Ali Plumb's Five Best 21st Century Horror Movies

After working through rom-coms, teen movies, heist films, actioner, thrillers, Pixar's finest and feel-good films it's finally time to tackle the 21st century's best horror movies. Mwa ha ha ha and so forth.

As ever, I try to avoid recommending anything too obvious - you don't need me to tell you about Sinister, The Conjuring, The Purge, 28 Days Later and so on - so there'll be nothing that's part of a franchise here (including either of the Its, by the by). I suppose this also includes the excellent A Quiet Place, what with its sequel almost arriving before it was delayed due to the Coronavirus outbreak.

I also won't be including any horror-tinged comedies, so that's a no to the likes of Shaun Of The Dead, Tucker & Dale vs. Evil or What We Do In The Shadows. All brilliant, all not on this list. Sorry.

What's important to remember is that "horror" as a genre is an enormous catch-all term, so if you don't see your favourites in my top five, please don't forget to dig through my fifteen 'honorable mentions' as well.

With all that in mind, let's do this!

But before we do, please know that the trailers below aren't suitable for children, and well, some adults too, you have been warned.

Third party videos may contain adverts.

Helmed by Fede Álvarez, the director of the 2013 Evil Dead remake, and produced by the legendary Sam Raimi - whose Drag Me to Hell (2009) also deserves a tip of the cap here let's not forget - Don't Breathe has some reasonably big names behind it, but there's plenty of independent, South By Southwest spirit here.

A home invasion horror with a twist, Don't Breathe centres around a group of thieves breaking into a blind man's house. Thinking it's an easy score, our antiheroes (Dylan Minnette, Daniel Zovatto and Evil Dead's Jane Levy) quickly realise their mistake when it comes to "The Blind Man" (Stephen Lang) as he's not in the mood for fooling. So, you know, don't breathe.

Álvarez has said he came up with this original, more realistic idea as a reaction to the criticisms made of Evil Dead, forgoing the supernatural side of things and dialing down the shock-for-shock's-sake, buckets-of-blood vibe for something gritty, nasty and genuinely thrilling. I really enjoy this film, and when I'm asked for a horror to recommend, I often turn to this one as a satisfying, efficient, unpleasant suggestion that many haven't got round to seeing yet.

Third party videos may contain adverts.

With the seemingly never-ending deluge of Annabelles and Paranormal Activities and Nuns and what-have-you coming over from the US, it's easy to forget homegrown British horrors. Ones that came close to appearing in my top five include kinda-sorta horrors Kill List and Dead Man's Shoes, but my definite UK favourite is Neil Marshall's The Descent, a film that has bored itself into my brain forever and remains my number one reason to not go potholing.

Six women who go into a cave, but as they explore they discover that they're not alone: there are some... "humanoid creatures" in there with them. Hooray! And so begins a struggle for survival as the inherent perils of caving meet the increasingly terrifying dangers of being trapped in an inescapable underground network of tunnels with the "crawlers". Fun stuff, eh?

Needless to say, this isn't one for any claustrophobics out there, and if Gollum ever creeped you out in the Lord Of The Rings, run for the hills. This is an efficient, entertaining, ruthless film that wants to properly scare the spit out of you. Truly, there are some shots in this film I will never forget, so approach with caution, and always remember to check the batteries in your flashlight.

Third party videos may contain adverts.

I wanted to acknowledge the wealth of South Korean horror there is to enjoy, and with Train To Busan probably being the biggest break-out hit in that department, here we are. Still, you may well love The Host for example, from the now Oscar-winning Parasite director Bong Joon-ho, or perhaps you're a fan of I Saw the Devil, but let's stick to Train To Busan for now or we'll disappear down a very dark rabbit hole.

The premise of Train To Busan is relatively simple: there's been a zombie outbreak in Korea, and the train out of danger is heading to the city of Busan. Can our hero (Gong Yoo) make it there, as the train itself is slowly taken over by the zombies?

There's plenty of action, blood, gore and general action-horror excitement to enjoy here, but also a decent serving of social commentary and class warfare at play too. Above all, Train To Busan is thoroughly entertaining, a thrilling zombie movie that avoids the lurching, groaning undead, plumping for the fast-paced World War Z-style biters, so if you're thinking the leads could avoid their troubles by poking the recently deceased with a long stick... think again.

If you need more encouragement to see this film, know this: Edgar Wright, the director of Shaun Of The Dead and a self-proclaimed massive horror buff, called Train To Busan the "best zombie movie I've seen in forever", so, you know, there's that.

Third party videos may contain adverts.

Indier, arthouse horrors like Hereditary, Midsommar, The Lighthouse and The Witch can, sometimes, suffer somewhat from the "hype bubble" effect where too many people recommend them too much - myself included - and when you do get round to watching them, they just can't live up to expectations. It Follows though... It Follows is different.

The film was shot on a shoestring by a first time director (David Robert Mitchell) with relatively unknown actors - why hasn't Maika Monroe become a bigger deal, by the way? - and its sheer brilliance has seen it transcend its humble origins and let it become a firm favourite for horror fans "in the know". What sets it apart, much like Get Out below, is the strength of its conceit: here's a supernatural psychological horror about the inevitability of death, wrapped up in the idea of a curse that's transferred from one person to another through sex. Once you've got it, you can't shake it, you can only pass it on to someone else to lessen your danger (but only slightly). The curse appears as an "It" - a lumbering human in some sort of disrepair - that forever follows you, wherever you are.

Think about this idea too much and it can really unsettle you. I confess when I first watched the film, I was expecting more scares, more jumps, more shocks, but this isn't that sort of movie, for the most part. It's a thinker, a chiller, a messed-up film that wants to mess you up. Give it a chance and it'll really stay with you - a ho ho - so get ready to read dozens upon dozens of online thinkpieces about its "hidden meanings" and "things you missed". You have been warned...

Third party videos may contain adverts.

It just had to be, didn't it? Jordan Peele's masterful directorial debut was my favourite film of the year in 2017, its layers upon layers of social commentary, sci-fi what-iffery and out-and-out horror completely blowing me away. It's so rich, it rewards repeated viewing in a way I haven't seen in a long time, with Peele himself joining in on the 'fan theory' fun online, debunking and approving certain suggestions from the film's army of fans. And while his follow-up, Us, didn't quite work as well for me, it's still worth a mention if only for its use of Luniz's 'I Got 5 on It', a song that properly gives me chills even now, much like 'Sikiliza Kwa Wahenga' from Get Out.

I appreciate that recommending Get Out in a list of 21st century horrors that's trying to suggest something a bit off the beaten path is a touch counterintuitive - as well as making $250 million at the worldwide box office, Get Out ended up winning Peele an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay and landed 98% on Rotten Tomatoes - but it's just that good. It's also funny along with it, which is some kind of tonal miracle, and the performances are outstanding, especially from Daniel Kaluuya, but if you've read my heists piece you'll know I'm a big fan of the man already.

Long story short, Get Out is fantastic. If you haven't seen it, see it. If you have seen it, watch it again. Treat yourself. You're worth it.