Here are Cinephile Corner’s 10 recommendations for horror movies like Hell Hole:
Get Away
Get Away operates in two distinct modes, making a dramatic shift during its second act twist that transitions the film into a blood-soaked, hyper-violent, gonzo finale. While the final act offers some chaotic fun and memorable moments, the journey to get there is an intentional slog, with the first two acts playing out like a deliberately bad horror comedy. This approach seems designed to mislead viewers into engaging with a movie that feels more amateurish than clever before attempting to redeem itself with a wild conclusion.
Cocaine Bear
Cocaine Bear reinvents the boundaries of cinema and what’s possible for the medium moving forward. An absolutely groundbreaking work that sets the tone for 2023. Just kidding. But it’s still goofy and wild. And a bear does cocaine, confirmed.
Destroy All Neighbors
Destroy All Neighbors essentially reinforces the trend of recent Shudder streaming releases. They haven’t been good, and we’re getting to the point of no return quickly. A few practical effects save the movie from being a complete dud.
Stopmotion
Stopmotion is entertaining in the moment, but not all that engaging or memorable after the fact. A work of function and form, but not nearly as groundbreaking or redefining in an era of genre picture glory. A step-up from recent Shudder releases, which is still a promising sign.
Brooklyn 45
Brooklyn 45 adds to the long string of underwhelming original movies for Shudder in 2023. Just a few days ago, I wrote about Children of the Corn being a real turning point for the streamer. Thankfully, Brooklyn 45 doesn’t stoop as low as that film, but it certainly doesn’t feel inspiring for the brand. It’s the sort of film you drop to fill hourly quotas, not to line your own pockets. I guess that makes it somewhat of an on-brand project for the studio this year.
Skinamarink
While Kyle Edward Ball‘s new movie Skinamarink has become a cult-sensation and an extremely successful financial hit, it’s still experimental – almost to a fault. Skinamarink is an excellent exploration of atmosphere and tone, but it’s absent of a story that viewers can latch on to.
The Hand That Rocks the Cradle
The Hand That Rocks the Cradle feels so familiar it could play on mute and you would still predict every beat. That would be easier to forgive if Michelle Garza Cervera’s remake found a new angle on the “nanny from hell” setup, or if it harnessed the filmmaker’s sharper instincts from Huesera. Instead this Hulu release sands down her menace into something polished and weightless, another direct-to-streamer thriller built from prefab parts.
Ick
Joseph Kahn’s Ick is a caffeinated, genre-scrambling splatter comedy that lives on needle drops and velocity. It is shameless about both, and that is part of the fun. Kahn edits like a music-video veteran, hurling you through an opening twenty-minute life-ruiner montage scored to mid-2000s emo and alt rock. “Swing, Swing” tees up the fall of golden-boy quarterback Hank Wallace, while tracks like “Teenage Dirtbag” slide in later as the movie keeps sprinting from bit to bit. The approach is knowingly exploitative of nostalgia and pop culture, yet the film is so nakedly in on its own joke that the excess becomes a feature rather than a bug.
The Monkey
The Monkey is a middling but watchable entry in the 2025 horror slate. It doesn’t reach the high bar set by of Oz Perkin’s best films, nor does it fully honor the emotional undercurrents of King’s original story, but it’s never boring. If nothing else, it reaffirms Oz Perkins as a horror director worth watching—even when the material doesn’t quite land.
Death of a Unicorn
Death of a Unicorn is the kind of misfire that feels like it started with a compelling pitch but never found its footing in script or tone. It has the potential to be a midnight movie curiosity for some, but for most, it’s likely to be a forgettable experiment. This is one A24 project that stumbles far from the high standards the studio has set for itself—and feels far closer to Tusk or Heretic than to The Lighthouse or Uncut Gems. A few moments of bizarre creativity can’t rescue it from its fundamental problems.
