COVID-19, MCU & reboot fatigue, and frustration with trite writing created a vacuum in the film industry for horror filmmakers to embark on innovative journeys with their films. Horror is a marginalized genre that is largely un-reliant on big budgets and blockbuster releases, so COVID shutting down theatres didn’t hurt horror filmmakers to the degree that it did others. The horror world not only didn’t miss a beat but it has thrived.

With other films being put on ice, horror films responded to the vacancy with fresh and unique stories that are pushing the genre into uncharted directions. In the last 5 years, and especially during the last 2 during COVID, we are seeing horror films unlike any that we have ever seen before.

Horror writers addressed frustrations of the movie industry by writing new stories and taking challenging chances. Gone are the days of trite and stereotypical horror films. The 2020s is watching a diverse group of filmmakers rolling the dice on themselves by telling fresh, creative, and innovative horror stories that are unique to the genre.

The first great horror film I saw in the 2020s was The Invisible Man starring Elizabeth Moss. The Invisible Man is a paranoid sci-fi/thriller in which Moss plays an emotionally abused woman who escapes from her abuser and is living off the grid. This is a great film with an excellent story that shows a woman’s psychological deterioration as she begins to doubt her sanity. The real horror of the story is the extent in which a man will go to control and mentally torture a woman.

Right after that is Netflix’s #Alive, also in 2020. Zombie films are a tough sub-genre to get creative with. I don’t want to say that we have seen it all, but the slimmings are thin. Anyone who loves zombie movies but feels like they have seen everything that they have to offer should give #Alive a watch. It’s a unique take on zombie films that gives a different perspective and protagonist during the zombie apocalypse. Also, on Netflix is Vampires vs. The Bronx, a highly diverse vampire comedy about kids attempting to protect their neighborhood from both gentrification and bloodsuckers. It’s a cool film to watch with young kids who want a gentle introduction to horror.

I stumbled upon Butchers on Tubi and I’m glad that I did. It’s a diamond in the rough. It’s set in the mid-90s and tells the story of a group of college-aged young adults who are kidnapped by said butchers after they break down in the middle of nowhere. I thought it was a nice survival story with charm. It has a midnight movie feel that I enjoyed.

Moving into 2021, we get Spiral: From the Book of Saw starring Chris Rock and Samuel L. Jackson. I thought that this was a really good take on the Saw franchise, giving it a needed breath of fresh air. This is a good example of horror films taking chances and moving in new directions because this is a very different film from the rest of the franchise. It’s more detective story than the torture porn that we’re accustomed to from the Saw franchise. The gore was dialed back in favor of a cop mystery and I think that was a good decision, making it a solid film that stands out from rest of its franchise.

In the summer of 2021 we got the excellent Fear Street trilogy. The trilogy jumpstarted teen horror, which in my opinion has lulled. Also that summer was The Forever Purge, which is probably best described as a dark action. It’s an exciting film to see in theatres. There are some racial subtexts in the film which proved highly relevant at the tail end of Trump’s presidency.

The Fall of 2021 gave us the off-the-wall Malignant by James Wan which is a highly eccentric film. The third act is completely chaotic in the best way possible. It also gave us one of the best twists so far of the 2020s.

The highs in Halloween Kills are superior to the highs in Halloween 2018. That might be a controversial take but the kills are some of the best, if not the best of the franchise, which has to carry a lot of weight. Michael murdered in extraordinarily creative ways that surpassed even the ingenuity of Zombie’s rendition. I’m enamored with the recreation of the 1978 original in Halloween. The grainy 70s film style was a nice touch that made it authentic. The one downside of the film is the ending. It’s consistent with Michael’s mythos but they’ve confirmed Michael as a superpowered being who is clearly beyond a man. I’m not sure how Ends will kill Michael off but how they do will determine how we view this trilogy. Either way, Halloween Kills is one of my favorite sequels of all-time.

Also, in the Fall of 21’ is V/H/S:94 which admittedly I’m not super high on but a lot of other horror heads enjoyed it. 94 was pretty ho-hum for me but the V/H/S franchise is rock solid and it’s good to see a modern franchise developing longevity into another decade.

Two of the best films of not only the 2020s but maybe in the decade are both Asian films. The Medium is Thai-South Korean and The Sadness is Taiwanese, respectively. Asian films, not just horror ones, are killing the game right now. Asian films are a strong example of diversity in filmmaking being an asset. The Medium is an extraordinarily dark and bleak film about an esoteric religion in the backlands of Thailand. The film is a mockumentary following a woman who is a shaman who believes that a goddess possesses the women of their families. The film follows the mental and physical deterioration of a young woman, the shaman’s niece, as she becomes possessed. A film crew follows her transformation documenting the increasingly disturbing possession

The Sadness is one of the most violent, depraved, and gory horror films that I’ve ever seen. The Sadness soars above its extreme peers because it doesn’t sacrifice plot and story in favor of extremity. Other films like Hostel aren’t particularly good; existing solely to gross out. The Sadness not only grosses you out, but it will unsettle the fuck out of you. This film is highly disturbing but it isn’t done crassly like other hyper-violent grossout films.

Moving into 2022, we got the fifth addition to the Scream franchise after over a decade. Scream 5 is a very solid film and cements the franchise as the second best of all-time. Immediately after is the eccentric X by Ti West. X is an excellent example of horror films moving into uncharted directions. We have a villain unlike any that I can ever recall seeing. Ti West made a great decision to have characters in roles that break stereotypes and not reducing them to stock characters as has been historically seen in the genre.

Further in 2022 we got The Black Phone. Ethan Hawke gives an excellent performance as a horror villain. This isn’t Hawke’s first foray into horror as he was in the stellar Sinister. The Black Phone is an adaptation of Joe Hill’s short story. The big screen portrayal is a supernatural survival thriller that features some strong performances by its child actors.

One of my personal biggest surprises of 2022 is Bodies Bodies Bodies. Admittedly, it’s more whodunit than horror, but there are enough elements of horror to be considered as such. It’s a black comedy that’s also a satire of the TikTok generation, social justice warriors, feminist rhetoric, and neo-liberals. It’s not scathing criticism, but rather I took it as poking fun by showing some of the absurdity of some of the talking points made online when used in real life. I thought it was done intelligently and made for one of my favorite films, regardless of genre, of 2022.

Next is Pearl, the sequel to X. Pearl is unique because it was greenlit and released in the same year that its predecessor debuted. It’s an origin story of the main villain from the aforementioned X. Pearl shows the villainous regression of a disturbed woman as her psychopathy overtakes her.

People have asked for a new villain and Terrifier 2 answered resoundingly. Art the Clown is next up as the next great horror villain. Terrifier 2 is actually Art’s third go in a feature-length film but it’s going to be the one that establishes him as a horror icon. It’s been a while since we have seen a great mainstream slasher but Art the Clown and Terrifier 2 make it worth the wait. Art the Clown is as terrifying as he is brutal. I don’t think that I’ve seen a villain as violent and depraved as Art the Clown. If you like gore, brutality, and a chilling and mysterious character, go see Terrifier 2 expeditiously.

The horror world has graduated from “elevated horror” into a new era of eccentric oddball shit. Horror has gotten back to its raw roots of being fun, innovative, and weird. I personally am not a fan of Elevated Horror but I recognize that it does have a useful place. However, I’m very partial to this new era. Horror should be unrestrained. I get the sense that filmmakers have longer leashes and suddenly have the autonomy to bring their zaniest ideas to fruition. Horror films, like any other creative property are at their best when they aren’t formulaic and their creators have the license to get outlandish, and that’s exactly what we are seeing today. Horror filmmakers wildest ideas are coming to screen and the genre is better for it.

I’m writing this in early October 2022, and as things stand, this is a very strong year for horror films. 2022 continues the momentum that the genre has made over the past half decade and gives evidence that the genre is moving into even more beautiful places.