No matter who you talk to, there’s a general consensus that this is another golden age for horror. Whether you want to call it “prestige” or “elevated” (please don’t), it’s been a great time to be a fan of the genre, which has been producing a new wave of auteurs who look to have control of its future. More than that, these are creators with grandiose visions that can rattle the viewers’ very soul, where rewatching them can bring out even more horrifying details. They’re also capable of making us think about the world that we exist in which, more than ever, feels uncertain and scary. It’s somehow comforting to know that we’re not the only ones who see the madness in this world and seek refuge in a dark cinema.
In order to limit the titles to pull from, I’m only going back to 2015 and the recent string of noteworthy auteurs, whether they be Ari Aster, Robert Eggers, or even Jordan Peele. All have only two films to their careers, and yet they feel like each film opens the limitless potential for where everything can go. They have a meticulous eye, capturing fears and cerebral pain over the course of two hours. They’re the voices that we need right now, guiding viewers into the future with an attentive eye, but also one that knows how much fun it is to crack open a film and perform an autopsy on every organ.
I’ll fully confess that my general interest in horror tends to skewer more towards these titles, if just because there is something satisfying about them from a narrative and production standpoint. While I’m not above a good cheap thrill, I love the films that stick with you and find ways to mix in this rich subtext. It’s art that challenges our times, and it’s allowed many to view things through a different lens. While I wouldn’t call everything that follows scary, I think the diverse approach to horror (or supernatural dramas) shows just how much goodwill there is for this genre right now, proving that it can start a conversation either personal, social, or both.
For me, these are the films that have helped to define the recent past, informing the modern generation in such provocative ways. I know that I haven’t seen every horror movie out there, nor am I lenient enough to appreciate the more grotesque entries, but with Halloween now less than a day away, it’s time to look at our mortality and wonder what value our lives have when faced with dread. After all, isn’t that what makes this time of year so wonderful?
1. Get Out (2017)
This Oscar-winning race relations drama came out like the timeliest of bullets in 2017. Released within a month of the new presidential administration, director Jordan Peele took to task the raw nerve of a society finally ready to grapple with its history not in the past tense, but in the present. While it’s as much a commentary on white liberalism, it’s a story of losing your identity and being trapped in a world that doesn’t love you back. The story itself is a great horror mystery that only becomes more shocking as it becomes more profound, interweaving historic images on a visual and sonic level to create this horrifying analysis of how oppression is all around its protagonist, played excellently by Daniel Kaluuya. It’s a powder keg of ideas waiting to explode and once it does, it’s such an entertaining ride.
Credit should be given to Peele that the whole ride doesn’t veer too far into any frustrating directions for long. Every piece of foreshadowing complements subtle fears later in the story. The comedic levity from Lil Rey Howery has its own layers of commentary. Everything about this film is resourceful, funny, and most of all designed to make audiences question why we hold these truths to be self-evident. Are we overlooking someone else’s humanity for our own personal gain? Considering that Peele’s previous credits include a gangsta cat movie, it’s amazing how much of an upgrade his work here is.
This is the 2010s’ equivalent of horror as something greater. It’s able to entertain, but it’s also able to make us look at our own biases and question their value. When even the costume design of characters features one wearing a blue shirt against another’s red-striped shirt (i.e. The American Flag), it’s amazing how subtle the film is. It’s the ultimate reward and one that has inspired collegiate courses and dozens of still-relevant memes. Even if it’s only been a few years, Get Out has yet to lose its horror and likely will only grow more relevant amid Black Lives Matter protests and whatever Peele has next in store for us.
2. The Witch (2015)
Director Robert Eggers’ directorial debut manages to be one of the few wide releases of the past decade to also be endorsed by Satanists. You’d be forgiven for thinking that he was this madman, living in the forest, and believing in the Wiccan culture that he explores here. At times the film breaches more into a documentary territory, the wind making the atmosphere all the more unnerving as a family slowly goes crazy following the death of their baby daughter. It’s a drawn-out movie that finds ways to make open spaces scary, the fog creeping in from the forest, and making you believe in the possession of the characters. Humanity can survive on faith, but what happens when it’s consistently tested by unknown forces?
Another noteworthy achievement of The Witch is that it launched the career of Anya Taylor Joy, who delivers an unnerving performance here. We don’t know why the family has been banished to the outskirts of town, but that only makes what follows strange. There is no comfort, only further diving into madness as Eggers pulls from centuries-old artwork while making the audience paranoid that more violence is on the way. Rarely has the towering trees felt more terrifying. Not only that, but Joy uses it as a coming of age story that is met with a top-notch goat performance in Black Phillip.
So much of the film is alive with an authenticity that you’ll either find the slow pace dreadful, or it will be so immersive that you can’t believe how incredible the performances are. Everyone undergoes turmoil by the end, turning on each other, and questioning the value of religion as a guiding force in this simple lifestyle. What could possibly protect you when the nearest neighbors are a few days away? We know that this is fiction, but Eggers makes it feel so real that by the final scene we are committed to whatever swirling chaos he has in store. We are depleted, ready to give to the dark side. He’s done his job.
3. Hereditary (2018)
If one director gives Jordan Peele a run for his money, it’s Ari Aster. Hereditary is a wrecking ball of an experience, even for horror. You think that you’ll understand what the various twists are, but you’ll quickly discover that something more sinister is at play. On the first watch, it’s a kettle ready to boil over, immersing the audience in something so surreal that you’ll forget that, at its core, this is a drama about grieving. This is the pain that we feel when losing a loved one, and Aster has found a way to make everything feel like it’s the end of the world, where injuries come to symbolize something deeper, and the struggle to escape the cycle becomes increasingly difficult.
Once you see the film and have sat with it long enough to rejoin society, feel free to join the conversation online, in Reddit threads that prove to you how many invisible subplots Aster has thrown into the film, allowing the story to be even richer and scarier. Most of all, his meticulous attention to detail is astounding, drawing from centuries of resources to make his own unique vision and giving you a new reason to hate dollhouses. Everything about this film will get under your skin, and the palpitations are sure to last for years, forming a trauma. While the other films on this list win points for authenticity and execution, Hereditary is simply the scariest.
What’s even more of a disappointment is that Toni Collette’s performance went overlooked at awards’ time. Once you see her performance, you’ll see someone who is so wrung by the sadness inside that every physical movement feels designed for maximum impact. It’s one of those roles that will likely define her career, and for good reason. Aster isn’t going anywhere either, as Midsommar (2019) proved that he’s still got an eye for the fear just out of sight. While you may fear these two after this movie, don’t be scared. They’re actually very nice and there’s an episode of The A24 Podcast with them that will warm your heart if the pain’s too real.
4. The Shape of Water (2017)
In all fairness, this qualifies more as a drama than an outright horror film. Still, the supernatural love story broke boundaries becoming the first horror movie to win Best Picture at the Oscars. With a sympathetic eye from director Guillermo del Toro, he created this nostalgic lens into cinema’s rich history, balancing Parisian love themes with moments that wouldn’t be out of place in Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954). So much of the film works as these tender symbols of repurposing monsters as outcasts, just looking for acceptance in the world. It’s the subversion of what the genre has become known for and rebirthed it as something new and exciting.
It’s true that del Toro has arguably made better monster movies, like Pan’s Labyrinth (2006). But for the first time, he’s made one so accessible and capable of saying something greater. It’s an exploration of fairytales, spirituality, and a general sense of longing. Where Get Out feels like piercing commentary of our modern times, The Shape of Water is that tender hug, suggesting that nobody is alone in this fight for tolerance and understanding. It’s an incredibly well-made movie rich with so much detail and symbolism that grabs the viewer immediately. It may not be the scariest monster movie of the decade, but it’s still one of the most compelling.
5. Personal Shopper (2017)
Another case of being more drama than horror, but it would be wrong to not acknowledge how powerful it is as a ghost movie. When her brother dies, Kristen Stewart tries to make contact with him and finds her own unique experience. It takes the viewer deep into the concept of grief, the feeling of absence, and the impossibility of feeling like our loved ones are ever truly gone. It’s expertly handled by director Olivier Assayas in his second collaboration with Stewart, and the slow revelations find new and interesting ways to try and start anew when it feels like so much has been lost.
Anyone who disavows Stewart’s credibility as an actress clearly hasn’t seen her indie dramas. It’s films like this that prove she works very well with the right material, able to observe with a melancholic stare that speaks to something internal. It’s the struggle to find meaning in a life that’s lacking that gratification, and she brings so much life to the role. While she was great in Assayas’ The Clouds of Sils Maria (2014), she’s on another level here, managing to make simple text message conversations into something so full of wondrous uncertainty. They’re so close, and yet they’re not. How can you possibly come to terms with that?
Honorable Mention
The Love Witch (2016)
Going down the rabbit hole of director Anna Biller’s career is a trip. Her love of the Technicolor melodrama is a unique and infectious creation, especially when handling a soapy tone that manages to feel well-balanced here. Everything about Samantha Robinson’s performance feels perfect, balancing campy feminism with enough seriousness to make this feel like something grander. It’s definitely an oddball, but reflective of an artist who followed her own vision, capturing a nostalgic joy for the past while reveling in the sadism that a witch would be entitled to. She wants love, but all of her relationships end in misery. It’s an absurd farce of an idea, but it works so perfectly and is the perfect film for horror counterprogramming.
What are your favorite recent horror movies?
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