With another year of horrors and horror movies behind us, I’m back to reflect on my favorites from the year! (Just the movies, though. Don’t make me relive the horrors.) 2023 in general—not just in the horror space—was a wild year for movies, with new movies from Wes Anderson all the way to John Woo and franchise entries from Creed to Pet Sematary. Certainly not all successful, but it made for a packed year at the movies!
On the personal front, I’m thrilled to be back as a Screener for the Short Film Program at Overlook Film Fest again this year, and I’m proud of my piece on underseen nunsploitation gem Dark Waters for Rodney Barnes.
But you’re here for the list, so let’s get to the list! Here are my Top 10 Favorite Horror Movies of 2023!
10. Renfield
Kicking off with a hot take because why not? It’s my list. Renfield is a profoundly silly movie, but I had quite a lot of fun with it. It’s the kind of movie horror fans insist don’t get made anymore and then scoff at when they do.
I loved the opening putting Nicolas Cage & Nicholas Hoult in the Universal Dracula movie, it’s a total delight to hear Cage deliver the iconic “I never drink…wine.”
The costuming in this movie is also incredible, Cage’s Dracula outfits are top notch. The make-up and effects look great; the different stages of the decaying Dracula are all great practical effects. His pointy little teeth were a great touch.
I also found the action to be solid—and certainly better than a movie like this had to be. Plus it’s cartoonishly bloody which I always appreciate.
If you’re there to see Nic Cage Dracula and Nic Hoult Renfield, they’re both very good in this and worth the price of admission.
Sidenote – In a very NYC turn of events, Sam Rockwell was randomly seeing Renfield with his family at the same Regal as me. Academy Award winners are just like us! His review of the movie was “I thought it was pretty good!”
9. Swallowed
I first saw Carter Smith’s Swallowed at 2022’s Overlook Film Fest, but it didn’t get a release until 2023 so I’m counting it here!
Swallowed follows best friends Benjamin (Cooper Koch) and Dom (Jose Colon) who get stuck in the middle of a drug deal gone wrong after agreeing to ferry drugs across the border for some quick cash. After being forced to swallow the unknown drug to get it across the border, Ben and Dom are targeted in a hate crime and one of the packets ruptures in Dom after he’s punched in the stomach.
From there the movie is a truly harrowing viewing experience, and I mean that as the highest compliment. A uniquely horrifying queer thriller with a solidly body-horror premise, it’s not a graphic movie but it’s sure to make anyone squirm.
I survived this movie with a bug phobia, so if I made it through so can you!
8. M3GAN
M3GAN didn’t have to be good, it could have just been the new killer doll movie where she dances and we laugh.
The script is deceptively smart, there’s a lot more going on than just “murder doll movie”. Akela Cooper wrote the screenplay for this (and also Malignant!) with James Wan and all I can say is I welcome this new horror queen. The movie is funny, it’s sad, it’s entertaining, and it has heart.
But the thing that really sold me on M3GAN is the kills. The kills are inventive and they are so fun, something so often ignored in this Blumhouse era of horror. The insecticide kill? Like okay M3GAN you crazy robot girl!!
Watching the movie it felt pretty obvious it was originally intended to be rated R and then got cut down to a PG-13, something that always bums me out but I think worked fine here. The biggest issue with PG-13 horror isn’t even the content, it’s the nightmare theater crowds they attract. I’d still like to check out the unrated version of this, and I say bring on M3GAN 2.0!
(Miss me with all the M3GAN vs Chucky talk though, she needs a franchise before she goes up against the king.)
7. Knock at the Cabin
I love a talky, one-location movie and Knock at the Cabin is an excellent one.
While technically a home invasion movie, Knock at the Cabin is more of a thought-provoking thriller than a tense cat-and-mouse game. It follows a gay couple and their adopted daughter vacationing in a remote cabin when 4 strangers arrive and announce that the family must choose one of them to die to prevent the apocalypse.
It’s anchored by great performances all around, but Dave Bautista is by far the standout. Which is necessary because Shyamalan’s approach here is all lingering close ups of the actors’ faces. He really wants to draw you in, wants you to be a part of the discussion. It also serves to emphasize the trapped and isolated nature of the characters.
I’ve read Paul Tremblay’s novel the movie is based on (The Cabin at the End of the World, highly recommend) and I don’t think Knock at the Cabin is a great adaptation, the very literal approach to the events of the movie cheapens it in my opinion. So I think the ending is a little underwhelming—with the exception of the radio scene—but that the movie as a whole is well worth your time.
Also I loved the font on the title card in the opening credits, I wish they’d used it on the poster!
6. Huesera: The Bone Woman
Huesera: The Bone Woman is an absolute nightmare look at what people put themselves through to follow societal norms.
Ostensibly, the movie is about a woman pregnant with her first child who’s targeted by an evil presence that wants her baby. But the movie is so much more than that, it’s an incredibly layered look at family pressure, motherhood as body horror, sexuality, societal pressure, queer struggles, and more.
It’s also genuinely creepy and firmly planted in the horror genre throughout.
Since 2023 was the year of “omg sex scenes are gross and unnecessary,” discourse, I want to call out how incredibly effective and important the sex scenes in Huesera: The Bone Woman are. The difference between the two sex scenes in this movie—one being between her and her husband while she’s trying to get pregnant and the other between her and her ex-girlfriend—say SO MUCH about main character Valeria and the movie’s themes.
And what a fucking ending.
5. Thanksgiving
Sometimes a movie is exactly what you want it to be, and that fucking rules. Thanksgiving is a great throwback slasher with fun, gory kills that never skimps on entertainment value.
Most importantly, it’s a holiday horror movie that doesn’t skimp on the holiday-ness of it all. There are plenty of fun Thanksgiving themed kills, setpieces, a Black Friday massacre, and even a scene at the Thanksgiving Day parade. It’s a holiday slasher done right! Festive murder!
The Masshole nature of the whole movie too…just so funny. It all really landed with my theater when I saw it too, it seemed like a total crowd pleaser. Special shoutout to when Milo Manheim knocks the ex boyfriend’s coat off his girlfriend’s shoulders, I laughed so hard.
It’s not as sleazy as the Grindhouse Thanksgiving fake trailer from back in the day, but it’s still a solidly gory slasher and the killer’s design is great.
I’ll happily watch this one annually at Thanksgiving, and I’m not surprised it’s already greenlit for a sequel. What do we think the subtitle will be? Thanksgiving: Leftovers? Thanksgiving: 2 Stuffed? Thanksgivings?
4. Talk to Me
I’m always skeptical when headlines start pouring in talking about “scariest movie of the year” (especially with A24 movies) but Danny and Michael Philippou’s Talk to Me was a pleasant surprise!
Talk to Me‘s premise is great—a group of teens discover the embalmed hand of a medium that allows them to conjure the dead…and subsequently get addicted to the thrill of allowing them to possess their body for a short amount of time. I love a ghost movie and I love a possession movie, so this was a fun blend for me.
It’s also genuinely creepy and has good scares! The use of the gore/violence is very effective—when characters get hurt it feels badddd.
It’s also 90 minutes long and completely sticks the landing, which is truly all I ever want from a movie.
I would have loved to see them explore the premise and lore more since I found it so interesting, but a sequel is already on the way so maybe I’ll get just that!
3. Saw X
Look, I’ve seen every Saw movie multiple times because I’m an asshole, but if you told me I’d think the 10th installment in the franchise would be good I wouldn’t have believed you. But…the 10th installment in the Saw franchise is good!!!!
Full spoilers follow, so read at your own risk.
Going back to basics and setting Saw X between 1 and 2 (so that John Kramer is still alive) was definitely the smart play here. This franchise really lucked out with Tobin Bell and his glorious voice, he handles the cheesy dialogue well but also has a great screen presence.
Despite this being back to basics I also think Saw X is doing something a bit different which I appreciate. This installment puts John Kramer front and center–we really only see Billy the Puppet when he tricycles out to deliver goodies for the brain matter trap. Kramer is in the trap room talking to his victims half the time, which is an interesting change-up from the formula.
And Amanda is back!!! I always thought it was such a HUGE misstep to kill her off in 3, I understand they had to get rid of Kramer because he’s already dying in the first movie but Amanda should have been the sequel focus over sweating, hulking Hoffman. Saw X absolutely proves she should have stuck around, she’s such an interesting character and I love how aggressive she is. The moment we see someone in the pig mask pepper spraying Gabriela in the face??? I knew that had to be my girl Amanda.
The Kramer/Amanda relationship is so interesting too and gives this movie heart, which is definitely welcome in a Saw movie.
My perpetual complaint with the recent Saw franchise installments: I always want more traps!! The Saw X traps are solid and there is definitely good, goopy gore on display. But I don’t think any trap in this will go on to become iconic (think reverse bear-trap, shotgun carousel, needle pit), and the eyeball trap was a dream sequence.
In relation to the mid-credits scene: BOOOO Hoffman! We hate him!! We don’t care that he’s back!!! We love Amanda and Amanda only!!!!
2. Godzilla Minus One
For me, Godzilla Minus One is the first Godzilla sequel to really recapture the feel of the 1954 original.
Melodramatic period piece, a Godzilla that’s scary, extensive scientific boardroom planning, etc etc…but all of that working together to tell an effective story while also existing as an excellent blockbuster.
Ryunosuke Kamiki is great in this, and Koichi’s relationship with Noriko is so interesting. I also liked the entire minesweeper crew, all were really charming and had good chemistry.
And Godzilla! Love that guy, even when he’s evil. I thought he looked great in this! I love his little feline mouth, ready to take a chompy chompy.
The Jaws-esque scene in the midway point of the movie when the minesweeper crew first encounters Godzilla is such a thrilling sequence, just A+ blockbuster filmmaking.
I quite enjoyed the end setpiece too where everything (mostly) goes according to keikaku.
The homages to the 54 Godzilla are also very effective for me, and the uses of the Godzilla theme are absolutely perfect.
…
Godzilla!!!!
1. When Evil Lurks
Director Demián Rugna is back with a new horror movie after his 2017 movie Terrified (which I loved) and I’m happy to report this one is also excellent. When Evil Lurks was hands down the most interesting new horror of the year, a truly new and unique spin on the possession formula.
Incredible world building, extremely harrowing, effective emotional beats…and this movie is BLEAK BLEAK BLEAK.
When Evil Lurks is a possession movie but not in the traditional sense, and it’s decidedly not an exorcism movie. The possessed ones here are called the “rotten” and have their own set of rules, something that could feel cheesy but is so incredibly far from it.
Rugna also doesn’t pull any punches, not even the children are safe.
It’s a bold and unpredictable new horror movie, and I’m thrilled this one picked up such good word-of-mouth and even had a brief stint in theaters. I’m hoping it’s not another 6 years until Rugna’s next, because he’s one of the most interesting voices in horror right now!
Honorable Mentions
Rapid fire time! I like-if-not-love Evil Dead Rise and it probably just missed the list, Brooklyn 45 is a great single-location ghost story, The Blackening is a fun horror comedy, Infinity Pool has an interesting premise and cool visuals, The Pope’s Exorcist has Russell Crowe as an eccentric espresso drinking/scooter riding exorcist that I’ll never forget, and Slotherhouse was not good but it DID have the sloth driving cars and creating an Instagram account to post selfies with its victims so it feels like it should be mentioned here.
Alan Wake 2 is my favorite horror video game of 2023, one of the most bizarre and interesting gaming experiences of my entire life. The Resident Evil 4 Remake is also a great time, though I’m so familiar with the original that it wasn’t groundbreaking for me.
I adored Mike Flanagan’s Fall of the House of Usher series, it’s doing so much and somehow manages to pull it off. It has truly incredible performances, clever uses of Poe stories, and some truly inspired kills. I haven’t loved all of Flanagan’s output but Fall of the House of Usher was stunning. Lastly, Chucky only got a half season out last year but it still remains such a delight.
Thanks for reading!
Genre Thrills 