Even as a child I was a horror movie head. I successfully begged, manipulated and pleaded with my father to let me rent the most deeply unsettling and gory scary movies whilst my disapproving mother was away on work trips. I greedily consumed the classics: Nightmare on Elm Street, The Evil Dead and Scream were some early horror movie favourites. I love how these films reflect our social anxieties, repressed desires and if especially well made provoke genuine terror.
The past decade has seen some of the most creative, thought-provoking and scariest horror movies burst onto the scene to petrify the public. If your keen for a proper knuckle-clenching watch, here at Society19 we’ve picked five of the best horror movies released in the last ten years that you just cannot miss. Viewer beware, you’re in for a scare!
Smart, sexy and super scary are just some words to describe this modern masterpiece. The film follows a teenage girl named Jay, who is pursued by a supernatural entity after a sexual encounter. Set in the seemingly innocuous modern American suburban sprawl, the horrifying force can only be escaped through intercourse – unsurprisingly the film is interpreted as a metaphor for the panic induced by the AIDS crisis by some and an exploration of our primal fear of intimacy by others. As a young gay man, I was immensely triggered and booked an STI test immediately!!!
Jordan Peele was known as one half of the popular sketch comedy duo Keye & Peele before he set off a cultural firestorm when he released this modern horror classic during a politically charged moment for race relations in America. Get Out follows Chris Washington, a young African-American who uncovers a disturbing secret when he meets the family of his Caucasian girlfriend, Rose Armitage. The British Kaluuya does great work as Chris but Alison Williams is particularly memorable as the all too familiar Taylor Swift like WASP princess. The sunken place is real fam!
I watched this terrifying tale with a friend many years ago and neither of us went to sleep that night. When true-crime writer Ellison Oswalt discovers a box of home movies depicting grisly murders in the attic of his new house puts his family in danger as an ancient evil awakens. Ethan Hawke does some great work as the misguided family man but the real highlight are the deeply grisly home movies, which stay in the memory long after the credits have rolled.
No horror run down would be complete without a quality slasher and boy is this one an instant classic. A smart and twisted take on home invasion horror, the film puts an all American family through hell when they are attacked by a group of masked assailants during their wedding anniversary getaway. Australian Sharni Vinson is the scrappy Erin, who shows remarkable resilience in the face of danger. Never since Nancy Thompson said she was “into survival ” has such a memorable final girl graced the silver screen. These movies work because they tap into our fear that even our homes aren’t safe anymore. Shiver.
I am such an unapologetic Us head. Sorry to include another Jordan Peele feature, but the man knows how to create a bloody good horror movie. Grounded by an incredible performance by Lupita Nyong’o, the incredibly tense bone chiller reveals itself Russian doll style with plenty of scope for interpreting its various socio-political themes. The film follows a family who are confronted by murderous doppelgangers known as “the Tethered”. I love horror that says something and this one certainly does have some top reads on how scary late capitalism has become.
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