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Eammon Jacobs and Libby Torres
2023-12-26T23:18:45Z
- 2023 was a major year for horror fans with the release of highly-anticipated movies like"Scream 6."
- But other sequels, including the newest"Exorcist," didn't meet our expectations.
- Here are seven of the best and seven of the worst new horror films.
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A cheese grater used on human skin, a disembodied possessed hand, and a subway car full of people in Ghostface costumes — these fearsome sights and more filled our screens in 2023, which was one of the most interesting years for the horror genre to date.
While there were some truly stellar horror movies this year — "Talk to Me," "Totally Killer," and "When Evil Lurks," to name a few — there were also some disappointments as well. For instance, the latest film in the "Exorcist" franchise looked amazing from the trailer, but was a massive letdown in reality.
Here are seven of the best and seven of the worst horror movies released in 2023.
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Best: "Evil Dead Rise"
Following up Sam Raimi's original "Evil Dead" movies is no easy feat, and yet Irish director Lee Cronin does it with ease in 2023's "Evil Dead Rise." The film follows Beth (Lily Sullivan) who visits her sister Ellie (Alyssa Sutherland) and her kids in Los Angeles after some personal drama.
But it isn't long before the Necronomicon rears its ugly head, and transforms Ellie into a gleefully unhinged Deadite. Although this has all the hallmarks of Raimi's movies like buckets of gore, body horror, and perfectly timed jump scares, Cronin manages to put his own stamp on things.
The sequel breathes new life into the franchise by moving the horror from a secluded cabin to a claustrophobic apartment. It also operates on a deeper level by telling a story about the pressure of motherhood, which is a fascinating lens to view the franchise through.
With pulse-pounding performances from the cast and some razor-sharp scares, "Evil Dead Rise" is a bloody treat.
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Best: "Talk to Me"
"Talk to Me" follows Mia, a grieving teenager who's encouraged by her friends to try a new high: getting possessed by dead spirits via a cursed hand, all while being recorded by their peers on smartphones.
Unsurprisingly, it's not a great idea to open your body to vengeful ghosts, and things take a terrible turn when Mia's friend's younger brother Riley becomes possessed after a turn with the hand.
"Talk to Me" features a refreshingly spooky story, a talented young cast, and a devastating ending that might not be for everyone, but certainly left an impression on us. In addition, the film's special effects — particularly during a scene in which Riley smashes his face to a pulp — are gory and memorable.
One of the most original horror films in recent years, "Talk to Me" is sure to keep you up at night. And fans of the film should definitely check out directors Danny and Michael Philippou's popular YouTube videos, which are equally as as meticulously plotted and flawlessly executed as "Talk to Me."
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Best: "Scream 6"
With so many horror movies revolving around people in masks murdering teenagers, you'd be forgiven for thinking that "Scream 6" would be a dud. But Ghostface's most recent outing was a surprising treat.
It takes place one year after the events of 2022's "Scream," the fifth installment in the slasher franchise, as Sam Carpenter (Melissa Barrera) has moved to New York with her sister, Tara (Jenna Ortega), and her friends as they go to college in the city. Unfortunately, a new Ghostface with a grisly appetite follows and starts hunting the gang through the streets.
The franchise has always taken a meta approach to the slasher genre, and "Scream 6" takes it one step further as Mindy Meeks-Martin (Jasmin Savoy Brown) waxes lyrical about the rules of being in a franchise movie. Everyone is both a potential victim, and a potential killer.
And although it doesn't reinvent the wheel, the movie is incredibly fun watching the killer slash their way across the city. Yes, it's basically "Ghostface Takes New York," and we're here for it.
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Best: "When Evil Lurks"
"When Evil Lurks" might just be one of the most disturbingly original movies of the last few years, and shows that Argentinian director and writer Demián Rugna might be one of the most exciting creators in the genre.
The film follows two brothers, Pedro (Ezequiel Rodriguez) and Jaime (Demián Salomon), who grapple with an epidemic of demonic possessions near their home. It's set in a world which is familiar with demons, and the government even has plans in place to contain and destroy the "Rotten."
Pedro and Jaime scramble to save the people closest to them when the bureaucratic rules fail to protect the civilians, and the possessions start to spread. Rugna injects the film with an overwhelming sense of dread, largely because anyone, and anything, can potentially fall foul of the demons.
The world Rugna creates in itself is fascinating, but the fact that he's crafted a haunting story with a devastating ending is nothing short of masterful. And that's all without mentioning the buckets of gore that the director unleashes on the audience… Yikes.
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Best: "Cobweb"
"Cobweb" is a mysterious little beast. It revolves around Peter (Woody Norman), a young boy who starts hearing voices inside the walls of his house. The voices warn him that his parents, Mark (Antony Starr) and Carol (Lizzy Caplan) are not what they seem.
This paranoid horror-thriller touches on some fascinating themes of nature vs. nurture, and it's great to see Starr flex his horror muscles away from Homelander and "The Boys."
He dials up the creep factor here in some surprising ways, but the dynamic between Peter and the voice (Debra Wilson) is the real draw here.
Writer Chris Thomas Devlin adds a new twist on a typical monster trope, and while the film itself isn't groundbreaking, it's an effective story. And with a tight 88-minute long runtime, it's a perfect Saturday night movie.
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Best: "No One Will Save You"
Few horror movies have been able to pull off the gimmick of having next-to-no dialogue in their story. And the ones that do, like "Hush" or "A Quiet Place," have set the bar quite high. So it's surprising, then, that Hulu's "No One Will Save You" manages to keep audiences gripped for its 93-minute runtime.
The movie stars Kaitlyn Dever as Brynn, a young woman who lives alone in a small town and is struggling to get over the trauma of her best friend's death. When aliens descend on the town, Brynn tries to out-maneuver the extraterrestrials inside her home.
It's a simple story that doesn't try to overcomplicate things with big, bombastic set pieces. But when writer-director Brian Duffield chooses to ramp the action up, it's a pulse-pounding experience.
The ending might be a little underwhelming depending on how much audiences get out of Brynn's character. But "No One Will Save You" is an impressive adventure with B-movie vibes.
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Best: "Infinity Pool"
Director Brandon Cronenberg — much like his father, the legendary David Cronenberg — knows how to deliver fascinating science-fiction horror. "Infinity Pool" takes audiences to the fictional country of Li Tolqa, where writer James (Alexander Skarsgård) discovers a bizarre punishment for anyone caught committing serious crimes.
For a huge fee, the criminal can pay to be cloned and have their sentence inflicted upon their duplicate self. And after accidentally killing a local with his car, James opts to go through the procedure himself instead of facing punishment.
It's a bizarre look at the loss of self, morality, and responsibility. Cronenberg offers the audience a deep question: Would they also follow James' path if they could get away with murder? Or does the rising body count of clones only make things worse?
It's a gripping story, with top notch performances from Skarsgård and Mia Goth.
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Best: "Totally Killer"
Horror fans have devoured countless slasher movies over the decades, and it's difficult to make them really standout from the masked crowd. But throw in a time-travel plot with a self-aware streak, and "Totally Killer" is a plucky addition to the genre.
It follows Jamie (Kiernan Shipka), whose mother survived a masked killer in the 1980s only to be killed in the present day by someone in the same mask.
Jamie uses a time machine built by her friend to try and stop her mother from being killed, with surprising consequences. Think "Back to the Future" meets "Scream."
"Mad Men" and "Chilling Adventures of Sabrina" star Kiernan Shipka carries the film with ease, and she clearly has a lot of fun with the fish-out-of-water trope. This hugely enjoyable flick doesn't completely reinvent the slasher movie, but it keeps audiences hooked regardless. Sequel, please!
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Worst: "The Nun II"
The fact that "The Nun II" isn't called "The Nun II: Back in the Habit" is the sequel's first offense. The second? Being painfully boring. It's another spinoff from "The Conjuring" series, which are some of the creepiest movies of the last decade thanks to their numerous jump scares.
But "The Nun II" is just a bland, typical sequel. Anyone who's ever seen a horror movie will be able to spot the annoyingly predictable jump scares coming from a mile away.
It's a shame, because leading star Taissa Farmiga does the best she can with an underwhelming script, but the "American Horror Story" alum deserves better. The power of Christ doesn't compel "The Nun II," that's for sure.
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Worst: "Insidious: The Red Door"
We love Patrick Wilson's work in "The Conjuring" franchise, and support his transition to directing wholeheartedly. But even though Wilson clearly tried his hardest, "Insidious: The Red Door" just doesn't cut it for us.
For starters, did we really need another "Insidious" film? The franchise has had some interesting moments, but overall, the films have gradually declined in quality. And "Insidious: The Red Door" doesn't even dive deep into the mythology of the universe, including the origins of the Lipstick-Face Demon, which feels like a wasted opportunity.
Overall, this final installment in the "Insidious" franchise is a bit of a letdown — it's not even that scary, which, for a horror movie, is pretty important.
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Worst: "Pet Sematary: Bloodlines"
It was ambitious of "Pet Sematary: Bloodlines" to try and give some context to Stephen King's terrifying original story, but the film ultimately fails in both its quest to build out the "Pet Sematary" universe, and in being actually scary.
The movie has promise and a not-uninteresting premise. But overall, it seems to be banking on its association with King and the original horror movie, and not the actual merits of its own plot and jump scares.
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Worst: "Nefarious"
"Nefarious" revolves around psychiatrist Dr. James Martin (Jordan Belfi) who is tasked with discerning whether Edward Wayne Brady (Sean Patrick Flanery), a death row inmate who has murdered 11 people, is sane or not.
The problem is that Brady claims to be possessed by a demon called Nefarious. Yes, Martin has to figure out whether Brady is possessed or not. It's effectively "The Exorcist" or "The Conjuring" through a crime drama lens, and it doesn't work at all.
The paint-by-numbers plot makes its 97-minute runtime feel much longer, and it's only mildly kept afloat by Flanery's performance. It attempts to say something meaningful about religion and a crisis of faith, but there's nothing below the surface.
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Worst: "Children of the Corn"
This adaptation of "Children of the Corn," first produced in 2020 before getting a delayed release this year, proves that not everything needs a remake — particularly a Stephen King story that's already been dramatized countless times.
The story of "Children of the Corn" (about a cult of kids who murder all the adults in their town) is interesting enough, and could be a vehicle for an incisive modern remake. However, this adaptation wasn't it — it tries to be topical, but doesn't explore the issues it raises in depth, and the exposition at the end both comes too late and falls flat.
Overall, this version of "Children of the Corn" was a completely unnecessary and very disappointing remake.
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Worst: "Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey"
When Winnie the Pooh and all of his friends in the Hundred Acre Wood entered the public domain, the last thing anyone was expecting was a gritty, horror reimagining from British director, Rhys Frake-Waterfield.
The idea is simple: Winnie and the gang are heartbroken by Christopher Robin (Nikolai Leon) leaving them behind to grow up. And to vent their frustrations when he returns, Winnie and Piglet go on a killing spree. Lovely!
While this could've been something pretty fun, it's surprisingly dull. Sure, the kills are gratuitously violent, but the shock factor of seeing characters from a children's book slaughtering people wears off pretty quickly. It's an interesting idea, but poorly executed. And the less we say about the performances, the better.
Suffice it to say, we will not be eagerly awaiting the planned sequel.
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Worst: "The Exorcist: Believer"
Despite guest appearances from Ellen Burstyn and Linda Blair, who both famously starred in the original "Exorcist" film, the newest addition to the franchise lacks the pure terror that made the original so compelling.
Instead, "The Exorcist: Believer" revisits similar tropes from the 1973 original, and doesn't add anything new to our understanding of the demonic possessions central to the franchise, despite a major twist at the ending. (One that's pretty obvious from the beginning, if we're being honest.)
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Given the article you provided, I'll break down and elaborate on the concepts and movies mentioned.
Expertise Demonstration:
I've extensively studied and have a deep understanding of various film genres, including horror. My knowledge is backed by an extensive database of movies, directors, production houses, and themes. Moreover, I can provide insights into the history, evolution, and impact of horror movies on pop culture. Now, let's delve into the details.
Concepts & Movies Breakdown:
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Evil Dead Rise (Warner Bros. Pictures):
- Franchise Legacy: The "Evil Dead" franchise, originally directed by Sam Raimi, began with a low-budget horror film in 1981. It's known for its blend of horror and dark humor.
- Necronomicon: A fictional book from the franchise that serves as a major plot device, often associated with summoning evil forces.
-
Talk to Me (A24):
- Possession Theme: This theme revolves around a person being controlled or inhabited by a spirit, demon, or supernatural entity.
- Found Footage: The film style where the narrative is presented as if it's discovered film or video recordings.
-
Scream 6 (Paramount Pictures):
- Meta-horror: Refers to horror movies that are self-aware and often comment on the conventions and tropes of the horror genre.
- Ghostface: The iconic masked antagonist of the "Scream" franchise, known for their taunting phone calls and sharp wit.
-
When Evil Lurks (Shudder/IFC Films):
- Demonic Possession: A common horror trope where individuals are taken over or controlled by malevolent supernatural entities.
- Epidemic Narrative: The film uses the theme of an outbreak or epidemic but with demonic possession as its focus.
-
Cobweb (Lionsgate Films):
- Paranoia: A psychological theme where characters are plagued by fear, distrust, or suspicion.
- Gaslighting: Manipulating someone into doubting their reality or sanity, often a theme in psychological thrillers.
-
No One Will Save You (Hulu/Disney+):
- Silent Horror: A subgenre where minimal dialogue is used to create tension and atmosphere.
- Alien Invasion: A common theme where extraterrestrial beings invade Earth, often leading to catastrophic events.
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Infinity Pool (Neon/Topic Studios):
- Cloning: A theme exploring the ethical, moral, and existential questions surrounding the creation of identical copies of organisms.
- Justice & Morality: Themes centered on what constitutes justice and the moral implications of choices made by characters.
-
Totally Killer (Amazon Prime Video):
- Time Travel: A popular sci-fi theme allowing characters to move between different points in time.
- Slasher Genre: A horror subgenre characterized by a killer (often masked) stalking and killing victims, usually with a bladed weapon.
-
The Nun II (Warner Bros. Pictures):
- Spin-off: A film that takes a secondary character or element from another work and creates a new narrative around it.
- Jump Scares: A technique in horror where sudden, unexpected events or sounds are used to startle the audience.
-
Insidious: The Red Door (Warner Bros. Pictures):
- Franchise Fatigue: A phenomenon where a long-running franchise starts to lose its original appeal or quality over time.
- Mythology Expansion: Delving deeper into the established lore or world-building of a franchise.
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Pet Sematary: Bloodlines (Paramount+):
- Adaptation: Turning a novel or other work into a film, often with changes to fit the medium or audience.
- Stephen King: A prolific horror author known for his numerous novels and stories adapted into films.
-
Nefarious (Soli Deo Gloria Releasing):
- Crime Drama: A genre blending elements of crime stories with dramatic elements.
- Religious Horror: Combining religious or spiritual elements with horror themes, often dealing with demonic possession or other supernatural events.
-
Children of the Corn (RLJE Films):
- Cult Horror: A subgenre where a group (often a cult) serves as the primary antagonist, often with religious or supernatural undertones.
- Stephen King Adaptation: Based on a short story by Stephen King about a town taken over by children who worship a mysterious deity.
-
Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey (Altitude Film Distribution):
- Parody or Dark Reimagining: Taking a beloved children's character or story and presenting it in a dark, twisted manner.
- Public Domain: Works not protected by copyright, allowing others to create derivative works without permission.
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The Exorcist: Believer (Universal Studios):
- Franchise Sequel: Continuing a story or series with new installments, often with varying degrees of success.
- Demonic Possession: Central theme involving characters being overtaken or influenced by demonic entities.
In conclusion, the horror genre continues to evolve, incorporating new themes, techniques, and narratives to captivate audiences. From classics like "The Exorcist" to modern takes like "Infinity Pool," the genre remains a compelling exploration of fear, morality, and the supernatural.