As a bonafide horror supergeek, 2016 was a phenomenal year. Aside from a collection of great films, horror has dominated TV and pop culture as well, with hit shows like The Walking Dead, American Horror Story, Scream Queens and Black Mirror. While horror fans are usually passionate about their genre, sometimes to a fault, a shocking thing happened this year. More than a few mainstream horror films received critical acclaim. Plus, between the countless streaming services out there, horror films are now more readily accessible than ever before. I was also privileged to attend two horror film festivals in New York, FEARnyc and the New York City Horror Film Festival, where I took in countless new independent feature-length and short horror films.

So, without further ado, I present my list of the Top 10 Horror Movies of 2016 (and some honorable mentions) below.

No genre produces more sequels than horror. And let’s face it, most of these horror sequels are cheaply made, easily produced, and generally terrible. It has become customary in the last thirty years that whenever horror hits a home run, to rush to replicate the process as many times as possible. In the 80s, slashers were the thing, and by decade’s end there were eight Friday the 13th films, five for the A Nightmare on Elm Street series, and five for the Halloween franchise. In recent years, the Saw and Paranormal Activity franchises have spit out a sequel a year. Because of this, it is genuinely surprising when a horror sequel comes along that receives both critical and fan praise. After seeing one of those shockingly great horror sequels last week with Ouija: Origin of Evil, I’ve dug up the Top 10 Horror Movie Sequels, right in time for Halloween.

Check out the list below.

Ouija: Origin Of Evil
Director: Mike Flanagan
Writers: Mike Flanagan & Jeff Howard
Cast: Elizabeth Reaser, Annalise Basso, Lulu Wilson, Henry Thomas, Doug Jones
Produced By Michael Bay, Andrew Form, Brad Fuller, Jason Blum, Brian Goldner, Stephen Davis
Studio: Universal Pictures
Release date: October 21, 2016

Ouija: Origin of Evil is co-produced by Blumhouse Productions and is the prequel to the 2014 film Ouija directed by Stiles White. Despite appearing to be a cheesy cash grab, with a no-name group of young good looking actors, the original film netted an impressive $50-plus million on a minuscule $5 million budget, thus guaranteeing the inevitable follow-up (in this case, a prequel). The film was panned critically and received a laughable 7% on Rotten Tomatoes. But then something happened that turned the prospect of enduring a second Ouija film from a chore to a bevy of possibilities. That something, or rather someone, is Mike Flanagan. Flanagan is one of the best unknown horror directors today. His three horror films so far — Absentia (2011), Oculus (2013) and Hush (2016) — all manage to avoid genre cliches, while simultaneously redefining what fans know and expect from horror films. Knowing he was directing this movie made me excited to see it. I cannot believe I am writing this, but”¦ Ouija: Origins Of Evil is not just one of the best horror film of 2016, but may actually be one of the year’s best films overall.

Universal Pictures has released the second trailer for Ouija: Origin Of Evil. The film is a sequel to 2014’s Ouija, which is based on the board game of the same name. Starring Henry Thomas, Elizabeth Reaser, and Doug Jones, the horror flick will attempt to tell the story of a seance’s new scam involving the haunting board that seems to have taken possession of her young daughter’s body.

Check out the new trailer here below.

It’s not as if films based on board games is an entirely new concept. It’s just one that hasn’t worked out really well. But one that seems to have survived is Ouija. In 2014, the first film based on the “spritualistic” board from Hasbro came out and grossed $103.5 million. Not bad considering it was made on a $5 million budget.

So with that kind of performance, you bet they were going to move forward with another movie. Now we are getting our first look at Ouija: Origin of Evil, a prequel to the first film. Check out the teaser below.