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).

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