[Editorial] Ghouls’ Top Anticipated Horror Films of 2023

Last year was phenomenal for horror films, and from the slate we’ve already been promised, 2023 is going to be even more successful for horror. So we’ve gathered the excitement of the Ghouls team, bottled it up and distilled it into a handy list so you have see everything that is coming out this year!

Sick

Dir. John Hyams
Release date: 13th January

Serial killer stalker set in the COVID-era… What would it have been like to have been ravaged by a psycho whilst also trying to wear your mask and not catch a deadly disease? It’s tough now to make films that talk about COVID because it feels like most audiences are so over it that we just don’t want to hear about that depressing time anymore. However, there have been good reviews for this one so far with critics acknowledging the perhaps unwanted quarantine aspect.

Enys Men

Dir. Mark Jenkin
Release date: 13th January

Some serious In The Earth vibes are coming off of Mark Jenkin’s Cornish horror film Enys Men, and what’s not to love about that? Set in 1973 we see a wildlife volunteer studying a rare flower, only to discover something that will haunt her mind and soul. This looks like a truly wild experience, one that will really take you into a natural nightmare. Also, it was shot on 16mm film which is a delight for those of us who love a SOV treat.

Skinamarink

Dir. Kyle Edward Ball
Release date: 13th January

If you’ve seen the trailer for this one then you’ll already be aware of just how deeply terrifying this looks, and how the words ‘Come upstairs’ are going to haunt us all for a lifetime. I’ve heard a few people talking about this being one of the scariest films that has been released in a long time, and everything from the poster, to the plot, to the trailer are confirming this. Two children awake to find their father missing and their home devoid of all windows and doors. This is giving me some serious House of Leaves vibes, which instantly makes the hair on my body stand up.

M3GAN

Dir. Gerard Johnstone
Release date: 13th January

This year seems to be quite set on giving us a gentle reminder not to trust technology, and M3GAN has the exact same message for the audience too. One little girl’s dreams come true when she gets her new M3GAN doll but of course, the doll is highly intelligent and has a vicious side. A modern-day Chucky story that looks completely over the top and just mental, we’re all going to love this crazy movie.

In My Mothers Skin

Dir. Kenneth Dagatan
Release date: 21st January

Flesh eating fairies. You heard that right. Flesh eating fairies. As a kid I was always a little apprehensive about fairies because on one hand I loved them, but on the other, the concept is pretty frightening. Well, Dagatan has clearly seen the horror in the beloved children’s mythical creature and turned it into a horror film, In My Mother’s Skin. The film is set during World War II and sees a young girl become friends (?) with one of the said fairies. Combining the horrors of war with Filipino folklore, this one sounds like it will remind us that fairytales aren’t always nice.

Infinity Pool

Dir. Brandon Cronenberg
Release date: 27th January (Canada)

As a Brandon Cronenberg stan, I am here for this. It’s true that I might be a little bit biased in my excitement for this film but if you liked his Possessor or Antiviral then there’s a high chance you’re also going to love this one. A wealthy couple go on a fancy all-inclusive holiday, only to be led astray by a mysterious woman and taken into the dark depths of violence and depravity. Last year we saw that holidaying as a couple never ends well (cue Speak No Evil) and Infinity Pool looks like it screams that message loud and clear. It seems we’ll get more of Cronenberg’s mind-fucking body horror with this one, and a look at Alexander Skarsgard on a dog leash. Say no more. (P.S. This is releasing on my birthday so it’s the best gift ever)

Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey

Dir. Rhys Waterfield
Release date: 15th February

One for the whole family here with a reimagining of the classic children’s character Winnie the Pooh. In some ways I feel like the child in me is crying at this sheer abomination, but the adult that has a lot of trauma also feels like this is needed so we’ll allow it. In Blood and Honey, our beloved cute lil yellow bear is now hungry for blood and gets his sidekick Piglet to help him terrorise Christopher Robin and the local kids. I will be taking all my friends to see this without letting them know anything because TRAUMA.

Cocaine Bear

Dir. Elizabeth Banks
Release date: 24th February

Sorry, but can we just take yet another moment to appreciate everything about this? I feel like there are a lot of memes hiding in Cocaine Bear and I just don’t know where to start with it all. Firstly, it’s directed by Elizabeth Banks who I absolutely adore and it has a goddamn stellar cast including Ray Liotta. Plus, it’s inspired by the TRUE events of a bear that accidentally consumed a shit ton of cocaine back in 1985. Do I even need to go into any further details about this film? No, not really.

Scream V1

Dir. Tyler Gillet and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin
Release date: 10th March

Personally I’m rolling my eyes at yet another entry into the Scream franchise, but the target audience isn’t me and fans of the iconic slasher series are stoked. The cast is pretty banging with Jenna Ortega, known for her recent portrayal of Wednesday Addams in the Netflix TV show, alongside the likes of Hayden Panettiere, Samara Weaving and of course, the OG Courtney Cox. Four of the original Ghostface survivors leave Woodsboro to start afresh, but we all know how these stories go…

MaXXXine

Dir. Ti West
Release date: 18th March

I have to be honest about this one and say it’s not necessarily on my personal list, but I’ve conferred with the Ghouls chat and I’m the odd one out so it’s on the list. Ti West is continuing his odd and sleazy trilogy with MaXXXine, which will be the prequel to his 2022 film Pearl. Our favourite horror gal Mia Goth is back as the disturbed young woman to deliver what will undoubtedly be another incredible performance.

Evil Dead Rise

Dir. Lee Cronin
Release date: 21st April

A return to Evil Dead? Yes thank you! The first horror film I ever saw was Sam Raimi’s The Evil Dead and so I can never really get enough of this to be honest. At one point in my life I was completely against any form of remake, but after maturing a little I have seen the beauty in remakes. Cronin was behind the very creepy and unsettling The Hole in the Ground, and from the trailer for Evil Dead Rise, it looks like he’s bringing that same energy. This promises to be gory, nasty and just perfect for a new entry into the franchise.

Renfield

Dir. Chris McKay
Release date: 14th April

NICOLAS CAGE AS DRACULA. Done. I am sold.

Okay, seriously though this one looks incredibly fun. We absolutely love Cage in the horror world, and too right – he’s proven that he can deliver us the goods when it comes to portraying some batshit characters so casting him as Dracula makes the most sense ever. Renfield focuses on the character Renfield, played by Nichlas Hoult, and how he wants to escape the toxic working relationship he has with his employer who happens to be Dracula. This is going to be completely ridiculous but just the type of fun we all need.

Beau is Afraid

Dir. Ari Aster
Release date: 28th April

Is it a horror film? Is it not? The question on every horror fan’s lips right now. We’ve been therorising in the Ghouls Magazine group chat and we’ve concluded that knowing Aster, there is no chance it’s not going to be some form of horror film. Joaquin Phoenix stars as Beau, an anxious man with a strange life behind and in front of him. From the poster alone it looks like we’re about to get something disturbing with a hint of comedic relief… Or we’ll just be indulged in another of Aster’s nightmares.

Meg 2: The Trench

Dir. Ben Wheatley
Release date: 4th August

We know Ben Wheatley for his psychedelic psychological horror films such as In The Earth, A Field in England and Kill List but he’s going to be directing the latest installment of Meg. The choice seems odd but honestly, this could be the greatest film in the world. Jason Statham returns to battle big ass sharks but I’m really hoping that Wheatley brings his flair for dystopian nightmares and gives a horror film submerged in oceanic horror because if that’s the case then this is going to be way more frightening than the first abomination of a film.

The Last Voyage of the Demeter

Dir. Andre Ovredal
Release date: 11th August

Another film set in the sea and another film about Dracula, we are getting lucky this year aren’t we? And all of that is to come from one of the genre’s favourite directors Ovredal. The Last Voyage of the Demeter is an adaptation of The Captain’s Log which is a chapter from Bram Stoker’s famous horror novel Dracula. The film stars Viggo Mortensen, Noomi Rapace, Jude Law, Corey Hawkins, David Dastmalchian and more so there is high hopes this is going to be an epic visualisation of original horror.

Haunted Mansion

Dir. Justin Simien
Release date: 11th August

As much as I love dark, disturbing and horrible films there is something in me that gets excited when I can transport back to something a little more PG-13. And Justin Simien’s return to Haunted Mansion is exactly what the doctor ordered. A priest, a professor and a paranormal investigator try to help a woman with a haunting but they end up living in a haunted mansion. Owen Wilson, Jared Leto, Danny DeVito, Tiffany Haddish, LaKeith Stanfield and Jamie Lee Curtis star in this one.

The Outwaters

Dir. Robbie Banfitch
Release date: 15th August

Did someone say disturbing found footage film? Or was someone just trying to summon me? If you know my movie tastes then you’ll know that these two paired together are a match made in Hell, I’m looking at you Cannibal Holocaust. Well, Banfitch’s The Outwaters is about to get dark as we follow the found tapes from four people as they set out to make a music video alongside an LA director, set in the Mojave Desert. But what happens next leads them into pure terror. Sounds like a new take on The Blair Witch Project and I just cannot wait.

The Exorcist

Dir. David Gordon Green
Release date: 13th October

Am I excited for this? It’s hard to say, but perhaps it is time for us to have a reimagining of iconic horror film The Exorcist. That being said, this is going to ruffle a lot of feathers and I feel that if it’s not done incredibly well then many of us horror fans are going to be really upset about it. A sequel to Willaim Friedkin’s 1973 film, it follows another 12 year old possessed girl as her mother seeks help from a couple of priests. I am praying that this is good or the Devil is going to be punishing someone for it.

Saw V

Dir. Kevin Greutert
Release date: 27th October

Yes that’s right, it’s another Saw film… As mentioned earlier, sometimes it feels like these franchises just need to give it a rest but we all know that Saw is always a gory and nasty guilty pleasure film. Who doesn’t love seeing despicable characters have to try and right their wrongs before being obliterated? Exactly. The tenth film in the franchise sees the return of some familiar faces such as Tobin Bell and Michael Beach so let’s see what new contraptions are included in this one.

Immersion

Dir. Takashi Shimizu
Release date: TBC

I remember the first time I saw Ju-On and completely shit myself. The fear was so real that I had to sleep in my parents bed for about 2 weeks and I was in my late teens. So it feels expected that anything from director Takashi Shimizu is going to be absolutely terrifying, and we absolutely need that kind of terror this year. Deaths start happening at a VR tech company as the lines between reality and virtual reality blend. The posters look horrifying and the synopsis sounds like it is going to give us all nightmares.

Cuckoo

Dir. Tilman Singer
Release date: TBC

There isn’t much available about Cuckoo yet but everyone is talking about it, so there is a very good chance that this one is going to be pretty good. Tilman Singer (Luz) brings to the screen a story about a 17-year-old girl who moves to a resort where things aren’t as they seem. We love a mystery and something creepy going on, plus the artwork so far looks like it’s going to be a bit gnarly and violent. Also there’s a badass cast with Hunter Schafer, Gemma Chan, Sofia Boutella, John Malkovich, Dan Stevens and more.

I Saw The TV Glow

Dir. Jane Schoenbrun
Release date: TBC

One of our favourite films of 2022 was Schoenbrun’s We’re All Going To The World’s Fair so it’s safe to say we’re all looking forward to the next film. Once again, details are limited but there’s something unsettling about the title alone. I Saw The TV Glow centers around two teenagers who are obsessed with and share a love for a TV, but after its cancellation their realities begin to blur. The film stars some great names and even has Limp Bizkit’s Fred Durst attached – some people might not be excited for that but he’s my favourite douchebag.

Deleter

Dir. Mikhail Red
Release date: TBC

Techno-horror wasn’t even something I thought existed until stumbling upon Mikhail Red’s Deleter but apparently it is a thing now. The film follows Lyra who works as a content moderator, viewing online social content and making a decision about what should be deleted and what can be posted. As you can imagine, Lyra is witness to highly disturbing content from around the world which plays into her unresolved trauma. I don’t know too much about this one, but from the festival hype it sounds like it has some graphic and intense imagery, so I would be aware of trigger warnings for this one.

New Religion

Dir. Keishi Kondo
Release date: TBC

This played at film festivals in 2022 and I have only heard the most incredible things about it. It’s been described as progressive and stylish whilst delivering a heartbreaking story about loss and loneliness. Miyabi still grieves for her daughter who she lost in a car accident, but when a client begins taking photographs of her body parts she begins to realise that with each organ comes a sensation of growing closer to her passed daughter. The poster for this one is gorgeous and the premise is unique so I can’t wait to watch this one.

Candy Land

Dir. John Swab
Release date: TBC UK

Lot lizards is a term that I first discovered when I read Sarah by J.T. Leroy, and John Swab’s Candy Land exposes some of the dangers that lie within working as a sex worker in this realm but with a brutal take on it. Remy is a religious girl who decides to join a group of lot lizards and become a sex worker herself, only to discover that some of the clients are pure evil. Candy Land was another festival favourite of ours from 2022, and for good reason - each performance is perfect, it’s nasty and has some outstanding violence. A must see for this year.

Hypochondriac

Dir. Addison Heiman
Release date: TBC

One more festival favourite to put on the list here because we must make everyone aware of the goodness that is coming your way. I’m yet to see this one but I was lucky enough to podcast with Caitlyn Downs and Hannah Ogilvie who saw this one at Soho Horror Film Festival. A young potter must face his troubling demons when his long-lost mother reemerges from his past, forcing him to confront childhood trauma. Hannah and Caitlyn had only good words to say about this film, but warned it will leave you in floods of tears.

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