I know I’m late and you have already read enough “top 2022” lists but I don’t care! This year has been wild to say the least…not just for horror. In 2022, I ended my first year in my Master’s program and continued onto my second year, which entailed finally narrowing down a thesis topic, becoming a Teaching Associate, and applying to Ph.D. programs. I was doing all of this while I continued working my side job slinging pumpkin cream cold brews and caramel macchiatos. Oh yeah! and I continued performing with my local ballet company, performing in Beauty and the Beast and The Nutcracker.
In the thralls of my busy schedule, I am surprised at how many releases I was still able to catch. From divisive A24 releases to blockbuster ‘requels’, let’s talk about my favorites from this year…
Warning: minor spoilers ahead. I will try to keep these simple & brief (drive home from the cinema style thoughts), but if you want full reviews or analysis of any of the films mentioned, let me know!
MEN
“A shudder in the loins engenders there…The broken wall, the burning roof and tower…And Agamemnon dead…”
W. B. Yeats
Alex Garland’s most recent endeavor has caused quite a stir but I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that this is probably still my top pick of the year. I was so completely enamored when I left the theater that I bought tickets to see it again the next day. Why? Because I still feel myself pulling away a layer each time I think about it. Between the Garden of Eden, The Green Man, Sheela na gigs, and “Leda and the Swan,” there is a plethora of symbolism to pull from MEN. It’s not just about men. I know it wasn’t everyone’s favorite but I invite anyone to revisit it. There are so many aspects to Harper that really resonated with me, which are stated much more brilliantly than I can manage on the No Stranger To Horror episode featuring Amber T of HornBloodFire (who also wrote a deep reflection that you can read here!).
PEARL
“All my life, I’ve wanted off this farm and you were my ticket out. So… I made sure to never let you see who I really was.”
I recently had a movie night with my family double featuring PEARL and X, and after PEARL my mom and sister both said I owe them for therapy…because OWWW. This is my joker…I know that’s a joke and all but I really did resonate with Pearl in such a painful way because, like her, all I have ever wanted was to get far away from the town that I grew up in. I know how painful it is to have whatever glimmer of hope that might have appeared be ripped away from you. I have also been to enough dance auditions and watched as other girls travelled across the world for ballet intensives and always wondered why it was never me. I’ve also watched the faces of those around me change, even for just a split second, as they realize they’re flirtatious “you’re not like other girls” actually held some weight. Needless to say, I won’t know how to act when MaXXXine finally hits theaters.
NOPE
“You don’t turn your back on a bear. You don’t wear red around a bull. It’s like that. You don’t look at it unless you want its attention.“
NOPE magnificently delivers a story that explores exploitation in the entertainment industry and what it means to be a spectacle, for your existence to be for the purpose of serving others, and the power of the gaze. When I caught this in theaters, we had quite the annoying theater—a couple with a middle school aged child, boomers who probably didn’t know what they signed up for, and a group date of teens who decided to get their drinks and snacks after the movie started…but then…there was a scene that made this restless theater grow dead silent and remain entranced for the rest of the film. What’s not to love? Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer deliver a dynamic and endearing portrayal of sibling-hood. I could write a whole essay on the shoe. Oh and don’t even get me started on how insane it is to get to witness an alien movie, raining blood, and Keke Palmer giving us an AKIRA slide. Jordan Peele has done it again.
WE’RE ALL GOING TO THE WORLD’S FAIR
“I swear, someday soon, I am just gonna disappear, and you won’t have any idea what happened to me.”
I live in a town where there was nothing to do and nowhere to go. Except there’s a park you can get high in, or a ravine to get high in, or a friends house or a Jack in the Box to get high at. There’s dirt to kick around and shit to set on fire. You get the point… And then I found tumblr. So many in my generation spent such formative years constructing our identities through internet personas, writing fanfic and interacting with mutuals. Like Casey, I spent much of my time interacting with a close internet friend. We bonded over our love of horror and reblogged each others gif sets. I really had no idea who this man really was outside of his horror blog, and would never know what happened if his blog disappeared. My feelings when I finished watching WORLD’S FAIR for the first time can best be summed as an existential crisis.
INCANTATION
“Do you believe in such things as blessings?“
It’s no surprised that I enjoyed this one as it came highly recommended to me…but wow! INCANTATION was one of the first films in a very long time, other than perhaps GONJIAM: HAUNTED ASYLUM, to actually make me feel a little bit of fear. This found footage-folk horror hybrid delivered malicious faceless deities and unexpected trypophobia triggers. Not only that, but it made me sob as the precious Sin-Ting Huang ripped apart my heartstrings as Dodo. I recently gave it another rewatch just after my first viewing of KOTOKO and these painful depictions of motherhood are getting to me…
TERRIFIER 2
*Art wears sunglasses*
This is exactly what I wanted from a TERRIFIER sequel. I love Art. I love how goofy yet mean-spirited TERRIFIER is. I loved our final girl, Sienna. I loved watching mashed potatoes get stuffed into someone’s face. I loved the nod to THE BROOD in the final sequence. This was just fun, and with the amount tears I shed over the heavy films I witnessed this past year, it was time for some fun! I can’t wait to enjoy however many sequels I will get to see in my day.
SPEAK NO EVIL
“Because you let me.“
Time for an unpopular opinion. I do not believe that a majority of people who complained about the immense frustration while watching this film would have behaved much differently. Yes, it was frustrating. Yes, I believe that everyone believes that they wouldn’t let these lines be crossed. True, our generation has worked a lot on boundary setting so maybe some of us do have hope of survival under these circumstances. And to be fair, the situation given that it is a horror film is exaggerated in order for this messaging to come across, but most people are still hung up on politeness, niceties, doing things the way they have always been done, or caring so much of what others think of them. I’m a loud mouthed angry nasty woman, and even I avoid confrontation at all costs. I’d like to think I would stand up for myself but I can barely answer the phone! You’re telling me you can’t say no to seeing your family for the holidays “because it’s family” and then listen while said family probably questions your life choices or comments on your weight or the way you’re dressed…but you think you suddenly wouldn’t allow those lines to be crossed here? Hmm… but that’s why I love SPEAK NO EVIL. I think it’s asking us to question those day to day interactions that we have, the small things that we say we’ll let slide, and force us to ask ourselves how many of those small things could pile up until it’s too late?
X
“I will not accept a life I do not deserve.“
With Pearl high on the list, I bet you were wondering when you’d see X. To be honest, I was quite lukewarm to X when I left the theater. It had every ingredient for a movie I’d love, everything about X was right up my alley. But something didn’t click. I liked it, sure. But I felt left out of all the love that was passing through the community. While I did later find out that I missed a few key scenes because I had to pee… it was when I rewatched it after having just seen PEARL that it seemed like I was watching it for the first time and all the love fell over me. I find myself falling in love with each watch and can already see it becoming the old reliable to whip out during movie nights.
THE SADNESS
“You’re just like me…violent and depraved…“
Another very divisive film delivered to this year. This is also another one that I was lukewarm to upon initial viewing—but not for the reasons that you might think. A virus that infects the parts of the brain that govern sex and violence, turning everyone into the “saddened” sadistic monsters that live to cause suffering to others? Genius. But I just wasn’t in the right headspace to fully appreciate it. I live and work in a city that is very…exhausting when it comes to rhetoric surrounding the pandemic. Anti-vax, anti-mask, and definitely still think you-know-who didn’t actually lose the election! I watched this film during a particularly frustrating time when company policy was shifting and wasn’t reflecting local guidelines (which were nonexistent), and I was having all the little comments and remarks that I hear on a daily basis regurgitated back to me in a very on the nose script. That’s not to say that I didn’t enjoy it! My jaw DROPPED and stayed on the floor for most of the film. I was giddy over how bloody and depraved it was. And once I gave myself some cool off time from the real life shenanigans, I can confidently say that THE SADNESS was a top film for me.
BARBARIAN
“Guys get to blast their way through life making messes. Girls have to be careful.”
That is not what I was expecting. I don’t think that’s what anyone expected. While there were so many favorites this year that it was hard to narrow a top 10, I couldn’t leave off BARBARIAN because this is the most fun I’ve had in a theater in a long time. Every time I thought I knew where the film was going, it pivoted. Ultimately, the beautiful Georgina Campbell and horror kings Justin Long and Bill Skarsgård find themselves in the house of a “Barbarian”, a long time resident of Barbary street (think “Washingtonian” or “Californian”) who never left the abandoned community of Brightmoor, where he could continue a life filled with torture and violence. I laughed, I jumped, and I couldn’t wait to see what was lurking in those tunnels.
Narrowing the list down to 10 was a daunting task. Here are my honorable mentions for 2022 and if you want to see my full list ranking 2022 releases, follow me on Letterboxd!
A WOUNDED FAUN
Surrealism, body horror, and mythological creatures filmed stunningly on 16mm. Such a beautiful crimson hued nightmare that I totally need to revisit when I’m not wasting away in my bed with COVID brain fog…
YOU WON’T BE ALONE
I needed a nap after this one. This Macedonian folk horror explores humanity as Nevena moves through the world living in the skin of others. The need for connection and the need to mask yourself in someone else’s skin on order to achieve that connection is heartbreakingly relatable.
HATCHING
Much of my adventures this year have been in body horror, monstrous motherhood and coming of age menstrual horrors (I was initially planning to do my thesis on pregnancy in horror films) so this one was right up my alley. I also saw a lot of the themes I explored in my writing on ballet in horror reflected because the competitive gymnast world and the ballet world very much intersect.
RESURRECTION
I loved watching Rebecca Hall in this slow burn psychological thriller. Let’s be real, I love watching her in anything. Like BARBARIAN, I had no idea where this film was going and it brought a whole new meaning to a “bun in the oven.”
There you have it! This was an exciting year jam-packed with films for every breed of horror fan. My favorite films change all the time, so I’m excited to see where these films will all sit as time goes by, or if any of the films from 2022 that didn’t make this list end up working their way up.
Now… who’s excited for 2023?
Siren Death Cult 