Fossil Dig 2023 - Gruesome Gazette

As 2023 comes to a close, we can’t help but look back at this year’s achievements and everything we were able to consume. But along the way, we do still stumble across old classics and relics that are new to us even if they are decades old. As for myself, I’ve had a rather difficult year, so you may notice a rather dark theme going on throughout this list. It helped me make it through and feel comforted on a level no conversation with another person was able to, so do be aware that this list goes to some grim places. But without further adieu, here’s my personal top 10 favorites that were new to me!

10. Nekromantik (1988) – A crime-scene cleaner brings home a corpse for his girlfriend and him to ‘play’ with. As time goes on and things get even grosser, she begins to prefer the corpse over him which sends him down a spiraling path of destruction. This movie is disgusting on many levels, but I can’t help but love everything it does well. The musical soundtrack is one for the books, the special effects are unbelievable for a no-budget horror film, and the devastation that unfolds is absolutely unforgettable.

9. Eyes of Fire (1983) – A preacher and his followers are chased out of town and stranded in an isolated forest which is haunted by the spirits of the long dead Native Americans. A beautifully haunting tale with surreal and creative imagery, well-crafted scares, and an atmosphere that refuses to let you escape.

8. Calvaire (2004) – A few days before Christmas, a travelling entertainer named Marc is stuck at nightfall in a remote wooded/swampy region where he finds shelter in a town full of odd men who may have sinister intentions in mind for him. This was one of the New French Extremity films I didn’t get to until this year, but it’s such a strong entry that it deserves to be praised. It’s much more dread-inducing and slower-paced than most the others, but it’s potent where it needs to be and crawls beneath your skin like a hungry parasite.

7. The Menu (2022) – A 5-star chef hosts a dinner party at his private island and invites several parties who have been on a waiting-list for a long time. Little do they know that he has something very special prepared for this particular course. A film that’s equally funny and tense without leaning too heavily on the horror, this is a very entertaining film that feels like a weird murder-mystery hosted by Chef Gordon Ramsay. Definitely worth the hype it received last year.

6. Der Todesking, AKA The Death King (1990) – Seven episodes, each taking place on a different day of the week, each run on the theme of suicide and violent death. Another film in the ‘Nekromantik’ series (an unofficial trilogy-capper) that’s full of dread and upsetting imagery. It’s a meditative piece that honestly made me feel a bit better on a very depressing day – and each episode is told in a very different way that keeps it fresh and moving along.

5. Where the Dead Go to Die (2012) – A troubled group of children living on the same block are haunted by a talking dog named Labby who brings them on surreal hell-rides between dimensions and time periods. If you want one movie to watch that will make you go ‘holy shit’, ‘what the fuck?’, and feel sick to your stomach at the same time – this is the one. It’s truly fucked up and animated like something off of early-era Adult Swim which gives it a sort of charm and a tad easier to swallow. This one is absolutely NOT for the weak-stomached or easily offended.

4. Family Portraits: A Trilogy of America (2003) – Three short films/narratives combine to create a shocking trilogy of modern American life – full of death, depression, and anger. Out of all the movies on this list, this is arguably the one to fuck me up the most. It’s an independent film so it’s very artistic and slow, but the violence and stories that spill out here are so potent and realistic that I couldn’t help but wish I was dead for atleast a month afterwards. Do with that info what you will.

3. Mandy (2018) – Red & Mandy are a couple deeply in love who live a quiet life in the Shadow Mountains. One random night, a neighboring cult-leader grows an intense obsession for Mandy and commands his followers to take her for himself. Nothing goes according to plan, and before we know it this turns into a story of love and revenge. Director Panos Cosmatos shoots this film in an ethereal way that makes it beautiful, tragic, and psychedelic while giving us an unhinged Nicholas Cage and a swan song of a soundtrack by Johann Johannson (who died shortly after it’s release). This movie is beautiful and intense all at the same time.

2. The Wolf House (2018) – An animated film that tells the story of a girl who runs away from a cult-like community and takes shelter in an abandoned house in the middle of the woods. She attempts to live while being accompanied by two pigs she confiscated, as well as a God-like voice that talks to her and gives advice. This film is an enigma that’s difficult to explain, but the animation is jaw-dropping. Combining claymation, stop-motion, drawings, and so much more to create an experience that needs to be seen to be believed, this movie is absolutely incredible.

1. Speak No Evil (2022) – Truthfully, if I had seen this film last year it would have been my number one. A Danish family and a Dutch family have a random encounter on a vacation and become friends. Some time later, the Danish are invited to visit the Dutch in their home – but things go from awkward to terrible in no time. This movie is haunting, uncomfortable, and memorable in almost all the worst ways. It’s an extremity film without going into extremity territory. It’s fucked me up since the first time I saw it, and it’s one I try to convince my friends to watch on their own just to get a visceral experience.

And there we are! Next week will bring you our Top 10 of 2023 lists, so hopefully this may tide you over until then while I cram in some last minute viewings.

Thank you guys for sticking with us all these years, very much looking forward to next year.

‘Til Next Time,
Mike Cleopatra