Entertainment
25 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.
25
‘Keeper’ (2025)
On a weekend getaway to celebrate their first anniversary, medical doctor Malcolm (Rossif Sutherland) brings his painter girlfriend Liz (Tatiana Maslany) to his secluded, peaceful cabin in the woods, hoping for peace and relaxation. But, for Liz, an uneasiness seems to follow her everywhere in the house. Soon, she fears something supernatural is stalking her, leading her to suspect Malcolm may have alternative motives for bringing her to the cabin in the first place.
From Osgood Perkins, the wildly unique mind behind The Monkey and Longlegs, Keeper is his slow-burning 2025 mystery folk horror thriller that is booming with bizarre, unsettling terror. It keeps the audience constantly on edge, wondering just what is about to happen, what exactly is haunting the cabin, and just who Malcolm really is. It culminates in a shocking twist and horrifying third act that will have viewers questioning just what they really experienced. —Daniel Boyer
24
‘Saloum’ (2021)
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 scary 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.
23
‘Dark Harvest’ (2023)
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 in real concerns that make the characters’ predicament relatable.
22
‘You Are Not My Mother’ (2021)
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, is 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.
21
‘The Medium’ (2021)
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.
20
‘Candyman’ (2021)
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 an 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, 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.
The film examines the effects of gentrification, as the Cabrini-Green public housing project, which served as the focal point for the original film, has been demolished to make way for luxury apartments. Folk horror is usually associated with rural spaces, but urban areas can also be a rich source of folklore and history. An urban legend, such as the one about Candyman, is tied to a specific place, and its impact can still be felt by the people who venture there. The past and present collide in ways that can be fascinating—and terrifying.
19
‘Wrong Turn’ (2021)
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.
18
‘In the Earth’ (2021)
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.
17
‘Moloch’ (2022)
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.
16
‘She Will’ (2021)
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.
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