Is there any good modern Horror out there?

Reflections from a Young Movie-Goer

In reference to my last piece on Robert Eggers' The Witch, in which I claimed that cinema was in need of more good horror; I partially take that back....

Kill List (2011, dir. Ben Wheatley)

Despite what others might say; I would class this as horror. It both breaks and revitalises the genre, creating something chillingly authentic. Also check out A Field in England (2013) and Sightseers (2012). Each film Ben Wheatley makes is utterly original and innovative, delving deep into the human psyche without ever leaving the audience behind. I'm not even going to begin to describe the plot because its best watched with a pair of naive, unsuspecting eyes. 

Antichrist (2009, dir. Lars von Trier)

Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg play a grieving couple who retreat to a cabin in the woods for a vacation (echoing Don't Look Now) and bizarre things start to happen. The first in Lars von Trier's "Depression Trilogy" (followed by Melancholia and Nymphomaniac), its easy to file Antichrist under "showy pretentious rubbish", but that would only validate its provocative brilliance. Like most other good horror, the real monsters are inside your head, its simply a matter of how this can be communicated with film that reveals the director's true genius. All art is essentially a psychological experiment, this gives horror a fast track to digging up and exploiting our deepest fears and anxieties. Those who down-rate Antichrist for its showiness forget that they are also participating in the film just as much as those behind the screen. 

Under the Skin (2013, dir. Jonathan Glazer)

Perhaps my favourite film from the last decade, if not of all time, Under the Skin is both a visceral and a sublime experience. The plot is minimal but never leaves you in want of more; Scarlett Johansson plays an alien disguised as a human driving around Glasgow, picking up men from the streets to harvest for her mothership. I say "harvest for her mothership", but in the sequences where this happens, anyone's interpretation is as good as mine. It is slow, hypnotic and visually stunning. Check out my review of it from January. Even better, watch it for yourself and try to work out who the true monster is.

Troll Hunter (2010, dir. André Øvredal)

With the falling costs of CGI and decent film-making equipment, smaller production companies are now able to realise and bring to life visions wholly unimaginable a couple of decades ago. Back then, Jurassic Park (1993) was a big-budget A-list film on the cutting edge of technology. Its incredible how something like Trollhunter can create something just as effective on a fraction of the budget. Furthermore, its a film completely rooted in Norwegian folklore and culture. It would be awesome to see more films like this from across the globe that integrate their own cultural and folkloric elements into the story, seeing as we're already pretty familiar with America's. 

Berberian Sound Studio (2012, dir. Peter Strickland)

Starring Toby Jones as a quiet English sound engineer who goes to Italy to work on recording the sound for a Giallo film, Berberian Sound Studio is a psychological meta-horror (for lack of a better term) where all the scares are implied rather than shown. Its slow moving, claustrophobic and alienating albeit in a very subtle way, perhaps too subtle for most horror fans. 

This is not to mention the likes of Cabin in the Woods (2012), It Follows (2015), Creep (2014) or Drag me to Hell (2009), but you get the idea. 

There have been at least a handful of films over the last decade or so that have utilised the horror genre to brilliant effect. However most if not all of these are independent films. Aside from something like Cabin in the Woods, most don't receive the full recognition that they should in comparison to what usually passes for Horror recently. We're too used to defining horror by those exhaustive, executive-driven franchises like Saw and Paranormal Activity, or those god-awful soul-crushing remakes such as the 2003 version of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. The real problem is what we think constitutes a horror film. We're stuck with these dry expectations; jump scares, zombies, gore, things jumping out and making snarly faces. We're stuck with the same characters, the same situations, the same places, the same effects, and they've lost all their genuine scare value. Its given the genre an image problem, and a chance for executives to churn out sequel after sequel and remake after remake. In spreading awareness of good horror, perhaps change can come from below, from the audience who truly have more power over the industry than the executives.

Most of the films mentioned can be found on Netflix, Amazon Prime or BFI player.