Editorials
The 10 Best Horror Movies Released in the First Half of 2023
Where does the time go? We’re now halfway through 2023, so you know the drill. It’s time to reflect on the year so far with a look at the best horror movies released in 2023… so far.
This summer’s only getting warmed up for horror releases, and the Halloween season ensures a packed Fall to come. So far, though, 2023 offers no shortage of horror gems that run the gamut from highly anticipated sequels to genre-benders and viral sensations.
As a refresher and to ensure great movies don’t fall through the cracks, here are the ten best horror movies released in the first half of 2023…
Huesera: The Bone Woman
When so many pregnancy horror movies isolate the mother-to-be, breeding mistrust from everyone around her, Huesera internalizes it. Refreshingly, it’s less about motherhood and more about the loss of self. Director Michelle Garza Cervera, who co-wrote with Abia Castillo, repurposes a Mexican folktale for a modern tale of maternal fears. Cervera uses the Huesera to create unsettling moments that build tangible dread and suspense. More prominent than the atmosphere, though, is how the haunting figure is employed to crack open main character Valeria’s (Natalia Soliá) psyche and expose repressed emotions and anxieties.
Missing
This twisty screenlife thriller tracks June’s (Storm Reid) search for answers when her mother (Nia Long) goes missing on vacation. June creatively uses all the latest technology at her fingertips to try and find Mom from thousands of miles away, but the more she digs, the more unsettling questions she uncovers. Written and directed by Will Merrick and Nick Johnson, Missing moves at a breakneck pace and keeps you guessing.
Malum
In a rare turn of events, director/co-writer Anthony DiBlasi gives a new update to his own 2014 horror film Last Shift with Malum. DiBlasi reunites with Last Shift co-writer Scott Poiley, creating an expanded story that strengthens the original narrative and offers even bloodier occult mayhem. DiBlasi’s Malum serves as a perfect introduction to his twisted demonic realm while supporting his original film as a fascinating companion piece. Combine that with gloriously gory FX from Russell FX, and you’ve got a recipe for a ghoulishly bloody time.
Candy Land
Candy Land unfurls its sleazy slasher filled with broken dreams, religious repression, and a sensitive depiction of sex workers right before a grim turn. Writer/Director John Swab introduces a group of tight-knit sex workers dubbed “lot lizards.” They live out of the motel and spend their days chatting near the gas station, snowballs and soda in hand, between sexual encounters in bathroom stalls or truck cabs. It’s this humanizing depiction and world-building that bolsters a familiar setup. The dead bodies begin to accrue once all characters and the setting are thoroughly established. It marks the tipping point from a sensitive portrayal to a grim, bloody path of broken dreams and hearts.
Beau Is Afraid
“Nightmare comedy” is the perfect phrase to describe Ari Aster’s Beau Is Afraid, a darkly funny Kafkaesque odyssey that defies easy categorization. The writer and director of Hereditary and Midsommar is back with yet another emotionally complex saga, this one his most ambitious yet. The visionary combs his literary and cinematic influences, infusing them into a surreal, emotionally tumultuous journey that’ll prove divisive for its cryptic, unhurried storytelling. That makes for a polarizing film, but Aster’s ability to wring palpable tension from even comedic scenarios and a commitment to practical effects (including a 15-foot monstrous penis) makes for a wild genre-bending journey.
Evil Dead Rise
Writer/Director Lee Cronin transports the familiar franchise cabin setting to a Los Angeles high-rise apartment to plunge a family into Deadite hell. In Cronin’s attempts to forge new ground, the filmmaker always retains sight of what makes an Evil Dead movie, well, Evil Dead. The filmmaker pays tribute to the features that came before through iconic camera work, quotable lines, hero shots, beloved weaponry, and an admirable commitment to spilling the most blood possible. But it’s Alyssa Sutherland’s absolutely demented performance as the central Deadite foe that makes this sequel a standout horror film of 2023 so far.
Sisu
Writer/Director Jalmari Helander delivered a delightfully wicked twist to Santa Claus in 2010’s genre-bender Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale. Helander’s latest, Sisu, sees the filmmaker reteaming with some familiar Rare Exports faces for another crowd-pleasing genre-bender, this time an R-rated journey through Lapland near the end of World War II. The period action-adventure goes hard on hyper-violence and has a sense of humor to match. While this classifies as an action feature, not horror, Helander’s gleeful revelry in splattering Nazi guts all over Lapland, slasher style, makes this an action film for the horror fan.
The Blackening
Antoinette Robertson as Lisa and Sinqua Walls as Nnamdi in The Blackening. Photo Credit: Glen Wilson
Directed by Tim Story and co-written by Tracy Oliver (Girls Trip, Harlem) and Dewayne Perkins (“The Amber Ruffin Show,” “Brooklyn Nine-Nine”), The Blackening skewers genre tropes to an infectiously entertaining degree. It follows a group of Black friends who reunite for a Juneteenth weekend getaway only to find themselves trapped in a remote cabin with a twisted killer. The slasher setup and skewering of tropes lay the foundation for a crowd-pleasing horror comedy. It’s not the kills or the horror that makes this so compelling, but the natural chemistry among the cast that instantly endears their characters to the audience and leaves you singing the O’Reilly Auto Parts jingle along with them.
Infinity Pool
Writer/Director Brandon Cronenberg returns to the deep well of surreal, grotesque sci-fi horror for his latest. It sees James Foster (Alexander Skarsgård) thrown into the deep end of depravity when fellow affluent tourists teach him a loophole to avoid punishment for crimes. It’s not just the shocking escalation or Cronenberg’s approach that keeps Infinity Pool so engaging and occasionally repulsive, but the committed performances by Skarsgård and co-star Mia Goth. The increasingly complex layers added to James and Gabi reveal there’s far more to Infinity Pool than simply the rich eating the rich. Cronenberg’s sense of style, an unrelenting sense of dread and tension, and two utterly captivating, depraved leads ensure these provocative waters are worth wading into.
Scream VI
Ghostface in Paramount Pictures and Spyglass Media Group’s “Scream VI.”
Directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett (Scream, Ready or Not) continue their streak of hitting that perfect blend of suspenseful thrills and biting humor. Here the filmmakers up the ante, delivering inventive, edge-of-your-seat set pieces that showcase the urban setting and how savage Ghostface is this round. The kills are merciless and visceral, and the chase sequences are impressive and plentiful. It’s also surprising how this sequel engages with Scream 2 in plot and theme. Dense arcs and themes aside, Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett ensure that you’ll never want for entertainment here; it’s a bloody feast for the slasher fan.
Editorials
Silly, Self-Aware ‘Amityville Christmas Vacation’ Is a Welcome Change of Pace [The Amityville IP]
Twice a month Joe Lipsett will dissect a new Amityville Horror film to explore how the “franchise” has evolved in increasingly ludicrous directions. This is “The Amityville IP.”
After a number of bloated runtimes and technically inept entries, it’s something of a relief to watch Amityville Christmas Vacation (2022). The 55-minute film doesn’t even try to hit feature length, which is a wise decision for a film with a slight, but enjoyable premise.
The amusingly self-aware comedy is written and directed by Steve Rudzinski, who also stars as protagonist Wally Griswold. The premise is simple: a newspaper article celebrating the hero cop catches the attention of B’n’B owner Samantha (Marci Leigh), who lures Wally to Amityville under the false claim that he’s won a free Christmas stay.
Naturally it turns out that the house is haunted by a vengeful ghost named Jessica D’Angelo (Aleen Isley), but instead of murdering him like the other guests, Jessica winds up falling in love with him.
Several other recent Amityville films, including Amityville Cop and Amityville in Space, have leaned into comedy, albeit to varying degrees of success. Amityville Christmas Vacation is arguably the most successful because, despite its hit/miss joke ratio, at least the film acknowledges its inherent silliness and never takes itself seriously.
In this capacity, the film is more comedy than horror (the closest comparison is probably Amityville Vibrator, which blended hard-core erotica with references to other titles in the “series”). The jokes here are enjoyably varied: Wally glibly acknowledges his racism and excessive use of force in a way that reflects the real world culture shift around criticisms of police work; the last names of the lovers, as well the title of the film, are obvious homages to the National Lampoon’s holiday film; and the narrative embodies the usual festive tropes of Hallmark and Lifetime Christmas movies.
This self-awareness buys the film a certain amount of goodwill, which is vital considering Rudzinski’s clear budgetary limitations. Jessica’s ghost make-up is pretty basic, the action is practically non-existent, and the whole film essentially takes place in a single location. These elements are forgivable, though audiences whose funny bone isn’t tickled will find the basic narrative, low stakes, and amateur acting too glaring to overlook. It must be acknowledged that in spite of its brief runtime, there’s still an undeniable feeling of padding in certain dialogue exchanges and sequences.
Despite this, there’s plenty to like about Amityville Christmas Vacation.
Rudzinski is the clear stand-out here. Wally is a goof: he’s incredibly slow on the uptake and obsessed with his cat Whiskers. The early portions of the film lean on Wally’s inherent likeability and Rudzinski shares an easy charm with co-star Isley, although her performance is a bit more one-note (Jessica is mostly confused by the idiot who has wandered into her midst).
Falling somewhere in the middle are Ben Dietels as Rick (Ben Dietels), Wally’s pathetic co-worker who has invented a family to spend the holidays with, and Zelda (Autumn Ivy), the supernatural case worker that Jessica Zooms with for advice on how to negotiate her newfound situation.
The other actors are less successful, particularly Garrett Hunter as ghost hunter Creighton Spool (Scott Lewis), as well as Samantha, the home owner. Leigh, in particular, barely makes an impression and there’s absolutely no bite in her jealous threats in the last act.
Like most comedies, audience mileage will vary depending on their tolerance for low-brow jokes. If the idea of Wally chastising and giving himself a pep talk out loud in front of Jessica isn’t funny, Amityville Christmas Vacation likely isn’t for you. As it stands, the film’s success rate is approximately 50/50: for every amusing joke, there’s another one that misses the mark.
Despite this – or perhaps because of the film’s proximity to the recent glut of terrible entries – Amityville Christmas Vacation is a welcome breath of fresh air. It’s not a great film, but it is often amusing and silly. There’s something to be said for keeping things simple and executing them reasonably well.
That’s a lesson that other indie Amityville filmmakers could stand to learn.
The Amityville IP Awards go to…
- Recurring Gag: The film mines plenty of jokes from characters saying the quiet part (out) loud, including Samantha’s delivery of “They’re always the people I hate” when Wally asks how he won a contest he didn’t enter.
- Holiday Horror: There’s a brief reference that Jessica died in an “icicle accident,” which plays like a perfect blend between a horror film and a Hallmark film.
- Best Line: After Jessica jokes about Wally’s love of all things cats to Zelda, calling him the “cat’s meow,” the case worker’s deadpan delivery of “Yeah, that sounds like an inside joke” is delightful.
- Christmas Wish: In case you were wondering, yes, Santa Claus (Joshua Antoon) does show up for the film’s final joke, though it’s arguably not great.
- Chainsaw Award: This film won Fangoria’s ‘Best Amityville’ Chainsaw award in 2023, which makes sense given how unique it is compared to many other titles released in 2022. This also means that the film is probably the best entry we’ll discuss for some time, so…yay?
- ICYMI: This editorial series was recently included in a profile in the The New York Times, another sign that the Amityville “franchise” will never truly die.
Next time: we’re hitting the holidays in the wrong order with a look at November 2022’s Amityville Thanksgiving, which hails from the same creative team as Amityville Karen <gulp>
‘Infested’ Review – One of the Best Spiders Attack Horror Movies in Years
‘The King Tide’: An Island Town Rots with Moral Decay in Canadian Folk Horror Fable [Review]
Rated “R” ‘The Little Mermaid’ Horror Movie Coming Soon; Watch the Trailer
TWO New ‘Evil Dead’ Movies Now in the Works; Sébastien Vaniček & Francis Galluppi Directing
“AHS: Delicate” Review – ‘The Auteur’ Gives Birth to a Lackluster, Laughable Finale
You must be logged in to post a comment.