2022 has been one of the most memorable years in decades for thehorrorgenre. The year has been filled with many successful horror movies to entertain and scare audiences, both in theaters and on streaming platforms. While the big horror event of 2022 wasHalloween Ends, there has certainly been no shortage of great horror entries that might even stand above the final showdown between Michael Myers and Laurie Strode by year’s end. These are the best horror movies from 2022.
Updated on July 08, 2025: If you’re a fan of horror movies, you’ll be pleased to know this article has been updated with additional content byDanilo Raúl.
18The Menu
Filled under the category of comedy/horror,The Menuworks as a critique of foodie culture in social media and the slow decaying depreciation of cooking as a craft for the sake of aesthetics. The film revolves around a special dinner hosted by celebrity chef Julian Slowik, whose mastery of the cooking arts has relegated him to an exclusive restaurant where it’s possible to attend by booking ahead by months. Written by Seth Reiss and Will Tracy, the movie is directed by Mark Mylod. It features the talents of Ralph Fiennes, Anya Taylor-Joy, Nicholas Hoult, and John Leguizamo.
The evening goes as expected until all the diners begin to be targeted by the chef in each course. The deconstructed dishes illustrate the failures and secrets of everyone on the floor,including the chef and his assistants. Tyler Ledford (Hoult) and his date, Margot (Taylor-Joy), are the final targets of the chef. He singles out Ledford as the type of customer he despises the most, as he’s all about prestige and not the eating experience as it is. Margot takes notice and makes the most brilliant move by all present customers to escape death.
Mixing up horror with science fiction always works for the best, especially when AI is taking over the conversation across the web.M3GANis one of the many reminders crafted by Hollywood, telling a cautionary tale about the search for profitsby tampering with forces we can’t hope to comprehend fully. With a screenplay by Akela Cooper, the film is directed by Gerard Johnstone and features a cast of working faces such as Allison Williams, Violet McGraw, and Ronny Chieng. The movie officially premiered in December 2022.
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In the movie, a toy designer named Gemma is tasked with producing the next best thing after a product with an eerie resemblance to the Furby is replicated by the competition for a lower price. She must face the challenge while caring for her recently orphaned niece Cody. Gemma goes over his boss’s orders and finishes the design on a much more expensive product offering a unique experience: M3GAN, an AI-powered android with learning parameters encoded in her programming. Slowly but surely, Cody seems to be developing a close relationship with M3GAN, who will do anything in her power to assure Cody is safe, even if it means harming people.
16Don’t Worry Darling
Olivia Wilde made her bones in Hollywood as a pretty face until she stepped up to the plate by proving she could direct. She didn’t follow the easy path, as her second feature is a horror story.Don’t Worry Darlingis not an easygoing offering; taking a cue fromThe Stepford Wives, the film offers plenty of social commentary about male power fantasies and the crumbling facade of all-American social values.
The film begins with Alice and Jack Chambers, a couple living in an idealized version of a company town named Victory. Alice spends her days doing house chores and being the perfect wife until an incident with another resident makes her realize that not everything is as it seems in this ideal world, and it’s up to her to find its secrets. The solid cast features Florence Pugh, alongside Harry Styles, Chris Pine, and Wilde herself.
15Speak No Evil
Written and directed by Christian Tafdrup, this underrated piece of cinema went unnoticed by American audiences for being a foreign film. However,Speak No Evilis a harrowing exploration of the horrors hidden behind human nature featuring an all-Danish cast. The movie begins with a family enjoying a vacation in Tuscany when they meet a Dutch couple and their son. The families bond over being foreigners visiting and living in a different land than their own. When the Dutch couple invites the Danish couple over for dinner, the true horror begins.
The Dutch couple proves to be the most unnerving hosts ever by displaying disturbing behaviors from mild nuances such as lack of consideration for medical conditions to intrusive actions such as the entrapment, torture, and killing of the couple’s kids. The film is an encompassing spectacle that offers viewers deep insight into the submissive nature of people who see themselves as defenseless. The final scene offers a shocking revelationrooted in the basic premise that allows evil people to do as they please.
Another foreign offering, this time around, from Spain.Piggy(orCerdita) is a straightforward storyabout bullying and its consequences. The film is written and directed by Carlota Pereda, who offers a nuanced view of everything that happens in the mind of someone who finds herself suddenly in a position of power after being relentlessly abused by her peers at school. Sara is the fat girl of the school; she is constantly demanded and despised for her looks but holds her anger in the quiet.
After mustering the courage to visit the local pool, she tries to enjoy her time, but the bullies make her time difficult by stealing her clothes and taking her backpack with all her possessions. After walking back home in her undies, she notices a van on the side of the road where her bullies are being kept as hostages. After retrieving her possessions, she decides to leave them to their fate, but the townspeople will not let the girls be lost that easily. Sara then must determine her course of action, as she’s faced with the choice of saving the people who make her life miserable or letting them die.
13Terrifier 2
This is a direct sequel to the first film and the next chapter about Art the Clown.Terrifier 2was made with the same production values as the first entry, but it rams up the fantastic elements to elevate the experience and make Art feel more like a supernatural force of nature that can’t be tamed. Written, directed, and produced by Damien Leone, the story begins where the last film left off. Art is taken to the coroner for a formal autopsy when the demonic clown is suddenly brought back to life. Wasting no time, he makes short work of the coroner in the bloodiest way possible.
While the film never explores Art’s background, it places us in his state of mind, as Art also sees a girl version of himself following him around. Meanwhile, a girl named Sienna is building a cosplay based on a character created by her late father. Unbeknownst to her, the character has the power to end Art as it’s imbued with special abilities that manifest after Sienna wears the costume. It’s a fantastic film that clocks around one hour too long, but it’s full of hijinks and murderous madness, like the old slashers of the ’80s.
12Orphan: First Kill
The prequel to the 2009 surprise hitOrphan,Orphan: First Killseems like an impossible task. Not only is Isabelle Fuhrman reprising her role (now being 25 and needing to look younger than she did in 2009), but also, the initial twist of the first film is known by audiences going in, so how can a new film be exciting? Luckily,Orphan: First Killmanages to solve both problems, fixing the first issue by using clever film techniques to make Fuhrman look younger with no CGI de-aging used.
The movie also uses the audience’s knowledge of the first film twist to lull the audience into thinking they know how this will play out, before swerving with another twist on top of this origin, capturing the spirit of the original film.Orphan: First Killreceived positive reviews from critics and took Paramount by surprise as, while it was originallyset to release on Paramount+exclusively, they underestimated the love the first film had grown over the years and the film was performing well in the limited release it began to expand out more in the following weeks.
Released by A24,Xfollows the cast and crew of an adult movie in 1979, who are filming on an elderly couple’s rural Texas property, and eventually find themselves picked off one by one.Xin many ways was the perfect antidote for the disappointing Netflix sequelTexas Chainsaw Massacrewhich was released two months prior toX. Ti West’s film captures the tone and spirit of the originalTexas Chainsaw Massacrefilm, a grimy, dirty-looking slasher film that concerns a group of young people being killed by a group of older individuals in the Texas summer.
Xwas a success of sorts, earning $14 million against a $1 million budget and earning rave reviews from critics. While filmingX, director Ti West and star Mia Goth filmed a prequeltitledPearl,which was released on July 29, 2025, making for a great double feature for audiences this year.
2022 has earned Jenna Ortega thetitle of modern Scream Queen, with the back-to-back releases ofXandScream. Released 26 years after the original and 11 years sinceScream 4,Screammarks a return for the franchise and riffs on the recent array of legacy sequels that have become popular in Hollywood. With an emphasis on a new cast of characters, for the first time sinceScream 2, the returning characters of Sidney Prescott, Dewey Riley, and Gale Weathers all seem in danger. The movie also tackles dark themes of toxic fan culture, building off the themes of the previous four entries in the franchise.
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Screamwas a box office hit when it was unclear ifSpider-Man: No Way Homewas a fluke for the post-pandemic box office, and proved audiences were looking to return to the movies.Screamalso was the first in a long line of successful Paramount Pictures releases that put the studio back on track.Scream 6has recently wrapped filming and is set for release on July 09, 2025.
9Resurrection
Resurrectionis a psychological thrillerabout a woman named Margaret (Rebecca Hall) who is trying to maintain her orderly, successful life. Suddenly, her abusive ex-boyfriend David (Tim Roth) reappears in her life, taunting her with traumatizing reminders of her past. Speaking of trauma, that’s really what this movie is about. It takes a layered approach to explore the ways that trauma and psychological abuse can stick around and torment you even years after an event.
It’s dark and intense, with fantastic performances, namely from Hall. It’s a very captivating movie that can certainly make you uncomfortable, but it’s so well done you’re able to’t help but keep your eyes locked on the screen until the end.
