I consider myself quite the horror fan but that doesn’t mean I see everything that comes out, when it comes out. Therefore, this is just my Top 5 list out of the films that I got the chance to see over this last year as they were released. If your favorite horror film of 2023 didn’t make my list that’s cool! That’s what makes everyone different. My list isn’t the right one necessarily, it’s just my list. If you have any opinions you’d like to share with me over this past year in horror I’d love to hear and discuss them with you!
Honorable Mention: Haunted Mansion
I couldn’t add this to my list and feel entirely okay about it because it isn’t technically horror, but it does play with a whole lot of horror elements in a really fun and silly way, and I had a great time viewing this one on theaters. The setting and vibe of this movie, being in New Orleans, was perfect and I feel like they did a good job blending in the elements of that, from the seafood to the blues music to the ancient witchy, ghostly vibe surrounding the area. They seemed to capture what most people’s thoughts are when they think of that city in an effortless way that didn’t feel too shoved in your face because it served as the background and setting, as the main focus of the film was obviously inside of the Haunted Mansion itself. This movie also enlisted a stellar cast of actors and every one of them knocked it out of the park and gave a fun and silly performance playing off one another. ‘The Haunted Mansion’ lore has been redone and revived multiple times now by Disney, but this is by far my favorite adaptation of it, and probably my favorite Disney film in general from this past year. I look forward to viewing this one again down the line because it’s such an easy watch, and it will now become a pretty regular viewing for me around spooky season times, most likely.
#5: Scream VI
Let me just preface this by saying that I’m a major fan of the Scream, it’s one of if not my favorite horror movie franchise in its entirety and nearly every one of the films has been at the very least decent and entertaining to me. Scream 5 or just ‘Scream’ if you want to get technical about it (I still loath the fact that they reused the title of the original film for the 5th installment) was a disappointment to me. The way they handled Dewey’s character and his sendoff, the lack of Sidney, the reusing of Stu’s house without bringing Stu back, the flat main characters, Jenna Ortega getting stabbed over and over but never dying kind of cheapened the blow of Ghostface, I could go on and on why it wasn’t exactly my cup of tea. Then Scream VI was announced, this time even fully without Neve Campbell reprising the role of Sidney (literally the heartbeat of the franchise) and I was rightfully skeptical, but this one worked for me surprisingly much better. For one they completely changed the setting from Woodsboro to the Big Apple breathing much needed fresh air into the franchise, especially with the lack of the OG main characters being in this film, it worked much better this way and felt like its own story with its own characters while still being a continuation of the franchise. I thought Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega were much better this time around as well and stood on their own as the main characters and I grew to really like them and care about them and their relationship throughout this film. Ghostface felt much cynical and vicious this time around as well, even toting a shotgun at 1 point in time, nothing I thought I’d ever want to see but it worked. The recent news and drama of both Melissa and Jenna being out of the franchise and the turmoil surrounding the studio over that has left a bad taste in my mouth and kind of affected the way I view this film now, knowing there won’t be a conclusion to their stories and we are left on this note, but this was a solid entry in the franchise none the less.
#4: Infinity Pool
This was an intellectually done, odd, sci fi horror film directed by Brandon Cronenberg. The son of legendary sci fi horror filmmaker himself, David Cronenberg. This was his 3rd film within that same subgenre, following Possessor, which was another out there kinda film that I also dug quite a bit. The basis of this plot can be summed up by a couple questions. Are we morally good humans because of law and order and we know there’s punishment if we aren’t or are we good because subconsciously we know it’s the right thing to do? Would we be just as good if we didn’t have to face the consequences of our actions and instead a clone of us took the punishment for us? Those are the questions tackled and played out in front of us in this film. I won’t say much more than that as I feel like much more detail would be spoiling the depth of the story. I will say this film scores major points in originality though, as I’ve never seen a story quite like this one in any genre and it feels like an entirely fresh thought and concept through and through. Mix that with the at times disgustingly strange and artsy, yet beautiful visuals, and an interesting set of characters, led at the helm by stellar performances from Mia Goth and Alexander Skarsgard and this movie was truly one that stood out from the crowd last year. This film and the concept have consistently stayed with me as well and is a movie I’ve periodically thought about and am always willing to talk about since seeing it. I’m really digging these one-off sci fi horror flicks Brandon has released so far and they’ve all been entirely different from one another and very original. I’m quickly becoming a fan and look forward to whatever he has in store in the future.
#3: When Evil Lurks
I had been hearing the buzz and ravings for this movie online for a few weeks before I had some time and decided to check it out for myself, and I was certainly not at all disappointed. This was a film by director Demian Rugna, who I didn’t know much about but apparently, he’s known for his realistic looking gore and his impending doom style of storytelling and after seeing this movie I understand why. This is an Argentinian film and the vibe and style feel different, aside from the obvious Spanish speaking in the movie, the setting and the way the story played out in itself felt unlike an American film and I think it worked to the benefit of the story in this case. This movie covers possession which itself is a played-out subgenre of horror that has been kind of beat to death the past decade plus or so, but this covers possession in an entirely new and fresh way that I’ve never seen done before. It plays by its own set of rules and puts a different spin on possession to set it apart from the crowd and feel like something entirely original while covering, at this point, a rather unoriginal topic. The raw, building intensity and almost casual displays of brutality and violence shown in this film are quite shocking at times to say the least and never allow you to get comfortable for too long as a viewer. Mix that with the good, believable performances and the escalating fear and hopelessness of the characters involved and you have one of the best and most unsettling horror movies of the entire year of 2023.
#2: The Last Voyage of the Demeter
This was a movie adaptation of one of the earlier chapters in Bram Stoker’s novel ‘Dracula’ and follows a ship’s voyage delivering 50 unmarked crates from Transylvania to England, but unbeknownst to the crew, one of the crates was harboring…you guessed it. Dracula. I’m a big fan of the old, classic Universal Monsters movies and am really excited for this revival of them that seems to be happening within the genre right now, and it got started with this. I was really into the vibe and setting of this film, you don’t get an abundance of horror films out at sea or set inside the 1800s time period so that was a neat change of pace. It takes us a while as a viewer to see Dracula appear in this movie and even when he does, the first few times he’s mainly operating in the shadows or off in the distance, but that really built the anticipation and suspense quite well for when he finally does make his grand appearance. We’ve also never seen the Dracula character like the way he was portrayed in this movie in any of his previous lore. He was like a large, beastly, blood thirsty bat creature in this movie the entire time and that was also a cool change of pace and allowed for a much more vicious, savage, and primal look at the character rather than the suave, calculated, mind controlling Dracula we are used to seeing on screen. I felt like I was one of the few people I heard really singing this movie’s praises after it came out as it seemed like most people either didn’t care for this or just in general didn’t see or hear about it. There was only 1 other guy in the theater when I went to watch this, but I really dug it, and it ended up being one of my favorite horror movie of the entire year so check it out if you haven’t.
#1: Thanksgiving
Rounding out my #1 spot on the year after much debate (at one point nearly all the films in my top 5 I considered at the #1 spot) is Eli Roth’s new holiday horror film, Thanksgiving. I’m a fan of Eli Roth’s in general and a big fan of the slasher subgenre when it’s done right. So, when I heard Eli Roth was returning to horror with a new film and then found out that it was going to be a slasher (which is a subgenre he’s never done before), based on his fake trailer from Grindhouse like 15 years ago, my expectations were raised pretty high and I think they were delivered upon. The cast of characters themselves were pretty forgettable or unlikeable, which is kind of to be expected with Eli Roth horror, but outside of that this movie was a fun thrill ride packed with campy nods and tropes. The introduction of a new slasher villain, John Carver, was more than welcome as I feel like we haven’t had a mainstream slasher villain that mass audiences recognize in a while and there’s potential for that in John Carver. His mask was great and easily recognizable, his signature axe weapon helps round out the character, and the pilgrim style killer surrounding the Thanksgiving holiday just makes sense. This film felt like an 80s slasher in modern times, which I loved, and was an obvious nod to that era of slasher flicks in the structure of the film. I also feel like this film has the most staying power and chance of becoming a classic of any in my top 5 and was one of the reasons it got my #1 slot. The new iconic face of the series in John Carver and the movie itself set around the Thanksgiving holiday and playing with that to the full extent, allows it a chance to be revived on a yearly basis (I know this will be a yearly watch for me around Thanksgiving now) and an easy opportunity to make a new slasher series, which Thanksgiving 2 has already been announced for November 2025.
