The 21 Best Horror Movies of 2021
Here’s the thing: I know that every other publication put its best-of list out weeks ago, so if you’re listicled out, I get it. But after spending a couple of weeks crossing off movies that had flown under my radar on their original release, I felt compelled to release this anyway—because maybe it will help you find a few hidden horror gems that you’d initially missed, too.
With that in mind, here’s my spoiler-free list of some of the very best horror movies that 2021 had to offer. If you’re looking for something good to watch this week, you’ll most certainly find it here.
21. Malignant
What can I say about Malignant except that I haven’t experienced the high of watching an entire theater freak out at a twist like that in years, and that made it impossible for me to keep it off this list. Where the rug-pull moment in Old managed little more than a weary collective groan from the audience I saw it with, the batshit reveal of why Madison Lake is having visions of murder sent popcorn flying. Here’s hoping Malignant marks James Wan’s long-term return to directing horror, because few filmmakers are able to leave me grinning the way he consistently does.
20. Last Night in Soho
Like Wan, Edgar Wright was someone many horror fans couldn’t wait to see dipping their toes into the genre again. A stylistic and tonal departure from the director’s earlier work and his first movie to center on a female protagonist, the neon-drenched Last Night in Soho lacks the solid pacing of Shaun of the Dead but beguiles with gauzy visuals and intriguing characters. The script stumbles in the third act and muddies its message, but the gorgeous production design will lure you downtown again for another watch.
19. The Fear Street Trilogy
Maybe it’s cheating to put three movies in one slot on the list, but who’s going to stop me? Netflix’s back-to-back release schedule made Leigh Janiak’s Fear Street trilogy an event, something many of us were craving well over a year into a pandemic that had made the days start blurring together. And while, for my money at least, 1978 and 1666 couldn’t quite live up to the style and surprising brutality of 1994, the trilogy as a whole is a fun watch that’s deliciously queer.
18. The Power
Bad things happen in the dark in writer-director Corinna Faith’s The Power, a movie that will make you wonder why more horror filmmakers haven’t exploited Britain's 1973 blackouts for all their terrifying potential. Against this fresh backdrop, The Power does dip into a familiar box of tricks to frighten—yet its claustrophobic setting and a strong central performance from Rose Williams still make it a standout.
17. The Vigil
Delving into largely untapped horror territory with its exploration of Jewish folklore and mourning rituals, writer-director Keith Thomas’s The Ritual is masterful in creating an ominous atmosphere. The film is most effective when it's at its smallest, milking minuscule twitches of a dead body and shadowy shapes to spine-chilling effect.
16. Antlers
One of the long-delayed casualties of the pandemic, the Guillermo del Toro-produced Antlers was worth the wait. Director Scott Cooper’s film dabbles with themes of addiction, trauma, and grief, and though the character development could have been meatier, the thing we’re all here for in a creature feature—the creature itself—does not disappoint.
15. The Feast
A lavish dinner party in the Welsh countryside descends into a blood-drenched nightmare in director Lee Haven Jones’ The Feast. Annes Elwy’s unpredictable, near-mute performance injects bursts of nervous energy into this patient ecological horror film that tackles the destructiveness of greed with a beautiful, brutal touch.
14. Caveat
While you’ll likely find yourself screaming at the protagonist not to strap himself into the plot device that sets Caveat’s eerie plot in motion, writer-director Damian Mc Carthy’s debut feature is laced with enough dread to make you choke. Taking all the best bits from a haunted house chiller and mixing in engrossing character dynamics and one very creepy prop, Caveat’s measured slow burn builds to a downright disturbing climax.
13. Gaia
2021 was a good year for eco-horror, and among the crop that it produced, South African horror movie Gaia undoubtedly had the most beautiful visuals. Oozing with spores, fungus, and moss, director Jaco Bouwer’s film is a hypnotic slow burn that succeeds in making us feel like the walls are closing in as the vast, unfathomable power of nature starts reclaiming the space that humanity once stole from it.
12. In the Earth
Inching ahead of the other eco-horror on this list perhaps only because of the special place it holds in my heart for being the first film I was able to see in theaters in over a year, Ben Wheatley’s pandemic-shot In the Earth stuns with sensory overload. Loaded with grisly foot trauma and cryptic folk horror, and with a superb synth score by Clint Mansell, this movie will push you back in your seat and make you pay attention, even if you don’t always understand what the hell it’s trying to say.
11. Werewolves Within
Video game adaptations don’t have a great reputation (and for good reason), but Josh Ruben’s Werewolves Within is so skillfully crafted that it’ll almost make you want to wipe the slate clean. Plenty of goofy fun is to be had with this playful whodunnit that thrives on the natural charisma of its key players, especially Sam Richardson and Milana Vayntrub.
10. Candyman
“Should we say it?” one moviegoer asked in front of the restroom mirror after the screening of Candyman that I attended, sending a ripple of nervous laughter through the room. No one took her up on the offer. Nia DaCosta’s thoughtful take on the Candyman lore succeeds in bringing the character into the modern day with urgency and a deft hand, while the artful use of mirrors and striking colors creates a sumptuous feast for the eye. Just don’t watch it five times in a row.
9. The Night House
A painful vision of grief and loss, director David Bruckner’s The Night House seems like it’s going to be one thing before becoming an entirely different beast altogether. It may go a step too far in explaining itself during the conclusion, but that’s not what you’ll remember about The Night House: you’ll remember the nerve-shredding scares in the middle that may have left your seat a little damp.
8. Come True
Infused with twilight blues and sleepy purples, Anthony Scott Burns’ Come True lulls viewers into a trancelike state before confronting us with nightmarish imagery. The score from Electric Youth and Pilotpriest (Burns’ alter ego) is hauntingly lovely, and Julia Sarah Stone channels such exhausted desperation and vulnerability as protagonist Sarah that it’s impossible not to feel for her.
7. The Medium
Director Banjong Pisanthanakun’s The Medium doesn’t reinvent the wheel when it comes to possession stories, but its subtle early scares and full-throttle final act more than make up for a few overdone moments in the middle. Set in Thailand, the film’s exploration of local belief systems and shamanistic practices is fascinating, and the final lines of dialogue land like a punch to the gut.
6. Sator
Proof that less is often more, writer-director Jordan Graham’s Sator is a small movie that makes a big impression. The fact that, short of acting, this is practically a one-man production makes the film all the more impressive, while Graham’s use of his real-life grandmother (the late June Peterson) and her all-too-real ramblings about a being called Sator adds several extra layers of unsettling to the proceedings. Even without knowing either of those facts going in, this slow-burn occult creeper will get your skin crawling good and early and never relent.
5. My Heart Can’t Beat Unless You Tell It To
Two siblings do the unthinkable for their brother in writer-director Jonathan Cuartas’ debut feature My Heart Can’t Beat Unless You Tell It To, which treats vampirism like an incurable disease. The vampire in question, confined to the house, displays childish naïveté despite being played by a grown man, adding an extra dash of heartbreak to the film’s unanswered questions about how long this has been going on for. Quiet and bleak, this one will sit with you long after it’s done.
4. Psycho Goreman
There are a lot of artsy, slow-burn films on this list. Psycho Goreman is not one of them. Writer-director Steven Kostanski delivers balls-to-the-wall insanity in this hilarious, gore-filled, practical effects-driven horror-comedy that features one of the most evil child characters ever put to screen.
3. The Boy Behind the Door
Considering that its protagonists are young children, The Boy Behind the Door goes hard. It goes really hard. It digs around in wounds (at times literally) that I never expected it to touch. David Charbonier and Justin Powell, who co-wrote and directed the flick, ratchet up the tension to unbearable levels, all while ensuring that Lonnie Chavis’ character Bobby acts like a real kid might in this unthinkable scenario.
2. Titane
It takes real talent to start your movie with a woman doing something, shall we say, unusual involving a car and have your audience all but forget about it by the midway point, but Julia Ducournau manages it in her body horror-heavy sophomore feature. The powerful human story between two incredibly flawed people somehow eclipses all the bizarre sex and violence in Titane, making the ending that the film has inevitably been building toward somehow surprising.
1. Censor
When I asked myself what movie I talked and thought about the most in 2021, the answer was undoubtedly Censor. Set during the height of Britain’s moral panic over “Video Nasties,” director Prano Bailey-Bond’s feature debut follows one woman’s descent into madness in style, mesmerizing with a bold blue-and-red color palette and a stellar performance from Niamh Algar. An appearance from the always-enjoyable Michael Smiley also helps bump this one into the number one spot.
That’s a wrap on 2021, and I for one can’t wait to see what (fictional) horrors 2022 has in store for us (fewer real-life horrors though, please). Tag @terrorintartan on Twitter to let me know what I missed, what your 2021 list looks like, or what you think about any films this list prompts you to watch.
