MY FAVORITE FILMS IN HORROR AND DARK FANTASY OF THE YEAR!

2023 marks a decade of me reviewing and critiquing movies and TV for various outlets, which have included THIS IS INFAMOUS and RUE MORGUE to name just two. My taste in film is a little broader than most, and I certainly enjoy the hell out of a bad movie when I can (I’m looking at you, 65!). But I try not to let that influence my professional approach to what does and doesn’t work for me. I saw a ton of films in 2023, but there were many I didn’t. SCREAM VI, for example. FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDIES, THANKSGIVING, the list goes on.

Truth be told, my favorite movie of 2023 wasn’t OPPENHEIMER (As I’ve not seen that yet, either) or JOHN WICK IV, although this is my second favorite overall movie of the year behind…. 

Gareth Edwards’ THE CREATOR. In years past I would have said fuck all and put it as my number one and Wick at number two. But 2023’s crop of crossover appeal horror films was a little, um, sparse, and I already bucked my list with one entry (#talkaboutthatinfinnishlater).

So, standing apart from my horror and dark fantasy list is this science fiction gem. THE CREATOR is a smoothie of sci fi goodies, blended together to make a film I’d say is important as any in the genre. The Terminator movies, EX MACHINA, BLADE RUNNER, CHILDREN OF MEN, and DISTRICT 9 all have their footprints on this film, with all the metaphor and themes of both, THE CREATOR uses AI as a metaphor for racism. It’s a gem of a movie currently available on streaming you don’t want to miss. Much like EDGE OF TOMORROW, the film didn’t find its audience right away, and I’m hoping it does find new life. This is a movie that needs to be seen and discussed. The charisma of John David Washington can’t be ignored. He’s a rising star. And the special effects! My Lord! They’re reminiscent of DISTRICT 9 and EX MACHINA, so natural and organic.

Now, on to the horror… and my top ten movies not named LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL (the highly anticipated indy horror film that will be seeing mass release in 2024)

At #10 is MEGAN, a movie my wife and I enjoyed together. The tweener Chucky, MEGAN started the year off with its TikTok viral ad campaign and set the tone for our number 1 movie. MEGAN’s main theme is how we deal badly with grief. This is a trope we will see in many of 2023’s releases. You can read my review of it here.

#9 is a movie I didn’t think would make it on the list, as my review of it stated, but as time wore on and I watched a couple more times, THE LAST VOYAGE OF THE DEMETER grew on me. Expanding on a much loved portion of Bram Stoker’s vampire classic, it’s basically ALIEN on a ship with Dracula. What’s not to love about that? What’s surprising about this movie is its themes. They’re more in line with THE CREATOR than one would think. 

#8 THE EVIL DEAD RISE was everything I expected it to be, a bloody good time that brought me back to the world of Sam Raimi’s deadites. It’s got all the dark humor (“Mommy’s with the maggots”), blood, guts, and gore one would want from an Evil Dead film. My review of it is here, next to the wood chipper.

#7 Is going to be controversial, particularly if you have fascist politics. SISU. SISU is a Finnish word that has no direct English translation. It’s an ideal, a sense of self determination unrivaled by anything. Is it a horror movie? Most people will say no. I say yes, metaphorically. You see, SISU is horrifying… for Nazis. The titular character is a slasher killer of unparalleled determination, excising his wrath on the Nazis that stole his gold. As an unstoppable force of nature, he’s on a level with Jason Voorhees and Michael Myers… when it comes to killing Nazis.  Are seeing a theme here?  

#6 A KNOCK AT THE CABIN, M. Night Shamylan’s adaptation of Paul Tremblay’s wonderful THE CABIN AT THE END OF THE WORLD. Night took a splatterfest and moved the violence off screen to make it darker. And his narrative changes, scoffed by some, worked for the screen. My review here goes over the differences between the book and the film, and why this movie hits so close to home with me. This movie haunted me for weeks.

#5 Is the DMT trip from Brandon Cronenberg, INFINITY POOL. Featuring horror’s new darling, Mia Goth, this movie is fucked up. How fucked up is it? Read my review here. Save yourself a trip to the Amazon rainforest to find poisonous frogs and rent this film to understand what a DMT trip is like.

#4 The multi layered COCAINE BEAR is a gem of a movie, and a splatterpunk classic. I’m not rehashing this movie’s brilliance in this, you can read why I love this movie so much here. The metaphors for addiction, single motherhood, and bad fathering are all wrapped up in a stellar cast.

My top three horror films are all imports, two with subtitles and one that likely needed them…

#3 is the sleeper hit of 2023, Toho international’s GODZILLA MINUS ONE. What can I say about this surprisingly wonderful kaiju movie that hasn’t already been said by my peers. It’s basically a remake of the first Godzilla movie, with a better thought out climax and a human story we can get behind. Sure, we’ve all seen the pictures of the aftermath of the bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. But this movie brings to life the after effects of America’s fire bombing of Tokyo and the recovery of its citizens in a post WWII Japan. Focusing on a failed kamikaze pilot and the PTSD/Survivor’s Guilt he suffers from, using Godzilla as metaphor for both the mass destruction caused by nuclear technology… and how a person’s internal demons can be just as destructive. 

Argentina gives us our #2 movie, the bleak as fuck WHEN EVIL LURKS. It’s the second best possession film of the year not dealing with grief. How can I say this the nice way? After watching this film you’ll need to watch a feel good movie. Like I’M DREAMING OF A WHITE DOOMSDAY (Bloody Disgusting’s #1 holiday horror movie) or THE MIST.

#1 wants you to TALK TO ME. It has many similarities to WHEN EVIL LURKS, including dealing with possession and sudden violence. And yeah, sometimes the Australian accents make you wish it was subtitled. I saw this movie by accident, and for that I’m grateful. In my review here, I make it clear this is Gen Z’s THE EXORCIST and I stick buy that, especially after the failure of THE EXORCIST: BELIEVER reboot of the venerable possession franchise. I had nightmares for three fucking months from this movie, and they were vivid! 

Next year I’m looking forward to Egger’s NOSFERATU remake and that damn LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL! What about you?  What were your top horror movies of 2023? What were your favorite films of 2023?