Bloody Flicks favourite horror films of 2023

It’s that time of year again where we round up some of our favourite horror films of 2023.

Editor Paul Downey picks his favourites including some M. Night Shyamalan, a drug-induced bear, a retro-time travel slasher and much more.

Sick

After stellar reviews from the festival circuit, expectations were high for the Kevin Williamson-penned Sick. Directed by John Hyams, who also helmed the excellent Alone from 2021, this is a slasher which will shred your nerves.

We follow Parker and her best friend, who are quarantining during the pandemic at her family lake house, when they stalked and attacked by a masked killer.

Comparisons with the Scream series are inevitable, but Sick manages to carve its own path and become a cult classic in waiting.

Knock at the Cabin

We all have a complicated relationship with the films of M. Night Shyamalan. He can make stellar films such as The Sixth Sense, Signs and Unbreakable but misfire with efforts like The Last Airbender and The Happening.

Taking its story from fantastic genre author Paul Tremblay, M. Night is in safe hands here though, as a gay couple and their daughter are ambushed in their remote cabin and given an impossible choice which could mean the end of the world.

Featuring a stellar turn from Dave Bautista in one of his first memorable dramatic roles and dependable leads in Ben Aldridge and Jonathan Groff, Knock at the Cabin is intense, emotional and visceral. This is a film that will leave a mark on you.

The Outwaters

The found footage sub-genre may feel like its getting crowded, but every now and then a film comes along that plays by its own rules and creates something wholly terrifying.

Robbie Banfitch’s The Outwaters is that found footage film of 2023. We follow a group of four friends in the Mojave desert as they look to shoot a music video.

Things start to get stranger and stranger, Banfitch has us questioning our reality and unloads with some shocking imagery in a finale that will live long in the memory.

Cocaine Bear

When I first head about Cocaine Bear I thought, that’s right up my street.

Admittedly, I was expecting something more in the ouevre of The Asylum but instead got a more polished, funny and structured feature. Director Elizabeth Banks blends absolute carnage with the right edge of humour to make Cocaine Bear a high time for all.

Project Wolf Hunting

I can’t recall seeing something as gory as Project Wolf Hunting in some time.

We follow a cargo ship that has also become a passenger freight for a number of dangerous criminals.

When said convicts look to make their escape, they encounter a menace that could soon make both them and the crew and law enforcement thinking about making a pact to survive.

The action sequences are incredible, there is enough blood to fill a submarine and we have complex characters plus plenty of twists to keep you guessing during its 2-hour runtime, which flies by.

Brooklyn 45

The first thing about Brooklyn 45, is that it is probably one of the best-written horror features of 2023 so far. It is textured and layered screenwriting that offers plenty of surprises plus a cast of characters with their own nuances.

It feels rare that a whole cast, even of five or six characters is fleshed out this much that by the close of Brooklyn 45 we feel like we’ve gone on a journey with them all.

When a group of military veterans gather for their friend who has recently lost his wife, they get more than they bargained for with supernatural shenanigans plus a host of long-lost secrets that come to the fore.

Brooklyn 45 is a compelling and intricate tale, well worth seeking out.

She Came From the Woods

Pack your sleeping bag as we head to Camp Briarbrook where a bunch of teen camp counsellors unknowingly unleash an urban legend which turns bloody.

Even though it is set at a summer camp, She Came From The Woods is far more supernatural than say Friday the 13th or Sleepaway Camp, but it does have a similar kill-by-kill format.

When the killing does start it’s not for the faint-hearted, with the blood flying everywhere. There is even one truly gnarly burn effect that will have some viewers, me included, wincing.

She Came from the Woods will have you clambering to head to camp next summer.

#Manhole

It’s one of the worst-case scenarios; being trapped in a sewer.

We follow the cocky and successful Shunsuke, who after a night out with friends, wakes up after falling into a manhole.

As it appears he is trapped, he decides the best thing to do will be to create a Twitter account and hope someone will lock onto his location and come and save him.

#Manhole does have plenty of surprises and really goes to some unexpected places. This is one unique fight for survival, that is funny, twisted and engrossing.

Mancunian Man: The Legendary Life of Cliff Twemlow

Before watching Jake West’s new documentary I hadn’t a clue who Cliff Twemlow was.

The biggest compliment I can pay this story is that I wanted to see all of his films, finished and unfinished by the time the credits rolled.

During this documentary, we hear about Cliff from the people who knew him best, his friends and his film crews as they talk you through trying to film action chase sequences through Salford Park and sunnier shores, when the budget was a wee bit higher. Any fan of independent cinema or budding filmmakers alike will get a kick out of Cliff’s story, as he did so much with so little.

A true working-class tale of perseverance in not just filmmaking but life itself.

Spooktacular

From its humble beginnings as a haunted hayride, Spooktacular‘s popularity only grew, to the point where they had horror stars such as Linda Blair, Kane Hodder and Elvira attended to meet the fans.

This documentary focuses on the rise and fall of this trailblazing attraction, with strange anecdotes such as the live broadcast wedding of Tiny Tim at the park plus a government shutdown and the tales of its eccentric owner David Bertolino.

It is in some ways a cautionary tale, as Bertolino it could be argued never truly understood what he had until it started to erode away.

Totally Killer

Nahnatchka Khan’s Totally Killer, is a delightfully breezy horror comedy which works as a whodunit as much as a gory comedy.

The basic premise of Totally Killer is Jamie (Kiernan Shipka), by accident, goes back in time whilst being hunted by a killer who was deemed an urban myth after disappearing 35 years after their initial massacre. This gives her the opportunity to save her mother from the killer’s blade, but will she mess with time by changing other things.

Totally Killer is not afraid to get gory too, with our killer stabbing their victims 16 times, making their attacks extremely violent. Khan directs with confidence and shows maturity in their first feature film.

Totally Killer is a retro time travel slasher that provides a rollicking good time.

When Evil Lurks

Going into Demian Rugna’s When Evil Lurks was deafening hype surrounding its more shocking elements. The director had already gained goodwill from genre fans for his fantastic 2017 effort Terrified, which was scary and created some memorable imagery.

The best way to describe When Evil Lurks is chaotic. It is built to shock with some moments which will have you double-taking; has that just happened?

Once the film has sunk its teeth in, this is an intense rollercoaster which doesn’t let you off until the closing credits. So yeah, completely justifying its hype.

Haunted Ulster Live

Taking its cue from Ghostwatch, Haunted Ulster Live takes us back to the ’90s, for more good old-fashioned scares on Halloween night.

Things play out similar, as a TV crew investigates a supposed haunted house and then becomes victims of the unwelcome guests.

What sets this apart from Ghostwatch is the off-camera moments between the crew and tensions rise. Fans of a retro-flavoured haunting will be delighted.

To Fire You Come At Last

Shot in black and white, it tells the tales of a ragtag group of four who are transporting the body of a young man across the country, but there are forces at work to maybe stop them reaching their final destination.

Hogan’s film carries a real atmosphere that will get under the viewers skin, and reminds us how a noise in the unseen darkness can send a chill down your spine, especially in a desolate location.

To Fire You Come At Last is top-tier folk horror.

What were your favourite horror films of 2023? Let us know in the comments.