Silly as it sounds, I can't help but get so freakin' excited this time every year because it's time once again to get out my creepy notebook and peruse my first time watches. As usual, my hope is that you will find something in here you forgot about or haven't heard of before to add to your "To Watch" list for 2026. My brain is already electrified with all of the stuff I can barely wait to get to in the coming year. It's Christmastime as I'm writing this so I'm knee keep in my wife LeEtta's and my massive holiday viewing list, so nothing new going on just yet. Hello there, The Star Wars Holiday Special (1978)!
Before I get started, I want to mention a couple of things I did that I would be grateful if you'd lend your eyes/ears to. I put out two albums of ambient music this year. One on the techno side of things and another of the ambient guitar. The first is Light Pollution and the second is Sleep/Walk Situationer. I'm immensely proud of these releases, and don't worry, I'll make more! My musical moniker is The Slow Wizard and my YouTube channel where I share my meager attempts at learning synthesizers and other doodads is chugging along. And lastly, the Hello! This is the Doomed Show podcast is still going strong as is my Doomed Moviethon channel.
Okay, that's enough self advertisement -though you should really check out this commercial I made. Anyway! Here are my favorite films I watched this year. As usual, this is not a top 10 list and the order is mostly random, though my favorite film of the year always gets the top spot. Let's go!
Keeper (2025)
Anyone who knows me definitely saw this choice coming as my favorite film of the year. What can I say? I'm always up for the strangeness that Osgood Perkins is going to deliver. And Keeper is certainly a strange one! I went to the theater and it turned out that I was the only person who'd bought a ticket for that night's showing. So there I was, alone in the room, dead center in a sea of empty seats, and regretting not being able to convince LeEtta to come with me. Why? Because I was freakin' scared! (And also this film should have done better.) I can't wait to get this on disc and see it again!
Murder on the Orient Express (1974)
LeEtta and I watch a whole bunch of Agatha Christie adaptations all the time, so I've seen multiple versions of her classic tale. And yet somehow, I had missed this star-studded affair from total boss, Sidney Lumet. Everyone in this film is a who's who of awesome A-listers from multiple generations of Hollywood, but it's Albert Finney's gleeful portrayal of Hercule Poirot that makes this one a new favorite I'll enjoy time and time again.
Oddity (2024)
I can't get excited about The Conjuring or Insidious movies. They're fine, but I've never seen past the second installments of either franchise. Then a movie like Oddity comes along and, for my money, does what those films do, but better. Or at least, it does ghosts really, really well without the cheap -I'm not talking budget- feeling. This spooky ass film also has Carolyn Bracken in it, an actress that I can't take my eyes off. And she is great in this!
Loft (2005)
I kept stashing this one for a rainy day and when that rainy day arrived, I was totally blown away. Kiyoshi Kurosawa has had the most incredible career, and every time I find another one of his that I haven't seen before, I feel hashtag blessed. How he manages to get so much dread and creepiness into his films is nothing short of miraculous. One of the things I love about him, and something that is absolutely true of Loft, is his films move in such unexpected ways. A fine journey to Hell.
Sinners (2025)
Usually, I am prepared for a film to hit me in the emotional solar plexus. For instance, I knew Godzilla Minus One (2023) was going to get me, and it did! But the ugly crying I did after Sinners was nearly out of control. Even trying to talk about this film had me choking up for a days afterward. It comes down to emotionally connecting with the characters. The performances, the script, the music, and the production design all came together exquisitely. Those things along with the assured hand of a great director, this was bound to hit and hit hard. The night I saw this film, I was in the presence of greatness.
L.A. Bounty (1989)
I was feeling sad about the passing of Wings Hauser, and I snagged a few of his lesser known (to me) titles and L.A. Bounty was my favorite of the handful I checked out. He plays the whacked out villain in this one and not surprisingly, he almost steals the whole movie. This one is Sybil Danning's show through and through. She plays a mostly mute bounty hunter who will kick your dick inside out. You need to see this.
Hercules (1983)
Luigi Cozzi made a sci-fi sword and sandal movie in the 1980s packed with eye-popping special effects?! And it's got Lou Ferrigno, Sybil Danning, William Berger, Bobby Rhodes, AND Gianni Garko? Then sign me up! Hercules has just tiniest bit of lag in its energy in the last reel, but otherwise this one is damn near perfect. It's pretty wild. I have to give credit to my childhood favorite, Clash of the Titans (1981), for inspiring the little wave of fantasy films like this and Lucio Fulci's Conquest (1983).
Furiosa (2024)
Sadly, the negative hype of this one got to me -partly that it was a prequel and partly that it was going to be more CGI-heavy than Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)- so I didn't see it in theaters last year. That was dumb of me! I should have had faith in George Miller, because I enjoyed Furiosa so damn much. The weirdness and the contemplative moments of Fury Road were expanded into this insanity. As usual, I'm looking forward to rewatching the whole franchise from start to finish, and I'll be excited to see how this one plays out with the rest of the films.
Strike Commando 2 (1988)
While I very much enjoyed Bruno Mattei and Claudio Fragasso's Strike Commando (1987), this sequel never missed a beat for me in terms of the awkward, cornball bullshit I want from a shockingly derivative Italian action film. The characters are total weirdos that make me laugh every time they open their mouths, usually to scream at each other and the action scenes are actually cool even though they almost make zero sense sometimes.
The Monkey (2025)
Did I actually get two Osgood Perkins films in one year and they were both great? Yes, but also yes. While Keeper was more in keeping with what I crave from Perkins's work, The Monkey is a solid entry in his filmography. While I'm pretty much done with gore for comedy sake -though there are exceptions like Psycho Goreman (2020)- there's a great deal of heart stashed away in this outrageous film.
Black Tight Killers (1966)
I had never heard of this film until Radiance posted the boffo trailer for it, and I turned it off after just a few seconds because the fire had been lit. When the Blu-ray arrived, the film exceeded my expectations! If you need some dynamic spectacle in your life, then Black Tight Killers is for you. It's a pop art explosion with a bonkers ass plot.
The Night of the Walking Dead (1975)
Rod and Troy of the The Naschycast covered this film ages ago on their show and I very patiently waited for someone, somewhere to put this one out in a non-shitty bootleg/download. Sure enough, Severin Films came in like champs and I was finally able to see this one on a nicey nice Blu-ray. This León Klimovsky jam was totally worth the wait. If you need more strange and atmospheric Spanish horror in your life, then bump this one up in your queue.
Silent Night, Deadly Night (2025)
Well, dress me up in a tinsel tutu and call me Rudolf, I did not see this last one coming at all. This new take on the freaky ass SNDN franchise hit all the right sleigh bells for LeEtta and I. We absolutely loved this. I love how they too what folks who are familiar with the first film and threw a whole new spin on it, and I think made this just a cool film for newbies. I can't wait to get my hands on this one in the new year.
Honorable Mentions
Surf II (1983) - Truly bizarre spoof movie and sequel to nothing.
Ferrari (2023) - Classy. Cars are cool or whatever.
The Lady Vanishes (1979) - A cozy and delightful film.
Mickey 17 (2025) - Do we need more dystopian sci-fi? Always.
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1979) - Essential 1970s trash.
Trancers II (1991) - Oh my God! Almost better than the original.
Stopmotion (2023) - Sad and damn good horror to depress you.
Lady Morgan's Revenge (1965) - Excellent Italian gothic.
Camp Fear (1991) - Almost a fave of the year but I can't remember it.
Prime Cut (1972) - This is so good and so badass that I can't even.
Hired to Kill (1990) - Outrageous and cheap action. A parody?
An Eternal Combat (1991) - Very imaginative Hong Kong goodness.
The Power (1984) - Ambitious horror schlock.
Cut (2000) - Aussie slasher goodness that is pretty wild.
Weapons (2025) - I want to bottle and sell this one's energy.
Mister Scarface (1976) - Silly but charming poliziotteschi from my birth year.
Worst Films I Watched This Year
Bloody Psycho (1989) - Just jaw-droppingly bad. Kind of infuriating.
Summer Catch (2001) - Cinematic food poisoning.
Children of the Living Dead (2001) - Brutally sucky, but in a bad way.
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