Editorials
Bloody Disgusting’s 10 Best Horror TV Series of 2022
The year’s robust horror releases aren’t exclusive to movies; it’s also been a banner year for horror on television.
2022 kicked off with the final three episodes of Showtime’s must see “Yellowjackets,“ setting the bar high for horror TV in 2022. In its critically acclaimed wake, other horror shows more than delivered with new seasons of ongoing genre favorites, surprising adaptations of familiar novels, breathtaking feats in anthology storytelling, and so much more.
Here are Bloody Disgusting’s top 10 best horror TV series of 2022.
Shining Vale
The inaugural season of this Starz series used classic horror homages to comedic effect to capture domestic dysfunction. At the center of it is actress Courteney Cox, playing against type as a floundering author whose life is spiraling in the wake of an affair and a midlife crisis. The atypical characters and repurposed iconic horror scenes transform the familiar family sitcom format into a unique, era-bending horror-comedy depiction of inner demons. Written by series creator Jeff Astrof from a story he wrote with co-creator Sharon Horgan, “Shining Vale” adheres to the familiar beats of haunted house and possession horror. What makes it feel fresh is the blending of horror and television influences, along with Cox’s central performance. She’s aided by an equally engaging performance by Mira Sorvino as the devious ghost Rosemary.
1899
The minds behind the mind-bending Netflix series “Dark” are back with another twisty, atmospheric series, this time aboard a ghost ship. The period piece follows various passengers on the cross-Atlantic ship when a mysterious signal from the sister ship Prometheus appears after being lost at sea for months. The endless twists and turns in store mean the season winds up in a vastly different place than where it began, keeping you guessing the entire time. If you’re in the mood for moody supernatural mysteries and fantastic production design, “1899” brings both in spades.
Interview with the Vampire
The premiere episode of this new adaptation of Anne Rice’s 1976 novel shifts from 1910 New Orleans to 2022 Dubai, indicating the series’ expansive scope and ambition. This iteration establishes Louis de Pointe du Lac (Jacob Anderson) as a Black man struggling to run a business in 1910, and navigating life becomes even more complicated once he meets the seductive vampire Lestat de Lioncourt (Sam Reid). “Interview with the Vampire” adds new layers to Rice’s already complex characters, and Anderson and Reid are more than up to the task of making them compelling to watch. Its modern sensibilities, scale, and cast inject new life into a familiar story.
Servant (Season 3)
The Turner family may have restored order to their home by the end of season two, but it derailed again quickly in the third season of the M. Night Shyamalan-produced series created by Tony Basgallop. Murder, paranoia, cults, kidnapping plots, and Leanne’s enigmatic powers and persona continue to create barely contained insanity within the Philadelphia brownstone, presenting yet another remarkable showcase for this highly talented cast. “Servant” has a unique way of drawing you in despite relentlessly withholding answers. Season three made for a much more focused and even outing than season two, serving as a satisfying setup for the upcoming final season.
What We Do in the Shadows (Season 4)
Season four brought significant growing pains and transitions for our favorite Staten Island vampires. The housemates returned to find their mansion in a state of complete disarray and Laszlo (Matt Berry) acting as the guardian for a now baby Colin Robinson (Mark Proksch). Nandor (Kayvan Novak) begins his quest for matrimony, Nadja (Natasia Demetriou) opens a club, and Guillermo (Harvey Guillén) searches for his family. It allows the fourth season to expand the supernatural world in poignant and hilarious ways.
Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities
Guillermo del Toro assembles a Murderers’ Row of horror filmmakers for his limited anthology series, and each story is contained within his ornate oddities cabinet. The episodes range from the macabre to classic frights to the fantastical, all sending its central characters on unexpected journeys. The roster of talent on display is incredible, and that reflects in the series’ quality. The impeccable craftsmanship never wavers throughout, ensuring favorites vary vastly based on narrative preference. Panos Cosmatos’ “The Viewing” eschews the norm in favor of a face-melting vibe, making for an impressive stand-out. The quiet introspections that dabble in cosmic or existential horrors play like a soothing yet haunting vintage scary story collection.
Love, Death, + Robots (Volume III)
Tim Miller’s animated anthology series unites various art styles and genres in an easily digestible format. The sheer range makes for an infectious grab bag for all tastes and moods. Robert Bisi & Andy Lyon’s “Night of the Mini Dead,” for example, chronicles an entire zombie apocalypse entirely through sped-up miniatures in the most charming way. Seven director David Fincher’s “Bad Travelling” spins a graphic creature feature at sea, while sci-fi embraces Lovecraftian horror when marines face Cthulhu in Jerome Chen’s “In Vaulted Halls Entombed.” It’s creative bite-sized shorts via stunning animation.
Evil (Season 3)
“Evil” Season 3 continues the series’ unpredictable streak. It picks up where season two ended when a newly ordained David (Mike Colter) and a married Kristen (Katja Herbers) kiss. In season three, the two will have to explore this development and grapple with David’s new role within the Catholic Church. The series’ ability to subvert expectations and conventions of a biblical Good vs. Evil procedural never ceases to amaze; there’s zero guessing about what zany new encounters with evil are in store for its protagonists. The creature designs behind the series’ demons also never fail to impress. If you thought the well had run dry on horror rooted in Catholicism, this zany horror show will convince you otherwise.
Chucky (Season 2)
Series creator Don Mancini and team upped the ante for season two of “Chucky,” and it’s apparent in every facet of this infectious series that they all had an absolute blast in the process. Jake Wheeler (Zackary Arthur), Devon (Bjorgvin Arnarson), and Lexy (Alyvia Alyn Lind) undergo tremendous growing pains thanks to their ongoing battle with Chucky and the authorities at their Catholic boarding school. It makes them more resilient, mature, and ready to beat Chucky at his lethal game. Season two also introduced a ton of Chucky-on-Chucky violence, but Tiffany’s (Jennifer Tilly) complex arc this season surprised the most. Mancini continues the evolution of his franchise in unexpected ways while demonstrating no shortage of creativity behind Chucky’s gnarly kills. Here’s hoping Season 3 is on the way next year.
From
EPIX introduced a captivating and nightmarish mystery box series from the minds behind event television series like “Lost” and “Alias.” “From” wastes no time establishing the horror; an opening sequence sees a quaint town rushing to shutter all windows and doors before nightfall. We then see why when a young girl hears a tapping at her second-story bedroom at night by an older woman claiming to be her grandmother. The aftermath is shockingly gory. Cut to a family of four traveling by RV, who soon find themselves trapped in this strange town. They’re the latest among residents who’ll have to adapt to survive both the monsters lurking in the dark and the bizarre phenomena that plague this mysterious place. Propulsive thrills, endless questions, and complex characters combine for a captivating modern horror fairy tale with sharp teeth. We can’t wait for season two.
Honorable Mentions…
The gory, pitch-black superhero show “The Boys” may not qualify as horror, but it’s adjacent enough thanks to its bloodletting and remains at the peak of quality TV. And the animated spinoff “The Boys Presents: Diabolical” ran the gamut in styles and genres, ensuring we’ll sign up for whatever this unhinged universe throws us next.
An insightful account of the genre’s history with queer representation, Shudder’s “Queer for Fear” docuseries was fascinating on its own, but candid conversations with talking heads like Osgood Perkins elevated it to poignant heights.
“Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin” went full throttle on ’90s slasher homages to an entertaining degree.
I’d also be remiss not to bid farewell to the enduring “The Walking Dead“; but thanks to a slew of upcoming spinoffs, it’s not truly goodbye.
Editorials
Five Serial Killer Horror Movies to Watch Before ‘Longlegs’
Here’s what we know about Longlegs so far. It’s coming in July of 2024, it’s directed by Osgood Perkins (The Blackcoat’s Daughter), and it features Maika Monroe (It Follows) as an FBI agent who discovers a personal connection between her and a serial killer who has ties to the occult. We know that the serial killer is going to be played by none other than Nicolas Cage and that the marketing has been nothing short of cryptic excellence up to this point.
At the very least, we can assume NEON’s upcoming film is going to be a dark, horror-fueled hunt for a serial killer. With that in mind, let’s take a look at five disturbing serial killers-versus-law-enforcement stories to get us even more jacked up for Longlegs.
MEMORIES OF MURDER (2003)
This South Korean film directed by Oscar-winning director Bong Joon-ho (Parasite) is a wild ride. The film features a handful of cops who seem like total goofs investigating a serial killer who brutally murders women who are out and wearing red on rainy evenings. The cops are tired, unorganized, and border on stoner comedy levels of idiocy. The movie at first seems to have a strange level of forgiveness for these characters as they try to pin the murders on a mentally handicapped person at one point, beating him and trying to coerce him into a confession for crimes he didn’t commit. A serious cop from the big city comes down to help with the case and is able to instill order.
But still, the killer evades and provokes not only the police but an entire country as everyone becomes more unstable and paranoid with each grizzly murder and sex crime.
I’ve never seen a film with a stranger tone than Memories of Murder. A movie that deals with such serious issues but has such fallible, seemingly nonserious people at its core. As the film rolls on and more women are murdered, you realize that a lot of these faults come from men who are hopeless and desperate to catch a killer in a country that – much like in another great serial killer story, Citizen X – is doing more harm to their plight than good.
Major spoiler warning: What makes Memories of Murder somehow more haunting is that it’s loosely based on a true story. It is a story where the real-life killer hadn’t been caught at the time of the film’s release. It ends with our main character Detective Park (Song Kang-ho), now a salesman, looking hopelessly at the audience (or judgingly) as the credits roll. Over sixteen years later the killer, Lee Choon Jae, was found using DNA evidence. He was already serving a life sentence for another murder. Choon Jae even admitted to watching the film during his court case saying, “I just watched it as a movie, I had no feeling or emotion towards the movie.”
In the end, Memories of Murder is a must-see for fans of the subgenre. The film juggles an almost slapstick tone with that of a dark murder mystery and yet, in the end, works like a charm.
CURE (1997)
If you watched 2023’s Hypnotic and thought to yourself, “A killer who hypnotizes his victims to get them to do his bidding is a pretty cool idea. I only wish it were a better movie!” Boy, do I have great news for you.
In Cure (spoilers ahead), a detective (Koji Yakusho) and forensic psychologist (Tsuyoshi Ujiki) team up to find a serial killer who’s brutally marking their victims by cutting a large “X” into their throats and chests. Not just a little “X” mind you but a big, gross, flappy one.
At each crime scene, the murderer is there and is coherent and willing to cooperate. They can remember committing the crimes but can’t remember why. Each of these murders is creepy on a cellular level because we watch the killers act out these crimes with zero emotion. They feel different than your average movie murder. Colder….meaner.
What’s going on here is that a man named Mamiya (Masato Hagiwara) is walking around and somehow manipulating people’s minds using the flame of a lighter and a strange conversational cadence to hypnotize them and convince them to murder. The detectives eventually catch him but are unable to understand the scope of what’s happening before it’s too late.
If you thought dealing with a psychopathic murderer was hard, imagine dealing with one who could convince you to go home and murder your wife. Not only is Cure amazingly filmed and edited but it has more horror elements than your average serial killer film.
MANHUNTER (1986)
In the first-ever Hannibal Lecter story brought in front of the cameras, Detective Will Graham (William Petersen) finds his serial killers by stepping into their headspace. This is how he caught Hannibal Lecter (played here by Brian Cox), but not without paying a price. Graham became so obsessed with his cases that he ended up having a mental breakdown.
In Manhunter, Graham not only has to deal with Lecter playing psychological games with him from behind bars but a new serial killer in Francis Dolarhyde (in a legendary performance by Tom Noonan). One who likes to wear pantyhose on his head and murder entire families so that he can feel “seen” and “accepted” in their dead eyes. At one point Lecter even finds a way to gift Graham’s home address to the new killer via personal ads in a newspaper.
Michael Mann (Heat, Thief) directed a film that was far too stylish for its time but that fans and critics both would have loved today in the same way we appreciate movies like Nightcrawler or Drive. From the soundtrack to the visuals to the in-depth psychoanalysis of an insanely disturbed protagonist and the man trying to catch him. We watch Graham completely lose his shit and unravel as he takes us through the psyche of our killer. Which is as fascinating as it is fucked.
Manhunter is a classic case of a serial killer-versus-detective story where each side of the coin is tarnished in their own way when it’s all said and done. As Detective Park put it in Memories of Murder, “What kind of detective sleeps at night?”
INSOMNIA (2002)
Maybe it’s because of the foggy atmosphere. Maybe it’s because it’s the only film in Christopher Nolan’s filmography he didn’t write as well as direct. But for some reason, Insomnia always feels forgotten about whenever we give Nolan his flowers for whatever his latest cinematic achievement is.
Whatever the case, I know it’s no fault of the quality of the film, because Insomnia is a certified serial killer classic that adds several unique layers to the detective/killer dynamic. One way to create an extreme sense of unease with a movie villain is to cast someone you’d never expect in the role, which is exactly what Nolan did by casting the hilarious and sweet Robin Williams as a manipulative child murderer. He capped that off by casting Al Pacino as the embattled detective hunting him down.
This dynamic was fascinating as Williams was creepy and clever in the role. He was subdued in a way that was never boring but believable. On the other side of it, Al Pacino felt as if he’d walked straight off the set of 1995’s Heat and onto this one. A broken and imperfect man trying to stop a far worse one.
Aside from the stellar acting, Insomnia stands out because of its unique setting and plot. Both working against the detective. The investigation is taking place in a part of Alaska where the sun never goes down. This creates a beautiful, nightmare atmosphere where by the end of it, Pacino’s character is like a Freddy Krueger victim in the leadup to their eventual, exhausted death as he runs around town trying to catch a serial killer while dealing with the debilitating effects of insomnia. Meanwhile, he’s under an internal affairs investigation for planting evidence to catch another child killer and accidentally shoots his partner who he just found out is about to testify against him. The kicker here is that the killer knows what happened that fateful day and is using it to blackmail Pacino’s character into letting him get away with his own crimes.
If this is the kind of “what would you do?” intrigue we get with the story from Longlegs? We’ll be in for a treat. Hoo-ah.
FALLEN (1998)
Fallen may not be nearly as obscure as Memories of Murder or Cure. Hell, it boasts an all-star cast of Denzel Washington, John Goodman, Donald Sutherland, James Gandolfini, and Elias Koteas. But when you bring it up around anyone who has seen it, their ears perk up, and the word “underrated” usually follows. And when it comes to the occult tie-ins that Longlegs will allegedly have? Fallen may be the most appropriate film on this entire list.
In the movie, Detective Hobbs (Washington) catches vicious serial killer Edgar Reese (Koteas) who seems to place some sort of curse on him during Hobbs’ victory lap. After Reese is put to death via electric chair, dead bodies start popping up all over town with his M.O., eventually pointing towards Hobbs as the culprit. After all, Reese is dead. As Hobbs investigates he realizes that a fallen angel named Azazel is possessing human body after human body and using them to commit occult murders. It has its eyes fixated on him, his co-workers, and family members; wrecking their lives or flat-out murdering them one by one until the whole world is damned.
Mixing a demonic entity into a detective/serial killer story is fascinating because it puts our detective in the unsettling position of being the one who is hunted. How the hell do you stop a demon who can inhabit anyone they want with a mere touch?!
Fallen is a great mix of detective story and supernatural horror tale. Not only are we treated to Denzel Washington as the lead in a grim noir (complete with narration) as he uncovers this occult storyline, but we’re left with a pretty great “what would you do?” situation in a movie that isn’t afraid to take the story to some dark places. Especially when it comes to the way the film ends. It’s a great horror thriller in the same vein as Frailty but with a little more detective work mixed in.
Look for Longlegs in theaters on July 12, 2024.
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