My Favorite Horror Films of 2021
2021 was an awesome year for horror. There were films released for fans of every possible subgenre and then some. The quality of these films is pretty consistently high. That’s a great problem for me to have. I’d rather have too many options to pick from on a list than not enough.
Instead of calling this particular list the “Best Horror Films,” I’m calling it “My Favorite Horror Films of 2021.” This gives me the focus I need to narrow down the field. Let’s get into it, chronologically.
A Nightmare Wakes
Released 4 February 2021
content warning: death by suicide, pregnancy loss, abusive relationships, gore, alcohol/drug abuse, misogyny
I fell hard for writer/director Nora Unkel’s A Nightmare Wakes. This is an intricate exploration of Frankenstein, its creation, and the life of Mary Shelley combined into one narrative. Mary Shelley, grieving the loss of her pregnancy, comes up with the idea for Frankenstein, a novel about a creating life from death. At first, everyone supports her creation. Then, she becomes pregnant again. The people in her life who championed her creativity and skill as a writer suddenly reduce her worth to her ability to become a proper mother. This is criticism, satire, horror, suspense, adaptation, invention, and monster movie mashed up into one beautiful and heart-shattering horror film. The film deals heavily with pregnancy loss, grieving, and depression, so be safe if you choose to watch.
A Nightmare Wakes is streaming on Shudder.
Willy’s Wonderland
Released 12 February 2021
content warning: blood, gore, violence against women, violence against children, death by suicide, sexual content
I’ll admit it. There is nothing subtle about Willy’s Wonderland. This is the “we swear it’s not Five Nights at Freddy’s” splatter film starring Nicolas Cage. Cage plays a silent traveler whose car breaks down outside of a small town. As luck would have it, the local mechanic will fix his car for free if he spends the night cleaning up the abandoned animatronic arcade/restaurant Willy’s Wonderland in the heart of the town. This film is silly, gory, and scary in equal measure. Action/horror fans will not leave disappointed. Come for Nicolas Cage bareknuckle boxing animatronics; stay for Émoi’s brilliant songs and scoring. Directed by Kevil Lewis and written by G.O. Parsons.
Willy’s Wonderland is streaming on Hulu.
Lucky
Released 4 March 2021
content warning: foul language, gore, blood, mental wellness, violence against women, misogyny
I like a horror film that challenges me and my perception of media. Lucky is a brilliant but bitter pill to swallow about the role of women in horror narratives reflecting on society. Director Natasha Kermani and writer/star Brea Grant take you on a twisted journey into the life of May, a woman being attacked by the same home intruder every night. No matter what she does, May cannot find anyone who actually believes what’s happening to her. The film twists and turns in unbelievable directions until you have no choice but to face reality. This is a horror film centered on violence against women, so please be safe if you choose to engage with this.
Lucky is streaming on Shudder.
Slaxx
Released 23 March 2021
content warning: gore, violence against women, eating disorders, death by suicide (discussed)
Slaxx has some of the best special effects I’ve seen in a horror film in a long time. This is satire of fast fashion culture from writer/director Elza Kephart and writer Patricia Gomez. Libby gets her dream job working for her favorite clothing store. Her first night sees the arrival of a new style of high tech jeans, capable of adjusting their size to perfectly fit any body wearing them. Then her coworkers start disappearing one by one as they start to work with the new jeans. This film has a clear point of view enhanced with its use of gore, slapstick, and digitally-enhanced practical effects to make the killer jeans come to life.
Slaxx is streaming on Shudder.
The Power
Released 8 April 2021
content warning: medical footage, sexual harassment, sexual assault (discussed), nudity, blood, violence against women, child endangerment, drug abuse
I did not think I would include The Power on this list to be honest. Writer/director Corinna Faith’s haunted revenge film is exceptionally well made. The approach to the subject matter and its presentation onscreen actually terrified me, and I still haven’t quite shaken off the experience of the film. Val gets her first job as a nurse during some particularly hard times. Strikes are affecting the power grid, so most of the hospital patients are transported to an alternate facility with more stable electricity. Val has to stay in the darkened hotel barely running on generator power with the patients too ill to move. Then something attacks her in the dark. While this isn’t the most graphic revenge film ever made, the plot does connect to children and other vulnerable members of society. Make sure you feel safe engaging with the content warning on this one.
The Power is streaming on Shudder.
Escape Room: Tournament of Champions (Theatrical Cut)
Released 16 July 2021
content warning: gore, mental wellness, violence against women, grieving
I actually reviewed both cuts of Escape Room: Tournament of Champions at Sketching Details last year. The Extended Cut does give us Isabelle Fuhrman, but I still prefer the theatrical release. Tournament of Champions is a narrative of grief, loss, and trauma. Six former champions of the game are forced back in for another round. Zoey and Ben are determined to bring down the organization running the game and save all of their fellow competitors, but the rules and story of the games aren’t as clear this time. The cast in this film is great and I really appreciated how the film handled trauma, guilt, and mental wellness. Director Adam Robitel. Writers Will Honley, Maria Melnik, Daniel Touch, and Oren Uziel.
Escape Room: Tournament of Champions is available to rent or buy on all digital platforms. The alternate cut is labeled “Extended Cut.”
The Night House
Released 20 August 2021
content warning: death by suicide, violence against women, mental wellness, blood, alcohol abuse, nudity
The Night House absolutely blew me away when I saw it in theaters. Director David Brucker and writers Ben Collins and Luke Piotrowksi craft one of the most terrifying haunted house films in years. Beth is grieving the loss of her husband Owen. The more she goes through the house trying to piece her life together, the more she realizes how little she knew about him. When she goes to sleep, she feels like he is reaching out to her from beyond the grave, guiding her to do something. The Night House is one of the best explorations of clinical depression I’ve ever seen in a horror film, capturing Beth’s headspace without feeling exploitative. Really heed the content warning on this one, too, and keep yourself safe. It’s intense.
The Night House is available to buy or rent on all digital platforms.
Mosquito State
Released 21 August 2021
content warning: blood, drug use (discussed), gore, nudity
Let’s call Mosquito State a corporate horror film. That feels fair. Richard is an introverted Wall Street data analyst trying to discover the source for an irregularity in his proprietary code. The value of everything will drop to zero for a few seconds before returning to the record highs his software has always predicted. Then he notices that the mosquitos in his apartment aren’t acting right, either. Writer/director Filip Jan Rymsza and writer Mario Zermeno set this psychological horror film right before the housing bubble burst in 2007, and everything about this screenplay is planned down to the tiniest detail. And by tiniest detail, I mean the remarkable CGI mosquitos that constantly assert their presence and take over the narrative. You won’t find another film quite like Mosquito State.
Mosquito State is streaming on Shudder.
Candyman
Released 27 August 2021
content warning: racial violence, violence against women, child endangerment, blood, gore, body horror, gunfire
Writer/director Nia DaCosta’s Candyman, also written by Jordan Peele and Win Rosenfeld, might be my new favorite slasher film. I’ve always been a fan of the Candyman series and DaCosta’s vision feels like this terrifying franchise finally found its true voice. Anthony, the child from the first film, is all grown up and a critically acclaimed artist in his own right. He struggles to find the subject of his next gallery showing until he returns to his old home in Cabrini-Green. He learns about the Candyman, but it’s a different Candyman than you’ve heard of before. Anthony becomes obsessed with his story, incorporating mirrors and the incantation into his gallery show to open up the local legend to an audience who never heard of it before. The use of theme, metaphor, puppetry, music, lighting, and production design make Candyman a breath of fresh air in contemporary horror. This is how you revive a franchise without betraying the films that came before.
Candyman is available to buy or rent on all digital platforms.
Malignant
Released 10 September 2021
content warning: gore, blood, violence against women, toxic relationship, pregnancy loss, grieving, mental wellness, sexual assault (discussed)
Malignant is not a brilliant, world-changing, shot in the arm of what modern horror can be. It is a throwback, super campy, over the top slasher/thriller that was all the rage in the 1970s. This is the kind of horror film you scream back at because it takes a whole lot of nerve to tell this story to a modern audience and commit to the bit. Madison starts having terrifying dreams of brutal murders happening in her city. Then she learns that the dreams are real and tries to stop them. Writer/director James Wan and writers Ingrid Bisu and Akela Cooper pulled together an absolute howler of a horror film and I can’t wait for the midnight screenings to come around. The viewers who got it, got it, and the viewers who didn’t, didn’t. That’s okay. Every film like this is just as polarizing and not liking one doesn’t mean you wouldn’t enjoy the others. We can’t all be blessed with a refined palette for pure camp in splatter films. Skip this one all together if you’re not good with gore.
Malignant is available to buy or rent on all digital platforms.
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Those are my Favorite Horror Films of 2021. You’ll see some of these films again when my Best Films of 2021 list goes up soon. You also might see other horror films that didn’t quite fit this list over there, too.
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