From the splash of acid to acidic wit, from a hyperkinetic trial to virtual thrills, from old-fashioned murder to bloody folklore, 2020 movies slapped it all on.

Audacious, mad, and chillingly terrifying, ‘Tumbbad’ marks a visual treat in Indian horror movies. The trio of Rahi Anil Barve, Adesh Prasad, and Anand Gandhi shower your senses with incessant rain and then use fire to show you the way. By the time you realize you’re deep into the womb of terror, it’s much too late to retreat.

With writers Raj Nidimoru and Krishna D.K., director Amar Kaushik delivers a screwball horror movie that’ll make you jump and titter all at the same time. Plus there’s the marvelous quartet of Rajkummar Rao, Pankaj Tripathi, Aparshakti Khurana, and Abhishek Banerjee to ensure that you have a rollicking time in the cinema hall. But underneath its madness, ‘Stree’ reveals a fact about us that’s as disturbing as it is mortifying.

Director Ari Aster’s “Hereditary” is a nerve-wracking and terrific addition to the skull cap of horror movies where the unravelling of a family is as mysterious as it is terrifying, and the boiling cauldron of secrets bubbles throughout its length, keeping you worried and anxious. Meanwhile in India, the censor board carries out its own act of dismemberment, unforgivably mutilating the movie beyond repair.