" What ’s your preferred scarey picture ? "

Hello, my darling fans. Today we will be discussing my own favoritehorror moviesfrom the past ten years…as well as the ones I didn’t particularly care for.

“But Julia, I don’t evenlikehorror movies!” you might be saying, already terrified. And to that, I answer, “Exactly!” But someday, you will be with a friend, or a date, or some other weirdo who wants to watch a horror movie. And by giving you this list, I am telling you exactly which movies will be bearable — even enjoyable! — and which ones you ought to steer clear of. If, on the other hand, youdolike horror movies… feel free to sit back, scroll, and judge my opinions.

So here are thescary moviesI believe unequivocallyslay(pun intended), and those to which I advise you to say “nay”.

1.SLAY:X,andPearl(2022), dir. Ti West

2.NAY:The Nun(2018), dir. Corin Hardy

3.SLAY:Barbarian(2022), dir. Zach Cregger

4.NAY:The Mummy(2017), dir. Alex Kurtzman

5.SLAY:Nope(2022), dir. Jordan Peele

6.NAY:Texas Chainsaw Massacre(2022), dir. David Blue Garcia

7.SLAY:Green Room(2015), dir. Jeremy Saulnier

8.NAY:Ouija(2014), dir. Stiles White

9.SLAY:Ready or Not(2019), dir. Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett

10.NAY:Don’t Worry Darling(2022) dir. Olivia Wilde

11.SLAY:A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night(2014), dir. Ana Lily Amirpour

12.NAY:The Invitation(2022), dir. Jessica M. Thompson

13.Slay:Train to Busan(2016), dir. Yeon Sang-Ho

14.NAY:Midsommar(2019), dir. Ari Aster

15.SLAY:Renfield(2023), dir. Chris McKay

16.NAY:The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It,dir. Michael Chaves

17.SLAY:Scream(2022) andScream VI(2023), dir. Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett

Honorable Mention:Midnight Mass(2021), dir. Mike Flanagan

woman walking by a table full of people wearing flower crowns

ghostface cleaning his knife

closeup of a girl

A young nun holds a lantern aloft; behind her is another nun, whose face we can't see

A woman pulls on a horizontal rope

A man gallops a horse down a dirt road

A young woman tears up as she looks, horrified, at something we can't see

A man glowers at someone off-camera

Five hands move a planchette around a Ouija board

A woman in a wedding dress smiles to someone off-camera

A man in a convertible, his back to us, caresses the face of a woman standing over the car and smiling

A hand caresses a young woman's mouth, which opens slightly to reveal fangs

A man in a suit, seated, speaks to a woman in a deep red dress, also seated

A man on a train looks backward down the aisle and talks on a cell phone

A man in Swedish traditional dress consoles a crying young woman

Renfield makes a confused face off-camera

A sweaty, pallid man looks desperately to someone off-camera

Ghostface wields a sawed-off shotgun in a bodega

A priest holds his hand up before marking a parishioner's head with ash