2015 was, generally, pretty good. Some things happened; other things didn’t. It was, however, an amazing year for horror. Characterized by young and outrageously good filmmakers, the movies on this list–fantastic examples of the genre’s finest, all–also give us a glimpse of where horror cinema is headed.
[customfont1]13. Zombeavers.[/customfont1]
They’re beavers. But they’re zombies. Zombeavers. Jordan Rubin’s creature feature is an uproarious throwback to the heyday of eco-horror.
[customfont1]12. The Final Girls[/customfont1]
A horror-comedy that pays loving meta-tribute to the slasher genre, and does so with heart and panache. Scares, and a few tears from Todd Strauss-Schulson.
[customfont1]11. A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night[/customfont1]
This vampire noir’s luscious black-and-white drips cool and menace in equal measure. Murnau meets Leone in Ana Lily Amirpour’s Persian-language stunner.
[customfont1]10. Spring[/customfont1]
A love story for black-hearted souls who hate them. The tentacled romance from Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead is beautifully shot in an Italian village, and makes great use of practical effects.
[customfont1]9. Deathgasm[/customfont1]
Jason Lei Howden’s eponymous black metal band inadvertently summons demons, and subsequently saves the world by dispatching them with, among other unconventional melee weapons, marital aids. A grue-dripping, gore-soaked heavy metal joyride.
[customfont1]8. We Are Still Here[/customfont1]
Ted Geoghegan’s directorial debut is an atmospheric haunted house tale, complete with creaking floorboards, vengeful spirits, a generalized sense of dread, and Barbara Crampton.
[customfont1]7. Goodnight Mommy[/customfont1]
Twin boys are left alone with their mother–who may not be herself–after undergoing cosmetic surgery in this unrelentingly black shocker from Austrian duo Severin Fiala and Veronika Franz.
[customfont1]6. What We Do in the Shadows[/customfont1]
Strip everything that’s wrong from modern vampire movies, and you’re left with Taika Waititi & Jemaine Clement’s infinitely quotable, laugh-’til-you-cry docucomedy about bloodsucking flatmates and their werewolf nemeses.
[customfont1]5. Pod[/customfont1]
Mickey Keating’s nod to classic horror and sci-fi, Pod tells the story of a traumatized veteran (a sincerely terrifying Brian Morvant) grappling with internal demons. They are internal…
[customfont1]4. Creep[/customfont1]
Co-starring, Co-written and Co-directed by Mark Duplass and Patrick Brice, Duplass’ titular creep is a profoundly discomforting outsider who hires Brice to film a bizarre day in his life.
[customfont1]3. The Boy[/customfont1]
A poignant, unflinching meditation on a blossoming sociopath. Craig MacNeill and Clay McLeod Chapman directed young star Jared Breeze in this tragic and ultimately inevitable tale.
[customfont1]2. Bone Tomahawk[/customfont1]
A bleak Western with horrific violence and a pitch-perfect ensemble cast, led by a stalwart and mustachioed Kurt Russell. Craig S. Zahler directed this genre-crossing gem.
[customfont1]1. It Follows[/customfont1]
David Robert Mitchell’s surreal vision of a sexually-transmitted, shape-shifting nightmare stalking teenagers through a dystopian Detroit earns not only the top spot for 2015, but is destined for the pantheon of the genre’s all-time best.