Best Horror Movies of 2023 Ranked
It didn’t take long for 2023 to find its new scream queen: M3GAN, the Certified Fresh horror hit released the first week of the year, representing another strike of success for Blumhouse. But actress Jenna Ortega (who we proclaimed a Golden Year winner in our Golden Tomato Awards for her contributions to the dark genre arts) took back the crown with Scream VI in March (see where it ranks in the Scream franchise). In this guide to the newest scary movies, we’ll rank every week the best horror movies of 2023, which through the early months saw Knock at the Cabin (from director M. Night Shyamalan), Brandon Cronenberg’s Infinity Pool, and viral curiosity Skinamarink.
April revved things up with the return of Evil Dead in Rise, and May saw the latest in the long factory line of Stephen King adaptations, The Boogeyman. But, for critics, the one to beat this year is Mexico’s Huesera: The Bone Woman, the body-horror directorial debut of Michelle Garza Cervera.
Then it was a summer of screams with another A24 breakout, Australia’s Talk to Me, as the major studios chugged along with Haunted Mansion, Insidious: The Red Key, and The Blackening.
With the fall came more from The Conjuring universe with The Nun 2, Saw X, David Gordon Green’s The Exorcist: Believer, and then Five Nights at Freddy’s breaking records Halloween weekend.
Check back weekly as we rank the best new horror movies of the 2023, with Certified Fresh films first, followed by Fresh and then the morbidly Rotten.
Recently added: Thanksgiving, Hell House LLC Origins: The Carmichael Manor, Sister Death, Suitable Flesh, Five Nights at Freddy’s, The Exorcist: Believer, Totally Killer, The Conference, When Evil Lurks.
#1
Critics Consensus: A hard-hitting horror film whose surface-level frights are just as engaging as its thematic concerns, When Evil Lurks marks a viscerally unsettling addition to the possession horror canon.
Synopsis: When brothers Pedro (Ezequiel Rodríguez) and Jimmy (Demián Salomón) discover that a demonic infection has been festering in a nearby
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#2
Critics Consensus: A bone-chilling body horror, Huesera offers genre fans a twisted take on What to Expect When You're Expecting.
Synopsis: Valeria's joy at becoming a first-time mother is quickly taken away when she's cursed by a sinister entity. As danger
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#3
Critics Consensus: A possession thriller that knows the devil's in the details, Attachment scares some fresh angles out of a well-worn horror subgenre.
Synopsis: ATTACHMENT is a horror romance about Maja, a has-been actress in Denmark, who falls in love with Leah, a young,
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#4
Critics Consensus: With a gripping story and impressive practical effects, Talk to Me spins a terrifically creepy 21st-century horror yarn built on classic foundations.
Synopsis: When a group of friends discover how to conjure spirits using an embalmed hand, they become hooked on the new
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#5
Critics Consensus: Unapologetically silly and all the more entertaining for it, M3GAN is the rare horror-comedy that delivers chuckles as effortlessly as chills.
Synopsis: M3GAN is a marvel of artificial intelligence, a life-like doll programmed to be a child's greatest companion and a parent's
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#6
Critics Consensus: Influencer should get plenty of likes from horror fans hungry for a smart, scary chiller with something to say.
Synopsis: INFLUENCER tells the story of Madison (Emily Tennant, "Riverdale"), a popular social media influencer who is having a lonely and
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#7
Critics Consensus: Although its story can feel circuitous and a bit baggy, Brooklyn 45's character-driven period horror is elevated by some excellent performances.
Synopsis: Friday, December 27, 1945. Five military veterans gather in the ornate parlor of a Brooklyn brownstone. Best friends since childhood,
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#8
Critics Consensus: Totally Killer may not take full advantage of its promising conceit, but this time-traveling horror/sci-fi mashup is still enjoyable overall.
Synopsis: Thirty-five years after the shocking murder of three teens, the infamous "Sweet Sixteen Killer" returns on Halloween night to claim
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#9
Critics Consensus: While it could stand to be a little funnier and quite a bit scarier, The Blackening is a thoughtful satire that skewers horror tropes and racial stereotypes.
Synopsis: The Blackening centers around a group of Black friends who reunite for a Juneteenth weekend getaway only to find themselves
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#10
Critics Consensus: Smart, self-aware, and all too timely, this slasher co-written by Kevin Williamson is Sick in all the best ways.
Synopsis: As the pandemic steadily brings the world to a halt, Parker and her best friend Miri decide to quarantine at
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#11
Critics Consensus: Turbulent waters even for strong swimmers, Infinity Pool provides a visceral all-inclusive retreat of Cronenbergian perversion for those wanting to escape commercial sundries.
Synopsis: While staying at an isolated island resort, James (Alexander Skarsgård) and Em (Cleopatra Coleman) are enjoying a perfect vacation of
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#12
Critics Consensus: Bringing Lulu Wilson back for another round of whooping on bad guys, this Wrath is one Becky with the good sequel.
Synopsis: Two years after she escaped a violent attack on her family, Becky attempts to rebuild her life in the care
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#13
Critics Consensus: Injecting a classic story with fresh innovation and social relevance, The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster is a thrillingly assured feature debut for writer-director Bomani J. Story.
Synopsis: Vicaria is a brilliant teenager who believes death is a disease that can be cured. After the brutal and sudden
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#14
Critics Consensus: Offering just about everything longtime fans could hope for while still managing to carry the franchise forward, Evil Dead Rise is all kinds of groovy.
Synopsis: In the fifth Evil Dead film, a road-weary Beth pays an overdue visit to her older sister Ellie, who is
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#15
Critics Consensus: Campy and creepy, Suitable Flesh delivers visceral, '80s-inspired horror topped off by game performances from Barbara Crampton and Heather Graham.
Synopsis: Psychiatrist Elizabeth Derby becomes obsessed with helping a young patient suffering extreme personality disorder. But it leads her into dark
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#16
Critics Consensus: Combining belly-busting humor with delightfully over-the-top gore, Thanksgiving is a feast for grindhouse fans.
Synopsis: After a Black Friday riot ends in tragedy, a mysterious Thanksgiving-inspired killer terrorizes Plymouth, Massachusetts -- the birthplace of the
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#17
Critics Consensus: A darkly delirious satire rooted in real-life horror, El Conde finds Pablo Larraín revisiting familiar themes without losing their provocative power.
Synopsis: El Conde is a dark comedy/horror that imagines a parallel universe inspired by the recent history of Chile. The film
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#18
Critics Consensus: A home invasion thriller with an extraterrestrial twist, No One Will Save You serves up more genre fun from writer-director Brian Duffield -- and proves Kaitlyn Dever doesn't need much dialogue to command the screen.
Synopsis: "No One Will Save You" introduces Brynn Adams (Kaitlyn Dever), a creative and talented young woman who’s been alienated from
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#19
Critics Consensus: A smartly ambitious supernatural thriller, Perpetrator blends an assortment of genres and influences into a bloody good time.
Synopsis: Jonny Baptiste (Kiah McKirnan) is a reckless teen sent to live with her estranged Aunt Hildie (Alicia Silverstone). On her
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#20
Critics Consensus: If its story's mysteries are ultimately less compelling than they might seem, Enys Men's retro aesthetic and intriguingly abstract visuals make this a chilly treat for horror fans.
Synopsis: A wildlife volunteer on an uninhabited island off the British coast descends into a terrifying madness that challenges her grip
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#21
Critics Consensus: Led by a franchise-best performance from Tobin Bell, Saw X reinvigorates the series with an installment that has a surprising amount of heart to go with all the gore.
Synopsis: John Kramer (Tobin Bell) is back. The most chilling installment of the SAW franchise yet explores the untold chapter of
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#22
Critics Consensus: Certain aspects of horror's most murderously meta franchise may be going stale, but a change of setting and some inventive set pieces help keep Scream VI reasonably sharp.
Synopsis: Following the latest Ghostface killings, the four survivors leave Woodsboro behind and start a fresh chapter.
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#23
Critics Consensus: A darker and spookier spin on Branagh's Poirot, A Haunting in Venice is a decent Halloween snack whose undemanding mystery gets a lift from nifty visuals and an all-star cast.
Synopsis: "A Haunting in Venice" is set in eerie, post-World War II Venice on All Hallows' Eve and is a terrifying
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#24
Critics Consensus: Within the outline of its fairly standard story, The Offering puts a unique -- and often genuinely scary -- spin on demonic possession horror tropes.
Synopsis: In the wake of a young Jewish girl's disappearance, the son of a Hasidic funeral director returns home with his
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#25
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: A gay bachelor party takes a spooky turn when sinister spirits are suddenly summoned. And when the groom's straight ex-military
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#26
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Amy, a young woman is on the run with her young son Adrian from her abusive ex-girlfriend. When the past
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#27
Critics Consensus: Although it'll be too quirky for some, Murder, Anyone? is a deeply meta comedy that also serves as an affecting homage.
Synopsis: Two playwrights, George and Charlie, are tasked with the challenge of creating the next "avant-garde, surrealistic, mind-bending neo-noir thriller". As
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#28
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: As friends settle down in their remote cabin for a relaxing weekend, a creature prowls outside, waiting to strike. The
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#29
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: On a mission to expand its horizons in 1998, a very persuasive leech wreaks havoc in a small rural town.
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#30
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: A young woman is kidnapped and inducted into a bizarre family as their new surrogate daughter. As she navigates through
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#31
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Sigrid thinks she's met the perfect match with the charming and handsome Christian, but there is one catch -- he
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#32
Critics Consensus: A smooth blend of scares and dark humor, Satanic Hispanics is a well-crafted horror anthology whose occasionally jarring tonal shifts are easy to forgive.
Synopsis: When police raid a house in El Paso, they find it full of dead Latinos, and only one survivor. He's
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#33
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: "You're Killing Me" follows Eden Murphy (McKaley Miller), who goes to a coveted 'Heaven and Hell' party, hoping to get
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#34
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Alex is an aspiring singer/songwriter, a drug addict who's been damaged from childhood abuse. After the death of his father
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#35
Critics Consensus: Malum lures you to clock in for another Mason-esque Last Shift at a haunted police station with sheer blunt lore and gore.
Synopsis: MALUM is a bold and expanded reimagining of the 2014 horror cult classic, LAST SHIFT. On a search to uncover
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#36
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Martha and Félix are the children of the Butcher of Mons, a notorious Belgian serial killer from the 1990s. Unstable
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#37
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Counting down his last days as Chief of Police in the tiny town of Lone Crow, John Hawkins must investigate
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#38
Critics Consensus: Although its second half is difficult to digest, Swallowed is an admirably unusual -- and overall effective -- mixture of body horror and romance.
Synopsis: After a drug run goes bad, two friends must survive a nightmarish ordeal of drugs, bugs and horrific intimacy.
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#39
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Two women form an unlikely connection when a depressed gas station clerk Sam (Jolene Purdy), receives a call from Emily
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#40
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: In 2021, a group of internet sleuths travel to the remote Carmichael Manor, deep in the woods of the Rockland
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#41
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Returning to an eerily empty hotel after a day of filming, young actress, Rose Hepburn, finds herself suspended on the
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#42
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Followers is an intelligent "found-footage" horror movie set in the world of "social media influencers". Four very different students move
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#43
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: ADALYNN follows a mother fighting postpartum depression and slipping over the edge. It becomes hard to distinguish where depression ends,
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#44
Critics Consensus: While Clock may strain some viewers' suspension of disbelief, it's a mostly effective attempt to view reproductive pressures through a chilling horror lens.
Synopsis: "Clock" is the story of a woman who enrolls in a clinical trial to try and fix her seemingly broken
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#45
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: In post-war Spain, Narcisa (Aria Bedmar), a young novice with supernatural powers, arrives at a former convent, now a school
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#46
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Candy Land follows Remy (Olivia Luccardi, It Follows), a seemingly naïve and devout young woman, who finds herself cast out
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#47
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Jess (Dani Barker) has finally found her hook: secretly filming creepy interactions she encounters via online job listings, and using
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#48
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: When two estranged friends reconnect, things buried deep down are bound to surface. Wannabe famous vlogger Andrew Castellano sets off
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#49
Critics Consensus: The Outwaters may strike some viewers as frustratingly withholding, but it remains an ambitious -- and overall effective -- slice of found-footage horror.
Synopsis: Four travelers experience a mind-bending trip through terror while camping in a remote stretch of the Mojave desert.
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#50
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: BEATEN TO DEATH unfolds after a desperate choice leads a man named Jack down a path that leaves him beaten
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#51
Critics Consensus: An uneasy '80s-set blend of comedy and horror, She Came from the Woods is just fast-paced and inventive enough to recommend.
Synopsis: In 1987, a group of counselors accidentally unleash a decades’ old evil on the last night of summer camp. As
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#52
Critics Consensus: Skinamarink can be more confounding than frightening, but for viewers able or willing to dial into its unique wavelength, this unsettling film will be difficult to shake.
Synopsis: Two children wake up in the middle of the night to find their father is missing, and all the windows
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#53
Critics Consensus: Although it'll be more satisfying to viewers who haven't already seen the original, Final Cut offers playfully entertaining meta commentary on the art of the remake.
Synopsis: Oscar® winner Michel Hazanavicius' remake of Shin'ichirô Ueda's cult hit One Cut of the Dead follows a director (Romain Duris,
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#54
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Public sector employees battle not only their own discord but also a bloodthirsty killer during a seemingly innocuous retreat.
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#55
Critics Consensus: Although it's often less than scary and parts of the story don't bear scrutiny, Knock at the Cabin is a thought-provoking chiller and upper-tier Shyamalan.
Synopsis: While vacationing at a remote cabin, a young girl and her parents are taken hostage by four armed strangers who
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#56
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: When her father is gravely injured, Emma returns to her family home in Italy. Alone in the house while her
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#57
Critics Consensus: Unwelcome's tonal and pacing issues prevent this rural horror outing from reaching its full potential, but it's still frequently fun.
Synopsis: A modern horror creature feature, UNWELCOME shows us just how far we will go to protect those we love. Londoners
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#58
Critics Consensus: Conceptually strong but uneven in execution, There's Something Wrong with the Children is a serviceable horror movie that could have been much more.
Synopsis: When Margaret (Alisha Wainwright) and Ben (Zach Gilford) take a weekend trip with longtime friends Ellie (Crew) and Thomas (Santos)
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#59
Critics Consensus: Effective horror with a strong core of social commentary, It Lives Inside is an eerily compelling calling card for filmmaker Bishal Dutta in his feature-length debut.
Synopsis: Sam, an Indian-American teen, lives in an idyllic suburb with her conservative mother and her assimilated father. Sam's cultural insecurities
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#60
Critics Consensus: The Boogeyman might fall short of its terrifying source material, but a spooky atmosphere and some solid performances help keep the chills coming.
Synopsis: High school student Sadie Harper and her younger sister Sawyer are reeling from the recent death of their mother and
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#61
Critics Consensus: This itsy bitsy horror film creeps and crawls.
Synopsis: Eight-year-old Peter is plagued by a mysterious, constant tap, tap from inside his bedroom wall -- a tapping that his
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#62
Critics Consensus: Although it fails to take full advantage of its committed stars and killer premise, Renfield's batty horror-comedy blend sinks in just enough to leave an impression.
Synopsis: In this modern monster tale of Dracula's loyal servant, Nicholas Hoult (Mad Max: Fury Road, X-Men franchise) stars as Renfield,
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#63
Critics Consensus: Blood has a handful of solid scares, but a narrative that fails to truly coagulate makes this half-empty vial of vampire horror difficult to recommend.
Synopsis: Jess (Michelle Monaghan), a nurse and mother recently separated from her husband (Skeet Ulrich), moves her daughter Tyler (Skylar Morgan
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#64
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: From the director of Midnight Meat Train comes this gripping thriller starring Emile Hirsch (Into the Wild) and Stephen Dorff
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#65
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: A disturbed babysitter experiences a sexual awakening while using LSD to treat a seemingly sick child from a family with
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#66
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: HUNT HER, KILL HER follows a lone night shift janitor during her first night on the job who finds herself
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#67
Critics Consensus: As bonkers as a killer arboreal edentate mammal, Slotherhouse delivers B-movie thrills to gore lovers and Greek life haters alike.
Synopsis: Senior Emily Young wants to be elected sorority president. She adopts a cute sloth, thinking it will help her win,
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#68
Critics Consensus: Scarier than its predecessor, The Nun II makes for an entertaining addition to the Conjuring franchise despite not being the most original horror sequel.
Synopsis: 1956 -- France. A priest is murdered. An evil is spreading. The sequel to the worldwide smash hit follows Sister
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#69
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: A man who has gone into isolated hiding is haunted by visions of the woman he loves and a mysterious
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#70
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: After a traumatic miscarriage, a young couple adopts two peculiar twins from a convent whose obsession with religion soon disturbs
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#71
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Candy is a late-night radio DJ with a program where people call to tell her real horror stories. One of
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#72
Critics Consensus: The Last Voyage of the Demeter finds a fresh angle on Dracula's oft-told tale, although lackluster execution often undercuts the story's claustrophobic tension.
Synopsis: Based on a single chilling chapter from Bram Stoker's classic novel Dracula, The Last Voyage of the Demeter tells the
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#73
Critics Consensus: Dominus Crowe! The Pope's Exorcist is standard-issue holy horror in most respects, but its star's sanctified performance will be the answer to some viewers' prayers.
Synopsis: Inspired by the actual files of Father Gabriele Amorth, Chief Exorcist of the Vatican (Academy Award®-winner Russell Crowe), The Pope's
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#74
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: After witnessing a grotesque murder at a party in her new town, a teenager starts having strange visions and bizarre
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#75
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: In the late 90's, Sagrario, Paz, Gloria, and Father Girón, form an investigation team specialized in paranormal phenomena: the Hepta
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#76
Critics Consensus: We Have a Ghost has a fun concept and a talented cast; unfortunately, this spookily uneven '80s pastiche also has very little idea of what to do with them.
Synopsis: Finding a ghost named Ernest haunting their new home turns Kevin's family into overnight social media sensations. But when Kevin
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#77
Critics Consensus: Despite being blessed with Jena Malone in the lead, Consecration serves up Catholic-themed horror that's far more hoary than hallowed.
Synopsis: In CONSECRATION, after the suspicious death of her brother, a priest, Grace (Jena Malone) goes to the Mount Saviour Convent
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#78
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: After undergoing an experimental procedure to restore her damaged hearing, 20-year-old Chloe Grayden (Lachlan Watson, "Chilling Adventures of Sabrina") begins
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#79
Critics Consensus: Earlier installments have had their moments, but behind Insidious: The Red Door lies the disappointing denouement of a once-frightening franchise.
Synopsis: In Insidious: The Red Door, the horror franchise's original cast returns for the final chapter of the Lambert family's terrifying
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#80
Critics Consensus: Haunted Mansion's talented cast makes the movie a pleasant enough destination, although it's neither scary nor funny enough to wholeheartedly recommend.
Synopsis: A woman and her son enlist a motley crew of so-called spiritual experts to help rid their home of supernatural
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#81
Critics Consensus: Run Rabbit Run boasts some powerhouse performances, but they're largely overwhelmed by a thin plot and overreliance on stale horror tropes.
Synopsis: As a fertility doctor, Sarah has a firm understanding of the cycle of life. However, when she is forced to
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#82
Critics Consensus: Nefarious is well-mounted and boasts some solid performances, but it's hard to look past the story's heavy-handed proselytizing.
Synopsis: On the day of his scheduled execution, a convicted serial killer gets a psychiatric evaluation during which he claims he
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#83
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: After mysteriously inheriting an abandoned coastal property, Ben and his family accidentally unleash an ancient, long-dormant creature that terrorized the
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#84
Critics Consensus: A small shark in a big pond of man-eating legends, The Black Demon bites off more than it can chew, leaving little carnage for the audience to feast on.
Synopsis: Josh Lucas (Ford v Ferrari, Yellowstone) stars in this edge-of-your-seat action thriller from the director of Rambo: Last Blood. Oilman
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#85
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: A powerful biotech company has breakthrough technology allowing them to clone history's most influential people with just a few fragments
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#86
Critics Consensus: Loaded with Easter eggs, Five Nights at Freddy's may be fun to watch for fans of the game, but most viewers of any other persuasion will find this adaptation muddled and decidedly unscary.
Synopsis: The film follows a troubled security guard as he begins working at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza. While spending his first night
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#87
Critics Consensus: The Exorcist: Believer earns points for trying to take the franchise back to its terrifying roots, but a lack of new ideas -- and scares -- make this an inauspicious start to a planned new trilogy.
Synopsis: Since the death of his pregnant wife in a Haitian earthquake 12 years ago, Victor Fielding (Tony winner and Oscar®
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#88
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: A year into living through a worldwide pandemic, a group of friends gather in the remote Tahoe Mountains, to stay
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#89
Critics Consensus: Bereft of a single kernel of fear or excitement, this Children of the Corn suggests the franchise is irrevocably lost in a maize of sub-mediocrity.
Synopsis: Possessed by a spirit in a dying cornfield, twelve-year-old Eden recruits the other children in her small town to rise
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#90
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Trapped in a bunker during World War I, a group of soldiers are faced with an ungodly presence that slowly
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#91
Critics Consensus: Oh, bother.
Synopsis: The days of adventures and merriment have come to an end, as Christopher Robin, now a young man, has left
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