lucio fulci, 1981

A spooky grab-bag of Halloween fun. Giallo set in New Orleans practically dripping in Louisiana flavor (and gore, a lot of gore from Germano Natali, of Suspiria and Profondo rosso). No creepy stone is left unturned and you get the sense that Fulci, post Zombie, was totally unrestrained. 

paul schrader, 1982

Origin of the best Paul Schrader anecdote and the one most telling about his distinction as a director -- absolute obsession and commitment. Nastassja Kinski stars and is obsessed over just as Mishima would be in his next film. Weird and by coincidence another New Orleans-based horror/erotic thriller. Lovingly crafted by some of the most talented artists of the era (Moroder, McDowell, Shrader) it is still less than the sum of its parts. The sum is still pretty good though.  

nobuo nakagawa, 1960

Begins and ends as a highly-stylized Buddhist morality tale suffers from a rather boilerplate thriller middle. This film is still worth watching for the gorgeous Showa-era color photography and the early gore effects. It must have been influential on all those Thai horror films about hell. Don't get too bored by the second act. It's worth a watch. 

fred olen ray, 1988

Ray, who to this very day makes several films a year mostly in the "Christmas prince" genre has not returned to the chainsaw-worshiping cult of strippers that provide the excuse for this film's gratuitous nudity. I don't know why because it's extremely funny. Significantly funnier than most big-budget 80s sex comedies such as Weird Science or Revenge of the Nerds and somehow less misogynistic. 

 juliano dornelles / kleber mendonça filho, 2019

A gorgeous film about a small town in Brazil experiencing strange things. Until the American commandos arrive and it turns into a mediocre spy thriller with laughably bad performances and cringe worthy tough-guy dialogue. Still worth watching, if only for the first hour. 

brian yuzna, 1989

Satire, horror, documentary? Very entertaining movie about the excess and depravities of the rich. I feel like Q-anon people would really enjoy this movie especially, so if you have an uncle into that sort of thing throw this bad boy in the tape deck. 

david brukner, 2022

It's Hellraiser, adapted for a new generation. What more can be said? It's very competent. It restores a bit of Clive Barker's gayness but doesn't go much further. David Brukner is a talented director that has been slowly working toward something big. This isn't it but is still worth a watch. Great monsters. 

david brukner, 2020

A better film than Hellraiser. What if your beautiful lakefront Midcentury modern-inspired home was haunted? That would suck, right? Ghosts in your Eames chairs; your Nakamichi Dragon turning on and off sporadically. What if, even worse, the ghost was your husband who just killed himself without warning? Finally and worst of all, what if you were a middle school English teacher? If this film didn't have that washed-out Arri Alexa Mini look it would be higher. Impossible to watch on a projector. 

masahiro shinoda, 1979

Like a fever dream this gorgeous film follows an explorer in the far reaches of rural Japan as he encounters youkai of every variety. It has a stilted, creepy mood and is anchored by the otherworldly performance of Tamasaburo Bando, the finest kabuki actor alive in 1979 and today. Shinoda's other films Double Suicide and Silence are worth watching as well. 

zach cregger, 2022

Directed by one of the Whitest Kids U'Know this film effortless walks that tightrope between horror and comedy in a way that most films can't. Like a slightly-lesser Scream. It is an extremely small film in scope and benefits from it. Incredibly good performances all around. Bill Skarsgård is perfect. 

various, 2013-present

Four minute-long Japanese horror shorts in the style of a paper puppet theater. There are more than a hundred, but I specifically recommend The Family Rule, Contradiction, The Umbrella Goddess, The Moon, Tunnel, Wrong Number and Snow Hut.

peter strickland, 2018

A fashion-horror movie about the sacred act of bargain hunting. Brings the gravitas of old retail back to the silver screen. If the aesthetics of malls and clothing racks, of polished brass and shined marble perfume counters appeal to you this movie is worth a watch. It's also uproariously funny. 

takashi miike, 2001

Almost beyond description -- a man is unceremoniously fired from his job as a shoe salesman and decides to open a bead and breakfast in a remote valley. The entire family reunites to help out but things do not go as planned. More comedy than horror but more baffling than anything this movie from the director of Ichi the Killer and Audition will entertain virtually everyone. 

martin scorsese, 1999

The secret, forbidden Scorsese movie that nobody talks about is actually one of his bleakest, most personal movies. It follows Nicholas Cage as a paramedic who is realistically pinballed from one horrific scene to the next. One of the greatest Nic Cage performances by any measure. Just watch it. 

julia ducournau, 2016

Horror of every variety is depict within. Intense peer pressure is somehow the most minor and most significant. The animal scenes especially are masterpieces of design. Every bit as good as last year's maybe best movie, Titane.

jordan peele, 2022

Everything that can be said about this movie has been blogged, tweeted and published on sites with names like GodIsAGeek. Despite all that the film is incredibly good. It is a crowd-pleaser in the best sense. I wish the ape was real though. 

ti west, 2022

A masterpiece in the making but still worth watching the first two of this trilogy are so full of character and passion for the horror genre that they have to be high on the list. Ti West has such an obsession with portraying time and place that these movies, even more so than a classic like The House of the Devil, that every scene commands your attention. X is drenched in the stank of the Golden Age of porn while Pearl swirls at the center of a Dust Bowl tornado. 

luis buñuel, 1962 

Buñuel was born to make horror movies, having put to film the earliest and most visceral gore scene in Un chien andalou the closest he ever got to a real horror film is The Exterminating Angel. Forcibly restrained by a minuscule budget and the filmic backwater that was Mexico City in 1962 this vicious film was made by Buñuel in what was essentially exile. A lavish dinner party begins and cannot end. The counts and countesses simply cannot bring themselves to leave. Water becomes a concern. Buñuel  is unequivocally my director of the year, so this list in inherently biased and if you want to watch the best scary movie look elsewhere on the list.