The theme of 2023 horror has been possession, with more than a few films and four on this top ten list including it as a prominent theme. This list shows how varied the types of horror there were this year, with entries from all over the world, from Hollywood slashers to Mexico body horror and the most successful Australian export of the year. Outside of what I’ve included on this top ten list, horror also had such a massive year at the box office with films like The Nun II, Meg 2: The Trench, Cocaine Bear, Saw X and Five Nights at Freddy’s being big hits and proving you can make money on the genre, across many different types of horror from the intensity seen in Sax X to the fun type seen in Cocaine Bear. 

Here are my picks for the best horror films released in 2023.

10. Thanksgiving

The opening act of Thanksgiving is a ridiculous amount of fun. Buyers go crazy on a Black Friday sale, accidentally killing a bunch of people in the stampede. It’s excellent, and from over here in Australia, exactly how those sales appear to be based on what’s on social media. What follows is a somewhat straightforward slasher, but it’s the best Eli Roth has done, with inventive kills, a focus on fun, and not worrying about being too campy at times. I hope to get another Thanksgiving like this in the next few years.

9. Candy Land

This slasher from John Swab has a unique setting and approach to sex workers within the horror genre. Although some are victims of a killer, they are the heroes of their story here, and the film gives one of the most compassionate portrayals of sex workers who live out of and work at truck stops in areas all around America. The film ends being something of a slow burn to a pay-off that may not work for all, but the lead-up is well worth it with a fantastic cast of some of Swab’s regulars and some new actors, all of which add something special to this year best grindhouse feeling horror flick.

8. Huesera: The Bone Woman

This body-horror movie from Mexico puts the fears of pregnancy front and centre in a way I’ve never seen portrayed on screen before. With both a strong script and direction from Michelle Garza Cervera, the lead actress Natalia Solian gives one of the year’s most memorable performances as a woman who quickly goes from wanting nothing more than getting pregnant to fearing for her and her child’s life as occult figures haunt her at night and around every corner. The film features stunning and terrifying imagery, but it’s also not what is on screen but how the character of Valeria’s mind must be acting that becomes even scarier.

7. Scream VI

A lot has happened to the Scream franchise since the release of Scream VI, but we’ll focus on this film for this article. After the success of Scream (2022), could another one hit the same success? I didn’t think so, and yet directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, alongside writers James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick, did it again, creating another fresh slasher to play into the lineage of this famous franchise while also building upon the new characters that had been introduced in the previous film. And with no Sydney in this latest entry, it would genuinely test how well-liked the new cast was, but they more than passed the test. If this is indeed the final Scream film, the franchise went out on a fantastic final entry. 

6. Influencer

One of my surprise watches for 2023 was Influencer. A film was judged by its title and assumed it would be some junk food, but it had a lot more to say. In my review, I wrote, “This 90-minute thrill ride does lose some of its pacing in the middle, but it constantly had me wondering what would happen next and being surprised by the film’s direction. With a primarily female cast as well, and without the villain falling into “lover-scorned” territory, this is a must-watch for horror fans this year.” All of which is to say that this film is best explored without knowing much, but being ready for something a little different than the poster and title may set you up to expect.

Read my full review for Influencer here.

5. Evil Dead Rise

There was a stage when Warner Bros. Pictures was going to dump Evil Dead Rise on HBO MAX, but thankfully, that didn’t happen. Not only did Evil Dead Rise perform at the cinema, making around an 800% increase in its budget worldwide, but it also proved that horror films with an R18+ rating can be successful. And with the amount of gore, kills, and scary stuff happening in Evil Dead Rise, it was one of the best horror films to have seen in cinema this year, with an audience that had more than a few screams from the cinemagoers. With an all-new cast of characters, each giving fantastic performances, it was hard to watch some of them die, but we have a tremendous new final girl for the series with Lilly Sullivan, and there’s hope for sequels sooner rather than later.

4. Attachment

It was a year of possession movies, but none offered the genre-breaking romance between Maja and Leah as the centrepiece for everything. In my review of the film, I said it’s “a refreshing direction for a well-done horror genre; the focus on character and building tension out of the story rather than moments propels Attachment into being one of the early hits for Shudder in 2023.” It ended up being one of the best horror films of the year and one of the most exciting to be released onto Shudder, among many great ones for genre fans. The subject matter might be too close for some. Still, this romance, with Hasidic Judaism, presented as something for the couple to fight through together at first, before an evil manifested, was very well acted, shot and featured a terrifying exorcism scene.

You can read my full review of Attachment here.

3. Infinity Pool

In my review of Infinity Pool, I said, “Infinity Pool isn’t going to be for everyone; its excesses are high, and it’s a filthy and violent film.” This is the best way to summarise the film, but the Infinity Pool is most definitely for me, as it’s stuck with me for the past year and could be for you if you’re reading this and like horror films. The latest film from Brandon Cronenberg follows a couple who are “exploring” an unnamed foreign country behind protected gates for its ultra-rich and privileged members. When  Alexander Skarsgard’s character meets Mia Goths’ and an adventure outside the protected wire fences happens, everything changes for them. What follows is one of the most intense and insane explorations of character seen in horror films this year, with a stellar and very memorable performance from Goth, who steals the show.

Read my full review of Infinity Pool here.

2. When Evil Lurks

The description of When Evil Lurks sets up a relatively run-of-the-mill possession and attempted exorcism film, but it’s anything but that. This Argentinian film introduces a possessed man early, but what our lead characters do with that man and the aftermath of their actions steps this film into the best-of-the-year category. With some truly gruelling makeup, solid scares, great performances and a chilling ending — When Evil Lurks snuck in at November to be one of the best horror films of the year that you may have missed. 

1. Talk To Me

The Australian horror film that could — Talk to Me has taken the world by storm in part thanks to its well-produced scares and characters, but in another part, how different a film like this feels in Australia. The commitment from directors the Philippou brothers to keep the film as authentically Australian as possible and set it in their hometown of Adelaide sets it apart from similar paranormal films coming out of the U.S. It’s a dark film that spends time investing in its likable cast, especially Sophie Wilde as the lead, before introducing the first piece of ghastly blood and gore. But when the film goes there, it goes there and with practical effects that are bloody gorgeous.