MONSTERZERO NJ’S BEST/FAVORITE HORROR FLICKS of 2020!

Maya (Tara Basro) returns to her birthplace to find a decades old curse that may get her killed in Impetigore.

It’s time to look back at the past year and see what horror flicks left an impression. The COVID 19 shutdown had major releases on hold, allowing indie horror to take the forefront via drive-ins and on streaming networks. Most of this year’s bests are indie productions, save for a few scant studio horrors released before theater closings. So, without further ado, here are my ten best/favorite horrors of 2020!…

…and five honorable mentions that deserve a shout out, too!

(NOTE: There are a few titles here initially released in 2019, or earlier, at festivals, but didn’t get an official release, theatrically, or to VOD or home media, till 2020. Obviously, it would be unfair not to include them!-MZNJ)

(To get to our reviews of these titles use the search engine at the top of the page!)

TOP TEN

 

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Is hot mom next door Abbie (Zarah Mahler) a witch? Teen Ben (John-Paul Howard) seems to think so, in The Wretched.

********************

-MonsterZero NJ

BARE BONES: THE MORTUARY COLLECTION (2019)

THE MORTUARY COLLECTION (2019)

Horror anthology finds pretty, young Sam (Caitlin Fisher) looking for work at the Raven’s End mortuary. The caretaker is spooky mortician Montgomery Dark (Clancy Brown), who begins to weave stories of the supernatural and the macabre at Sam’s insistence. Dark begins to tell a series of tales from a slinky pick-pocket (Christine Kilmer) encountering a Lovecraftian medicine cabinet, to a womanizing, college stud (Jacob Elordi) finding his comeuppance with a mysterious new co-ed (Ema Horvath), to a husband (Barak Hardley) driven to desperate measures with an ailing wife (Sarah Hay) to Sam’s own tale of her babysitting encounter with an escaped psychopath (Ben Hethcoat). As the stories unfold, we find that there may be far more to the Raven’s End Mortuary than just it’s grave history.

Anthology is well directed by Ryan Spindell from his own script. The stories are fairly consistent and while none is particularly original, or scary, they are all entertaining and well presented. Spindell has a very good visual eye, and the stories all look spooky and atmospheric, especially with the wraparound filmed in Oregon’s Flavel House Museum, which was one of the locations for The Goonies. The last story and the wraparound are the best, with some creepy FX, chilling moments and spooky revelations. The gore and make-up effects are top notch all around and the cast seem to all be having a good time, especially Brown as mortician Dark and Fisher as the feisty Sam. Fun anthology is streaming on Shudder and is certainly worth a look for horror anthology fans and quite fitting for the Halloween season.

-MonsterZero NJ