(Photo by A24/courtesy Everett Collection)
Like Blumhouse, production house and distributor A24 rose to prominence in the 2010s, especially through getting their names attached to some of the best horror movies of the decade. While the Blum boys are known for their keen budgeting and thrust for the mainstream, A24 carved its identity through scares challenging, unexpected, and experimental. 2016 was A24’s breakthrough year for horror (they also released Best Picture Oscar-winner Moonlight the same year, by the way), with Robert Eggers’ folk period-authentic The Witch, and the backwoods punk pulverizer Green Room. 2018’s Hereditary was A24’s highest-grossing movie until Everything Everywhere All At Once, and launched writer/director’s Ari Aster’s feature career, who quickly followed up with 2019’s sunbaked Midsommar.
Elevated horror was a phrase bandied about to describe the movies of this decade that commingled shock and terror with less emphasis on jump scares and more on atmosphere, dread, and able to withstand critical and societal scrutiny. (It Follows and Blumhouse’s Get Out are two more grand examples.) While the elevated horror term isn’t used much more these days, it did get the job done, in that it raised audiences expectations out of what to expect out of horror and what the genre can achieve, and A24 has continued to rise to the occasion in the 2020s. Just take a look at Rose Glass’ Saint Maud, Ti West’s X/Pear/MaXXXine, and Talk To Me.
#1
Adjusted Score: 111161%
Critics Consensus: With a gripping story and impressive practical effects, Talk to Me spins a terrifically creepy 21st-century horror yarn built on classic foundations.
#2
Adjusted Score: 106295%
Critics Consensus: A fresh spin on the classic slasher formula, X marks the spot where Ti West gets resoundingly back to his horror roots.
#3
Adjusted Score: 103300%
Critics Consensus: Pearl finds Ti West squeezing fresh gore out of the world he created with X — and once again benefiting from a brilliant Mia Goth performance.
#4
Adjusted Score: 101821%
Critics Consensus: A brilliantly unsettling blend of body horror and psychological thriller, Saint Maud marks an impressive debut for writer-director Rose Glass.
#5
Adjusted Score: 100327%
Critics Consensus: In Fabric‘s gauzy giallo allure weaves a surreal spell, blending stylish horror and dark comedy to offer audiences a captivating treat.
#6
Adjusted Score: 107613%
Critics Consensus: As thought-provoking as it is visually compelling, The Witch delivers a deeply unsettling exercise in slow-building horror that suggests great things for debuting writer-director Robert Eggers.
#7
Adjusted Score: 110978%
Critics Consensus: A gripping story brilliantly filmed and led by a pair of powerhouse performances, The Lighthouse further establishes Robert Eggers as a filmmaker of exceptional talent.
#8
Adjusted Score: 111466%
Critics Consensus: Hereditary uses its classic setup as the framework for a harrowing, uncommonly unsettling horror film whose cold touch lingers long beyond the closing credits.
#9
Adjusted Score: 101959%
Critics Consensus: Green Room delivers unapologetic genre thrills with uncommon intelligence and powerfully acted élan.
#10
Adjusted Score: 102049%
Critics Consensus: It Comes at Night makes lethally effective use of its bare-bones trappings while proving once again that what’s left unseen can be just as horrifying as anything on the screen.
#11
Adjusted Score: 98764%
Critics Consensus: Impeccably cast and smartly written, Bodies Bodies Bodies is an uncommonly well-done whodunit.
#12
Adjusted Score: 95276%
Critics Consensus: Darkly imaginative and brought to life by a pair of striking central performances, Lamb shears expectations with its singularly wooly chills.
#13
Adjusted Score: 96121%
Critics Consensus: Its message may prove elusive for some, but with absorbing imagery and a mesmerizing performance from Scarlett Johansson, Under the Skin is a haunting viewing experience.
#14
Adjusted Score: 96379%
Critics Consensus: With a distinctive visual aesthetic that enhances its emotionally resonant narrative, I Saw the TV Glow further establishes writer-director Jane Schoenbrun as a rising talent.
#15
Adjusted Score: 104644%
Critics Consensus: Ambitious, impressively crafted, and above all unsettling, Midsommar further proves writer-director Ari Aster is a horror auteur to be reckoned with.
#16
Adjusted Score: 86907%
Critics Consensus: The Hole in the Ground artfully exploits parental fears with a well-made horror outing that makes up in sheer effectiveness what it lacks in originality.
#17
Adjusted Score: 94781%
Critics Consensus: High Life is as visually arresting as it is challenging, confounding, and ultimately rewarding – which is to say it’s everything film fans expect from director Claire Denis.
#18
Adjusted Score: 94395%
Critics Consensus: The Killing of a Sacred Deer continues director Yorgos Lanthimos’ stubbornly idiosyncratic streak — and demonstrates again that his is a talent not to be ignored.
#19
Adjusted Score: 80459%
Critics Consensus: The Monster uses its effectively simple setup and a powerful lead performance from Zoe Kazan to deliver a traditional yet subtly subversive — and thoroughly entertaining — horror story.
#20
Adjusted Score: 87418%
Critics Consensus: Intoxicating with its maxxximal style, MaXXXine is an uneven but vibrant pastiche that drives a stiletto through Hollywood’s heart.
#21
Adjusted Score: 78024%
Critics Consensus: Slow-building and atmospheric, The Blackcoat’s Daughter resists girls-in-peril clichés in a supernatural thriller that serves as a strong calling card for debuting writer-director Oz Perkins.
#22
Adjusted Score: 77083%
Critics Consensus: Thanks to a strong performance from Jake Gyllenhaal and smart direction from Denis Villeneuve, Enemy hits the mark as a tense, uncommonly adventurous thriller.
#23
Adjusted Score: 83696%
Critics Consensus: If its narrative and thematic reach sometimes exceeds its grasp, magnetic performances from a stellar cast help Men make the most of its horror provocations.
#24
Adjusted Score: 78852%
Critics Consensus: Challenging and rewarding in equal measure, Climax captures writer-director Gaspar Noé working near his technically brilliant and visually distinctive peak.
#25
Adjusted Score: 83310%
Critics Consensus: Beau Is Afraid is overstuffed to the point of erasing the line between self-flagellation and self-indulgence, but Ari Aster’s bravura and Joaquin Phoenix’s sheer commitment give this neurotic odyssey undeniable power.
#26
Adjusted Score: 52466%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#27
Adjusted Score: 50652%
Critics Consensus: Its classic horror aims exceed its blood-slicked grasp, but False Positive works its way sneakily under the skin.
#28
Adjusted Score: 51987%
Critics Consensus: Tusk is pleasantly ridiculous and charmingly self-deprecating, but that isn’t enough to compensate for its thin, overstretched story.
#29
Adjusted Score: 48986%
Critics Consensus: In spite of Aubrey Plaza’s committed performance, Life After Beth remains a sketch-worthy idea that’s been uncomfortably stretched to feature length.