20 Best Horror Movies Of 2021

15. In The Earth

The Night House
Neon

Ben Wheatley delivered his strongest work in around a decade with In the Earth, a film about a virus ravaging the world that was shot in the earlier stages of the pandemic over the course of just 15 days.

Despite its hurried development, this is an impressively fully-formed project that takes its time building and building (and building) to an unforgettable sensory assault of a climax.

Terrifically acted by an ensemble including Joel Fry, Reece Shearsmith, and Hayley Squires, In the Earth touched the nerve of pandemic anxiety with probing insight, but even years from now it'll surely still prove effective as a quietly queasy, fitfully brutal, and finally hallucinogenic sci-fi horror.

For anyone bummed out by Wheatley's inconsistent recent output - especially his feckless remake of Hitchcock's Rebecca - this was surely just the relief needed.

Contributor
Contributor

Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes). General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.