10 Hidden Horror Movie Gems From 2020s (So Far)

5. Porno

Deadstream Movie
Shudder

Not to be confused with a straight-up movie adaptation of Irvine Welsh's 2002 Trainspotting follow-up novel, Keola Racela's Porno just about manages to scrape it onto this list due to receiving its premiere at SXSW in 2019, but not being formally released until the following April.

With a healthy dose of humour and heart, Porno takes place in the early '90s in a quiet Christian town where nothing of note ever happens. That is, until a group of young cinema workers discover an old film reel and curiosity takes over. On said reel, there's an old pornographic movie... which, upon being watched, releases a succubus, aka a sex demon.

Upon consuming the forbidden fruit that is this XXX-rated feature, our core group find themselves fighting their own adolescent urges in a film that absolutely brings some brilliant, gooey gore once things really get going.

Porno isn't something designed to change the face of horror or redesign the wheel, yet it's a fun popcorn flick that nicely clocks in around the 90-minute mark. Sure, it may be a little silly at times, but that's kind of to be expected from a picture where a sex demon is unleashed on a movie theatre.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.