We love horror movies. The exploration of our fears, the darkest
corners of our minds and imaginations, stories based on old tales, folklore or mythology...
When well executed, it's more than a cavalcade of jumps or scares...a
good horror movie can both entertain on the spot and remain hidden beneath your thoughts,
emerging from time to time to remind you of its existence.
And 2020 had it's fair share of representations of our fears, although disappointingly several fall
under the weight of their interesting concepts. So today we would like to offer you our varied
list of the movies that we feel have faired better than the rest.
Stories that have been following the recent horror trends like modern folktales;
blurring the line between the supernatural and the routine. The use of extreme allegories that
distort known concepts into surreal experiences and the use of timely social metaphors to view
an issue through a different perspective. This is an unranked list with no spoilers
but keep in mind we will mention a synopsis and show some clips.
Also, we will present our viewers' choice top selection.
And this video is sponsored by Surfshark but more on that midway.
So, dim the lights, make sure the doors are locked, the closets are uninhabited,
nothing lies under your bed and enjoy our "Best Horror Movies" list of 2020.
" Cecilia what is going on?" "Are you okay?"
"I will explain later just go Emily. Go!" We begin with the first horror movie we saw
this year and that for many, it was their last in-theater experience for a while.
Leigh Whannell's re-imagining of The Invisible Man.
Cecilia is a woman that has been in a toxic relationship and manages to escape from her
abusive boyfriend. Pretty soon after, she's told that her ex has killed himself, but her
nightmare isn't over because she's convinced that he's somehow still around, haunting her.
"I don't know how he's done it." "He has figured out a way to be invisible."
The Invisible Man manages to creep us out and build tension through its simple but
creative camera movements; lingering or slowly panning into negative space...making us wonder
if there is someone in the frame and fear for the characters' safety. The movie's themes are
also more in tune with our times as it serves as a metaphor for gaslighting and the long-lasting
effects of psychological abuse. The difficulty of physically
and mentally escaping that trauma. And The Invisible Man is a top viewers choice:
"It felt original, acting was flawless, and the thrilling atmosphere made it my pick."
"The wolf is back." "It ate a raccoon and
left the paw...the back leg"
"You weren't going to tell me?"
Continuing in the vein of mounting tension, this movie made sure to turn it all the way up. Hunter
Hunter is the story of a family of fur trappers that lives deep in the woods. Their life is hard
and it's becoming even more difficult because they are being stalked by a wolf. Not only is
it dangerous for them, but for their livelihood because the animals that they trap are being
eaten by the wolf. Joseph, the father, decides to hunt the predator for his family's sake.
"Keep your riffle close, stay to the path. If you see anything or hear anything don't run."
This is a film about survival. It's a bit of a slow burn and yet it's violent,
raw, gritty and disturbing at times. The realism involved in the family's
isolation is one of the reasons why this movie does a great job of creating tension.
We are kept wondering: what's going to happen next? Will the characters be safe?
What would I do if I were in such a remote location, living with no electricity,
depending wholly on what I hunt. The movie succeeds in creating a tense
atmosphere with the nagging possibility that at any moment something will go wrong...
Now please don't confuse this movie with The Curse of La Llorona. These movies aren't
linked in any way, shape or form. La Llorona tells the story of a
former dictator that is being tried for genocide. After being found not guilty,
he returns to his home to be greeted by hundreds of protesters surrounding his house, almost 24/7.
On top of the protesters, he and his family are being haunted by a supernatural presence.
Directed by Jayro Bustamante, one of the people featured in our up-and-coming directors' video,
the film follows in the same vein as Ixcanul and Tremors,
whereas we are placed in the middle of a situation that's based on real events
and that deals with elements of Guatemalan culture or history that are viewed as controversial
and often swept under the rug. A collection of hidden scars that mar the country's beauty.
At the same time, it alludes to the Latin American folktale of the same name.
Don't expect a quick paced fright-filled thriller. La Llorona is a slow burn ghost
story that juxtaposes the atrocities of a human monster with the terror caused by an entity.
As hateable and exaggeratedly inhuman as the dictator and his sycophantic followers might seem,
it's an unfortunately accurate representation of the real-life war criminal the character
is based off of. I was definitely rooting for the supernatural being in this one.
Here's what a viewer had to say about it: "It tells a great story about a horror that
no one mentions, in a country no one talks about. The cinematography never let up,
always present, just like the spirits that didn't want to be forgotten."
Natalie Erika James' directorial debut is a success. From the beginning, she brings
us into an oppressively dreadful atmosphere and doesn't let go. In Relic, a mother and daughter
arrive at the grandmother's house because she's been missing. The grandmother returns but she's
not quite herself and neither is the house. The story builds slowly and does not rely on
jump-scares. Instead, the scares come from the odd behaviors, the disturbing imagery,
impactful practical effects and the real-life horrors that stem from dementia.
"I think maybe it's just waiting for me-maybe...it's
just been waiting till I was weak enough.. alone enough."
The film's cold and de-saturated look is meant to reflect the grandmother's waning memory,
like faded photographs. The labyrinthian house a representation of the grandmother's mental state.
Relic at its core is about Alzheimer's: how it can ravage a loved one, leave them unrecognizable
and at the same time, swallow a family whole. It reminded me of another Australian film: The
Babadook. Natalie Erika James does for dementia what Jennifer Kent did for depression and grief.
"You will be sent to a home of our choosing." "You must reside in at this address, you must
not move from this address." "This is your home now."
In His House, we get to witness another successful first feature directorial endeavor.
The subject of immigration and refugees while under the lens of the supernatural reminded me
of Mati Diop's Atlantics but whereas that film was about those who are left behind,
this movie is about those who leave. We follow a couple that has escaped the violence in South
Sudan and made it all the way to the UK. They are granted probational asylum and are provided
a house to live in. Their struggle doesn't end there because now they have to prove that they
deserve to stay in the country, that they are some of the "good ones". Bol tries to assimilate
while Rial clings to her culture, which puts more of a strain on the couple's relationship.
On top of the very restrictive set of rules they are obligated to live under,
the cultural differences and the racism, they must deal with the entity haunting their new home.
Remi Weekes, the director, approached it as two people processing their trauma
and having to survive after surviving. The film is well directed, well acted,
and provides a good serving of haunted house scares. A real immigration horror story.
Also, a top viewers choice.
[Loud Crunch]
"Sorry..."
Hunter is a woman that, on the surface, seems to be doing quite well for herself.
Nice house, a well-off husband, an abundance of free time and a baby on the way.
Although...she's discovered a new hobby. Swallowing random household objects.
Her new family soon discover this and looks to quickly impose a remedy to the situation.
Apart from it's...let's say unique premise, Swallow is a well acted and well directed film
that illustrates the idea of control and intrusion. It was clearly influenced by Rosemary's
Baby and has that claustrophobic quality to it. It can be disturbing at times but there's a
compelling reason behind Hunter's dangerous compulsion. It's not played off as shocking
for shock's sake and I felt the concept was well balanced enough that it never became too absurd.
One thing I would recommend is please don't eat anything when watching it.
You can feel the movie trying to activate your gag reflexes.
Before we go on... As a Canadian wanting to watch US movies
I'm sometimes blocked out of some content and if you wonder how we get around that
then you might be interested in getting a VPN like the one we use from Surfshark.
Not only does it give you access to a lot of geolocked content from streaming services,
but most importantly it protects your information by encrypting all the data that you send through
the internet and where you are connecting from. Keeping unwanted prying eyes away.
And adding to that peace of mind, even they don't log your information.
There are a lot of VPNs out there, but we use Surfshark because it's one of the fastest,
well reviewed and it's affordable. It offers a lot of features. Not only does it work across
all platforms, but you're not limited to the number of devices you can instal it on.
Use Surfshark Alert, that lets you know if your passwords or log-in info appears in a
leaked database or Surfshark Search to prevent ads or trackers to follow your searches.
There is more, but I recommend you check it out on your own.
Go to surfshark.deals/SCREENED If you use our promo code SCREENED , you
will get 83% off the regular price. Which means for something like a couple bucks a month,
you can be fully protected. Plus, you'll get three months for free. Surfshark offers a 30-day money
back guarantee. So, if you try it, and you don't like it, you can simply cancel your subscription
and get your money back. Now we return to the list
Imagine waking up in a cell with one other inmate. Every day, a platform descends with anything you
can eat within a couple of minutes. Now here's the twist: there's an unknown number of levels in this
vertical prison and the amount of food you eat is dependant on how much was eaten by the levels above you.
Every month, your positioning changes randomly, so you could go from being relatively well-off at level 5
to starving at level 200. This is the hellish scenario that the Spanish movie The Platform presents us.
More than a dystopian, sci-fi, horror, thriller, this film is an allegory for social issues that have a tendency to be polarizing,
regardless of where you find yourself on the political spectrum. Class, economy, survival, natural resources, religion...
the various characters sentenced to the hole represent the different opinions
and lifestyles linked to the presented issues. It's similar to Bong Joon Ho's Snowpiercer in
that sense. The film has a very overt social message but doesn't bash you over the head
with it. It doesn't tell you how you should feel or what is objectively right or wrong.
There are problems, possible solutions, idealists, cynics...but there is always human nature at the
center. The director's intention is to bring certain issues to light and to let us reflect
on them. He wants us to ask ourselves: what would I do? Either on the lower levels or higher up.
For the following film in our list, we have another dark metaphor for
"normal" and "accepted" aspects of our society taken to an absurd extreme.
In Vivarium, a young couple is looking to buy a house. The real estate agent
takes them to a neighborhood where all the houses look exactly the same. That's when the
protagonists find themselves trapped in a surreal, prefabricated, maze-like existence that they can't
seem to escape from as much as they try. They are seemingly alone but out of nowhere;
they are inexplicably tasked with the care of a child that they have to raise as their own.
"Creepy little mutant."
There's a certain strange,
unsettling "uncanny valley" quality to this movie; the home, its surroundings,
the characters they encounter, the visuals. It all helps to create an eerie mystery
with no attempt at an answer. This movie reminded me of a Stephen King quote:
"There's this idea that hell is other people. My idea is that it might be repetition."
"I...am...going to die tomorrow." "No, you're not."
"Yes I am." "No...you're not."
"Yes I am." "No, you're not."
In She Dies Tomorrow, we meet Amy, a woman that is convinced that she will die the following day.
Slowly, that conviction spreads to her friends and they become infected with the same idea,
that they will die the next day. "It's like I just have this feeling...the
way that you know when you're about to get a cold...it just hasn't hit yet."
I have a hard time categorizing this movie, and it's by design. It's got elements of
horror...existential dread...psychological thriller...arthouse film...and it's also
an allegory for our acceptance of death. When faced with our own mortality, we all react in
different ways. As the director points out, there is no one perfect way to express ourselves when
facing death. The variety of emotions is such that it defies classification, just like this
film's genre. This film skillfully represents on a small scale what would become of us, our choices,
priorities, and outlook if we knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that we only get to live one more day.
Before we continue here are some viewers choices we didn't get to mention:
And our viewers choice for best 2020 horror movie is...
Last but not least, we finish our list with a Swedish film whose name comes from the lyrics of
a children's nursery rhyme: Koko-di Koko-da.
The film introduces us to a couple that has
recently suffered a devastating loss. Some time after, they go camping to try to mend
their relationship. Their trip is interrupted by a sadistic group of performers that attacks them.
I know it's not much information but if I say more, I'll be spoiling certain aspects
of the movie. Like the previous film in our list, the genre is hard to pin down.
Koko-di Koko-da has psychological horror, surrealism, dark humor, violence (without
much gore) and even the semblance of a modern folktale. With a limited amount of dialogue and
mostly relying on visual storytelling, the film depicts two people who are very close,
processing grief on their own and in their own way while at the same time, affecting the
way they deal with the horrific reality they find themselves trapped in and attempting to move on.
Don't expect big scares, a showstopping moment or even to be led by the hand by the narrative.
This is the type of film that is much more than what's on the surface.
It requires patience and probably a re-watch.
And that concludes our very subjective top 10
horror movies of the year 2020. May we never utter its name.
We thank you for your ongoing support during these trying times that have been their very
own type of repetitive existential horror. We are here to offer a bit of an escape!
This year we are planning on making a film club but more on that later.
If you liked this video, please leave a like, share with a friend,
subscribe and let us know in the comments: what were your favorite horror movies of 2020?
Once again, thanks for watching and until next time.