10 Underrated Horror Movies From 2019
Sharai Bohannon
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I’ve been spending a lot of time thinking about 2019 horror movies. Sure we all know the popular ones like Ready Or Not, Happy Death Day 2 U, Doctor Sleep, The Mortuary Collection, and Haunt. However, I’ve noticed this people have no idea what I’m talking about when I mention other movies I caught in theaters that year. I also realized that the ones I missed until way into quarantine were overlooked by so many people the year they originally came out, too. I feel bad for all these lost titles that probably feel like the middle child in large families.
So, I wanted to discuss 10 (and a bonus because I am a cheater) scary movies from 2019 that I wish we discussed more often for various reasons.
Countdown
Where You Can Watch: VOD
A nurse downloads a popular app that predicts when a person will die, and it tells her she has three days to live. While we have seen people battle impending death before (looking at Final Destination), this one had an app. It was also geared towards tweens. This PG-13 thriller had a cast that included Peter Facinelli and Elizabeth Lail. That’s right! Between You and Five Nights At Freddy’s, Lail played the woman who downloaded the wrong app. Where was this movie’s moment in the sun?
Daniel Isn’t Real
Where You Can Watch: Starz
A troubled college kid reconnects with his childhood imaginary friend, Daniel, to help him cope with family trauma. However, he soon discovers Daniel isn’t just here to play childhood games anymore. First, Elijah Wood is one of the producers, and you know he will not answer his phone unless the project is going to be weird. Secondly, the adult version of Daniel is played by Patrick Schwarzenegger, and I know you all know why that last name looks familiar. This movie should have been a moment instead of being quietly talked about in a few horror group chats during the pandemic.
Escape Room
Where You Can Watch: Hulu
Six people compete in an escape room experience for $10,000. What seems like easy money soon becomes a game of survival when they realize the obstacles they will be facing are literal death traps. I think because we have so many movies with a similar premise, this one was always going to have an uphill battle. However, if more of us had seen it in real-time, we would have been on the Taylor Russell bandwagon before Bones and All. Luckily, this movie got a sequel, which alerted many of us that we had missed the first one.
Girl On The Third Floor
Where You Can Watch: PlutoTV, Prime Video, The Roku Channel, and Tubi
A man discovers the house he’s renovating has a mind of its own. I highly recommend going into this movie knowing as little as possible, and watching it with friends. That is how I watched it last year and had the time of my damn life. Most people probably hit play because CM Punk is the lead. However, my squad checked it out because it’s directed by Travis Stevens (Jakob’s Wife and A Wounded Fawn). It was one of the most memorable virtual watch parties we have ever had, and I can only imagine the joy of seeing it with people in the same room.
The Lodge
Where You Can Watch: Max
A woman who survived a cult finds herself stranded in a blizzard with her future kids-in-law. The tense situation is made worse when her past begins to haunt her. This movie is bleak and subscribes to the “fuck them kids” subgenre of horror. So, of course, I love it. It also has the quickest and most surprising Alicia Silverstone appearance. The Lodge feels like an A24 movie, even though it’s not, and I’m happy that it has been slowly building its audience these last few years. However, I am so mad that it did not get the recognition it deserved in 2019.
The Prodigy
Where You Can Watch: AMC+
A mother thought her son was a genius but discovered he was probably just evil all along. While this is a familiar plot, this cast includes Colm Feore. Colm seems like a nice enough guy, but because I remember him from Stephen King’s Storm Of The Century, I always assume he is the villain when I hit play on whatever he is doing. I won’t spoil anything here, but I am always surprised that more people have not seen this one.
The Room
Where You Can Watch: Shudder
A couple discovers that a room in their new home grants material wishes, and they make the mistake of wishing for a baby. I do not know how to put the experience of watching this movie into words. You knew they were making bad decisions that would probably lead to death. However, this movie swerved so hard into a chaotically surprising lane that I had whiplash. I feel death would have been kinder, even if it would have been predictable. I accidentally ran across this one on Shudder. Because if you think 2019 was hard on American horror movies, imagine getting an international horror movie to the masses here.
Satanic Panic
Where You Can Watch: Tubi
A delivery girl finds herself fighting affluent suburban cult leaders. I have quit jobs for less, so hats off to her! I feel a horror comedy with Jerry O’Connell and Rebecca Romijn should have a larger fan base. Especially one co-written by Grady Hendrix, whose novels have many people in a chokehold. Sadly, this movie also flew under most of our radars until way too many months after we had been stuck at home.
Velvet Buzzsaw
Where You Can Watch: Netflix
Los Angeles artists and art collectors begin dying when art collides with commerce. This Netflix thriller is so bloody and weird. Plus this ridiculously stacked cast understood the unhinged assignment. The cast includes Jake Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo, Toni Collette, Natalia Dyer, Daveed Diggs, and John Malkovich. This stylishly bold, inventive, and unique movie demands an unserious watch if you missed it in 2019.
The Vigil
Where You Can Watch: Hulu
A man watching over a deceased member of an Orthodox Jewish community finds himself battling an evil presence. This creepy slow burn seems like the kind of movie the internet lives for. However, I only discovered it because a podcast I listened to covered it. It is also an IFC film, and they own a huge part of my heart because they have always got something cool and weird going on over there. This movie had the misfortune of being one of the many horror movies that appear in the fall for Halloween. So, if it was on our radar, it probably got lost in the spooky season sandbox. We can probably all remember why we missed it in 2020 too.
Honorable Mention
Z
Where You Can Watch: Shudder
This movie sees a couple getting terrorized by their son’s imaginary friend. If you think that sounds as fun and disturbing as I do, you might want to watch this one. It often gets compared to other movies that make viewers wonder if the kid is evil or if something else is afoot. However, I think this Shudder Original is very much its own thing. Because most of us were beginning to find our way to the streamer around the time this movie landed, too many people missed it.
How many of these lost 2019 gems have you seen? Did you see them pre-pandemic? Or did you find them later in life like I did? I want to know all the things because I am nosey. So find me at @Misssharai.
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