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Amidst the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, most people were homebound. Streaming platforms leaned into this fact and acquired as many film options as possible for their customers. But given the breadth of content that emerged and the general societal disruption that occurred then, it was easy to miss out on lesser-known horror films that debuted during this destructive time. While the world mourned and attempted to heal itself, familiar favorites like The Office or the nostalgia-fueled Friends: The Reunion became streaming platforms’ highest viewed titles. Yet, quietly, horror was taking some bold and exciting risks.
While some of these titles might not be unknown for those horror fans who have always taken to the genre for cathartic release during troubled times, there’s likely a couple that got stuck on fans’ watch-lists that deserve a viewing as soon as possible. Here are the eight best horror feature films of 2020 and where to stream them.
Scare Me
Directed by Josh Ruben (Werewolves Within), Scare Me stars The Boys‘ Aya Cash as the successful horror writer, Fanny, and Josh Ruben as the listless, trying to be a screenwriter Fred. The pair are both taking some time in a secluded cabin to write — well, at least Fanny. Fred is mostly drinking and lamenting the words that can’t seem to find their way onto the page. Amidst a surprise blackout in their area due to a storm, Fanny ends up joining Fred in his cabin for some pizza, beer and a campfire-style storytelling competition. But what really unfolds is a master class in the misogyny that women creators face and how horrific that truth is. The scariest part about this film is how relatable and realistic its violent ending feels.
Scare Me is currently available to stream on Shudder.
Relic
Directed and co-written by Natalie Erika James, Relic is perhaps the most beautiful film about dementia ever made. While an aging parent that crosses over into the deranged is certainly not new territory for horror, the detailed care that this film takes to show the brutal and crippling passing of time on elders is. Like real life, once dementia manifests in this family, it takes on a life of its own that quite literally infects the house. As Kay (Emily Mortimer) tries to make her peace with her mother’s (Robyn Nevin) illness, she can’t help but see how her resulting trauma passes down to her daughter, Sam (Bella Heathcote).
Relic is currently streaming on Showtime and is available to rent on Amazon Prime.
Impetigore
Directed by Indonesian horror legend Joko Anwar, Impetigore is a brutal tale about facing the secrets of our lineage. The film follows Maya (Tara Basro) as she returns home to her village and believes she’s owed an inheritance. Accompanied by her friend Dini (Marissa Anita), the pair find that Maya might be owed a huge, sprawling home. But, like all ancient homes, it too holds several secrets about her birthright, the village’s view of her bloodline, and places her in the middle of a decades-spanning curse that only she can solve — if the town lets her survive.
Impetigore is currently streaming on Shudder.
La Llorona
Not to be confused with The Curse of La Llorona, this film, directed by Jayro Bustamante is one that holds no punches. Centered around the trial of a Guatemalan war criminal, aka the General, La Llorona explores the haunting power of the country’s oppressed and enslaved women. Alma (María Mercedes Coroy) is one such woman who was raped and murdered during a genocide that the General helped orchestrate. After the General is found not guilty, Alma’s memory refuses to stay buried and his family is left to deal with the consequences.
La Llorona is available to stream on Shudder, AMC+ and to rent on Amazon Prime.
His House
Directed and written by Remi Weekes, His House is a moving film about a war-torn, refugee couple from South Sudan seeking asylum in England. While the couple finds a house, things get more than slightly complicated when the house appears to be haunted with not just a spirit, but with a spirit that knows exactly what they had to do to escape their homeland. Since, technically, the pair has to stay in their home to gain entry, officially, into England’s safe-haven laws, Rial (Wunmi Mosaku) and Bol (Sope Dirisu) are forced to contend with The Witch (Cornell John) that emerges from their walls each night, threatening to steal their souls.
His House is currently streaming on Netflix.
12 Hour Shift
Written and directed by Brea Grant, 12 Hour Shift explores what happens when Mandy (Angela Bettis), a narcotics-addicted nurse, under-the-table trades organs on the black market. What ensues is an extremely bloody and hilarious comedy of errors. Bettis is at her best in this film that somehow manages to strike resonant chords of class struggle with a Pulp Fiction-like vibe. It’s a film that’s also better seen without knowing too much so that viewers can truly embrace just how wild each new beloved caricature is when they inevitably appear.
12 Hour Shift is currently streaming on Hulu.
#Alive
Directed and based on a screenplay by Il Cho, #Alive likely could not have debuted at a better time. In essence, the film is set around 30-something Oh Joon-woo (Yoo Ah-in), who is stranded in his apartment during a zombie apocalypse. As the world around him collapses and its bloodcurdling zombies continue to emerge, Oh has to wonder if it’s better to wait for the chaos to find him, or smarter to try to escape, even if it means facing that the world he once knew will never be the same. Cho’s movie couldn’t be more timely given today’s global climate, but it also manages to deliver plenty of scares and even surprising amounts of humor to something that relies so heavily on existential woe.
#Alive is currently streaming on Netflix.
Saint Maud
Technically, Saint Maud was meant to come out in 2019, but, due to the pandemic, it was released on VOD and on the streaming platform EPIX in 2020. Directed and written by Rose Glass, Saint Maud is a chilling tale that will likely linger in viewers’ minds for many nights to come. What starts as a film about nurse Maud (Morfydd Clark) looking after a dying, older artist named Amanda (Jennifer Ehle), ends up being an introspective take on the dangers of unquestioned religious beliefs and, arguably, repressed homosexuality. Although viewers might begin rooting for a romance between Maud and Amanda, the film’s last few moments will end in such a harrowing place that’ll likely haunt their dreams for some time.
Saint Maud is available to stream on Epix and to rent through Amazon Prime.
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