As Halloween quickly approaches, let’s take a look at some of the best and worst horror films of this year.
BEST – “Talk To Me”
This A24 film was directed by Danny Philippou and Michael Philippou in their directorial debut.
The story follows a group of teenagers who are able to conjure and communicate with spirits using an embalmed hand until one of them becomes hooked and unleashes horrible supernatural forces.
Sophie Wilde gave an incredible performance in this feature, especially in the scenes where her character, Mia, was used as a vessel by the spirits. This movie by far has the most interesting and original plot on this list; however, be prepared for some common horror movie clichés and a cringey car scene featuring Sia’s “Chandelier.”
BEST – “Evil Dead Rise”
“Evil Dead Rise” is the fifth installment of Sam Raimi’s “Evil Dead” franchise.
Directed by Lee Cronin, the movie follows a Los Angeles family battling for their lives against body-possessing demons released by an ancient book in their apartment complex after an earthquake.
As a fan of the original trilogy, it was a solid, modern entry to the beloved cult film series. With shaky camera angles and unique shots not seen in other movies this year, it pays homage to the original movies that takes you right back to the 1980s. Dead by dawn!
WORST – “Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey”
This British slasher went into production in May 2022 after the first Winnie-the-Pooh book went into public domain on Jan. 1 of the same year.
After returning to Hundred Acre Woods after befriending a group of anthropomorphic creatures, Christopher Robin and a group of young women are terrorized by Pooh and Piglet after they become bloodthirsty murderers.
This movie would have been funnier and scarier if they used the cute Winnie the Pooh from the 2018 “Christopher Robin” movie instead of some grown man in a cheap fat suit.
The worst part about this movie is that it does not even have a proper ending. After having to sit through almost 84 minutes of terrible dialogue and special effects, I would have rather had an awful ending than some nonchalant roll of the credits.
WORST – “Slotherhouse”
Unlike the other films on this list, “Slotherhouse,” directed by Matthew Goodhue, is a horror comedy.
Emily Young is a senior in college that wants to be the president of her sorority. To gain popularity, she adopts a sloth named Alpha and that is immediately loved by all until the sloth starts killing each sister one by one.
The sloth in this movie looks like they used the old puppet of Gizmo from the “Gremlins” and made it ugly, and they over-compensated for this by making the characters in this movie constantly call the animal cute. Alpha is poached from a jungle, immediately caged, taken to an animal mill, and can somehow read, post on social media and drive. I am not joking. The sloth uses a GPS and drives a car. There are some good moments, but they are overshadowed with all of the movie’s glaring flaws.
There are still plenty of 2023 horror releases left uncovered, so stay safe on your movie watching journey because there are a lot of bad ones out there.
