The Best Horror Movies of 2012

These are the movies of 2012 that we loved above all others. The ones we'll remember fondly.

They thrilled us, and they chilled us. Some made us think, while other just made us cover our eyes. All of them made us smile.

*Click the pics to read our full reviews and get the in-depth skinny on them, or just take our abbreviated words here as proof that you need to see these movies asap (if you already haven't.)

There was really no movie that tickled our collective Horror Bones this year more than The Cabin in the Woods did. It was fun, clever, bloody and played its hand smarter than any other genre flick did this year, all of which added up to one hell of a fresh and much needed experience.

The script and its story were superb, and had our minds racing to imagine the scope of it all. Joss Whedon definitely knows how to make we movie geeks froth at the mouth, and we cant wait to see what he did with The Avengers. Drew Goddard is no slouch either; the long time Whedon collaborator delivers the goods with his first directorial effort, and he's going to go on to do more great things, we just know it. They've given us one of the best conceptualized and most sharply written movies of this decade, and there's no end to the praise they deserve for this little genre gem.

The last 20 minutes of this movie are like a Horror Fanboy's wet dream; a cacophony of insanity and awesomeness that ends with... well, a very satisfying bang.

This really is excellent stuff here, folks. Our Cabin in the Woods Blu-ray will be getting plenty of spins out of us for years to come, and we can't wait.

The Collection was a satisfying follow-up to one of our favorite flicks of recent years, The Collector. We really wish it had run about 20 minutes longer or so, because it honestly felt a bit rushed, but that's about the only complaint we had about this great flick. Bloody as hell and mean spirited, we hope The Collection garners a bigger audience on Home Video than it did in Theaters. It even has a great ending too, which is a rarity in the Horror Genre these days, and that makes it even better.

After some of the horrific events of 2012 involving gun violence, it was hard to look back on God Bless America with as much love as we had for it when we first saw it. It's still one hell of a fun film, but it takes on a different tone now, and feels a bit heavier than we remember it being before. That being said, we still believe that GBA is about as timely and necessary as a movie can possibly be. I have personally been saying that "the dumbing down of America" has been in full swing for years now, and this movie captures that concept perfectly. Sure, it's over the top and overtly gratuitous, but then so are the targets of the movie's rage. We hope that it won't be unfairly vilified because of its violent gun-spree content, because it's a statement on Pop Culture, not how we should go out and kill people who frustrate us because we feel we have no other recourse left to us.

The Grey is a tension-filled action Thriller that operates on a deeper levell almost like it's a philosophical action flick. There's sentimentality to spare amidst the carnage and tension of the wolf vs. man battle for dominance, and that's a good thing. It's nice to see a genre flick that doesn't feel so empty for a change. The idea of Liam Neeson fighting wolves sold us on this movie from the get go. Let's be honest here; Liam Neeson is the kind of actor that instantly makes any movie better, just for him starring in it. Him fighting wolves... that's just a double win for us all.

We found ourselves liking Kill List more and more after repeat viewings, and by the end of the year, it was one of our faves of 2012. It surely didn't shy away from the violence, some of which was pretty cringe-inducing; it is about hit men after all, so you'd hope there would be some good whacking going on, right? Where the movie truly shines though, is in the subtlety of whats really going on underneath the surface of things; where the movie ends up going is interesting and made us want to see it again, to see what signs and portents we missed the first time around. The ride was better each time we took it.

Killer Joe is a gritty Crime Thriller that shows us Matthew McConaughey in a different light; this is his personal version of Patrick Bateman. We would love to see him get some awards recognition for this role, because he's just that good in it. Awards or not, this is one movie that Horror fans will revel in, as long as they aren't expecting something along the lines of Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer. The "fried chicken scene" alone makes this one worth seeing.

The Loved Ones is a violent and fun little flick, that left us feeling satisfied by the time the end credits started rolling. Aussie horror always seems to me to be pretty straightforward and nasty, and I respect that. In this one, a creepy bitch who got passed over for a prom date has a perverted little prom of her own, which includes using a hammer to make a guy piss in a cup, fixing his foot to the floor with a knife, drilling into his skull, and nearly fucking her dad... Yes, her dad. It's truly a nasty little piece of work.

From its opening sequence, The Pact pulled us in and didn't ever let us go. The premise was great, and mixing the story of a serial killer with some effective paranormal elements worked perfectly. The atmosphere was eerie and tense throughout, and the scares were effective. There was one instance of a musical cue/jump scare early on, but that sort of trickery wasn't repeated or resorted to to drive the movie. The Pact is a little movie that didn't seem to make many best of lists, and we can't understand why. It's easily one of the best pure Horror films of the year.

The Directors of Rabies essentially took the premise of a backwoods slasher flick, added layers of subtext to the premise, and made it stand out as an above average flick. There no one with rabies in this movie, nor does the title rabies signify any sort of viral infection in the movie, so don't be mislead. It's a flick that definitely breaks the mold that it was supposed to follow, and that's a good thing. We'd gladly welcome a sequel to Rabies into our lives.

Sinister was very effective in both story and scare factor, giving us a solid narrative to chew on and a really creepy atmosphere, while going very light on the jump scares and music cues that usually tend to plague Hollywood horror releases. What was Hollywood thinking? They gave moviegoers a mature horror flick that was aimed more for the adult crowd than teenyboppers, and it was not only good, but made a hell of a profit for them? Maybe it's the start of a trend!