We watch a lot of horror. And the last few years have really raised the bar on the formulaic features of yesteryear. Not to mention the fact that 2015 has a ton of fun screams yet to come: Look forward to The Witch, Final Girls, and Crimson Peak. So we put together a list of our favorites new horror movies.
We have personally seen and screamed at all of these—so you can bet they’re legit. Dim the lights and let the fun begin.
Goodnight Mommy
It’s in theaters now, and if you haven’t seen it, hunt it down (you may even be able to find it on demand). Critics are calling this Austrian slow-burner about twin boys convinced an imposter has replaced their mother “pure nightmare fuel,” but we just call it the movie that gave us mommy issues.
Babadook
And yet another terrifying peek into motherhood, this Aussie-Canadian fairy tale explores the dichotomy of a mother’s love and a mother’s hate. About a kid, his monster, and his grieving mum who’s tired of his angst, Jennifer Kent’s debut film is the kind of immersive experience you wanna write home about.
It Follows
David Robert Mitchell’s It Follows blew up like a rash from spring break when it hit theaters this year. From its retro synthesizer-heavy score to its new-school takes on old-school genre tropes, this tense horror film about one girl’s haunting post-coital regrets is the breakout of 2015 thus far.
Creep
The man who innovated the kinda-funny, kinda-charming genre that is mumblecore, Mark Duplass, has now created an entirely atypical found-footage film, mixing buddy comedy with psychological horror. A two-man show, the story follows the horrors of an online exchange gone wrong. It’s so creepy, you will 100 percent think twice before doing anything on Craigslist.
Honeymoon
What starts out as a romantic escape to an idyllic hideaway to celebrate their nuptials turns into nights of intense bondage—and not in the good way. Everything’s hunky-dory with newlyweds Bea and Paul until Bea spends one night sleepwalking out in the woods, officially ending the honeymoon phase for them and beginning the creepy fun for us.
Under the Skin
More of an eerie moving art piece than a blood-sucking vamp camp, Jonathan Glazer’s cerebral thriller stars Scarlett Johansson as a nameless man eater who trolls the streets for dinner guests. Want more art-house horror? Queue up A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night for dessert.
Berberian Sound Studio
An homage to Italian horror cinema, Peter Strickland’s thriller stars Toby Jones as a British sound engineer sent to an Italian horror movie studio to conceive every gruesome squish, splat, and squeal. The film’s a nightmarish watch packed with horrors for the eyes and ears.
You're Next
An unexpected delight, genre favorite Adam Wingard’s home-invasion horror invites you to a deadly dinner party with even deadlier guests. Wingard’s imaginative kills (skull smoothie, anyone?), mumblecore-heavy cast, and double twist all amount to one helluva bloody feast.
Evil Dead
We don’t say this often about remakes—especially when the original belongs to Sam Raimi—but this modern take on the 80s classic is superb. Fede Alvarez doesn’t try to impersonate the camp Raimi does so masterfully. Instead, he uses Raimi’s original as inspiration and spawns something entirely new: A truly gruesome tale of possession that’s at once hard to watch and impossible to turn away from.
Still from “Evil Dead” via TriStar Pictures; Still from “Goodnight Mommy” via Ulrich Seidl Film Production GmbH; Still from “Babadook” via Causeway Films; Still from “It Follows” via Northern Lights Films; Still from “Creep” via Blumhouse Productions; Still from “Honeymoon” via Fewlas Entertainment; Still from “Under the Skin” via Film4; Still from “Barbarian Sound Studio” via Warp X; Still from “You’re Next” via HanWay Films; Still from “Evil Dead” via TriStar Pictures
