Spoiler-Free Reviews of Some Pretty Frightening Flicks.

This year has been terrifying, to say the least. From global politics to new pop albums, everywhere we turn, we are faced with unfathomable horrors of all scales. With Halloween having just passed, we can now come to appreciate the freakiness the world has offered us this year in the form of Hollywood’s best box office horror movies. 

As someone who cries more than they should at movies but doesn’t get skeeved out by fake guts, I can guarantee you that the following productions are some of the most jarring, grotesque and gut-wrenching films I’ve seen in a long time. If you’re looking for a good thrill or a reason to stay in and watch some really great movies, look no further. 

Also, in case you or members of your watch party are squeamish about particular movie elements, check out doesthedogdie.com for audience-verified, spoiler-free trigger warnings on everything from gore to grief. It’s a super useful tool for people who enjoy horror movies but like to know if someone’s eye is gonna get gouged out. 

Sinners

If you haven’t heard about or seen Sinners yet, I am impressed by your ability to evade popular culture. Written and directed by Oscar nominee Ryan Coogler and starring Michael B. Jordan as both main protagonists, Sinners is, without a doubt, the standout horror film of the year. Raking in more than $360 million USD worldwide and scoring a staggering 97% on Rotten Tomatoes, Sinners is one of the most commercially successful horror movies of all time—with special thanks to me and my friends for watching it nearly five times each. 

Set in 1930s Mississippi, Sinners follows twin brothers Smoke and Stack as they return to their hometown after doing a short stint up North in Chicago following their service in World War I. The brothers purchase a sawmill to start a new juke joint for their community, but are caught up in dark magic and the supernatural before they can blink. 

They enlist their little cousin Sammie, a young and talented musician, to help them open up the club. Sammie, hopeful and naive, joins the twins in search of freedom from his suffocating daily life and a place for him to play the blues. Together, the three cousins—along with a few other old friends and old flames—set out to open the club the very same night, unaware of the terror and tragedy that lies ahead.

The cast is stacked—no pun intended—introducing Miles Catton in his breakout role as Sammie, Hailee Steinfeld and Wunmi Mosaku playing the twins’ love interests and Jack O’Connell as the main antagonist. The soundtrack and cinematography are next-level, immersing you deeply into the story and its setting from the beginning all the way to the post-credit scene.

It’s a scary movie in two ways, with the threat of vampires and the supernatural looming beyond the protagonists’ horizon, and its reiteration of the undue horrors Black Americans faced before the civil rights movement in the United States. In the span of one day, the three cousins and their companions are forced to deal with the devil they know and the devil they don’t. 

Whether you’re a sociology major digging for deeper nuance or just a fan of vampire movies, do yourself a favour: grab some friends and snacks, settle in and watch Sinners. You won’t regret it. 

Companion

What’s scarier than ChatGPT? A world where dating robots is the norm. 

Companion is Drew Hancock’s directorial debut, and it is wildly jarring and aesthetically pleasing at the same time. The soundtrack and visuals will have you totally immersed in this couple’s weekend getaway gone wrong.

In the movie, Iris—played by Sophie Thatcher—grapples with the fact that she is not human after her boyfriend frames her for murder. The audience follows Iris as she tries to escape a remote lakehouse in the woods, while being hunted by her (now) ex-boyfriend and his friends. With all the odds stacked against her, Iris must fight for her right to live autonomously, and must come to terms with who—or what—she really is. 

Companion toys with complex and nuanced topics like sexism, the commercialization of companionship, objectification and what it means to be human, while still being lighthearted and engaging. With a star-studded cast including Jack Quaid, Lukas Gage, Megan Suri and Harvey Guillén, this movie will have you gritting your teeth in frustration and laughing out loud at the dramatic irony.

While I will admit that Companion leans more towards being a thriller than a horror movie, it’s an incredibly good watch if you’re in the mood for a more classic slasher. The cast does a wonderful job of selling their parts, each one more frustrating than the next. If you liked Bodies Bodies Bodies, you’ll definitely enjoy this.  

Weapons

It’s 2:17 a.m. Do you know where your children are?

From the Director of Barbarian, Zach Cregger, Weapons takes on a complex form of narration, following multiple characters’ points of view in a non-linear fashion. It’s a thrilling psychological horror, keeping the audience on the edge of their seats as it progresses through its three acts. 

In the town of Maybrook, Pennsylvania, seventeen fifth-graders go missing in the middle of the night. With all but one student from the class gone, the worried townsfolk turn to their teacher, Justine Glandy, for answers. 

Desperate to clear her name and find the children, Justine begins her own investigation into their disappearance. Erratic, reckless and obsessive, she pursues the only lead available: Alex Lilly, the only remaining student from her class. Against the well-meaning advice of her boss and the police, Justine pushes further, realizing that something much larger than child abduction is at play. 

Each act or chapter follows a different character at a different point in the story, giving the audience insight into the community’s confusion and hysteria. It gives us the story of a troubled but well-meaning teacher, a grieving father, a police officer in recovery, a drug addict trying to get by, the school’s principal and an abused, traumatized child, all converging in the final act, where the true evil is confronted. 

Like Cregger’s previous work, Weapons is constantly surprising, sadistically funny and unabashedly brutal. Each actor’s performance brings the writing to life in an electric and emotionally destructive way. It confronts childhood trauma authentically and unrepentantly, while giving a master class on how to make an original horror movie work. 

It’s refreshing, disturbing, gory, strange and entirely new. You will honestly and truly never see what’s around the corner—it’s like a heat-seeking missile coming at you from behind. 

The Long Walk

From the mind of the most prolific horror writer to ever live, The Long Walk is a testament to Stephen King’s ability to write a really messed-up allegory for the despondent reality we live in. 

The movie takes place in a totally distant, alternate universe, where the United States has become a totalitarian regime. In an effort to improve their economy and boost patriotism, the American government has implemented a yearly event for capable young men: The Long Walk.

Fifty boys from each state are chosen at random to participate and must walk hundreds of miles across the country without stopping. The event is broadcast across the country for all to watch. Any participant who falls below the designated speed of three miles per hour or stops walking will receive up to three warnings before they are executed by the armed soldiers escorting them. For the “winner” of the competition—also known as the sole survivor—is the promise of a large cash prize, and the fulfillment of one wish of their choosing.  

As the young men—boys, really—set out to conquer the Walk and have their greatest wish fulfilled, we watch as they face the government’s brutality and inhumanity, mile by mile. Each participant is pushed to his limit as they trek across the country, victory beyond the horizon and death trailing after them. It’s a physically excruciating journey for the participants and mentally torturous for the audience, full of suspense, anguish, grief and gore.

By the end of the film, your stomach will be a changed vessel, either from sheer disgust or horror. 

Bring Her Back

From the makers of Talk To Me—viral YouTube sensations Danny and Michael Philippou—this movie delves into the complex nature of grief, ableism, child abuse and satanic cult rituals. 

The film follows step-siblings Andy and Piper, who are sent to live in a foster home after the traumatic loss of their father. Their new foster mother, Laura, is an off-center former counsellor currently fostering another boy named Oliver, who suffers from mutism. 

Andy is forced to come to terms with his own grief and trauma following his father’s funeral, while Piper becomes the newest subject of Laura’s affections, due to her similarities to Laura’s deceased daughter, Cathy, who was also visually impaired. Laura is, to say the least, incredibly obsessed with Piper, projecting her grief as a bereaved mother onto a new and unsuspecting young girl, while Andy watches from the sidelines as his younger sister receives all of the affection from their guardian—again. 

The two siblings must navigate their newfound home and their relationships to the occupants within it, no matter how strange it all is to them. As time wears on, their lives only grow more and more bizarre. While he attempts to gain guardianship over his little sister, Andy faces immense psychological torment and abuse at every turn. At the same time, he learns more about the strange circumstances and condition of his foster brother, which only brings up more questions. Their foster mother is not as docile or naive as she may seem, and it’s up to Andy to protect them from the supernatural that is clawing at their doors. 

The movie is filled to the brim with blood and viscera, so you might not want to watch it on a full stomach. It’s grotesque, gory and heartbreaking—a bleak representation of complex grief, intergenerational trauma and cycles of abuse. 

Be warned, this movie is not for the faint of heart, coming from someone who is faint of heart.