The Babadook

One of the earlier films to be lumped in the ‘post-horror,’ ‘elevated-genre,’ or (urgh) ‘deathwave’ nonsense, Jennifer Kent’s The Babadook is simply an excellent horror movie. Deftly drawing on themes of grief, guilt, motherhood and mental health, Kent tugs on our emotional responses to turn the film’s more traditional horror elements into something truly terrifying. 

Blue Ruin

In a similar vein to Jeff Nichols’ debut Shotgun Stories, this crime drama from Jeremy Saulnier (Green Room) twists into a revenge saga of Shakespearean proportions. The film stars Saulnier’s frequent collaborator Macon Blair as a strange outsider who is driven to become an unlikely assassin, and unwittingly starts a family blood feud. While the film is driven by unpretentious characters and low-key landscapes, Blue Ruin is also spotted with dark humour and splattered with blood for a modern take on old-school storytelling.