10 Best Monster Horror Movies Of The 2020s (So Far)

Finland doesn't have much of a presence in the horror scene, much less within the monster movie subgenre, but Hatching (Pahanhautoja in the original Finnish) has single-handedly gone a long way to changing that.

Hanna Bergholm's low-budget feature takes us into the private lives of 12-year-old gymnast Tinja (Siiri Solalinna) and her family, opening on Tinja's mother killing a crow that has found its way into their home. From there, things only take a turn for the stranger, as Tinja discovers the crow's orphaned egg and decides to incubate it in her bedroom, where it grows in size and hatches what can only be described as a giant, bird-like hell beast, which Tinja names Alli and lets sleep under her bed. As you do.

A cautionary tale of childhood trauma and the pressures of an overbearing parent, the malevolent bird becomes a force of violence in Tinja's life, often acting out in ways that mirror her anger and anguish. Rather than conform to the traditional genre trope of the family vs. the beast, Alli becomes more and more like Tinja, eventually usurping her place entirely in the family unit. And the remarkably seamless blend of practical effects and CG sell every moment of it.