2023 Best Horror of the Year

 2023 was a good year. It was a busy year - both professionally and personally. But somehow I managed to fit in 115 new horror movies. And yet, it never seems like enough. There are still movies I missed - though mostly those little indie movies released toward the end of the year, like Raging Grace, Loop Track, and Everyone Will Burn. I still haven't seen The Nun 2. Or Satanic Hispanics. And a dozen more, that were never checked off my list. Aside from a very poor run in October, this year was an incredibly solid year for horror - both with the mainstream offerings and the indie gems. The year kicked off with Skinamarink and The Outwaters, and I thought, oh hell - people got weird in 2020 and this year is going to be one for experimental horror. Which isn't a complaint but something to brace for. And while I *appreciated* Skinamarink, I despised The Outwaters. The only other film that may fit into that experimental category would be Enys Men. A strange but pleasant movie with a bizarre ending. Out of the 115 new movies watched this year, I liked all but 25 of them. One could say I'm not a very picky movie-goer but I would say that I'm a very forgiving viewer. I rate a movie based on the experience I had while watching it - and not because it was "good" or "bad". Of which there are many, but that's not my rating system. So, let's cut the chitchat and get on with the show. In loose viewing order from oldest to newest -

Sick

Though a little late to the game as far as Covid pandemic movies are concerned, despite its tired topic, it turned out to be a fun slasher anyways. Call me a softy for a masked killer chasing people around with giant kitchen knives, but in a world dominated by supernatural horror, this really hit the spot. It was also directed by John Hyams, a director that made one of my favorite horror films of 2020, Alone, and written by none other than Kevin Williamson - the father of the Scream franchise.

Unwelcome

Set in Ireland this gory, gruesome little number is a fresh take on the "red cap" goblin folklore. The movie plays with themes of who the real villains are here, humans or these devilish goblins, and I daresay the answer is both. 

Megan

I'm still not sure if I genuinely love M3gan or simply find its ridiculousness to be irresistible. I guess both can be true. Regardless I've watched it twice now and both times I found myself still having loads of fun, which frankly is the highest quality in which I measure how a horror film ranks with me.  

Baby Ruby

An allegorical horror movie about postpartum depression that uses paranoia and gaslighting as devices to tell a rather effective, sinister tale of a woman who quickly loses her grip on what is real and what is not, after the birth of her child. I'm still unsure about the weird twist of an ending but I do know that this movie had me on the edge of my seat the entire time.

The Pope's Exorcist

My interest in this was so low that I literally turned off its trailer a minute in and declared, "nope. looks terrible." And I would have gone without seeing it too, if not for a friend's interest and proactive rental. So I sat there, mildly judging Russell Crowe's Italian accent, until something strange happened. I started enjoying it. And in fact, the movie kept subverting my expectations turn after turn, right up until the batshit crazy ending that I definitely did not see coming. The conclusion? Hell yeah, that shit was awesome. 

Fear

As previously stated, I measure a horror movie by how much fun I had watching it. Elevated horror is great, and I definitely can get behind all those fancy pants "great" horror movies. But sometimes love is in the eyes of the beholder, which brings us to Fear. Not a great horror movie, but a fun one. And it checked a lot of boxes for me. Vacation horror. Isolated horror. Hotel horror. Burial ground horror. Pandemic horror. Not to mention its predominately black cast, which is still a rarity in the horror genre and like everything else, support the things you want to see more of in this world.

The Blackening

Speaking of all black casts. Damn, I loved this movie. I'm not one for the "Scary Movie" kind of horror comedy, so I was a little dubious going in. But thankfully the tongue-in-cheek style humor is at a minimum, or at least done with enough elegance that I wasn't eye-rolling. Instead I felt like it was more just a straight up horror comedy with some really effective scary killers and a creepy "play the game or die" element. I kind of saw the end coming, which I don't hold against it, but I saw all those '80s whodunit slashers too and yeah, no shocker there. Consider the journey and not the destination. Can't wait for this one to be streaming for a rewatch. 

Clock

This is a devastating horror movie with a heavy social commentary and hot damn was it excellent. The tension runs high the entire time and while I was waiting with bated breath for the other shoe to drop, when it did I was not expecting it to be what it was. There's some disturbing imagery in this that will haunt me for a long while. Not sure if this will hit as hard with male audiences as it will with women, but I will be recommending this one to everyone.

Scream VI

Full disclosure, I seriously disliked 2022's Scream requel. I am a huge fan of the franchise, it is in fact my favorite franchise, and when I saw '22's Scream in the theater I was like, what the fuck is this. They killed the essence of the franchise. Where's the humor? Why is it so dark and violent and the legacy cast is barely in it. And then I watched it again and disliked it a little less. And then I went to the theater to see Scream VI and omg, standing ovation in my heart. They stopped having one foot in the old franchise and one in the new and instead fully committed to this new Scream vision. Taking it out of Woodsboro, not having Sidney Prescott appear, being super stabby with a whole lot of red herrings and gruesome death scenes, and creating a mildly psychologically imbalanced "star", setting her up to be a possible future killer, yeah they really leaned into the new era of the franchise. And I am here for it.

Evil Dead Rise 

Okay, the trailer alone had me. And I'm a huge fan of the 2013 reboot. But holy shit. I did not see this coming. Ya'll it was SO AWESOME. Gritty, horrific, heart crushing, bloody, legitimately scary. Dare I say, shocking. Yes. I want my horror movies so hardcore that I literally have to peak through my fingers to watch it. (though admittedly Terrifier 2 was a bridge too far in some scenes) Evil Dead Rise, cinematically, is gorgeous. The characters are quirky and feel real. The apartment building feels like yet another monster to survive. That elevator scene!!! Beat after beat, this movie is perfection.

Bad Girl Boogey

An indie gem that is as creative as it is poignant. Director/Writer Alice Maio Mackay combines a gory slasher movie with a film about trauma and coping, and an allegory about how abuse and violence become a part of us, easily passed on if it's not stopped. The music is fantastic, the characters feel like real people, and I loved how queer this movie is without it having to talk about how queer it is.

The Breach

A smooth low budget creep-fest of Lovecraftian proportions, this Nick Cutter adaptation (author of The Troop, The Deep, and Little Heaven) is directed by Rodrigo Gudino, founder of Rue Morgue magazine and writer/director of The Last Will and Testament of Rosalind Leigh! It's weird, gross, and has some big ideas for such a little indie horror flick. The acting is super solid and elevates this film into something memorable and impressive. And the makeup effects for the body horror conclusion are just, a+ disgusting.

Dark Harvest

Based on the 2006 novel by Norman Partridge, and directed by David Slade - most known for Hard Candy, and 30 Days of Night. I went in blind to this one and was surprised by an intriguing small town mystery with interesting characters, a solid script, surprising gore, and an unpredictable ending. There wasn't a moment of this film that I didn't enjoy. 

No One Will Save You

An incredibly unique, stylish, small town alien invasion movie turns clever survivalist horror, turns... really fucking weird. The 'little grey men' are both terrifying in action and a little silly in looks, but it equals effective thrills, as the brilliantly compelling lead, actress Kaitlyn Dever, gives this performance her all. Also, there is no dialogue in this movie. None. The ending was extremely peculiar and didn't seem to fit the vibe of the movie, but I give it props for being unpredictable!

Deliver Us

An ambitious, gorgeous movie that is riveting and thrilling and at times, very very bloody. There's layers upon layers without getting too tangled within itself, it simply works on every level like a jigsaw puzzle, fitting perfectly, revealing all. I look forward to rewatching this and getting all the small details that I may have missed the first time around.

The Boogeyman

I'm always super down for a Stephen King story horror movie, but for some reason I was in no hurry to watch this one. Perhaps it was because the 2005 adaptation of the same name was so incredibly terrible, that its rotten legacy tainted this one. So when I finally got around to seeing it on its last weekend in the theater, I went in blind, expecting a boring supernatural slow burn. Boy, was I wrong. Boogeyman is a riveting creature feature that does not let up. It's got its fair share of quiet dread, sure. But then it wallops you with that long dark hallway that you just know holds the horrible body of a creature that is going to tear you apart.

Megalomaniac

Damn, Belgium. Putting the "horror" back in horror movie. It's a pretty brutal watch but holy hell was it good. A very bizarre, violent, unsettling movie about, essentially, a family of serial killers. The entire cast of actors are just phenomenal. Portraying unhinged mental illness and the capacity for familial normalcy in one flawless motion. The ending is wild and jaw-dropping and strange and I literally wanted to give this a standing ovation when it was over but was frozen in shock. This movie is NOT for the faint of heart. You've been warned.

Totally Killer

An extremely fun '80s time travel slasher whodunnit! I was worried this wasn't going to be horror enough for me but I was pleasantly surprised on just how "slasher" this ended up being. Throw in a cast of delightful characters, hilarious '80s vs '23 social commentary, and lots of clever dialogue - this movie was a super good time. Will be ranked up there with Happy Death Day for a comedy slasher mystery and added to my cozy horror watch list!

When Evil Lurks

This buzz-heavy movie finally dropped to Shudder after months of anticipation and holy hell. What a film! I loved how the reality of "the rotten" is just dropped into our laps without any preamble. This demonic world is fully formed and we're just asked to catch up to it. Fantastically written and acted and shot. There are some serious jaw dropping moments throughout, and bravo Argentina, for really going there with the kid thing. You've got big swinging balls, I see them, and I respect them. Demián Rugna, the writer/director, also did the 2017 movie Terrified, which was also a phenomenal film, and has another movie he participated in - an anthology called Satanic Hispanics - which I have yet to see but am excited for!

Talk to Me

While I'd known about this movie and its hype for a very long time, I'd managed to avoid a trailer and even a synopsis for Talk to Me. I knew I'd see it. Something inside just decided not to spoil any of it. And holy hell, I'm glad I did because this movie knocked me on my ass. It's not your average polished mainstream jump scare horror movie. It watches like a small cut you couldn't keep from picking at and now it's raw and oozing and inflamed and infected and, yup, you're going to lose that leg. As my husband said, it's a perfect example of, "fuck around and find out". At every turn this movie was surprising in both its creativity and its brutality. It's dark, and sad, and fucked up, and the ending is perfection.

Thanksgiving

Historically Eli Roth is hit or miss for me - love Cabin Fever / hate Hostel. And while I was excited for Thanksgiving because it's a holiday slasher, I was wary because it's Eli Roth. Well. Turns out. It's an easy favorite of the year. I mean, really, you do a smart, gory slasher I'm going to fall in love pretty easily so no real surprise there. But, it's got, SO MANY VIBES. Scream vibes, I Know What You Did Last Summer vibes, Happy Birthday to Me vibes, hell, even Final Destination vibes. It's just horror homage on top of horror homage and I'm here for it. Lots of fucked up kills and gross gore and a "surprising" / not surprising killer. Thanksgiving is sorely underrepresented as a horror movie holiday and I'm super stoked to have such an excellent one get in line to become a staple of the year.

Hell House LLC Origins: The Carmichael Manor

Finally. A worthy follow-up to the original Hell House LLC. A movie that I hated upon first watch, but subsequent watches, while alone, in the dark, converted me into a big fan. I've seen all of the Hell House movies and they've all paled in comparison to the original. And while Carmichael Manor doesn't quite live up to the original, it makes a valiant effort. I think the real downfall here is the hysterical nature of the characters when faced with the unexplainable. Here they are investigating true crime and reports of the supernatural and when shit goes sideways they are just a jumble of nerves and squealing and irrational decision making. ASIDE FROM THAT. Which isn't insignificant. This Hell House manages to be creepy and unnerving and furthers the lore of the Tully, Carmichael, and Abandon story. I look forward to more installments in this ambitious franchise that refuses to go quietly into the night.

The Conference

This fun Swedish slasher had a lot of ridiculous characters and great gore. I didn't really care about the "plot" of a big development company building a mall on stolen land, which of course leads to revenge revenge revenge! But sometimes you just want some splatter and murder death kills and this was a satisfying fix. A large cast equals a high body count! Let the bodies hit the floor.

Do Not Disturb

A sexy, blood-soaked, drug-fueled, marriage counseling retreat of free'd inhibitions and primal actions. It's low-budget but with performances so nuanced it feels like you've fallen right into the fucked up mix of this couple's nightmarish vacation. All of the petty, nagging, sniping arguments of a couple who has been together forever and kind of hates each other while still loving each other, is done so authentically it's cringe. So when shit turns sideways and they bond over some really fucked up shit, it's completely believable and actually scary. The allegory of toxicity being all-consuming is prevalent, and one begins to wonder, is this how insanity is born? And sometimes when you've gone too far, there's no going back. And in those times, thank god for that.

There's Something in the Barn

While not as completely apocalyptic as 2015's Krampus, There's Something In the Barn shares many qualities with the now Christmas classic - prickly family dynamics, holiday celebration, ancient mythology built on rules, a fight for survival, weird creatures, and dark humor - which I suppose also applies to Gremlins as well. It was fun, funny, and super bloody when it came time. I'll be adding this one to my annual December watches.

These 25 films were standouts of the year but there are so many not mentioned here that are absolutely worth a watch. Like Killer Book Club, Influencer, Bad Things, All Fun and Games, The Pale Blue Eye, and so many more. Check out my complete 2023 watch list on Letterboxd! And now on to 2024! I'm not sure that I can beat last year's number of 115 new movies watched, but I will at least try to meet that number again this year. Check out the website Upcoming Horror Movies, to stay on top of new releases. And follow my horror movie Instagram dollfaceinthedark to read all of my movie reviews as they happen! And of course you can check back to this site for more blog posts. Historically they are infrequent but like I say every year, I'm hoping to change that in the new year! So fire up your TV, pop some corn, and snuggle in for a night of frights. And don't forget, to watch your horror movies in the dark!

love, doll