In 2022, a few fantastic horror films will be released in cinemas and on streaming sites. Some of these horror films were popular and drew the attention of casual moviegoers. Unfortunately, many of the finest horror films of 2022 have gone unnoticed by certain viewers.
The horror films of 2022 wowed audiences with innovative plots and intriguing, high-quality additions to established series.
Watcher
Watcher debuted in January 2022 at the Sundance Film Festival and will be available for streaming in June 2022. Watcher, written and directed by Chloe Okuno, follows a lady who has migrated to Romania with her spouse. She quickly suspects she is being watched.
Watcher stars Maika Monroe, who was previously recognized for her part in It Follows, another horror film about being followed. Maika thought her stalker (Karl Glusman) was a local serial murderer known as “The Spider” who was beheading women. While some reviews criticized the sluggish burn of the tale, the tight plot developed to an exciting finish that wowed fans who stuck with it.
The Black Phone
The Black Phone, based on Joe Hill’s short tale, was Scott Derrickson and Ethan Hawke’s most recent collaboration. The supernatural horror film follows Finney (Mason Thames), a teenager, and his quest to survive a serial child abduction known as “The Grabber” (Hawke).
During his confinement, Finney had a few conversations on the titular phone with past victims of The Grabber. The Black Phone was deeply moving, suspenseful, and horrifying. While the film stood on its own, there were a few related horror films for The Black Phone aficionados to appreciate.
Crimes Of The Future
Crimes of the Future is a science-fiction body horror film written and directed by David Cronenberg. In a gloomy future, pollution has led individuals to lose their capacity to feel pain and sometimes sprout innovative, useless organs. Saul and Caprice, played by Viggo Mortensen and Léa Seydoux, are a couple of performance artists who surgically remove Saul’s organs in a world-renowned act.
Crimes of the Future tackled issues such as bodily autonomy, climate change, and political control in a visually spectacular film. Cronenberg’s newest horror film had excellent practical effects as well as strong performances by Mortensen, Seydoux, and Kristen Stewart.
Men
Men are Alex Garland’s third directorial effort, following his debut Ex Machina and Annihilation. Men featured Jessie Buckley as Harper, a widow enjoying a lonely vacation in a tiny village following her husband’s death. However, she is rapidly distracted by the many guys in the area, all of whom are played by Rory Kinnear.
Men begin very realistically but devolve into a surrealist nightmare in the latter act. Throughout the first two-thirds of the film, spectators are forced to question reality. The acting and graphics are likewise great, contributing to Men’s spooky atmosphere.
X
Ti West’s X was a resurgence of the slasher genre. X followed a group of actors and filmmakers who rented a farmhouse on the property of an old couple to create an adult film. They rapidly realize there may be a serial murderer on the site. X has received appreciation for its frightening tale and as “a love letter to the slasher genre.”
Mia Goth, Jenna Ortega, Kid Cudi, and Brittany Snow featured in X. Goth played Maxine Minx, an actress who will also appear in the sequel. Pearl was surreptitiously shot alongside X and delves into the lives of the new and very adept slasher villain introduced in X.
Hellbender
Hellbender is an engrossing spiritual horror film about a lonely adolescent and her mother who live peacefully in the woods while creating metal music together. The girl learned her family’s links to witchcraft after a fortuitous contact with “outside” pals.
Hellbender was conceived and produced by John Adams, Zelda Adams, and Toby Poser. They developed a horror film based on their real-life music endeavor during the height of the epidemic. Hellbender is a coming-of-age drama that blends folk horror, witchcraft, and teen angst.
Master
Master debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in 2022 before becoming available on Amazon Prime Video in March. Master featured Regina Hall, Amber Gray, and Zoe Renee and was written and directed by Mariama Diallo in her directorial debut. Master was the first Black master of a famous New England university, after Gail (Hall).
Gail’s tale intersected with the story of Jasmine (Renee), a Black freshman. Both staff and students were racist to the couple. Jasmine’s peers thought the institution was haunted by the spirit of a woman accused of witchcraft and executed nearby. Master combined otherworldly horror elements with issues of racism into a compelling horror film.
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The Innocents
The Innocents is a supernatural horror film from Norway about a group of youngsters who realize they have extraordinary abilities. When parents are not looking, the youngsters in this brilliantly filmed video begin pushing and straining their talents’ boundaries.
The Innocents, written and directed by Eskil Vogt, gained critical praise and featured remarkable performances from its juvenile performers. The Innocents took a strange look at the fragile balance between good and evil. It also demonstrated how simple it is to switch between the two with “innocent” toddlers who may not recognize the difference.
You Won’t Be Alone
Goran Stolevski’s You Won’t Be Alone was a fantastic directorial debut that premiered at Sundance in 2022. The story revolved around a little girl named Nevena who lived in a remote Macedonian hamlet in the nineteenth century. Maria abducted Nevena and transformed her into a witch before abandoning her.
You Won’t Be Alone may have slipped under the radar due to its Macedonian language. Nonetheless, it was wonderfully filmed and portrayed a frightening story. The film received a 92% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and the critical consensus praised the artistic picture that placed a new perspective on old horror cliches.
Scream
With legacy sequels building a name for themselves in the film business, Scream is a fan favorite. The film was directed by the team known as Radio Silence and included a large ensemble cast that includes Jenna Ortega, Dylan Minnette, Courteney Cox, and Neve Campbell.
Scream was set twenty-five years after the first picture, with Ghostface returning to Woodsboro. The new addition outperformed some of Ghostface’s biggest Scream series killings. The masked killer targeted a new group of youngsters with ties to the earlier killings. Critics praised the picture as a successful Scream sequel and praised the performances of the actors.
