2022 was a year where new horror filmmakers made their marks, helping continue the genre’s current revival with inspired scares and stories
Horror fans have been eating particularly well these past few years as the genre has been enjoying a major renaissance of sorts. Even a world-shifting pandemic hasn’t slowed down its dominance. If anything, it’s only bolstered it further with fresh ideas and perspectives. Even with plenty of brilliant scary movies to choose from in this current period, 2022 proved itself to be a standout. There were plenty of fantastic horror pictures this past year, most notably from a variety of new filmmakers that are helping usher in a new and inspired age of scary storytelling.
From slasher sequels and prequels to arthouse indies to women-centric thrillers to big blockbuster favorites, 2022 will likely remain a landmark moment for horror movies for years to come. Filled with captivating performances and unforgettably terrifying moments, here is our list of thirteen unlucky favorites.
‘X’
Directed by Ti West
Written by Ti West
Returning to the big screen after a six year absence, Ti West set the bar for horror in 2022 with X. This slasher is the whole package: Gory, scary, sexy, funny, smart, surprising and even bittersweet. Taking obvious inspiration from the original and greatest of the genre, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, West’s take on an old formula makes it all feel brand new. It’s no wonder that this return to form has inspired a trilogy all its own.
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‘Nope’
Directed by Jordan Peele
Written by Jordan Peele
After swiftly establishing himself as a household name with Get Out and Us, Jordan Peele was finally allowed to go as big as he’s ever gone on the big screen. An IMAX-sized, Spielberg-esque horror blockbuster, Nope is everything that makes Peele great in one giant package. The film tackles issues of race and legacy in the entertainment industry while also delivering a thrilling and original UFO tale. It’s the most triumphant the modern master has been yet; a fascinating, highly entertaining picture that can be read as an act of American reclamation all its own. There are some screams here that won’t ever leave you.
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‘Watcher’
Directed by Chloe Okuno
Written by Chloe Okuno & Zack Ford
With modern Scream Queen Maika Monroe in tow, Chloe Okuno made an unforgettable mark with her feature debut Watcher. Undoubtedly the leanest and meanest of this list, the film’s incredibly straightforward setup (a woman moves to a new city and finds herself stalked by a persistent stranger) is its biggest strength. There are the expected explorations of the dangers (both big and small) that women constantly face and the lack of help they’re usually met with, but Watcher’s main focus is on scaring the absolute hell out of you, which it wholeheartedly succeeds at. The basic premise allows for Okuno’s direction and Monroe’s performance to truly lead the way – their combined forces create something exceptionally powerful.
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‘Barbarian’
Directed by Zach Cregger
Written by Zach Cregger
The year’s biggest surprise and crowned champ of being the most WTF-inducing of this list, Barbarian was the movie nobody was talking about until everyone was. From the mind of The Whitest Kids U’Know star Zach Cregger, this thing leads you one way before violently or hilariously (sometimes both) swinging you another way. You have no chance of guessing what’s about to happen down in that forsaken basement, or what exactly Justin Long’s sudden, tonal-shifting appearance has to do with any of it, but one thing you do know is that you’re undoubtedly in for one hell of a wild ride.
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‘Pearl’
Directed by Ti West
Written by Ti West
In one of the most spellbinding performances of the year, Mia Goth is what makes Pearl so transcendent. In this late 1910s prequel to X, Goth reprises one half of her dual role in a gorgeous, heart wrenching, violent and darkly hilarious coming-of-age tale. Pearl is all at once deeply relatable and terribly frightening as her feelings of isolation in a repressive and pandemic-stricken world get the best of her. This is a different beast entirely from X and it’s all the better for it. Pearl doesn’t merely stand on its own, it outshines almost all of the competition.
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‘We’re All Going to the World’s Fair’
Directed by Jane Schoenbrun
Written by Jane Schoenbrun
Jane Schoenbrun’s stunning debut perfectly captures some very specific feelings about adolescence in the digital age. Told almost entirely through the webcam and computer screen of a lonely girl (Anna Cobb) living in Anywhere, U.S.A., no other film before this has nailed the atmosphere of being a teen on the dark corners of the internet in the middle of the night like We’re All Going to the World’s Fair does. That may sound niche (and the film’s quiet, creeping pace may turn some impatient viewers off) but the kind of scares that Shoenbrun concocts are deeply poignant. This is the kind of thing you watch alone in a stupor of some kind with the lights off. Once you dial into the wavelength of World’s Fair, it’s difficult to pull yourself out of it.
‘Crimes of the Future’
Directed by David Cronenberg
Written by David Cronenberg
There have been a lot of movies about movies, art and legacy coming from various filmmaking legends these past few years. Crimes of the Future is no exception, with Viggo Mortensen playing Saul Tenser, an aging artist who puts on grotesquely beautiful displays of body horror for an increasingly passive audience that either gets it or doesn’t. It’s probably no accident that a film reflecting David Cronenberg’s own illustrious yet challenging career shares the same name as one of his earliest, experimental pictures. This is far more than some kind of retrospective look back or a victory lap. This is Cronenberg at his best, back in the genre he basically invented after years away from it. It’s about himself but only partly; it’s a tale of governments regulating bodies, finding meaning in the desolation of our natural world, and having the courage to evolve beyond societal limitations. A masterpiece.
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‘Smile’
Directed by Parker Finn
Written by Parker Finn
The refreshingly enthusiastic marketing campaign for Smile deserves praise all its own, so thank goodness that the film itself miraculously managed to be just as fun. Parker Finn’s debut (a lot of those this year!) is one of those horror experiences that was meant for the big screen. The film takes familiar genre elements and amplifies them tenfold; each individual scare is a wonderful collision of creepy atmosphere, methodical, tension-building camerawork and impeccable sound design. It’s a nasty piece of work. Unapologetically mean-spirited, a bit self aware, and boosted by an increasingly insane third act, Smile is the kind of box office success that should make any horror fan proud.
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‘Resurrection’
Directed by Andrew Semans
Written by Andrew Semans
Resurrection is a brutal and terrifyingly honest story of abuse and trauma, brought to disturbing life by an intensely gripping central performance from Rebecca Hall. Initially beginning as what seems to be more of a standard stalker thriller, by the time you reach its graphic, cathartic and somewhat perplexing fever dream of an ending, Resurrection has dived down into the deep end of horror and is all the stronger of a movie for it. Accompanied with a standout score from Jim Williams, the film excels at creating an atmosphere of dread and anxiety where every moving part, from the actors to the direction to the lighting to the costuming, are all working in tandem to stress you the hell out.
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‘Bodies Bodies Bodies’
Directed by Halina Reijn
Written by Sarah DeLappe & Kristen Roupenian
This modern slasher whodunnit from Halina Reijn has real bite in how it satirizes our always-online generation. Bodies Bodies Bodies is a searing indictment of the social media age, one that goes beyond the obvious observations of ourselves (how it makes us shallow, self-absorbed, and unhappy) and chooses to focus on the ways it makes us view and relate to others – and more importantly, who we are without it. It’s a sobering message but brilliantly delivered in a clever and wickedly fun way, filled with style and personality. Far more entertaining than preachy and far smarter than it may initially appear, Bodies Bodies Bodies is one of those films that truly has its finger on the pulse of today.
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‘Mad God’
Directed by Phil Tippett
Written by Phil Tippett
Mad God is a bleak, grisly and awe-inspiring nightmare. The most avant-garde of this list, Hollywood legend Phil Tippett’s stop-motion descent into the depths of Hell and madness has been decades in the making and that labor of…love? Obsession? Possession? Whatever it is, it clearly shows. Disturbing vignette after disturbing vignette is what awaits you in this largely plotless epic; a collection of astounding monsters and horrors that feels grand and apocalyptic yet eerily personal as well. Descriptions do this one no justice. The film’s abstract structure and moments of jaw-dropping ghoulishness may test viewers, yet something in this film’s dense tapestry of hand-crafted horror always manages to pull you back down to its depths.
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![Mad God - Official Trailer [HD] | A Shudder Original](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/jas8OABbn0Y/hqdefault.jpg)
‘The Black Phone’
Directed by Scott Derrickson
Written by Scott Derrickson, C. Robert Cargill & Joe Hill
The Black Phone is one of those movies that gets you standing up and cheering once its climactic showdown is underway. A tight three-act structure, standout performances and a strong central premise from Joe Hill’s original story all combine for one of the sturdiest and most crowd-pleasing flicks of the year. Scott Derrickson returned to the horror genre in a big way after making bank with Marvel – The Black Phone is scary, exciting and clever in one frighteningly solid package.
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‘Scream’
Directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin & Tyler Gillett
Written by James Vanderbilt, Guy Busick & Kevin Williamson
Creating a new Scream movie without the legendary Wes Craven at the helm was always going to be an incredibly challenging prospect. The iconic horror filmmaker changed the horror genre forever with his 1996 meta slasher and continued to stay a step ahead with each consecutive sequel. So when a fifth film that would bring back the original cast was announced, fans were rightfully skeptical. But the dynamic directing duo of Matt Bettineli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett (Ready or Not) proved to be suitable successors for the landmark horror franchise, upping the intensity of both the scares and the violence. The movie delivered some of the most intense and brutal sequences of the entire franchise while also adhering to the old rule of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” for its plot, which proved to be clever enough in its own right to justify its use of Craven’s familiar formula. This film kicked off horror for 2022 just two weeks into January, and this year’s NYC-set sequel looks to help solidify that legacy.
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