After the best of the year list, I now share my observations on what I think are the ten worst films of 2023.
1. The consumables 4
The Expendables 4 aims to bring new meaning to the franchise by introducing a new generation of members to the cast of characters. In practice, however, what we see is not new. In this way, it is a silly production with a lot of action, but without ever arousing curiosity or emotion. Everything here is very general. This makes it a monotonous and tiring film.
2. The Exorcist: The Devotee
Despite the audience's current skepticism, there was still a chance to get it right and surprising. This is because in the original, filmmaker William Friedkin managed to address the fear of the possible existence of negative forces or energies regardless of religious nomenclature. The point is that the psychological terror on display in 1973's The Exorcist was so powerful that few films can come close to the experience. But “The Exorcist: The Devotee” doesn’t even seem to try to respect or talk about that legacy. In this way, the 2023 film is both an artistic failure and, even worse, an example of the most opportunistic in contemporary horror.
3. Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey
Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey takes a strange idea by using an iconic character from children's imagination as the basis for a slasher horror film. In practice, however, the film offers absolutely nothing interesting, neither in the metaphorical aspect of horror nor in the possibilities for uncompromising fun. To make matters worse, the way the work treats female characters is painful and sexist.
4.Angela
Angela makes no use at all of the nuances of the true story on which it is based, which is not only legally relevant and dramatically intense, but could also produce a work that dialogues with contemporary femicide, violence and misogyny. However, what you see on screen is just a sexualized love story that doesn't even manage to address the characters' personalities.
5. Cursed Graveyard: The Origin
Cemitério Maldito is a modest and very poorly executed production. For example, the characterization of the 1960s is poor. Furthermore, this origin story adds nothing to the franchise or manages to connect to the previous films.
6. Haunted house
Haunted Mansion has a lot of serious problems, starting with the script, which just doesn't hold its own. In other words, although the suggestion of grief could make for an interesting plot, the film is simple from the plot to the dialogue. Therefore, the work attempts to rely on sequences intended to simulate the theme park experience. Which ultimately proves to be another setback, as the cinema format requires different strategies to captivate the audience. As a result, there is a lack of ambition to create anything more than an imitation of those who indulge in the toy.
7. The Nun 2
“The Nun II” is another twist on “The Conjuring” that superficially repeats horror conventions about hauntings. Thus, it turns out to be a common and uninteresting pastime. And not even Taissa Farmiga's competent performance in the lead role has the opportunity to add density, fun or fear to the narrative.
8. My inlaws are so procrime
“My InLaws So Pro Crime” aims to address contemporary issues like technology, but relies on a dated comedy structure in the style of Adam Sandler, who is producing here. As a result, the humor turns out to be silly and boring.
9. Hypnotic: Invisible threat
Hyptonic is a thriller without any logical or sensible guideline. As a result, the film turns out to be a boring pile of absurdities, poorly written and directed, wasting interesting compositions by Alice Braga and Willian Fichner. To make matters worse, the protagonist is played clumsily by Ben Affleck.
10. The Miracles
“The Marvels” is another Marvel superhero film that relies on a marketing formula that dilutes the same productions between cinema and television. The result is a boring film with no personality of its own, made only to integrate a dense cinematic universe with strong signs of exhaustion. This wastes talent from casting to directing. To make matters worse, this feature is one of the studio's worstshot films. This is because the art direction and editing are generic and poorly finished.
Sophia Mendonça is a Brazilian journalist, author and researcher. She holds a master's degree in communication, territorialities and vulnerabilities (UFMG) and a doctorate in literature, culture and translation (UfPel). In 2016, he became the youngest person to receive the Grand Collar of Merit in Belo Horizonte. In 2019 it won the Good Practices Award of the European Union's Erasmus+ program
** This text does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the UAI portal.