Let me preface this by admitting there are a few key titles I just haven’t had an opportunity to see yet, so this list could change slightly depending on what I end up thinking about those (and yes, I’ve seen The Babadook).

It’s also hard to put out a true best of 2014 list due to the nature of releasing. Some of these may have been first released in 2013 or even 2012, but finally found wider release this year. Then there’s the fact that genre labels aren’t always all that well defined. Some of these may border on outside genres like drama, thriller, or even comedy, but I feel comfortable enough with the level of horror in any of them to include them on the list. If you disagree, that’s fine. We can still be friends.

Anyhow, enough babbling. Let’s get to it. Here are my picks for the best horror movies of 2014. 

10. Housebound

Every time I watch a modern haunted house movie, something in the back of my mind says, “I can’t believe I’m doing this again. Can this concept really be done in a fresh way at this point?” The answer is often, “No,” but Housebound was the “Yes” I’ve yearned for.

There’s a great deal to like about Housebound, but it starts with the lead character played excellently by Morgana O’Reilly. It has both scares and laughs, but above all else, it has characters you enjoy spending over 90 minutes with, and it’s an original take on the sub-genre.

9. 13 Sins

13 Sins is one of the rare remakes that I actually saw before the original film, so there’s a good chance my opinion of it may have been different had I seen the original 13: Game of Death first. I’ve seen both now, and I actually like the remake better. This doesn’t happen often. In fact, seeing a remake after an original gave me an opportunity to enjoy it as it’s own movie, and not have to experience the inevitable comparisons throughout its viewing. So this being my first exposure to the story may have influenced just how much I liked it, but in the end it doesn’t really matter at all.

13 Sins was a 2014 film, and the original was eight years ago. There’s no telling when I might have seen the original had I not seen this one and enjoyed it so much. To me, one of the best things a remake can do is open up its audience to the source material. I wonder if I would have liked other remakes like Oldboy or Let Me In more had I seen them before the originals, which I already loved.

I believe 13 Sins was close enough to 13: Game of Death to be a remake, but it was also different enough to stand on its own. I’ll likely enjoy both films for years to come. Plus, Ron Perlman is awesome.

8. Big Bad Wolves

This is one of those films that kind of defies genre. It’s very character-driven, and perhaps more of a suspense tale than anything, but any movie with decapitated children certainly qualifies as horror in my book. And that’s not to mention the torture scenes.

The horror of Big Bad Wolves lies mainly with its dark subject matter, and the writing and acting elevate it to being one of the year’s best.

7. Tusk

I’ve been a Kevin Smith fan since watching Clerks over and over again with one of my best friends in eighth grade. When he entered the genre a few years back with Red State, I couldn’t have been more excited, and I enjoyed the film greatly. When I learned that he was making a horror movie called Tusk about a guy who turns another guy into a Walrus, I knew it would be right up my alley, and after finally getting a chance to see it, I can say that I was right. The deal was pretty much sealed the first time I got a glimpse of the Walrus creation. Just fantastic.

6. Only Lovers Left Alive

Like the haunted house sub-genre, I often find myself exhausted with vampire movies. But every now and then something special comes along and reminds me that great vampire movies can still be made. Like Let the Right One In before it, Only Lovers Left Alive is such a film. Once again, we’re talking about a character-driven film, and if you’re looking for scares or vampire action, you can look elsewhere.

But if you’re looking for a unique take on the vampire film, and one that’s just beautifully shot and executed, with an excellent soundtrack, I’d urge you to check this one out.

5. Cheap Thrills

Cheap Thrills is just fun. Plain and simple. It certainly falls into the genre-bending category, but it’s gross fun, and what other genre is best known for that? It also helps that the cast is made up of genre vets.

There seems to be something of a trend of “How far would you go for money?” movies with this, 13 Sins (and its predecessor, of course), and last year’s Would You Rather, but if you ask me, this one was the most entertaining of the bunch.

4. Proxy

I think what I liked most about Proxy is that I was never quite sure what direction it was taking. I always felt like I didn’t know what was coming next, but I was gripped, and couldn’t take my eyes off it. I don’t really want to say a lot more about it in case you haven’t seen it. One of the best of the year, hands down. I’ve never seen anything quite like Proxy, and that is a special things these days.

3. Wolf Creek 2

Wolf Creek 2 wins the award, in my opinion, for the biggest horror surprise of the year. It felt like it just kind of came out of nowhere, and goddamn was it awesome. I wasn’t even the biggest fan of the first one. I always liked it, but I never sang its praises quite as loudly as a lot of people.

With Wolf Creek 2, Greg McLean cranked it up about ten notches in every conceivable way, and the result is (dare I say) a thrill ride of epic proportions. So yeah, not exactly what I was expecting from a sequel to the much slower Wolf Creek. When it was over, I simply couldn’t believe how much fun I had watching it. It’s been a while since a slasher sequel delivered on that level. I can’t even think of the last one that even came close, to be honest.

2. Found

I really can’t say enough good things about Found, though I will say that having read the book first probably made me appreciate the film even more. The best part of Found’s story is the nostalgia it conjures. It brings up memories of being a kid in the 80s and 90s on the hunt for the next best VHS gorefest, and sharing that experience with your friends.

It’s not often that an adaptation of a novel stays this faithful to its source material, even if it does make a few changes, and considering that it was made on a budget of basically zero, without paid actors, it’s quite impressive what director Scott Schirmer managed to accomplish. While you do have to accept that it’s a very low budget production going in, there’s a reason it won so many festival awards. It’s movie-within-a-movie, Headless, (which is responsible for getting the film banned in Australia) is even getting the feature treatment.

I absolutely love Found. I love the story itself. I love the balls it has in showing what it shows. I adore the animated title sequence that takes us into the graphic novel Roach Man & Bag Lunch. I love the movies within the movie, which include not only Headless, but Deep Dwellers. I love the soundtrack. And best of all, I love that Scott Schirmer took such care in being true to the spirit of the novel for the most part. I’m sure having author Todd Rigney co-script it didn’t hurt. It may not have the production value of the other titles on this list, but it makes up for that with heart, story, fun gore effects, disturbing subject matter, and good old nostalgia.

1. The Sacrament

I was a pretty big Ti West fan before I saw The Sacrament. Given that it might actually be my favorite of his films, I don’t see any way around giving it the top spot.

The scariest part about the movie is knowing that this shit actually happened. Sure, it’s a fictionalized version of the real events at Jonestown, but the spirit of what happened remains intact, and quite frankly, it’s fucking scary as hell. While I’m as tired as the next guy of found footage/mockumentary horror, this is the best example of it that I can think of (and yes, that includes Blair Witch, Cannibal Holocaust, and The Taking of Deborah Logan). Reality is typically more disturbing than fiction, and this film shoves that very fact right in our faces in a very effective and believable way. It’ll be hard to ever watch Vice on HBO again without thinking about The Sacrament.

The film gets to me on a very personal level, and in a way that I don’t really want to get into here, but suffice it to say, I’m absolutely amazed at what man is able to convince others to do.

As noted, I wish I could have squeezed in a few other viewings before compiling this list, but the clock is winding down, so I want to go ahead and get this out there. Of the rest of 2014’s offerings that I have had the good fortune of seeing, I’d give honorable mentions to the following: Starry Eyes, Pieces of Talent, ABCs of Death 2, Afflicted, Under the Skin, Horns, Septic Man, and Witching & Bitching. Also, I would have loved to include The Battery on the list because I just got the opportunity to see it since it became available from Netflix (DVD), but it hit VOD last year, so I had to consider it a 2013 film at the latest. Otherwise, I probably would have put it in the top 3. What a great movie.