2023 has come to an end and it was another great year for horror! The Australians dominated the genre this year with 3 films on my list and there were 2 TV series so good I was hard pressed to make a film my number one pick. Check out my picks for the best of 2023, and listen to The Scariest Things crew discuss all of our picks in Podcast Episode 177: The Best Horror Movies of 2023!
- Talk to Me– Written and directed by Danny and Michael Philippou
Mike and I saw this at SXSW and were blown away by the performances and originality of the script. I knew as soon as I saw it was back in March that this would be on my top 10 list and nothing was able to surpass it. Talk to Me is a new horror classic à la Hereditary and will be one we’re all talking about for a long time. The entire TST crew loves this film so much that we devoted Spooky Time Episode 22 to it.
- Swarm– Created by Donald Glover and Janine Nabers
Swarm could have easily been my number one choice, but since it is TV, I made it number 2. This is the future of horror and I stan so hard for this show. 
- The Fall of the House of Usher– Written and directed by Mike Flanagan
Mike Flanigan’s Netflix series is a modern horror masterpiece that takes the stories of Edgar Allen Poe and weaves them into a tapestry of horror.
- Late Night with the Devil– Directed by Cameron and Colin Cairnes
The second Aussie film on this list, we were all buzzing about David Dastmalchian’s performance at the SXSW World Premiere.
- Skinamarink- Directed by Kyle Edward Ball
Is Skinamarink a movie? Did it come out in 2023? Who cares! This nightmare inducing eerie experimental film blew my mind in January and has made me jump at the sound of the telephone ever since.
- Totally Killer– Directed by Nahnnatchka Khan.
Totally Killer was an absolute blast of a movie and the best horror comedy of 2023! Listen to my Podcast Extra interview with the film’s editor, Jeremy Cohen to hear all about balancing the comet with the horror and the film’s rad soundtrack.
- When Evil Lurks– Directed by Demián Rugna
The feel bad film of 2023, this dark tale is brutal even for the most hardened horror fan.
- Beaten to Death directed by Sam Curtain
Beaten to Death is a brutal and bloody gory fest set in the blinding sun of the Australian outback.
- The Coffee Table– Directed by Caye Casas
The Coffee Table is truly laugh out loud funny until it’s not and then it is a bleak film that will wreck you for the rest of your day.
- Its a tie: Thanksgiving– Directed by Eli Roth and Megan– Directed by Gerard Johnstone
While these two films couldn’t be more different in subject matter, what they have in common was they were both surprisingly great and both a great time in the theater.