10 Best Horror Movies of 2020 – Scariest New Films of the Year – Esquire.com

YouTube

The 1990s and 2000s were... ahem... a dark time for the horror genre. See: Leprechaun, Leprechaun 2, Leprechaun 3, Leprechaun 4: In Space, Leprechaun: In the Hood, andalmost done hereLeprechaun: Back 2 Tha Hood. I rest my case, ladies and leprechauns. The 1990s and 2000s were stuffed with extreme camp, sequels, remakes, and mostly unoriginal horror movie-making, aside from the occasional gem, like the Scream franchise or Let the Right One In.

Thankfully, the 2010s were much kinder to us thanks to an influx of new voices and studios who remind us why horror is the perfect genre for our increasingly terrifying reality. In the last decade alone, A24 gave us all-timer contenders like Hereditary and The Witch, Jason Blum brought original premises to life in Happy Death Day and The Purge, and Jordan Peele revolutionized the genre with Get Out and Us.

Now that the 2010s have upped the ante, you can expect the 2020s to keep delivering on the scareswith new movies from the minds of Blum, Peele, and more. Here are the best of the year so far, and what were looking forward to closer to Halloween and beyond.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

Underwater

Even though it didnt end up being the secret Cloverfield sequel fans were hoping for, Underwaterwhich stars Kristen Stewart as a mechanical engineer working aboard a deep sea mining shipended up being a solid horror-thriller for the winter months. Plus, it turns out Underwaters big bad monster ended up being from a different universe of existing IP altogether.

Horse Girl

Horse Girl is one of those creepy-dreamy-horror-sci-fi movies where the less you know about it going into the film, the better. Well tell you that it stars Alison Brie as a social outcast whose dreams start bugging her out and spinning her life out of control. Now, go watch it. And when youre done, were here to help you with that WTF-level ending.

The Invisible Man (February 28)

Jason Blum-backed horror films are usually hit (Happy Death Day, Get Out) or miss (Ma, Truth or Dare), and good money is on The Invisible Man to be in the formers camp. Elisabeth Moss stars in a film adaptation of the H.G. Wells classic, which already looks like a compelling and brutal portrait of the trauma left on victims of abusive relationships.

The Hunt (March 13)

This ones a doozy. The Huntwhich is a satirical political thriller about elitists who hunt humans for sportwas supposed to be released in September 2019. The release date was postponed after several mass shootings in the late summer, and a ranting tweet from President Trump, who called The Hunt the product of Liberal Hollywood. Now, were getting The Hunt this March. TBD on whether or not the movie ends up being as newsworthy as its real-life backlash.

A Quiet Place Part II (March 20)

A Quiet Place was one of the biggest breakout films of the 2010s horror-film renaissancewhich is saying a lot when you can stand out among the Babadooks of the world. This year, director John Krasinski is returning to helm its sequel, which will follow the Abbott family as they try to survive in a post-apocalyptic world inhabited by sound-sensitive monsters.

Antebellum (April 24)

If any movie on this list has a shot at being the next Get Out-level breakout, Antebellum is it. The first trailerwhich shows Janelle Mone as an author trapped in a nightmarish reality set in the pastalready promises an eerie mystery reminiscent of Peeles breakout 2017 hit. Plus: Mone crossing over into the horror-film world? Sign us up.

Spiral (May 15)

Weve had nine (nine!) Saw movies since the franchises first outing in 2004. Thats like, four too many, at least. If anyones going to make number ten worth seeing, its Chris Rockwhos launching a quasi-reboot as the executive producer and star of Spiral, which has been described as from the book of Saw. Let the games begin! (Or something like that.)

The Green Knight (Summer 2020)

You thought we were going to finish this list without an A24 scream-fest, didnt you? The studio behind Hereditary and Midsommar will release The Green Knight later this year. The film follows King Arthurs nephew, played by Dev Patel, who goes on a terrifying journey to face off against the legendary Green Knight.

Candyman (June 12)

Jordan Peele + horror is already a virtual guarantee of best-of-the-year quality at this point. If you need more selling on the movie, here it is: Peele co-wrote a sequel to one of the genres classics (Candyman is pulling a Halloween and ignoring the not-as-good '90s sequels). The original follows a grad student as she discovers the Candyman, an urban legend who turns out to be a real, terrifying figure who begins stalking her.

Halloween Kills (October 16)

Usually when horror-genre icons like Jason Vorhees or Freddy Krueger return for one! more! money-grabbing outing, were usually left wishing they had stayed in the grave, or wherever spooky big-bads go when theyre defeated. Surprisingly, that wasnt the case for 2018s Halloween, which saw Jamie Lee Curtis reprise her role as Laurie for a rematch against Michael Myers. Now, the two will have another go at it in Halloween Killswhich producer Jason Blum is hyping as the 2018 movie on speed.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

Read the original:
10 Best Horror Movies of 2020 - Scariest New Films of the Year - Esquire.com