While the film industry has been ravaged in 2020, the year has nonetheless seen many incredible releases in the horror genre. Here are the 10 best horror films of 2020.<\/b>
\n2020 was certainly one of the most bizarre and harrowing years in recent memory, with the entire world dealing with the novel COVID-19 pandemic, massive shutdowns, and all their consequences. It was a year that shook the entertainment industry to the core, threatening theaters, disrupting premiere schedules and productions, and shifting massive industry power towards streaming services in unprecedented ways. With all the postponed premieres and shifting schedules, it is still a year with many films that would stand out in any year of recent memory. Notably,2020 has seen the premieres of some truly exceptional entries in the horror genre, ones that undoubtedly will be watched for years to come. Here are the 10 best horror films of 2020.10. The Platform (dir: Galdar Gaztelu-Urritia) The Platform is a 2019 Spanish horror-thriller that saw worldwide release in 2020 on Netflix NFLX. The film takes place in an extremely large vertical tower whose center is a platform that continually falls until it rises once again to the top. The tower is a self-managed prison of sorts\u2014the platform is constantly filled with a considerable amount of food for the \u2018prisoners\u2019, two per floor. As it descends the pickings get more and more scarce, until those at the bottom suffer scraps. Residents are periodically switched to different floors, giving extraordinary luck to those at the top… and destitution to those at the bottom. It\u2019s a smartly written, well executed film with strong social messaging that you\u2019ll be thinking about for some time. An absolute must-see for fans of smart horror. The Platform is available on Netflix.9. The Mortuary Collection (dir: Ryan Spindell) Well executed horror anthologies are often some of the greatest fun you can have with a horror film. They provide a host of smaller, distinct horror films that allow a wide variance in theme, subgenre, and story\u2014you get a lot for your time, and it\u2019s a ton of fun. The Mortuary Collection is just that\u2014the frame story sees a young woman respond to a Help Wanted posting for the local Raven\u2019s End Mortuary. They proceed to tell each other stories about death, and it\u2019s a great set of stories with a solid ending. This anthology is loads of fun and a solid love letter to horror storytelling. The Mortuary Collection is available on Shudder.8. The Dark and the Wicked (dir: Bryan Bertino) Two distant siblings come home to their family farm when they\u2019re informed their father is gravely ill. Upon arrival, they discover the farm is beset by evil forces, forces that desperately want their father\u2019s soul. The Dark and the Wicked is a bleak, suspenseful supernatural horror film\u2014indeed one of the scariest supernatural horror films of all time and certainly in the running for the scariest film of the year. Its simple story escalates in some incredible directions, and Marin Ireland\u2019s performance as the daughter, Louise, is top notch. If your goal is to be scared silly, you really couldn\u2019t do better. The Dark and the Wicked is available for rent on VOD.7. Host (dir: Rob Savage) The unique challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic hit the film industry hard, shuttering many a filmmaker\u2019s plans. Not for Rob Savage, however\u2014the talented filmmaker pulled together this gem of a film about a digital seance gone wrong, with each of the actors recording separate from each other (with practical effects done in each of their respective places of recording). It\u2019s a stunning feat, well executed, and a tight story that\u2019s absolutely impressive. It\u2019s incredible, and only an hour\u2014check it out! I\u2019ll wait. *waits* Host is available on Shudder.6. Underwater (dir: William Eubank) Underwater sees Norah Price (Kristen Stewart in one of her finest performances), a mechanical engineer, in a research and drilling facility at the bottom of the Mariana Trench\u2014a facility that suffers an earthquake that shatters barriers and starts the facility flooding. Norah and the remaining crew have to make their way across the bottom of the ocean and to another facility with escape pods\u2014in their journey they discover they\u2019re far from alone at the bottom of the sea. Underwater is a non-stop tension-fest, the crisis hitting our protagonist from the film\u2019s first minutes and never relenting. It\u2019s a fast-paced, claustrophobic film that\u2019s loaded with surprises, and the ending (which I won\u2019t spoil) is one of the coolest and awe-inspiring moments in recent horror. Catch Underwater on Hulu and Amazon Prime Video, and try and see it on as big a screen as possible.5. Relic (dir: Natalie Erika James) When Kay\u2019s elderly mother Edna (who suffers from Alzheimer’s) goes missing from their remote family home, Kay and her daughter Sam return to find the family matriarch. They find the home overrun with black mold, strange phenomena, and an ever-present supernatural threat that threatens them all. Relic is a frightening, complex, and emotional tale. It uses its supernatural underpinnings to smartly handle topics like the complexities of caring for aging, unwell parents, the relationships between mothers and daughters, and the cycles of disease that plague many families. It\u2019s a great, poignant film, and absolutely a must watch. Relic is available for rent on VOD.4. Possessor Uncut (dir: Brandon Cronenberg) In an alternative version of Earth that\u2019s similar to our own (with some distinct technological differences), Tasya Vos is an assassin of high profile targets, working for an organization that embeds her mind into another\u2019s body to perform untraceable murders. She\u2019s the best, but finds herself slipping, losing herself inside the body of Colin Tate, the fianc\u00e9 of the daughter of a wealthy CEO. They struggle for control over his body (and Tasya struggles to perform the excessively complicated hit) in a tense, mind-bending thriller with some absolutely cutting edge body horror. It\u2019s a tight script with excellent performances, and easily one of the best of the year. Possessor is available for rent on VOD.3. The Invisible Man (dir: Leigh Whannell) This film starts with Cecilia Kass fleeing her sleeping partner, wealthy optics engineer Adrian Griffin. It\u2019s clear from moment one she\u2019s terrified, but she\u2019s startled by news that Adrian, apparently distraught, committed suicide (and has evidently left her a fortune). That\u2019s all fine and good until she finds herself increasingly assailed by an invisible force\u2014and she suspects that it is indeed, somehow, Adrian\u2019s doing. The film, a modern remake of the classic Universal Monsters film, modernizes many of its themes. It contains some truly clever scares, excellent pacing, and strong central performances\u2014we should all know by now Elizabeth Moss excels in horror performances, but this makes it clear. Wonderful film. See The Invisible Man on HBO Max (though I am aware of the irony in suggesting you see an Invisible Man).2. Come True (dir: Anthony Scott Burns) In Anthony Scott Burns\u2019 excellent Come True, a nightmare-plagued teenager takes part in an experimental sleep study, along with some other participants. To their surprise, they begin to uncover something eerily common in the participants\u2019 nightmares\u2014something that threatens to haunt us all. It\u2019s a stunning, ambitious sci-fi horror film, one with excellent performances, strong suspense throughout, and its haunting nightmare worlds are some of the most haunting images I\u2019ve seen all year. Its ending is one you\u2019ll have to think through, but the film revels in omitting easy answers\u2014it\u2019s an amazing film, and writing about it right now makes me want to watch it again. In the dark. Come True released on the festival circuit this year, and will see its wide release on March 12th.1. His House (dir: Remi Weekes) In His House, two Sudanese refugees flee across the ocean to England, where they discover their home, assigned by the government, is not what it seems. They find themselves terrorized by nightmarish figures, including an \u2018apeth\u2019 or \u2018night witch\u2019, whose hold over their lives stems from a grave sin in their own past. It\u2019s a harrowing, emotional film, and you feel the characters (adeptly performed by Wunmi Mosaku and Sope Dirisu) struggle from all angles\u2014against the hostility of their neighborhood, the stern dictates of the asylum authorities, their own increasing tension over past sins, and the increasingly powerful night witch. It\u2019s loaded with meaning and complexity, and for its merits as a horror film… this film is terrifying with a host of wonderfully executed scenes. Absolutely do not miss it, it\u2019s a gem. His House is available on Netflix.<\/p>\n