23% Of Fans Said This Is 2021's Best Horror Movie So Far — Here's How We Feel
(Welcome to Survey Says, a feature where we conduct a movie-related survey for a random group of people and explain why they're completely right, completely wrong, or somewhere in-between.)
2021 has truly proven to be a banner year for the horror genre. We get a new "Halloween" movie, "Chucky" is back with a TV show, Zack Snyder returned to the zombie genre for the first time since "Dawn of the Dead," James Wan created a bonkers original horror flick. Much has happened, and we still have a couple of months to go. But with everything that has happened in the genre space this year, we decided to ask horror lovers what they feel is the best horror movie of the year so far. As the answers reveal, the respondents were burdened with choice.
And the Survey Says...
Topping the list from those who participated in our survey was "A Quiet Place Part II," director John Krasinski's follow-up to the 2018 breakout sci-fi/horror hit. The sequel took in a little more than 23% of the vote. Coming in a relatively close second was "The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It," which earned just over 19% of the vote. It served as the first main entry in the series since "The Conjuring 2" was released in 2016. Rounding out the top three was director Nia DaCosta's "Candyman," which took in just shy of 19% of the vote. The acclaimed return of the iconic horror franchise was produced by Jordan Peele and, ultimately, earned DaCosta the gig directing "The Marvels."
Four other 2021 horror flicks earned votes, with James Wan's wild and unhinged "Malignant" taking 13.7%. It was followed closely by the "Wrong Turn" reboot, which notched 10.8%, with Zack Snyder's zombie heist flick "Army of the Dead" trailing just behind at 9.1%. Last, but certainly not least, we have the much-acclaimed "Titane," which garnered a little over 5% of the total vote.
A Quiet Place Part II Is Hard to Argue Against
In terms of mainstream horror movies (which are naturally likely to dominate a survey anyhow), it's tough to argue against "A Quiet Place Part II." The first movie was one of the biggest surprises that year, and crafting a follow-up to something like that is downright difficult. Capturing lightning in a bottle twice rarely happens, and yet, Krasinski managed to get the job done. The sequel may not be quite as surprising as "A Quiet Place," given that the magic trick was already revealed as it were. That being said, it's remarkable that the movie works so well having to overcome that giant hurdle.
It's also worth noting that the movie grossed nearly $300 million at the box office, making it one of the biggest hits of the year as well. Critics and audiences were aligned on this one and it almost certainly paved the way for an expansion of the franchise, which includes at least one spin-off currently in the works. This is a perfectly fine choice as we head into the last stretch of 2021.
It's Been a Great Year for Mainstream Horror
Perhaps the main takeaway from this survey is that 2021 has, thus far, been an outstanding year for mainstream horror movies. "Malignant" was one of the most insane mainstream movies of any kind released in a very long time, and it's a shame it didn't find its legs at the box office. Though it now seems destined for cult status. Even something like "Wrong Turn," which ranks as one of my personal favorite movies of the year overall, seemingly flew a bit under the radar but has clearly found its audience. And "Titane" may well find itself in the Oscar race later this year, which is pretty incredible considering what it is. In the end, genre fans win here.