience In The Works Horror Movie ... - CBM (Comic Book Movie) - March 8th, 2024
- Horrifying 'Late Night With The Devil' Trailer Released - Outkick - March 8th, 2024
- Imaginary review: M3GAN, take the wheel - Dexerto - March 8th, 2024
- The Unknown: Horror Movie Based on Unofficial Willy Wonka Experience Is in the Works - ComingSoon.net - March 8th, 2024
- Imaginary Film Review: Light on Frights - Loud And Clear Reviews - March 8th, 2024
- Dead Mail Directors on Their '80s Horror Influences - MovieWeb - March 8th, 2024
- HORROR BEAT: Blumhouse offers a non-update on the future of THE EXORCIST - Comics Beat - March 8th, 2024
- And the Oscar for best picture doesn't go to ... horror! - NPR - March 8th, 2024
- Shaitaan OTT Release: When And Where To Watch R Madhavan And Ajay Devgn Starrer Horror Thriller Film - Indiatimes.com - March 8th, 2024
- The 'Wonka Experience' Is Being Turned Into A Horror Movie - UPROXX - March 8th, 2024
- 8 new horror movies on Netflix, Max, Shudder and more in March 2024 - TechRadar - March 8th, 2024
Reviewed and Recommended by Erik Baquero