*Keep up with our ongoing end of the year coverage here*
In the digital age, we’re inundated with content constantly. Between endless streaming services and VOD, there’s a wealth of horror available at our fingertips at all times. So much so that it’s tough to keep up. It doesn’t help that the marketing for VOD, limited theatrical, and straight-to-streaming titles don’t have the same budget as major theatrical releases, if at all.
In other words, some of the year’s best offerings can slip through the cracks with ease.
If you’re looking for great horror releases that you might have missed this year, these ten horror movies are among the best of 2019.
Antrum: The Deadliest Film Ever Made
A ‘70s-style film about a teen and her younger brother who enter a forest to dig a hole to hell is said to be a cursed film that causes inexplicable deaths to those who watch it. Antrum is that film. Or rather, it’s an experimental film that invokes a William Castle-like gimmick to examine the chilling power of storytelling. Book-ended by a mini-documentary that explains the cursed film’s history, it’s the central film itself that holds the most intrigue and magic. A throwback Italian style horror story about two youths dabbling with dark forces oozes with eerie atmosphere and mood thanks to subliminal imagery and the year’s best horror sound design. The Blair Witch style pretense won’t be for everyone, but for those that prefer more atmospheric and adventurous storytelling, this is a must.
The Black Forest
Hailing from Brazil under the title A Mata Negro, this regional tale of witchcraft bides its time to get going but builds towards one of the most exciting finales of the year. In a remote rural village, a young woman comes across the Lost Book of Cipriano, full of spells and dark arts. The more she dabbles, however kind her intent, the more things go awry, wreaking havoc on her life and the lives of the villagers. What begins as a serious fable eventually gives way to Sam Raimi and early Peter Jackson levels of splatter fun and demonic mayhem.
Kindred Spirits
In Patrick Bromley’s review for Lucky McKee’s latest out of Cinepocalypse, he called it “a pretty damn good Lifetime movie.” He had no idea how on the nose he was; Kindred Spirits debuted on Lifetime in October. Granted, it was a special early screening before it hits the usual VOD cycle in 2020. All of which to say, McKee dials up the insanity on this psychological thriller to high levels. The plot sees a single mother’s somewhat estranged sister reappear in her life, unaware of how disturbed her sister is. This movie goes to some seriously zany places, and it’s highly entertaining. Fantastic performances by Thora Birch and Macon Blair keep it grounded enough to be emotionally engaging, too.
Belzebuth
This one’s a Shudder original that offers up a unique perspective on demonic possession horror. Director/Co-writer Emilio Portes makes that clear right out of the gate by breaking one of horror’s biggest taboos, slaughtering children. Not just once, either, but an insane amount. That’s what kicks off the plot, which sees a police detective investigating a school massacre after suffering a tragic personal loss. There’s a connection between them, and it’s far more complicated than it initially seems when a Vatican priest arrives. A mashup of various subgenres with Tobin Bell playing a very unreliable character that will keep you guessing, Belzebuth is a refreshing reminder that demonic possession can still surprise.
Depraved
A PTSD-suffering field surgeon harvests body parts and uses them to create an entirely new man in his Brooklyn apartment. If that sounds like a modern-day retelling of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, that’s because it is. Only this time, it’s through the lens of indie horror master Larry Fessenden, in his first spin back in the director’s seat in years. The result is a refreshing twist to a familiar story, with surprising new depth and poignancy. Moreover, it continues Fessenden’s penchant for maximizing a minuscule budget to create something far more luxurious in style.
Sweetheart
Without any fanfare or marketing, Universal quietly slipped J.D. Dillard’s aquatic horror creature feature onto VOD and digital late October. It deserved better. In it, Kiersey Clemons stars as Jenn, a woman who washes ashore on a small tropical island but quickly realizes she’s not alone. She doesn’t just have to contend with surviving the elements, but a malevolent entity that appears each night. Think Cast Away but horror. I suppose the lack of dialogue for a long stretch of the film might not be the easiest sell, but Dillard and his leading lady are more than up to the task. It builds into a thrilling showdown, offers up a fresh creature design by Neville Page, and wins the prize for one of the year’s most breathtaking shots; it involves a flare at night, and you’ll know it when you see it.
The Golden Glove
Fatih Akin’s film, based on Heinz Strunk’s novel of the same name, is exquisitely made. It’s gorgeous and so well crafted. The problem, for many, is that it tells of serial killer Fritz Honka who murdered many women between 1970-1975 and hid their body parts in his apartment. The title refers to Honka’s favored hunting grounds; a little dive bar called the Golden Glove. Meaning that it’s one seriously uncomfortable watch. From the opening scene, Akin invokes Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer and Angst levels of depravity. It’s bleak, shocking, and won’t be for everyone, but it’s a tremendously riveting piece of work.
Piercing
Director Nicolas Pesce’s adaptation of Ryu Murakami’s novel of the same name is one twisted and darkly funny love story. That makes sense, considering Murakami is the author behind Audition, and Pesce’s previous film was The Eyes of My Mother. Piercing stars Christopher Abbot as Reed, a family man who checks into a hotel room with the intent to murder the escort he ordered to his room. He gets far more than he’s bargained for when the troubled Jackie (Mia Wasikowska) shows up. Aside from the commanding leads, Pesce wears his cinematic influences in plain sight; his sophomore feature is essentially a modern Giallo. Pesce isn’t just pulling from films like The Bird with the Crystal Plumage or The Fifth Cord; he’s put Goblin’s music front and center.
Harpoon
If you like your horror comedies on the pitch-black side with a heavy heaping of blood, this is for you. Emphasis on the pitch-black. Harpoon is a lean, mean thriller that sees a trio of unlikeable rich best friends embark on a day trip on a new yacht. Rivalries, dark secrets, and sexual tension emerge when the boat breaks down and leaves them stranded in the middle of the sea. Even when you think you know the outcome, director Rob Grant keeps the nasty surprises flowing. The allegiances shift continually and the dialogue is endlessly snappy, but above all, it’s a mean-spirited and brutally funny horror-comedy thriller that’s not for the weak-stomached.
We Summon the Darkness
This endlessly entertaining ‘80s Satanic Panic midnight crowd-pleaser shouldn’t be missed. Don’t let this slip through the cracks, in other words. The plot follows three best friends that embark on a road trip to a heavy metal concert across a landscape stricken by a series of Satanically inspired murders. They meet a trio of guys and invite them home, but their night of continued partying takes a deadly turn. Alexandra Daddario and Maddie Hasson are loving their roles, and it’s downright infectious. Heavy metal, Satan worshippers, murder, and zany levels of fun; it’s an absolute blast.