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Rotten Tomatoes’ 2022 year-end horror ranking puts X first and Barbarian second, based on a score snapshot dated December 31, 2022. That is a historical critics’ ranking, not a permanent verdict or a guarantee you will like either film. The site’s separate full horror guide uses Tomatometer tiers and includes some films labeled 2021, so its “2022” category is not a clean list of films first released during calendar 2022.
How Rotten Tomatoes ranks 2022 horror
There are two related Rotten Tomatoes lists to distinguish. Its full guide, Every Horror Movie of 2022 Ranked Best to Worst, places Certified Fresh films before Fresh films, followed by Rotten titles, using Tomatometer ratings. It was updated October 6, 2023. That is a tier-based ordering; it should not be read as a precisely dated, fixed score ranking.
The 2022 Golden Tomato Awards horror list provides a different, time-specific comparison: its order uses Tomatometer scores as of December 31, 2022, adjusted by a formula to account for differences in review counts. That adjustment and date basis matter. Scores and review totals on current Rotten Tomatoes pages can change, so the historical list should not be mixed with live figures or described as an objective measure of quality.
The leading films in the year-end snapshot
| Rank | Film | Tomatometer | What the source highlights |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | X | 94% | Rotten Tomatoes describes it as a fresh take on the slasher formula. |
| 2 | Barbarian | 92% | Rotten Tomatoes characterizes it as darkly humorous and unpredictable. |
These percentages and placements are from Rotten Tomatoes’ December 31, 2022 year-end snapshot, not a claim about the films’ present-day scores. Pearl also appears among the leading selections on that year-end page, and Rotten Tomatoes presents it as connected to the world of X.
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How to choose beyond the ranking
A Tomatometer order summarizes critics’ reviews; it cannot tell you which kind of horror you will enjoy. Rotten Tomatoes’ guide provides plot premises and consensus descriptions that can help distinguish tone and setup. Use those cues as a starting point, rather than treating the ranking as a watch order.
- For slasher horror: Start with X, which the source frames as a fresh spin on the slasher formula.
- For dark humor and unpredictability: Consider Barbarian, described by Rotten Tomatoes as darkly humorous and unpredictable.
- If you want a related story: Pearl is presented as a chapter in the world created by X.
- For a whodunit angle: The source identifies Bodies Bodies Bodies as a whodunit, a useful cue if you want mystery alongside horror.
These descriptions are Rotten Tomatoes’ editorial or aggregated consensus language, not the judgment of a single named critic and not a report of personal viewing. A high score signals a favorable critical response under the site’s method; it does not guarantee a match for your preferred tone, subgenre, or tolerance for suspense.
What counts as a “2022” horror movie?
The full guide includes entries labeled 2021, including Hellbender and The Innocents. That makes the category unsuitable as an exhaustive calendar-year release database unless its inclusion rule is specified. For this article, “2022” refers to the films included in Rotten Tomatoes’ 2022 horror listings, rather than a verified set of films whose first release anywhere occurred between January 1 and December 31, 2022. If you need a strict release-year list, check each film’s release history and state whether the cutoff is first release in any territory or U.S. release.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.A different kind of recommendation list
RogerEbert.com’s search result describes a separate horror collection whose films received at least three stars from their assigned critics. That is a different editorial lens from a Tomatometer ranking: it uses a stated star threshold rather than the Rotten Tomatoes order. The full page and list could not be verified here, so this is only a high-level comparison, not a reliable title-by-title alternative.
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