Despite several high-profile horror movies being released recently, only a handful have scratched that particular itch that only a great film can satisfy. Many recent options are good enough, but these are the best we’ve watched in 2023. Here’s where you can stream all the best of new horror tonight.
Huesera: The Bone Woman
Rotten Tomatoes critics have lost some credibility compared to the word of the average viewer (the now-sacred yet wildly unreliable Audience Score); however, they crowned the right film as number one this year. The breakout feature of Mexican horror auteur Michelle Garza Cervera, entitled Huesera: The Bone Woman, joins the nightmare of pregnancy genre with zeal and visual flair, crafting an instantly striking film from familiar themes.
Featured on the widely-regarded horror-exclusive streaming service Shudder, Huesera is another great film to feature among their illustrious hand-selected catalog, which currently includes genre essentials like The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Halloween, and Train to Busan. If female-led body horror blended with supernatural metaphors is your style, this Mexican film is worth purchasing a Shudder subscription.
Huesera: The Bone Woman is streaming now on Shudder.
Enys Men
On the underrated, experimental side of things, the Cornish horror production Enys Men compelled Cannes audiences last year but only made it to a limited release on this side of the Atlantic a few months ago. Writer/director Mark Jenkin’s previous film, the evocative drama Bait, was his first notable international indie success (with a coveted 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes), and his craft here is also impeccable. While this one was not as well received, Enys Men is a major highlight of the experimental film niche in 2023.
Somewhat evoking the slow-burning, heightened-reality nightmares made popular by recent A24 horror films like Midsommar, Saint Maud, and The Lighthouse, this movie is a prime example of the terrifying woodsy aura of folk horror. Set on a deserted United Kingdom island and slowly descending into madness, Enys Men is the perfect choice for those who think the nature-based scares in the style of 1973’s The Wicker Man are the epitome of horror.
Enys Men is currently only available for rental for around $5.99, but since Neon bought the international distribution rights, it will likely show up on Hulu in no time.
M3GAN
Still the most popular horror movie this year thanks to its early 2023 release, M3GAN beats out the big sequels of late, like Evil Dead Rise and Scream VI, thanks to a healthy dose of dry humor courtesy of New Zealander director Gerard Johnstone. Infamous Blumhouse director James Wan’s Malignant collaborator Akela Cooper effectively transitions from the unintentionally funny quirks of her last screenplay by playing up the inherent awkwardness that interacting with an only just lifelike enough AI-controlled doll was bound to create.
Allison Williams stars alongside an expert performance from the young Violet McGraw (The Haunting of Hill House) as her niece in a classic self-aware horror tale of a toy designer and her murderous creation (voiced and performed with minimal, unobtrusive CGI by two teenage actresses). Even with a standout message about the responsibility of parenthood, M3GAN is a light and breezy watch for a horror film. While it might not be the greatest film ever made, this movie, for now, remains the best horror-comedy of the year.
M3GAN is streaming now on Prime Video.