We still have half a year in front of us before the six falls to be replaced by the seven and this year’s calendars become meaningless. And it’s been a rather interesting year for the genre. We’ve seen a handful of amazing films, and we’ve seen a steady stream of garbage flow down the proverbial pipeline, thicker than the streams of the last few years past.

When all is said and done, it should be pointed out that we’ve gotten some good horror to take in already. If the second half of this year proves as rewarding as the first, 2016 could go down in history as one of horror’s finest.

Dig on 12 of our picks for early “Best of the Year” candidates.

Hush

A home invasion with a few surprises, Mike Flanagan’s Hush is a masterful nod to John Carpenter’s Halloween. It’s a comfy setting turned on its head by an unexpected attack from an unknown intruder. To make matters even more tense and compelling (simultaneously, no less), the film’s protagonist is at a potentially enormous disadvantage: She’s deaf. This is a super creepy affair with some brilliant technical decisions behind the camera and inside the editing room. Hush is no doubt one of the year’s best.

Lights Out

One of the single best examples of simple and conventional horror films to date! Lights Out fires on all cylinders and makes your trip to the theater a memorable one. If you’re looking for one good reason to be afraid of the dark this year, I can assure you this is it!

Chocolate Strawberry Vanilla

Chocolate Strawberry Vanilla (didn’t hit US soil until earlier this year, though it was initially released in Australia in 2014) is one deeply disturbing flick that features what I would consider a top five performance. Not top five relative to the genre, or relative to this year, I mean top five, all-time greatest performances. Glenn Maynard’s work is awe-inspiring, and although the story is interesting, heartbreaking, and humorous, it’s all about Maynard. It’s his show, and he doesn’t disappoint. A new personal favorite, Maynard and Chocolate Strawberry Vanilla will no doubt earn placement on a great deal of fan lists.

Baskin

What in the twisted fuck did I just see?! That was my initial response when Baskin’s final credits began to roll. This is a trippy, trippy feature that focuses on some evil sacrificial rituals and seems to basically present humans with a look at the opened door of Hell and the freaks that loiter there. It’s nutso, to the fullest, but I’ll be damned if it isn’t very engaging. Enjoy watching a small group of Turkish lawmen tortured in horrifying ways before the life source dries up; you might not see something like this again in your lifetime.

The House on Pine Street

If you’re big on haunted house flicks, you’ve got to see Aaron and Austin Keeling’s wildly unnerving tale. There isn’t much here in the way of originality, but the execution is extremely crisp and the scares are palpable and rewarding, even if not abundant by today’s standard. This flick feels as though it crawled straight out of the 1970s, and that vibe is legitimately charming in this case. I don’t have specific tallies for every film on this list, but this is no doubt one of the cheaper productions, and it sits high atop the list for annual greats.

Fare

This one DEFINITELY won’t work for all fans. It’s slow, it’s very measured, and it’s all about character, character, character. It’s just a unique experience that could have easily gone wrong. It didn’t. If you’re big on character exploration, tense moments, cramped confines, and finales you never in a million years saw coming, you’re probably going to love this inspired low-budget affair. It’s a must-own for me and a great example of getting a whole lot out of virtually nothing.

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