Happy Friday The 13th everyone!

After the absolutely wonderful 1970’s and 1980’s, horror as a genre went on a pretty steep slide. The 1990’s were fine, but things started getting a bit generic and derivative. We began the decade with some really low-end slasher sequelss to still capitalize from what was big in the 80’s, but those faded quickly. Some meta genre-bending hit in the middle of the decade when Scream became the new big influencer, but even that gave way to, like, a LOT of ghost movies starting in 1999 and carrying into the early 2000’s.

As for the 2000’s: Torture Porn. That’s all I need to say, right? Ugh.

Luckily, the 2010’s marked a noted return to greatness with some actually outstanding horror-comedies, the start of the Elevated Horror thing before it got TOO obnoxious, and a few other gems. Looking at the 2010’s, I have three 5-star movies and four 4.5-star flicks. And then the 4-star efforts extend into the late teens.

So I got to think: Almost four full years into the 2020’s, how is the current decade shaping up?

Well, let’s see…

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10. The Blackening

The 2020’s haven’t been the best era for Horror-Comedy so far, as the horror genre in general is in the midst of two movements: one that is taking itself far too seriously, and one that adds light flourishes of humor into flicks that no one would ever sub-categorize as “Comedy”.

Still, I managed to start this list off with this, an even more modern take on the genre, a la Scream. Despite how it was advertised, it’s not nearly the meta take-down that something like Scream or The Cabin In The Woods was. But it still pokes fun at tropes as they relate to black characters in horror, amongst other things.

For a more thorough review I wrote on the film at length, click HERE.

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9. Skinamarink

Skinamarink is why experimental horror doesn’t work on me. When I watch something like Enys Men now, I just think “Why not just make Skinamarink instead?”

Skinamarink is the height of experimental horror, in that you could argue it really isn’t even a movie at all. It’s 100% mood and paranoia, and it’s impossible to describe without giving the entire movie away.

Still, you can see my effort to review it at length HERE.

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8. Spoonful Of Sugar

Another indie horror outing that just gets wilder and wilder as its runtime wears on, Spoonful Of Sugar is about Millie, a babysitter for a boy named Johnnie who has a laundry list of ailments. And, oh, Millie is on prescribed doses of LSD for her own conditions.

Morgan Saylor is wonderfully off-putting as the lead as she moves into a family’s life and tries to become a bigger part of it. She really shines in the role, and the flick leaves you guessing right up to the climax as to whether you should be cheering for her or not.

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7. The Fear Street Trilogy

Remember this experiment, when Netflix released three separate full-length movies as part of a trilogy over the course of three back-to-back-to-back weeks? It was a new and ballsy way to release sequels, and it really worked. It took Netflix’ streaming television shows model and translated it to movies. Brilliant!

Each iteration of the trilogy had its own flavor. The first was an homage to meta humor like Scream. The second was inspired by the slashers of the 80’s. And the last one started off with a folk horror intro, a la, The VVitch, then went back to the present to wrap up the whole she-bang.

The first movie had one of the most creative kills in horror, and the two follow-ups were even better entries all-around. I’m including them here as one whole effort since that is essentially how they were made. And they were a decent ride for a whole “My first horror” run for modern teens.

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6. Last Night In Soho

Not sure why more people didn’t have positive things to say about this movie; I found it to be a worthy addition to Edgar Wright’s filmography.

Taylor-Joy and McKenzie do fantastic word as the dual leads here, even if the rest of the cast (minus Terrance Stamp, who is always great) kind of underwhelm. And while I didn’t love the third act when I saw it the first time, upon a rewatch, it bothered me a lot less.

But with the gripping and thrilling story, the two wonderful actresses at the top of it, and Wright’s trademark cinematography and score… I don’t know. I really bought it.

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5. Evil Dead Rise

I guess I have to give up on my ideology that “Evil Dead movies have to be funny”, because we now have two in a row that aren’t, and I guess that’s just how things are going to go forward from now on.

Still, this was a pretty rad ride with a great family dynamic and a new setting (even if they wildly underutilized it). It had the one-liners, the excessive gore, the brutality… it was everything you want an Evil Dead to be.

Except, you know. Funny.

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4. Werewolf By Night

The MCU’s first attempt at anything even horror-adjacent, Werewolf By Night was an impressive little mini-movie (about as long as the typical classic Universal monster movies it is emulating). Nothing here is “scary”, so it’s another good “Horror For Beginners” type movie, but hey… you need those.

Especially when they are this well made and this much fun. Gael Garcia Bernal has the usual MCU leading man charm, and he was a marvelous decision to cast as Jack Russell. 

It just hit so well, and it gives fans of lower tier characters like Russell, Elsa Bloodstone, and Man-Thing something to sink their fangs into.

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3. Sissy

Oh, Aisha Dee’s performance in this made me want to see her in everything! 

More thriller than horror, this story of a social media influencer having to come face to face with the bullies off her past weaves a brilliant web even after it takes a mid-film twist that threatens to derail the story (but actually makes it all substantially better). 

It’s gripping and exciting with a top-shelf ending, and I really can’t stress this enough: Aisha Dee is a STAR.

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2. Nope

The third of Jordan Peele’s directorial efforts is probably the least “horror”, as it’s really more science fiction, but watch that Gordie stuff and tell me this isn’t a horror outing. You can’t!

For my full thoughts, click HERE. 

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1. Bloody Hell

Bloody Hell stands as my only 4.5 star award for Horror this decade so far, and it really earned it. If I ever watched this again, I might bump it up to 5/5. I enjoyed it THAT much; I just give so few movies 5/5 on one watch.

Having not had a straight horror-comedy since entry #10, we actually manage to book-end the list with them, even if this movie isn’t uproarious. It boils down to Ben O’Toole’s very Bruce Campbell Lite performance in the lead role of a man with a questionable past trying to get away from his day-to-day life. 

He’s exceptional here. He is carrying this whole film and is asked to bring both the tension and the laughs, and he delivers in spades. 

If you like horror, especially horror-comedy, I can’t stress this one enough!

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Okay, that’s my list. As always, I am closing out by asking you to give me yours: What are your top horror movies of the decade? Let us know in the comments! 

Until next time… take care!