Diabolik: Ginko Attacks (2022)
The 2021 Diabolik was a witty and stylish revival of the cult Italian comic-book about a masked super-thief. This was the first of the sequels
Shin Ultraman (2022)
Reboot of the old Japanese superhero series, conducted with the epic scale, mass destruction and dazzling effects of the more recent Godzilla films
Rise of the Gargoyles (2009)
A Syfy Channel monster movie that seems made with a smidgen more care than their usual B movie output
The Duel (2000)
A Wu Xia film from Andrew Lau, the director of the Infernal Affairs films where the two top martial artists in the world issue a challenge to a duel on the roof of the imperial palace
Ulysses (1954)
Lavishly made Greek myth adventure, an adaptation of The Odyssey with Kirk Douglas as Ulysses/Odysseus
Game of Death (2017)
Gore-drenched French-Canadian film where teens play a board game that forces them to kill a select number of people lest their heads explode
Final Cut (2022)
One Cut of the Dead was one of the freshest takes on the overworked zombie film in recent years. Here Academy Award-winning director Michel Hazanavicius conducts a French remake
The Kingdom: Exodus (2022)
Lars von Trier returns to his darkly hilarious haunted hospital saga after a 25 years absence
We Have a Ghost (2023)
Christopher Landon, director of Happy Death Day and Freaky, makes a comedy about a family who turn the ghost in their house into a viral sensation
Asylum (2008)
From the director of Snakes on a Plane, a film about a co-ed university dormitory that used to be an asylum where students find that former horrors still lurk
Dolly Dearest (1991)
Copycat possessed doll film that came out in the aftermath of the Child’s Play films
Psycho Shark (2009)
aka Jaws in Japan. A Japanese entry in the Gonzo Killer Shark Film fad
Horror in the High Desert (2021)
A modest Found Footage film that builds up an effective mystery about the disappearance of a hiker in the Nevada backwoods. Two sequels followed.
Luck (2022)
John Lasseter’s return to animation, an incredibly lightweight effort about adventures in the land of luck
Knock at the Cabin (2023)
M. Night Shayamalan film about strangers conducting a home invasion to force a family to make a horrible choice to prevent the end of the world
5-25-77 (2022)
Forget The Fabelmans, this is a superlative autobiography of a filmmaker and the influence Star Wars had on his life. Neck-deep in fannish enthusiasm for the genre and the love of Super 8 filmmaking
Extremity (2018)
Horror film from the rising name of Anthony DiBlasi set around an extreme haunt, a Halloween horror show that pushes everything beyond people’s limits
The Invisible Man Appears (1949)
An obscure, little-seen but fascinating Japanese copy of The Invisible Man films
Thr3e (2006)
The novelty of a Christian serial killer thriller
Shark Side of the Moon (2022)
Another gonzo killer shark film from The Asylum, makers of Sharknado films, featuring Soviet sharks on the Moon
The Most Dangerous Game (2022)
A new version about the classic human bloodsports film where a group of shipwreckees are hunted across an island by a mad aristocrat
Infinity Pool (2023)
Extraordinary Brandon Cronenberg film about a fictional country where those convicted of crimes can have clone copies executed in their place, leading to an tourist underworld where all crimes seems possible
House of Darkness (2022)
Neil LaBute ventures into the horror genre with a vampire movie take on the war of the sexes that comes with a satisfying bite where Justin Long gets more than he bargained for the girls he picks up in a bar
Strange New World (1975)
The third of the films based around Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry’s Genesis II concept where a cryogenic sleeper awakes in a post-apocalyptic world
Stacy (2001)
A bizarre Japanese film about hordes of schoolgirl zombies
The Wizard of Gore (2007)
A remake of the cult Herschell Gordon Lewis splatter film about a stage magician who creates illusions of eviscerating people on stage
What Josiah Saw (2021)
This is a superbly written and directed work of Southern Gothic that consists of three interwoven tales that gradually expose dark family secrets
The Lair (2022)
Neil Marshall was a highly promising genre name a few years ago on the basis of The Descent in particular. Here he returns with a film about soldiers facing off monsters in Afghanistan
The Harbinger (2022)
This is one of my best films of 2022, a standout work concerning a demon that invades dreams and then erases all memory of the person. Shot during Covid lockdown and haunted by the sense of isolation
Legion of Super-Heroes (2023)
An animated film based on both the Legion of Super-Heroes and Supergirl
Yeti: A Love Story (2006)
Troma film about a group of trampers attacked by a Yeti only for one of the group to discover gay love with the Yeti
Chocky’s Children (1985)
The first sequel to Chocky, the classic mini-series about a boy with an alien invisible companion, this expands the concept out with the introduction of other children
Polaroid (2019)
Horror film about a cursed Polaroid camera that kills everybody that appears in one of its photos
Red Snow (2021)
This has the amusing idea of being a Martin for the Twilight era where a writer of vampire romances not at all modelled on Stephenie Meyer encounters a real vampire
Dual (2022)
Film in which a dying Karen Gillan has a clone made of herself only to make an unexpected recovery and be forced into a televised duel to death with the clone for ownership of her life
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022)
The MCU’s sequel to Black Panther. This offers the peculiarity of a work in which the superhero of the title never actually appears and is instead set around his absence following the death of Chadwick Boseman
Skinamarink (2022)
A considerable word of mouth hit, this generates a very spooky atmosphere with highly unusual shooting techniques
Me and Him (1988)
A comedy in which Griffin Dunne’s ’s penis begins talking to him
Matchless (1967)
One of the numerous spy films of the 1960s, featuring Patrick O’Neal who goes into action with a magic invisibility ring
Spell (2020)
Bizarrely overwrought film in which a successful city lawyer is made prisoner by a backwoods voodoo priestess
Mortal (2020)
The director of The Troll Hunter returns with a stunningly shot film about a mystery man with godlike powers
Old Man (2022)
Lucky McKee, director of May and The Woman, makes a film about two men meeting at a cabin in the woods where secrets emerge amid psychological tensions between the two
M3gan (2022)
Horror film about an artificially intelligent doll that resembles one of the Big Eyes paintings, which proceeds to go full-on Terminator
Birdemic 3 – Sea Eagle (2022)
At one point, Birdemic had a bad movie cult that rivalled The Room. Whether we asked for it or not, this is a third film in the series. James Nguyen seems to think everybody has come for a lecture about Global Warming.
Infeccion (2019)
A zombie film from Venezuela
Wyvern Hill (2021)
Low-budget British film about a mysterious killer lurking in the house
Requiem for a Vampire (1972)
The fourth of the works of arty vampire erotica from cult director Jean Rollin. Rollin has discovered more in the way of plot by this point, while the film has a beautifully dreamy fairytale-like quality
Moon Crash (2022)
The Asylum offer up a mockbuster copy of Roland Emmerich’s Moonfall that is far more entertaining than the original
Hatching (2022)
An eerie and fascinatingly creepy Finnish film in which a young girl adopts and bonds with a grotesque bird-like creature, which proves murderous at the same time as it starts to become more human-like
Jung_E (2023)
Train to Busan director Yeon Sang-ho turns his hand to making an SF film about the attempts to perfect an android soldier
Something in the Dirt (2022)
Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead have become must-watch directors in the last decade. This film, which was shot in their apartment during Covid lockdown, becomes the ultimate conspiracy theory rabbit hole
The Hazing (2004)
University hazing in a haunted house goes wrong. This is a low-budget film that overspills with genre tropes to eventually arrive at an appealing ridiculousness
Gogol: The Beginning (2017)
The first in a trilogy of Russian dark fantasy films featuring the real-life horror writer Nikolai Gogol as an occult detective
Don’t Torture a Duckling (1972)
One of the early films from Lucio Fulci – the film that he always insisted was his best – concerning a series of child killings in a small town. Quite different to the sort of film Fulci most famously became known for
Danger! Danger! (2021)
This is an enjoyable low-budget homage to the Indiana Jones film that comes with a number of knowing references to the genre and the addition of a clever time travel plot
Raven’s Hollow (2022)
Film that features a young Edgar Allan Poe fighting a supernatural menace known as The Raven
Bones and All (2022)
Suspiria director Luca Guadagnino sinks his teeth into making a film about cannibalism. Forget the Young Adult label the film was sold with, this is quite an impressive work
Orphan: First Kill (2022)
I was fairly ho-hum about the first Orphan but this is a sequel that entirely surprises you
Mt. Misery Rd (2018)
A strong contender for the worst Blair Witch copy AND the worst Amityville film ever made
Anastasia: Once Upon a Time (2020)
Bizarre family film in which Russian princess Anastasia travels through time to the present day and discovers mall culture
Mandrake, The Magician (1939)
The first screen appearance of the famous comic-book stage magician superhero in a serial adaptation
Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra (2002)
The second of the live-action Asterix films starring Gerard Depardieu, this is a visual delight that gets the comic-book’s nonsensical visuals down perfectly
Escape the Field (2022)
This comes with a near-identical premise to the Stephen King adaptation In the Tall Grass where a group of people are trapped in an endless cornfield
The Menu (2022)
Hilariously black horror comedy that works as a sublime satire of fine dining – with a nasty sting underneath
White Noise (2022)
Noah Baumbach makes a bitingly satiric adaptation of a Don DeLillo novel about the panic caused by a toxic cloud
Triassic Hunt (2021)
Film from The Asylum about dinosaurs hunting mercenaries. Essentially Jurassic Park that takes place in a warehouse
Germ (2013)
Zombie film about a small town overrun as people are infected with a virus from a fallen satellite. Familiar stuff conducted with a little more care than usual
Holocaust Cannibal (2014)
Bill Zebub is possibly the most offensive filmmaker at work today. This largely plotless film features topless Nazi women fighting cannibal tribes, giant bugs and a Bigfoot
The Stupids (1996)
A mind-bogglingly surreal John Landis film about a family who take everything literally. A completely demented viewing experience in watching as they bumble around trying to puzzle over who is stealing the garbage
H.P. Lovecraft’s Witch House (2021)
A low-budget adaptation of the H.P. Lovecraft story Dreams in the Witch House about a student who moves into a house with occult geometry and stirs dark forces
Revealer (2022)
This sells you with its concept – a stripper and a religious fundamentalist are trapped together in a peepshow as the apocalypse occurs – and works surprisingly well
Risen (2021)
Interestingly mysterious film about the investigation into a zone affected by an alien meteorite
Have Rocket — Will Travel (1959)
Full -length comedy from The Three Stooges where the idiots are janitors at a space centre who accidentally launch themselves into space. One of several Space Age films were popular comics went into space
King Cohen (2017)
Documentary about cult director Larry Cohen, filled with hilariously entertaining stories of his guerrilla filmmaking methods
Super Hot (2021)
Occasionally amusing comedy where a group of fans set out to rescue the heroine’s unrequited crush from a house of vampires
The Hyperions (2022)
The rarity of an original screen superhero film, this takes place in a Retro 1970s setting as former superheroes conduct a heist to get their badges of power back
Violent Night (2022)
Dark and definitely not sentimental Christmas film with David Harbour as a cynical Santa repelling a home invasion. This does not let down on the violent half of the title
Strange World (2022)
Disney’s 61st animated film. A lost world adventure that emerges as Fantastic Voyage by way of Avatar
Intruders (1992)
One of the earliest works about Alien Abduction, predating the fascination with the topic that came not long after with tv’s The X Files. From genre regular Dan Curtis, the creator of tv’s Dark Shadows
The Jar (1984)
This may count as the worst horror film to be released in the entire 80s VHS era
Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror (2019)
A documentary about African-Americans in the horror genre that covers everything from the earliest depictions through the Blaxploitation film to the rise of Black filmmakers
May the Devil Take You: Chapter Two (2020)
May the Devil Take YouThe Evil Dead. Here Timo Tjajjanto makes a sequel and goes absolutely demented
Spirited (2022)
Imagine A Christmas Carol retold as a bromance where Scrooge and the Ghost of Christmas Present abandon hauntings and become besties
Demonic Christmas Tree (2022)
Yes, exactly what the title announces – a film about a possessed killer Christmas tree. A rather amusing Christmas horror entry from prolific low-budget British producer Scott Jeffrey/Scott Chambers
Krampus: The Reckoning (2015)
A low-budget Krampus film crossbred with an evil child film
The Cat Creeps (1946)
An Old Dark House thriller that has the distinction of being the last horror film made during Universal’s Golden Age of Horror. The results are creaky and impoverished looking
The Murder Mansion (1972)
Spanish film about a group of people gathered at a mansion as spooky happenings begin happening and people are killed off
Zebra Lounge (2001)
An erotic thriller where a couple are stalked by psychopathic couple after venturing into the swingers scene, this comes with a ridiculously high-handed condemnatory moralism
The Ice Demon (2021)
A Russian dark fantasy work that generates quite spooky atmosphere about a missing husband who returns in a coma possessed by an evil force
Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio (2022)
Guillermo Del Toro offers up his dark, more adult take on the classic children’s story in this beautifully made stop-motion animated film. Winner of the Academy Award for Best Animated Film.
Troll (2022)
Norway attempts to compete with the Godzilla films in the story of a giant troll amok
2012: Ice Age (2011)
One of several disaster movies set around the supposed year 2012 apocalypse made by The Asylum. Bad science abounds as a giant adrift glacier ends up creating a new Ice Age
Transit 17 (2019)
Belgian zombie film about a military unit assigned to travel through zombie-infested territory to rescue a girl who has an immunity
Cinderella Game (2016)
Bizarre Japanese copy of Battle Royale by way of American Idol where a group of schoolgirls from a singing competition are trapped on an island where they must play a deadly card game
Sensation (2021)
Film in which a man is inducted into a secretive organisation that reveals he has superpowers
Teardrop (2022)
The director of the I Spit on Your Grave remake makes a low-budget film about a haunted Western ghost town
Watcher (2022)
Nicely chilling film in which Maika Monroe believes that the person in the apartment opposite might be stalking her
The Reef: Stalked (2022)
Andrew Traucki, the director of the standout killer crocodile film Black Water, makes a sequel to his earlier grippingly intense work about people trapped in shark-infested waters
Alleluia! The Devil’s Carnival (2016)
Saw series director Darren Lynn Bousman makes a rock musical about a war between a gaudily exotic Heaven and Hell. A full-length expansion of Bousman’s earlier short film
Life After The Navigator (2020)
Documentary about the making of Flight of the Navigator and the mind-boggling story of Joey Cramer, the film’s child star turned bank robber