Sommerleigh Pollonais – Senior Writer
Happy New Year ya filthy animals!
Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, a new year to most people means new goals, new opportunities and, if you’re like me, new and possibly amazing genre content to experience. It’s like being a kid at Disneyland, excited for all the wonderful sights and sounds that are about to come my way.
Like my list of Best Horror Movies of the Decade, this list will also comprise of ten of my favourites. But don’t worry, I know your time is precious so I promise to keep it short and sweet, and we’ll be back to Top 5’s again before you know it. Damn these short attention spans!
Let’s take a look at my Top 10 Horror Movies/TV Shows to Watch in 2020:
#10 THE NEW MUTANTS
Maybe it’s fitting that this movie has been through development hell, considering the genre it fits in. This movie was made in 2014 and has been cancelled and restarted more than Futurama. For those non-comic book readers out there, The New Mutants are a group of teenaged mutant super-heroes, with powers that lean more towards the supernatural that the scientific. With characters like Karma, who could mentally possess other’s bodies, Wolfsbane who could, you guessed it, transform into a werewolf, and Magik, who could, well I think you get the drift.
The comics dealt with a lot of mysticism and the darker tone fits well in the horror genre. So here’s hoping all the extra time and effort put into this film gives us a Marvel-based horror movie that’s a huge success. Because as someone who loves comics and horror, I can tell you there’s a deep well of goodies to be found in Marvel horror comics and comics in general.
Alas, Swamp Thing, we hardly even knew ye.
#9 THE COLLECTED
I honestly thought it would never happen, but boy am I glad to be wrong! The Collected is the third and final film in the vastly underrated The Collector series.
I mentioned this movie in my Top 5 Scariest Home Invasion movies and it’s in my opinion, a much more enjoyable and well executed version of the death trap-centric Saw films and after the ending we got with Part 2 of The Collector (The Collection) I can’t wait to see the levels of craziness director Marcus Dunstan and his team has in store for us.
#8 CREEPSHOW (TV SHOW)
Even the most faithful of genre fans can miss out on some good stuff once in a while. I’m only human people! But as they say, better late than never. Creepshow is based off of the anthology movies that came out in the 80’s and I recently caught up with the six episodes of Season 1.
Picture Homer Simpson looking at a box of doughnuts and you’ll know exactly how I felt watching these. Seriously, it’s a horror fan’s dream with the talent of icons like Joe Hill, Stephen King and Greg Nicotero (special effects guru behind Day of the Dead, Sin City, Ginger Snaps etc.) just to name a few involved with the tales being told.
Do yourself a big favor and catch up on this one before Season 2 drops. You won’t be sorry.
#7 LOVECRAFT COUNTRY (TV SHOW)
Once again Jordan Peele takes on the horrific side of racism with the upcoming Lovecraft Country. Based on the novel of the same name and following a family who not only has to survive the racist terrors of Jim Crow America, but the horrific monsters from the mind of H.P. Lovecraft himself.
The talent behind this upcoming series is any horror fan’s wet dream, with both Peele’s Monkeypaw Productions and J.J. Abrams Bad Robot Productions in the mix. And if that’s not enough to get you on board, it’s an HBO series.
They had me a H.
#6 CANDYMAN
I wonder if I say his name five times if he’ll appear, and I’m not talking about the man with the hook.
Jordan Peele goes into remake mode and brings back a fear of saying names repeatedly to a new audience with his re-telling of Candyman. Bringing back the man with the honeyed voice, Tony Todd alongside Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (Watchmen TV series/Aquaman), Teyonah Parris and a slew of other talented folks to bring one of horrors most iconic villains back to life.
With the strong remakes we’ve been getting recently in horror, like Halloween and Child’s Play, now is the perfect time to bring Sweets to the Sweet and I can’t wait to see what Peele does with this one.
#5 HALLOWEEN KILLS
Speaking of Halloween, Seth Rogen and David Gordon Green did the near impossible in 2018 when they course-corrected this franchise and made Michael Myers fun to watch again. There were those who thought this was gonna be the final showdown between Jamie Lee Curtis aka Laurie Strode and her guy who just won’t take the hint.
As if.
Halloween Kills was originally intended to be shot back to back with Halloween, but they wanted to see how fans would react to the first film.
Needless to say, we friggin’ loved it so get ready for the Lord of the Rings, except with less hobbits and more stabbing as Halloween Kills will be followed by Halloween Ends in 2021.
Halloween Ends…..yeah right.
#4 PENNY DREADFUL: CITY OF ANGELS (TV SHOW)
It breaks my horror-loving heart more people didn’t watch Penny Dreadful, but ask any of us who did and we can tell you it was gothic horror at its best.
Giving us beautifully haunting and fully fleshed-out versions of Dracula, Frankenstein, The Wolfman and a bunch of other classic monster tales, Penny Dreadful was that series I loved from beginning to…okay, I didn’t like the finale but it was still damn good!
Now we get to visit that macabre world all over again and this time taking a page from another successful series, American Horror Story, by telling a whole new tale with new characters. City of Angels will star the gorgeous perfection that is Natalie Dormer and the story will center on Mexican American folklore.
Excuse me while I go re-watch this series as I wait with baited breath for City of Angels.
#3 THE INVISIBLE MAN
You just know Warner Bros is kicking themselves that they couldn’t get their Dark Universe of the ground, yet here comes Leigh Whannell (Saw, Insidious, Upgrade) with his take on The Invisible Man and after that trailer, it’s all anyone is talking about. So much so, they cancelled the version they had coming with Johnny “I really need to stop for a while” Depp.
Equal parts psychological and science fiction horror, this Invisible Man ironically is the one to watch (get it? Watch? You get it) and with Elisabeth Moss (The Handmaid’s Tale) in the main starring role, you just know we’re gonna get something real good!
#2 THE HAUNTING OF BLY MANOR (TV SHOW)
Do you know there are over thirty hidden ghosts in The Haunting of Hill House!?
Not only is the main story riveting and terrifying to watch unfold, but then you find out there are dead people everywhere and it makes you re-watch this excellent adaptation by one of my personal favorite directors Mike Flanagan. And as you spot them, you scare yourself s&*tless all over again!
I honestly did this and I can tell you, I don’t recommend watching this before bedtime. Unless lying in bed trying not to blink as you tell yourself there’s nothing in the corner of your room is your thing. Then, have at it you weirdo.
HONORABLE MENTION: DRACULA (TV SHOW)
First let me say, I saw the trailer for this and I was doing a little jig while watching. It’s been SO LONG since the man with the fangs was scary and BBC’s Dracula looks to take him back to his Bram Stoker roots, one of the last times Old Fangs was done right.
The only reason it doesn’t make my main list is I’ve been bitten one too many times (what?!) and I may need to spend some time with this version of Vlad before I decide to hand my immortal soul over.
Or at least one day of binge watching, whichever comes first.
#1 LOCKE AND KEY (TV SHOW)
You know those movies where that one guy goes into a monologue of waiting centuries for the coming of…whatever? That’s me and this series guys!
Locke and Key is based off a series of graphic novels by the prince of horror, Joe Hill (his dad being the ‘King’ of course ;)) and tells the tale of three siblings who move into their ancestral home after their dad is murdered, only to find the house has magical keys that give them an array of powerful abilities. It sounds like fantasy stuff, but trust me, things get bloody, they get gruesome and the supernatural stuff will make The Haunting of Hill House look like a trip to Disneyland.
To say I’m excited about this series that has changed hands and been stuck in development since 2010 is an understatement. All I’m hoping for now is it lives up to the perfection of horror that is the series of books.
In the immortal words of Mr. Poopybutthole, OOOOHHHWEEE! 2020 looks to keep the train of great horror material coming as 2019 was a high note for this genre fan, so if you already have your list of resolutions done, do me a favor and add one more:
WATCH MORE HORROR! And have yourselves a safe, prosperous and happy 2020 folks!
For my Top 5 Netflix Horror TV Shows you can click here.
Sommerleigh of the House Pollonais. First of Her Name. Sushi Lover, Queen of Horror Movies, Comic Books and Binge Watching Netflix. Mother of two beautiful black cats named Vader and Kylo. I think eating Popcorn at the movies should be mandatory, PS4 makes the best games ever and I’ll be talking about movies until the zombie apoclaypse comes. Double Tap Baby!
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