The best horror movies of the year, ranked (from 'Talk to Me' to 'The Pope's Exorcist')
You've survived another year! Congratulations. A lot of folks in horror movies this year didn't make it out alive, but hey, that's kind of why we love them.
It was a stellar time for films in general, and thankfully, scary movie fans had plenty to love in 2023. There was a killer robot doll spawning online memes, an embalmed hand that was the next best thing to a seance, the pope's exorcist (who looks an awful lot like Russell Crowe) and even a demonic maggot mommy. The "Scream," "Saw" and "Exorcist" franchises all got in on the action, M. Night Shyamalan freaked us out with an apocalyptic scenario, plus "Frankenstein" received a timely modern makeover.
And if you missed some, now's the chance to catch up on all the best chillers and thrillers before 2024 comes at you like a machete to the face. Here's a rundown of the best horror movies of the year, definitively ranked:
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15. 'Skinamarink'
Those needing a creepy, discombobulating experience, come on down for this polarizing found-footage-esque film. Two young kids wake up in the middle of the night and can't find their dad, leading to an unnerving time spent watching cartoons and wondering what the heck's wrong with mom. It's a kid nightmare come to sleepless life where even a toy phone gives you the heebie-jeebies.
14. 'Brooklyn 45'
Set just after the end of WWII, this mix of supernatural thriller and locked-room spy mystery centers on a widowed colonel (Larry Fessenden) who invites pals, including an interrogator (Anne Ramsay) and an accused war criminal (Jeremy Holm), to his home ? but not just for any old reunion. He's planned a seance to talk with his dead wife, leading to a frightful night dealing with sins of the past and ghosts of war.
Where to watch: Shudder
13. 'The Pope’s Exorcist'
Russell Crowe splendidly takes on the role of Father Gabriele Amorth, a real-life figure who worked as the Vatican's resident exorcist, in this nifty hell-raising franchise starter. In the 1980s-set biopic/mystery/scare fest, Crowe's whiskey-drinking, scooter-riding Italian holy man travels to Spain to deal with a possibly possessed boy and uncovers a centuries-old conspiracy.
Where to watch: Netflix, Apple TV, Vudu, Amazon
12. 'Final Cut'
The Oscar-nominated director and supporting actress of best picture winner "The Artist" – Michel Hazanavicius and wife Bérénice Bejo – return with this downright hilarious French meta zombie comedy redo of Japan's "One Cut of the Dead." Romain Duris plays a filmmaker hired to do a live one-take 30-minute horror show and chaos reigns when many things go awry, from camera mishaps to an undead extra's bout with diarrhea.
Where to watch: Apple TV, Vudu, Amazon
11. 'Evil Dead Rise'
The latest delightfully demented "Evil Dead" film centers on a LA family, where a bit of teenage curiosity unlocks the Book of the Dead and unleashes dark demonic forces once again. Alyssa Sutherland's possessed, tormenting mom is a phenomenally nasty piece of work, there's one exceptional use of a cheese grater, and the endlessly bloody finale is a must-see.
Where to watch: Max, Apple TV, Vudu, Amazon
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10. 'Cobweb'
Eight-year-old Peter (Woody Norman) is bullied at school but finds no sanctuary at home either: Constant taps arise from inside his bedroom wall and his cold parents (Lizzy Caplan and Antony Starr) would rather that he knock it off, thank you very much. But after the mysterious presence begins talking to him, Peter acts out violently and starts to think his mom and dad are hiding something in this effective family horror show.
Where to watch: Apple TV, Vudu, Amazon
9. 'No One Will Save You'
A young woman (Kaitlyn Dever), a hated pariah in her community, wakes in her large house to the sound of extraterrestrial intruders rummaging around. She fights back, they're pretty testy, and a hellish night reveals old traumas in Brian Duffield's sci-fi thriller, which is both a spiffy and darkly funny take on the home-invasion film as well as a surprisingly insightful fable about forgiveness.
Where to watch: Hulu
8. 'Huesera: The Bone Woman'
In director Michelle Garza Cervera's wicked debut feature, Natalia Solián stars as a pregnant young Mexican woman who becomes cursed by a dark supernatural force. She reaches out to a group of witches for help in an impressive body horror film full of disturbingly freaky imagery that doubles as a thoughtful look at motherhood and queer identity.
Where to watch: Shudder
7. 'Knock at the Cabin'
M. Night Shyamalan throws together an apocalyptic doozy of an existential nightmare. Jonathan Groff, Ben Aldridge and Kristen Cui star as a family vacationing at a Pennsylvania cabin that's invaded by armed strangers – including their massive leader (Dave Bautista) – with a stomach-turning order: sacrifice a loved one or doom mankind. Bautista is fantastic in a well-crafted thriller that's less bleak than it sounds.
Where to watch: Prime Video, Apple TV, Vudu
6. 'M3GAN'
In a thriller armed with slasher gusto, “Black Mirror”-esque satire and social media savvy, a robotics engineer (Allison Williams) creates a cutting-edge android doll, "pairs" it with her 9-year-old orphaned niece, and discovers that wasn't a great idea. M3GAN herself is a hoot as a 21st-century mean-girl version of Chucky starring in a sharply satirical take on parenting and modern technology.
Where to watch: Prime Video, Apple TV, Vudu
5. 'El Conde'
Pablo Larraín's batty satire reimagines Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet (Jaime Vadell) as a 250-year-old vampire ready to end his eternal life and be rid of his overbearing wife and money-grubbing grown children. At least until he falls for his young French accountant, who's actually an undercover nun sent to exorcise this historical demon, in an intriguingly out-there exploration of cyclical evil.
Where to watch: Netflix
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4. 'It Lives Inside'
A teen girl's high school life is terrifying enough without having to deal with a mythological demon in this powerful coming-of-age twist on the possession subgenre. Sam (Megan Suri) is a teen who's shunned her Indian heritage so she can fit in better among her peers, but she has to lean into that culture to save an ex-best friend inhabited by a dark spirit that attacks anyone who tries to help.
Where to watch: Apple TV, Vudu, Amazon
3. 'When Evil Lurks'
The Argentine film puts another cool spin on that familiar possession trope, with intriguing rules and eerie mythology: Ezequiel Rodríguez and Demián Salomón play brothers who discover a neighbor has become a festering "rotten" entity, but they don't exorcise it in the right way and a demonic plague breaks out among humans and animals. Gruesome, shocking and boasting a pervasive sense of existential dread, it's an expertly crafted feel-bad effort.
Where to watch: Amazon, AMC+, Shudder
2. 'The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster'
This is how you resurrect a classic horror story: In Bomani J. Story's fantastic and timely modernization of the "Frankenstein" myth, a gifted teen girl (Laya DeLeon Hayes) is horrified when her big brother is gunned down in a gang shooting and experiments on his and other body parts to bring him back to life. He does return, to a monstrous degree, and she's forced to face the ramifications of her creation.
Where to watch: Shudder, Apple TV, Vudu, Amazon, AMC+
1. 'Talk to Me'
Australian twin brothers Danny and Michael Philippou announce themselves as essential young horror voices with this unforgettable indie chiller (which already has a sequel on the way). And Sophie Wilde is this year's top new scream queen starring as a teen attending a party where kids get high by inviting spirits into their bodies via a mysterious embalmed hand. She bends the "rules" and everyone's lives turn ghastly in a film that brilliantly blends old-school frights with fears for the TikTok generation.
Where to watch: Apple TV, Vudu, Amazon, Google Play
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Best horror movies of 2023: These 15 flicks will seriously spook you
