Because of COVID some big-name horror movies like Jordan Peele's Candyman, Guillermo del Toro's Antlers, A Quiet Place Part II, and Halloween Kills were delayed until 2021.
However, there were still a number of highly crafted low-budget horror treats to fill out the year.
This is my clear favorite of 2020.
It starred the always-great Elizabeth Moss and she didn't disappoint. Directed and produced with the same Blumhouse flare that has permeated good horror movies this decade it's a rollicking thriller featuring one of the original Universal monsters from the '30s.
Host, is the first movie that was filmed entirely on Zoom because of the pandemic and it's available on AMC's Shudder horror streaming service. At a short runtime of 56 minutes, after the initial set-up, the movie turns surprisingly scary. And that's the point -- it was scary.
You won't see this film on many of the best horror movie lists of 2020, but for some reason, whether it was the self quarantining, or my nerve damage flare-up, or Russell Crowe's version of a man that completely goes bonkers that reeled me in, but I liked it more than most reviewers.
There were a few films titled the same so make sure you watch the John Hyams version. A recently widowed woman driving with a U-Haul to Oregon gets kidnapped by a cold-blooded killer and tries to escape him. It's fast-paced and well-acted.
It became famous when Trump freaked out about it because the term "deplorables" was used and conservatives whined like babies, even though he never saw it. Because of the faux outrage it got pushed back until 2020.
It's a horror-comedy at its best with great turns by Betty Gilpin and Hilary Swank.
It's a kind of buddy story between two female friends struggling to make ends meet in the city when one finds some old photos and thinks she might be inheriting a spooky-looking property, unaware of the danger the village, a curse, or the creepy house might possess.
It's another excellent horror film made by Indonesia's Joko Anwar, the director who also gave us the very scary Satan's Slaves film in 2017.
Both are streaming on Shudder.
A few creature features I recommend:
I'm always looking for a good creature feature and this one from Russia really surprised me. The effects were good as well as the acting and it takes place during the paranoia of the Cold War from the Soviet perspective in the 1980s
It wasn't top shelf but highly watchable.
From the link:
Kristen Stewart and a few co-workers find themselves trapped in a facility deep (you guessed it) underwater, and must work together to escape before the whole place blows up. Also, there are sea monsters.
Another Korean goodie that's loads of fun.
From the link above.
"Is that monster really there? Or is it all just a figment of mass hysteria planted by a conniving prime minister? The sleuthing sets up a clever-enough through-line and the deception creates space for plenty of gory action sequences."
Mentions:
Relic -- The Lodge -- Gretel & Hansel and Amulet were all well done movies that are thick on atmosphere and dread, but low on real thrills.
