Despite featuring a wide range of creatures and spirits, horror movies in 2021 leaned into the power of the psychological fear of others. Knowing who to trust and when can be the difference between death and life, and 2021 horror spotlighted both sides.
2021 marked the second year of living within the COVID-19 pandemic, a time when isolation and being wary of others are considered integral survival tools. In that light, it shouldn't come as a surprise that this year's horror films would turn toward the terrors of the mind as a starting place to craft stories about deceptive realities and manipulative monsters. During a year when it was hard to know who to trust (ourselves included), horror delves into the consequences of smart and poor choices. Here are the eight best horror feature films of 2021 that not only explore this terrifying theme but bring something new to the genre.
Caveat
Written and directed by Damian Mc Carthy, Caveat delivers the best jump scares in recent horror cinema. Crafted on a micro-budget, the independent Irish feature film relies on suspicion to keep most of the story's terror at the forefront of audiences' minds. The plot is straightforward: Isaac (Jonathan French) accepts the odd job of babysitting his landlord's (Ben Caplan) traumatized niece Olga (Leila Sykes) for $200 per day. However, Isaac's landlord, Barret, failed to mention that he needed to be chained up for the job. A strange and supernatural game of cat and mouse ensues that escalates with each new discovery. Caveat is a must-watch for how it chooses the simplest of set-pieces (a box) to elicit the most unnerving of moments -- proof that CG isn't always needed to tell a thrilling ghost story.
Caveat is streaming now on Shudder.
The Queen of Black Magic
Joko Anwar's The Queen of Black Magic remake is not for the faint of heart. The feature film doubles down on its creepy crawlies and showcases some of the harshest scenes of body horror that horror has ever seen. To its credit, children are not excluded from the terrors that awake in an old orphanage that has a secretive link to a black magic witch. The Queen of Black Magic is a film that's best to go into without knowing too much as its twists are part of its charm. However, it's fair enough to say that it's centered around a family reunion of sorts that uncovers sins from a father's past that puts everyone in harm's very bloody way. Vengeful spirits aren't new to horror, but The Queen of Black Magic pulls off a substantial feat -- by the end, viewers will root for the witch and want to borrow her menacing wardrobe.
The Queen of Black Magic is streaming now on Shudder.
The Boy Behind the Door
The Boy Behind the Door is a master class in horror pacing. No beat feels misplaced. Co-written and directed by David Charbonier and Justin Powell, the film follows best friends Bobby (Lonnie Chavis) and Kevin (Ezra Dewey) on the worst night of their lives. After getting kidnapped, the duo seeks to escape. But what sets this film apart from, say, Saw (or really any psychological thriller), is showing how one step forward for Bobby's freedom might be a step back for Kevin's. The Boy Behind the Door consistently shows these young boys weighing their survival efforts against what it'd cost their friend. Charming is a strange way to describe this film, but it nevertheless elicits heartwarming feelings amidst its tension. To its credit, it is not shy to break horror taboos either by showing the abuse toward the boys, which only makes their capture and survival attempts all the more harrowing.
The Boy Behind the Door is streaming now on Shudder.
Slaxx
Directed by Elza Kephart and co-written by Kephart and Patricia Gomez, Slaxx might be this year's most inventive horror premise. Joining the ranks of films like Rubber and Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, Slaxx is a horror-comedy focusing on a pair of homicidal jeans running rampant in a boutique fashion store. However, what sets this film apart from other inanimate-objects-turned-killer horror movies is that it also pulls off a scathing social commentary about the fashion industrial complex. While it's consistently a romping ride, it also asks audiences to consider a harsh reality: what lives are lost or impoverished in the name of the clothes that people wear? Yet, the film never steers into preachy territory as it rips apart everything that fast fashion stands for and holds sacred.
Slaxx is streaming now on Shudder.
Candyman
Nia DaCosta's Candyman is a stunning sequel to 1992's Candyman. Although the feature film stands on its own, it works even better in conversation with the original film that inspired it. With DaCosta's vision, audiences can see just how much the original avoided showing the people living inside Cabrini Green's housing projects. Whereas the original follows sociologist Helen (Virginia Madsen) as she observes the housing project (and its people) like an experiment, DaCosta shows what the people of Cabrini Green lived through and still push through while adding an entirely new and cathartic dimension to the boogeyman. Centered on Anthony McCoy (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), audiences follow an artist's obsession to understand the Candyman and his roots, and the answers that are found expand into what could be a thrilling new mythos for the world of horror to continue to build upon in the future.
Candyman is available to rent and buy on Prime Video.
The Medium
Directed by Banjong Pisanthanakun and co-written by Na Hong-jin (The Wailing) and Choi Cha-won, The Medium is hands down the best possession-themed horror film of 2021. Unlike many entries in the genre, there's never a moment in this film where the audience can quite guess what comes next. Pisanthanakun deftly moves between what begins as a found-footage documentary into a tragic family drama to a brutal possession story. While it's not necessarily perfect in its construction, the draw of the film is how unapologetically it takes bold risks. For once, a possession film dares to ask: Do I really trust in my faith to save the day?
The Medium is streaming now on Shudder.
Psycho Goreman
Directed by The Void's Steven Kostanski, Psycho Goreman tells the tale of what happens when the precocious Mimi (Nita-Josee Hanna) finds an object that allows her to control an ancient alien overlord, P.G. As one might expect, Mimi shows fairly little mercy to bullies and embraces controlling P.G. -- even if it might mean the fate of the world is at stake. Mimi decides to trust P.G. as a friend and their blossoming friendship is hilarious to watch unfold. It's truly a bloody good time for horror fans and would be a great gateway horror film for younger audiences who aren't afraid of a little splatter amidst silly, dodgeball-like battles with aliens.
Psycho Goreman is streaming now on Shudder and AMC+.
Martyrs Lane
Written and directed by Ruth Platt, Martyrs Lane is 2021's most heartbreaking ghost story. The feature film is told through the eyes of its child protagonist, Leah (Kiera Thompson), and follows her as she stumbles upon her mother's tragic secret. The beauty of this film is how much Leah questions everything and everyone and makes the kind of mistakes that only curious children can make. By its end, Martyrs Lane weaves a moving story about what happens to people when they don't process their grief. When people don't deal with their pain, it's sure to seep out and cause havoc for others, and Martyrs Lane shows this truth with deep empathy.
Martyrs Lane is streaming now on Shudder.