Here we are kids, 2023 is over and the year of 2024 has come crashing down on us like Jordy’s meteor in Creepshow. But wait! Before you touch that shiny green rock and scream “meteor shit”, let’s take a look back at 2023 and some of the gems of the horror genre.
And of course, I say this ever year: while I know that the title of the article is “Top 10 Horror Films…”, keep in mind that these are just my favorites, so I’m sure that you’ll disagree with some of my choices – as well as some of my intentional omissions. And as always, the order of the below films is alphabetical, not ranked…but if you absolutely MUST know, I will say at the end which 2023 horror film was my absolute favorite.
And away we go:
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BIRTH/REBIRTH
I watched Birth/Rebirth on a plane ride to Holland and was completely mesmerized by this modern take on the Frankenstein tale. Brilliantly directed and superbly acted.
HERD
Just when you thought the zombie genre is dead (hint: the zombie genre will never die). Herd does what all successful zombie movies do, it smartly keeps the focus on humanity and social issues (without beating the viewer over the head with the social issues).
HUESERA: THE BONE WOMAN
I’m not saying that Michelle Garza Cervera is a name to look out for…wait, yeah I am. Being a mom can be back-breaking work.
INFINITY POOL
Oh, those wacky Cronenbergs…and Mia Goth is starting to become a regular on my lists.
NO ONE WILL SAVE YOU
If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a billion times – home invasion movies scare the crap out of me! I know a lot of people didn’t enjoy this one and its lack of dialogue, but it creeped me out – check it out for yourself!
PROJECT WOLF HUNTING
Oh, you like action? And gore? And a brutal super-human that kills anything in its path? Come hang out in South Korea with Project Wolf Hunting; you won’t be disappointed.
RAGING GRACE
Life is even scarier when you almost have no choice but to accept the horror around you. My 2021 “best of” list had a favorite movie on it called No One Gets Out Alive about a young Mexican immigrant who finds herself in a situation where she must do whatever she can to get by, and in 2023’s Raging Grace a Filipino immigrant named Joy takes what seems to be a decent job (compared to her more recent ones)…but it’s not. At all.
SHE CAME FROM THE WOODS
Am I biased here? Sure, maybe a bit. But listen – I loved it. A super fun romp through the 80’s Briarbrook campground with a batshit witch and some kill-crazy campers.
SUITABLE FLESH
Okay, so I love Joe Lynch, I love Heather Graham, I love H.P. Lovecraft…do you see where we’re going here? Director Joe Lynch dons his Stuart Gordon hat for this wonderfully messy adaptation of Lovecraft’s ‘The Thing on the Doorstep’. Oh, and by the way – BARBARA CRAMPTON!
WHEN EVIL LURKS
So do you remember my 2018 “best of” list where I named Demián Rugna’s Terrified as one of my favorites from that year? Well here he is again proving that he is the master of Argentinian horror with the terrifyingly gruesome When Evil Lurks.
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Alright – those were my favorite 10. There were others that I enjoyed that didn’t quite make the top; Sick, Thanksgiving, Enys Men & Talk To Me come to mind. Also, please don’t ask me where Skinamarink is on this list…ugh.
If I was forced to pick just one favorite from this list of gems, it’d have to be When Evil Lurks, but Raging Grace is pretty damned close!
Here’s to hoping that you’ll find a few films on this list that you haven’t seen yet and will maybe entertain and scare you for a few hours.
Stay gory my friends!
