More often than not there are several horror films in contention for the best of any given year. It’s rare when one stands far above all others. For instance, once might think The Texas Chain Saw Massacre would be a shoo-in for 1974, but it was also the year of Black Christmas. 1978 had both Halloween and Dawn of the Dead, 1984 had both A Nightmare on Elm Street and Gremlins. It’s rare that we get a 1992, when Candyman was by far the number one, or a 2003, when Final Destination 2 didn’t have much in the way of competition. But what about the 2020s? Have those years been competitive? We’ll go through all six of them below.
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We are not going by when the film was widely released in the United States. Instead, we are going by when the film first debuted. For instance, if a film debuted at a festival in one year and then wasn’t widely released until the next year, we’re counting that festival debut as the start of the film’s existence.
6) A Quiet Place Part II (2020)
One of the few horror sequels to outdo their already impressive predecessor, A Quiet Place Part II wisely devotes most of its focus to Emily Blunt’s Evelyn Abbott as she tries to keep her children alive in a world overrun by super-fast, toothed aliens with dynamite ears but zero eyesight.
Blunt is, of course, fantastic, husband John Krasinski’s direction is once more very impressive, and the whole island set piece is a chef’s kiss of claustrophobic carnage. Toss in two amazing cast additions in Cillian Murphy and Djimon Hounsou and A Quiet Place Part II is one of the 2020s more enthralling horror films. It was also the first film to really get butts back in seats when it debuted wide in 2021, so it’s also a pretty important horror film, too. Runners-up included Possessor and The Invisible Man.
Stream A Quiet Place Part II on Hulu.
5) The Black Phone (2021)
Remember how in the intro we said we were counting a movie’s festival debut as the beginning of its existence? That is why The Black Phone is here in the 2021 slot. And good for it, too, because it wouldn’t win the 2022 slot. It’s very solid and was a big success (big enough to get itself a sequel), but 2022 was particularly crowded with horror.
The Black Phone shows Scott Derrickson doing a great job bringing Joe Hill’s words and style to the big screen, but it’s really Ethan Hawke’s movie all the way. The actor makes the Grabber terrifying, and it’s because of him and the single creepy locale of a dusty basement that makes this one stick in the viewer’s memory. At the top of the runners-up pile was Nia DaCosta’s Candyman.
Stream The Black Phone on Peacock.
4) X (2022)
It’s going to be hard for 2026 to 2029 to top 2022 as the best year of the decade for horror. Bodies Bodies Bodies, Nope, Radio Silence’s Scream, Smile, Talk to Me, the underrated comedy-horror movie Day Shift, Fresh, M3GAN, Prey, Barbarian, they were all released under the same annual umbrella. And, while Barbarian gave it a run for its money, this really has to go to Ti West for X (and Pearl).
X alone is a fantastic throwback to the best slashers of the ’70s and ’80s, with a cast that is all up to the challenge of crafting fully fleshed characters in a subgenre that doesn’t usually allow for such things. They succeed, as does West in creating haunting ambiance and a handful of shocking kills. Toss in how Pearl is equally good but very much different (and an even better display of Mia Goth’s range) and these two make for the first and middle chapters of one of horror’s very best trilogies.
Stream X on HBO Max.
3) Late Night with the Devil (2023)
Whether we counted Late Night with the Devil‘s SXSW debut in 2023 or its wide release debut in 2024, it would win the year. This was finally the movie that gave David Dastmalchian a lead role, and it couldn’t have been more suited to his gothic personality and style. It’s very much like how Crispin Glover, after years and years of playing supporting roles, got the perfect lead role as the title character of Willard. But Late Night with the Devil is even more clever and adept at slowly turning up the temperature of tension until it reaches a boiling point.
Having most of the events confined to a single stage makes the whole narrative feel about as intimate and claustrophobic as it could be. The audience (us included) can easily escape but we’re keeping ourselves there as witnesses, to learn if a little girl truly is possessed or if it’s all one big show. While Late Night with the Devil easily won 2023, it wasn’t for a lack of competition. Beau Is Afraid was divisive but impressive, Evil Dead Rise was a successful injection of new life into the Deadite saga, and the comedic horror movies Cocaine Bear, Renfield, and Thanksgiving all have their fans, and rightfully so. This was also the year of the ambitious but ultimately underwhelming Scream VI and the surprisingly solid Saw X.
Stream Late Night with the Devil on Hulu.
2) Abigail (2024)
After Radio Silence brought Ghostface back they put a fresh, very fun spin on the age-old vampire tale with Abigail. Like the next entry, Abigail took the age-old vampire film and made it feel somewhat new. It’s more pure entertainment than it is blood-curdlingly terrifying, but plenty of the great horror films walk a tightrope between that and another genre. Radio Silence’s direction is airtight and the performances by the cast, especially Melissa Barrera and Alisha Weir (as the title character) are all on-point, resulting in a final product that is somewhat light in tone even when absolutely covered in blood.
Having all of the characters choose to be in the house that will serve as their tomb was also an ingenious one. They’re there to kidnap a little girl and hold her for ransom, waiting on her rich but mysterious father to pay up. For the most part, they’re not great people (though the movie goes out of its way to show that some of them aren’t there purely out of greed), and it’s always great thematically when a character effectively opts in to their undesirable fate. Abigail had some competition in 2024, with MaXXXine serving as a fine conclusion to the X trilogy (though not as solid as the other two entries), Alien: Romulus doing a great job of bringing the Xenomorph back, and Longlegs proving to be a critical and commercial success.
Stream Abigail on Peacock.
1) Sinners (2025)
A masterful genre-blender from Ryan Coogler, Sinners isn’t just the best horror film of the year, it’s the best action movie of the year and the biggest box office success of the year. Coogler and Michael B. Jordan’s chemistry continues to shine brightly, Hailee Steinfeld is wonderful in something of a tragic role (And she has one of the best line deliveries of the year), and the supporting cast is uniformly excellent.
Just as it is now, Final Destination Bloodlines will continue to be seen as one of the franchise’s strongest installments, Together is a compelling and unique work, and Weapons could have taken the top spot as well, but in the end, one must give it to Sinners. Coogler managed to take the worn-out vampire subgenre and deliver a genre-blender that feels unique, fun, and creepy in equal measure.
Stream Sinners on HBO Max.
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