Sometimes, the most horrific thing for audiences to imagine is the stuff that seems all too relatable. At the very least, that’s the mission statement ofFresh, a new film that debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in 2022 and was recently released on Hulu. Starring Daisy Edgar-Jones and Sebastian Stan, the film is a romantic comedy…with a twist.
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Regarded as a film about the difficulties of modern dating,Freshfinds Edgar-Jones’s Noa easily charmed by Stan’s Steve. However, her expectations of him are quickly subverted when she discovers his true occupation. For fans of horror movies where there’s more than meets the eye, these ten films are surefire crowd-pleasers.
Updated May 25, 2025 by Blaise Santi: 2022’s been a great year for horror movies, particularly ones like Fresh that present thrilling frights that double as social commentaries. Led by charismatic young actors, these films promise a great future for the horror genre, which in past years has been marred by cliché blockbusters and bland plot twists.
Suffice it to say, the genre’s reinvention was long overdue, and Fresh is one of the latest films to embody this renaissance. These additional films of recent years define what audiences love about modern horror, and how the scariest stuff feels like it could happen to us.
13Sorry To Bother You
To callSorry to Bother Youone of the most surprising flicks of the past five years would be an understatement. The film lives up to its trailer for the first half of it: Lakeith Stanfield plays Cassius, a young black man who accepts a job as a telemarketer, gaining success when he puts on a white man’s voice over the phone. However, the film takes a big turn.
Without spoiling the big reveal that happens around the halfway point inSorry to Bother You, it’s quite a startling experience as an audience member. It’s the kind of film only a writer-director like Boots Riley can pull off, making it all the more unique. What audiences should expect going in is an absurd take on the world of capitalism.
12Don’t Worry Darling
It’s possible that everyone on planet Earth has heard aboutDon’t Worry Darlingover the past few months for the wrong reasons. The film, which is the second directorial outing of Olivia Wilde, stars Florence Pugh and Harry Styles as a married couple in a 1950s utopia. However, Pugh takes center stage as a housewife who suspects something is wrong.
With a supporting cast including Chris Pine, Gemma Chan, Nick Kroll, and Kate Berlant,Don’t Worry Darlingembodies a lot of similar themes toFresh. The film’s highlight, much likeFresh, is the performance of its leading lady. Florence Pugh gives a career-best performance as Alice, guiding the audience through a truly horrific discovery.
11Barbarian
Zach Cregger of the sketch troupeThe Whitest Kids U' Knowmade waves in 2022 with his instant horror classic,Barbarian. The film negates the typical three-act structure in service of a familiar fright: a woman finding herself double-booked in a rental home with another man. Unfortunately for her, the terrors don’t nearly begin to end there.
This film has everything an audience would want from a horror film: jump-scares, gore, suspense, and thanks to Cregger’s sketch background, a lot of humor. It’s one of the most interesting films of the year, which might make some viewers puzzled as to how the film struggled to gain funding. Nevertheless, there’s a bright future ahead for Cregger.
10The Shining
Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 masterpiece wasadapted from Stephen King’s novel of the same name. It has since become a blueprint for modern horror movies, thanks to two stunning performances by Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall. For fans ofFresh, the dynamic between these two may be familiar, as it’s similar to Noa and Steve.
It goes without saying thatThe Shiningis a must-watch for any fan of horror. However, it also certainly appeals to the psychological thriller audience as well. Duvall gives a haunting performance as a wife trying to survive a winter getaway, while Nicholson shines (no pun intended) as her deranged husband.
9The Silence Of The Lambs
This 1991 horror film, based on a book by Thomas Harris, introduced the film world to the iconic character of Hannibal Lecter. Portrayed masterfully by Anthony Hopkins, Lecter is perhaps the most famous cannibal in all cinema. It helps that his performance is opposite the wonderfully talented Jodie Foster as FBI trainee Clarice Starling.
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Hopkins simply perfects the brilliant yet demented serial killer with his performance. Sebastian Stan takes a similar approach with Steve inFresh, though Stan injects his performance with more wildness compared to Hopkins' subdued intimidation. Watching this film makes it easy to see how it swept the Academy Awards in 1992.
8Fear
Mark Wahlberg and Reese Witherspoon star in the 1996 thriller directed by James Foley. While it received lukewarm reviews upon release, it has since gained a cult following and is credited with jump-starting the careers of its two leads. However, this film truly earns its title with its grueling depiction of romance.
The film follows Witherspoon’s Nicole Walker, a teenager who falls in love with Wahlberg’s David McCall at a bar. David soon becomes possessive of Nicole, violating the trust of her parents and harming anyone who comes between them. As one can imagine, the story goes in very dark directions as their relationship gets deeper.
7Jennifer’s Body
Another cult film,Jennifer’s Body, may be appealing to fans ofFreshfor its content particularly. The film starsMegan Fox as the titular character, who becomes possessed by a demon that forces her to kill and eat her male classmates. However, most of the film actually centers on Jennifer’s friendship rather than her dating life.
Amanda Seyfried plays “Needy,” Jennifer’s closest friend and confidant during the film. As Jennifer’s violent actions grow more and more disturbing, Needy feels the need (again, no pun intended) to stop this before more people get hurt. It results in a climax that might rivalFreshin terms of goriness and grotesqueness.
6It Follows
It Followswas released in 2014, though it has the makings of a classic 80s cult horror classic. The film stars Maika Monroe as Jay, a girl who becomes possessed by an entity after having sex with her college boyfriend. This film explores the “horrors” that can come with sexual transmission, compared toFresh’s views on modern dating.
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For its originality and low-fi aspects,It Followswas praised by critics upon release. Many critics even professed it as the best horror film of the decade, which is a well-deserved title. Overall, horror fans who maybe wanted more suspense and fear fromFreshwill be satisfied by the rush thatIt Followsdelivers.
510 Cloverfield Lane
LikeFresh,10 Cloverfield Laneis a thriller that takes place mostly in one location: an underground bunker.Written as a sequel to the 2008 monster filmCloverfield, this film stars Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Michelle, a woman who winds up in the bunker with two strangers played by John Goodman and John Gallagher Jr.
Like Sebastian Stan playing a psychotic boyfriend inFresh, this film lets John Goodman flex his own villainous muscles. Compared to its found footage prequel,10 Cloverfield Laneis a tense and intriguing psychological thriller. Winstead also gives an incredible performance as Michelle, making her a likable and smart protagonist.
4Get Out
Jordan Peele’s 2017 masterpiece redefined the thriller genre for years to come. It’s also a good example of a film that possibly directly inspiredFresh, combining surreal horror elements with social commentary. However, this social commentary relates more to race relations and slavery than it does to dating and romance.
Get Outstars Daniel Kaluuya as Chris, who is meeting his white girlfriend’s family. During his visit,he notices strange occurrences among them and their friends, ranging from casual racism to an odd fascination with his physique. Eventually, it spirals out of control, resulting in a twist that tests Chris’s horror protagonist capabilities.
