Here are Cinephile Corner’s 10 recommendations for horror movies like The Blackening:
Scream 5
Scream 5 resurrects a franchise gone for far too long. Although not a perfect transition into the modern age, the newest Scream movie offers plenty of fun and camp that gels with the common core of this franchise’s ideas.
Bodies Bodies Bodies
Stylistically and visually, Bodies Bodies Bodies is a real treat. The scenes are lush and vibrant, and the color design for this film is excellent. As all A24 horror projects go, this film finds its pocket early on and sticks to it. Even with a narrative that can feel generic at this point, Bodies Bodies Bodies excels at amplifying and hyper-intensifying the world around its main plotline.
Get Out
Jordan Peele’s directorial debut was an instant cultural and cinematic phenomenon—one of those rare films that completely redefines its genre while achieving both critical and commercial success. It was a movie that not only announced Peele as one of the most exciting new filmmakers of the decade but also proved that horror could be both socially charged and immensely entertaining. While Us confirmed that Get Out was no fluke, and Nope showcased Peele’s ability to handle blockbuster-scale storytelling, it all started with this razor-sharp psychological thriller that remains just as effective years later.
Heart Eyes
Heart Eyes delivers a clever and blood-soaked twist on the slasher genre, taking a cue from classics like Scream while putting a Valentine’s Day spin on the formula. Directed with a knowing wink and just enough bite, this seasonal horror-thriller finds a solid rhythm early on—thanks in large part to its lead duo—and mostly rides that momentum until the final act falters under the weight of an undercooked reveal.
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.
Thanksgiving
Eli Roth, a significant figure in gnarly genre filmmaking, takes a stab at the holiday horror subgenre with Thanksgiving, a movie that successfully balances gore, satire, and a twisted sense of humor. Roth, known for his unapologetically brutal style, delivers a horror-thriller that not only embraces the conventions of the genre but also winks at them, creating an entertaining if not entirely groundbreaking Thanksgiving slasher.
Sick
Sick is the latest action/horror picture from director John Hyams. It’s his follow-up to the 2020 film Alone and feels like a natural successor for the filmmaker. In both movies, protagonists are quickly pushed into a battle to save their own lives from relentless attackers that feel just shy from being the boogeyman reincarnated. While Alone takes place mostly in the outdoors wilderness, Sick opts for a luxurious remote cabin secluded from neighbors and the outside world.
Y2K
The best way to approach Y2K is to go in completely blind. Seriously, avoid trailers and marketing if you can. The film’s absurd twists and genuinely hilarious moments are what make it so enjoyable, and knowing too much beforehand could spoil the fun. Kyle Mooney makes his directorial debut here, and he nails it. Throughout the brisk 91-minute runtime, he keeps the pace sharp and entertaining. The movie is often exhilarating, always self-deprecating, and has just enough 1999 nostalgia to hit the right notes without feeling overdone or cheesy.
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.
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.