The Best Horror Movies of 2023: ‘When Evil Lurks,’ ‘Zone of Interest,’ ‘The Blackening,’ and More

Alison Foreman and Christian Zilko
·2 min read
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The story of horror movies in 2023 is one of extreme ends, with the most out-there experiments flourishing while more standard genre fare fell flat. There was no terrifying instant classic destined to be rewatched at Halloween parties for years to come, in the way that “Barbarian” and “Hereditary” emerged in past years (although, thanks to Eli Roth, we did get one for Thanksgiving). But several long-running franchises like “Scream” and “Saw” put out well-received sequels that provided shots of adrenaline to decades-old I.P. — while the freshly adapted and distinctly mediocre “Five Nights at Freddy’s” dropped jaws at the box office. And indie horror continued to flourish, with breakout hits like “Skinamarink” proving that it’s still possible to shock audiences with nonexistent budgets.

Still, the real horror breakouts of 2023 were the comedies and the auteur-driven dramas that just happened to scare us. Satires such as “The Blackening” and “Totally Killer” lampooned tired horror genre tropes, while goofier standalone films like “M3GAN” and “Cocaine Bear” found box office success by leaning into the campiness of their premises. Even in a year when conventional horror films lagged, our willingness to keep laughing at them proved that the genre’s cultural influence is alive and well.

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At the opposite end of the spectrum, some of the bleakest and most thoughtful cinematic portrayals of humanity’s dark side that emerged in 2023 used elements of horror to make their points. Ten years after “Under the Skin,” Jonathan Glazer returned with “The Zone of Interest,” a gut-wrenching Holocaust story that applied his trademark icy detachment to the darkest moments of the 20th century. Much like “Under the Skin,” the Cannes hit blurs the line between horror and arthouse drama — but its fearless portrayal of our collective capacity for evil establishes itself as one of the year’s most chilling additions to the genre. Similarly, Ari Aster’s “Beau Is Afraid” saw the “Midsommar” director make his most serious attempt at breaking from horror traditions. But his sprawling visual representation of anxiety remains many of his signature touches, and might end up being regarded as his most terrifying film to date.

The eclectic nature of the year’s best horror offerings makes a conventional ranking an inherently subjective task. But the wide variety of offerings makes it even more essential to look back on the year that was. Keep reading for IndieWire’s favorite horror movies of 2023.

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