The most anticipated horror movies of 2023
Horror is off to a strong start this year, thanks to M3GAN, and there's much more on the way, including Cocaine Bear, Evil Dead Rise, and Scream VI
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Clockwork from left: Scream VI (Screenshot: Paramount Pictures/YouTube); Knock At The Cabin (Photo: Universal Pictures); Evil Dead Rise (Photo: Warner Bros.); Cocaine Bear (Photo: Universal Pictures) Graphic: The A.V. Club
We’ve only just put the wraps on a terrific year for horror films, and it’s looking like 2023 could be even stronger. M3GAN got things off to a dangerously delightful start over the weekend, and the rest of this year figures to bring plenty more chills and thrills (and even some laughs) to theaters and your favorite streaming services. From indie viral sensations to franchise restarts and more, these are the horror films on our radar as we head into 2023.
33 Comments
I’ve honestly been sad for at least a couple days since I found out M3GAN is PG-13. Like really all the bloodshed happens offscreen and the camera cuts away from all the violence? Come on. Talk about defanging a project. This is about as underwhelming as when I spoiled the end of The Hunger Games halfway threw when I realized a PG-13 film would never actually have a teen protagonist kill anyone.
I wasn’t into Terrifier 2 but did horror films really see that success and decide things need to be more tame?
M3GAN is targeted at kids watching TikTok videos.
Megan was long done by the time terrifier 2 came out, horror movies have been ruining their potential by sticking to pg-13 for decades
Hunger Games was PG-13 because the source material was YA fiction. But I agree, there’s probably a lot of scenes on the cutting floor of M3gan ripping people’s faces off and wearing them that had to be removed because some dumbass exec thinks that making this PG-13 will sell more tickets.
Also really, Renfield? That’s a Comedy film…. I mean Horror Comedy at best but I wouldn’t dare call that a Horror film first. Spooky imagery at most.
This is a thin list compared to 2022. Pearl carries a lot of that for me but I also loved the hell out of Men with Jessie Buckley.
Men was amazing. I plan on watching Pearl tonight.
Nice conversation that cosmicghostrider is having with themselves there.Anyways, Infinity Pool from Brandon Cronenberg is easily my “must-see” from this list, after loving the hell out of Possessor. He’s truly a chip off the ol’ block from his dad David. I’ll see the Shyamalan one probably, even though I thought he tripped up with his last one, Old. Looks like Knock at the Cabin will be R-rated, which is a rarity for Shyamalan. And I’ll likely see the next Scream movie, though it sucks that Neve Campbell won’t be a part of it.Otherwise, not too sure about the rest of the movies on this list. Sick and Cuckoo could be promising. No mention of the third film in Ti West’s trilogy that should be coming out in 2023? (MaXXXine, the follow-up to X and Pearl) I’m looking forward to that one for sure, those first two movies were fun times at the theater.
I was not aware of him making MaXXXine. Great to hear!!!
Are we over the edginess of kiddie properties remade as action/horror movies yet?
It’s time to choo-choo-choose your fate IN…Thomas the Death EngineThomas has been a very bad engine, indeed. Only in theaters! Okay, in a theater. The one that was the old adult movie theater, you know the one. Over on – THE WRONG SIDE OF THE TRAAAAACKS
It’s a video game called Choo-Choo Charles and it’s great!
Even better, Thomas the Tank Engine in Resident Evil:
Just take my wallet already
Was never on board with them in the first place. Dumb.
Crack Gerbil of GTFO.
I really have 3 on my list to see… none are likely to be great but they are all ones that rose to my attention enough to want to see :
Megan
Cocaine Bear
Renfield Like I said – I don’t have much hope for any of those to be great but they all struck me as something to watch.
I’m all for a good indie but that Pooh film looks like garbage. And there have been some good installments, but I’m shocked the VHS series continues, as bad as some of the last three were.
“Consistently entertaining” is awfully strong praise for the VHS series. “Consistently there” would be more accurate.
I’ve already seen Skinamarink and lemme tell ya, it either works incredibly well or it falls totally flat. It relies on its audience having a vivid imagination and a visual mind. It lives and dies on that “Is something moving in that corner?” dread some people get because they see shapes in every damn shadow.If you don’t have that; don’t bother. If you do, like me and my girlfriend, it’ll fuck you up. We were terrified. But I’ve heard from other people that it bored them to tears.
Sounds interesting. Where can you watch it?
Well… Umm… You know… Yarr.
Even that trailer was creeping the hell out of me, so apparently I’m in the target audience for this.
Same.
Blood And Honey follows what happens when Pooh and his best friend Piglet turn into bloodthirsty monsters, stalking Christopher Robin and his friends and killing everyone in sight. How can you pass that up?Easily.
Cool that Ellen Burstyn is reprising her role for the Exorcist sequel. I bet it’ll be “Burstyn” with scares. But seriously, nothing she does will ever be as disturbing as her movie-stealing role in Requiem for a Dream. “I’m going to be on television!”
Oh, the “strong woman” trope again, this time used to destroy the Evil Dead franchise. Well done. Glad the actresses found time to star in the movie, besides fighting on the ukraine frontlines.
Cocaine Bear looks amazing. I had no interest in it until seeing that trailer. Thanks!
It’s good to be a horror fan.
I still would not be surprised if WB canned Salem’s Lot for good. Pushed from September to February, and now to an indeterminate date. The film is finished, yet there has been nary a trailer, teaser or even a set photo. It’s like this film doesn’t even exist. Plus several test screenings were reportedly pretty dire.
I think I might need to watch Attachment only to see Sofie Grabol on screen again.
So why is Darth Maul stalking Michael Keaton?