Barbarian (2022)

A woman staying at an Airbnb discovers that the house she has rented is not what it seems.

This is yet another movie where I absolutely do not want to say anything about the plot, because you want to know absolutely nothing going in.  Even that tagline up above is too much.  I should remove it.

All I can say, is that this movie is creepy, tense, funny as hell, superbly acted, takes things in unexpected directions, and is overall a ton of fun.

It is also the only movie in this entire list that I do not own because for whatever reason it has never seen a physical release.  Come on Shout Factory, do horror fans a solid already!

M3gan (2022)

A robotics engineer at a toy company builds a life-like doll that begins to take on a life of its own.

You may have noticed that I didn't include Child's Play on this list.  Or any of the billion sequels.  Or the remake.

Don't get me wrong, I like the original movie well enough.  It has a great premise, and the cover art scared the living daylights out of me as a kid.  But the actual execution of the movie is merely "good."  I like Brad Douriff as an actor.  As a wise-cracking doll that's supposed to be scary?  Doesn't completely work for me.  And the sequels are garbage.

I actually thought the remake was a pretty nice little step up.  Mark Hamill voicing a Chucky that is actually sweet and naïve?  I like that a lot more.  Not enough to make this list, but pretty dang good.

So seeing that James Wan and company were doing their own killer doll movie?  Rated PG-13?  I was skeptical, but intrigued.  I went in with expectations tempered.

And dang it if I wasn't fully engaged for the entire runtime.  I think M3gan as a character is great, even if it does owe a nod or two to the recent interpretation of Chucky, and I think the plot is fun and paced just about right.

Does the movie play out in the exact manner that you think it will?  Yes.  But not everything has to be twists and turns.  Sometimes it can be conventional, yet still fun.

Terrifier 2 (2022)

After being resurrected by a sinister entity, Art the Clown returns to the timid town of Miles County where he targets a teenage girl and her younger brother on Halloween night.

Hoo boy.  Where to even start with this one...

First off, I just want to make it clear that this is not a torture porn movie.  The tone is completely different from a Martyrs or Hostel or anything like that.  It's more like one giant homage to the work of guys like Tom Savini.  A 2 hour celebration of the grossest practical effects possible.

Second off, awhile back I said Dead Alive is probably the bloodiest movie of all time.  That's still true.  I think technically the Evil Dead remake holds the official record because of how much Karo syrup they poured onto their set, but I think the insane ideas in Dead Alive actually put it all to better use.

This movie on the other hand, might have a claim for being the "goriest" of all time.  Splitting hairs on different types of violence, I know.  But it's true, because the entire movie is a celebration of the artform.  Director Damien Leone saw the slashers and Tom Savini gorefests of the 1980s,  and said "I can do better."  And then dedicated the last decade to making that dream a reality.

The first Terrifier already takes things to an 11 by, among other things, having Art the Clown use a hacksaw on a woman in one of the least politically correct ways possible.  It's exactly as pleasant as it sounds.

This movie uses that scene as a starting point, and then spends 2 hours taking things to a 22.  There were claims that people were passing out and throwing up in the theater.  A lot of horror movies since The Exorcist have tried to make the same types of claim.  Generally, it's not very believable.  But I think I could believe it here.

Obviously that sort of thing is not going to be for everyone.