★★★ out of ★★★★★
Intensity: 🩸🩸🩸 out of 🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸
Night of the Bastard is fun. Stupid fun. Be ready for a low-budget B-Movie brawler of a picture. A desert trailer-trash and Satanic Cult mashup awaits.
★★★1/2 out of ★★★★★
A crumbling relationship leads a couple to take their frustrations out on a jog around a nearby pond, but they get trapped in a mysterious Mobius loop that becomes a private hell for the two of them. A smart,, if repetitive (of course) time paradox tale that explores the truly destructive nature of a breakup in some very clever ways.
Sometimes, you only need to see a horror movie once. That doesn't mean that it's a bad movie, (Some are actually quite good) but perhaps it was a bit too much, or the twist made the movie, or it made us feel bad. These movies made our to-do list, but then we said "Thanks, once is enough."
Happy Thanksgiving from the Great Old Ones at The Scariest Things! We recommend at your annual feast to remember that you shouldn't eat anything that is still moving. And, it's always good to know where that mystery meat came from.
★★★★1/2 out of ★★★★★
The Menu is an extremely well-crafted dark satire-thriller that both seduces you and fills you with dread. In the world of five-star restaurants, there is a cult of personality built around celebrity chefs. This movie extends that idea to make this a suicide death cult of personality. Bon appetit!
So, have you seen a good horror movie lately? The following is a comprehensive list of recommendations for our favorite horror films of all time. It's a horror movie rankers dream! Check out the big list and find a movie that you haven't seen yet... and watch it!
Our year-long project to update our top 100 Horror films is now complete! Now that we've got them all revealed, what changed from our 2018 list, and did we find any patterns or trends? The Scariest Things Podcast Team sat down to share our thoughts about how the list turned out. What we loved, what surprised us, and what we think will become of the list in the future. The curating of our list was the effort of many people, and it delivered a broad and diverse spectrum of the genre, from every age and every type of horror.
★★★★ out of ★★★★★
The living master of stop-motion animation, Phil Tippett has finished his 35-year-old passion project, Mad God. It is a technical and visual triumph, an astounding achievement of effort, care, and craftsmanship. Notably, Mad God is also full of yucky puppets. It is also devoid of a clear narrative story. It resembles the visions of Hell by Hieronymous Bosch put into animated stop motion.
Simply put: Mad God is surreal, profane, disturbing, confusing... and FREAKY.
★★★★ out of ★★★★★
Marvel is dipping its toe into the horror genre. It's an homage to the great Universal and Val Lewton era of film, with glorious black-and-white. It's gorier than you would expect a Marvel/Disney production to be, and it has all the right feels. It's short, punchy, and a whole lot of fun. Michael Giacchino steps away from his composer's chair to take the director's set, with great success. Here's hoping they turn it into a continuing series.
A drumroll, please!
At long last, The Scariest Things is proud to present to you our TOP 20 Horror Movies of All Time, as curated by a selection committee of 72 expert jurors. No sleeper films here. These are all beloved landmark films, but the question is, how do they rank against each other?
We arrive now at our big hitters in the horror genre. It's #40-21! But surprisingly, there were some surprises! Some movies that were completely absent from our 2018 list vault all the way to this portion of the rankings! It's amazing what happens when you add in a bunch of new members of the selection committee. Zombie lovers and fans of the new Golden Age of Horror will appreciate the films in this section of our rankings. Enjoy!
Our Top 100 is being revealed in the October month of Horror that leads up to Halloween. If you want to try and piece together what the winning film might be, or want to know how we did this, check out the full Scariest Jury list right here! If you love rankings and ratings, and you love horror movies... this is for YOU!
We have reached the mid-point of our top 100. The eighties are done proud in this batch, and J-Horror has a couple of Iconic films as well. We also have perhaps the greatest Folk Horror Film in this grouping. Is this the highest that a classic silver age film will post? We shall see! Check out, and listen in to The Scariest Things Podcast Episode 154: The Top 100 Horror Films of All Time #60-41!
★★★1/2 out of ★★★★★
Intensity: 🩸🩸 out of 🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸
Freeze takes elements from the Legenary H.P. Lovecraft library: The Shadow over Innsmouth and At the Mountains of Madness have been combined to make it into an entertaining romp through the arctic. For the independent production house Dark Temple Motion Pictures, this is their most ambitious effort to date, and it looks terrific, though it really could have used several more actors to flesh out the environment. (literally).
★★★★ out of ★★★★★
🩸 out of 🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸
Fear the Pythagorean Theorem! Wait... what? The latest film from trendsetting actor/directors Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson explores the fear of pattern languages. Math can be a frustratingly daunting experience at best and mind-bogglingly cryptic at the extremes. Think of it. Irrational numbers. ∞. Triskadecaphobia. π. Abstract numbers. Dividing by zero. What does it all mean? The laws and rules of mathematics that govern our lives can be twisted. Oh, the Horror!
The Scariest Things continues the reconstruction of our Top 100 Horror Movies of All Time list! Listen in as Ian Parker once again helps host our rollout of the best of the scary. Liz, Mike, and Eric also compete to see how many of their favorite films ended up in the top 100, with the winner getting to claim the title of Mayor of Horror Tropetown! So far, it's looking pretty good for Liz. There's a little something for everyone at this point in the list, and perhaps a few movies that you might not be familiar with, though most of these are bonafide classics!
When the calendar turns from September to October, that means it's time for the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival, one of the premiere horror events in the Pacific Northwest. This year there are some big-time guests who will be at the event in person to represent their iconic films, so if you are within driving distance (or if you want to fly in) you should come to the Hollywood Theater in Portland, and check it out! It is one of the best-curated horror festivals in the country, and you will not find a finer group of short films anywhere.
The Scariest Things is re-constituting our top 100 Horror Movie List of all time! It's been five years since our inaugural list was created, and frankly, we know a lot more knowledgeable horror professionals now. Plus, it's fun to do, and creating a ranked list offers up room for great debates, both amongst our own crew internally, and with you, our fans! We hope you enjoy and appreciate our list! (And feel free to let us know if you disagree... that's fun too.)
Do you have faith in M. Night Shyamalan to deliver a good movie? Recent returns would suggest that he's still got the touch. The Visit, Split, and Old suggest that his over-indulgent tendencies may be behind him. And if you watch the trailer for Knock at the Cabin, I think you'll find yourself convinced that he's got something special coming.
Greater Delights Await... Hellraiser has been rebooted. And it looks really good!
Bon Jour! If you like your horror with a bit of an esprit de viscéral, then this will be the episode for you! The French language horror films bring a bit of the nasty, the savage, and also at times, the absurd. There is a tradition of breaking conventions with much of French art, and that includes their cinema tastes. And, this extends naturally to their willingness for their horror movies going to extremes. So join us in extracting out what makes French Language Horror so potent in Episode 151!
★★1/2 out of ★★★★★
Intensity:🩸🩸 out of 🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸
The horror western Ghosts of the Ozarks is a curiosity. It feels like a wholly original concept and yet it telegraphs all its plot movements. It is populated full of interesting characters with some pretty notable actors, but in their fun quirkiness, they end up playing like one-note caricatures. And, in spending most of its time world-building, the film fails to propel the story in any dramatic or scary way.
Alexandra Spieth's debut horror-comedy feature Stag was the revelation of the Portland Horror Film Festival 2022. Spieth is an enthusiastic interview and a total blast to talk to. Check out our exclusive discussion with the emerging horror writer-director right here!
★★★ out of ★★★★★
Distress Signals is a micro-budget survival thriller, done simply, and executed well. This is a lost in the woods scenario, a story that we can all identify with. In its simplicity though, I found myself wishing there was more dramatic tension and more visceral threat. As thrillers go, this is more solitary drama than thrills.
★★★★ out of ★★★★★
The unique and stylistically powerful art of Mike Mignola is put into the shadowy spotlight of the documentary of the Hellboy artist. A documentary is only as interesting as the subject material, and Mr. Mignola proved to be a fascinating study of a complex individual and a late blooming artistic genius.
In this interview with It Hatched director, Elvar Gunnarsson, you will get a full upload of Icelandic folklore and history. So, not only will you be entertained, you're going to learn something! It Hatched has been getting rave reviews in its run through the festival circuit, and Elvar was generous enough to spend his time discussing how he made this remarkable film, an artistic and narrative showcase for the first-time director.
★★★★1/2 out of ★★★★★
Intensity 🩸🩸🩸for gory action violence
Prey is a remarkable refresh of the old Predator franchise. For my money, this is the best action horror movie since The Descent, the best horror western since Ravenous, and could arguably be better than the original Predator. The movie has the best protagonist yet (Including Dutch), and the monster is better than ever. The movie is a transportive adventure, and who would have thought that this previously moribund series could find such fresh legs?
★★★1/2 out of ★★★★★
The Eyes Below is perhaps the closest thing to a real nightmare since David Lynch's 1977 opus, Eraserhead. If you have ever had dreams of being smothered, suffocated, or strangled, this is your unrelenting torment. Be mindful though, it also includes the occasionally repetitive tedium of a dream you can't get out of..
The Mayor of Trope Town has spoken! As the current serving mayor, three thrilling Euro-Horror selections were made to discuss, with a deeper dive than the typical Podcast discussion. Raw, The Ringmaster, and Tailgate are being served up for discussion this week. Also, a Portland Horror Film Festival recap. Does the mayor know how to please his constituents, or what? YES! Long may the mayor reign!
Horror movies can be a curious little corner of the media universe where you can track where society stands on social issues. This is clearly reflected in Queer Horror, a continually evolving reflection of the closeting, outing, and normalization of LGBT relationships and how they are perceived over time.