2020 looks to be a…mixed year for horror. But then again, isn’t that every year?
There are a ton of interesting looking and sounding horror movies releasing throughout the next year. Some are sequels to beloved movies, and some are originals that sound intriguing. But there are also movies that look…not so interesting. You know the kind — the cheap, horribly written, poorly acted tripe that is made for pennies and meant solely to squeeze cash from teenagers.
We’re here to root out the good from the bad. And be forewarned — some of these choices may be a bit controversial. Here are five horror movies we’re looking forward to in 2020, and five we’re not.
Looking Forward To - The Grudge
Despite the January release date (which never bodes well for a horror movie), we are cautiously optimistic about The Grudge. Yes, this is about the tenth iteration of The Grudge that we’ve seen, and it’s serving as a reboot of a remake. Yes, Hollywood is now that desperate for content. However, the teaser trailer was surprisingly good, and the R rating has us hopeful that it will deliver a no-holds-barred, disturbing horror fest. It’s also being directed by Nicolas Pesce, whose 2016 movie The Eyes of My Mother was both nightmarish and utterly psychotic.
Not - A Quiet Place: Part II
Call us crazy, but we are not looking forward to A Quiet Place: Part II. We just…don’t have much confidence in it. It reeks of “unnecessary sequel” and studio greed. Does every single movie (especially horror movies) need a sequel? A Quiet Place was lightning in a bottle, and we don’t have faith that the sequel will replicate its success. The sequel will also be releasing under some scrutiny, as it seems like like A Quiet Place has undergone a bit of a critical reevaluation on the internet in recent months. This is nothing but a largely unnecessary sequel that will more than likely be inferior to the first. Like…literally all horror movie sequels.
Looking Forward To - Gretel & Hansel
Gretel & Hansel is yet another retelling of the famous Hansel and Gretel fairy tale, and it looks…surprisingly good. The teaser has us incredibly excited, as it contained some gorgeous (and haunting) visuals and a very eerie score. It’s also starring Sophia Lillis, who proved with It that she can handle scary material with surprising maturity and skill. Finally, it’s being directed by Oz Perkins, who was behind the 2016 horror movie I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House. No, the January release date isn’t promising, but we still have a small semblance of hope.
Not - The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It
If you need a good example regarding the detriment of unnecessary horror sequels, we give you The Conjuring franchise. The first was a well-made and spooky movie, and it was a success. So of course we got an entire extended universe spanning a Conjuring sequel (admittedly decent), the Annabelle movies, The Nun, and The Curse of La Llorona. Like, really? The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It doesn’t allow us much room for excitement. The director has a poor track record (The Curse of La Llorona), and chances are that this is going to be another jump scare-filled haunted house ride. Pass.
Looking Forward To - Halloween Kills
The only reason we aren’t docking Halloween Kills is because we knew it was inevitable. That said, we are getting tired of this recent thing where Hollywood is retconning entire franchises and pretending that certain movies just don’t exist. Halloween, despite doing the whole “these movies never happened” thing, earned enough goodwill from general audiences (and us) to secure a sequel. And yes, we are cautiously optimistic about it. However, the Halloween franchise should definitively end after this. At this point it’s just like Michael himself - forever shambling and never dying. Case in point: Halloween Ends is in 2021. Of course.
Not - The Invisible Man
The Invisible Man had some potential. It looks like it wanted to tell a story about metaphorical ghosts and about how victims of abuse are never truly free from torment. And that’s great. Not only that, but it also could have spun an interesting tale regarding Elisabeth Moss’s potential insanity, an intriguing “is she crazy, or is there actually an invisible man?” scenario. But no, it looks like they’re going with a straightforward and generic “an invisible man kills and maims people” plot, and frankly, that’s just boring.
Looking Forward To - Antlers
This is a fantastic time for original horror movies. We’ve received some great and original horror ones in recent years, and Antlers looks like another winner. The trailer is largely without dialogue and relies instead on haunting imagery like a child kneeling beside an eviscerated animal, the same child feeding food to some unseen creature, a brief glimpse of some bloodied man, and a very brief glimpse of some type of Lovecraft-esque monster. It also boasts a killer cast (Keri Russell, Jesse Plemons) and is being directed by Scott Cooper of Black Mass and Crazy Heart fame. Keep an eye out for this one.
Not - Candyman
Yay, another…Candyman. That’s cause for celebration, right? This is yet another “ignore all those other movies, this is a sequel to the original” sequel, as it is ignoring both Farewell to the Flesh and Day of the Dead. The best we can say about this movie is that it’s being written by new horror maestro Jordan Peele. We don’t know, maybe it’s just us, but is anyone really clamoring for a new Candyman? This franchise hasn’t been relevant for years. Hopefully this will be the Halloween (2018) of the Candyman series. But we don’t know.
Looking Forward To - Last Night In Soho
Six words: Edgar Wright directing a horror movie. Where do we sign up? Edgar Wright has earned a ton of goodwill throughout the years, mainly through his acclaimed Cornetto trilogy and Baby Driver. He seemingly can do no wrong, and with a cast containing Thomasin McKenzie, Anya Taylor-Joy, and Matt Smith, Last Night in Soho is looking to be yet another winner in Wright’s ever-expanding filmography.
Not - The Organ Donor
Believe it or not, there is another Saw movie coming in 2020. How are we not done with this franchise yet? The Organ Donor will be the ninth entry in the Saw franchise, a franchise that should have ended eight entries ago. OK, maybe seven. Saw II was decent. Darren Lynn Bousman of Saw II, III, and IV is returning to direct, and it will star both Chris Rock and Samuel L. Jackson in the leading roles, which to us seems a little “fishing for internet points.” Maybe it will be good, but if the last six Saw movies proved anything, it probably won’t be.
