Twenty new horror films to scare the living daylights out of you

Speak No Evil, directed by Christian Tafdrup

This film will ruin your entire week. When two families, one Danish and one Dutch, strike up a friendship on holiday, they decide to spend a weekend together at the latter’s farmhouse in the Dutch countryside. What starts out as a very uncomfortable social satire eventually descends into pure, undiluted horror. Despite the growing sense of dread, absolutely nothing will prepare you for the end. A tough watch, then, but it might just be a masterpiece. Available on Shudder.

Glorious, directed by Rebekah McKendry

After breaking up with his girlfriend, a young man called Wes gets blackout drunk and ends up trapped in a rest-stop bathroom. All he has for company is the voice of JK Simmons in one of the cubicles, who claims he’s an ancient God and warns Wes if he doesn’t do exactly as he says, something unimaginably terrible will happen.

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It’s not clear if Wes is losing his mind, or if he really is in some sort of Lovecraftian, cosmic waking nightmare, but it’s a lot of gory fun finding out. Available on Shudder.

The Innocents, directed by Eskil Vogt

Set on a Norwegian housing estate where a group of children discover they have supernatural powers, The Innocents is a clever, creepy and empathetic update of The Village of the Damned from the writer of The Worst Person in the world. Beautifully shot, with extraordinary performances from the child actors, it lingers long in the memory. A Hollywood remake is all but inevitable. Available on Apple.

Terrifier 2, directed by Damien Leone

The word-of-mouth hype for this film has been quite something. We’re talking Blair Witch levels of unconfirmed reports. In US cinemas, Terrifier 2 has made people pass out in their seats. There have been walkouts, vomiting in the aisles and ambulances called. Who knows? Maybe it’s all savvy marketing. But just in case, don’t watch it on a full stomach. Available on Shudder.

Nope, directed by Jordan Peele

Nope is one of those films that deserves to be watched twice. Partly this is down to how it was sold to us — it is just not the film you expect it to be. But once it clicks, you can appreciate it for what it really is — a spectacular and thoughtful examination of our relentless obsession with conquering the natural world. Or to put it another way, it’s like Jaws, but with a giant UFO instead of a shark. Available to rent on YouTube.

Crimes of the Future, directed by David Cronenberg

If you don’t usually enjoy Cronenberg’s films, there’s absolutely nothing here to change your mind. In fact, in Crimes of the Future he doubles-down on the Cronenbergian body-horror grossness. Set in a grim, dystopian future where humans can no longer feel pain, Viggo Mortensen grows new organs in his body and has them removed as part of his weird, erotic performance art. It’s as disturbing as it sounds, and filled with images and ideas that prove difficult to shake. Available to rent on YouTube.

Deadstream, directed by Joseph Winter, Vanessa Winter

An obnoxious YouTuber, in a misguided attempt at redemption, spends the night in one of America’s most haunted houses — live streaming the whole thing. A low-budget horror comedy that deftly sidesteps some of the genre’s most persistent tropes, this is definitely one for fans of The Evil Dead. Funny, disgusting, and scary. Available on Shudder.

The Sadness, directed by Rob Jabbaz

If you are in any way squeamish or sensitive to gore, this is one to avoid. Set in Taiwan as a rampant virus transforms the population into violent maniacs, it follows a young couple trying to reunite amid the chaos. Some scenes are so beyond the pale, so stomach-churningly repulsive, you begin to question your own sanity. You have been warned. Available on Shudder.

Smile, directed by Parker Finn

Sometimes all a horror film needs to succeed is a good hook, and judging by the $100 million (€102 million) global box office (so far), Smile has a killer one.

When a therapist witnesses the horrific suicide of a patient, she becomes the next target of a malevolent spirit that takes the form of people smiling. It’s a chilling concept that raises interesting questions around trauma and mental health, and it doesn’t skimp on the jump-scares. Check cinema listings.

Saloum, directed by Jean Luc Herbulot

An electrifying genre mash-up, this Senegalese action/adventure/horror/western fits an awful lot into its brief 84-minute runtime. When their plane is shot down, a group of mercenaries escaping a coup in Guinea-Bissau have to lay low in a holiday resort on the Saloum river, unaware it’s under a demonic curse. Available on Shudder.

X, directed by Ti West

In 1970s Texas, a group of film-makers rent a farmhouse to shoot an adult film secretly. When their elderly (and creepy) hosts find out what they’re up to, all hell breaks loose. Ti West’s homage to grindhouse slashers has everything you need for the perfect Halloween movie — buckets of blood, sex, and one very hungry crocodile. Available on Amazon Prime.

Fall, directed by Scott Mann

If you’re in the mood for some good old-fashioned B-movie schlock, Fall is just the ticket. When two adrenaline-junkie friends climb to the top of an abandoned radio tower, they find themselves stuck 2,000ft up with no way down.

For most people, this is edge-of-your-seat stuff, but for anyone afraid of heights it is almost unwatchable. Stephen King said he wished he had written it. Available on Apple

Mad God, directed by Phil Tippett

You might not know who Phil Tippett is, but as one of Hollywood’s most revered visual-effects artists, he has helped bring to life countless films, from RoboCop to Jurassic Park.

Over the past 30 years, he has been working in his spare time on Mad God, a bizarre and gruesome stop-motion animation. There’s not much of a plot, just a squelchy descent into madness. Available on Shudder.

Barbarian, directed by Zach Cregger

Arriving at her rental home in the dead of night, a young woman finds it double-booked, with a strange man already staying there. With nowhere else to go, she decides to spend the night. From here Barbarian takes some wild and terrifying turns. The less you know about it in advance the better — for maximum enjoyment go in blind. Stars Georgina Campbell, Bill Skarsgård, and Justin Long. Check cinema listings.

The Black Phone, directed by Scott Derrickson

Another hugely successful film ($161 million global box office), The Black Phone is proof that audiences have just as much appetite for original horror as for franchise action films. Based on a short story by Joe Hill, it follows a young teenager who has been abducted by a mask-wearing serial killer known as The Grabber (played unnervingly by Ethan Hawke). Trapped in a soundproof basement, the boy discovers he can communicate with the killer’s previous victims through a disconnected phone. Available to rent on YouTube.

V/H/S/94, directed by Chloe Okuno, Timo Tjahjanto, Simon Barrett, Ryan Prows, Jennifer Reeder

Few people had high hopes for the fourth instalment of the found-footage anthology series, but V/H/S/94 turns out to be the best of the bunch. A collection of loosely connected short films that range from a traditionally terrifying night in a funeral home to an all-out gonzo action extravaganza of mad scientists and cyborg super-soldiers. An absolute blast. Available on Shudder.

We’re All Going to the World’s Fair, directed by Jane Schoenbrun

On a cold night, alone in her attic bedroom, a young teenager decides to take the World’s Fair Challenge, a mysterious online role-playing horror game. As she documents her experience by uploading videos, an admiring stranger reaches out, offering help. A slow, unsettling and mesmerising film, it is a remarkable portrait of teenage isolation. Available on Shudder.

Watcher, directed by Chloe Okuno

After moving to Romania with her husband, American Julia (Maika Monroe) soon begins to feel like she is being stalked by a serial killer. A mature and thoughtful thriller, the mounting sense of anxiety feeds into complex psychological themes. A slow-burn triumph. Available on Apple.

The Night House, directed by David Bruckner

The always-excellent Rebecca Hall delivers another superb performance as a woman whose life falls apart after her husband’s suicide. Thinking his spirit is trying to communicate with her, she begins to see a house on the other side of the lake that looks unnervingly like her own. What starts off in classic haunted-house territory eventually develops into an unexpectedly affecting meditation on grief and loss. Don’t worry, though, there are still plenty of good scares. Available on Disney+.

Fresh, directed by Mimi Cave

Sick of the online dating scene, Daisy Edgar-Jones takes a punt on nice guy Sebastian Stan. Turns out, though, he’s a bloody cannibal. What could have been a delightful romcom descends into a gory and disturbing battle for survival. Available on Disney+.