You heard it here - horror movies may reduce anxiety. The amygdala in the brain detects emotions of fear and prepares us for frightening events, while our conscious perception regonises that these alarming events are not real. This suggests that vicariously experiencing negative emotions in a controlled environment may be useful for managing anxiety. Sort of like exposure therapy! With that in mind, welcome to our top 5 Horror Movie picks.
The Invisible Man, 2020. Hands up if you love Elizabeth Moss! Bringing us major doses of spooky realness since always - from cult classic 'Girl Interrupted' through to 'Top of The Lake' and 'The Handmaid's Tale' - here, she brings her unique vibe to a remake of the Invisible Man story of old. Does the future scare you? It should. 9/10.
The House That Jack Built, 2018. Matt Dillon, Uma Thurman, Lars von Trier - what's not to love? Starring Dillon as an off-the-chains failed-Architect-come-Serial-Killer in the Pacific Northwest, it's a phycological art film trip which will shock. It's not for the faint-hearted, and the ending is questionable. The rest is... up to you. 8/10.
Midsommar, 2019. Who hasn't heard me bang on about this one? Swedish, idyllic, shocking, unpredictable, violent, insanity. Whatever it is, you won't see it coming. I'll just leave you with a rating: 10/10.
The Rental, 2020. Okay okay, this one isn't that great tbh, but I really love Alison Bree as an actress, and her relationship with husband Dave Franco, and their combined ventures into writing and directing (both together and separately.) Quite a classic creepy flick, with more emphasis on creepy than horror. You definitely won't sleep so well at your next Airbnb. 7/10.
Doctor Sleep, 2019. Struggling from alcoholism, little Danny from The Shining is now a very traumatised Ewen McGregor. This next chapter in Stephen King's story is worth a watch, but leaves much to be desired - as you might expect from a Shining film not directed by Stanley Kubrick or starring Jack Nicolson, to state the obvious. I'm here for the reprisal of old classic characters, but the American-Horror-Story-Coven-esque tangent doesn't feel in-keeping with what you'd want out of a continuation of such a classic. 6/10.
