Below are my Top 13 films that I reviewed in 2022 for WithoutYourHead.com.


First, for those who have read my reviews over the past year, thank you very much! I hope my opinions, even when they don't mesh with those of others, can be seen to come from a place of serious consideration. While I try to speak with a voice that isn't first person (this being a refreshing break from that!) I also am not speaking with any assumed position of authority or elitism. It's all just my tastes, based upon five decades of horror movie watching and loving.

Second, some of the films I reviewed have sat with me for some time (almost a full year for at least one film on this list). So, like wine, some films have mellowed a bit since initially reviewed, and others have become richer over time. Thankfully, none have turned to vinegar that weren't pretty skunky to begin with!

So, in ascending order:

13. The Seed
Ooey, gooey, and full of fun innuendo and viscous bodily fluid, "The Seed" was just a wonderful throwback guilty pleasure of a movie. Fully aware of its purpose, it's evident that the filmmakers, cast, and everyone involved in this picture were out to entertain and gross out their audience. Mission accomplished!

Original review here
Where to Watch: Shudder/Amazon

12. Ultrasound
A positive mindfuck of a film that kept me guessing, as much as it does its characters, just what is going on. From its smart script, disorienting directorial style, and impressive acting, "Ultrasound" is the sort of science fiction horror thriller that greeted audiences a few decades ago. Think 80's Cronenberg themes without the body horror ick.

Original review here
Where to Watch: Currently streaming on a number of platforms

11. Hellbender
Unlike no other filmmaking family before them, the Adamses truly function with a visionary unity that defines every aspect of each film they gift to us. I find it fascinating to watch them grow as filmmakers, with each movie exploring deeper themes more confidently than the last. With so many powerful female voices in horror, "Hellbender" benefits from a pair that also encompasses a generational perspective.

Original review here
Where to Watch: Shudder/Amazon

10. The Sadness
This breath of much-needed audacity was a welcome kick in the guts after a spate of (not unwelcome) folk-horror-themed films that seemed to dominate the year's first half. I gleefully devoured its unapologetic madness and twisted debauchery, wishing for more with every eye-gouge and gonad crush. Consider" The Sadness" a wish fulfilled.

Original review here
Where to Watch: Shudder/Amazon and elsewhere

9. The Silent Party
A gut-wrenchingly tragic domino fall of circumstances that illustrates the importance of the truth and the fragile combustibility of emotions and pride, "The Silent Party" was anything but the film I expected going in. But once its machinations had begun, it played out the violent side of human impulse with horrifying finality.

Original review here
Where to Watch: Currently streaming on a number of platforms

8. Mad God
I have been a fan of animator Phil Tippett since reading about him in the "Star Wars" double issue of Cinefantastique magazine. And my first knowledge of his passion project, "Mad God," was nearly 30 years ago, when he announced beginning work on this twistedly wonderful labor of love. The anticipation and the heartbreak of hearing of its stops and starts over three decades was worth the patience and wait for what is the year’s most personal film.

Original review here
Where to Watch: Shudder/Amazon

7. Hotel Poseidon
It’s ironic that one of the first reviews I wrote in 2022 would be so emblematic of the strangeness of many of the films I would review this year. The hallucinogenic story of a pitiful fellow trapped in the squalid hotel his family has operated for generations is darkly funny and delightfully warped. What a way to start a year!

Original review here
Where to Watch: Shudder/Amazon and elsewhere

6. The Leech
One of the LAST films I reviewed in 2022 is equally dark, humorous, and twisted, but otherwise, the polar opposite of my number seven selection. A Christmas tale that somehow straddles familiar allegory and mad originality like some tawdry holiday mistress. So wrong and yet, so right.

Original review here
Where to Watch: Coming soon to Arrow Films

5. Bloody Oranges
No film on this list uses humor to so effectively augment the horrors and tragedy it shows us more than this one. Laugh out loud funny, grotesque, and relentlessly brutal; I went in with zero idea what to expect (the way I like to view films best)—a jet-black comedic rollercoaster of jaw-dropping scenarios.

Original review here
Where to Watch: Currently streaming on a number of platforms

4. Speak No Evil
The Danes are reputed to be some of the most polite people in all of Europe. ”Speak No Evil” plays upon one family from Denmark’s fear of impropriety to make them the perfect victims for a sadistic couple hosting them on a visit. Few films have played games with an audience’s discomfort so successfully, and few films have ended with such bleak finality as this one.

Original review here
Where to Watch: Shudder/Amazon

3. The Innocents
“The Innocents” could stand out for its quartet of young actors alone. All under the age of ten, its lead cast is easily on par with any from the other pictures listed here. But combine those performances with its taut, harrowing story of the primality of evil, and this film makes an indelible mark upon its audience. I found it shocking, heartbreaking, and brilliant.

Original review here
Where to Watch: Shudder/Amazon and elsewhere

2. Swallowed
One of the most pleasant surprises of this past year was this tight, insular film that relied upon the strength of its small ensemble of actors, along with some of the best-written characters in recent memory, to take its harrowing premise into emotionally heartbreaking territory. “Elm Street 2” star Mark Patton stakes his own claim on horror baddie territory with confidence and terrifying brilliance.

Original review here
Where to Watch: Currently not yet streaming

1. Megalomaniac
Brutal, relentless, cruel, savage, and uncompromising. “Megalomanic” will wring every ounce of hope and stamina from your soul as it takes your sympathies and character empathy and dashes them without mercy. One of the most beautifully shot movies on this list is also the one that lays bare the ugliness latent in humankind. I loved this film.

Original review here
Where to Watch: Currently not yet streaming