2023 - Best Horror of the Year So Far

It's almost the end of June, which means the year is nearly halfway over. This year has had its fair share of horror movie surprises already - like, somehow I actually enjoyed a Russell Crowe movie. And since some of my favorite movies opened in the first half of the year, the bar has already been set high for all that follow. 

Every year there's a clear trend in horror movie topics and this year pregnancy horror is making a comeback, as well as experimental horror, which parenthetically has become a genre in and of itself, paving the way for some more weird shit that I will support but may not always love (I'm looking at you The Outwaters). 

I'm curious as to how the rest of the year will be shaping up, because so far many of my favorites have been mainstream horror, which isn't generally the case for me. So either mainstream is excelling this year, or indie is not. Either way, out of the 42 new releases I've watched this year, here's my top 10 picks for best horror movies of the year so far.

10. Sick

A little late to the game as far as Covid pandemic movies are concerned, but while the topic felt a little tired, 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.

9. 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. 

8. 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 having a lot of fun watching it, which frankly is the highest quality in which I measure how a horror film ranks with me.  

7. 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.

6. 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. 

5. 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.

4. 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. But consider the journey and not the destination. Can't wait for this one to be streaming for a rewatch. 

3. 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.

2. 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.

1. 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. Good luck topping this one for me 2023. 

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There's still a ton on my list to watch that's already on other people's best of the year so far lists, and of course more to come for the rest of the year. So a lot could change before the final roundup, and I can't wait! A horror film connoisseur's work is never done. See you back here in six months. Now, turn off the lights, and watch your horror movies... in the dark.

~ doll