By Andrew Buckner

In the spirit of the Halloween season, I have compiled a list of the fifty best horror films that have come out so far this year.

Note: The criteria used for the feature films included in this list is an official release date, whether direct to streaming or theatrical, in 2021.

50. Teddy

Directors: Ludovic Boukherma, Zoran Boukherma.

49. Bad Candy

Directors: Scott B. Hansen, Desiree Connell.

48. Like Dogs

Director: Randy Van Dyke.

47. It Came from Below

Director: Dan Allen.

46. An Unquiet Grave

Director: Terence Kray.

45. Superdeep

Director: Arseny Syuhin.

44. Stay Out of the Attic

Director: Jerren Lauder.

43. Slaxx

Director: Elza Kephart.

42. Caveat

Director: Damian McCarthy.

41. Shadow in the Cloud

Director: Roseanne Liang.

40. Séance

Director: Simon Barrett.

39. Willy’s Wonderland

Director: Kevin Lewis.

38. Son

Director: Ivan Kavanagh.

37. Lucky

Director: Natasha Kermani.

36. Superhost

Director: Brandon Christensen.

35. The Last Matinee

Director: Maximiliano Conteni.

34. The Power

Director: Corinna Faith.

33. The Old Ways

Director: Christopher Alender.

32. The Swarm

Director: Just Philippot.

31. A Classic Horror Story

Directors: Roberto De Feo, Paolo Strippoli.

30. Separation

Director: William Brent Bell.

29. No One Gets Out Alive

Director: Santiago Menghini.

28. Werewolves Within

Director: Josh Ruben.

27. Don’t Breathe 2

Director: Rodo Sayagues.

26. Vicious Fun

Director: Cody Calahan.

25. Honeydew

Director: Devereux Milburn.

24. The Night House

Director: David Bruckner.

23. Benny Loves You

Director: Karl Holt.

22. Chompy and the Girls

Director: Skye Braband.

21. Nightbooks

Director: David Yarovesky.

20. Violation

Directors: Madeline Sims-Fewer, Dusty Mancinelli.

19. Fear Street: Part One – 1994

Director: Leigh Janiak.

18. The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It

Director: Michael Chaves.

17. Jakob’s Wife

Director: Travis Stevens.

16. Psycho Goreman

Director: Steven Kostanski.

15. Saint Maud

Director: Rose Glass.

14. V/H/S/94

Directors: Simon Barrett, Steven Kostanski, Chloe Okuno, Ryan Prows, Jennifer Reeder, Timo Tjahjanto.

13. We Need to Do Something

Director: Sean King O’Grady.

12. Candyman

Director: Nia DaCosta.

11. The Girl Who Got Away

Director: Michael Morrissey.

10. Malignant

Director: James Wan.    

9. Censor

Director: Prano Bailey-Bond.

8. In the Earth

Director: Ben Wheatley.

7. I Blame Society

Director: Gillian Wallace Horvat.

6. The Boy Behind the Door

Director: David Charbonier, Justin Powell.

5. A Quiet Place II

Director: John Krasinski.

4. Sator

Director: Jordan Graham.

 3. Climate of the Hunter

 Director: Mickey Reese.

 2. Dementer

 Director: Chad Crawford Kinkle.

1. The Amusement Park

Director: George A. Romero.