As 2018 draws to a close, we've picked the 10 best horror movies released this year. Christmas might be fast approaching, but for horror fans every day is Halloween, and this year has seen the release of some truly excellent (and truly disturbing) horror tales.

The horror genre has been flourishing in recent years, both creatively and at the box office. Last year's adaptation of IT grossed more than $700 million worldwide, and Jordan Peele's Get Out scored four Oscar nominations and won the award for Best Original Screenplay. Things didn't slow down in 2018, which delivered everything from nail-biting terror in A Quiet Place to violent psychedelic madness in Mandy. If you missed out on 2018's horror movies, now is a good time to catch up.

Related: 15 Best Horror Movies According To Rotten Tomatoes

With so many great releases it was very difficult to narrow down a list of the 10 best horror movies - but we've done our best! Check out the list below, and let us know what your favorite horror movie of 2018 was in the comments.

10. Halloween

Judy Greer and Jamie Lee Curtis in Halloween 2018

Michael Myers never really dies - but then again, neither does Laurie Strode. David Gordon Green's reboot/sequel discards the continuity of all the previous Halloween sequels in favor of a simple follow-up to John Carpenter's original movie. Set forty years after the events of the first movie, Halloween pits the unstoppable masked killer against Laurie, her daughter, and her granddaughter, and delivers a gripping and streamlined tale of terror, with plenty of gore and just a touch of wry humor. As far as horror reboots go, this may be one of the best.

9. The Little Stranger

Lenny Abrahamson's The Little Stranger is a slow-burn chiller in the vein of Rebecca and The Haunting, set a few years after the end of World War II. Domhnall Gleeson turns in a gripping central performance as Dr. Faraday, a small-town physician whose working-class beginnings have bred in him a deep obsession with the nearby Hundreds Hall, and the crumbling dynasty of the aristocratic Ayres family. As Faraday worms his way into the heart of the Ayres family, the once-great house begins plaguing its remaining family members with strange occurrences - which may or may not be supernatural in origin.

8. Overlord

Nazi zombies aren't exactly a new concept in horror, but Julius Avery's Overlord is the Nazi zombie horror genre at its best. The film sees a group of American soldiers tasked with taking down a radio tower in a German-occupied French town during World War II. However, once they get closer it becomes horribly apparent that the Nazis are using the local people - and the recovered corpses of soldiers - in unspeakable experiments. Overlord is packed with gore and deftly-directed action sequences, but still finds time for solid character arcs that make you really root for the ragtag band of soldiers and survivors at the heart of it.

Related: Read Screen Rant's Review of Overlord

7. Annihilation

Team looking at a skeleton in Annihilation

Ex Machina director Alex Garland delivers an eerie, atmospheric sci-fi mystery in Annihilation, an adaptation of the novel by Jeff VanderMeer. After a strange energy wave originating from a lighthouse progressively distorts and warps the surrounding countryside, and several reconnaissance missions fail to return, a group of female scientists is sent out to try and find the origin of "Area X." However, it isn't long before the encounter the warped hybrids that lurk inside Area X, including a deformed bear that's sure to give you nightmares.

6. Mandy

Nicolas Cage in Mandy 2018

Is there ever a bad time for a movie where Nicolas Cage splatters blood all over his face, screams a lot, and gets into a chainsaw battle? The answer is, of course, no, but Panos Cosmatos takes Cage's natural talents to a whole new level in Mandy. This seriously trippy neon-soaked arthouse splatter film opens with happy couple Red and Mandy Miller (played by Cage and Andrea Riseborough) living a peaceful and isolated existence in the woods, until one day they are attacked by a group of demonic bikers and rabid cultists. The movie really kicks into high gear when Red launches his counter-attack, and the madness only escalates from there.

Page 2: The Top 5 Best Horror Movies of 2018

Matilda Lutz in Revenge

5. Revenge

A disruptive take on the rape-revenge genre of horror, Coralie Fargeat's Revenge stars Matilda Lutz as Jen, a woman whose romantic getaway with her married boyfriend turns into a nightmare after a group of his buddies show up to join them. Brutally assaulted and left for dead, Jen comes back with (you guessed it) a vengeance, and a high-stakes game of cat-and-mouse ensues. You'll need a strong stomach for gore in order to handle this one, since Revenge is absolutely soaked in it, but for fans of exploitation movies this one is truly unmissable.

4. Ghost Stories

Martin Freeman in Ghost Stories

A genuinely frightening and deftly told slice of British horror, Jeremy Dyson and Andy Nyman's Ghost Stories is an adaptation of their play of the same name. Nyman plays Professor Goodman, a professional skeptic who is invited to try and "debunk" three chilling tales of the supernatural from three different witnesses. Ghost Stories excels as both an anthology piece and a slowly unfolding mystery, terrifying and intriguing in equal measure, with powerful performances from supporting actors Martin Freeman, Paul Whitehouse, and Alex Lawther.

Related: The Best Horror Movies On Netflix

3. Suspiria

Suspiria remake dance

Horror remakes can be pretty contentious, but Luca Guadagnino's new take on Dario Argento's Suspiria is different enough that it barely feels like a remake at all. Set in a divided Berlin of 1977, the film stars Dakota Johnson as Susie Bannion, an American dancer who wins a place at the prestigious Markos Tanz Company. Under the tutelage of lead instructor Madame Blanc (Tilda Swinton), Susie quickly rises in the ranks of dancers - but the elite dance academy is actually run by a coven of witches, and they have dark intentions towards their newest student. Mesmerizing and gruesome, Suspiria is arthouse horror at the top of its game.

2. A Quiet Place

Millicent Simmonds, Noah Jupe, and John Krasinski in A Quiet Place

The best horror movies are built from a powerful core concept, and A Quiet Place executes its brilliant central conceit with aplomb. Directed by and starring John Krasinski, the film is set in a world that has become infested with monsters who are completely blind, but have extremely heightened hearing. In this unforgiving landscape, a family learns to survive by communicating through sign language, walking barefoot, and "sound-proofing" their house - but as Evelyn (Emily Blunt) tries to prepare to give birth in total silence, a snowballing series of mistakes bring the monsters right to the front door.

1. Hereditary

Ari Aster's Hereditary is one of the best horror movies of the year, and is also so disturbing that you'll probably never want to watch it again. Toni Collette plays Annie, a woman whose overbearing mother has recently passed away. As Annie tries to deal with her mixed feelings of grief and anger, oppressive forces begin to crumble the rest of her family around her. To say more would be to give too much away, but Hereditary is a genuine masterpiece that's well worth watching... if you think your nerves can handle it.

More: The Highest-Grossing Movies Of 2018 (So Far)