As a horror movie enthusiast (who admittedly still gets spooked out a lot), I begin my horror binge leading up to Halloween. This past year has been hot for the genre, with big movies like It, The Quiet Place, and Hereditary receiving acclaim; meaning horror may be making a triumphant comeback.
Here are some movies that you may or may not know from recent years.
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The Ritual
This Netflix original tells the story of four friends who reunite for a hike through the Swedish mountains after the tragic loss of their friend. Their adventure takes a dark turn as the group ends up trekking through a mysterious forest belonging to an evil entity. They stumble upon strange things, like a disemboweled deer… impaled on a tree branch…10 feet off the ground…
The Ritual is more than a horror movie; it is a reminder that we all have our demons as it delves into the traumas and fears of the four friends.
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Don’t Breathe
A group of juvenile delinquents devise a plan to rob a solitary and blind war vet’s house to steal $300,000 of cash. Despite his old looks, the blind (and buff) man still has the agility and power from his active days on the field, and proves to be a danger to the thieves instead. Oh, there’s also a secret basement where he hides… something.
Fun fact: John Krasinski watched this movie as a part of research for A Quiet Place
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The Invitation
Ever been to an awkward dinner party with old friends? I bet it wasn’t as weird as this one.
What starts off as a pleasant reunion of friends at a home in the Hollywood Hills becomes creepy as the hosts start talking about their new age spiritual group, The Invitation, that aims to help its members dispel any pain they are feeling. The protagonist, who was previously married to the host, begins to believe that the dinner party is a sinister plot involving the cult-like spiritual group.
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Raw
A lifelong vegetarian girl begins to crave meat as she begins her first year in veterinary school where her sister also attends. She gets sucked into the debauched lifestyle of students and, desperate to fit in, forces herself to eat raw rabbit kidneys during hazing week. This seemingly harmless action in fact has dire consequences, as her true identity can no longer be contained within her.
This movie is not for the faint of heart due to the gruesome imagery and graphic nature of the story.
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Annihilation
Would you be willing to risk your life and enter a quarantined area that only one person has ever walked out of alive?
This movie adaptation of the novel of the same name is not exactly an adaptation as it is a metamorphosis.
A group of five female scientists of different specializations are recruited to enter Area X, coast that was hit and contaminated by a meteor, to try to collect data and come back. Upon entering the quarantined area, they find that all living things, including plants, have hybridized; combining two or more of the same species into one. However, fear and paranoia consume the women as they encounter stranger and scarier obstacles in their quest.
A story of self-destruction and depression, Annihilation is a beautifully told horror story with plenty of body horror and creepy things to satisfy you.