10 Hidden Horror Movie Gems From 2020s (So Far)
Those underappreciated horror offerings of the decade so far.
While the decades have often not been kind to horror - the genre being an easy target to mock by more 'sophisticated' cineastes - this twisted, terrifying corner of cinema is on a fantastic run right now.
Sure, not every horror picture is a home run, but the genre has delivered so many brilliant movies in recent years. Already in 2023 alone, we've had stellar offerings such as Evil Dead Rise, Infinity Pool, Pearl, M3GAN, and Knock at the Cabin as big-name cinema releases that have impressed, whilst the likes of Skinamarink, Manfish, and Huesera: The Bone Woman have had significant spotlights shone on them on certain streaming services.
Away from those more popular pictures, though, this year and the rest of the 2020s so far have served up some utterly cracking hidden gems; those films which have flown under the radar and been left to go a little underappreciated by the masses. And here, that's where our focus is on today.
With that in mind, then, here are ten hidden gem features of this decade which should be added to the must-watch list of any and all horror hounds.
11. Honorary Mention: The Amusement Park
Considering that The Amusement Park is a film from 1973, many will be asking why this George A. Romero picture is on a list of horror gems from the 2020s.
Despite screening at a handful of festivals in 1975, The Amusement Park was "lost" for over 40 years. However, that came to an end in 2017 when Romero and his wife Suzanne were sent a 16mm print of the movie. This would be screened in 2018 in New York, a 4K restoration would be worked on the following year, and The Amusement Park finally became available to the world in 2021, currently to be found on Shudder.
So, despite being finished in 1973, The Amusement Park is definitely worth an honorary mention here, not least for its being a fascinating lost treasure from the career of one of horror's most iconic filmmakers.
In actuality, Romero was hired by the Lutheran Service Society of Western Pennsylvania to shoot an educational film about discrimination against the elderly. The Amusement Park would be that educational film; an educational film deemed too intense by the Lutheran Service Society, which is part of the reason the movie took so long to make its way out to the public.
As for the the plot of this film, Lincoln Maazel stars as an older gentleman ignored, bullied, and beaten during a day out at the titular park.