The beginning of 2023 kept the terror training rolling off of a massive 2022. Huge box office numbers from: Meg8n, Scream 6, and Evil Dead Rise lead the way, while another indie surprise, Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey, showed the world that horror was as strong as ever. After a bit of mid-year lull, the genre is firing up for a strong finish. Here are the top terror picks for the second half of 2023.
July 7- Insidious: The Red Door
A direct sequel to the first two entries. This installment is set ten years after the events of Insidious 2. Dalton heads to college where the demons from his youth become roommates.
With returning characters the team at Blumhouse have high hopes to recapture the economic and critical success of the earlier films. With franchise staple Patrick Wilson not only returning as the lead, but also as director, some fright fans will be on a very nervous fence.
August 8- Wolf Hollow
When a team of filmmakers travel to an abandoned scare park to location scout, they unknowingly become stars of a real-life howling horror film. Secrets are revealed and the fur flies all through Wolf Hollow.
Acclaimed writer/director Mark Cantu presents this highly anticipated Werewolf film. With horror icons, Hannah Fierman, Felissa Rose, and Lynn Lowry, joining a superstar cast of up and comers, Wolf Hollow is being pegged as the Werewolf film of the year. Action packed, loaded with laughs, and crawling with claws, has been some of the many positive reviews pouring in for this indie.
August 11- The Last Voyage of The Demeter
The Demeter carried Dracula from his home to London in Stoker’s classic. A short from Netflix’s Dracula touched on the damned voyage with a popular segment. Director Andre Ovredal attempts to give the Horror Nation a full-length fright fest featuring the immortal legend.
This film has been as doomed as the story itself. Famed fx wizard, Patrick Tatopoulos was attached to this project for years as it washed away in the ocean of development hell. Amblin Partners finally got this ship to sail, but will the subject matter still be fresh enough to capture a modern audience’s attention?
September 8- The Nun 2
In 1956 France, a priest is murdered. Sister Irene comes back into the fold to investigate where she faces her old nemesis.
Perhaps no film from the connected series of these films has split the Horror Nation. While some enjoy the jump scare simple concepts that have made this series and The Conjuring massive box office smashes, others feel these films are bland kindergarten snooze fest. Will this sequel be the film that finally brings fright fans together?
October 13- The Exorcist: Believer
When a young child becomes possessed, her father seeks help from the church and a fellow parent that has been through a similar experience.
It is not impossible to follow up on one of the greatest horror films of all time. Fox proved this with a solid two season series based off of the beloved film. However, every tidbit that has come from this production is presenting a potential disaster. With a Friday, October 13th, release date, there is no question that this entry will be a massive financial success, but lingering doubts still loom. After the debacle that was, Halloween Ends, writer/director David Gordan Green is on a horror hot seat. Should this film not at least get the critical acclaim of Exorcist 3, this could be his sinister swan song. Blumhouse, a financial juggernaut will survive, but the rest of the team behind this bold effort could be excommunicated from the genre by a poor reception.
November 17- Thanksgiving
A series of murders rock a New England town in this holiday slasher.
Horror icon Eli Roth returns to the directors’ chair to helm this terror tale that was first shot as an extended faux trailer for the Grindhouse double feature. Fans have clamored for years for a full-length feature from the popular trailer. If the film maintains the popularity of the trailer, Roth could have a major franchise on his hands.
