There’s a common consensus that horror movies aren’t scary anymore, but that’s not necessarily true. A lot of the time, many horror movies are either missed, fly under the radar or (thankfully) do end up getting the recognition they deserve. Whether they’re acknowledged or not, there do happen to be many horror movies of the modern era that are incredibly scary and leave those who believe that modern horror movies aren’t scary eating their words.

Horror comes in many shapes and sizes. Sometimes a film has an abundance of horrific gore, is psychologically bending or just downright disturbing in its visuals and ideas. Regardless of how, a horror film has many ways to be terrifying and all styles and forms of doing so are still utilized today. The last five years of horror have been quite good, and it needs to be acknowledged.

1. When Evil Lurks (2023)
2. Talk to Me (2023)
3. Incantation (2022)
4. Roh’/'Soul (2019)
5. New Religion (2022)
6. Smile (2022)
7. The Sadness (2021)
8. V/H/S/99 (2022)
9. The Dark and the Wicked (2020)
10. Good Boy (2022)

edit: since posting they’ve expanded the list, presumably when someone pointed out some serious omissions:

11. Late Night With the Devil (2024)
12. Longlegs (2024)
13. Relic (2020)