Well hello, again. It’s been awhile. Haven’t been in your inbox for some time. Looks like you’ve done some redecorating, lots of junk and end-of-year sale notices cluttering your inbox, I see.
Oh, I’ve been fine. Writing tons, just not newsletters—I’ll save that for another day. For now, I wanted to highlight my favorite films of the year. This is usually not exclusive to release date, but it just so happens that all but one were released in 2022. Exciting times!
These films are verifiable. I have watched each more than once, some of them I am on a third viewing—it’s a problem, I know.
A rating scale for parent-friendly viewing is included at the end of each review, so you can decide what to watch together over the holidays.
Stay the Night (2022)
Straight-and-narrow girl meets down-on-his-luck hockey player, and they spend a single night walking the streets of Toronto.
romance, Millennial probz
I’m getting this one out of the way now because it is unlike all the others on the list—every single film that follows features at least one gruesome death scene—and I think it is the one that has flown mostly under the radar. I am desperate for people watch it. Reminiscent of classic Hollywood but with modern sensibilities, the shots are simple yet beautiful, the dialogue, believable and simple, and the two leads have an undeniable chemistry that lingers even after the last shot. It’s short, bittersweet. I love it. I love love.
Can you watch with your family? Definitely your mom and sisters. Dad will fall asleep, though.
Victoria (2015)
A young woman is drawn to a group of rowdy friends on the streets of Berlin, and she spends the night partying with them. When one of their members is forced to repay a debt, she is pulled into an unexpected heist job as the getaway driver.
delinquents, rave culture
The filmmakers and actors pull off an impressive feat, a single, continuous 134 minute shot, that could be gimmicky under different circumstances but, instead, create something with grit and heart—also beautiful to look at! Victoria is a woman so desperate to create a human connection in a foreign country that she finds herself embroiled in chaos and violence, but don’t let her fragile outer shell fool you.
On first viewing I assumed the film was edited to give the appearance of continuity, but upon further research I found that it is, in fact, a singular shot. Long shots have become a bit of a norm in Hollywood—Alejandro G. Iñárritu is a big fan of it and Sam Mendes used the effect in 1917—but its rare to find the genuine thing because it is so risky. Some other fun facts, the script was only twelve pages long, relying mostly on improvisation, and there was only budget for three attempts at the singular shot, the released version being the final attempt.
(One day I will write further on my 30/70 ratio for great films—30% romance and 70% action—but I can say that this film fits the theory.)
Can you watch with your family? Yes, but your parents will complain about the characters’ terrible life choices.
Watcher (2022)
A woman moves to Romania for her husband’s work, and in her isolation, both physical and cultural, she notices a neighbor watching her from his window. Her paranoia grows as the threat of a serial killer looms over the city.
never trust a man, close the blinds
I have been a Maika Monroe fan since It Follows. To me, and many others, she is the quintessential, modern scream queen. There is something standoffish about her without being cold, inquisitive and worldly. A real cool, cool girl. The kind of girl that is popular on Instagram but doesn’t have one—though she does have one. I loved seeing Monroe return to horror, but I would not classify this as true horror. It feels more like a European thriller from the 60s or 70s with Hitchcockian influences, though it is truly terrifying at times for how it depicts female intuition/anxiety.
Also, it’s just wonderful to look at. Monroe moves back and forth in front of her large windows, looking off into the corners of her apartment’s high ceilings, a sad, sleepy expression though her eyes sparkle with intrigue, she walks the snow covered streets in her time capsule wardrobe, and peers down the hallways of Cold War buildings in pursuit of her stalker. It is a cat and mouse game, but the role of cat and of mouse changes frequently, leaving the viewer with an uneasy feeling until the charged end.
Bonus points for a female director!
Can you watch with your parents? Maybe. Its bloodless except the last fifteen minutes. Good conversation starter afterwards.
The Northman (2022)
Hamlet but with Vikings.
power mullets, sword play
As a child who grew up watching Braveheart, there is nothing I love more than historical action. The director, Robert Eggers, is known for his period appropriate horrors, but he has proven his aptitude with the hero’s journey. This film has it all: bloody battles, witches, Anya Taylor-Joy, sex, ghosts, birth rights, revenge, a hero with an Oedipus complex, and a final battle atop a volcano with two naked warriors. It’s a mix of roided out Scandinavians howling at the moon and folklore magic, your father’s action movie with that twinge of A24 weirdness.
Come for Ethan Hawke crawling on the ground like a dog, stay for Nicole Kidman’s unhinged performance.
(Fits the 30/70 ratio)
Can you watch with family? Probably not. Your mom and dad will probably dislike it for different reasons.
Barbarian (2022)
After a mix up with her Airbnb reservation, a girl decides to share the home with a stranger and learns quickly how terrible that decision could be.
mind your business, justice for Mother
Speaking of unhinged…No words can encapsulate the pure joy I experienced while watching this one in theaters. It is why I love film. It is why I love horror. I am very rarely surprised by a plot, but this one surprised me doubly. I am going to keep this review coy because I do not want to give anymore detail than necessary because it is best watched without reading the Wiki page.
I hate to call it a horror-comedy because those genres often cancel each other out, ending up with a film that is neither scary nor funny, but this film fits the bill. If it means anything to you, the director, Zach Cregger, was part of the comedy group The Whitest Kids U Know which was a very particular type of absurdist, comedy from the early 2000s. It’s satiric of a certain segment of masculinity, but it also has some truly horrifying—and fun—moments. It is ridiculous, but that is its intention.
All I will say, a Hilton would never do us this dirty.
Can you watch with your family? Hard no. Watch Christmas Vacation instead.
Nope (2022)
A son struggles to keep the family business afloat after the death of the patriarch. When a few of the horses go missing, he enlists the help of his wayward sister and a few fringe individuals to capture the perpetrator, unprepared for the out-of-this-world danger that is waiting.
horse girl, mind your business pt. 2
This is my favorite film by Jordan Peele, hands down, no contest. Every part of this is perfection: the acting, the pacing, the cinematography, the “monster” reveal. Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer give some of their best performances, and I hope one, or both, are nominated this award season.
Like Barbarian, it is a horror with some very funny jokes, but it also a thrilling sci-fi. I will say, it has one of the most effective scary scenes I have ever witnessed, and if you know me, I’ve seen a lot of shit. For the people who have seen it, it’s after Steven Yeun’s character starts the show at the western-themed amusement park…with the audience, and the horse, and the glass box…what happens immediately after to the people. Claustrophobics, be warned.
I have heard some grumblings about some of the imagery and backstory, that it doesn’t really fit, but I found it essential to the story and takes it to that next level. Cautionary, without being preachy, of the human desire to capture nature—physical and photographic—and tame it, and the consequences of our need for entertainment, how we forget the danger, thinking we have mastered all that there is to dominate.
Come for the laughs, stay for the existentialism!
Can you watch with your family? Yes, but dependent on their blood tolerance.
I would love to hear your thoughts on the list, and if you give any of them a try this holiday season!