2018 brings the heat with these horror movie favorites.

So I had a tough time picking my favorite movie for this list. You really need to put the top 2 side by side because they are so close in my mind. That said, they are 2 completely different films and will scratch different horror itches. Let's get started ...

Damien Leone returns to the director chair and focuses on one of his scarier characters from All Hallows' Eve, Art the Clown. With a new actor in the role, Leone ramps the terror up to 11 in Terrifier. This movie pulls no punches and while David Howard Thornton is said to be kind of an ass, he's brilliant as the mute, psychotic, & possibly supernatural entity known as Art the Clown. This was one of those movies where I found myself sliding forward in anticipation. Check it out on tubi & VUDU free.

Blurb - On Halloween night, Tara Heyes finds herself as the obsession of a sadistic murderer known as Art the Clown.

Upgrade is one of my favorite movies, and though I would consider it more of a science fiction movie, I get why many people call it a horror film. Directed & Written by Leigh Whannell, one of the co-creators of the Saw franchise & the Insidious Franchise, you can see the influence horror has on him throughout the film. You can stream it with FXNow.

Blurb - Set in the near-future, technology controls nearly all aspects of life. But when the world of Grey, a self-labeled technophobe, is turned upside down, his only hope for revenge is an experimental computer chip implant.

So ignoring everything that happened after the original Halloween, we get the movie Halloween. It takes place around 40 years later and gives us a look into how the original film's events affected the characters over that time. You will have to pay to stream this one.

Blurb - Laurie Strode confronts her long-time foe, Michael Myers, the masked figure who has haunted her since she narrowly escaped his killing spree on Halloween night four decades ago.

If you like a little monster mayhem in your WW2 films, then you need to watch Overlord. Although rumored to be a part of the Cloverfield universe, JJ Abrams announced right before it was released that it was, in fact, not. Stream it with FXNow & Paramount+.

Blurb - A small group of American soldiers find horror behind enemy lines on the eve of D-Day.

I know people like to make fun of Nicolas Cage, but his willingness to tackle any & every project gives us the occasional gem like Mandy. More importantly, no matter the role, he throws his all into it. Prepare to have your mind messed with. Check it out with Shudder & amc+.

Blurb - The enchanted lives of a couple in a secluded forest are brutally shattered by a nightmarish hippie cult and their demon-biker henchmen, propelling a man into a spiraling, surreal rampage of vengeance.

In A Quiet Place, the first line of spoken dialogue doesn't happen until 38 minutes into the film. This movie embraces the unsettling atmosphere silence can create. The girl in this film is actually deaf, and it plays very well into the whole idea of a world where they must stay quiet for survival. You can check it out on Paramount+.

Blurb - In a post-apocalyptic world, a family is forced to live in silence while hiding from monsters with ultra-sensitive hearing.

Next up is Anna and the Apocalypse. So I have a soft spot for movies that break into song. I grew up on Grease & Grease 2 - more Grease 2 if I'm being honest ... damn you TMC! So when I saw someone took 3 ideas like Christmas, zombies, and singing & decided to cram them together ... well, I'm in 10 out of 10 times. You can check it out on tubi, Roku, & Redbox w/ ads.

Blurb - A zombie apocalypse threatens the sleepy town of Little Haven - at Christmas - forcing Anna and her friends to fight, slash and sing their way to survival, facing the undead in a desperate race to reach their loved ones. But they soon discover that no one is safe in this new world, and with civilization falling apart around them, the only people they can truly rely on are each other.

The Insidious franchise continues with Insidious: The Last Key. By now you should know what you are getting yourself into with this possession/haunting series. Another one you have to pay to stream.

Blurb - Parapsychologist Dr. Elise Rainier faces her most fearsome and personal haunting yet, as she is drawn back to her ghostly childhood home, where the terror began.

Amazon studios greenlit Luca Guadagnino's remake of the classic Dario Argento film Suspiria. To put his stamp on the film, the new director did away with the original film's trademark bright colors, and instead embraced a more "winterish" and bleak atmosphere. He also added almost a complete hour of extra material to the original film's runtime.

You can check out both versions on Prime. I'd start with the original.

Blurb - A darkness swirls at the center of a world-renowned dance company, one that will engulf the artistic director, an ambitious young dancer, and a grieving psychotherapist. Some will succumb to the nightmare. Others will finally wake up.

Last up is The Strangers: Prey at Night. It was announced in 2009 to follow up the super tense original, but kind of hung out in purgatory until the 47 Meters Down director got on board even though he is not a fan of slasher movies or home invasion movies. You're going to have to pay to check this one out.

Blurb - A family of four staying at a secluded mobile home park for the night are stalked and then hunted by three masked psychopaths.