9 Best Horror Movies Of 2023 (So Far)

2023 started off as a cracking year for

horum and while it might have initially

slowed down after that first burst of

momentum it has produced a whole bunch

of interesting effective and sometimes

divisive movies and today at the halfway

mark of the Year we're talking about the

very best of the best now before we move

on you might be wondering why this list

is only a nine and honestly I didn't

just want to throw one extra movie in

this list that I couldn't fully

recommend just for the sake of making it

a nice tent so let me know in the

comments what have I not seen that would

have rounded out this list and I'll get

them straight on the watch list because

I just want more horror goodness in my

life I'm Joshua culture.com and these

are the nine best horror movies of 2023

so far 9. Megan by far the most viral

movie of the year Megan took the

Internet by storm thanks to its meme

worthy Title Character that of course is

Megan herself otherwise known as the one

and only model 3 generative Android a

deadly combination of Chucky in the

t-800 who's created to be the toy to end

all toys the brainchild of Gemma a

talented scientist who has recently

become the guardian of herni's Katie

following the deaths of the young girl's

parents Megan's self-learning

capabilities soon spin out of control

when her directive to protect Katie

results in some let's say pretty dodgy

interpretations of that order while it's

not hugely scary Megan does make up

threatened sheer balls to the wall

entertainment this is a horror that has

like three jarring musical numbers that

knows what it is and more importantly

what the audience wants to see sadly

though while the set pieces with Megan

are certainly worthy of the hype the

rest of the movie isn't quite as

memorable hence it being so low on this

list it takes a little bit too long to

get into the swing of things its

characters have kind of paper thin in

the direction can be strangely flat

still as a starting point it is

absolutely solid and a great time and

let's hope the sequel can go even Wilder

and hit the ground running number eight

little bone Lodge little bone Lodge

dropped so quietly on VOD earlier this

year that it's tough to even find more

than a handful of reviews for it in fact

just checking now I don't even think

there's a Wikipedia page for it and

that's a shame because this is a

surprisingly effective grounded horror

about two rungans who end up seeking

refuge in a farmhouse that belongs to a

mother who will do anything to protect

her child what makes little bone Lodge

so compelling though is its constant

shifts in genre it initially starts out

closer to something like Dead Man's

Shoes before transforming into a beast

that's decidedly porpierre as secrets

are revealed about all the characters

it's those twists and turns though some

absolutely outrageous that make the

movie bigger than some of its parts

delivering what a cooler moments on the

regular app Julie Richardson who

previously shined in Cola out of space

players the mother here and she's

absolutely electric grounding what could

have been a far less believable

character in the wrong hands it's not

going to change your life but it's bound

to be remembered as one of the best

surprises of the Year number seven knock

at the cabin look at this point you're

either a fan of M Night shyamalan's

brand of chaos oh you're not for me

personally this is the guy who gave us

the incredible premise of what if there

was a beach that made you old so he gets

a couple of free passes for me even

though I didn't even love that movie but

that said even outside of my fondness

for the divisive director's brand knock

at the cabin isn't easy to like horror

movie setting up an intriguing mystery

as a band of Misfits to send on a

vacationing family in the middle of

nowhere M night's movie doesn't waste a

second not 10 minutes go by before

you're asking who are these people what

do they want how dangerous are they and

why have they targeted this family

thankfully the answers to those

questions are mostly satisfying as well

revealed with a sense of escalation that

keeps the pace thick and fast and that's

a little bit surprising because this

ultimately is a chamber piece through

and through confined to a handful of

characters and one location then of

course being the titular cabin those

characters as well as so well drawn and

well played especially Dave Batista is a

strangely warm villain that it all works

while shyamalan's Moody camera work

keeps the tension high like a lot of the

director's work there is admittedly a

lot of wonky dialogue in there but it

works more often than it doesn't and

functions as a showcase for everyone

involved number 6.

Ennis man horror is maybe the most

divisive genre there is and there isn't

a movie on this list and unlikely to

release all year more divisive than

Ennis man an experimental Fork horror

movie that features barely any dialogue

this is a Vibes film through and through

though there is a plot it's entirely

abstract and interpretational as we

follow a woman in the 1970s stuck on an

island while increasingly going Matt in

terms of atmosphere and again Vibes

though

Ennis man has you covered in space it

looks absolutely gorgeous for one with

director Mark Jenkins 16 millimeter

footage and compositions crafting

striking horror images at every turn

throw in a sound design that's just a

little surreal and you're left with a

waking a nightmare one that you might

not be able to fully piece together sure

the one that succeeds in making you feel

that little bit unnerved with all that

in mind Ernest man in all of its

abstraction kind of players like a 90

minute version of the cursed video tape

from The Ring it's something that

doesn't make sense but feels as though

it has ghosts living inside of it number

5. Skinnamarink from one experimental

divisive horror to another skinnamarink

boasts a lot of the same strength sand

if it's not your thing weaknesses as

Ennis men only swapping out the vast

natural expanse of an island for a

claustrophobic Suburban home another

abstract plot that follows two kids who

become trapped in a house that's

constantly changing shape and structure

Skinnamarink Demands a lot from its

audience not least because for the

majority of the movie it's not even

clear what the images are you're looking

at they're framed in such a weird way

but that's part of its unsettling

atmosphere and the grainy cinematography

again gives it the feeling of a cursed

tip one made to be watched on a laptop

screen at 2 am in the dark however

unlike Ennis Maiden skinamarink has more

pronounced scarce one standout sequence

taking place in a bedroom being

particularly terrifying and a more

oppressive tone paying off its Slow Burn

and Rising tension with quick payoffs it

was maybe a victim of all the hype at

the time but on its own terms Kyle

Edward Ball's movie Burrows under your

skin if you have the patience to let it

take hold if you've ever wanted to

re-experience the feeling of what it's

like to be a kid walking around your

home at night in the dark well this is

it number 4. questera the bone woman the

best reviewed horror movie on this list

is Coursera the bone woman and in terms

of pure frights it gave me two of my

favorites of the whole year so far it's

an installment in the maternal Horus

sub-genre that has produced so many

bangers over the years this time

focusing on a young woman in Mexico who

becomes pregnant a milestone that

seemingly completes her perfect domestic

life from the off though it's pretty

clear that she isn't totally certain

about making this step nor is she fully

comfortable in the life that she's

chosen one that others would die for but

one which may not fit with her own

desires and aspirations that anxiety

combined with the general anxiety and

worry of being a mother and sacrificing

so much of her life of this child

manifest in the bone woman a faceless

creature with gruesome broken legs and

arms that's skulls and slithers around

the house in her darkest moments those

supremely tense set pieces remind me of

the ones in the excellent shutter but

they're nicely supported by the human

drama as well which if you remove the

scares could honestly work as a moving

effective Indie flick on its own number

three Scream Six honestly Scream 6 gets

better for me as the year goes on as

someone who wasn't too hot on the first

screen reboot this sixth installment was

a total total surprise picking up

shortly after the events of that pre

previous movie now with our surviving

band of Heroes living in New York the

sequel is a nastier leaner Beast than

its predecessor with franchise topping

kills and a grimy City setting that

breathes fresh life into the set pieces

starting strong with a cold open that

subverts expectations in a satisfying

way Scream 6 goes from strength to

strength putting characters we've come

to love in Jeopardy and my God is that

Gale Chase absolutely ah I love it

unfortunately all of that momentum

doesn't quite last in the grand reveal

of who is under the ghost face mask this

time around is disappointingly deflating

but that to me anyway it doesn't take

away from just how strong the rest of

the flick is and how much of a good time

it is to watch pretty much fully passing

the torch onto the Next Generation he is

hoping the next movie can keep the

winning streak of set pieces going while

also delivering a storyline to match

this time number two infinity pool all

eyes were on Brandon cronenberg's

follow-up to 2020 surprise hit possessor

and while it's not quite as revelatory

as that movie at least for my money

infinity pool proves that the younger

Cronenberg is one of the most exciting

horror filmmakers working today where

the plot is Darkly funny as it is

stomach churning we spend time with a

bunch of Rich holiday makers at an

exclusive fancy Resort bordered by an

otherwise deeply poor Nation without

revealing too much and I really don't

want it because the surprises here are

great let's just say that this country

has one odd law in particular which

completely transforms the lives of our

characters mere goth now has had an

excellent year and she's devilishly good

in this movie seductive threatening and

at times completely and hilariously

unhinged she fully commits to the bit as

does everyone else to be honest

including Alexander Skarsgard who in my

head Canon is playing his character from

succession here by the way deeply weird

and deeply explicit and funny infinity

pool is destined to go down as the cult

favorite of the Year number one Evil

Dead rise at this point Evil Dead might

be the most consistent horror franchise

out there there hasn't been a bad

installment yet and 10 years after the

excellent 2013 reboot Evil Dead rise

hits screens with a decidedly silly app

but no less violent reinvention

moving the deadite action from The Cabin

in the Woods to a City Apartment block

the switch in setting works surprisingly

well serving up inventive set pieces

without losing the isolation inherent to

the franchise's horror The Kills could

do with a bit less CGI work and I

personally miss the nastiness of the

violence found in the 2013 movie but

ryze still delivers Pure Evil Dead

Carnage throughout Carnage that will

have you cringing yelping and yet even

chuckling spins on franchise tropes keep

things fresh as well especially in the

way the deadites are actually conjured

this time and he is hoping it doesn't

take another 10 years before we see

another one of these so that's my list

let me know what you think down in the

comments below did you Vibe with any of

these movies especially those two

divisive ones I've got on here and like

I said at the stars the only thing I

missed off here I'm really good I

couldn't get to bows afraid that's sadly

not available for me at the moment and I

missed it in cinemas but I've got a lot

to catch up on ultimately though thank

you so much for watching this list and

I'll see you soon