By: Arturo Benitez-Osorio

1.⠀ Incantation 

TRAILER: https://youtu.be/HnyNZdcL_GY?si=t3MJwZflZA1YzSfF

Description: Inspired by a true story of a family who believed they were possessed by spirits, this film follows a woman who must protect her child from a curse.

I remember when this movie got popular during 2024 and it caught my attention since everyone on social media were talking about how scary this movie was. I’ve checked it out and once the movie ended I felt terrified.

Things that I liked about this movie was the adrenaline rush of feeling on some scenes since you never can expect a jumpscare. There were also some few parts that made you very uncomfortable and eerie. It kept me on edge from beginning to end constantly guessing what might happen next.

If you’re looking for a deeply unsettling charged horror movie that sticks with you, I highly recommend this one since this horror movie isn’t like the rest of the others having some weak jumpscares that will actually surprise you. 

You can watch ‘Incantation’ on Netflix

2. HUSH

TRAILER: https://youtu.be/Q_P8WCbhC6s?si=KIWzZY2E-EE11Sub

Description: A deaf writer who retreated into the woods to live a solitary life must fight for her life in silence when a masked killer appears at her window.

The deaf perspective in this movie makes this movie very thrilling. It taps into the fear of being alone in a remote house realizing your safety has been completely compromised. This movie is very intense by making the protagonist deaf and forces you to rely on visual clues making every noise feel like your heart is about to drop.

This movie doesn’t use cheap jumpscares and is very unique from the rest of the movies I’m ranking. 

You can watch ‘HUSH’ on Apple TV

3. Annabelle: Creation 

TRAILER: https://youtu.be/KisPhy7T__Q?si=hIOcH1f1GQ7ATSZ6

Description: Former toy maker Sam Mullins, and his wife Esther, are happy to welcome a nun and six orphaned girls into their California farmhouse. Years earlier, the couple’s 7 year old daughter, Annabelle, died in a tragic car accident. Terror soon strikes when one child sneaks into a forbidden room and finds a seemingly innocent doll that appears to have a life of its own.

In my opinion, ‘Annabelle: Creation’ is better than the first ‘Annabelle’ (2014) as there are a lot of improvements on the atmosphere and jumpscares.

This movie uses a lot of shots where there’s a massive black space behind characters during some scenes, for example when Annabelle is trying to play “hide and seek”. It forces your eyes to focus on the background trying to search the shadow movements making you create your own scares.

It’s a fun movie to watch with a group of friends because the scares are well timed

You can watch ‘Annabelle: Creation’

4. THE NUN 2

TRAILER: https://youtu.be/U3PO4iD1G2g?si=nTPRJrYjVYJ7WXZu

Description: 1956 – France. A priest is murdered. An evil is spreading. The sequel to the worldwide smash hit ‘The Nun’ follows Sister Irene as she once again comes face to face with the demonic force Valak-The Demon Nun.

This horror movie relies on religious dread and iconography. I really don’t like religious horror movies since I feel like they’re the same like every other horror religious movie but this one was good. I watched the first horror nun movie and it really didn’t get me hyped like this one. This movie had a big improvement on the atmosphere from the first nun movie and some genuine creepy visual scenes.

This movie leans into heavy loud noises for its jump scares going from quiet to LOUD. It’s a traditional horror technique that in my opinion, doesn’t really get you into a fear state, but this horror movie had the greatest quiet to loud noises just because of the scenes they used for that technique. 

You can watch ‘THE NUN 2’ on Apple TV

5. Smile 2 

TRAILER: https://youtu.be/0HY6QFlBzUY?si=4kdqBD_ZS9b9WKAg

Description: About to embark on a new world tour, global pop sensation Skye Riley (Naomi Scott) begins experiencing increasingly terrifying and inexplicable events.

Overwhelmed by the escalating horrors and the pressures of fame, Skye is forced to face her dark past to regain control of her life before it spirals out of control.

It’s rare for a horror sequel to be better than the first one, but ‘Smile 2’ pulled it off. In ‘Smile’ the movie was about the curse and now this one focuses on the loss of reality when the “smiles” starts to happen in public places.

This movie isn’t really scary but I love how this movie adds a fear of public humiliation in front of everyone. This movie contains some of the best effects and it’s a really good movie if you’re in love with plot twists. The end will surprise you, and overall, the actress and other people are on point. 

You can watch ‘Smile 2’ on Apple TV