Lists

Most Memorable Kills in the Horror Movies of 2023

Published

4 months ago

December 28, 2023

It’s been quite a year for some great, and not-so-great horror movies. With that also comes on-screen carnage. As we all know one of the things that make a great horror movie is the inventiveness of the kill, and this year there were some good ones. But with that originality came unsettling scenes of self-harm, child violence, and self-mutilation. Some detractors might ask, with all that’s going on in the world, why would anyone want to see such graphic displays?

To them, I would emphasize that as a species we are intelligent enough to know that it is all fake. None of what we see in movies is real so we can then appreciate the filmmaker’s visions and all the special effects work that goes into perfecting a gag; the more clever, the better.

As you go through the list, be warned there are spoilers and scenes of violence that are mentioned above. If you can’t differentiate what is real from what is not or are easily triggered by scenes of graphic gore or violence against human beings of all ages, you might want to reconsider reading this article.

For the rest of us, here are some of the best horror scenes 2023 has to offer in film.

Evil Dead Rise

Evil Dead Rise is complicated because no one really dies, they just come back…different. But there is one kill scene in which a living mass is destroyed at the end so if you don’t want spoilers don’t read (or watch) any further.

In the last scene, every Deadite merges into a single mass called the Marauder. It has working limbs that grab weapons in an attempt to kill our final girls Beth and Cassie. But Beth manages to maneuver the creature into a whirling wood chipper grinding everything but the head into a pulp. In the end, Beth, having been taunted one last time by the severed demon head, gets the last word before punting it into the spinning teeth of the industrial appliance.

^{Evil Dead Rise}

Thanksgiving

Eli Roth knew what fans wanted and he delivered it in Thanksgiving. Of all the kills “John Carver” performs there is one that contains a few horrific jabs. First, a character named Kathleen is shoved into a large oven and cooked alive. Then, after being oven-roasted her arms and legs are tied and positioned like a Thanksgiving turkey on a dining table in front of the gagged and bound survivors. The killer then cuts a slice of cooked white meat from her inner thigh and forces her husband to eat it.

^Thanksgiving

Cocaine Bear

Poor Ranger Liz (Margo Martindale). She means well but nothing ever works out. First, she has a crush on an unavailable man, and then a huge bear hopped up on illegal stimulants is terrorizing her peaceful park. Her one bout of good luck comes after she is injured and an ambulance quickly arrives to take her to the hospital. That’s cut short after the bear leaps into the back of the speeding ambulance launching her and the stretcher face-first at high velocity into the pavement where the momentum drags her several more feet.

^{Cocaine Bear}

Saw X

There were a few kill scenes that were difficult to watch this year. Valentina’s death in Saw X was one of them. After her part in a medical scam against John Kramer (Jigsaw) he captures her and creates a trap that forces her to choose between amputating her leg and collecting enough bone marrow or failing and suffering the consequences: decapitation with a Gigli saw. We watch every excruciating second as she saws into her leg and then, after failing, her head slowly being sliced from her shoulders.

^{Saw X}

Scream VI

Scream VI had many kills, but the ladder above the alley might have been the most memorable. Anika is the girlfriend of Mindy Meeks and is unfortunately at the wrong place at the wrong time when Ghostface comes calling. In a harrowing scene several stories above a New York City alleyway, she is tasked with crawling across a ladder bridged between two windows to an adjacent building. Fearful of heights she nervously starts her transition but midway through Ghostface rocks the ladder and Anika falls to her death bashing her head against a steel dumpster on the way.

^{Scream VI}

When Evil Lurks

This is probably the most suspensefully well-crafted scene of 2023, and it’s also the most provocative. Vicky, the young daughter of our hero Pedro, is sitting next to the large and hefty family dog who has just become infected by a demon virus. As Pedro and his ex-wife Sabrina argue, Vicky’s older brother looks on in horror as the possessed dog mauls the little girl and drags her down the street. This isn’t the most gruesome scene in the film, but it is the most shocking.

^{When Evil Lurks}

No One Will Save You

This isn’t a human kill, it’s an extraterrestrial one. Our heroine Brynn is in a tense game of cat and mouse inside her house with a large gray alien on her heels. Just as it looks as if the alien is going to win she kills it using a bell tower from her miniature village diorama. What makes this kill so great is that it’s a headshot and we don’t see it coming, and neither does the alien. Furthermore, we aren’t sure what is going to happen next: is the E.T. really dead? And if so what happens next?

^{No One Will Save You}

It’s a Wonderful Knife

Some might think the axe attack is the best kill in the mediocre It’s a Wonderful Knife, and that might be accurate. However, as a horror fan, the kill is only as good as its gag. For this gag our heroine’s best friend Cara and her boyfriend head off on their own for a private kissing session. During the liplock Cara in recoils in disgust at the taste of her partner’s breath. The camera pans out and we see that he has been impaled and bleeding through the mouth by a large sharpened candy cane yard decoration.

^{It’s a Wonderful Knife}

Beau is Afraid

Not everybody likes Beau is Afraid, it is probably the most divisive horror movie of this year. It is so weird and non-linear that some filmgoers got confused and asked the modern question “What did I just watch?” That’s fair because there is so much artistic exposition about anxiety, depression, and grief the culminated result is an exhausting think piece.

There is one memorable scene that deals with mental illness resulting in self-harm and death. Beau is staying with Roger and Grace and their trepidatious daughter Toni. In one scene, Toni, under the spell of an intrusive thought, begs Beau to drink some blue house paint, and when he refuses she engulfs it herself thus resulting in her death.

It is such a weird moment that only adds to then quirkiness of the movie, but it remains with you in afterthought.

^{Beau is Afraid}

These are just a few noteworthy kills in horror movies this year. We know there are more that weren’t included. So if you have a favorite that we missed, let us know in the comments.

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Lists

Thrills and Chills: Ranking ‘Radio Silence’ Films from Bloody Brilliant to Just Bloody

Published

4 days ago

April 23, 2024

Timothy Rawles

Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett, and Chad Villella are all filmmakers under the collective label called Radio Silence. Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett are the primary directors under that moniker while Villella produces.

They have gained popularity over the past 13 years and their films have become known as having a certain Radio Silence “signature.” They are bloody, usually contain monsters, and have breakneck action sequences. Their recent film Abigail exemplifies that signature and is perhaps their best film yet. They are currently working on a reboot of John Carpenter’s Escape From New York.

We thought we would go through the list of projects they have directed and rank them from high to low. None of the movies and shorts on this list are bad, they all have their merits. These rankings from top to bottom are just ones we felt showcased their talents the best.

We didn’t include movies they produced but didn’t direct.

#1. Abigail

An update to the second film on this list, Abagail is the natural progression of Radio Silence’s love of lockdown horror. It follows in pretty much the same footsteps of Ready or Not, but manages to go one better — make it about vampires.

Abigail

#2. Ready or Not

This film put Radio Silence on the map. While not as successful at the box office as some of their other films, Ready or Not proved that the team could step outside their limited anthology space and create a fun, thrilling, and bloody adventure-length film.

Ready or Not

#3. Scream (2022)

While Scream will always be a polarizing franchise, this prequel, sequel, reboot — however you want to label it showed just how much Radio Silence knew the source material. It wasn’t lazy or cash-grabby, just a good time with legendary characters we love and new ones who grew on us.

Scream (2022)

#4 Southbound (The Way Out)

Radio Silence tosses their found footage modus operandi for this anthology film. Responsible for the bookend stories, they create a terrifying world in their segment titled The Way Out, which involves strange floating beings and some sort of time loop. It’s kind of the first time we see their work without a shaky cam. If we were to rank this entire film, it would remain at this position on the list.

Southbound

#5. V/H/S (10/31/98)

The film that started it all for Radio Silence. Or should we say the segment that started it all. Even though this isn’t feature-length what they managed to do with the time they had was very good. Their chapter was titled 10/31/98, a found-footage short involving a group of friends who crash what they think is a staged exorcism only to learn not to assume things on Halloween night.

V/H/S

#6. Scream VI

Cranking up the action, moving to the big city and letting Ghostface use a shotgun, Scream VI turned the franchise on its head. Like their first one, this film played with canon and managed to win over a lot of fans in its direction, but alienated others for coloring too far outside the lines of Wes Craven’s beloved series. If any sequel was showing how the trope was going stale it was Scream VI, but it managed to squeeze some fresh blood out of this nearly three-decade mainstay.

Scream VI

#7. Devil’s Due

Fairly underrated, this, Radio Silence’s first feature-length film, is a sampler of things they took from V/H/S. It was filmed in an omnipresent found footage style, showcasing a form of possession, and features clueless men. Since this was their first bonafide major studio job it’s a wonderful touchstone to see how far they have come with their storytelling.

Devil’s Due

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Editorial

7 Great ‘Scream’ Fan Films & Shorts Worth a Watch

Published

1 week ago

April 19, 2024

Timothy Rawles

The Scream franchise is such an iconic series, that many budding filmmakers take inspiration from it and make their own sequels or, at least, build upon the original universe created by screenwriter Kevin Williamson. YouTube is the perfect medium to showcase these talents (and budgets) with fan-made homages with their own personal twists.

The great thing about Ghostface is that he can appear anywhere, in any town, he just needs the signature mask, knife, and unhinged motive. Thanks to Fair Use laws it’s possible to expand upon Wes Craven’s creation by simply getting a group of young adults together and killing them off one by one. Oh, and don’t forget the twist. You’ll notice that Roger Jackson’s famous Ghostface voice is uncanny valley, but you get the gist.

We have gathered five fan films/shorts related to Scream that we thought were pretty good. Although they can’t possibly match the beats of a $33 million blockbuster, they get by on what they have. But who needs money? If you’re talented and motivated anything is possible as proven by these filmmakers who are well on their way to the big leagues.

Take a look at the below films and let us know what you think. And while you’re at it, leave these young filmmakers a thumbs up, or leave them a comment to encourage them to create more films. Besides, where else are you going to see Ghostface vs. a Katana all set to a hip-hop soundtrack?

Scream Live (2023)

Scream Live

Ghostface (2021)

Ghostface

Ghost Face (2023)

Ghost Face

Don’t Scream (2022)

Don’t Scream

Scream: A Fan Film (2023)

Scream: A Fan Film

The Scream (2023)

The Scream

A Scream Fan Film (2023)

A Scream Fan Film

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Lists

Horror Movies Releasing This Month – April 2024 [Trailers]

Published

3 weeks ago

April 3, 2024

Timothy Rawles

With only six months until Halloween, it is surprising how many horror movies will be released in April. People are still scratching their heads as to why Late Night With the Devil wasn’t an October release since it has that theme already built in. But who’s complaining? Certainly not us.

In fact, we are elated because we are getting a vampire movie from Radio Silence, a prequel to an honored franchise, not one, but two monster spider movies, and a film directed by David Cronenberg’s other child.

It’s a lot. So we have provided you with a list of movies with help from the internet, their synopsis from IMDb, and when and where they will drop. The rest is up to your scrolling finger. Enjoy!

The First Omen: In theaters April 5

The First Omen

A young American woman is sent to Rome to begin a life of service to the church, but encounters a darkness that causes her to question her faith and uncovers a terrifying conspiracy that hopes to bring about the birth of evil incarnate.

Monkey Man: In theaters April 5

Monkey Man

An anonymous young man unleashes a campaign of vengeance against the corrupt leaders who murdered his mother and continue to systemically victimize the poor and powerless.

Sting: In theaters April 12

Sting

After raising an unnervingly talented spider in secret, 12-year-old Charlotte must face the facts about her pet-and fight for her family’s survival-when the once-charming creature rapidly transforms into a giant, flesh-eating monster.

In Flames: In theaters April 12

In Flames

After the death of the family patriarch, a mother and daughter’s precarious existence is ripped apart. They must find strength in each other if they are to survive the malevolent forces that threaten to engulf them.

Abigail: In Theaters April 19

Abigail

After a group of criminals kidnap the ballerina daughter of a powerful underworld figure, they retreat to an isolated mansion, unaware that they’re locked inside with no normal little girl.

The Night of the Harvest: In theaters April 19

The Night of the Harvest

Aubrey and her friends go geocaching in the woods behind an old cornfield where they are trapped and hunted by a masked woman in white.

Humane: In theaters April 26

Humane

In the wake of an environmental collapse that is forcing humanity to shed 20% of its population, a family dinner erupts into chaos when a father’s plan to enlist in the government’s new euthanasia program goes horribly awry.

Civil War: In theaters April 12

Civil War

A journey across a dystopian future America, following a team of military-embedded journalists as they race against time to reach DC before rebel factions descend upon the White House.

Cinderella’s Revenge: In select theaters April 26

Cinderella summons her fairy godmother from an ancient flesh-bound book to get revenge on her evil stepsisters and stepmother who abuse her daily.

Other horror movies on streaming:

Bag of Lies VOD April 2

Bag of Lies

Desperate to save his dying wife, Matt turns to The Bag, an ancient relic with dark magic. The cure demands a chilling ritual and strict rules. As his wife heals, Matt’s sanity unravels, facing terrifying consequences.

Black Out VOD April 12

Black Out

A Fine Arts painter is convinced that he is a werewolf wreaking havoc on a small American town under the full moon.

Baghead on Shudder and AMC+ on April 5

A young woman inherits a run-down pub and discovers a dark secret within its basement – Baghead – a shape-shifting creature that will let you speak to lost loved ones, but not without consequence.