MONSTERZERO NJ’S 10 BEST/FAVORITE HORROR FLICKS of 2022!
It’s time to look back at the past year and see what horror flicks left an impression. There were some strong titles, but to be honest, I wasn’t overly impressed by this year in horror. 2022’s bests/favorites are…like most years’, a healthy mix of high-profile chillers and indie productions. So, without further ado, here are my ten best/favorite horror movies of 2022!…
…along with a no surprise honorable mention streaming series!…
(To get to our reviews of these titles use the search engine at the top of the page!)
TOP TEN
HONORABLE MENTIONS TV SERIES
Technically more sci-fi than horror, but Amber Midthunder did make a strong final girl in the Predator prequel Prey.
MONSTERZERO NJ’S FINAL GIRL ROOKIE OF THE YEAR 2022!
This year’s MonsterZero NJ’s Final Girl Rookie of the Year is a relatively new girl on the block, though technically not a total rookie. She did appear in the 2018 cyber stalker chiller 14Cameras, but her character was more of a damsel in distress. This Native American actress made a huge impression this year in her final girl debut in Prey as Naru, a young Comanche tribeswoman who has the heart of a warrior! When a strange creature starts stalking and killing her fellow tribe members, Naru vows to hunt and destroy this unknown “Predator”. While the iconic Predator franchise is more sci-fi than horror, Amber was so ass-kickingly awesome we couldn’t not nominate her on such a thin technicality! So, without further ado…MonsterZero NJ’s Final Girl Rookie of the Year 2022…
Amber Midthunder! A beautiful and talented actress we want to see more of!
Photo Credit: Emma McIntyre/Getty Images via IMDB
There’s no telling where this beautiful and talented actress will show up next. She has been acting since she was only 4 years-old! Prey has gotten her much deserved attention and she appears to have a few projects currently in the works! Hopefully she’ll return to the horror or sci-fi genres soon, as she made a kick-ass final girl!
-MonsterZero NJ
And don’t forget to check out our previous HalloweenHotties!
Head over to the HalloweenHottieslistings! to read them all!)
Native American actress Amber Midthunder made quite an impression as Comanche warrior Naru in Prey!
MONSTERZERO NJ’S 15 REASONS WOMEN OF COLOR ARE GOING TO ROCK YOUR HALLOWEEN!
Horror films have always been a step ahead with having diversity in their casts and women of color have played important roles for decades! To celebrate their contribution to our favorite genre, here are 15 reasons women of color are going to rock your Halloween🎃!
Versatile and talented Latina actress Jenna Ortega in Ti West’s’s chilling X!
These talented ladies aren’t the only ones and women of color are now also getting a chance to add their voices behind the cameras, with writer/directors like Nia DaCosta (Candyman) and Gigi Saul Guerrero (Mexico Barbaro) making a name for themselves and opening doors. All the more reason that women of color are going to rock your Halloween🎃!
This edition of MZNJ’s Saturday Night Double Feature has a Native American theme! Both flicks feature a heavy emphasis on Native American culture and characters and cast Native American actors in starring and supporting roles!
MOHAWK (2017)
Flick takes place in 1814 with America once again at war with the British and both sides trying to win the allegiance of the local Native American tribes. A British soldier (Eamon Farren) becomes personally involved with Mohawk woman Okwaho (Kaniehtiio Horn) and her lover Calvin (Justin Rain) while on just such a mission. When Calvin murders a group of American soldiers in their sleep, this brings the surviving platoon members out for revenge, and they ruthlessly pursue the trio through the wilderness.
Film is directed by Ted Geoghegan (We Are Still Here) from a script by he and Grady Hendrix and not only does he cast Native American actors in Native American roles, but audaciously paints the American soldiers clearly as the bad guys. Low budget film has a very raw feel to it, shot in Upstate New York and with minimal sets. The acting is a bit uneven at times, but the casting, costumes and settings give atmosphere to this very violent and brutal period flick. It has a deliberately methodical pace and there is a slight supernatural edge to it, especially in the last act. Add to that a very effective electronic score by Wojciech Golczewski and you have an interesting and effective little movie from Ted Geoghegan. Also stars horror film familiar face Noah Segan (Some Kind of Hate, Starry Eyes) and WWE Superstar Luke Harper under his real name of Jonathan Huber. Recommended for something a little different.
Prequel to the now classic franchise takes place in 1719 with the iconic Predator coming to Earth to hunt near the home of a Comanche tribe. Tracker and would-be warrior Naru (Amber Midthunder) has seen the arrival of a strange flying thing in the sky and soon believes there is something other than a mountain lion or bear stalking the nearby woodlands. Her hunter brother Taabe (Dakota Beavers) disagrees and brings home a dead mountain lion to prove it. Naru vows to show her tribe that she is a true warrior and sets out to hunt whatever is lurking in the trees. Little does she know; she tracks a hunter (Dane DiLiegro) unlike anything she or her people have ever faced.
Back to basics entry in this series is well directed by Dan Trachtenberg (10 Cloverfield Lane) from a script by Patrick Aison. It is by far the best entry since the original and manages to return the series to its roots, making it both fresh and familiar. Prey cleverly turns back the clock and has the creature face a people whose very lives depend on tracking and hunting, but without any modern technology. The Predator itself is over 200 years older than the one Arnie faced, and while technically advanced, does not quite have the gadgets that creature did. It is more savage and makes the titular beast scary again. The action is violent and bloody and the Native American cast, especially leading lady Amber Midthunder, give the film the air of authenticity it needs to make it more involving. There is also some commentary about the advent of European settlers, when a group of Frenchmen invade the area looking for animal pelts and meet the other invader on the Comanche lands. It’s a gritty, suspenseful and sometimes gruesome flick with Amber Midthunder being a solid action heroine and a star in the making. Some subpar CGI blood aside, this fifth entry in this franchise really brings back the spirit and intensity of the original. Flick is currently streaming on Hulu but deserved a theatrical release.
Prequel to the now classic franchise takes place in 1719 with the iconic Predator coming to Earth to hunt near the home of a Comanche tribe. Tracker and would-be warrior Naru (Amber Midthunder) has seen the arrival of a strange flying thing in the sky and soon believes there is something other than a mountain lion or bear stalking the nearby woodlands. Her hunter brother Taabe (Dakota Beavers) disagrees and brings home a dead mountain lion to prove it. Naru vows to show her tribe that she is a true warrior and sets out to hunt whatever is lurking in the trees. Little does she know; she tracks a hunter (Dane DiLiegro) unlike anything she or her people have ever faced.
Back to basics entry in this series is well directed by Dan Trachtenberg (10 Cloverfield Lane) from a script by Patrick Aison. It is by far the best entry since the original and manages to return the series to its roots, making it both fresh and familiar. Prey cleverly turns back the clock and has the creature face a people whose very lives depend on tracking and hunting, but without any modern technology. The Predator itself is over 200 years older than the one Arnie faced, and while technically advanced, does not quite have the gadgets that creature did. It is more savage and makes the titular beast scary again. The action is violent and bloody and the Native American cast, especially leading lady Amber Midthunder, give the film the air of authenticity it needs to make it more involving. There is also some commentary about the advent of European settlers, when a group of Frenchmen invade the area looking for animal pelts and meet the other invader on the Comanche lands. It’s a gritty, suspenseful and sometimes gruesome flick with Amber Midthunder being a solid action heroine and a star in the making. Some subpar CGI blood aside, this fifth entry in this franchise really brings back the spirit and intensity of the original. Flick is currently streaming on Hulu but deserved a theatrical release.
“The origin story of the Predator in the world of the Comanche Nation 300 years ago. Naru, a skilled female warrior, fights to protect her tribe against one of the first highly-evolved Predators to land on Earth.”
20th Century Fox film premiers on Hulu on 8/5/22 and is directed by Dan Tractenberg from a script by Patrick Alson. The flick stars Amber Midthunder as Naru.
Memorial Day Weekend 🇺🇸 is here and that means the start to the summer vacation season!…It also means camping, barbecuing, swimming, cabins in the woods, summer camp and maniacs in hockey masks! Halloween isn’t the only time of the year when things go bump in the night, as these 25 fright flicks prove! (…and no, I didn’t forget the cabin set Evil Dead films, they take place in the fall!)
To find the reviews for the films listed below, just type the title in the above right search engine!
A summer marina job is the least of his worries as Ben might have a witch living next door in The Wretched!Photo: IFC MIDNIGHT
MonsterZero NJ's Movie Madhouse 
