5 Best Horror Movies Of The 2020s (So Far)

The 2020s have been full of real-world, all-consuming horrors that are impossible to ignore. With so much to inspire nightmares outside everyone's doors — like rising fascism in various governments, ongoing genocides, and global pandemics — it's no surprise that the 2020s have also seen people flocking to horror movies. These scary titles have given people a chance to process the most frightening aspects of reality in safe, controlled confines. Experiencing the most arduous parts of reality seems a lot easier when you do it with other souls, like the other denizens of a communal theatrical moviegoing experience.

With this popularity has come an inevitable amplified influx of horror movies entering theaters across the globe. As so many bold creative visions have come from this genre, horror fans have had plenty of scrumptious cinematic dishes to scarf down during the 2020s. However, some especially extraordinary takes on the scary movie mold have emerged as the greatest examples of 2020s horror films. The five best horror movies of the 2020s so far (all of them based on this author's subjective opinion) are shining microcosms of what a glorious era this has been for this genre. All five of these movies are not only incredible, but also span wildly diverging creative visions.

2020s horror masterpieces haven't found just one way to impress and lastingly impact moviegoers. They scare, frighten, and amaze in a vast assortment of ways that won't be forgotten about any time soon.

The 21st century has been chock full of revisionist takes on fairy tales, whether it's in "Shrek," "Wicked," or even "Frozen." The classical fairy tales have been constantly turned upside down in modern cinema retellings. But few, if any, of these subversive overhaulings are as impactful, frightening, and thoughtfully rendered as "The Ugly Stepsister." This inspired body horror film from writer and director Emilie Blichfeldt follows Elvira (Lea Myren), one of the "ugly" stepsisters to Cinderella (Thea Sofie Loch Næss). Normally a background player in this fairy tale, "The Ugly Stepsister" puts Elvira front-and-center as her mother scrambles to marry this teenage girl off so that the family can have solid finances once more.

In order to make Elvira "presentable" to toxic, male-informed beauty standards, this "Ugly Stepsister" lead is put through arcane forms of plastic surgeries to contort her body into something a prince would find "gorgeous." "The Ugly Stepsister" delivers all the chiseling, squelching body parts, and ruthless tapeworm extractions that body horror fans would want in their pursuit of gag-inducing cinema. What's extra impressive, though, is that "The Ugly Stepsister" also works as potent social commentary. It makes you recoil at the images on-screen and the eerie reflections of contemporary misogyny.

This film expertly portrays the unflinching depictions of grown men preying on young women and monetary woes informing the dehumanization of women and girls. This inspired twist on fairy tales and body horror is both squirm-inducing and thought-provoking in equal measure.

The movies that influenced Jordan Peele are an eclectic bunch of fantastic features reflecting the wildly varied impulses and tones coursing through his works. Even better, Peele's three directorial efforts are all so excellent that they're bound to become the kind of movies that influence the next generation of filmmakers. That includes "Nope," which so far stands as his sole directorial effort in the 2020s. This is a production that, at its core, serves as a cautionary tale on human beings attempting to control what they're never meant to control. That concept is filtered through a collision between rural ranchers and UFOs.

"Nope" has enough weighty ideas and striking visuals to fuel a thousand dissertation papers for generations to come. However, it's also a phenomenally scary movie, the kind that makes you screech and clutch your breath. A fantastically suspenseful sequence where lead character Otis "OJ" Haywood Jr. (Daniel Kaluuya) is stuck in a barn as what looks like an alien creature comes closer and closer towards him is a masterclass in how to keep audiences riveted and frightened. Meanwhile, Peele and company being dedicated to making the alien tormenting these characters (nicknamed Jean Jacket) so inexplicable and otherworldly adds an extra layer of nightmarish proportions to the proceedings.

"Nope" keeps viewers on the edge of their seats while delivering all the scares and craftsmanship people should expect from the best horror movies. That's a special achievement, but it's also par for the course when it comes to Peele's works.

Slasher villains chopping up people or cursed campgrounds are frightening. However, writer and director Jane Schoenbrun insightfully posits in their latest cinematic triumph, "Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma," that what's scarier is being sexually open with someone. Exploring your kinks. The process of emotional and physical vulnerability. Unraveling how the art you love has informed your psyche. These are daunting processes that can also be downright terrifying to unpack. Movies like "Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma," the best horror film of 2026 (so far), make confronting that reality so much easier.

While "Camp Miasma" (which chronicles film director Kris Williams meeting reclusive movie star Billy Presley on campgrounds crucial to in-universe horror movie nerds) maintains the artistry of so many great 2020s horror films, there's no other modern entry in this genre that quite looks like Schoenbrun's "Camp Miasma" vision. This story transpires against a gorgeous wintery tableau littered with purple and pink hues, all realized via magically tangible matte paintings. Such luscious backdrop touches speak to the imagery-based glories scattered throughout "Camp Miasma." This horror title's complex tone, meanwhile, makes room for the mother of all slasher movie sequences and truly unhinged imagery that frightens and fascinates, in equal measure.

Though deeply rooted in yesteryear horror and the external studio politics molding modern horror, there's never been a scary movie quite like "Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma." No matter what classics the rest of the decade delivers, there's no way "Camp Miasma" isn't going down as one of the defining horror titles of the 2020s.

You've never seen a movie like "Titane." This 2021 French-language film, a horror movie which has caused people to faint in theaters, hails from writer and director Julia Ducournau. It's the saga of Alexia (Agathe Rousselle), a woman with a titanium plate inside her head, a penchant for killing people, and a proclivity for having sex with automobiles. An especially grisly bloodbath that she unleashes leads to her taking on a new identity, that of missing teenage boy named Adrien. She starts living with Adrien's father, Vincent (Vincent Lindon), and a profound bond begins to form between the duo. The song "Macarena" also factors into the subsequent plot.

"Titane" is an absolutely bananas motion picture that is completely uncaring about appealing to mainstream audiences or satisfying conventional narrative tenets — which is an extraordinarily good thing. In the process, "Titane" delivers unnerving imagery that would make the best body horror movies oh so proud. Like the most impactful nightmares, there's no telling what visuals Ducournau's twisted and next-level imagination will conjure up in "Titane." All these deranged shots are filtered through precise and often vibrant colors, as well as richly detailed sound design. In other words, immense craftsmanship underpins this prolonged dose of cinematic madness.

Like the greatest horror movies, "Titane" shocks, disturbs, and totally confounds anyone who watches it. Ducournau's ability to deliver both unhinged fusions of flesh and metal and genuinely moving bursts of poignancy within this single motion picture is an awe-inspiring miracle.

"Sinners" wasn't just Ryan Coogler's most ambitious film yet, nor was it just one of the best vampire movies ever made. It's also unquestionably the greatest horror movie of the 2020s so far. There are endless elements specific to this feature that make that achievement a no-brainer. However, it's worth noting all the unique qualities "Sinners" has that no other 2020s horror movie has. Does any other scary title this decade have a sequence as mesmerizing and showstopping as the big "I Lied to You" musical number in "Sinners?" Does any other 2020s frightfest feature such inspired uses of shifting aspect ratios or richly tactile IMAX 70mm camerawork? How about a pair of lead performances as ingeniously realized as the ones Michael B. Jordan delivers as twins Smoke and Stack?

"Sinners" is a rollicking ride (centered on Smoke and Stack starting up a juke joint that gets invaded by Irish vampires) rich with thoughtful social commentary, precisely realized visuals, and also incredibly fun flourishes (like a villainous vampire repeatedly yelling "SAMMIE!"). It just excels on every conceivable level, from Ruth E. Carter's magnificent costume design to a flawless ensemble cast (Delroy Lindo especially steals the show with his unforgettable work). Also, it succeeds at being truly scary and gnarly with its unabashedly classical take on vampires.

"Sinners" gives you everything you'd want out of a horror movie and then proceeds to provide moviegoers with infinitely more. One of the greatest cinema accomplishments of the 21st century, "Sinners" is undoubtedly the pinnacle of 2020s horror filmmaking so far.