My annual list of the best movies 10 years or older (and the list for newer movies I’ve seen) was growing long this year—partially because I watched so many horror movies in October¹—so I decided to take the horror movies from those lists to create a new compilation of every horror movie I watched this year. (The films are separated into five tiers and listed alphabetically within each tier.)

Tier 1: Cinematic Masterpieces

The Wicker Man (1973) directed by Robin Hardy

I’d been wanting to see this film for a while because it is within one of my favorite subgenres of folk horror. The Wicker Man is one of the original movies of that sub-genre and the best, inspiring later films like Midsommar. A police officer goes to a secluded Scottish island in search of a missing girl, but the townspeople act oddly with weird customs. He comes to learn they are part of a pagan cult, and the girl was possibly part of a ritual sacrifice. The final twist (which I will not spoil) is iconic. What is most impressive is how they were able to make a chilling horror film without any darkness or blood (most of the film takes place in broad daylight).

The police detective is a devout Christian, which makes his encounters with the cult and their pagan rituals all the more horrifying to him. It also illustrates what a pagan world without Christianity might look like. Human beings are inherently religious, so if Christianity is removed from society, that would not suddenly make everyone rational atheists. Instead a new religion will form, with new rituals, customs, and beliefs. The Wicker Man serves as a warning of how that might go wrong. Once you tear down Christianity, the new religions that arise may develop all kinds of perverse practices and disturbing beliefs.

Tier 2: Great Films

Glorious (2022) directed Rebekah McKendry

A man going through a rough time in his life gets drunk at a highway rest stop and wakes up in the bathroom to hear the voice of a Lovecraftian god in the next stall speaking to him through a “glory hole.” The premise sounds absurd, but it’s smartly done with a perfect blend of cosmic horror and comedy.

History of the Occult aka Historia de lo Oculto (2020) directed by Cristian Ponce

An Argentine horror movie about an investigative TV news show airing an episode to uncover a conspiracy of warlocks and witches that have taken power of the government and corporations in the country. But as the host questions the man involved, weird things begin to happen to those who work for the show. It is set in the 1980s and shot in black and white, except for some trippy/haunting use of color. It features the type of cerebral horror I enjoy.

Talk to Me (2022) Directed by Danny Philippou & Michael Philippou

An inventive horror movie from Australia about Gen-Z teens who use the embalmed hand of a medium to commune with the dead. But doing so is like a psychedelic drug trip. The kids treat it as such at first, filming their experiences and posting it on social media…until it turns from exciting fun to something much darker and deadlier. The Philippou brothers are a talented directing duo, and I can’t wait to see what they do next.

Vampyr (1932) directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer

The quality of the surviving film print isn’t great, and it won’t hold the attention of most modern horror viewers, but Vampyr is worth watching as a piece of film history. It features haunting visuals and inventive filmmaking techniques impressive for its time.

When Evil Lurks (2023) directed by Demián Rugna

Another great horror film from Argentina, a fresh and inventive take on the demonic possession story that combines the best of both visceral and cerebral horror. The world-building is fantastic. Demonic possession is treated almost like a zombie virus, where people become infected by the demon through proximity and it spreads from person to person. But beware: this movie is not for the faint of heart; there are some truly haunting scenes.

Without Name (2016) directed by Lorcan Finnegan

I would categorize this under the same subgenre of occult horror as A Dark Song, my favorite movie from last year’s list. It is about a land surveyor who is alone in the woods in the Irish countryside to survey the area for a corporation. The horror starts slowly and subtly, as things in the woods seem…off in some way. The weirdness escalates as he finds occult books in the house he’s staying in, then has a bad trip on magic mushrooms.

Tier 3: Just Good

Deadstream (2022) directed by Joseph Winter & Vanessa Winter

A new spin on the “found footage” horror movie. A YouTuber who has been canceled for filming extreme stunt videos decides to record a livestream of himself staying alone in a haunted house overnight. It’s a funny satire of YouTubers while also a legitimately scary horror movie, with real thought put behind the backstory of the ghosts.

The Fog (1980) directed by John Carpenter

This is a classic horror movie by John Carpenter that I had been meaning to watch for some time. It’s about a haunted ghost ship that sails into a seaside town at midnight amid a thick fog, and ghostly shadow figures emerge to kill the townspeople. I love the visuals of the monsters appearing as silhouettes in the fog—not being able to see them somehow makes it more haunting.

Haunt (2019) directed by Scott Beck & Bryan Woods

A group of college friends go to a haunted house attraction on Halloween that has a warning for its “extreme horror”—but they soon discover the horror at the attraction is real. (Which is similar to what happens in my Friday the 13th story, “Camp Blood Gore Tour.” I am somewhat jaded, but this movie was legitimately scary. It is pure visceral horror, but well done—though it is borderline torture p*rn at times.

Immaculate (2024) Directed by Michael Mohan

An American nun played by Sydney Sweeney goes to work at a convent in Italy to care for older nuns in hospice care. But all is not as it seems, as things take a dark turn, slowly escalating to full horror at the end.

I Saw the TV Glow (2024) Directed by Jane Schoenbrun

Has similar vibes to Skinamarink. Set in the 90s, methodically paced with little horror in the beginning. This has more of a traditional narrative with characters and dialogue and all, though the film is not traditional in any other sense.

Kairo aka Pulse (2001) directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa

A Japanese horror movie about ghosts haunting people through the internet. I love the concept of haunted technology. The film is also fun as a time capsule of that period, the early days of the internet, when the characters did not yet understand how computers worked.

Loop Track (2023) directed by Thomas Sainsbury

A man suffering from extreme anxiety goes on a hike in the wilderness of New Zealand. He is overly paranoid and afraid of everything, including the other hikers, but it turns out there might be something lurking in the woods worthy of his fear…

Nefarious (2023) directed by Chuck Konzelman & Cary Solomon

A low-budget movie that is mostly a conversation between two characters, similar to C.S. Lewis’s Screwtape Letters. A death row prisoner serial killer possessed by a demon tries to convince his psychiatrist that he is not insane and is fit for execution. It has a smart script and great performance by Sean Patrick Flanery. Though it would have been better if they cut the needless epilogue.

No One Will Save You (2023) directed by Brian Duffield

A fresh take on the alien invasion story, told entirely through action without any dialogue.

One Missed Call (2003) directed by Takashi Miike

A Japanese horror movie like The Ring but with cursed cell phones instead of a cursed videotape.

Pyewacket (2017) directed by Adam MacDonald

A teenage goth girl who is into the occult performs a black magic ritual and summons a demon that grows beyond her control. It’s a great concept for a horror movie, but the acting and writing could have been better.

Salem’s Lot (2024) directed by Gary Dauberman

A decent adaptation of the Steven King book, which I haven’t read. After all the recent deconstruction of the vampire genre, it was nice to see a throwback movie with traditional vampires whose weakness is daylight, crosses, and wooden stakes.²

Scare Me (2020) directed by Josh Ruben

Two horror writers meet in a secluded cabin in the woods when the power goes out at night and tell scary stories to entertain each other… Until some of the horror turns out to be real.

V/H/S/94 (2021) directed by various

A decent addition to the V/H/S horror anthology franchise. I like the 90s period setting, though I don’t like the found-footage gimmick with grainy video and shaky-cam cinematography. The best short film in this bunch was the Indonesian one about a mad scientist abducting people and performing surgeries to turn them into cyborgs.

Tier 4: Flawed But Entertaining

Campfire Tales (1997) Directed by Matt Cooper, Martin Kunert, David Semel

A forgettable horror anthology from the 90s.

Dear Camp ’86 (2022) directed by L. Van Dyke Siboutszen

This horror comedy had some entertaining moments, but the writing and acting were subpar. It is supposed to be set in 1986, but the characters behave more like modern millennials who were born in ‘86.

Demons (1985) Directed by Lamberto Bava

A campy horror movie from the 80s about demons (that look and act like zombies) attacking people locked in a movie theater.

Lifeforce (1985) directed by Tobe Hooper

An 80s sci-fi horror movie about astronauts who discover a derelict ship with alien space vampires aboard who come back to Earth to wreak havoc. A fantastic concept with some great moments, but overall the film felt too long, slow, and dated. Could be ripe material for a modern remake.

Offseason (2021) Directed by Mickey Keating

A low-budget horror movie heavily influenced by Lovecraft’s “The Shadow Over Innsmouth.”

Tarot (2024) directed by Spenser Cohen & Anna Halberg

I’ve recently become interested in the tarot, but this movie only has a superficial surface level of tarot, tying it in with astrology. The characters are dumb, and the horror is mostly visceral, full of mindless gore and jump scares.

The Tunnel (2011) directed by Carlo Ledesma

A creepy Australian horror movie, but the found footage gimmick grows tiresome.

Tier 5: Disappointing (Don’t Bother)

CreepyPasta (2023) directed by various

I could not finish watching this anthology. Seems like they were just trying to capitalize off the popularity of creepypasta rather than actually make creepypasta films.

Onyx the Fortuitous and the Talisman of Souls (2023) directed by Andrew Bowser

A horror comedy that wasn’t scary or funny. I don’t know what the lead actor (also the writer/director) was trying to do with his odd performance and idiosyncratic line delivery, but it did not work for me.

Body Bags (1993) directed by John Carpenter & Tobe Hooper

I like John Carpenter and I like horror anthologies, but the three short films in Body Bags were not good. Poor acting and poor writing. The third film, “Eye”, was the best—the only film not directed by Carpenter—about a man who gets a new eye implant and begins to hallucinate horrific things. I would elevate that to Tier 4, but the rest were not worth watching.

1. I watch horror movies all year long, but in October I only watch horror. ↩︎
2. My Halloween horror book Trick or Zombie Treat also features a traditional vampire. ↩︎