Underseen Horror Gems of 2022

Awrite guv’na,

So a couple of years ago I went on the festival circuit in a major way for the first time, and found a whole lot of excellent new films that I couldn't wait to come out properly and persuade people to check out!

Alas, and also alack.

So as we stare down the barrel of 2024, I've decided to hold out hope some of 2023 films I loved will come out this year and look back to 2022.  I'm a big fan of paying for and supporting films, but some of these films may require knowledge of the high seas to attain.

Here we go:

Piggy dir. Carlota Pereda

I love myself a movie about a person who as to make a really complicated emotional choice, and at Piggy’s heart is a doozy.

Piggy concerns Sara (Laura Galan), a young teenager viciously bullied by her peers for her weight. One day, after an extended bullying session, Sara witnesses her tormentors being kidnapped. She should, of course, tell people what she has seen – but those girls had made her life hell, and likely would do if released. It’s one hell of a threshold to cross from adolescence to childhood.

One of the strengths of Pereda’s direction and script is that is very socially grounded. Sara, her parents, her neighbours, her tormentors – they exist in a community as well as separate beings. Pereda never loses sight of Sara’s internal struggle, but she helps you to understand that it is an external struggle too.

Plus, when it gets nasty (and it gets nasty), there’s a real emotion heft behind it.

Definitely the strongest recommendation on this list.

(Available on Now Cinema/VOD generally)

Hypochondriac dir. Addison Heimann

Sohome Horror Film Festival was a difficult moment for me. There’s low budget, and then there’s low budget. You know things that are helpful for reducing the budget? One location, bad actors, messy production; if nothing much happens in the plot, you don’t have to spend that much money.

So like a ray of light breaking through the storm, here comes a low budget gem. Hypochondriac is a performance, dialogue heavy film that feels very influenced by the 00s. It’s got a hip lowfi feel and a deliberate pace that never drags. Zach Villa is phenomenal as Will, which is just as well because he has got lots and lots of acting to do. Heimann has talked about the film having autobiographical elements to it, and right enough everything feels incredibly authentic about Hypochondriac, even as Will is being tormented by a demon wolfman.

(Loadsa VOD, it's only like a quid to rent on Apple TV or Prime)

Candy Landy dir. John Swab

On the strength of Candy Land, I attempt to watch another of John Swab’s dir/wri joints called Body Brokers. Body Brokers is turgid and clumsy and offensively mediocre, so who the fuck knows where Candy Land came from.

Candy Land is a slasher about a tight knit group of prostitutes that work at a truck stop somewhere in Americaland. They’re an incredibly likeable group of characters, and their easy relationships and dynamics are incredibly well realised. They’ve got a cool and fun community, although the film never lets you forget that sex worker is not exactly the most glamorous thing either.

One day a young woman is cast out by a weird christian-y cult, and she is taken in by the working women and men. Are they a threat to her? Is she a threat to them? Will the cult come back, or is there someone else with malicious intent? It’s all actually pretty predictable, but that doesn’t matter because the set pieces and character work so tight and deftly executed.

There’s also plenty of sleaze, so double bill it with X you randy freak.

(Yar me hearties!)

What is Buried Must Remain dir. Elias Matar

Set (and filmed) in a Lebanese refugee camp, a group of refugees set out to make a documentary in the abandoned estate of a French industrialist. Not being traditionally a fan of found footage myself, what really sold this experience to me was the way that the internal structure of the house itself begins to twist and mutate through subtle both in and out of camera tricks. The house itself becomes an amazing central character, and after a while its structure begins to feel almost impressionistic. There’re quite a few moments where the characters start making daft horror movie character decisions because it is a horror movie, but the sense of disorientation and genuinely well executed set-pieces really had me.

(I really hope everyone involved with making it is safe and well).

Matriarch dir. Ben Steiner

2022 was the year of naked old people. Men, X, Elderly, and Matriarch. I blame Ari Aster.

Matriarch is an earthy, witchy, English folk horror. It’s not a ground breaking premise; young woman returns to her rural birthplace after a trauma. Whilst there she discovers that there’s something amiss in the community. Rory Kinear is nowhere to be seen here, more’s the pity.

Released on Disney+ too very little fanfare, this little ditty ticked a lot of my boxes. It’s got some decent emotional stuff, is well paced (85 minutes!) and builds to a remarkably insane finale. If you’re a fellow folk horror pervert give it a look.

(Distributed by The Mouse)

Mad God dir. Phil Tippet

Cum, puss, phlegm, shit, saliva.

Why aren’t people talking about this film more?

(Shudder)

You Are Not My Mother dir. Kate Dolan

Babadook, dook, dook, push pineapple, shake the tree.

In retrospect The Babadook really did a number on horror. We were always culturally heading into a trauma obsessed world, but the continuing waves horrors where the monster-is-trauma has gained and gained momentum, especially after Heriditary proved they could make lots of money. Horror fans, it is fair to say, are sick them.

So it is with delight that I can describe You Are Not My Mother as a trauma-led metaphor horror movie. It’s also absolutely bloody excellent.

When, in the midst of a depressive breakdown, young Char’s (Hazel Doupe) mother goes missing the family fear for the worst. Good news is that she’s back now, and definitely not possessed by a demon.

There’s an excellent kitchen sink drama in here, which separates from many of the similar films. Characters don’t exist in hyperreal nightmare like Hereditary or The Babadook; people have extended families and can make friends and have to work and go to school. It lacks the bleak edge of many of these films – although at its most confronting matches them in power too. One hell of an opening scene too.

(Channel 4, bunch of VOD)

A Wounded Fawn dir. Travis Stevens

So during 2022 Frightfest the audience and I sat through a film that made them so angry people were shouting at the screen. ‘That was utter shit,’ remarked to the person on my right. ‘I hated that,’ said the person on my felt. Somewhere in the shadows of Cineworld’s seating a man was declaring it the worst thing he had ever seen.

Dear readers, I loved it.

I think someone needs to set-up a helpline for women who agree to go on a second date with a virtual stranger to a secluded cottage away from civilsation, because there seems to be a bit of it going around. I’m sure things will be different for Meredith (Sarah Lind) though. I mean, Bruce (Josh Ruben) keeps his red wine in a fridge, that’s definitely not the behaviour of a dangerous deviant.

A Wounded Fawn is shamblingly obvious with its themes. At one point, when Bruce puts his hand on Meredith’s knee they drive past red bunting flapping in the wind. No a bad thing I’d argue – I’d far rather a film be too obvious with its themes than not really engage with them. It is very artsily shot too, and never fails to take itself seriously, even when – and not to say too much – the film itself starts to devolve. The combination of beautifully shot, wildly imaginative, and basic and juvenile collide with spectacular effect. My pick of the bunch, although most certainly not for everyone.

(Shudder)