The Scariest Movie Of 2023 Isn't In Theaters – It's On YouTube

While all of us old folks weren't looking, YouTube became the training ground for the next generation of incredible horror filmmakers. One high-profile example: "Talk to Me" directors Danny Philippou and Michael Philippou learned their craft by making shorts on the internet before crafting their very slick, very scary A24 horror hit. But one less high-profile example is the one that's kept me awake at night, and counts as perhaps my favorite horror experience of 2023. 

Let's talk about "The Oldest View," and young director Kane Parsons. 

Parsons first hit my radar when he partnered with A24 and producer James Wan to bring his surreal and frightening horror short film series "The Backrooms" to theaters. That project is still in development, but because this guy is apparently nothing if not busy, he's also been working on a separate YouTube horror short film series while that cooks. That second project is called "The Oldest View," it currently consists of three episodes, and watching the third episode frightened me so much that I had to frequently press pause and walk around my home to chill my nerves. I watched it again the next day, this time with my wife, to make sure I wasn't crazy for finding it to be some of the most exciting and inventive horror filmmaking since 1999's "The Blair Witch Project." 

I wasn't crazy. 

I'm not going to tell you what "The Oldest View" is about, because I think its plot and reveals are best discovered at their own pace. I will say that it's found footage horror, told from the POV of a YouTube content creator who finds something inexplicable in an isolated spot of wilderness, and that it feels distinctly like the kind of horror tale that could only be cooked up by someone who grew up in the age of the internet. Its fascinations and interests are remarkably Gen Z, but relayed with such confidence that even us older folks can't help by gripped. (If you don't want to feel like you've done nothing with your life, don't look up Parsons' age.) And while I generally encourage you to watch all media on the biggest screen you own, I watched all three episodes of "The Oldest View" on my phone, in bed, and in the dark, and I highly suggest you do the same. It only adds to the ambience, to the sense that you're truly watching something found, the footage of someone who went a few steps too far toward something he should have avoided at all costs. 

There's a remarkable scope to "The Oldest View," which is full of moments that will leave you wondering how anyone could've pulled this off. The scares are patient, eschewing the familiar whenever possible and leaning hard into sliding under your skin and chafing against your bones. The whole vibe — dark, deliberately paced, powered by the human fascination with taking just one more look — is eerie and relatable and troubling. The sense of being trapped is palpable. "The Oldest View" often plays like a more approachable "Skinamarink," with those stomach-churning vibes grafted onto a more inherently relatable storyline. It's something special. And if filmmakers like Kane Parsons represent the next generation of horror directors, the genre has never been in better hands. 

I spoke more about "The Oldest View" on the latest episode of /Film Daily, which you can listen to here:

You can subscribe to /Film Daily on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts, and send your feedback, questions, comments, concerns, and mailbag topics to us at bpearson@slashfilm.com. Please leave your name and general geographic location in case we mention your e-mail on the air.