The Top 10 Horror Films Of 2012

December 25, 2012 Matt Donato 37 Comments

Another year, another bucket of guts, another pile of severed limbs, another rack of bloodied knives…you get the picture. Now, while I will admit it was a hell of a lot easier coming up with a Bottom 10 for the horror genre in 2012, this year saw for some exceptionally memorable films as well, some transcending heights further than I could have imagined. For all the mainstream movies still alive and kicking today though, my list sees more entries from foreign and independent sources, a trend witnessed since starting these yearly recaps on my old blog a few years back. For every Paranormal Activity 4 or Resident Evil: Retribution, there’s a director out there willing to take a chance on something unique and never before seen, truly going where no horror director has. Not to say mainstream horror can’t be good, just look at last year’s Insidious, but again, Wan’s film was still an original idea, something not always chased after when so many ideas can be rehashed and so many old franchises can be remade or rebooted!

Alright though, no reason to get all grouchy, because that’s what bottom of the barrel lists are for! Instead, let’s celebrate some horror which crawled under our skin and brought our deepest fears out, or made us laugh through morbidly dark comedy, or swung for the fences with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, knocking that twine ball 700 feet straight out of its casing for an unquestionable game winner.

So sit back, relax, and take a ride down memory lane with me as I knock off my favorite horror films of the year one by one. Just remember, this is one single horror writer’s opinion, and in no way should be considered the bottom line. These are the films I sat through and could enjoy the most for a multitude of reasons, each film really reaching to a different part of my pleasure lobe – that exists, right? Variety is the spice of life, and I cover my horror with a shit ton of variety, like cayenne pepper on my pizza, so be sure to expect a true assortment of winners this year. I’m here to help you broaden your horizons, as well as cater each blurb to whom I envision enjoying each film the most. Trust me, I understand not every type of fan will enjoy every type of movie, so I’ll warn target groups if I know you’ll be completely off base with my love.

In any case, here’s my Top 10 Horror Films Of 2012, and I hope you’ll enjoy them all! I’ve linked all movies to their reviews on We Got This Covered, but some have been written by different authors, so I hope that doesn’t confuse anyone. My list is as written, but other authors may have disagreed with my critical analysis. Scouts honor I’ve seen every single title!

http://viewster.com/ Viewster

This simply is not scary, good horror movies have complex actions they don’t have lot of blood and dont have special effects!
- http://www.facebook.com/people/Matt-Donato/556930521 Matt Donato
  
  There was a serious lack of “scary” movies this year honestly. I agree this list has more “non traditional” genre titles, but that’s only a product of movies like Chernobyl Diaries and The Devil Inside utterly failing.
Evan Bolick

THANKS for listing Cabin in the Woods where it belongs, but Sinister was a travesty. Completely un-scary, highly predictable, and Ethan Hawke frankly, got what he deserved given his detestable parenting skills. I’m sorry, but it was truly a train wreck of a film that deserves to be eternally buried and forgotten. Also, how in the world did this bloodless and toothless film get an R-rating?
ed

seriously? cabin in the woods is horror? it is a good movie but it’s really far from being a horror movie… while sinister is actually what a horror movie should be and for me it is the number 1 horror movie for this year and probably the last 5 years…
- JacksonHart
  
  Not that Cabin in the Woods was overly scary (nor do I think it was even trying to be), but what else would you classify it as?
joedbreeze

i dont agree i saw sinster ending coming with a half hour left of the movie if it had a better ending it could of made an arguement for the number 1 spot
JacksonHart

Was hoping Cabin in the Woods would be at the top, and I wasn’t disappointed!

This movie was simply awesome. Such a unique concept, and so well done. There are so many movies that people say “are like nothing you’ve ever seen before”, but Cabin in the Woods is one of the true times where that phrase rings true.

Such a great movie. Great list. Surprised Sinister wasn’t higher, but that movie is a little hit or miss for some people!
- http://www.facebook.com/people/Matt-Donato/556930521 Matt Donato
  
  Glad you agree with Cabin! Yeah, I’m getting a lot of flak on all my articles about Cabin saying how it isn’t horror, but, I mean, I don’t know, my synopsis pretty much states my feelings haha
  
  As for Sinister I hear ya, but I agree with joedbreeze on this one – it was a tad predictable for me. I saw it coming about a mile away, but it also states how solid the film was. There was no real twist for me, but Derrickson did a bang up job creating decent horror, good enough to make the 5 spot.
  - JacksonHart
    
    I can definitely respect that about Sinister. It really was predictable, but I liked how it didn’t rely solely on jump scares or typical stuff. I really thought the home videos of the killings they made you watch were scary stuff, but I understand your view on it completely! And hey…5 ain’t bad anyway!
    
    And yes, I completely agree with your explanation for Cabin belonging in the horror genre. I seriously say those exact same things when explaining it to friends. It’s too scary for the thriller genre, the comedy genre, or the action genre. It’s not the scariest movie of the year, but it was definitely the best one in terms of a quality film.
    
    Great list once again Matt!
Brian

Sinister was really good. As was cabin in the woods. I respect this list.
http://www.facebook.com/asleepinsidemysoul Remy Carreiro

Great list as always, duder. And people who feel inclined to say Cabin In The Woods isn’t horror are fucktards who have no place reading a horror list. Werewolves, demons, zombies, killer mermaids, sex that ends in death, pot smoking burnout, and the end of the world. Yeah, you guys are right, it’s a fucking romantic comedy.
- John D. O’Brien
  
  Cabin in the Woods was an extraordinary film that transcended its genre. I think that’s why some people don’t consider it a horror movie; it’s a horror film that’s also a lot of other things, too.
http://www.facebook.com/luke.cawley.397 Luke Cawley

i will give you the cabin in the woods was good. but number 1 NO. Juan of the dead was such a better film. their is nothing better then a good comedy horror.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Stephen-Baker/541425990 Stephen Baker

It’s an interesting list and I do praise a few of them.. Although I could have put a few of them on best of years in recent past.. I would reverse the order with #3 and #1 though.. (I did say years past) The Loved ones and Cabin both sat around for a few years with Cabin being one of those assets from a bankrupt studio.

Thank god Lionsgate picked it up for distribution and gave me the perfect non-Friday the 13th film on Friday the 13th. I referred to it as an onion with something that looked so simple but with multiple layers to peel away.. And all that carnage in the span of 2 minutes at the end was awesome..

And now for the main event and how I saw the handling of it.. “The Loved Ones” You mentioned in the article about seeing it back in 2010, but as you probably know it was out the prior September at Midnight Madness.. The first people’s choice award at the Toronto International Film Festival for Midnight Madness went to this gem.. But then it went into what the programmer of Midnight Madness Colin Geddes called “Distribution Hell”
It took almost 3 years before the indie division of Paramount pictures showed it in a few theaters in the states and then quickly ported to a DVD release only. Now for people like me who were awaiting a Blu-ray Region A release were left out of luck.. Since you could pretty much pick it up on DVD from anywhere in the world, most dvd players made today will play any region dvd’s. It made the release of it seem pointless.. It was almost that the distributors bought it and quickly dismissed it from their minds.. Why Paramount even bothered buying the rights to it and handled the way that they did is beyond any logical thought..
One of those true gems that no one really will get to see
Ms. Cute

I am a horror freak..
and this movies didn’t scared me at all..
can u give me a list of something way scarier ???
Jeff

Did you see Mr Hush? It was my favorite of the year!
- Ninja Baby
  
  That movie was scary awful.
DeadInHell

How the hell was Insidious original?

I suppose I should thank you, though, for opening with that. This way I know better than to read anything else. Anyone who follows the creators of the SAW franchise around with effusive praise can’t be trusted.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=725388793 Douglas Skot Whitman

As a fan of horror I can safely say I haven’t been scared of a horror movie since the original Exorcist and I saw that when I was 7. So this idea that a horror movie actually has to be scary to be in this list is absolutely retarded beyond words. Cabin in the Woods was awesome and did something we have never seen in any horror movie ever made, it gave a rational explanation for the whole genera even existing and tied most of the creatures we’ve come to love into one universe. The rest of the list leaves much to be desired and could be debated, but Cabin at number one is spot on.
- http://www.facebook.com/people/Matt-Donato/556930521 Matt Donato
  
  I can’t echo this enough, spot on Douglas. There’s a reason no “scary” movies are on this list, and that’s because they were all rubbish this year. You want to know where the “scary” movies are? Just read my “Worst Of” list for 2012 and you’ll find them all there.
http://twitter.com/blackmarketbros theblackmarketbros

detention was awful..somebody seen scott pilgrim and decided to try to make a horror like that movie..wasnt funny nor scary so i not sure what they were gunning for
LordVolta

Ughh…hated Sinister. All that evil character did was just showed up and stared at Ethan Hawke.
http://www.facebook.com/fra.g2 Fra. Gadio

The cabin in the woods belongs to the worst horror movies list, not of 2012, of all time. It’s not even horror. It’s just a mess of ideas , some originals but overall poorly executed. Anyways apart from that, nice list!
ThrowDownthenHoDown

cabin in the woods made me cringe. it just had that lame as shit, trying to be clever buffy vibe all over it. but I guess buffy was quality horror too cos it had vampires, lol…this movie is either tongue in cheek comedy or simply genreless. didnt they write the script in like 2 weeks, or was it 2 days? and thats exactly what it feels like. some highschool kids rushed homework assignment. rly, im not saying I could do better (maybe tho..) but u can just tell that very little thought went into developing what could have been a fascinating concept. sry buffy fan bois.
miro

r u suprised something was scared u when u were 7 ,does not work now ?????i wish same feeling ,same as when i was 7…just doesnt work when u grow up..:)u must find the right 1
http://www.facebook.com/people/Tiffany-Souza/100000062565836 Tiffany Souza

Cabin in the Woods? Seriously? These movies all sound so boring! The only two I’ve even heard of was Cabin and Sinister. Crappy article.
- http://www.facebook.com/people/Matt-Donato/556930521 Matt Donato
  
  So if you’ve never heard of something it can’t be good? The mainstream movies you’ve probably heard of are all in my Bottom 10 Horror Films of 2012, and for good reasons. If you want good horror, you have to search for it. Be adventurous. Writing something off because it’s unknown is probably the worst mindset any movie fan could ever have.
- http://www.facebook.com/richard.nevarez.102 Richard Nevarez
  
  Have an opinion when you’ve given the movie and chance and not before.
Stacey

I was fortunate enough to have seem Detention and was left with a feeling of “Wha?” “Hoh” and a few other empty words. Good movie over all. Great list. Even if I only saw three of the ten. need to view the rest.
Sean1228

VHS was scary
Sean1228

Cabin in the woods wasn’t scary
Sean1228

I nearly died during sinister though
I cwhyyyy

Sinister being number 5 i deem this list to be nonsense since I hated Sinister and it was a low budget shitty not scary movie
- http://www.facebook.com/people/Matt-Donato/556930521 Matt Donato
  
  Hmm, well apparently since you can just go around deeming whatever you want just based on opinion, I deem ice cream healthy, I deem Dave Grohl the most interesting man in the world, and I deem Boston’s rendition of The Star Spangled Banner to be our new nation anthem. I’m doing this correctly, right?
http://www.facebook.com/danielle.whitakerowens Danielle Whitaker Owens

I was soooo waiting for someone to mention the Collector movies. COLLECTION was one of the best horror movies I’ve seen in such a long time with an ending that had me goin crazy. Absolutely reccommend to anyone. AWESOME AWESOME MOVIE.
Prof2

Just saw Cabin this weekend…and my wife’s no longer a horror movie fan, but we both have to admit, it is by far and away the best of the bunch.
DaStrongSKRAWN

The ending of Cabin in the Woods was just too awesome, TOO AWESOME! But as for the rest of the movie, it was meh. Glad you mentioned the “The Loved Ones,” enjoyed that last year from start to finish.