20 Best Folk Horror Movies of the 2020s (So Far)

Folk horror has only recently been recognized as a distinct subgenre, even though some of its most famous works—including Witchfinder General, The Blood on Satan’s Claw, and The Wicker Man—came out in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Many folk horror movies focus on isolated communities that get swept up in dangerous superstitions, while others highlight the darkness in aspects of folk culture, such as music, stories, and rituals. Over the decades, what was once considered a British phenomenon has flourished into a worldwide fascination.

The 2020s, in particular, have seen an explosion of new folk horror movies. It’s hard to say exactly what inspired the trend, but the popularity of Ari Aster‘s Midsommar (2019) and rising interest in folklore seem to be contributing factors. The folk horror movies of the last few years have proven that the genre is more than just pagans and stone circles; from the glacial valleys of Iceland to the ancestral burial grounds of South Korea, the settings of modern folk horror are more diverse than ever.

20

‘Saloum’ (2021)

Directed by Jean Luc Herbulot

Set during a coup in 2003, a group of African mercenaries and the man they’ve been hired to protect seek refuge in a remote region of Senegal. As they hide out at an isolated resort, they start to learn about the spiritual significance of the place as well as their leader’s painful history with the owner of the resort. Soon, a curse breaks free, and everyone at the resort must fight for their lives as they’re swarmed by spirits that kill by sound.

Saloum is a refreshing bit of folk horror that mostly plays as a fantasy adventure mixed with a crime thriller. The mythology and folklore related to the surroundings provide an interesting backdrop for a story that touches on the real-life horror of child soldiers in West Africa. The ancient terrors that plague the group throughout the film provide a poignant parallel to the trauma the main character still grapples with as an adult. The pacing of the film is a highlight; viewers are dropped into the action right away and are barely given time to breathe. Watch on Shudder

19

‘Dark Harvest’ (2023)

Directed by David Slade

Every year, teenage boys in a small Midwest town must compete in the Run and kill a dangerous creature called Sawtooth Jack before it can reach the church in the center of town. The prize for winning the Run is a one-way ticket out of town, a prize so coveted that the boys would die for it–and many of them do. Most of Dark Harvest takes place on the night of the Run, but a portrait of the town starts to emerge as a place that’s bleak, stagnant, and full of secrets. The shadowy Harvesters Guild that oversees the town may be a bigger threat than Sawtooth Jack.

Critics might dismiss Dark Harvest as a teen version of The Purge films, and the film is held back by some hammy acting and a premise that’s hard to swallow. However, the depiction of the nameless town as an isolated, regressive place has some interesting things to say about the urban-rural divide, as well as generational warfare. The supernatural figure of Sawtooth Jack might push the film into fantasy territory, but the folk horror themes ground it real concerns that make the characters’ predicament relatable.

18

‘You Are Not My Mother’ (2021)

Directed by Kate Dolan

In the Irish horror film You Are Not My Mother, Char is a teenage girl who is already facing plenty of problems well before her mother, Angela, goes missing. Angela clearly has depression, unable to take care of herself and her daughter, but when she returns from her disappearance, something has changed. More than depressed, she seems possessed, and Char wonders if the person who came back might be something else altogether.

A significant number of horror stories deal with the theme of mental health, creating ambiguity about what is real and what is delusion. Where You Are Not My Mother takes a turn to folk horror is through the introduction of magic and the folklore of changelings. A changeling is a kind of fairy creature that has been sent to the real world as a replacement for someone who was taken. Often, the changeling takes the form of a child, but it can look like an adult as well. When Char suspects that her mother’s behavior might be related to the supernatural, she turns to magic for a possible solution.

You Are Not My Mother

Release Date

March 25, 2022

Director

Kate Dolan

Cast

Hazel Doupe
, Carolyn Bracken
, Ingrid Craigie
, Jordanne Jones
, Paul Reid
, Katie White
, Florence Adebambo
, Aoife Spratt

Runtime

93 Minutes

17

‘The Medium’ (2021)

Directed by Banjong Pisanthanakun

The South Korean producer of The Medium, Na Hong-jin, directed the hit folk horror film The Wailing in 2016, so it’s no surprise that Na’s follow-up project showed a similar fascination with demon possession and shamanic rituals. The Medium is a mockumentary that takes place in Thailand and follows a local medium who claims to be inhabited by the spirit of a goddess. The spirit must be passed to the next person in line through an elaborate ritual, and the medium claims that her niece has been chosen to host the goddess. However, the plans to transfer the spirit go awry and the family appears to be cursed for their failure.

The documentary format of the film is part of what makes it successful, conveying realism despite the supernatural occurrences. The Medium is also known for being quite scary; the things that happen to Mink, the niece, are brutal and terrifying. Another thing that makes the story frightening is the idea of inviting a spirit into one’s body. The character of the medium has faith that the spirit is a goddess, but there’s also a chance that she might be inviting in evil spirits that have managed to hide their true nature.

Release Date

July 14, 2021

Director

Banjong Pisanthanakun

Cast

Narilya Gulmongkolpech
, Sawanee Utoomma
, Sirani Yankittikan
, Yasaka Chaisorn
, Boonsong Nakphoo
, Arunee Wattana
, Thanutphon Boonsang
, Pakapol Srirongmuang
, Akkaradech Rattanawong
, Chatchawat Sanveang
, Yossawat Sittiwong
, Arnon Losiripanya
, Klangchon Chuekham
, Sayan Phiwchan
, Sakchai Yukhachen
, Nuttapol Kummata
, Sontaya Dermparakhon
, Ronnasit Nilsu
, Tanakrit Jaliablam
, Chainarong Panchai
, Puwadon Naosopa
, Suphamit Worabut
, Sornrasak Wiwasuk
, Wassana Raphaban
, Umpa Laokom

Runtime

131 minutes

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16

‘Candyman’ (2021)

Directed by Nia DaCosta

A sequel to the 1992 slasher classic, director Nia DaCosta’s Candyman also serves as a reboot that brings the franchise into the modern era. In the original film, Candyman was a figure out of urban legend who had once been a man named Daniel Robitaille, killed for being a Black man in a relationship with a white woman. The 2021 Candyman examines the way that the urban legend has evolved over time, with the story focusing on a different wronged man depending on the era. Like Robitaille, protagonist Anthony is an artist whose life is still affected by racism more than a hundred years later.

Candyman

Release Date

August 27, 2021

Cast

Tony Todd
, Cassie Kramer
, Colman Domingo
, Carl Clemons-Hopkins
, Teyonah Parris
, Rebecca Spence
, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett
, Christina Clark
, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II
, Vanessa Estelle Williams
, Kyle Kaminsky

Runtime

91 minutes

15

‘Wrong Turn’ (2021)

Directed by Mike P. Nelson

Folk horror, with its suggestion that rural isolation can make people a bit twisted, is often in danger of falling into hicksploitation, a subgenre that mocks country folk as ignorant and dangerous. Earlier films in the Wrong Turn series focused on inbred cannibals living in the Appalachians, but the seventh installment, also known as Wrong Turn: The Foundation, offers an interesting twist that’s closer to Midsommar than The Hills Have Eyes. The movie follows a group of hikers on the Appalachian Trail that runs afoul of a remote community called the Foundation.

The Foundation has kept itself separate from society since before the Civil War, and they will do anything to protect their chosen way of life. Periodically, they accept and initiate new members to sustain the community. The film is surprisingly thoughtful in its presentation of the conflict between modernity and tradition as well as the culture clash between so-called civilization and barbarity. An early scene, in which the hikers treat a local man with cruel condescension, reveals that the movie will be flipping the script on the usual hicksploitation tropes—a promising beginning to a strong story.

Wrong Turn

Release Date

January 26, 2021

Director

Mike P. Nelson

Cast

Bill Sage
, Dylan McTee
, Emma Dumont
, Adain Bradley
, Daisy Head
, Charlotte Vega
, Matthew Modine
, Adrian Favela

Runtime

120 minutes

14

‘In the Earth’ (2021)

Directed by Ben Wheatley

Director Ben Wheatley (The Meg 2: The Trench) is practically a veteran of the folk horror genre, having made Kill List and A Field in England prior to 2021’s pandemic-themed In the Earth. Although the virus is only tangential to the plot, the social-distancing-induced isolation enhances the film’s sense of alienation. In the movie, a scientist and a park scout venture into a dangerous forest to look for a researcher who has disappeared. They find that both the researcher and her ex-husband have gone mad trying to communicate with an ancient woodland spirit.

Like Wheatley’s A Field in England, In the Earth is a surreal, psychedelic journey that will leave many viewers scratching their heads. However, the film’s eco-horror elements will resonate with viewers concerned about climate change. The message seems to be that there are some forces—whether natural or supernatural—that should be left alone. One character attempts to use science and technology to unravel the mysteries of the world, while another uses occult rituals. In the end, both approaches are shown to be misguided.

In the Earth

Release Date

April 16, 2021

Cast

Joel Fry
, Reece Shearsmith
, Mark Monero
, Ellora Torchia
, John Hollingworth
, Hayley Squires

Runtime

107 minutes

13

‘Moloch’ (2022)

Directed by Nico van den Brink

In the Dutch horror-fantasy movie Moloch, Betriek and her young daughter move into her parents’ house after her husband dies. However, the place where Betriek grew up is unsettling rather than comforting. The house is on the edge of a peat bog where archaeologists have been digging up the bodies of several women who were apparently killed in a ritual sacrifice. Even worse, the women are all discovered to be Betriek’s ancestors.

Folk horror is often about the ways that cycles repeat themselves, especially the cycle of death and rebirth. This is why human sacrifice has become a reliable folk horror trope, with villagers spilling blood in exchange for a bountiful harvest. But sacrifice can also be a powerful symbol of generational trauma. The older generations perpetuate harmful practices that the younger generations try–and often fail–to reject. Betriek in Moloch finds herself caught up in this same terrifying cycle.

Watch on Shudder

12

‘She Will’ (2021)

Directed by Charlotte Colbert

She Will is a fresh take on the witch subgenre that deserves much more attention than it’s gotten. In the film, Veronica Ghent (Alice Krige) is an aging film star who goes on a retreat in Scotland to recover from a mastectomy. Veronica and her nurse Desi discover that the retreat is located in a region where countless women were once burned as witches, and the land is now contaminated by the ashes. Veronica and Desi both experience nightmares that connect their personal traumas with the historical persecution of women.

Krige gives a powerful performance as a woman marked by childhood abuse and grappling with her lost youth. She Will at times feels more like a drama than a horror movie, but the moody, Gothic atmosphere delivers enough dread to interest horror fans. The barren, wooded landscape is beautifully filmed to emphasize the way that places create a connection between the past and the present, which is an enduring theme in folk horror movies.

She Will

Release Date

July 15, 2022

Director

Charlotte Colbert

Cast

Alice Krige
, Kota Eberhardt
, Malcolm McDowell
, Rupert Everett
, Amy Manson
, John McCrea
, Olwen Fouéré
, Daniel Lapaine
, Jonathan Aris
, Kenneth Collard
, Joanna Bacon
, Jack Greenlees
, Layla Burns
, Apple Yang
, Fiz Marcus
, Catriona McNicoll
, Stephen Adjei-Kyem
, Andrew Steele
, Renee Williams
, Thomas Handling

Runtime

95 minutes

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11

‘Men’ (2022)

Directed by Alex Garland

The surreal folk horror movie Men from director Alex Garland (Annihilation, Civil War), uses the ancient fertility symbol of the green man to tell a story about toxic masculinity. In the movie, Harper (Jessie Buckley) treats herself to a tranquil country holiday after her emotionally abusive husband dies by suicide. At first, she enjoys some quiet time strolling the woods near her beautiful rental cottage, but she finds her peace disturbed by several men, who are all played by Rory Kinnear.

Harper’s encounters with the men become more and more disturbing until she finds herself fighting for her life. The film culminates in one of the strangest, most unsettling sequences of all time. In British folklore, the green man is a figure who is half human and half vegetation, understood to symbolize fertility and rebirth. Men raises interesting questions about the concept of a male fertility figure, when women are typically the givers of life. Regardless of whether the film is successful at making its point, the ending is unforgettable.

Men

Release Date

May 20, 2022

Director

Alex Garland

Runtime

100 minutes

10

‘All You Need Is Death’ (2023)

Directed by Paul Duane

Music has the power to move people in ways that other art forms can’t. In Irish filmmaker Paul Duane‘s All You Need Is Death, this power becomes terrifyingly literal. The story follows Anna and Aleks, a young couple who collect old and rare folk songs. The two travel around Ireland, seeking out a song that has been closely guarded for more than a thousand years by the women of an ancient family line. Anna and Aleks soon discover that there’s a good reason why the song has never been recorded.

All You Need Is Death can be a challenging watch. The film’s reality is slightly skewed and the characters’ motives are often murky, all of which creates an unnerving viewing experience not unlike the work of David Lynch. However, like the mysterious song at the heart of the narrative, the movie casts its own dark spell over the viewer.

All You Need Is Death

Release Date

October 9, 2023

Director

Paul Duane

Cast

Charlie Maher
, Simone Collins
, Catherine Siggins
, Nigel O’Neill
, Olwen Fouéré
, Barry McKiernan
, David McDermott
, Gary Whelan
, Vinny Murphy

Runtime

90 minutes

9

‘Hellbender’ (2021)

Directed by John Adams, Zelda Adams, and Toby Poser

The Adams Family is a husband-wife-and-daughters team who make wildly creative movies on a small budget, like Hell Hole about a fracking crew that unwittingly unleashes a deadly and powerful parasite. Hellbender is a quieter affair, focused on a mother and daughter who live in the woods, isolated from the rest of society. Izzy, the daughter, longs for human connection but believes she has an autoimmune disorder that prevents her from interacting with others. Eventually, it’s revealed that mother and daughter alike are “Hellbenders,” or witches, who must keep their powers under strict control or risk becoming a danger to the world.

Aside from the novelty of a movie that was entirely written, directed, and performed by a family, Hellbender is a pleasure to watch. Izzy and her mother entertain themselves in their solitude by writing songs, and their high-energy rock performances make for an enjoyable soundtrack. The film also includes stunning visuals, natural character dynamics, and a coming-of-age storyline that feels believable despite the fantastical elements.

Hellbender

Release Date

September 28, 2021

Director

John Adams
, Zelda Adams
, Toby Poser

Cast

Zelda Adams
, Toby Poser
, Lulu Adams
, John Adams
, Rinzin Thonden

Runtime

83 Minutes

8

‘The Devil’s Bath’ (2024)

Directed by Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala

In the 18th-century Austria of The Devil’s Bath, young Agnes is falling into despair. Her new husband seems more interested in pursuing his best friend than in consummating their marriage. Even worse, her mother-in-law is an overbearing presence, constantly pointing out the ways Agnes is failing as a wife. The young woman succumbs to depression, or “the Devil’s Bath,” as the locals describe it—a kind of possession.

Writers and directors Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala (the team behind Goodnight Mommy and The Lodge) took inspiration for The Devil’s Bath from a real-life horror: in the 18th century, severely depressed women would engage in suicide by proxy, committing murder so they would be executed. Prior to execution, the women could confess to a priest and be absolved of their sins. This would allow them to end their suffering without endangering their mortal souls. The film depicts Agnes’s predicament with uncomfortable realism, opening a window into her unforgiving world and leaving the viewer with a sadness that lingers long after the credits roll.

The Devil’s Bath

Release Date

June 8, 2024

Director

Veronika Franz
, Severin Fiala

Cast

Anja Plaschg
, Maria Hofstätter
, David Scheid
, Natalija Baranova
, Claudia Martini

Runtime

120 Minutes

7

‘Huesera: The Bone Woman’ (2022)

Directed by Michelle Garza Cervera

Valeria was once a punk rocker in a happy relationship with her girlfriend, but now married to a man, she seems to have embraced the traditional roles of wife and mother. However, as she prepares for the birth of her baby, she finds herself struggling against the confines of her new life. She’s not sure if she’s ready to sacrifice her whole identity and let go of personal ambitions. Worst of all, she’s being haunted by visions of a woman with a broken body. To break the curse hanging over her and her unborn child, Valeria enlists the help of her aunt and a local shaman.

Huesera: The Bone Woman is a joint production of Mexico and Peru and an excellent examination of the pressures that society places on women. The elements of folklore and the occult in the film serve to help Valeria better understand her desires and stand up for what she needs–even if it goes against expectations. The film takes its place among the best Latin American horror movies of recent years.

6

‘Lamb’ (2021)

Directed by Valdimar Jóhannsson

A24’s Lamb is a slow-burn horror movie from Iceland about a married couple, Maria and Ingvar, who make an unsettling discovery on their sheep farm one day: one of their ewes has given birth to a lamb-human hybrid. Because their own child died a year earlier, they see this discovery as a second chance at parenthood and even name the lamb child Ada, in honor of their daughter. Maria and Ingvar’s judgment is so clouded by grief and misplaced love that they fail to see the warning signs.

Lamb plays out like a fairy tale, and there are long stretches where nothing outright horrific happens. The lamb child is painfully cute, and Maria and Ingvar are loving parents. But the problems they’ve been ignoring—as well as some new problems they’ve created—all come to a head in a disturbing climax. The gorgeous landscape of Iceland is an appropriately magical setting for the film, and Noomi Rapace (Prometheus) turns in an intense performance as Maria.

Release Date

October 8, 2021

Director

Valdimar Jóhannsson

Cast

Ingvar Sigurdsson
, Hilmir Snaer Guonason
, Björn Hlynur Haraldsson
, Nommi Rapace
, Ester Bibi

Runtime

106 minutes

5

‘Enys Men’ (2022)

Directed by Mark Jenkin

Even though Enys Men is set in the 1970s and looks like a lost television special from the era, the story is an ecological fable that feels timely. In the film, an unnamed woman lives alone on an island off the coast of Cornwall, where she’s been tasked with monitoring a rare breed of flowers that only grow on the rocky cliffs. Every day follows the same routine until the flowers and the woman both start to undergo distressing changes.

Enys Men won’t be for everyone. The last few years have seen horror filmmakers offering more experimental works, like the much-buzzed-about Skinamarink from 2022. Jenkin’s film has a circular quality, with images that loop and repeat, and the events have a dreamlike feel that pushes them out of the literal realm and into an allegorical one. However, viewers who are willing to be patient will find pleasure in the movie’s hypnotic sound design and striking visuals.

Release Date

April 18, 2023

Director

Mark Jenkin

Cast

Mary Woodvine
, Edward Rowe
, Flo Crowe
, John Woodvine

Runtime

96 Minutes

4

‘Starve Acre’ (2023)

Directed by Daniel Kokotajlo

Richard and Juliette, played by Matt Smith (House of the Dragon) and Morfydd Clark (The Rings of Power), have moved to Richard’s family estate, believing the countryside to be a healthy environment for their son, Owen. However, Richard, who had an uneasy relationship with his father, finds himself troubled by the landscape and the memories it stirs in him. The place is having a sinister effect on Owen as well. After the boy’s sudden death, Richard throws himself into the work of excavating an oak tree of local legend that once grew on the property.

Folk horror is often concerned about what lurks beneath the soil. The land can give nourishment, but it can also hide dark relics of the past that are better left buried. In examining this theme, Starve Acre feels very much like a classic work of folk horror. The gray and brown color palette further ties the film to the genre’s roots, evoking the look of British folk horror from the 1970s. While the film has a few flaws, it succeeds at embodying the themes and aesthetics that have come to define the genre.

Release Date

July 26, 2024

Director

Daniel Kokotajlo

Runtime

98 Minutes

3

‘Exhuma’ (2024)

Directed by Jang Jae-hyun

In Exhuma, veteran actor Choi Min-sik (Oldboy) plays a geomancer—someone who assesses the feng shui of potential burial sites—who must investigate a cursed grave. An angry ancestor is haunting a rich family, so the geomancer and his shaman associates must dig up the grave, perform some cleansing rituals, and move the body to a more suitable location. However, once the coffin has been unearthed, the team discovers an even older tomb underneath.

Upon its release, Exhuma garnered positive reviews from around the world and has often been hailed as one of the best horror movies of 2024 so far. For international audiences, the film is a crash course in Korean mythology and the occult as well as a history lesson about the country’s brutal treatment under Japanese imperialism. What makes the movie so effective is the pacing of its reveals; the viewer experiences the escalating tension alongside the characters, making for a wild, terrifying ride.

Release Date

February 22, 2024

Director

Jang Jae-hyun

Cast

Choi Min-sik
, Kim Go-eun
, Yoo Hae-jin
, Lee Do-Hyun
, and Kim Sun-young

Runtime

134 Minutes

2

‘You Won’t Be Alone’ (2022)

Directed by Goran Stolevski

In some ways, You Won’t Be Alone doesn’t feel like a horror movie at all. The story, about a young witch in 19th-century Macedonia who escapes from the isolated cave where she was raised, feels more like a meditation on what it means to be human. The teenage Nevena discovers that she can shapeshift, and uses this power to experience life from various perspectives–as a child, a man, and a young mother. She learns about the pain and pleasure of human relationships, feeling acceptance in her human form that she would never find as a witch.

Despite the wide-eyed wonder in many of You Won’t Be Alone’s sequences, there’s plenty of body horror and gore to remind the viewer that this is indeed a horror movie, even though it offers a different portrayal of witches. The witch subgenre is often exploitative, focusing more on the supposed monstrousness of the characters than their unfair persecution. You Won’t Be Alone, by contrast, is an oddly life-affirming movie underneath all the blood and guts.

Release Date

April 1, 2022

Director

Goran Stolevski

Runtime

108 minutes

1

‘The Feast’ (2021)

Directed by Lee Haven Jones

The Feast, a criminally underseen Welsh-language film directed by Lee Haven Jones, is a portrait of a family at complete odds with their surroundings. Although they live on farmland passed down to Glenda, the matriarch, the house they’ve built is a modern monstrosity, painted black and rising at sharp angles from the landscape. The father, in a display of machismo, shoots a pair of rabbits for dinner. The eldest son is focused on turning himself into a machine through obsessive dieting and exercise. The family’s artificial and consumer-driven lifestyle is challenged when a young woman named Cady shows up to help Glenda prepare for a lavish dinner party.

Although The Feast is a slow-burning film, the way the events unfold is fascinating. It’s clear from the beginning that Cady has a deep and mysterious connection to the land. Her body appears to shed mud at times, and when she goes outside, she’s embraced by vines. As her true identity is revealed, the restrained film explodes into a cacophony of violence and madness. The movie uses Welsh folklore brilliantly to tell a terrifying story that feels both modern and timeless.

The Feast

Release Date

November 19, 2021

Director

Lee Haven Jones

Cast

Caroline Berry
, Lisa Palfrey
, Sion Alun Davies
, Annes Elwy
, Steffan Cennydd

Runtime

93 minutes

NEXT: The Best Folk Horror Movies of All Time, Ranked