Awesome Horror

Joe Dante’s 1984 Gremlins is a classic popcorn flick, packed with offbeat humor, gross-out gags, memorable monsters, and its share of charming moments. But In Praise of Shadows thinks it’s much more, establishing a whole new direction for how little creatures have been treated in horror and fantasy films ever since.

Guillermo del Toro takes aim at Award season with this mysterious tale of a manipulative carny (Bradley Cooper) who meets his match in an even more dangerous psychiatrist (Cate Blanchett). The teaser is intentionally cryptic but drew us in with its bold visuals and emotional tension. In theaters 12.17.2021.

While on a flight from Germany to New York, a woman and her son find themselves the victims of a hijacking. But the terrorists are unaware that the woman possesses a dark secret – she’s a vampire. Bloody hell breaks loose in the skies over the Atlantic in this horror-thriller headed to Netflix on 7.23.2021.

After big-budget films like Elysium and Chappie, writer-director Neill Blomkamp of District 9 fame is back with a more intimate film. Demonic is a sci-fi horror about a young woman who reunites with her mother, revealing the hellish forces behind their tumultuous relationship. In theaters and VOD 8.20.2021.

Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, Baby Driver) applies his cinematic magic to this horror film about a lonely design student (Thomasin McKenzie) whose dreams transport her to the 1960s. There, she lives as an alluring lounge singer (Anya Taylor-Joy), and the lines between reality and fantasy start to blur. In theaters 10.2021.

Between filming Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead, zombie auteur George A. Romero worked on another movie that was lost to time. Now, Shudder has worked with the late director’s foundation to restore this allegorical film about an elderly man and the torment he encounters at an amusement park.

After the harrowing events of A Quiet Place, the Abbott family leaves their homestead. Along the way, they encounter survivors and new threats beyond the mysterious sound-sensitive creatures that brought such terror in the first movie. In theaters 5.28.2021. We highly recommend seeing it in a Dolby Cinema if you can.

This horror-comedy follows the residents of a small town as they and their new forest ranger (Sam Richardson) attempt to figure out who is killing people. Things get weird when people start to suspect that their mysterious killer is a werewolf. In theaters 6.25.2021 and on VOD 7.2.2021.

Musician and illustrator Alan Robert created this awesomely-creepy series of adult coloring books, each one packed with ghoulish, gory, and nightmare-inducing images for you to fill in with your favorite colors. You’d better stock up on those blood red pencils.

(PG-13) With the popularity of murder shows on TV and podcasts, it seems we have quite an obsession with serial killers. David-Jan Bronsgeest and Tim Koomen’s short film follows the tale of a woman who listens to a podcast about a demented murderer who ends up blurring the lines between fiction and reality.

When it comes to superstitions, letting a black cat cross your path right up there on the list. Mitzi the black cat comes with her own soundtrack as she walks across a keyboard, performing an appropriately creepy and dissonant piece of horror movie music to set the stage for any bad luck she might be bringing.

Napoleon Dynamite is one of our favorite movies of all time. But if you take its quirky characters out of context and combine their actions with the appropriate music, this cult classic comedy quickly becomes a freaky horror flick. Tobias Conrad performed the editorial surgery needed to give us just that movie.

Vice Press and Bottleneck Gallery created a duo of lenticular prints based on Drew Struzan’s chilling artwork for John Carpenter’s The Thing. The limited-edition poster and art prints feature a 3D motion illusion, and are available with either a dense paper backing or a thick polystyrene backing. Available 2.25.21 at 12pm EST.

As comedies go, Seinfeld had its share of dark humor and crazy people. Editor Max Gold took the opportunity to amp up the darkness level to 11, transforming the series into a unsettling horror flick about nothing… and creepy clowns.

A man stumbles onto a YouTube video for a woman who claims she can reconnect him with someone he misses. But when he hits play, he gets more than he bargains for in this taught and minimal horror short film from director Dominic Grose. Best watched full screen with the volume cranked.

This Danish series follows the story of Astrid, a woman whose sister vanished two decades ago with 20 other students on a graduation trip. Despite the case being closed, Astrid can’t escape the feeling that there’s more to the story and heads down the rabbit hole in pursuit of answers. The first season hits Netflix on 12.30.2020.

Sam Raimi’s original The Evil Dead movies were some of the most entertaining, goriest, and outlandish horror flicks of all time. Screen Junkies fondly looks back at The Evil Dead, Evil Dead II, and Army of Darkness as Ash takes on the Deadites with his boomstick and chainsaw hand. Groovy!

As the girls of Camp Heebie Jeebie share their creepy ghost stories, things take a turn and their creations start to come to life. Animator Dylan Chase’s comedic horror short has some genuinely laugh-out-loud moments, along with exceptional character design and storytelling.

While on his way to a date with his girlfriend, a man carelessly destroys a mysterious creature’s nest, which then invades his body. But that’s not the worst thing that happens to the guy in this extraordinarily creepy and atmospheric animated short film by Stas Santimov.

It’s October 31, and a deranged serial killer is on the loose. But this horror movie cliche is having a crummy day because it’s 2020, and nobody is out trick-or-treating. Then, he encounters something even more terrifying than he usually scares up. The short that Andrew Kasch created for Just Scare Me is good for a Halloween chuckle.

(Gore) Originally pitched on Kickstarter in 2017, this first-person horror adventure looks like someone splattered guts all over a spaceship designed by H.R. Giger. While this 13-minute gameplay trailer is short on story, it’s got creepy environments, squishy sounds, and tension for days. Coming to Xbox Series X/S and Windows PC in 2021.

(PG-13) A family takes a holiday vacation, but for some reason, their parents choose to put them up in a creepy old mansion that used to be a Children’s hospital. Naturally, really bad stuff starts happening, and their Christmas is ruined as the toys left behind start coming to life. Stream it just in time for Halloween on 10.27.2020.

There’s no question that people love Stranger Things. But what is it about the Netflix series’ mix of sci-fi, horror, and ’80s coming-of-age flicks that make it work so well? Michael Tucker from Lessons from the Screenplay delves into some of the audio and visual tricks the Duffer Brothers have used to create such a magical blend.