As another year winds down to a close, I decided this year to do something a little bit different. Last year, at the end of the year, I put together a letterboxd list of my ‘Top 10 films I’d seen in 2022 for the first time’. They didnt have to BE films made in 2022, they just had to be movies that, to me; were a first time viewing. And I quite enjoyed the experience honestly. It made for an interesting journey back through my Letterboxd diary list for that year to shortlist out the films i’d watched for the first time, and to see which ones, thanks to the passage of time, had matured into something I’d genuinely enjoyed. 

There were movies i’d loved on the first watch, but had soured over the months since checking them out, by contrast there were films I thought were absolute stinkers for which, the passage of time had actually mellowed my views and given me a new affection towards them. Movies like ‘Flesh for Frankenstein’ and ‘Thriller: A Cruel Picture’ were no brainers, but the likes of ‘SGT. Kabukiman: NYPD’ genuinely caught me off guard! 

So! With 2023 only 2 days away from completion, I thought i’d do it all again and pull up my ‘Top 10 First time watches of 2023’. Frankly; given theres still 2 days left of the year, im a little bit concerned even at this point that I may get one final amazing movie land in my bluray player before the years out…But! We do have to cut these things off at SOME point… Some may surprise, though I reckon anyone who’s been paying attention to my Letterboxd and youtube channel will probably have a pretty easy time guessing which movies made it into this list.

They wont be in any particular order, there isnt really a ‘best film of the year’ situation here (thats not how we roll) Instead, these are just 10 films that left a profound impact on me that I absolutely would recommend you guys, gals and NB sweethearts check out at your next convenience. SO! With that out of the way…

Elvis (2022):

https://letterboxd.com/tytdreviews/film/elvis-2022/

Starting things off we have a film that I *very* nearly watched this time last year before life got in the way and it *just* slipped back into the first couple of days of January. ‘Elvis’ was one of the first 4k discs I picked up and I was absolutely blown away by both its lavish and sumptuous attention to visual detail, AND the script itself. Dancing a very fine line between campy TV movie and a visual feast. ‘Elvis’ is probably one of my favourite Baz Luhrmann films to date. A kaleidoscope of golds and reds. 

This truely felt like a film pushing the boundaries of the medium itself (as of 2022) in places, and it made me very excited of what lies in store for us in the coming decades. While it absolutely can be accused of boiling down Elvis to ‘just the basics’, with some moments of the film bordering on ‘Dewey Cox’ levels of simplicity. I found that aspect of the production charming and it only further enhanced the campy elements for me. With it shooting well past the 2 and a half hour mark, it unfortunately wont be one I have time to sink into again in a hurry, which is in fact one of the only bad things I have to say about it. Had it been closer to 90 or even 120 minutes, i’d have been much more likely to rewatch it. But even so, this was a delight. 

Paperhouse:

https://letterboxd.com/tytdreviews/film/paperhouse/1/

A film that was recommended to me by a viewer on my youtube channel, i’d vaguely heard of ‘Paperhouse’ before being asked to cover it, but I thought a lot of the promotional work looked a little bit uninspired, so I put it in my ‘to watch’ pile and essentially relegated it to ‘When I have a gap in the schedules’ status. Little did I know that arguably one of the best movies of that season was quite LITERALLY under my nose the entire time, a fact for which I apologise to whoever recommended this one to me for delaying it for so long. 

Paperhouse, from a marketing perspective looks like some kind of drama, maybe with some very light fantasy elements (think ‘Celia’). But if you cut through the promotional materials, theres a much richer complex story being told here, One that strongly reminded me of the works of Guillermo Del Toro’s better offerings…Though miraculously, this one came first. 

A dark and moody fantasy dealing with themes of abandonment, puberty and the ups and downs of life in working class England. ‘Paperhouse’ mixes bleak and gritty cinematography with an abstract fantasy edge to create an end product that Bernard Rose should be VERY proud of. It still blows my mind quite honestly that this thing is trapped on DVD. a 4k release of this film seems like a total no brainer, and I have to assume its caught in some kind of rights limbo because, other than a *slightly* shaky ending, the only other thing I could honestly pick fault with was the DVD presentation starting to show its age. 

Definitely worth checking out if your smitten with young adult-esq fantasy fiction, ‘Paperhouse’ was a film I took for granted, and I regretted doing so every day after watching it.

Beyond the Seventh Door:

https://letterboxd.com/tytdreviews/film/beyond-the-seventh-door/

Another totally pleasant surprise for me this year, this one was recommended by friend of the show ‘Triv’ from Trivial Theater, who brought it up during a podcast recording this year as a film she’d recently checked out that she thought i’d really quite like. And she ABSOLUTELY wasnt wrong! 

‘Beyond the Seventh Door’ is a bit of an oddity, a Canadian SOV film that looks and feels like the kind of thing you’d have seen in the 90s as a physical gameshow on TV, such as ‘The Crystal Maze’ or ‘Legends of the Hidden Temple’. 

Its an oddity also in the sense that…for SOV…80’s SOV…It actually looks really bloody good! We have crisp and sharp video footage that feels right around broadcast quality, the set work is superb with spaces that have lots of moving parts, intricate detailing and interesting small details…This is a low/no budget SOV film that features a scene where our main characters have to solve a word puzzle that built into the floor ‘hopscotch’ style, and when they DO solve the puzzle one of the tiles on the floor starts lowering like an elevator. I have seen HUNDREDS of SOV flicks in my time…I’ve never seen one do something like that!

Littered with small references to the place it was filmed in, ‘Beyond the Seventh Door’ is pretty much the best SOV flick i’ve seen this year. And thats not even BEGINNING to mention ‘Lazar Rockwood’ who’s performance here is absolutely insane and only pushed this thing even further up my ‘must see’ list. If you have any good feelings towards SOV cinema at all, this is a must see in my opinion. A short but sweet fun little romp that has genuine passion behind it and hits all the right notes.

Saw X:

https://letterboxd.com/tytdreviews/film/saw-x/

Towards the end of this year, I finally decided to plug a big gap in my horror knowledge and took the plunge in checking out the ‘Saw’ franchise. Part of this was down to the fact i’d only ever previously seen ‘Saw’ 1 and 2. Part of it was down to the fact that Shudder announced they would be streaming the first 7 films on their platform…and I figured at £4-5 for a months subscription, this would probably be the cheapest way to catch all of them, short of doing naughty torrents or paying £25-£45 for the privilege of a boxset. 

‘Saw X’ is the latest entry in the franchise (coming out this year no less!) and it isnt so much what this film DOES, but rather what it DOESNT do…Set in between ‘Saw’ 1 and 2, ‘X’ breaks from the formula, doing the one thing i’d wished ALL these ‘Saw’ films had done in the first place. It tells a largely self contained story, in an interesting way that prioritizes character development over gory visuals. 

This isnt a film where you need to remember the ‘lore’ of 8 other movies for it to make sense, and it isnt trying to essentially be a glorified ‘snuff’ film as the latter entries in this franchise ultimately ended up. ‘Saw X’ gives Jigsaw and Amanda a LOT more room to explore there own morals, hang ups and humanity. In such a way that NON of the other ‘Saw’ films have really bothered with. Its script is razor in it’s execution, flexing wildly between getting us to sympathise with Tobin Bells character, who ultimately believes that what he’s doing is morally sound. While not failing to remind us that he IS ALSO responsible (directly or indirectly) for multiple people now missing limbs or not being alive anymore. 

Thats not to downplay the kills in this film either however which are some of the series best, with over the top gory slayings that dance a VERY fine line between being quite campy in there execution and downright unsettling. 

With rock solid performances, some fantastic camera work, the sharpest script the franchise has had in *at least* 15 if not 20 years, and a score that felt oppressive and perfectly timed. ‘Saw X’ left a solid impression on me that didnt leave for quite a while, I almost feel bad I didnt get to catch this one in theaters. 

Idiocracy:

https://letterboxd.com/tytdreviews/film/idiocracy/

Another one that I’d put off for years through a mixture of split opinions on what its trying to communicate, AND the shocking fact that this thing hasnt yet made the jump to HD. I caught ‘Idiocracy’ with my partner over the summer for the first time, and while it’s now seen as fairly trite to say this film was supposed to be a warning, not a documentary. I couldnt help but laugh in a somewhat worried way at just how many things mentioned in this film could, entirely realistically, happen in the real world in the very near future. 

I appreciate that, by the time I have gotten to this film, the moment for it has well and truely passed. But as someone who went into this thing only knowing the absolute barest of plot points (a guy gets frozen in the early 2000’s and wakes up in the far FAR future in which humanity has almost entirely out bred and outpriced the intelligent from the planet and created a ‘coddled’ version of society that doesnt know why things are the way they are, but wont question it either) I honestly just found it quite funny. Yes its a bit sneering in places, yes it does dabble in Eugenics talk in places (largely the first act) but once it gets underway and it boils down to ‘average intelligence guy is basically the only ‘Einstein’ on a planet of idiots’, It falls into Mike Judges specialty area. Dumb humour. And from that point on, its just gut buster after gut buster for me. 

Its a largely professional end product as well, which was a nice surprise. Given the budget and how easy it would have been to just turn this into a cheap and nasty ‘dumb people be dumb’ movie. It DOES at least attempt to add a bit more complexity and scathing commentary on society into the mix to bring it up to the next level. I think it’ll be interesting to see how this film ages over the NEXT 20 years…because if the 20 or so years between this film and now has made it feel THIS close to reality. Lord knows where the next 20 will take us. It’s not for everyone, but I personally had quite the soft spot for it.

Deadstream:

https://letterboxd.com/tytdreviews/film/deadstream/

A genuinely pleasant surprise to stumble on, I found ‘Deadstream’ literally at random one night while flicking around on Shudder looking for something to kill 90 or so minutes, normally I don’t tend to watch ‘Shudder Originals’ as my past experience with them hasnt been the best. But the marketing made this sound like it was some kind of ‘found footage’ horror film about a social media influencer livestreaming his time in a haunted house for clicks…and that sounded kind of neat for me…well…neat enough to take a 90 minute gamble on it. 

Then the comedy hit, and I totally fell in love with it. Comparisons to ‘Evil Dead 2’ are kind of obvious with this one, I honestly wasnt expecting this to be a horror comedy, and a GOOD horror comedy at that! Its all presented as if your watching a livestream take place, and while some of the plot points are a *little* bit dubious (our main character has half a dozen ‘go pro’ esq cameras that he sets up around the haunted house that he can control, cut to and generally use at ANY time with NO interruption thats simultaneously able to be controlled by an Ipad, BUT ALSO has a wireless direct feedline to whatever software hes using to stream…thats a big mental leap for me to make honestly) 

In some ways, the simplicity of the execution is kind of what draws me to it, I feel like had this been a much more polished affair, it wouldnt have the charm. Its that rough and ready, rogueish element that really quite won me over. Our lead character is charismatic, has a deep history that gets pooled into across the runtime leading to a nice slowburn release about his character. 

Most importantly, its a movie trying to be a livestream, that ACTUALLY feels like a live stream! Which an astonishing number of movies really quite fail to achieve (its a similar problem that plagues scenes where actors play video games in movies…either they don’t look like they’re *Really* playing the game or the game looks less like a game, and more like an animation…

In either case, Deadstream is a big goofy and surprisingly well made feature that I feel would pair wonderfully with something like ‘The WNUF Halloween Special’ and is absolutely worth your time.

Django Unchained:

https://letterboxd.com/tytdreviews/film/django-unchained/

I can often be accused of being ‘late to the party’ on some movies. In many ways I prefer it that way because it means I rarely get swept up in the ‘hype’ that often comes with new releases. But it does then have the negative consequence of having to find the time to play catch up with the rest of the world. 

This year, I decided I wanted to try and plug a gap in my Quentin Tarantino knowledge, at the start of the year i’d seen just under half of his movies, and (broadly speaking) I do have a soft spot for his work. ‘Resevoir Dogs’ and the ‘Kill Bill’ movies did a wonderful bit of upcycling in taking awesome moments from B-picture exploitation flicks and transplanting them into larger budgeted, studio driven productions…Part of me kind of resents that because I feel it downplays the importance of the cult source material…but then…part of me knows had he not ripped off a ton of exploitation pictures, audiences likely would have never appreciated them, or even known they existed…

My Tarantino gap was really everything after ‘Kill Bill Volume 2’, I’d seen ‘The Hateful 8’ but that was about it. So…as you can imagine, when I found out that Tarantino had gone MASSIVELY grander in his visions for his films post 90s…I quickly got quite invested. And by the time I got to ‘Django: Unchained’ well I just about lost my damn mind frankly. 

Doing what he did with asian cinema, and the cult B-pictures of the drive in ‘Django’ takes the exploitation era spaghetti westerns and pulps them into a 2+hour long visual feast, arguably not just one of his best movies, but one of the greatest westerns of the 21st century (which…being honest, isnt THAT hard of an achievement…but it sounds cool…so im going to roll with it)

An Acidic anti racist script laced with scathing commentary on American culture and slavery. Django is unflinching in what it sets out to do, and it does what it sets out to do really bloody well. 

With rich colourful visuals, an astoundingly powerful script, some of the strongest direction Tarantinos ever committed to film and a score that makes my hair stand up on end. Im getting to a point in life where I feel like I could say ‘Django’ is my favourite Tarantino film. Its almost certainly a peak for him as a creator that he hasnt *quite* managed to scale again since. But if you only catch one of his movies. This or ‘Reservoir Dogs’ are essentials. 

It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World:

https://letterboxd.com/tytdreviews/film/its-a-mad-mad-mad-mad-world/

Making it onto the list by literal DAYS. It was a total accident that I wound up catching ‘Its a Mad Mad Mad Mad World’. I decided while on my Christmas Vacation that now would be a time to try and sink all the 2+ hour movies I had because I really don’t have the time to watch anything that long (or longer) while im working. This had been near the top of my ‘To watch’ list for a while, so I gave it a chance and didnt regret it for a second. 

Essentially, it feels like the film makers got their hands on a list of every US comedian or entertainer from 1930 to the present day of 1963 who wasnt dead, called them and asked if they’d be interested in starring in a movie…and seemingly most of them said ‘Sure!’ 

Its SO densely packed with now LEGENDARY comedians you barely get a second to catch your breath before the next madcap scene is taking place. Its a non stop barrage of every single type of comedy you’d care to think of. And while I cant say there was much in the way of total gut busting laughs. It did have a consistently good hit rate for jokes, enough to keep you smiling and chuckling from beginning to end. 

Everyone involved seems to know the tone this thing is working towards, Everyone seems to be having a really good time on set, the direction and cine are astounding for the time with grand comedic set pieces looking utterly effortless for the most part, the script is damn near perfect, the scoring perfeclty suited and highly memorable. This things slow burn, but very VERY rewarding. By the time the end credits came around, I knew i’d just sat through something quite special and I really cant wait till I next get an opportunity to watch it again. 

Barbie:

https://letterboxd.com/tytdreviews/film/barbie/

‘Barbie’ was arguably my most anticipated release of the year, i’d been ready and waiting for it from the moment the very first ‘early preview’ trailer for it launched back in 2022, based on that trailer and the handful of set photos that had come out around it, I knew that there was something special going on behind the scenes with this one, and I absolutely was NOT disappointed. 

They really don’t make movies like ‘Barbie’ anymore, an ultra colourful, seemingly harmless on the surface big dumb adventure comedy movie, the last time this kind of thing had a resurgence was in the 80s with films like ‘The Goonies’ or ‘Pee Wees Big adventure’ only…those films were ONLY really there to entertain. ‘Barbie’ has an added layer to it, which is beyond the bubblegum pop aesthetic and ‘head emptiness, is an acidically self aware script that directly attacks toxic masculinity, attempts to teach progressive feminism in basic terms both to a very young audience or to people who may not entirely understand the fundamentals and not only does it shine a light on those traits, it inverts them, inviting men to question their own flaws and women to question the very purpose of their own personal existence. 

Traditionally; if I go to see a film in theaters, i’ll go once and then pick up the bluray/4k if I really liked it. I went to see Barbie twice in theaters, bought the streamable copy as soon as it became available and as of the time of writing I have the 4k release winging its way to my doorstep courtesy of Amazon. 

Its a truely astounding work of our time that not only something like this would be released internationally, but that TWO major companies would have greenlit this given the film attacks those companies as ‘part of the problem’ amongst its many MANY other axes to grind. Im still kind of in shock the film got made at all letalone released, and its a testimony to it’s uniqueness in a sea of ‘Marvels’ and ‘Star Wars-es…’ that this became one of the highest grossing films of the year. A title I feel it rightfully earned. 

While I will admit, sometimes it can get a little heavy handed on its messaging, i’d also suggest that…some people need that level of detail BECAUSE this kind of content is so alien to them. It can be a bit patronizing to people who get it, but the fact it boils things down to SUCH a simple level that even kids can understand it, I thought was honestly quite wonderful. 

I was sold on the aesthetic of this thing before it even hit theaters, but to be hit with SUCH an ‘out of left field’ revelation that this film was smart, and wanted YOU to know it was smart…was the thing that absolutely made me fall in love with it. 

Easily my favourite film released this year, My only concern now is the glut of ‘sanitized’ movies that’ll be coming in 2025 trying to do what ‘Barbie’ did, but in a safer…more studio friendly way…*sigh* ah well…the world probably needed a ‘Hot Wheels’ Movie that deals with gentrification anyway…

Dr. Caligari:

https://letterboxd.com/tytdreviews/film/dr-caligari/

And last, but certainly not least. We have ‘Dr. Caligari’ probably my most anticipated purchase of this year, I nabbed it from Mondo Macabre last Halloween and it arrived just in time for me to include it in my youtube channel, where it (quite rightfully) took the season finale slot. 

Its an 80s neu wave explosion in a paint factory of a movie thats *suggested* to be a sequel to the german expressionist film (maybe even a remake) but realistically…shares a name and a couple of plot beats, but not much else. And I absolutely adored it. The mashing up of the german expressionist movement and the 80s new wave movement was a totally inspired decision, the film looks unique, handmade and fairly lavish given the minimal set scenery (most of this takes place in a void with bizarre props and set pieces in the foreground) 

The script is nuttier than fruit cake, but has a lot to say about the medical industry of the US, the characters are all eccentric, over the top, camp tastic and utterly delightful to be around. The direction is very considered with a rock solid edit, razor cine and scripting and a killer score. This is everything I want out of an art house movie and more, and it’s really put me on to Stephen Sayadian in a big way (my kingdom for ‘Nightdreams 4k’ 

Its just such a delight to sit through honestly, with not a single dull moment, I utterly loved this movie. And with news that ‘Cafe Flesh’ is also making its way to 4k in 2024. All I can say is…I look forward to talking about Sayadians work again this time next year.