“It Lives Inside”
One of the reasons horror fans should root for more diversity in horror – outside of basic human decency, of course – is its ability to elevate the familiar. On paper, a movie like “It Lives Inside” might be somewhat lost within the current cycle of possession-as-metaphor arthouse horror. The film follows high school student Sam (Megan Suri), who is caught between the culture and traditions of her parents and her friends; when Sam gets pulled into the influence of a satanic force, she soon learns who in her community truly has her back. But by drawing on his own experiences immigrating from India to the United States, writer-director Bishal Dutta is able to find new meaning in set pieces and character beats we’ve seen a hundred times before. “It Lives Inside” also draws on Indian folklore, which expands the design of onscreen possession and imbues the entire film with a beautiful specificity. The bigger the net Hollywood casts for even the most familiar horror subgenres – possession movies, slashers, home invasion films, you name it – the more unique and memorable the genre as a whole becomes. “It Lives Inside” will have some serious staying power with horror fans of all backgrounds. – MA
“The Pope’s Exorcist”
Remember how we said exorcisms are the most boring part of exorcism movies? This is apparently a sentiment shared by director Julius Avery. Before he crafted the perfect Russell Crowe vehicle, Avery fine-tuned his horror bonafides with “Overlord,” a World War II horror film that pitted Wyatt Russell against the undead agents of Nazi Germany. “The Pope’s Exorcist” further cements his standing as this decade’s answer to Paul W.S. Anderson, a visual filmmaker who walks a fine line between the ridiculous and the delightful onscreen. Crowe takes on the role of famed Vatican exorcist Gabriele Amorth, whose previous work for the Pope gets him assigned to a high-profile case in Spain. How can you not root for a movie that dares to retcon the entire Spanish Inquisition as a work of insider trading on the part of the devil? Or tease the possibility of no less than 199 sequels? And even if Avery’s direction and the bombastic storyline weren’t enough, you have Crowe embracing his inner ham and chewing through scenery at a mile a minute. It may not be a perfect horror movie, but it is, without question, the perfect version of what it aspires to be. – MA
“Dark Harvest”
One of the downsides of living in the Bad Place is that too many horror filmmakers want to make movies where people are the monsters. Sometimes, we all miss the kind of creature features that used to be readily available on video shelves across the country. So even if “Dark Harvest” were not a good film, we would need to applaud director David Slade and his creative team for giving us one of the most memorable – and practical – creatures in modern horror history. But “Dark Harvest” is a good film, one that adapts Norman Partridge’s original novella into the kind of adaptation we would like to see of, say, Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” or Stephen King’s “The Long Walk.” Plus, “Dark Harvest” never pulls its punches; some of the death scenes in this film rank among the great horror movie kills of 2023. While the production design and the costuming might occasionally be stretched to breaking – with the movie trying to push its ‘50s aesthetic as far as its modest budget will allow – the end result is something that harkens back to the best kind of home video horror. It’s a movie that blows beyond its limitations by utterly committing to its own practical joys. – MA
“M3GAN”
Whichever person convinced Allison Williams to commit herself to genre movies after her award-winning run on “Girls,” you have our thanks. Williams continues to make bold and creative horror that delights horror fans and non-horror fans alike. “Get Out” is, of course, a modern masterpiece, but “The Perfection” is the purest distillation of South Korean revenge cinema ever crafted by an American studio. And then there’s “M3GAN,” horror’s equivalent to the song of the summer. Sitting somewhere at the intersection of sci-fi and slasher – and wearing its PG-13 rating proudly on its sleeve for all to see – “M3GAN” is one of the more playful movies of the year and a bonafide star-making turn for screenwriter Akela Cooper (whose “Malignant” ended up on our 2022 list). It’s a little goofy, it’s a little mean, and it’s a little sincere, and that is a potent mix for wide-release horror in this or any year. With a sequel in development, here’s hoping that Williams continues to push the boundaries of studio horror for as long as the genre holds her interest. If we’re lucky, maybe her hot streak will never actually end. – MA
“Nightsiren”
Even in a year with halted productions and multiple industry strikes, it can still be hard for independent cinema – especially international independent cinema – to find its audience. But if you rush out and watch “Nightsiren” immediately today, you can be one of the people who nod knowingly about Tereza Nvotová’s dreamlike horror film when people start rediscovering it in a few years. Shot in Slovakia, “Nightsiren” follows a young woman who returns to her rural village to claim a piece of property that has been passed onto her. Nvotová blends folklore and pagan rituals to build a community ruled by archaic superstition and sexism – even as the camera occasionally pulls back to reveal a modern freeway mere miles outside the town. It’s a beautiful and haunting film with two dynamic central performances, and as an added bonus, Nvotová even uses some of the cliffside locations featured in Antonia Bird’s Criterion Collection-approved cannibal western “Ravenous.” If you are drawn towards the cinematic witchiness of films like “The Witch” and “Hagazussa,” you will find a kindred spirit and a rising star in the film’s young director. Hopefully, this is also a fantastic showcase for what comes next. – MA
