Mike Cleopatra's Fossil Dig 2025

For the last few years, along with our end of the year recap of our top 10 favorites of the year, I’ve been doing a side list I’ve dubbed “The Fossil Dig”. This is essentially a list of my 10 favorite horror films I’ve seen this year that are new for me, but have been out for quite some time.

Let me know if there’s anything here you’d like to read a full review on at some point, but I’ve included some very brief summaries and quick thoughts here for time’s sake. That being said, let’s get it started!

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10. “All Eyes” (2022) -A disgraced podcast host is trying to amend his public persona when he is sent a letter by a distressed man claiming there’s a monster living in the woods behind his house that is covered with eyes. He sets off to the man’s place and is greeted with more and more mysteries as the investigation pursues. This is a very low budget independent film that is rather incredible for how well it achieves it’s fun without really compromising on the budget. For those looking for a slow burn indie with a promising conclusion – I definitely recommend this.

9. “The Unbinding” (2023) – Paranormal team (and married couple) The Newkirk’s reveal their true story of one of the most haunted items they have come across in their many years of collecting and preserving cursed objects. This is a documentary (with some re-enactments) presented by a team that has quite a bit of credibility behind them, and presents a story that is wild and chilling. There’s one specific scene of what happened when they brought this one particular item to a convention that really gets the blood rushing.

8. “Leprechaun 2” (1994) – The second story in the campy ‘Leprechaun’ series that shows the devilish creature continuing his hunt for his gold. This is a series I grew up with as a child, but really had no memory of this one in particular. So when I revisited it for St. Patrick’s Day this year, I was thrown for quite a loop. Warwick Davis is so mean and clever in this one that it really hits a sweet-point between being campy/cheeky fun, and downright cruel. While “3 & 4” still hold sweet spots in my heart as my favorites in the series, this one is definitely creeping closer to the top of the list.

7. “The Poughkeepsie Tapes” (2007) – Presented in a mockumentary fashion, this title tells the story of a serial killer in Poughkeepsie who was never caught, but police did find a massive archive of recorded footage from the killer himself. After disseminating the footage and saving one tortured victim, they are left with more questions than answers. This film is brutal and unflinching with its squirm-inducing hostility. It balances a fine-line between believable found footage, and cringe-worthy horror that leaves you feeling dirty. It was very easy to see why this film’s reputation is as notorious as it is.

6. “The House With Laughing Windows” (1976) – There is an Italian island that has a church with a beautiful painting on its wall. But there is a darkness behind it, because the painter went insane while creating it, and it has been decaying over the last several years. So when another artist is hired to come to the island and restore the works, he begins to fall down the rabbit hole of what happened with the previous painter. This is a proto-giallo film that is effectively creepy and mysterious. It has so much style behind it that it almost doesn’t feel like a horror film, but I assure you it hits once it really tries.

5. “Frontier(s)” (2007) – A gang of young thieves flee the streets of Paris after violent aftermath of a political election. What they think is a temporary shelter turns out to be the beginning of a nightmare. This is one of the handful of New French Extremity films I had yet to get to, but it really was worth it. This is a film where the blood and torture are put up on display while also serving a darker, serious message beneath it’s surface. While not the most shocking, or my favorite, of the group thus far, it definitely warrants the extremity title and is worth a visit for anyone interested in the movement.

4. “Zombie Ass: Toilet of the Dead” (2011) – A group of teenagers go camping in the woods when they are attacked by an endless horde of poop-covered zombies. I watched this film initially as a joke to make a silly post about. But this Japanese film truly has no right going as hard – or being as good – as it truly is. It’s endlessly entertaining, well-crafted, and really goes in places I never would have imagined. You really can’t deny the imagination the Japanese horror scene has.

3. “Incantation” (2022) – When a filmmaker breaks a religious taboo and inherits a curse, she thinks it’s all behind her until she suspects her daughter is becoming a new target of it. This found-footage Japanese film goes hard and has some very scary build ups all throughout it.

2. “Noroi: The Curse” (2005) – A Japanese filmmaker begins an investigation into a mystery of a disappearing family in a local neighborhood, only to realize it’s the very beginning of a long-gestating and much darker story. This is another Japanese found footage film that really doesn’t hold its punches and delivers a twisty, interesting ride full of surprises, shocks, and some really strange characters.

1. “Sorgoi Prakov: Descent Into Darkess” (2013) – An eastern European journalist travels to Paris to film a series highlighting European capitals, but ends up going down a dark path of madness and depravity. This film blew my fucking mind. It’s a found footage film that really doesn’t hold anything back, ends in the darkest of places, and just eats away at you long after the credits roll. I plan to do a full review on this sometime soon after I rewatch it, but to put it simply, picture “Borat” meets “August Underground” – and you’ve got a vague idea of where this film exists in the zeitgeist of found footage and extreme media. Absolutely unbelievable hidden gem that I can’t recommend enough, especially for those looking for a good, dark found footage film.

And there we go! I hope there’s atleast one title on here that catches your attention. We’ll see you in the next week or so when we both roll out our Top 10 of 2025!

Honorable Mentions:
#Alive (2020)
Eden Lake (2008)
Hell of the Living Dead (1980)
Nekromantik 2 (1991)
Bodies Bodies Bodies (2022)
Bait (2012)

‘Til Next Time,
Mike Cleopatra