Happy New Year! 2023 hits the ground running with rare horror gems, brand-new releases, and catchup titles from last year. If this is a sign of what’s to come, we might be in for another stellar year of horror. As always, we’ll be on the front lines each and every day.
Here are ten noteworthy horror titles available for streaming in January 2023 on some of the most popular streaming services, along with when/where you can watch them.
The Menu – HBO Max
Ralph Fiennes and Anya Taylor-Joy in the film THE MENU. Photo by Eric Zachanowich. Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2022 20th Century Studios All Rights Reserved
An ensemble of affluent patrons gathers at the exclusive Hawthorne Island for a dining experience run by prestigious Chef Slowik (Ralph Fiennes). The guests soon realize what devious, deadly dishes the Chef intends to serve. The Menu may have gathered a fine cast for this delectable culinary nightmare, but the film belongs to Fiennes. Fiennes’ performance as the obsessed Chef, whose unwillingness to relinquish control despite his pursuit of perfection pushes him past the brink, is masterful. It’s a tormented artist’s story by way of epicurean pretension.
Possession – Shudder (January 5)
Andrzej Żuławski’s psychological horror film remains as captivating as it is confusing. A strangely told narrative about an international spy and his intense relationship with his wife, it’s a haunting dissection of the dissolution of a relationship and the strange love affair the wife develops with a tentacle creature. Leads Sam Neill and Isabelle Adjani devote every fiber of their being to their roles, and I don’t know that anyone has so fully committed themselves to their role as Adjani since. Disturbing, unnerving, and confusing, Possession is more of an emotional experience than a linear narrative, and there’s nothing else like it.
The Pale Blue Eye – Netflix (January 6)
The Pale Blue Eye. Christian Bale as Augustus Landor in The Pale Blue Eye. Cr. Scott Garfield/Netflix © 2022
Director Scott Cooper’s The Pale Blue Eye, an adaptation of Louis Bayard’s novel, crafts a fictional Gothic whodunnit around Poe’s tenure as a cadet at the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. The languid Gothic murder mystery is more interested in examining how Poe’s life experiences may have influenced his work, resulting in a quiet, meditative mood piece. Thanks to impeccable craftsmanship and a riveting performance by Harry Melling, this fictional tale does enough to do right by Poe.
House of Darkness – Hulu (January 7)
Justin Long (Barbarian, Tusk) and Kate Bosworth (Black Rock, Before I Wake) star in this horror-comedy by director Neil LaBute (The Wicker Man). In the film, “Driving home to her secluded estate after meeting at a local bar, a player out to score thinks his beautiful, mysterious date will be another casual hook-up. While getting acquainted, their flirtation turns playful, sexy, and sinister. Hoping to get lucky, his luck may have just run out.” Go in blind for this charming and darkly comedic chamber piece.
Dawn Breaks Behind the Eyes – Shudder (January 9)
An unhappy woman and her irritable husband have just inherited a rundown mansion, but reality and time cease to hold meaning the longer they stay and realize something is amiss with the place. Kevin Kopacka directs a sumptuous visual feast, channeling the likes of Mario Bava and capturing a psychedelic, ’70s Italian occult aesthetic. What begins as a bizarre, disjointed movie that favors style over coherent story quickly gives way to something far more unexpected and extensive in scope. In other words, it’s a gorgeous, ethereal movie full of surprising twists that deftly shift genres.
Just Desserts: The Making of Creepshow – Screambox (January 13)
This horror documentary arrives on streaming for the first time. The informative horror doc chronicles the making of Stephen King and George A. Romero’s 1982 horror anthology classic from conception through completion.
Sorry About the Demon – Shudder (January 19)
Writer/Director Emily Hagins (Pathogen, My Sucky Teen Romance, Scare Package) is back with another horror-comedy. Sorry About the Demon follows a broken-hearted man discovering that restless spirits inhabit his new place. Hagins has a knack for creating charming characters and insightful observations on horror through humor and wit, so we can likely expect that to continue here.
Signal 100 – SCREAMBOX (January 24)
In the grand, violent tradition of Battle Royale, Signal 100 sees high school students forced into a lethal game. The students are hypnotized to commit suicide on an unknown command, but their teacher only informs them of a few triggers, leaving them to band together to avoid their fate. Signal 100 is loosely based on the manga of the same name by Arata Miyatsuki and Shigure Kondo.
Teen Wolf: The Movie – Paramount+ (January 26)
It’s a massive month for fans of the MTV series, thanks to a spinoff series and a brand new movie. In Teen Wolf: The Movie, written and produced by Jeff Davis, “a full moon rises in Beacon Hills, and with it, a terrifying evil emerges. The wolves are howling once again, calling for the return of banshees, werecoyotes, hellhounds, kitsunes, and every other shapeshifter in the night.”
Dawning – SCREAMBOX (January 31)
A trauma therapist is forced to confront her family’s dark history when she returns to her family home to comfort her sister after a breakup. Explorations of mental health and trauma combine with supernatural chills. Dawning marks the feature directorial debut of Young Min Kim, the visual effects artist behind films like The Batman, Spider-Man: No Way Home, and Midsommar.
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