2022 Horror

Whether it is was a huge set of batshit crazy horror movie concepts like Barbarian, Crimes of the Future, or Deadstream or greatly executed films like Smile, Black Phone, and Nope. Horror has made a bit of a comeback in 2022. In the box office, the genre has grossed more than $500 million this year with several projects performing almost 5x their budget; like Terrifier 2 making over $10 million on a $250k budget. There were scares throughout this year that I don't think have had the same effect on me in a long time. The genre of horror is here to stay as we look back in retrospect at this year's films.

Scream Each one of these films come out when there is a new trend in the horror genre. In the 5th entry, there's a lot to say about "Requels/Legacy sequels". Although, it may be the point but there might be too much to talk about. There's an entire exposition scene talking about the trend where the group names a bunch of horror blockbusters and really dumbing down the concept describing it to the audience. I think it brings a divisive stance to the film when it mocks the trend but follows the legacy sequel blueprint almost note for note. Although, in the bombastic and entertaining final act where the killers talks how fandom runs franchises and that's where new ideas come from, not from tired old Hollywood sequels and I think this issue works more with the ending in context. There is even a line saying "This whole franchise really goes off the rails with number 5." Also I love that Dewey was right all along, it is always the love interest. The guessing game was done well given the group of friends being so cutthroat with each other as the murders develop. Now with the big elephant out of the way, I really had a great time with this movie. Sam played by Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega's Tara are great protagonists in this movie and build off a well done sister dynamic. There is a meta angle to it where the Ghostface killer this time around constantly belittles Sam challenging her saying she isn't "fit for this franchise" with the series/fanbase working against her. There is a twist with Sam's character that really fits in both a unique sense of the franchise. The "legacy" characters are mostly good, there are some cringey "catching up" lines when we first see Gale, Dewey and Sid again. Although, they are able to fit into these characters like a glove. The kills are just as vicious if not more than previous films and the opening scare scene really is a highlight for the series and again is proof to Jenna Ortega being a fantastic "Scream Queen" and there are some very well done and even ballsy decisions that help this movie especially with the addition of a fun "new rule" and definitely is worth a watch for new and old fans. With a sixth entry in the Scream franchise coming in 2023, I have to wonder if they are able to thrive off of where this movie shined and maybe fill in the potholes on the way.

Texas Chainsaw Massacre Okay, hear me out here...this is a solid film FOR this franchise. Fans of the TCM series have been dragged through a long line of trash movies...there is literally nothing as bad as "Do your thing cuz!" or Matthew McConaughey doing "something" in the dreadful Next Generation. Not to excuse the lowest points of this film but there is a lot of worse moments that stick out over this film.

This is finally the first solid film since Michael Bay's reboot in 2003. The plot is interesting, molded around generational divide. I never was on the side of the young characters coming in wanting to change the whole heritage of the small town let alone not on the side of the residents either because the film doesn't give us time to. The characters are very abrasive and the fact that neither side of these characters can come together leading to violence; apart from a few scenes between Richter and Lila talking about what I assume to be their traumatic experiences with Lila being a survivor of a school shooting and Richter bringing up domestic violence. It sounds like it is distasteful and while it should come with a warning. In this case, the old generation lashes out even when they did everything right, I like that the "entrepreneurs" are the bad guys going against the base rule of the series that has (probably) inspired Fast & Furious, "The Saw is Family". Bubba here is defending what family he has left and that includes whatever home he has left. The best thing this film has going for it is the excellent gore throughout the film and Leatherface's brute force especially with the legit "massacre" on the transport bus following the hilarious line delivery towards him, "Try anything and you're cancelled bro." The film is decent enough for this franchise but the biggest issue and what is holding the movie back is keeping Sally Hardesty's character alive and using her as the franchise's Laurie Strode. Just...why? This literally shows Scream was right and it copies everything they said about legacy sequels. Her character and what she adds to the story punctures holes in the film and drains whatever enjoyment I had leading up to her appearance. Like...she gets picked up by Leatherface through his chainsaw and still lives afterwards to shoot a shotgun, no bueno. The final shot puts a twist on the original ending with the car driving away, the modern retelling is both hilarious and tragic at the same time using an autopiloted Tesla as the getaway car as Lila watches in terror of her sister being killed. Overall, not the best slasher but a decent film for this franchise and a step in the right direction.

The Cursed The film begins with a long string of the most stale and ordinary dialogue I have heard in a long time which only hurts the movie and I never felt it was saved or trended uphill until Boyd Holbrook takes the spotlight of the film but it takes a little bit of time to get there. Visually it doesn't stick out but instead is gritty full of dark colors with a lot of browns, blacks and dark red for the blood and gore here. For a decent chunk of the movie, the scares are executed as dreams because the main story really takes its time building to a climax the audience has figured out within the first 30 minutes or shows too much which takes a lot of tension away. The movie tries to be different by cutting off jumpscares midjump but with a lot of writing issues, it makes it feel empty because there is nothing to look forward to. It was also painfully obvious they were on a smaller budget and put it all on the CGI monster with inconsistent SFX; The first scene where we get a decent look at the Werewolf/Wendigo, the camera is shaky like it's having a seizure to hide the beast as much as possible but nauseating to watch for us and it continues to use this method in the climax of the film talking away what the film has been building. It also spends a lot of time with long takes with minimal sound like it tries to enhance what we are seeing but there isn't anything visually striking to look at. It is all a neat concept showing consequences of killing natives and tkaing their land in this time period; Plus we need more Werewolf/Wendigo stories. While the atmosphere really lingers with you as the film progresses and constantly sets up great tension but never a strong bite to it. It's blueprint in terms of screenwriting, is strong enough to earn a recommendation from me but the execution definitely needs more love.

Fresh A rom-com turned into a wild and horrifying trip. Looks can be deceiving in Fresh. The switch-up after the first thirty minutes or so is extremely intense, where she starts to go under, feeling dazed and AND THEN WE GET THE TITLE CARD!? The film turns into a full on cannibal movie with excellent pairing between Sebastian Stan and Daisy Edgar-Jones. It is a great elevator pitch and a perfect introduction. I do feel apart from their performance, there wasn't too much else to grab from the film. It's engaging and I wanted to see it through but maybe after the reveal it slowed down to unveil this whole other plot development and introducing all of its tricks and rules but it all is worth it in the end. The finale of this film is very well-written and ends on a high note. Visually, it is disgusting in the best way. So many closeups on mouths, loud chewing noises; all of it really is the true horror of this film. Not much else to say as the premise is the strongest asset for this film and is where it shines.

X/Pearl This A24 slasher saga has proven to stand on its own as it progresses over the course of 2022. Both films set in the 1970s and 1910s, respectively; are carried by Mia Goth, who absolutely shines in the killer dual role as Maxine and Pearl. There are great undertones connected between the films with her roles chasing dreams and when the characters meet in X, it causes conflict as Pearl becomes envious of what Maxine is capable of. Pearl is a tragic character who snaps under pressure at a young age chasing her dream; wanting to be a star. Then, Maxine comes in as a mirror image of Pearl who actually has a chance at stardom but we won't see that till MaXXXine in 2023. X benefits on the dirty, hot Texas landscape feeling like it could fit in with Texas Chainsaw Massacre with its buckets of blood and its crazy inhabitants. Artist, Chelsea Wolfe delivers a eerie and haunting soundtrack with the breathy and claustrophobic, Oui Oui Marie. The scares of this film comes from Pearl who is an aging woman; grotesque, violent, and frustrated. There is an art of dreams, aging and self-worth being the main pillars of X. These films are set apart by its A24 flair despite having a straight forward structure compared to most films. The kills are all planned out through the film's imagery and cinematography creating big payoffs and a mostly well-paced runtime with both films being slightly over 90 minutes. I think I like Pearl better because of seeing someone completely lose everything they had and self-destructing themselves and those around them. Mia Goth really eats up every last scene with her batshit performance that deserves recognition. The colorful and Wizard of Oz scenery is very refreshing even on a rewatch. It really becomes a horrifying watch knowing how dangerous of a person she is all the up to its intense credit sequence of Mia's haunting and forceful smile.

Deadstream One of the best horror originals I've seen on Shudder. A hilarious performance by writer/director duo, Joseph and Vanessa Winter. This 'found footage' POV horror flick takes the camp from the Evil Dead series and injects it with jokes that are way more hit than miss. Essentially, this is a horror film that should be added to annual Halloween marathons. Shawn is a horror protagonist that is both lovable to root for but also who deserves everything that comes to him. Despite feeling he has great instincts, every decision he makes is not only comical but only makes matters worse as he tumbles through this increasingly creepy haunted house. This is a passion project with a lot of attention to detail, not to mention Joe has one of my favorite onscreen screams that I can only compare to Courage the Cowardly Dog and has one of the funniest horror personalities in a long time. The other aspect of this story is the whole streamer fad and being "cancelled"; seeing if people are still redeemable even their flaws, this was also used well in Barbarian. Overall, I think Deadstream has excellent replay value with its humor and electric atmosphere that sucks you in to being one of Sh definitely would've been a great time to watch in theaters.

Morbius I really don't want to talk about this movie because it shouldn't exist. Apart from maybe a handful of scenes, this is such a "studio movie" that looks butchered and edited to hell. So instead of going forth with this; here's an article from The Vulture of how Morbius got memed so much that it was put back into theaters and lost money. https://www.vulture.com/2022/06/morbius-rerelease-flops-memes.html

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness This MCU film deserves recognition on here because of Sam Raimi's excellent return to superhero films while also injecting the tired franchise with major horror elements. There are tame jumpscares throughout but Raimi uses them in the same vein as his other films mainly being the Evil Dead series. My main gripe with the film is that he does take aspects of his films and pastes it here like having a Necronomicon, talking demons, brutal deaths, and zany camera angles/tricks. Imagine going to Marvel and pitching the idea for the third act. Dr. Strange projects himself to a zombie Dr. Strange who makes a cape out of tortured souls of the dammed then goes to fight Wanda.

With some fun set pieces on Kamar-Taj, Wanda killing the Illuminati in brutal ways is a great way to scare the MCU fans; by killing fan favorite characters like Patrick Stewart's Professor X or John Krasinski's Reed Richards. The excellent final act altogether from the music fight between two Stranges and the final fight at the temple. It all makes for a fun horror film for this franchise and I hope to see more unique writing like this going forward in the MCU. Not to mention, Bruce Campbell's cameo in the film is one of my favorite moments of film this year, he really is a national treasure. Despite having some stumbling in the script, wonky CGI and some repetitive superhero tropes, there is something to tries to balance it out with hit/miss one liners, great action set pieces and amazing cinematography.

Men

The most bizarre set of horror films came out within a few weeks Crimes of the Future and Men. This film shows a side of grief and guilt tormenting a singular person in isolation while tying into misogyny of all forms. We are given gorgeous set pieces, warm twinkling music accompanied with disturbing imagery and Harper, our main character struggling to determine what is reality and what is fiction as it brings the audience front and center to face these horrors.

Going into the film, we are shown glimpses of Harper's confrontation with her ex-husband. He gaslights her threatening to off himself if she leaves, taking any kind of emotion she has and shifting it on him even to the point where he punches her in the face and rightfully, Harper wants nothing to do with him leading to his death. In between these dark moments, Harper is found trying to go through her grief, seeing that she carries a lot of guilt while being interrupted by disturbing appearances by Rory Kinnear as he shifts through multiple roles in the film; a real standout for me as well. While Men shines with its crisp cinematography, excellent performances by Jessie Buckley and Rory Kinnear, and a chilling score; it stumbles along the way with some messy execution giving more questions than answers. The tunnel sequence in the start of the film is a great place to start and stands out as a great horror set piece on its own; with the whole sequence going from a cathartic walk in the rain to being equally as sinister when the film twists the narrative showing Harper being followed. it lays out the pacing of the movie. Harper attempting to cope, followed by her downtime leading to one of the "men" trying to disrupt her and scaring her. Then being developed by A24, there are a lot of visual storytelling. The main arch of the film is Harper's traumatic experience watching her husband die only to feel it being relived in her getaway. Each one of these depictions of Rory Kinnear show different personalities being aggressive and never putting Harper in safe hands being the worst forms of men imaginable. There is a pope who gaslights Harper like James did, a shithead kid messing with her, a cop who doesn't listen, and Geoffrey who unknowingly comes across as quirky and outlandish. Maybe all of these personalities are what Harper thought of James or "What all men are like". What the film I think needed for fine tuning was the psychosis of Harper. Randomly getting threatening messages from her friend's number and everything + everyone out to get her. The finale of *Men* is absolutely unhinged and the talking point of the film. The shapeshifting manifestation attacks her at home constantly changing into different characters haunting Harper like a Charles Dickens' novel. It replicates the same wounds from her husband's dead body crossing her. Although, the most disturbing bit, the cycle of birth and rebirth in men through some GNARLY body horror. All being born through violence or within it and the "toxic masculinity" that comes with it never changing. At least that is what I took away from it, trying to distract myself from the disgusting closeups burned into my brain. You know....some poor editing team had to look at this for a solid month or two; for that I think the film deserves some credit adding some zest to a repetitive story.

Crimes of the Future David Cronenberg has a great sense of immersion and Crimes of the Future is a great example of it with fantas. A world where people eat plastic and metal to guide a new path to evolution and our pain sensors have changed completely and being used for pleasure. Viggo Mortensen is an interesting protagonist for the film, a person who seems to be in constant pain with unnatural gagging and discomfort in almost every scene he is in. This world takes street art to the extreme with Viggo as a "star" among the scene; using an autopsy table creating graffiti on growing body parts of Saul Tenser seems just as grotesque to us, the audience as the film acts towards the others who eat plastic/metal. Everything links to love for the human body, it's even sexual in many ways having others feel tempted by the art; "Surgery is Sex".

My favorite scene of the film is when Saul is at a different performer's showcase of wearing eyes while dancing to an underground synthtrack only for Saul to call the art pretentious

Theme wise, the sense of giving up your body for the satisfaction of fans who ask for more and more; Right after the big surgery scene on Saul, people are asking him "what are you going to do next?" like giving up his body wasn't enough, people just want more all the time; being a dystopian future path that society goes down from where we are now when it comes to art.

Even from there, the film asks "What are the limits that we set for entertainment? Scott Speedman's character Lang, comes to the couple with the corpse of his dead son to use for a show. Lang is almost inhuman in this story, part of a group that has modified their bodies to digest plastics and metal. Being seen as "playing god" and setting new evolution to humankind. Lang wants to show his son's body thinking that everyone will see that evolution can be changed by us. Then to reveal a grotesque display of tattooed and modified body parts in Lang's son. This evolution is ugly to a world without physical pain and disease. In the end, when Saul finally chooses to eat the plastic/metal candy bars, he feels pleasure and happiness that he has struggled to feel in the whole film; fighting to swallow food,, to walk around, even to talk most of the film. It is a daring ending for Saul given everyone else being against this cause only for him to continue and live in the cause and take his art in that direction.

The Black Phone Ethan Hawke as the villainous "Grabber" may be a highlight of the movie but the character of Finney played by Mason Thames is a rarity in films like this. He shines in almost every scene; we rooting for him and its immersive, eerie atmosphere brings us into the room with him. The opening of this movie is a fantastic horror intro, it starts to play "Free Ride" only for it to be rudely interrupted by The Grabber's van popping into frame. Leading straight into the creepiest title sequence since Se7en. The dread of kids disappearing all over town, the fact they don't show the scary act builds up so much suspense to his reveal. The horror of the first half of the film really is the violence among the youth. Kids are getting pelted by rocks, kicked in the chest to oblivion, and punched to a bloody pulp. It's an interesting depiction of growing up in the 1970s, a constant feeling of creeps around the corner, violent bullies, and horror at home with abusive parents. All of which, Finney overcomes throughout the film. The weight that comes with each child's death, is so grueling and devastating. Robin, especially is the strongest here giving Finn an empowering speech on fighting back and standing up for yourself; simple but extremely well done here. I do think this is one of the best paced horror films I have seen, it captures a great coming of age story, brought upon nostalgic memories of watching horror movies in the dark trying not to be caught. The sister, Gwen carries the film when Mason Thames isn't on the screen; she steals scenes with hilarious one liners like the hysterical, "I'm the Grabber; you dumb fucking fartknockers." Perfect in every sense especially during one heartbreaking scene of abuse that stands above the rest creating their reunion in the end as extremely impactful. Ethan Hawke's portrayal as the kidnapping psychopath really is something I want more of. Hawke rarely ever plays the bad guy while fitting perfectly like a glove into this role. He is able to show great expressions through his eyes and unpredictable behavior all behind Savini's outstanding mask design. This film feels like Scott Derrickson's magnum opus even after making films like Sinister and Exorcism of Emily Rose. It's not the scariest but I think it really is the strongest film he has made so far and I hope he hasn't reached his peak with The Black Phone.

Watcher

Maika Monroe from It Follows shines as Julia in this short and claustrophobic stalker film. Story wise, there weren't many surprises and there wasn't much to talk about; but its execution adds enough suspense and terror. It scratches every itch from haunting shadows, escalating paranoia, and the oblivious husband all in the unfamiliar setting, Romania. The huge scales of Julia's apartment (which I wished I owned, my lord) are gorgeous at the beginning and slowly closing on Julia as the story progresses. The confrontation in the 3rd act was the most memorable with a great final scene that gives me hope Maika Monroe continues to rise in the horror genre.

Nope

Jordan Peele comes in on his 3rd feature film and honestly, it may be his magnum opus. The night scenes filmed during the daytime are incredible, the mystery builds and builds to a bombastic climax, and the several messages spent establishing these characters. Most importantly, the film tackles the idea of 'control'. The reveal that the alien/UFO monster is a wild concept and its parallels to "Gordy's Home"; the fictional sitcom created for the show starring Steven Yeun's character. He thinks that Gordy is on his side and is under his control when in reality; timing and placement was a massive coincidence or a "Bad Miracle". Peele's excellent direction and attention to detail will always reveal something new and interesting like Peele is visually breaking down these characters and creating parallels between each other

Speak No Evil

Speak No Evil I didn't watch until after all of the divisive hype leading up to it. A lot of people put it as one of their favorite horror movies of the year while others found nothing of substance. The presentation is the first thing that caught my eye. There are scenes that show very safe and inviting cinematography in the daytime that wouldn't warrant any red flags; but the musical score is telling us otherwise. It is almost like it is yelling at the audience "DON'T FALL FOR THE TRICK!". The film score then stays silent on the pitch dark night scenes. We finally arrive at the isolated cabin within the first 15 or so minutes as we are put on alert taking every sign of uneasiness with extreme caution.

The father is very abrasive with his almost mute son, Abel; The couple are very...awkward to be around; creating unnecessary tension with Karin and Bjorn and being bad hosts as well. When they are confronted by the Dutch couple, I felt tense unknowingly waiting for them to snap. The parents seem to pick the worst choices possible when they are staring at a clean exit. Bjorn becomes awaken with Patrick and bonds with him as it is like showing Patrick is the alpha while we hoped to see Bjorn become stronger from it but just mimics him. While Karin starts to fight with Louise, it really is unnerving and picks at a small point of your brain; like it is invading your privacy. Then, when we are revealed to the dark truth, and it will completely sink your heart.

I thought maybe the theme of this is first impressions before also seeing the film tackles family customs and traditions. are really everything and red flags are meant to be taken seriously and not too lightly. Patrick and Louise are also Dutch while the main characters are Danish which hints at some cultural differences throughout and family customs that clash at the highest tension points in the movie. The Dutch family of Patrick and Louise ignore our protagonists, feel watched in their home (because they are), uncomfortably belittling their own child, giving instructions to Agnes. I feel like these were enough reason to get the fuck outta there but "horror movie gotta horror movie" and I liked the ending despite being so depraved of whatever life we had going into it leaving us on a haunting note.

Mad God

Bodies Bodies Bodies

Barbarian

The little horror movie that could. This movie was made for festivals let alone theaters. While the "go in blind" talk got tedious, it doesn't take away the constantly morphing and expanding plot. Justin Long is officially horror royalty after this film with a hilarious portrayal. The story revolving around trust is challenged in many ways throughout the film from the mysterious monster in the basement to not trusting Bill Skarsgard because he was Pennywi- I mean way too awkward around our protagonist played by Georgina Campbell. The replay value on this film is very high for me due to its great execution and great characters. The first time director, Zach Cregger described this film perfectly, "It's a Fincher movie on the surface level and a Raimi movie in the beasement."

The Munsters Can we please stop letting Rob Zombie doing stuff?

Smile This should've been one of the worst horror movies of the year. I remember watching the trailer and the only thing I thought about the whole trailer was that god awful, Truth or Dare film from Blumhouse. Although....first time director, Parker Finn uses everything he has to deliver a focused, tense and terrifying story with some of the best scares I have seen in a while now. From the audio recording bit to the (pun intended) jaw dropping finale. The film doesn't sit long in explaining the mythos behind the "Smiling" monstrosity but instead shows it break down a character to their lowest point. The score to the movie sets the film apart bringing it to the spotlight with horrifying looping music, unsettling and distorted moaning all while the kills are as brutally eerie. Most intriguingly, in between some excellent scares is the dialog on mental health. Rose who is a psych doctor wants to help others using it as a blanket over her own childhood trauma. Meanwhile, everyone else around her see it as Rose losing her mind and succumbing to a mental illness; there are people who just don't care to be there for her or those who are angry or scared of her public freak-outs.

The film just spirals downhill as Rose's family and friends want nothing to do with her only calling her crazy; leading to the WILD finale of this film. The showdown between Rose and this Smiling entity where it morphs into her mother feeding off her trauma and fear. The scariest parts of this curse is that the entity is smart...like really smart. It makes Rose feel insane by calling her phone, having a whole conversation only for it to have not happened scaring her in a sadistic way. The highlight of this movie is definitely the overall tone and atmosphere. The way it both builds to the crazy face tearing ending and subverting the audience. You're never safe watching the movie.

Smile feels like a callback to early 2010s horror films like Sinister or Insidious; with constant jump scares alongside disturbing and eerie imagery. Smile doesn't reinvent the wheel but in its dedication to the concept, fun camera tricks and an excellent performance by Sosie Bacon; it makes for a great horror film.

Terrifier 2

Hellraiser

Halloween Ends

Bones and All