Thursday, October 31, 2024

Happy Halloween! Best Horror Films Part 3 - Best of 2023-2024

 Happy Halloweeeen!  🎃👻

So I've chosen the past year to mean 2023-2024 because some movies are still on the way and it wouldn't be fair?

Plus, keep in mind that there are some movies I didn't see until 2024 because I waited until they were streaming.  

Speaking of, I cheated twice with two late 2022 movies, because they weren't released to home streaming until later, and some I still haven't seen yet like Smile 2, LongLegs, Alien Romulus and the American version of Speak No Evil, which were just released/still in theaters.

And remember, none of these are slasher or zombie films or vampire films - sorry. 

The reason is, most slasher films are long on gore, short on story and sillier than they are scary. As for zombie and vampire films, I just think they've been done to death, but I'll watch if there's a good story, too.

Also, I wouldn't say that any of these - or at least most of these (with the exception of maybe "Smile") - would make the previous "best" list of either the decade or best ever, but worth a watch?


Late Night With the Devil (2024)




A late night TV host doesn't make a deal with the devil (or does he?), but he comes anyway - in the form of a little girl.

Oddity (2024)



Dead men (and women) tell no tales, but wooden ones do, if made by a witch? 

Essentially, a twin sister owns an oddities shop in Ireland, and uses the occult items to solve her sister's murder.

The First Omen (2024)




After The Conjuring 2, the current trend is nuns, possessed nuns or nuns carrying Satan's baby - this one delivers both!


Immaculate (2024)




Once again, we apparently love the devil messing with nuns? lol.  This one has an ending which you understand, and yet perhaps goes too far?  

Also, with these movies about Satan's baby/the Antichrist, can you not just take Satan's baby and get him baptized by a real priest or the pope or something? 

Problem solved! 😂

Talk to Me (2023)




This Australian entry gives us a new story, about a haunted wooden hand with strange markings, that  possesses you and let's you talk to the dead, but only for 20 seconds - until something else decides it wants to come out and play!


Smile (2022)



A smile isn't always a good thing - there are evil smiles, and in this one, the transferring demon smiles at you, and if you see it, it's too late!

I didn't see this one until late 2023, when streaming, but this is probably the best of the bunch and is an "alternate" for the best of the decade list.

The only reason it isn't, is it dragged in parts - but it did scare the bejesus outta me at times.  Also, I understand the ending was setting up for a sequel, but it was predictable and left me wanting a better ending.



The Infinity Pool (2023)




When you read the description of this story, you'll assume it's a ridiculous B flick, but it's not.

Essentially, a couple goes on a secluded island vacation, and ends up partying with, messed with, committing crimes with, and being be tortured by some other wealthy vacationers, for which they receive the death penalty in the island country, only to find out that the group's rationale for this hedonism - and having no empathy or morality - is the country has also figured out how to immediately clone a person upon death, for which they pay the big bucks - but is it an excuse?

Expertly acted by one of the Skaarsgard boys and Mia Goth, this one's a a new, disturbing twist on the usual horror fare. 


Influencer (2022)




So when you see the title, you're almost  not sure who to root for, a self-absorbed social-media influencer or the villain, but in the end, we like the influencer, but we're hoping that she - and we - rethink what personal information we put on social media, especially when traveling abroad!


Again, there are some out this year that I have yet to see, but that's all I have time for today, but I'll post a runners-up post soon.  

Just one more thing - one movie that people raved about that I thought was entirely ridiculous ...

Night Swim (2024). 

A haunted pool?

Dohkay.  It was better than I thought, but still absurd lol.


Happy Halloween!


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