It is no secret that horror movies get a bad reputation in the film world. This outdated bias most likely stems from the cheesy horror films that seem to hit all the major theaters in the country right around Halloween that all follow basically the same plot and all feature the same, incredibly oblivious characters. You don’t see horror movies winning Oscars or Golden globes, but lately this genre seems to be popping up more and more at film festivals around the country. And, even though most people in the film world would say they do love a good cult classic, they still insist that the horror movies from the 70s and 80s were made so much better than the ones being advertised today. But, here are five modern day horror films that those picky film gurus might be overlooking.
5. You’re Next (2013)
Director: Adam Wingard
Starring: Sharni Vinson, Joe Swanberg, Simon Barrett, A.J. Bowen, Barbara Crampton
This indie horror film takes the ‘home invasion’ category to a whole new level. A family reunion goes horribly wrong and one by one each character finds themselves in a premeditated attack by an animal masked group of killers. It all seems like it’s going in a downward spiral of exaggerated gore when Erin, played by Sharni Vinson, decides she’s had enough and Wingard gives us our strong female hero that every horror movie has been lacking. This is what makes You’re Next stand out among the hundreds of other home invasion thrillers. Also, the fact that he subtly adds a comedic balance, but still keeps the scary element, shows the modern horror buff how unique this film really is.
4. It Comes at Night (2017)
Director: Trey Edward Shults
Starring: Joel Edgerton, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Christopher Abbott, Carmen Ejogo, Riley Keough
This horror film is a bit more abstract than the other ones on the list, but it’s an A24 movie, so it’s expected to be more on the artistic side. This being said, that doesn’t necessarily mean it is any less scary, and, if anything, that abstract quality makes it one of the most suspenseful horror films of the past decade. The whole duration of the movie you’re basically wondering what on earth is going on, and Shults does not really make it perfectly clear. The film starts off by showing the grandpa die of some sickness that makes him look like he came straight out of The Walking Dead. The characters act as though there is an epidemic going on because they are taking precautions by securing the house, wearing gas masks, etc. But, none of the characters give us any hint as to if that’s the case or not. The audience only follows this one family and a few guests who live out in the middle of nowhere, so we don’t really get any other viewpoints. Keeping the audience totally in the dark as to what is really going on in the film is a completely different concept than we see in other films of this genre, which is really the reason it’s so genius.
3. It Follows (2015)
Director: David Robert Mitchell
Starring: Maika Monroe, Keir Gilchrist, Daniel Zovatto, Lili Sepe, Olivia Luccardi
This film definitely has one of the most original plot lines I’ve seen in the world of horror. It does get a bit weird, but just bear with me. We start off the film following a teenage girl who sleeps with a guy in his car one night. But all goes haywire very quickly and said guy drugs her, kidnaps her, and ties her to a chair. She wakes up and the guy explains to her that she has now contracted this sexually transmitted demon who will follow her until she sleeps with someone else and passes it along to them. I told you it was weird. But, what seems like a comedic twist is actually not. Mitchell uses this demon to give us more suspense and terror in a film than we ever thought could be possible given the circumstances. The demon that follows them could be anyone they know or don’t know and it changes persona just about every time we see it. It travels by walking and looks human, so it seems very innocent. We can’t trust this feeling, however, because we don’t exactly know what could happen if the demon does end up catching one of it’s victims.
2. Cabin in the Woods (2012)
Director: Drew Goddard
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Kristen Connolly, Anna Hutchison, Jesse Williams, Fran Kranz
The title Goddard gives this film is definitely a deceiving one. Is there a cabin in the woods? Yes, but there is also so much more to this movie than a creepy cabin in the middle of nowhere. But, Goddard does this sn purpose because he wants his audience to think this is going to be just another classic jump scare horror flick and have them be surprised at the fact that it is everything but. The film starts off with a group of twenty something’s who rent a creepy old cabin in the middle of nowhere. On the way, there’s shots of the creepy woods and ominous music playing. When they stop for gas, a scary looking old dude warns them not to go any further. How much more cliche could it get at this point? But, (spoiler) things escalate very quickly and it turns out they are all part of some crazy game that is being controlled by people behind a screen somewhere watching them. The whole point of this game is that only one of them gets to live and the way the characters interact with different things in the cabin scene determines their fate. I won’t tell you any more, but just trust me when I say that there is so much more to the story that makes this film totally worth the watch. And who doesn’t love a good Chris Hemsworth movie, am I right?
1. Get Out (2017)
Director: Jordan Peele
Starring: Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Bradley Whitford, Catherine Keener, Caleb Landry Jones
This one was probably the most talked about horror film of the year. The timing of it could not have been better, too, which is probably what made it so popular. Racial oppression is no doubt a prominent issue in our country and Peele addresses it in an incredibly unique way. He turns this film into a protest of his own and he does a very good job getting his message across. In short, the film is about an interracial couple who is going to meet the family for the first time. The parents of the girlfriend seem to be really going out of their way to be accepting of his race, but the boyfriend and the audience seem very skeptical, because her family, and the other houses in the neighborhood, keep two “helpers” that take care of chores around the house….who are also black. So, something seems very fishy and the underlying meaning becomes very obvious to the audience. This film takes horror movies, and any genre of film, to a whole new level. The idea that a director can use film to send a political message is a whole new level on its own. The world of film is breaking down barriers one at a time, and Get Out is just another step towards progress.