Top Movies

Like my other lists, I don’t always have the access or the money to engage with new movies so I will include movies that are new-to-me this year.

This year my partner, a classically trained queer horror movie buff, attempted to get me -a person more raised on action movies- an education in horror essentials.

New to me Movies of the year

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a masterpiece of “high strangeness”. It is a trip inside the uncanny valley. The hints of ritual placed throughout the movie create a sense of unease and helplessness far before the real horror of the movie begins.

I cannot get over that this movie is from 1974 because it created all the tropes we associate with horror today. One might think that because it set the standards for horror, TCM would itself now feel trite when in fact TCM is still far more effective than it’s modern day counterparts. The only movie I can think that comes close to doing the things that TCM is doing is 2018’s Hereditary (another movie I saw this year coincidentally). I’m sure I could write an entire post on the subject but I truly believe that Hereditary is a successor to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, if not wholly in subject but definitely in spirit.

Hardcore Henry (2015)

Second to my top movie of the year, this is the movie that took me by the most surprise.

I have a philosophy about movies that folks in my life are definitely tired of hearing: “The worst thing a movie can be is boring.” Meaning that if a movie can pull me along either with action, dialog, visuals or just plain weirdness, I will probably love it.

When this movie starts moving, it does not stop. I was on the edge of my seat for the entire time just excited to see what would happen next. Hardcore Henry is the epitome of a “not boring” movie. Is it a perfect movie with zero plot holes and amazing dialog and great characters? Not at all and what I like most is that it knows it is not that movie. I wrote about Hardcore Henry earlier in the year and I applauded it’s violence and sexual content in this era of neutered media. This is definitely the movie I’ve watched the most this year.

Best Movies of 2023

Evil Dead Rise

I love the Evil Dead. It was one of the few horror franchises that I loved before I met my partner. We re-watched the entire series including the modern films (of which I was not familiar) in anticipation and Evil Dead Rise delivers what I expect from an Evil Dead movie. A layer of ick covers this film, parts of it were genuinely scary and I never felt that any character was safe.

Pacification

Pacification follows a High Commissioner in French-Polynesia just days before something/nothing happens. It is a look inside colonialism, its exploitation of brown bodies and often mundane evil.

There is a scene that takes place at a surfing competition that must be seen: Characters in the foreground, the swell and fall of chaos in the background, building a tension that never really climaxes.

Precise blocking, cool colors and relentless ambiguity had me thinking about this movie all year long.

Godzilla Minus One

First off, if you have not seen Godzilla Minus One. Stop reading until you see it. I’m not dropping huge spoilers in here but I don’t think you should go into the movie with any preconceived notions.

If you would have told me six months ago that my favorite movie of the year would be a Godzilla movie I would have been doubtful.

My partner, who is also a huge Godzilla fan, has been introducing me to the movies over the past couple years. The early 90’s remakes are my favorite and I tend to love them for their kitsch aesthetics and authenticity. What Japanese Godzilla movies understand that the American remakes and interpretations do not is: Godzilla is not in our movie, this is a Godzilla movie.

I was on media blackout before seeing Godzilla Minus One, as most trailers (especially in horror and action movies) tend to reveal far too much. And I glad I went in blind: Godzilla Minus One is one of the most authentic movies I have seen in years. The tropey characters, the story, the cheesy drama, even its (obvious) tones of nationalism are all genuine parts of the whole. I could not help myself but think of Raiders of the Lost Ark or The Matrix; Action movies that reach into something beyond its genre.

It also managed to make me cry like a baby. I don’t say this out of any masculine superiority or arrested emotional development but, I am not a crier. It is a testament to this movie’s ability to have drawn me in so deep that I was genuinely surprised, shocked, shook, gooped and gagged at the last 5 minutes¹. I saw one twist coming and I think the movie is so good that it knew I would see that particular twist coming so it could actually get me with it’s ending.

Where other Godzilla movies entertain me for various reasons, Godzilla Minus One touched me on a decidedly human level.

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¹The only other movie that gooped me like this was Twilight: Breaking Dawn Pt. 2. If you’ve seen it, you know what part I’m talking about. I also love the Twilight movies for similar “authenticity” reasons that I love the Japanese Godzilla movies: Everyone is taking this silly movie very serious.