Hollywood trends may come and go, but horror? Horror never slumps. While the end-of-year narratives for 2023 may be overshadowed by questions of technology and corporate shenanigans – a word chosen for The Playlist’s audience of all ages – this was still a very impressive year for horror.
READ MORE: The 21 Best Films Of 2023
And like every year, the standouts come from every side of the industry. You’ll find on this list box office darlings, streaming standouts, and festival favorites. There are movies made for the budget of a small country and at least one film – you know which one – made for the price of a used car.
But across this list, you will find some of the most ambitious, entertaining, and just plain fun horror movies of 2023. So here’s to the films that captured our fears on screen so we could breathe a little bit easier off.
Follow along with all our Best Of 2023 coverage here.
“When Evil Lurks”On the poster (one of the best of the year, without a doubt) for “When Evil Lurks,” the slogan for the film is simply, “There’s no point in praying.” That’s a ridiculously dour thing to say about a story, but there’s really no other way to brace yourself for Demián Rugna’s brutal film. In a world where possession is treated like a zombie outbreak, two brothers have to escape the wrath of a vengeful demon who is possessing those around them. And this is one incredibly mean, frightening spirit. Seriously, the first 45 minutes of this film will take your breath away, with how it is beautifully staged and expertly paced. It’ll keep you on the edge of your seat, and when you least expect it, “When Evil Lurks” will knife you in the gut. Thankfully, the film eventually does give you time to relax before unleashing the second half, which ups the ante in terms of worldbuilding and allows for the characters to fully stretch their legs. It’s a horrific film, in the best sense of the word. Shocking, terrifying, and beautifully ugly, “When Evil Lurks” is a film you won’t easily forget. – Charles Barfield
“Talk To Me”If there’s one horror film in 2023 that seemingly came out of nowhere to dominate the conversation, it’s Danny and Michael Philippou’s “Talk to Me.” A fun take on the possession genre, the Australian horror film had an acclaimed debut at Sundance and would go on to be one of the biggest hits for A24 this year. The film was such a hit a sequel has already been announced. Thankfully, this is a film that deserves all the praise and box office success. With its fun premise (possession becomes a party game for teens) and shocking twists, “Talk to Me” is a clever film that never rests on its laurels and always aims for scares, first and foremost. With an incredible lead performance from Sophie Wilde, the film is already an instant classic, and we’re ecstatic to see where this new franchise goes in the future. – CB
“Skinamarink”Of all the films on this list, Kyle Edward Ball’s “Skinamarink” is the one that really shouldn’t belong. When was the last time that a truly experimental horror film went mainstream? “Skinamarink” is a film with only the faintest hint of a plot and nearly no dialogue. It’s a film built almost entirely off of vibes. Now, for many, that might sound like a chore, and believe us, “Skinamarink” is no easy watch, but for those who are able to fully immerse themselves into the imagery on the screen, there’s perhaps no scarier film all year. Nearly the opposite of every other film on this list, “Skinamarink” is a true anomaly, and it’s not likely to have any copycats in the years to come. Honestly, it’s a miracle this film got any funding, let alone a major theatrical release. Thankfully, it got both, and the world was introduced to the twisted mind of Kyle Edward Ball. The real question is where does he go next? – CB
“Evil Dead Rise”If 2022 was the year of wish casting the “Predator” franchise in various periods throughout history, then 2023 was the year we wondered what other settings might be a great fit for an “Evil Dead” movie. Director Lee Cronin – whose 2019 feature “The Hole in the Ground” is one of the best horror films of the past decade – deserves credit for crafting a film that combines the best of both Sam Raimi and Fede Álvarez’s previous franchise entries. “Evil Dead Rise” is a masterclass in letting location dictate narrative, drawing inspiration from its delipidated brownstone to show that there is a lot more to “Evil Dead” movies than just cabins and Oldsmobiles. Hell, the peephole sequence in the trailer alone was more visually interesting than some of the big-budget horror that came out this year. But the real star of the show is Alyssa Sutherland. Sutherland’s movie mom-ster is a fitting addition to the “Evil Dead” collection of deadites, but might well be one of the best horror creatures of the century so far. If horror got its fair shake from Hollywood, Sutherland would get her flowers from critical bodies across the country. – Mathew Monagle
“Godless: The Eastfield Exorcism”Do you want to know the problem with exorcism movies? The problem with exorcism movies is that exorcisms are boring. Ever since William Friedkin turned “The Exorcist” into one of the scariest horror films of all time, hundreds of filmmakers have tried – and failed, often spectacularly – to recapture that spark. More often than not, modern exorcism movies mean cycling through many of the now-tropes that Friedkin helped create: blasphemy, baritone, and buckets and buckets of bile (green or black, take your choice, the subgenre isn’t without its indulgences). What makes a movie like “Godless” such a welcome entry to the genre is that it is more interested in the people who perform these rituals than the ones who undergo them. Poor Lara (Georgia Eyers) might be persuaded by her husband to receive an illegal exorcism, but the film’s focus is Daniel (Tim Pocock), the charismatic and cruel zealot who believes he’s been chosen by god to drive demons out from earth. That makes “Godless” a film more about religious extremism than religious ritual – a much-needed update of decades of horror. – MA