2023 Genre Movie Calendar (Part 1 of 4)
The start of a new year is the start of making promises to ourselves that we cannot or have no intention of keeping. Rolling out resolutions because it’s a form of habit that's ingrained in life, much like it is to pay your taxes or eventually call your younger self stupid for liking something that has aged poorly. On that same ground, people make promises to expand their minds by reading more, listening to audiobooks more, or in the case of this piece, watching movies more. This is why to help people keep that most simple of resolutions Neon Splatter is proud to present the “2023 Genre Movie Calendar”!
You might be asking, “why genre movies?” That's simple, you came to Neon Splatter or Googled something that pointed you in this direction. More than that, genre films have such a wide-ranging grasp, that they can turn people on to several subgenres. So, what follows is rather easy to take in. Each month gets one relatively recent movie you should check out. It may be an obvious title you have heard of, or are just learning about. Then, because the kinds of people who normally write these lists are crazy people, there will be an “alternate pick.” That will be an older film that either pairs well with the main option or is the kind of movie you need to add to your watch list!
JANUARY
WATCHER
The best way to start a new year is by taking in one of the best-reviewed, but under-seen movies of the previous year, Chloe Okuno’s WATCHER. A slow and methodical psychological thriller with Giallo underpinnings, it’s exactly the kind of work that makes genre fans salivate.
Julia (Maika Monroe), an actress taking a break from work due to stress and exhaustion, makes a big leap when she decides to accompany her husband (Karl Glusman) to Romania for his new job. As if being in a new country wasn't alienating enough, it also turns out a serial killer may be stalking not too far from the couple's new home. Throwing in some massive apartment windows, sleepless nights, as well as a language barrier that's a bit of a hurdle, Julia finds herself in a situation that gets more fraught with each passing moment. This all comes to a head when the killer starts to take an interest in her.
Whether from a technical and visceral level, WATCHER shines on all fronts. The early goings paint Julia's life as something of a prison or ghost-like existence. Able to float wherever, yet still trapped. A chance late-night encounter sends her down a road not only filled with dread but has her playing junior detective. Monroe shines as a woman who feels herself breaking, even if her sanity is still relatively intact. A reasonable feeling when a serial killer may or may not be hunting you and leaving a bloody trail in their wake. That it comes in such a confident and beautifully lensed package is what made it one of the best of 2022 and a perfect way to start this movie-watching journey.
Alternate Pick: NEW YEAR’S EVIL
Starting the new year with a film like NEW YEAR’S EVIL is a bold choice. It's got a "punk band" and "punk VJ" and it's hard to tell which is more fake. There's a sleaze factor that feels creepy at times and nonexistent at others. It contains a compelling enough hook to keep you watching the whole way through. The most important aspect to keep in mind is that the perfect time to watch NEW YEAR’S EVIL is when you are nursing a hangover.
As it stands, the film is a solid enough slasher from the period. A killer who plans to kill a person each time it strikes midnight in a new time zone? All acting as a countdown to the west coast, with the VJ slated to be the final victim? A plot like that might seem a bit Daffy and you'd be correct. In the hands of The Cannon Group, it is a whole ‘nother matter. So kick back, put on your tiny celebratory hat, and try to make it through an oddball of a film to kick things off with style!
FEBRUARY
HAPPY DEATH DAY
GROUNDHOG DAY is an immortal classic. There's no way to mess with Harold Ramis' classic. Yet it is the kind of basic premise that works its way into a horror story. Christopher Landon clearly understands what's important about making a comedy horror mystery is having the comedy work. Everything else can follow suit. And boy does it work. Whenever you think you have the story back in the corner, it messes with conventional enough to make it fresh once again. And again. And again. To the point where even if you have spent once a month revisiting HAPPY DEATH DAY for the past year, one more viewing won't spoil the experience.
The time-looped exploits of sorority girl Tree (Jessica Rothe), as she attempts to both stop a killer and make it to tomorrow, work because it understands everything. Is ridiculous. By making sure that comedy is one of the focal points, alongside several thrills, it allows the movie the sensation of being lighter than expected. Most horror comedies go for the inverse, and that's fine, just making this one more unique in the process. It also has the unexpected benefit of Rothe's natural likability allowing Tree's arc—from a stuck-up popular girl to someone genuinely attempting to better themselves—to land than appearing artificial.
Of course, the other side of the equation, the horror aspect, doesn't get left in the lurch. Employing a giant baby face mask makes the killer easily recognizable and births a new legend. At the same time making this a whodunit invests viewers the first go around. Landon and writer Scott Lobdell pack the film with enough twists and turns that legitimately any character could be the one going after Tree. HAPPY DEATH DAY might not have broken new ground when it came out, but thanks to just being an all-around solid package it's become a staple in a lot of people's yearly rotation.
Alternate Pick: TIMECRIMES
When it comes to foreign directors who never really got their due (in this case there's still time to fix it) Nacho Vigalondo could easily make his case. As big (literally and metaphorically) as COLOSSAL was, he hasn't had studios reach out to give him a shot. On the other hand, maybe they haven't seen TIMECRIMES yet.
More than any entry on the advent calendar, it's hard to go into specifics about this movie. That's a given when time travel is involved. What can be divulged is that Hector has a series of accidents before he falls into a time machine. Turning a not-so-great day into a nightmare of potentially existential proportions.
Vigalondo takes what could be a small and lite affair and turns it into something unhinged and insane. In the best way possible. All due to a healthy amount of ingenuity and mental instability, as it takes a person way off center to make a film that goes the direction this one does. In a month known for if someone does or does not see their shadow, this makes for the perfect companion piece.
MARCH
DAVE MADE A MAZE
As spring starts to creep into the year, the best way to celebrate is with a film brimming with creativity, goofiness, and a decent amount of mayhem. Bill Watterson's DAVE MADE A MAZE is the kind of indie fantasy comedy film with a slice of horror that shouldn't exist. Seemingly concocted in the mind of an insane person, it's overflowing with some of the most spectacular production designs you've ever seen. Not to mention featuring a heartwarming story about friendship and being true to yourself. Oh and cardboard. Lots and lots of deadly cardboard.
Being an artist is hard. It's even worse when you think of yourself as a slacker who has piled up more unfinished projects than finished ones. Feeling this crushing weight, Dave (Nick Thune) decides he'll make a fort for himself to hide in. Unfortunately, the forces of the universe take such a simple creation and morph it into a tardis-like supernatural universe. Where the construction of the maze might fit within a studio apartment, but is the size of an industrial complex inside. When Dave goes missing, his girlfriend (Meera Rohit Kumbhani) leads an expedition of friends to find a way to try and get him out, even as a crazed minotaur chases them all over the place. Yes, you read that right.
Released roughly six years ago, DAVE MADE A MAZE doesn't get talked about enough, though it has all the elements of a cult classic. It's got a terrific case of character actors (Jamea Urbaniak, Adam Busch, Kristen Vangsness). A sense of humor that's both crass and childlike, never entering the realm of the mean. Awe-inspiring sets that constantly evolve and shift, keeping the audience's attention throughout. The icing on the cake though may be the runtime. Considering all the wild shenanigans get up to, the whole thing wraps up in 80 minutes, including credits. Leaving literally no excuses as to why you shouldn't give this movie a watch.
Alternate Pick: THE HIDDEN
At first glance having this film be the alternate choice may come off as a head-scratcher. Yet it most definitely works on two fronts: it's a film overflowing with creativity and though it's grown a following still seems vastly underseen. Jack Sholder's THE HIDDEN is exactly the kind of original property that studios always claim to want to make, but never pull the trigger on. Part sci-fi film, part body-swap, all ‘80s-action, it's the rare genre-bender that has something for anyone and everyone. Including Kyle MacLachlan.
Detective Tom Beck (Michael Nouri) and FBI investigator Lloyd Gallagher (MacLachlan) find themselves in over their heads when they face off with a body-swapping alien. At its base core that's what the movie is about. What makes it work is how Sholder stages each sequence as Nouri and MacLachlan bounce off one another. It's no wonder that writer Jim Kouf would go on to work on RUSH HOUR, as that mismatched partner dynamic is dynamite here.
THE HIDDEN also gets by in its ability to juggle disparate elements and make them feel as if they naturally go together. The alien's transitional process is gross and terrifying. Each body it inhabits becomes a Terminator-lite, capable of destroying entire city blocks. Allowing for numerous shootouts and chances for things to go "boom" really good. The ‘80s were a haven for movies stitched together from 75 different ideas. THE HIDDEN just happens to do it better than 90% of them.
