Once again, I will list off my favorite horror films of the year. As usual, I must point out that I have not seen all the horror released in 2022. However, I have seen enough for a top 10 list.
There are also the films that would be on my list if only I viewed them as horror. If I considered Chloe Okuno’s Watcher a horror film, it would be number one. Also, questionable films include Mike Mylod’s The Menu and Luca Guadagnino’s Bones and All. These last two are borderline, so I do not have much of an issue with those who view them as horror. This would also include the Predator prequel, Dan Trachtenberg’s Prey. More on it down below.
Then there are the films I truly hate that came out in 2022. I am not sure if I hate Halloween Ends more than Speak No Evil. However, these movies seem to exist mostly to anger me. Matt Bettinelli-Olpin’s and Tyler Gillett’s Scream had good scare scenes; between them the film had no sense of fun like the Craven flicks. For the most part most of the film is boring. Alex Garland has made two of my favorite films in the last few years. His Men, however, seemed unfinished and unsatisfying. It was, for me, the biggest letdown of the year.
Jordan Peele had shown such profound disrespect toward Clive Barker, as well as Bernard Rose, that there will be no way I will ever consume anything from him again. So, it means nope to Nope. I did not see it, and I never will.
Earlier this year, when Ti West’s X was released to theaters, I felt that that was the film which will remain my top horror movie of the year. Then West’s prequel to X, Pearl was released. I struggled with which film I liked better. I concluded that Pearl had more meat to it. However, I still am unsure if I would have liked Pearl as much as I do if I had not seen X first. That is neither here nor there at this point. So, for a few days X was at number two favorite for the year. Then I watched on Shudder, Andrew Seman’s Resurrection. This film about gaslighting gone over the top was amazing. Mia Goth in Pearl has a long monologue that is very gripping. Rebecca Hall in Resurrection also has a long monologue. This monologue is what pushed this film to number two on this list.
As we all know, gaslighting is a trait of narcissism. Narcissistic mothers became a recurring theme within many horror films in 2022. Iris Shim’s Umma was one of them. It was not the most successful of these films by a long shot. It did not make it on this list. It is also not bad enough to make it on the dishonorable list either. Two films, however, very much make my top list. Hanna Bergholm’s Hatching is my favorite of the year which uses this theme. Goran Stolevski’s You Won’t Be Alone is the other. These two films are the best example employed in any films released in 2022, in my opinion.
Stolevski’s film also is a good example of folk horror, which has risen in popularity in recent years. Another one is the werewolf picture, The Cursed. You Won’t Be Alone is a folk horror dealing with witches. The Cursed is one that deals with werewolves. Both films have a take on these two subjects in ways I have not seen before.
Two more movies on my list have problems. They do not kill my enjoyment of them. However, these problems do distract from the films to a degree. The lead character in Scott Derrickson’s adaptation of the Joe Hill story, The Black Phone’s lead character is same age as I was in 1978, the year the film takes place. There was a Puerto Rican family in our neighborhood with a boy my age. He never wore bandanas nor Cheech & Chong shirts. His older brother did not either. Miguel Cazarez Mora who portrays Robin Arellano does a fine job in the film. It is just too bad that they made him dress rather stereotypically. Then there was what was supposed to pass for the Brightmoor area of Detroit. I have been there a few times. I know what it looks like. It does not look like how it is shown in Zach Cregger’s Barbarian.
Since, I do not view neither X nor Pearl as slashers, I guess Terrifier 2 is the only one of those I have on my list. Yes, it is too long. However, the concepts presented within the movie are far too interesting to dismiss the whole thing. It would have scored higher on my list if it was shorter. Art the Clown can be funny. He is also one of the most unnerving characters that I have ever encountered in a flick.
Now here is the list of my Top Favorite Horror Films of 2022:
- Pearl
2. Resurrection
3. X
4. Hatching
5. You Won’t Be Alone
6. The Cursed
7. Barbarian
8. The Black Phone
9. Glorious
10 Terrifier 2
Honorable Mentions: The Reef Stalked, Mad God, Smile, Orphan First Kill, Slash/Back, Crimes of the Future.
As for my favorite science fiction film, it would have to be Prey. Even though I consider the first Predator film one of my favorite horror films of the 1980s, I also view it as science fiction and action. This new one is not horror enough to view it as a horror flick.
As for fantasy, this George Miller romantic fantasy, Three Thousand Years of Longing had me charmed to my core.
Well, this it for 2022! Happy New Year to all!–Charles T. Cochran
Views of the Fantastic 