I have watched some great horror content this year. Most of the films I’ve seen in 2020 have been either good to really good to downright surprising the heck out of me in a good way. I’ve averaged out that I’ve been watching about 5-6, maybe 7 films/content a month since January 2020 and it was very hard to limit my top favorites plus 5 honorable mentions. These were already written out, I looked it over, I wouldn’t change any of the ranks so written in the month of June but posted in the same last week into July, we’re gonna do this.
Here are my top 10 favorite watches of 2020 so far (January through June).
10. Digging Up the Marrow (2014) – I did a review for this. I thoroughly enjoyed this, and had some issues with the ending because it was vague and I guess you don’t need to give a concrete ending but there were so many unanswered questions! I still have questions!
9. Tetsuo I: The Iron Man (1989) – I haven’t seen anything like this film before or after. It is in a field of its own. It’s cyberpunk, a message about fetishes and… the visuals are a bit overwhelming and shocking.
8. Terrified (2017) – Not to be confused with Terrifier which… sighs, that fucking movie and one day I’ll discuss it, this is a Spanish horror film that I watched pretty early in 2020. There is something about Spanish horror that is unique and underrated. The idea of a neighborhood being haunted or overtook by something supernatural is creepy and it is all about your perception. If you look one way, you see nothing but if you change your position, you see “it” and with a small handful of jump scares, I was into this one. This film is also on Shudder and can go by the name Aterrados.
7. Ganja & Hess (1973) – A blaxploitation but not. A nice twist on vampirism through the black culture. Well written, directed well, loved the acting. There’s a review of this on the blog.
6. Blue My Mind (2017) – This surprised me so much. For those who do not know, it is a Swedish film that is about a young girl who is going through a huge transformation that isn’t puberty. It reminded me of the film Thirteen but if Thirteen had a twist where one of the main girls turns into a mermaid in the middle of the teen angst. This film is on Shudder.
5. Dario Argento’s Opera (1987) – I’ve seen A LOT of Argento’s work and out of them, I’ve liked or enjoyed most… minus Wax Mask, I just couldn’t. But in the midst of the late 80s, he did a film called Opera. All I can say is… eye torture porn. I warned ya!
4. Bliss (2019) – A nice fun and fresh take on vampirism in this Shudder exclusive. Again, I related a little to the main protagonist, a struggling artist because… I’ve been in that same position. No drugs though.
3. Tigers Are Not Afraid (2017) – Another Spanish horror film that continually hit me at my core. This film is carried by young actors (child actors) who convey such harshness yet innocence throughout the film. The story is around a young girl who resides in a rough, drug trafficking neighborhood when her mother is missing. Scattered throughout the film are fellow children who live on the streets and a myth or fable surrounding a tiger. This film is also available on Shudder.
2. Dog Soldiers (2002) – Werewolves! Nuff said.
1. Re-Animator – (1985) I thought people were hyping this movie because it’s a great combo of 80s horror, scifi and comedy. The hype is real and there for a reason. I LOVED this one so much. I do plan on watching Bride and Beyond if I can find them.
Honorable Mentions:
(worth mentioning because these were also fun to check out!)
Crawl
The Mimic
Body Bags
Tales of Halloween
Carnival of Souls
Blood Machines
So what movies have you watched in 2020 worth sharing?? Leave a comment below!
Shots of Horror 