‘Predator: The Prey’, ‘Nope!’ and Isaac Ezbán’s 10 favorite horror movies in 2022

This year Mexico lived a special moment: within the top 10 national box office, four positions were for horror productions, being The evil eyefrom the director isaac ezban and also director of Barbarian Mexico Y the resemblancesthe great reference. We add that he is part of the dream team in charge of the new version of La hora marcada, that production in which Guillermo del Toro, Alfonso Cuarón and Emmanuel Lubezki made their first films.

Days before the end of the year, Ezban shared his top 10 horror movies exclusively for Sensacine Latam. Drawing on his experience as a filmmaker and darker tastes, he provided a tour from the work of Jordan Peele and Christian Tafdrup to the terrifying stakes of Ti West and Alex Garland. Now get ready to enter the mind of Ezban, one of today’s most creative filmmakers with extremely twisted film tastes..

Before presenting his selection, we must clarify that the following films are the special mentions he left for all horror lovers who always seek to go beyond the conventional: hatching from Hanna Bergholm; The grandmother from Paco Plaza; smile by Parker Finn; Watcher from Chloe OkunoY resurrection by Andrew Semans.

10.- ‘Predator, The Prey’, Dan Trachtenberg

If there is already a movie about Cowboys vs. AliensWhy couldn’t there be one of Indians vs. Aliens now? To be honest, I remember little of the original Predator, but I remember the concept perfectly well, and this prequel seems exceptional to me, because of how truly original and rich (we haven’t really seen it much) it is to set a story in a world so primitive and without technology, where characters living under those rules suddenly have to face a monster with technology that would be futuristic and sci-fi even to us.

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The script of Prey: The prey is quite simple and direct, but the camera direction is absolutely spectacular, always injecting adrenaline and action (and also some terror) never losing focus on character development, creating another solid heroine who has to fight for more than just survival: to find her place in this world.. Dan Tratchenberg should make movies more often.

9.- ‘Men’, Alex Garland

The exact example of what means the heightened horror with thematic relevance, building truly visually disturbing and absolutely unforgettable images and sequenceswhich at the same time represent deep and intelligent metaphors about gender roles, prejudices and myths in our current society, that is Men: Terror in the shadows.

The concept is so solid and clear, and it is so well exemplified, that from the first half it is already very clear which is the metaphor that is being talked about, and that may seem repetitive or redundant at times, but even so, visually it is still tremendously creepy and insane.

It has to be one of the home invasion movies most crooked we’ve ever seen, and that third act features some of the most gruesome and beautiful body horror prosthetics I’ve ever seen as well.. After this movie, I sure as hell don’t want to see Rory Kinnear’s face anymore.

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8.- ‘Barbarian’, Zach Cregger

I will always madly love a good movie that becomes another movie that then becomes another movieand definitely Barbarian (film available at star plus) is a great example of that, as well as being a masterclass in managing tension in contained spaces and in surprises and unpredictability. I also loved how the movie presents such a wild and insane mythology, yet tells you so little about it, leaving most of it to your imagination…and your nightmares!

7.- ‘The Elderly’ (‘Old People’), Francisco González Gomez and Raíl Cerezo

Continuing with another of the main exponents of horror about old age (as I said, a well-marked trend this year), The Elderly It is THE “bad old men” movie par excellence, with a tremendously creepy concept, impeccable execution and a delicious ending that even elevates it to the realms of science fiction and Serie B..

Of the best Midnight Screenings of this edition of the Fantastic Fest, and another great demonstration of the Spanish avant-garde in genre cinema (by the way, it would make a great double feature with The grandmother by Paco Plaza, who was also close to making it onto this list).

6.- ‘Pearl’, Ti West

Just two paragraphs ago we talked about X by Ti West, the slasher that started unexpectedly with this trilogy; We often hear of these cases of large blockbusters Hollywood movies like Avatar or The Avengers or Matrix that “secretly” -or sometimes not so secretly- They record their sequels almost at the same time or shortly after, and they almost come out on par with the first one, but they have all the resources in the world.

Having the same thing but in the indie world / art house horror and the A24-elevated horror is truly amazing to me, but aside from how or when it was made, Pearl as such is very good too: it’s totally different from X (that one is much more serious and gloomy, this one is more cartoonish and exacerbated), but it’s a great origin story of an already iconic new character in horror, recreating a beautiful technicolor and with one of the best monologues that we will see this year in the cinema.

5.- ‘Venus’, Jaume Balaguero

speaking of horror about old age, Venus It is definitely another of its main exponents. One more demonstration of how the Spanish give us 10 thousand laps in genre cinema (to us Mexicans but I would say that to all of America). Jaume Balaguero, one of the main exponents of the genre in Spain, has had, together with his screenwriter, the vision of combining the classic plot of “I stole drugs from my pimp / boss and now he wants to kill me” with… Cosmic terror!

In addition to its original premise and being full of dark moments and really funny and stylized sequences, build one of the best heroines of the year. It was a delight to see the reactions of the public when this film opened the Sitges Festival.

4.- ‘X’, Ti West

I´d say one goddamn fucked up horror picture!I am a fan of this sub-genre of horror that has grown so much in the post-pandemic era (I still don’t understand why), which I would call Horror about old age, that terror that the old are the bad guys again, and this is definitely one of its main exponents. After having been so absent from the cinema, West returns with Xa slasher who perfectly understands that relationship that has always existed between sex and terror, and who pays homage to classics we love such as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre while at the same time bringing his own touch of heightened terror.

I love how the movie it takes so long to establish your settings and its characters, before becoming a true butcher shopand also, let’s not forget that it is about the creation of a new great villain, around which there is already a trilogy, of which two films are part of this list, and the third will be released next year! As I said, after so many years absent from the cinema, Ti West has definitely put the batteries.

3.- ‘The black telephone’, Scott Derrickson

the blood of Stephen King well for his family, as this atmospheric, emotional, nostalgic, and nightmarish horror odyssey is based on the novel by Joe Hill (King’s son) and perfectly touches on his father’s favorite theme of children with “sensitive sensibilities” in every aspect of The Black Telephone.

It is a story about mistreated or abused children, and not only in the obvious aspect (which is being kidnapped by a murderer) but also in other aspects (such as in the family or at school), and for that reason, also a great story about what it means to grow and mature. The resolution is very solid due to the round script that intelligently combines natural terror with real terror, and the always effective direction of Scott Derrickson.

2.- ‘Speak No Evil’, Christian Tafdrup

Holy shit that was fucked up! We’ve all experienced that magical feeling of finding an unexpected connection with certain strangers on a journey, but here’s a great piece on the dangers of that connection. What begins as a story with touches of black humor very much like Michael Haneke, becomes its second act in an insane and disturbing horror film, believe me, you have no idea how far this will go!

And here there is nothing truly supernatural, no demonic presence, rather, just the true terror of the darkest corners of human evil in speak no evil; just like in movies like The Vanishing either Calvary, and many times that terror is the greatest of all. Plus, if you’re a parent, this movie will hit you even harder. There is nothing like European terror: Why do you do this? Because we you let me…fuck!

1.- ‘Nope’, Jordan Peele

Jordan Peele (Flee!) once again delights us with one of the best films of the year (he’s already 3 out of 3) with Nope!and again a horror story that in a certain way “nobody asked for” (it is neither a remake nor a sequel nor a prequel to anything) and that within the originality of its proposalmanages to honor classics that we love so much.

Even though this is perhaps your Biggest budget film and its most commercial, it continues to feel like a director in deep control of his madness. It’s an exciting summer blockbuster, a monster movie, and a western with touches from masters like Steven Spielberg, John Carpenter, M. Night Shyamalan and curiously even a touch from Quentin Tarantino (imagine that mix).