#126-#250
The 21st Century’s Most Acclaimed Horror Films: #126-#250
126. (+103) Attack the Block
Joe Cornish
2011 / UK / 88m / Col / Science Fiction | IMDb
Jodie Whittaker, John Boyega, Alex Esmail, Leeon Jones, Franz Drameh, Simon Howard, Maggie McCarthy, Danielle Vitalis, Paige Meade, Gina Antwi
“On the action side of things, Cornish display’s a talent and confidence rarely seen in a first time director, ratcheting up the frights and the thrills every time the exceptionally designed and rather terrifying looking aliens – realized terrifically through a combination of costume and CGI – give chase. Jump scares abound, while a sequence along a dimly lit smoke filled corridor is fraught with tension. The rest of the time, chase scenes pulsate with intensity, backed by a stylish score by Steven Price and Basement Jaxx that mixes orchestral music, R&B and electro, as well as classic UFO sound effects. The violence, when it happens, is deliciously grisly.” – Tom Clift, Movie Dex
127. (-59) Halloween II
Rob Zombie
2009 / USA / 105m / Col / Slasher | IMDb
Sheri Moon Zombie, Chase Wright Vanek, Scout Taylor-Compton, Brad Dourif, Caroline Williams, Malcolm McDowell, Tyler Mane, Dayton Callie, Richard Brake
“Despite the limitations inherent in the genre, it actually delivers. It’s not about the pure scares in a movie like this (almost any junky spookfest can get those, with the old face-in-a-mirror trick and various hoary techniques). No, a “character-based” monster flick – and Michael Myers is in that first generation, make no mistake – needs to play with that conceit, and Zombie’s dirty, disturbing, even dream-based approach works perfectly. And McDowell, that old pro, is a real hoot as Dr. Loomis… in a world where the “Hostel” and “Saw” films are the norm, and the recent remake of “Last House on the Left” set the bar nauseatingly low, Zombie knows a thing or two about keeping it pure.” – Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News
128. (+45) Creep
Christopher Smith
2004 / UK / 85m / Col / Slasher | IMDb
Vas Blackwood, Ken Campbell, Kathryn Gilfeather, Franka Potente, Grant Ibbs, Joe Anderson, Jeremy Sheffield, Sean De Vrind, Ian Duncan, Debora Weston
““Creep” is a very atmospheric film, both in its early depiction of instantly recognisable London life, and its latter scenes of dark, oppressive tunnels that seem to have been influenced by the “Resident Evil” series of videogames. There are a good number of genuine scares, and the whole film has a claustrophobic feel which the director exploits to the full with uncomfortable moments, often involving the legions of rats which the creep seems to command. Similarly, in terms of blood, the film will certainly satisfy fans, with a good amount of splatter, and a couple of genuinely foul scenes that are sure to raise a shudder.” – James Mudge, Beyond Hollywood
129. (+51) Under the Shadow
Babak Anvari
2016 / Iran / 84m / Col / Supernatural | IMDb
Narges Rashidi, Avin Manshadi, Bobby Naderi, Arash Marandi, Aram Ghasemy, Soussan Farrokhnia, Ray Haratian, Hamid Djavadan, Behi Djanati Atai, Bijan Daneshmand
“Those cracks in the ceiling are hiding a lot more than dry rot in “Under the Shadow,” a satisfyingly tense and atmospheric thriller set in a haunted Tehran apartment during the terrifying final days of the Iran-Iraq War. Slyly merging a familiar but effective genre exercise with a grim allegory of female oppression, Babak Anvari’s resourceful writing-directing debut grounds its premise in something at once vaguely political and ineluctably sinister; imagine an Asghar Farhadi remake of “The Babadook” and you’re halfway there… In its harrowing final moments, “Under the Shadow” reveals itself as a horror story rooted in the dreams and pathologies that mothers pass down to their daughters, and the defiant gestures it may take for cycles of persecution to be broken.” – Justin Chang, Variety
130. (-23) Ju-on
Takashi Shimizu
2002 / Japan / 92m / Col / Supernatural | IMDb
Megumi Okina, Misaki Itô, Misa Uehara, Yui Ichikawa, Kanji Tsuda, Kayoko Shibata, Yukako Kukuri, Shuri Matsuda, Yôji Tanaka, Yoshiyuki Morishita
“The creep factor in this film is high, not because either the kid, or the specter look particularly scary (though the latter may fit that description at points), but because Shimizu is a master of camera shots, timing and the unexpected. Your nerves are left perpetually unsteady, never knowing the reach of the specter’s killing power. Not even the best of the slasher movies can compete with the non-stop, pulse-racing tension found here.” – John Strand, Best Horror Movies
131. (-55) Cabin Fever
Eli Roth
2002 / USA / 93m / Col / Body Horror | IMDb
Rider Strong, Jordan Ladd, James DeBello, Cerina Vincent, Joey Kern, Arie Verveen, Robert Harris, Hal Courtney, Matthew Helms, Richard Boone
“Cabin Fever establishes its terror alert early on — contamination! eek! — and treats it lightly while taking it seriously. The comedy here is not the reflexive sort, wherein the characters have all seen this movie before. It comes out of the realistic reactions a group of none-too-bright underclassmen might have when faced with blood-spewing doom. Filled with gratuitous gore (at one point, an entire jeep drips with the stuff) and sex (a comely female character muses that she should be grabbing the nearest guy and having a last bout of we-who-are-about-to-die-have-sex activity; cut to her jumping the bones of the nearest grateful guy), the film is solidly of a subgenre I over-reference, but it fits: the beer-and-pizza flick.” – Rob Gonsalves, eFilmCritic
132. (-24) Slither
James Gunn
2006 / Canada / 95m / Col / Comedy | IMDb
Don Thompson, Nathan Fillion, Gregg Henry, Xantha Radley, Elizabeth Banks, Tania Saulnier, Dustin Milligan, Michael Rooker, Haig Sutherland, Jennifer Copping
“It’s no surprise that the majority of laughs are ably captured by Fillion, showing off the knack for deadpan delivery previously tapped by Joss Whedon in Serenity. As Pardy, he fills out the role of an unlikely hero dealing with extraordinary events, bringing bumbling affability to a part that could so easily have been lost to square jaws, steely eyes and other clumsy stereotypes. Tipping its hat at everything from the original Puppet Masters to bargain-bin trash like Ted Nicolaou’s TerrorVision, Slither is a carefully crafted parody (the Predator nod in particular will bring a smile to your face). But this is the scalpel to the Scary Movie series’ bludgeoning sledgehammer, skirting cheap imitation in favour of affectionate irreverence and managing to produce a genre hybrid that’s far more than the sum of its pilfered parts.” – James Dyer, Empire Magazine
133. (+15) The Crazies
Breck Eisner
2010 / USA / 101m / Col / Zombie | IMDb
Timothy Olyphant, Radha Mitchell, Joe Anderson, Danielle Panabaker, Christie Lynn Smith, Brett Rickaby, Preston Bailey, John Aylward, Joe Reegan, Glenn Morshower
“Don’t be afraid of the horror remake stigma here; be afraid of The Crazies’ constant, electric hum of dread. Be afraid of the unpredictable bursts of violence and well-earned jump scares. Be afraid of director Eisner’s unexpected mastery of the material — he seems to have been a standout horror filmmaker-in-waiting all this time, and The Crazies shows that off in a huge way. He understands timing and mood and how important a good score is to a horror film (Mark Isham’s synth score is noticeably great, like a quiet callback to John Carpenter’s way of scoring horror). He gets the actors to take the material seriously, he’s not afraid to go bleak and nasty, and he knows how to build suspense (a talent too rare in studio horror).” – John Gholson, MovieFone
134. (-29) Somos lo que hay
Jorge Michel Grau
2010 / Mexico / 90m / Col / Drama | IMDb
Francisco Barreiro, Adrián Aguirre, Miriam Balderas, Carmen Beato, Alan Chávez, Juan Carlos Colombo, Paulina Gaitan, Daniel Giménez Cacho, Miguel Ángel Hoppe, Raúl Kennedy
“Once under way, We Are What We Are is a long journey through an urban miasma to the end of a dark and bloody night, a modernist score adding to the anxiety around the invariably messy kills. This is a movie in which mise-en-scène trumps the suspense. Played out in shadowy streets, dilapidated overhead highways, grime-encrusted underpasses, and fetid clubs, We Are What We Are seems an organic product of Mexico City’s teeming sprawl. (There’s a hint of Buñuel’s Los Olvidados in its life-feeding-on-life Darwinian struggle.) The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls—or rather tonelessly chanted on a rattling train in a sequence providing the movie’s appropriately off-key lyrical interlude” – J. Hoberman, The Village Voice
135. (new) Halloween
David Gordon Green
2018 / USA / 106m / Col / Slasher | IMDb
Jamie Lee Curtis, Judy Greer, Andi Matichak, James Jude Courtney, Nick Castle, Haluk Bilginer, Will Patton, Rhian Rees, Jefferson Hall, Toby Huss
“[Director Green] clearly has an eye for the cozy, autumnal feel of Carpenter’s original film. From moment one through to the explosive denouement, Green’s Haddonfield feels like a real place filled with real people. And while he does indeed borrow from Carpenter’s cinematic toolbox, this is still very distinctly a Green film. He has brought the imagery into a modern lens, without leaning into the gaudy, aggressive modernity that Zombie tried to invoke with his tale on the material. In the same way that Pineapple Express borrows from a lifetime of crime films to create an atypical stoner comedy, Halloween is reverent to even the worst entries in the preceding franchise, while creating a film wholly its own in both style and structure.” – Dan Scully, Cinema76
136. (-72) Cloverfield
Matt Reeves
2008 / USA / 85m / Col / Found Footage | IMDb
Lizzy Caplan, Jessica Lucas, T.J. Miller, Michael Stahl-David, Mike Vogel, Odette Annable, Anjul Nigam, Margot Farley, Theo Rossi, Brian Klugman
“Reeves is masterful at choosing shots without appearing to do so. We view this unlovely goliath from all angles – a fleeting leg here, full-length in crafty helicopter shots on news footage there – but he’s even more effective as an unseen presence. There’s equal, if not more, dread in hearing furious roars as our band cowers in a side street, watching the military throwing everything they have uselessly at the beast. This is as much a triumph of sound design as of seamlessly blended CG and unsettling camerawork. Wise to the fact that the most frightening attack is the one without apparent reason, Cloverfield never chooses to explain its monster’s arrival. It’s suddenly there and, as one soldier notes, “it’s winning”. It intends to scare, not educate. The constant air of panic is so pervasive that it’s easy to miss the skilful creation of the sequences, which include a rescue from a collapsing skyscraper and a tunnel sequence so butt-clenching you’ll crap diamonds for a week.” – Olly Richards, Empire Magazine
137. (+45) Grindhouse
Robert Rodriguez & Quentin Tarantino et al.
2007 / USA / 191m / Col / Anthology | IMDb
Kurt Russell, Zoë Bell, Rosario Dawson, Vanessa Ferlito, Sydney Tamiia Poitier, Tracie Thoms, Rose McGowan, Jordan Ladd, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Quentin Tarantino
“An exuberant double feature by Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino, evokes the exploitation flicks that used to play, several decades ago, in moldering theaters with flypaper floors. Thus a go-go dancer’s leg goes missing during a zombie attack, and the action is occasionally interrupted by title cards that proclaim “Missing Reel.” (That touch is more affectionate than factual, since projectionists and sleazy distributors of the slasher/horror genre didn’t brag about such omissions.) Little else seems to be missing from this work of wild-eyed archaeology – not the slime or drool, spurting blood, throbbing engines, screeching tires or jeopardized women. Yet value has been added as well – the most thrilling car chase ever committed to film, a sequence that also shows, by cutting to the psychosexual chase, why fans embraced the tawdry genre in the first place.” – Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal
138. (+45) The Devil’s Candy
Sean Byrne
2015 / USA / 79m / Col / Supernatural | IMDb
Ethan Embry, Shiri Appleby, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Kiara Glasco, Tony Amendola, Leland Orser, Craig Nigh, Oryan Landa, Richard Rollin, Shiela Bailey Lucas
“What makes “The Devil’s Candy” a standout is how well-developed these characters are. This is ultimately a movie about parenting, and how even “hip” moms and dads fear the choices they make are hurting their young. More importantly, Byrne is as skilled as ever at constructing sequences at once bizarre, suspenseful and oddly beautiful. In his cinematic universe, even something as simple as a pane of red glass or a heavy metal guitar riff can turn in an instant from innocuous to ominous.” – Noel Murray, Los Angeles Times
139. (+46) American Mary
Jen Soska & Sylvia Soska
2012 / Canada / 103m / Col / Body Horror | IMDb
Katharine Isabelle, Antonio Cupo, Tristan Risk, David Lovgren, Paula Lindberg, Clay St. Thomas, John Emmet Tracy, Twan Holliday, Nelson Wong, Sylvia Soska
“We’ve seen medical gear — gurneys, rubber aprons, cutlery — in myriad horror movies, “The Human Centipede,” “Dead Ringers” and “Audition” among them. But maybe not metaphors like the caged bird Mary keeps, in a nod to Jean-Pierre Melville, or her uncommon path to self-sufficiency (at one point she literally sews up her own wound), a transformation skillfully elucidated by Ms. Isabelle. This film — the second from the Soskas, and shot in their hometown, Vancouver, British Columbia — combines gore, quiet dread, feminist conviction and a visual classicism, often using a red palette, with impressive, unbelabored dexterity. (In an amusing sequence, the Soskas play goth twins who want to surgically exchange their left arms.)” – Andy Webster, The New York Times
140. (+29) Backcountry
Adam MacDonald
2014 / Canada / 92m / Col / Nature | IMDb
Missy Peregrym, Eric Balfour, Nicholas Campbell, Jeff Roop
“Backcountry is never some cheesy, over-the-top creature feature about a CG’d, genetically enhanced animal that you’d find any day on the Syfy channel, and it’s all the more character-driven, more authentic, and much more effective because of it. It builds slowly, but surely, by observing Alex and Jenn as a couple and saving the unsparing final half-hour to become more of a taut, rattling, visceral experience. When the bear attacks, director Adam MacDonald and cinematographer Christian Bielz simultaneously shows and leaves enough to the imagination, never dulling the intensely savage brutality of a bear attack.” – Jeremy Kibler, Diabolique Magazine
141. (+87) La piel que habito
Pedro Almodóvar
2011 / Spain / 120m / Col / Psychological | IMDb
Antonio Banderas, Elena Anaya, Marisa Paredes, Jan Cornet, Roberto Álamo, Eduard Fernández, José Luis Gómez, Blanca Suárez, Susi Sánchez, Bárbara Lennie
“Everything made by Pedro Almodóvar seems to have been developed from the outside in: surfaces yield psychology, decor becomes depth, kitsch proves porous, a parade of pop props dimpled with wells of violently conflicted feelings and frustrated lusts. Seen through this lens, The Skin I Live In, based on Thierry Jonquet’s 1995 novel Tarantula, can be read as a work of perfect unity between its filmmaker’s MO and its fabulous premise… An uneasy forecast of looming advances in posthuman sciences, an extravagant extrapolation of Eyes Without a Face, and a fresh opportunity for Almodóvar to fix his unapologetically (queer) male gaze on more immaculate female flesh, The Skin I Live In embodies a rather studied sort of perversion that nonetheless resonates with Almodóvar’s evolving concerns in interesting ways.” – José Teodoro, Film Comment Magazine
142. (new) Revenge
Coralie Fargeat
2017 / France / 108m / Col / Rape and Revenge | IMDb
Matilda Anna Ingrid Lutz, Kevin Janssens, Vincent Colombe, Guillaume Bouchède
“Loud, brash, neon-colored and shot like a music video, the flick is unabashedly cool. Fargeat is not afraid of being slick or stylizing the action. Even the gallons of blood she utilizes are of the stickiest, gooiest, reddest variety. They cling to the actors’ bodies like latex skin-suits… Revenge is sexy, but the female gaze is steadily applied throughout. The rape itself is quick, and mostly off-screen — a deliberate departure. Male nudity is cleverly utilized; first, for power and strength, before Fargeat strips the veneer away and leaves her antagonist naked, injured and struggling to fight against her strong, marginally more clothed heroine.” – Joey Keogh, Vague Visages
143. (-25) The Human Centipede (First Sequence)
Tom Six
2009 / Netherlands / 92m / BW / Body Horror | IMDb
Dieter Laser, Ashley C. Williams, Ashlynn Yennie, Akihiro Kitamura, Andreas Leupold, Peter Blankenstein, Bernd Kostrau, Rene de Wit, Sylvia Zidek, Rosemary Annabella
“So what is the use of a genre film that doesn’t conform to the conventions of genre? Plenty. You know this movie is called The Human Centipede. You will watch the film knowing you will see a human centipede. And when it is over, you will be able to claim you have now seen a human centipede. The evocative title, the lack of motive and the absence of genre tropes are completely intentional – Six is giving us what we want, reminding us all the while that getting exactly what we want is usually the last thing we should ever really have. Basically, The Human Centipede is a better, more effective satire (experiment?) than Michael Haneke’s Funny Games.” – Simon Miraudo, Quikflix
144. (-11) Unfriended
Levan Gabriadze
2014 / USA / 83m / Col / Found Footage | IMDb
Cal Barnes, Matthew Bohrer, Courtney Halverson, Shelley Hennig, Renee Olstead, Will Peltz, Mickey River, Heather Sossaman, Moses Jacob Storm, Jacob Wysocki
“Rather than attempting to take us on a Hackers-style trip behind the screens, Unfriended plays on the addictive pull of the screen itself. Like James Woods being physically seduced by his TV in David Cronenberg’s Videodrome, the real horror here is our irritating antiheroes’ inability to pull themselves away from their laptops. Despite repeatedly telling each other to “just log off”, all are compelled to stay online; to open links that can only work their destructive magic if empowered to do so by the “user” – a word with entirely appropriate drug-addiction overtones. While the cast expend much energy trying to figure out the identity of their tormentor (the narrative follows the familiar “anniversary of death” riffs of Halloween, My Bloody Valentine, I Know What You Did… etc), the film forces its audience to spend 80-odd minutes effectively staring the bogeyman straight in the face.” – Mark Kermode, Observer
145. (-74) Jisatsu sâkuru
Shion Sono
2001 / Japan / 99m / Col / Thriller | IMDb
Ryo Ishibashi, Masatoshi Nagase, Mai Hosho, Tamao Satô, Takashi Nomura, Rolly, Joshua, Masato Tsujioka, Kôsuke Hamamoto, Kei Nagase
“As frustrating as Suicide Club may be, there is no denying that it does succeed in hooking viewers with its highly original concept. The film manages to establish a sense of creeping dread; the anticipation of what lurks around each corner proves far more terrifying than the cheap scare tactics employed in other films. Ryo Ishibashi exudes a sense of decency and commitment to his mission—qualities that have a definite payoff later in the film. As Kuroda, Ishibashi gives the viewers a solid protagonist they can latch onto during the dark journey ahead. The lack of clear answers will frustrate many (this reviewer included) but what Suicide Club attempts to say and do, coupled with its success in executing some of those goals, makes the film worth recommending. And even with its baffling conclusion, there’s at least one lesson to be gleaned from Suicide Club: J-Pop may be hazardous to your health.” – Calvin McMillin, Love HK Film
146. (-10) Demon
Marcin Wrona
2015 / Poland / 94m / Col / Supernatural | IMDb
Itay Tiran, Agnieszka Zulewska, Andrzej Grabowski, Tomasz Schuchardt, Katarzyna Herman, Adam Woronowicz, Wlodzimierz Press, Tomasz Zietek, Cezary Kosinski, Katarzyna Gniewkowska
“One of the brilliantly conceived and genuinely effective aspects of the story was to set the action during, of all things, a wedding ceremony. As a joyous, celebratory, life-affirming festival – a wedding is the perfect place for patrons to get loose, let their guard down and eschew every trivial care in the world. So, when the horrific hammer does finally strike down, it not only comes as a jolting surprise, but it serves as an inherently jarring counterpoint to the good-willed nature of the gala itself. Also, as mere metaphor, the marrying of two souls through non-consensual possession is quite a clever one, and plumbed here – though ad nauseam at times – for all the humor its worth.” – Jake Dee, Arrow in the Head
147. (-22) Triangle
Christopher Smith
2009 / UK / 99m / Col / Science Fiction | IMDb
Melissa George, Joshua McIvor, Jack Taylor, Michael Dorman, Henry Nixon, Rachael Carpani, Emma Lung, Liam Hemsworth, Bryan Probets
“After his passable, low-budget horror movie, Severance, the British writer-director Christopher Smith takes a big leap forward with this clever and compelling occult thriller. Shot on the coast of Queensland but set in Miami, it interweaves to potent effect Nietzsche’s theory of “eternal recurrence”, the mystery of the Mary Celeste and Sutton Vane’s once popular play Outward Bound… It’s creepy, atmospheric stuff and at every twist of this Möbius strip we wonder how Smith will keep things going. But he manages it with considerable skill and we leave his picture suitably shaken.” – Philip French, The Observer
148. (-11) Piranha
Alexandre Aja
2010 / USA / 88m / Col / Nature | IMDb
Richard Dreyfuss, Ving Rhames, Elisabeth Shue, Christopher Lloyd, Eli Roth, Jerry O’Connell, Steven R. McQueen, Jessica Szohr, Kelly Brook, Riley Steele
“Sometimes a title can tell you everything you need to know. Such is the case with Piranha 3D, a film in which prehistoric piranhas fly out of the screen at your face. If that sounds like a good time at the movies then run to the cinema immediately. Filled with recognisable faces, packed with excessive blood and gore and jokes as corny as they are hilarious, Piranha 3D is, if nothing else, the most honest and unpretentious piece of filmmaking of 2010… Aja has found a wonderful mix of horror and laughs and even manages some scenes of tension that’ll have you gripping your armrest. Piranha 3D is a pure, unadulterated fun.” – Glenn Dunks, Trespass Magazine
149. (-29) The Exorcism of Emily Rose
Scott Derrickson
2005 / USA / 119m / Col / Possession | IMDb
Laura Linney, Tom Wilkinson, Campbell Scott, Jennifer Carpenter, Colm Feore, Joshua Close, Kenneth Welsh, Duncan Fraser, JR Bourne, Mary Beth Hurt
“By giving us the facts as seen through the eyes of the various beholders, the film is asking us to be the jury that decides the case, and the information provided is very intentionally left open to interpretation. Rather than seeming wishy-washy and indecisve, this results in a film with a great deal of tension and suspense. Structuring the story as a courtroom drama increases the horror because it takes place in a believable context: whether you think Emily is ill or possessed, what happens to her is almost beyond endurance. Moreover, because the fate of the priest rests on the trial’s outcome, it’s clear that the horrific events in the story have dramatic consequences: what happens is part of a convincing story, not just a series of gratuitous special effects shocks.” – Steve Biodrowski, Cinefantastique
150. (-89) Batoru rowaiaru
Kinji Fukasaku
2000 / Japan / 114m / Col / Splatter | IMDb
Tatsuya Fujiwara, Aki Maeda, Tarô Yamamoto, Takeshi Kitano, Chiaki Kuriyama, Sôsuke Takaoka, Takashi Tsukamoto, Yukihiro Kotani, Eri Ishikawa, Sayaka Kamiya
“A few twists and turns keep the formula from becoming repetitive, and Fukasaku brings enough compassion to the deserving to keep the grizzly deaths from numbing our moral sensitivities. A sharp sense of humor assists him: aimed towards insight and ridicule rather than the nihilistic glee to which it might have succumbed. It chills us even as we snicker, and the resulting mayhem ultimately reads as a condemnation of our own violent tendencies rather than a tacit celebration. The underlying messages combine with sharp filmmaking for a gloriously entertaining ride, provided you have a taste for dark material and don’t mind the occasional poke in the ribs. Battle Royale completely engages us without losing track of its anti-violence message, a tricky balance that has sent many lesser productions spinning into hypocrisy.” – Rob Vaux, Mania
151. (-29) Dans ma peau
Marina de Van
2002 / France / 93m / Col / Body Horror | IMDb
Marina de Van, Laurent Lucas, Léa Drucker, Thibault de Montalembert, Dominique Reymond, Bernard Alane, Marc Rioufol, François Lamotte, Adrien de Van, Alain Rimoux
“It’s mostly the suggestion of what Esther is doing to herself that worms its way into your mind and won’t leave you alone, and that’s what people were finding so uncomfortable that they couldn’t continue to watch the film. Being confronted with a sudden boundary between “me” and “my body” isn’t something many of us have dealt with, and our innate inclination for self-preservation tells us to run from the suggestion that such a thing is possible. That might make In My Skin the ultimate horror movie, one the proposes that, given the right stimulus, we ourselves could be our own worst mortal danger.” – MaryAnn Johanson, Flick Filosopher
152. (+96) The Conjuring 2
James Wan
2016 / USA / 134m / Col / Haunted House | IMDb
Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga, Madison Wolfe, Frances O’Connor, Lauren Esposito, Benjamin Haigh, Patrick McAuley, Simon McBurney, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Simon Delaney
“In this Conjuring, the haunted-house tropes play second fiddle to something less graspable, even though there’s no question that a game of fright is in full, masterful swing. Cinematographer Don Burgess’ camera prowls and swoops, Bishara’s choral score sends shivers up the spine and Wan uses prolonged silence as well as sounds — creaking floorboards, a screeching backyard swing — to maximum unsettling effect. The director knows how to turn objects, from an antique zoetrope to a ringing telephone, into icons of free-floating evil or, in the case of a crucifix, into tools of redemption.” – Sheri Linden, Hollywood Reporter
153. (-14) Black Death
Christopher Smith
2010 / UK / 102m / Col / Historical Drama | IMDb
Sean Bean, Eddie Redmayne, John Lynch, Tim McInnerny, Kimberley Nixon, Andy Nyman, David Warner, Johnny Harris, Emun Elliott, Tygo Gernandt
“As it turns out, no one is without sin in “Black Death,” a grungy, cynical little number from the British director Christopher Smith that slams Christians against pagans with little love for either… With old-fashioned style and old-school effects — you can feel the weight of the broadswords and the crunchy resistance of every hacked head — “Black Death” takes Dark Ages drama to the limits of moral ambivalence. Here, excessive piety and rampant paganism are equally malevolent forces, the film’s baleful view of human nature mirrored in Sebastian Edschmid’s swampy photography. As is emphasized in a nicely consistent coda, the Lord’s side and the right side are not necessarily one and the same.” – Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times
154. (+72) Split
M. Night Shyamalan
2016 / USA / 117m / Col / Psychological | IMDb
James McAvoy, Anya Taylor-Joy, Betty Buckley, Haley Lu Richardson, Jessica Sula, Izzie Coffey, Brad William Henke, Sebastian Arcelus, Neal Huff, Ukee Washington
“Though the central character of “Split” is a man with a split personality, the film also tells the story of a split in the world. Just as “Unbreakable” suggested the origins of a superhero in a near-death childhood experience, so “Split” shows a young woman able to combat evil because of the strength she has developed from horrific personal trauma. With its crude realization of the shibboleth that what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, the movie is more than a story of feminist survivalism; it also makes the perversely tawdry suggestion that a woman’s tragic knowledge—and necessary power—comes with an unbearably high price.” – Richard Brody, The New Yorker
155. (+31) Frozen
Adam Green
2010 / USA / 93m / Col / Nature | IMDb
Emma Bell, Shawn Ashmore, Kevin Zegers, Ed Ackerman, Rileah Vanderbilt, Kane Hodder, Adam Johnson, Chris York, Peder Melhuse
“Adam Green’s fun 2006 horror film ‘Hatchet’ revelled in the art of self-aware pastiche, but it is in his second major work that he has found a legitimately great concept out of which to wring more nuanced thrills… If anything, Green suggests here that is likely a much better director than a writer; especially exciting is an overhead shot of the lift as a wolf darts by in the distance. The lean nature of the narrative dictates that the small things count, and as such, Green chooses to focus on them – frostbite scabs, the barely-threaded bolts on the ski-lift, and the frayed steel wires holding them precariously in place – to chilling effect.” – Shaun Munro, What Culture
156. (+22) The Sacrament
Ti West
2013 / USA / 99m / Col / Found Footage | IMDb
Joe Swanberg, Amy Seimetz, Kate Lyn Sheil, AJ Bowen, Gene Jones, Kentucker Audley, Shawn Parsons, Madison Absher, Derek Roberts, Donna Biscoe
“A clever and thoroughly chilling tale of group psychosis, Ti West’s thriller “The Sacrament” takes its inspiration (and many of its details) from the 1978 events at Jim Jones’ People’s Temple in Guyana… If you don’t know what happened at Jonestown, this film will shock you; if you do know, it brings an entirely different kind of horror — that creeping-up knowledge that something inevitable and awful is coming, and can’t be stopped. West’s found-footage structure doesn’t always entirely make sense, but it’s easy to forgive “The Sacrament” its flaws. The eerie quiet, near its end, is utterly haunting; a lost Eden, in the sunshine.” – Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times
157. (-15) The Last Exorcism
Daniel Stamm
2010 / USA / 87m / Col / Found Footage | IMDb
Patrick Fabian, Ashley Bell, Iris Bahr, Louis Herthum, Caleb Landry Jones, Tony Bentley, John Wright Jr., Shanna Forrestall, Justin Shafer, Carol Sutton
“The movie’s first forty-five minutes acts as a legitimately witty satire of religious fundamentalists and the now-totally-lame concept of exorcisms (“the spirit of Christ compels you … yawn”). When the stakes are raised in the final act, the audience has been utterly disarmed. And instead of winking at us and promising that it will be all right, they trust that we want to feel terror.” – Simon Miraudo, Quickflix
158. (-48) Jeepers Creepers
Victor Salva
2001 / USA / 90m / Col / Monster | IMDb
Gina Philips, Justin Long, Jonathan Breck, Patricia Belcher, Brandon Smith, Eileen Brennan, Peggy Sheffield, Jeffrey William Evans, Patrick Cherry, Jon Beshara
“Throughout, Salva’s skill as a director keeps the movie afloat, helping to propel us through some of the dodgier narrative stumbles (the “let’s go back to the obvious death trap for no reason other than to facilitate a horror film!” moment, or a weird, stretched-out, yet excellently tense confrontation with a crazy cat-lady played, distractingly, by Eileen Brennan), and making the best moments sing. Every inch of the sequence inside the pipe is carried off brilliantly, and not just Darry’s half: as Trish stands guard outside, there’s a truly breathtaking false scare that uses an out-of-focus depth of field in a profoundly clever, subtle manner; as indeed, the film consistently makes outstanding use of hiding details in corners of the frame where, because of composition or focus, we don’t necessarily expect to look.” – Tim Brayton, Antagony & Ecstasy
159. (+75) Excision
Richard Bates Jr.
2012 / USA / 81m / Col / Splatter | IMDb
AnnaLynne McCord, Roger Bart, Ariel Winter, Traci Lords, Matthew Gray Gubler, Jeremy Sumpter, Matthew Fahey, Sidney Franklin, Molly McCook, Natalie Dreyfuss
“Excision is a film in metaphoric overload, where Pauline’s every waking moment is consumed by images and thoughts pertaining to sex, blood and conflict. McCord, a mens-mag favourite whose resume to date gave no indication she was capable of crafting such a wondrously disturbed character, conveys the inner-collision of Pauline’s sympathetic reality and psychotic extremes with equal measure profundity and black, black humour. Her final on-screen moments are nightmarishly impactful. The young director’s trope dissection is cut entirely from the chick flick/teen outcast cloth, but without the airs and graces of the kind that the late John Hughes might have employed; had David Cronenberg and Dario Argento co-directed Sixteen Candles it might have looked a bit like Excision. But Bates’ piercing originality and keen eye for framing and ear for dialogue sets it own precedents, standing tall on the stooped shoulders of Pauline and her teen-dream bloodlust.” – Simon Foster, Screen-Space
160. (new) Citadel
Ciaran Foy
2012 / Ireland / 84m / Col / Psychological | IMDb
Aneurin Barnard, James Cosmo, Wunmi Mosaku, Ian Hanmore, Amy Shiels, Ingrid Craigie, Pete Murphy, Jake Wilson, Chris Hegarty, Sandra McFadden
“Director Ciaran Foy – who found himself housebound following an attack – has constructed a lean and mean horror set in a shattered city that is both all-too-recognisable as broken Britain while also feeling totally alien. Barnard impresses as the shellshocked Tommy, crippled by his condition, yet drawing the strength from his unconditional love for his daughter to confront his barely human nemeses. Until the final reel, when there’s a half-hearted explanation for the feral delinquents, their presence is chillingly evoked, from sinister reflections in kettles and car doors to a solid menace distorted by frosted glass.” – Tim Evans, Sky Movies
161. (-3) V/H/S
Various
2012 / USA / 116m / Col / Anthology | IMDb
Calvin Reeder, Lane Hughes, Kentucker Audley, Adam Wingard, Frank Stack, Sarah Byrne, Melissa Boatright, Simon Barrett, Andrew Droz Palermo, Hannah Fierman
“Remarkably, given the premise, only one of the five short segments that make up V/H/S is an outright failure. The others — from such US indie darlings as House Of The Devil director Ti West, mumblecore luminary Joe Swanberg and fledgling YouTube collective Radio Silence — share an experimental bent, a knack for well-timed twists and they don’t pander to the squeamish. It puts these spooky miniatures head and shoulders above the bulk of this year’s featurelength horror fare… Forever chasing scares both cerebral and visceral, the filmmakers leave little space for cynicism and plenty for admiration — an invaluable accomplishment in a film form that’s so susceptible to weak spots.” – Charlie Lyne, Little White Lies
162. (-51) The Grudge
Takashi Shimizu
2004 / USA / 91m / Col / Supernatural | IMDb
Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jason Behr, William Mapother, Clea DuVall, KaDee Strickland, Grace Zabriskie, Bill Pullman, Rosa Blasi, Ted Raimi, Ryo Ishibashi
“For the American émigrés that populate ‘The Grudge’ are portrayed as struggling with the basics of Japanese language, confused even by the products on a Japanese supermarket shelf, and generally lost and out of place and it is a mutually uncomprehending relationship between an American and a Japanese which turns out to have engendered the curse at the heart of the film. Shimizu, it seems, is not only exploiting this cultural clash to amplify his characters’ alienation, hopelessness, and terror, but also to comment wryly on the bizarre love affair between America and Japan which makes a film like this possible. It is as though the original ‘Ju-on’ had been merged with Lost in Translation, and the result is an intelligent reflection on Hollywood’s flawed attempts to recreate Oriental horror in its own image as well as a great scare or three for the uninitiated West.” – Anton Bitel, Movie Gazette
163. (-40) Zombieland
Ruben Fleischer
2009 / USA / 88m / Col / Zombie | IMDb
Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Emma Stone, Abigail Breslin, Amber Heard, Bill Murray, Derek Graf
“You could argue that the film is really about ‘family’ or ‘friendship’ or ‘romance’ or ‘finding acceptance’, because these are the elements that make up life, and thus, are the building blocks of most stories. But, life in Zombieland isn’t exactly life at all. Our four protagonists struggle to find normalcy in their situation, and although they succeed to a certain degree, it is only once they learn to accept (and enjoy) the disemboweling of their undead enemies. No, this film is not some Michael Haneke-esque lecture condemning audiences for enjoying the violence within. It is a celebration. It’s nice to see a movie in which the very fabric of society falls apart, yet humanity still soldiers on; not through feats of extreme bravery or powerful self-sacrifice, but through a sense of humour.” – Simon Miraudo, Quickflix
164. (-48) Freddy vs. Jason
Ronny Yu
2003 / Canada / 97m / Col / Slasher | IMDb
Robert Englund, Ken Kirzinger, Monica Keena, Jason Ritter, Kelly Rowland, Chris Marquette, Brendan Fletcher, Katharine Isabelle, Lochlyn Munro, Kyle Labine
“Two dead horror franchises and two one-note jokes combine their burnt-out story lines and collective myths in “Freddy Vs. Jason,” and the result is a horror movie that’s better than it has any right to be… The Jason (‘Friday the 13th’) and the Freddy Krueger (‘Nightmare on Elm Street’) series were limp self-parodies long before they went dormant. But something in the combination of the two villains wakes things up. The presence of Freddy liberates this Jason entry from the monotony of a guy lumbering about with a ski mask and a sword, while the presence of Jason liberates this Freddy film from the monotony of the usual endless dream sequences… Director Ronny Yu… keeps it as light as possible.” – Mick LaSalle, SFGate
165. (-16) The Signal
David Bruckner & Dan Bush & Jacob Gentry
2007 / USA / 103m / Col / Science Fiction | IMDb
Anessa Ramsey, Sahr Ngaujah, AJ Bowen, Matthew Stanton, Suehyla El-Attar, Justin Welborn, Cheri Christian, Scott Poythress, Christopher Thomas, Lindsey Garrett
“An outright horror film that nonetheless veers on occasion into surreal black comedy, The Signal… takes Marshall McLuhan’s famous statement “the medium is the message” to extremes not explored since David Cronenberg’s seminal, frighteningly prescient Videodrome in 1983… The Signal is a shuddery critique of the ultrapervasive influence of big (and little) media on humanity and the paranoia engendered by its sheer invasiveness. It’s also a snarky stab at the desensitizing aspects of everything… Both apocalyptic and suitably vague, The Signal’s only serious weakness comes from some borderline histrionic performances; then again, it’s tough to call hysteria anything other than a sane response to a world gone mad.” – Marc Savlov, Austin Chronicle
166. (-88) The Hills Have Eyes
Alexandre Aja
2006 / USA / 107m / Col / Slasher | IMDb
Aaron Stanford, Kathleen Quinlan, Vinessa Shaw, Emilie de Ravin, Dan Byrd, Tom Bower, Billy Drago, Robert Joy, Ted Levine, Desmond Askew
“The remake to “The Hills Have Eyes” (Wes Craven who has his hand firmly placed in the cookie jar as producer) still isn’t a perfect film, but for what it gives us in its ninety minute run time, is a true definition of a horror movie. Aja knows how to make a horror movie that’s realistic, bold, and provides all the bloodhounds with a satisfactory amount of gore. This remake of “Hills” is superior not only because it provides us with the amount of violence that’s been missing from horror for years, but basically because it has more focus on the survival aspects. There’s more tension, more urgency, more dread, and less camp. Aja’s new film has a sort of eeriness to it from the very beginning as we’re introduced to this family taking a crossroad journey for their vacation (you know how the usual story goes).” – Felix Vasquez Jr., Cinema Crazed
167. (-16) Dagon
Stuart Gordon
2001 / Spain / 95m / Col / Supernatural | IMDb
Ezra Godden, Francisco Rabal, Raquel Meroño, Macarena Gómez, Brendan Price, Birgit Bofarull, Uxía Blanco, Ferran Lahoz, Joan Minguell, Alfredo Villa
“Re-Animator director Stuart Gordon returns to literary horror with Dagon, another H.P. Lovecraft adaptation that takes his trademark grisliness to Spain for a real fish-out-of-water yarn having to do with love, sex and demon worship… Despite the Lovecraftian pedigree, what we really have here is a cheap horror potboiler: Stuart Gordon’s Attack of the Fish People. I swear that’s not a bad thing… Given the downright conservative tone of most horror films lately, the ripping and raping that caps Dagon’s leisurely build is itself startling. Replete with gore and nudity, the final reels make it to giddy exploitation territory.” – Bryant Frazer, Deep Focus
168. (-15) Grace
Paul Solet
2009 / USA / 84m / Col / Evil Children | IMDb
Jordan Ladd, Stephen Park, Gabrielle Rose, Serge Houde, Samantha Ferris, Kate Herriot, Troy Skog, Malcolm Stewart, Jeff Stone, Jamie Stephenson
“Many horror filmmakers say they want to capture the look and feel of classic ’70s horror films like “The Exorcist” or “Rosemary’s Baby,” but Solet has achieved it on many levels combining the film’s quiet and somber tone with a haunting ambient score to keeps you on the edge of your seat. That said, the movie certainly isn’t one for the squeamish, which was quickly discovered from one of the stories that circulated around the movie’s famous midnight premiere at Sundance when two men apparently fainted, but who’s to blame them? This is clearly the sickest and most disturbing movie you’ll see this year, extremely effective on every level without cowtowing to the overused formulas that have become standard in modern horror.” – Edward Douglas, Coming Soon
169. (+15) Byzantium
Neil Jordan
2012 / UK / 118m / Col / Vampire | IMDb
Saoirse Ronan, Barry Cassin, Gemma Arterton, David Heap, Warren Brown, Ruby Snape, Thure Lindhardt, Jenny Kavanagh, Glenn Doherty, Edyta Budnik
“Nearly 20 years after Interview with the Vampire, director Neil Jordan returns to the land of the living dead with Byzantium, the tale of a mother-daughter vampire duo whose 200-year history is threatened when their existence comes to light. Though much surer in tone than its predecessor, this is not quite as far from the Tom Cruise-Brad Pitt, big-budget razzle-dazzle as it would appear on the surface. While certainly made on a much smaller scale, Byzantium shares the earlier movie’s gorgeous look, signature Jordan lyrical touches and the material again focuses on the brooding nature of its central characte… this is a romantic, sensual, bloody good time of a movie for sophisticated adults.” – Richard Knight, Windy City Times
170. (-24) Fritt vilt
Roar Uthaug
2006 / Norway / 97m / Col / Slasher | IMDb
Ingrid Bolsø Berdal, Rolf Kristian Larsen, Tomas Alf Larsen, Endre Martin Midtstigen, Viktoria Winge, Rune Melby, Erik Skjeggedal, Tonie Lunde, Hallvard Holmen
“Roar Uthaug’s debut feature is a conventional but nicely handled slasher pic that makes good use of spectacular mountain range locations. Widescreen lensing format and above-average perfs add a touch of class to the tale of five snowboarders who take shelter in the wrong mysteriously abandoned (or is it?) ski lodge… Likeable characters are given more personality than the usual genre cannon fodder, and, while the basic premise is routine, pic orchestrates its scares with brute effectiveness. The only letdown is the killer himself, a generic “Halloween”-y faceless ghoul in goggles and heavy winter wear.” – Dennis Harvey, Variety
171. (-57) The Ruins
Carter Smith
2008 / USA / 90m / Col / Nature | IMDb
Jonathan Tucker, Jena Malone, Laura Ramsey, Shawn Ashmore, Joe Anderson, Sergio Calderón, Jesse Ramirez, Balder Moreno, Dimitri Baveas, Patricio Almeida Rodriguez
“Enjoyable, well made and genuinely creepy horror flick that transcends its ridiculous premise thanks to a strong script, some sure-handed direction and superb performances from a talented young cast… The script is excellent and director Carter Smith gets the tone exactly right, playing everything straight, despite the ridiculous premise, and orchestrating some genuinely creepy scenes. He also includes some impressively nasty gory moments that, crucially, derive naturally from the characters and situations rather than just looking to gross you out for the hell of it… In short, The Ruins is a worthy addition to the Tourism Is Bad genre that ensures that you’ll never look at a rustling vine quite the same way again.” – Matthew Turner, ViewLondon
172. (-41) Splinter
Toby Wilkins
2008 / USA / 82m / Col / Body Horror | IMDb
Charles Baker, Jill Wagner, Paulo Costanzo, Shea Whigham, Rachel Kerbs, Laurel Whitsett
“A really smart little horror flick. How horrific is it? I’m far from brave, but good at temporary detachment – at the eager restoration of disbelief – and I still had to turn away at several points… This modest little genre piece is smarter than most of the overproduced and heavily marketed studio fare that’s been filling the multiplexes this fall. It’s short, taut, nicely shot, well-acted, astutely directed, specific where it might have been generic, original enough to be engrossing and derivative enough to be amusing. In other words, it knows exactly where it belongs and how to be its best self. What a revolutionary concept.” – Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal
173. (-43) Gokudô kyôfu dai-gekijô: Gozu
Takashi Miike
2003 / Japan / 129m / Col / Surrealism | IMDb
Yûta Sone, Shô Aikawa, Kimika Yoshino, Shôhei Hino, Keiko Tomita, Harumi Sone, Renji Ishibashi, Ken’ichi Endô, Kanpei Hazama, Masaya Katô
“There is an intense emphasis on the sexual, especially on the interplay between imported Western taboos and the traditional (but now largely suppressed) explicit sexual celebrations of the spring fertility festivals. Boldly, Takashi has sidelined phallic imagery to concentrate on various aspects of feminine reproductive sexuality, especially lactation. From this he derives much of his trademark crude humour, but the female characters are never diminished by it. His unrelenting camera draws viewers in to the complex psychology of his virginal hero, at once attracted and repelled by the possibilities inherent in sexual contact, waiting for the remorseless supernatural to liberate him from his mundanely violent life.” – Jennie Kermode, Eye For Film
174. (-34) House of 1000 Corpses
Rob Zombie
2003 / USA / 89m / Col / Splatter | IMDb
Bill Moseley, William Bassett, Karen Black, Erin Daniels, Matthew McGrory, Judith Drake, Dennis Fimple, Chris Hardwick, Walton Goggins, Sid Haig
“The movie has absolutely no interest whatsoever in sanitized horror. Rob Zombie wallows quite comfortably in squalor, doling out mutilation, gore, sweaty close-ups, bad teeth, bad skin, fetid-looking clutter everywhere. Even the four college students — two male, two female, by the book — whose agony provides most of the fuel for the plot motor are not empty UPN/WB clones. Zombie has made a conscious and, yes, loving throwback to nuclear-family geek shows like Chainsaw, Mother’s Day, and Wes Craven’s The Hills Have Eyes. If it doesn’t sound original, well, it isn’t. Zombie never designed this to be the new fresh thing in horror; he simply wants to blow away all the shiny teen crap that passes for horror nowadays and cover the audience in grime, spit, intestines.” – Rob Gonsalves, eFilmCritic
175. (-47) Koroshiya 1
Takashi Miike
2001 / Japan / 129m / Col / Splatter | IMDb
Tadanobu Asano, Nao ômori, Shin’ya Tsukamoto, Paulyn Sun, Susumu Terajima, Shun Sugata, Toru Tezuka, Yoshiki Arizono, Kiyohiko Shibukawa, Satoshi Niizuma
“‘Ichi the Killer’ is a bizarre sado-masochistic love story, an unnerving excursion into criminal and sexual extremes, and a comicbook explosion of lurid colours and freakish characters – but most of all, it is a furious, frenetic and at times very funny piece of bravura filmmaking, with outstanding performances, spectacular setpieces, dizzying moodswings, a killer soundtrack, and a mindbending conclusion. Guaranteed to amaze, shock, disgust and intrigue in equal measure, ‘Ichi the Killer’ is one of the most striking films ever made.” – Movie Gazette
176. (-59) Splice
Vincenzo Natali
2009 / Canada / 104m / Col / Science Fiction | IMDb
Adrien Brody, Sarah Polley, Delphine Chanéac, Brandon McGibbon, Simona Maicanescu, David Hewlett, Abigail Chu
“Splice is not a David Cronenberg film but it comes closer to capturing the sensibility of Cronenberg’s films from the mid-1970s to the late 1990s than anything Cronenberg himself has done in the past decade… Underpinning the stylish production values and moments of shock are strong characters and engaging writing. What holds your attention throughout Splice is the changing sympathies you constantly have for Elsa, Clive and Dren as they all constantly shift from positions of being the aggressors to being the victims. Splice is science-fiction/horror at its best, underpinning its daring moments of bodily horror and sexual anxieties with flawed characters to care about and moral issues to wrestle with.” – Thomas Caldwell, Cinema Autopsy
177. (-33) Halloween
Rob Zombie
2007 / USA / 109m / Col / Slasher | IMDb
Malcolm McDowell, Brad Dourif, Tyler Mane, Daeg Faerch, Sheri Moon Zombie, William Forsythe, Richard Lynch, Udo Kier, Clint Howard, Danny Trejo
“The good news is, Zombie in no way diminishes our nightmares. While not so much a unique vision as a loving tribute, director Zombie updates the classic with a tighter script, re-thought locations for some key scenes, and a decent cast willing to to make a true slasher film, teen nudity and all. Unlike The Fog remake that threw out all the elements that made the original so scary and watchable, Zombie lifts scenes and lines from the original while making better sense and setting a better pace. Amazingly, Zombie’s Halloween is an improvement over the original film, exactly the kind of film one expects when lamenting, “Wow, can you imagine what this movie would be like if they made it today?”” – Kevin A. Ranson, MovieCrypt
178. (-33) 1408
Mikael Håfström
2007 / USA / 104m / Col / Haunted House | IMDb
John Cusack, Paul Birchard, Margot Leicester, Walter Lewis, Eric Meyers, David Nicholson, Holly Hayes, Alexandra Silber, Johann Urb, Andrew Lee Potts
“Whatever its weaknesses, 1408 holds you captive. The film may seem like a one-room version of THE SHINING, condensed and tight rather than big and sprawling like the Kubrick movie, but Hafstrom does an impressive job of keeping its limited space visually interesting for feature length, and when all else fails the story succeeds on the strength of Cusack’s performance. The actor is allowed to give a virtual one-man show, ranging from funny to fearful, alternating between broad physical action with quieter interludes of angst and despair. Forcing the audience to experience his terror with an almost first-hand immediacy, Cusack runs the emotional gamut, delivering a performance as layered and complex as any of the 2007s Oscar nominees. Thanks in large part to his efforts, 1408 comes close to being a character study rather than a horror film – WILD STRAWBERRIES, with ghosts. Unlike too many movies that aspire to more than mere horror, this one achieves its goal without neglecting the fear factor.” – Steve Biodrowski, ESplatter
179. (+60) Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashed
Brett Sullivan
2004 / Canada / 94m / Col / Werewolf | IMDb
Emily Perkins, Brendan Fletcher, Katharine Isabelle, Tatiana Maslany, Susan Adam, Janet Kidder, Chris Fassbender, Pascale Hutton, Michelle Beaudoin, Eric Johnson
“The story behind Ginger Snaps II: Unleashed is an old, familiar one: scrappy little indie horror flick is released to critical acclaim. Scrappy little indie horror flick goes on to become a cult classic. Scrappy little indie horror flick suddenly looks like an opportunity to turn a profit with an unnecessary sequel. But the good news is that this story has a pretty happy ending, as Unleashed is a very respectable sequel even despite a few missteps and its expendability… As tempting as it must have been, director Brett Sullivan and screenwriter Megan Martin resist the urge to embrace total schlock and just make a big dumb, movie with a werewolf tearing through a rehab clinic full of vulnerable girls. It has its violent outbursts, but each is in service of the story” – Brett Gallman, Oh the Horror!
180. (new) The Love Witch
Anna Biller
2016 / USA / 120m / Col / Witchcraft | IMDb
Samantha Robinson, Gian Keys, Laura Waddell, Jeffrey Vincent Parise, Jared Sanford, Robert Seeley, Jennifer Ingrum, Randy Evans, Clive Ashborn, Lily Holleman
“LA film-maker Anna Biller achieves an ecstasy of artificiality in this amazing retro fantasy horror, delivered with absolute conviction. It’s designed, produced, written, directed and generally auteured by Biller herself, and lit and photographed by M David Mullen – apparently without digital fabrication. The Love Witch goes beyond camp, beyond pastiche; it ignites the pulpy surfaces of its tale and produces a smoke of bad-dream sexiness and scariness. It’s a B-movie with A-grade potency. But you have to stay with it, you have to understand its absolute seriousness before getting the comedy and the satire of the transactional politics in sex.” – Peter Bradshaw, Guardian
181. (-62) Land of the Dead
George A. Romero
2005 / USA / 93m / Col / Zombie | IMDb
Simon Baker, John Leguizamo, Dennis Hopper, Asia Argento, Robert Joy, Eugene Clark, Joanne Boland, Tony Nappo, Jennifer Baxter, Boyd Banks
“The ideas fly as fast and furious as the body parts, but brilliantly Romero never stoops to obvious, dialogue-driven harangues, instead opting to submerge his conceit- that is, a divided society where zombies reflect our own political complacency – in the forgotten stuff of subtext. The gore is amped up appropriately from earlier films, and provides a literal cross-section of destruction and dismemberments; some of them exist for sheer thrill value, but Romero, unlike many of his style-stealing disciples, knows that substantive storytelling is the key to evoking true dread, not a coroner’s checklist of body parts.” – Todd Gilchrist, IGN Movies
182. (-35) The Woman in Black
James Watkins
2012 / UK / 95m / Col / Haunted House | IMDb
Emma Shorey, Molly Harmon, Ellisa Walker-Reid, Sophie Stuckey, Daniel Radcliffe, Misha Handley, Jessica Raine, Roger Allam, Lucy May Barker, Indira Ainger
“Director James Watkins expertly uses shadows and empty spaces to create a percolating sense of dread, and he waits until the last possible moment before allowing his audience the catharsis of a shock… there’s barely a glimpse of anything scary in this film, but that’s precisely what makes it so terrifying. Neither the 1989 televised adaptation nor the enduringly popular stage play are entirely faithful to Hill’s novel, and this latest version takes the plot down some cobweb-strewn corridors of its own, but its marriage of gothic fiction and gothic fashion feels entirely right for our times. Like all of the best ghost stories, The Woman In Black is only enriched in the retelling.” – Robbie Collin, Daily Telegraph
183. (new) Suspiria
Luca Guadagnino
2018 / Italy / 152m / Col / Supernatural | IMDb
Dakota Johnson, Tilda Swinton, Doris Hick, Malgorzata Bela, Chloë Grace Moretz, Angela Winkler, Vanda Capriolo, Alek Wek, Jessica Batut, Elena Fokina
“Guadagnino fashions his own menagerie of nightmares, some of which would feel right at home in Argento’s own phantasmagoria: shots of girls creeping down halls, discovering secret passageways and other gruesome findings. Rather than recreate the original’s iconic murder sequences, he crafts his own indelible sequences of brutality, leaning on horrific imagery, Thom Yorke’s haunting (and, again, comparatively restrained) score, and an array of impressively diabolical gore effects. One girl’s body unnaturally contorts against itself, falling victim to the witches’ curse, leaving her in a lifeless, mangled heap; other victims aren’t so lucky, as they’re left rot in the school’s hidden passageways, their skin seemingly flayed off. Horrific, scattered bursts are but preludes to the blood-soaked crescendo, where exploding heads play like staccato grace notes of a twisted concerto.” – Brett Gallman, Oh, The Horror!
184. (+52) Dance of the Dead
Gregg Bishop
2008 / USA / 87m / Col / Zombie | IMDb
Jared Kusnitz, Greyson Chadwick, Chandler Darby, Carissa Capobianco, Randy McDowell, Michael Mammoliti, Mark Lynch, Justin Welborn, Mark Oliver
“It’s difficult if not damn near impossible to really pull off homage. You have to forgo the obvious and create a living breathing entity that can stand wholly on its own. If you don’t do that, you’ve cut off half of your audience before they ever see the first five minutes of your magnum opus. What writer Joe Ballarini and Director Gregg Bishop (THE OTHER SIDE) accomplish is the very nearly impossible—a fully functional film that delivers the laugh-a-minute but heartfelt humor of AMERICAN PIE with the furious gore of 28 DAYS LATER. The film never gives up it’s horror to service its comedy and in the same respect it waters down the laughs in order to up the tension.” – David Harley, Bloody Disgusting
185. (-33) Final Destination 2
David R. Ellis
2003 / USA / 90m / Col / Supernatural | IMDb
Ali Larter, A.J. Cook, Michael Landes, David Paetkau, James Kirk, Lynda Boyd, Keegan Connor Tracy, Jonathan Cherry, Terrence ‘T.C.’ Carson, Justina Machado
“While watching the original isn’t necessary to enjoy the sequel, it certainly contributes to a deeper appreciation of the pair of films overall. Part two doesn’t just repeat the premise and scenes of part one–it intricately links to its predecessor with impressive continuity and offers a legitimate reason for why death comes a-knockin’ once more. Characters and circumstances from the original end up having direct ties to the seemingly random characters of the sequel. In many ways, Final Destination 2 also patches up some of the weaker points of the original… but ends up replacing them with new shortcomings. Still, the central premise of a stalking death remains interesting, and there is enough eye-popping violence to keep the pace brisk.” – Andrew Manning, Radio Free Entertainment
186. (+3) Monsters
Gareth Edwards
2010 / Netherlands / 94m / Col / Science Fiction | IMDb
Scoot McNairy, Whitney Able, Mario Zuniga Benavides, Annalee Jefferies, Justin Hall, Ricky Catter, Paul Archer, Kerry Valderrama, Jonathan Winnford, Stan Wong
“Monsters’ strengths lie in its simplicities; the aliens are rarely seen and the action is sporadic, which is admittedly frustrating yet effective in equal measure. Overuse of CGI effects could have potentially rendered the film as a bog standard “B movie” spectacle. Thankfully, Monsters gives its other-worldly creatures just the right amount of exposure to keep the audience on the edge of their seats throughout its slender 90 minute runtime. Beautifully shot and capably handled, Edwards’ cinematic directorial debut is a heartfelt and touching exploration of two well-drawn, troubled characters, which just happens to feature extraterrestrials as a backdrop to the central narrative.” – Edward Frost, CineVue
187. (-33) Identity
James Mangold
2003 / USA / 90m / Col / Thriller | IMDb
John Cusack, Ray Liotta, Amanda Peet, John Hawkes, Alfred Molina, Clea DuVall, John C. McGinley, William Lee Scott, Jake Busey, Pruitt Taylor Vince
“The great thing about a movie like this is that it only reveals knowledge when it expects its own characters to be on the same page; if they are out of the loop, we are stuck right alongside them. And perhaps that’s what identity itself is all about, too: learn things as they come to you rather than have everything implanted in your head ahead of schedule. Watching the film is one of the most engaging experiences you will have at the movies; it is a taut, intelligent and fresh hybrid of a thriller that has as many effective ideas as a mind has brain cells. It tells a story not unlike the conventional murder mystery on the surface, but one very much stimulating and challenging once its skin has been ripped away.” – Peter Anderson, Nameless Horror
188. (0) The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Marcus Nispel
2003 / USA / 98m / Col / Slasher | IMDb
Jessica Biel, Jonathan Tucker, Erica Leerhsen, Mike Vogel, Eric Balfour, Andrew Bryniarski, R. Lee Ermey, David Dorfman, Lauren German, Terrence Evans
“The main problem with the film is that it feels like a cynical repackaging of an already established classic. However, as remakes go, it’s very well made and decently acted and it never approaches ‘bad movie’ levels – even the script is pretty good… It is, however, much gorier than the original – the violence and pain on display here is worse than anything in Kill Bill. Legs get chainsawed off (chainsawn?), people get hung on meat-hooks (as in the original), people get chainsawed in the back, and so on – it’s pretty much non-stop terror from the moment the first one of them disappears and you’re more or less guaranteed to end up hiding behind your hands at some point.” – Matthew Turner, ViewLondon
189. (-34) Hatchet
Adam Green
2006 / USA / 85m / Col / Slasher | IMDb
Joel David Moore, Tamara Feldman, Deon Richmond, Kane Hodder, Mercedes McNab, Parry Shen, Joel Murray, Joleigh Fioravanti, Richard Riehle, Patrika Darbo
“For people who miss the early-’80s heyday of the slasher film, Hatchet will seem like a gift from the horror-movie gods; for everyone else, it’ll at least be a fun way to kill 80 minutes… There’s nothing revolutionary about Hatchet; with its simplistic plot and cameos from horror legends Robert Englund and Tony Todd, it’s a deliberate throwback to the uncomplicated slasher movies of yore. But Green re-creates the style with affection and a knack for building suspense. The acting is above average, the bits of comic relief are actually funny, and multiple limbs are severed in highly graphic fashion. What more could you ask for?” – Josh Bell, Las Vegas Weekly
190. (+50) Scream 4
Wes Craven
2011 / USA / 111m / Col / Slasher | IMDb
Lucy Hale, Roger Jackson, Shenae Grimes, Dane Farwell, Anna Paquin, Kristen Bell, Aimee Teegarden, Britt Robertson, Neve Campbell, Alison Brie
“It was the interplay between genre-fueled expectation and smart storytelling that created a number of memorable set-pieces (as well as twists) in the original trilogy. However, there’s no doubt that Scream 2 and (especially) Scream 3 failed to live up to the bar set by the original… Scream 4 is without a doubt a much better film than the prior Scream sequels – offering plenty of scares, suspicion, as well as light-hearted commentary about the state of the horror genre. More than any of the previous Scream installments, this film is unapologetic about meta-references and horror-film expectations – turning audience anticipation upside down once again. There are plenty of plot holes and a number of bland performances but for the most part the actors and filmmakers deliver an enticing and intentionally cheesy diversion from the current genre staples” – Ben Kendrick, ScreenRant
191. (-41) Cheap Thrills
E.L. Katz
2013 / USA / 88m / Col / Thriller | IMDb
Pat Healy, Sara Paxton, Ethan Embry, David Koechner, Amanda Fuller, Laura Covelli, Todd Farmer, Elissa Dowling, Eric Neil Gutierrez, Ruben Pla
“Katz walks a fine line between humor and malevolence in his directing debut and handles it deftly, making sure that a laugh is never far away even if you’re cringing at the next method that Colin dreams up for Vince and Craig to debase themselves. And while it would be easy for a movie like this to descend into simple torture porn or gross-out comedy, it never does because we are invested in Healy’s poor schlub right from the start. His desperation and looming financial and housing crises ring all too true, and even as Craig begins to lose touch with his basic decency, you root for him because he’s trapped in an unwinnable situation.” – Don Kaye, Den of Geek
192. (-36) Black Sheep
Jonathan King
2006 / New Zealand / 87m / Col / Comedy | IMDb
Nathan Meister, Peter Feeney, Danielle Mason, Tammy Davis, Oliver Driver, Tandi Wright, Glenis Levestam, Nick Blake, Matthew Chamberlain, Nick Fenton
“Jonathan King’s Black Sheep, from New Zealand, has no doubt about the style of movie it is attempting to make: trash gothic. It duly makes it. A deadly chemical escapes from a South Island animal lab and turns sheep sociopathic. Never mind the silence of the lambs. Listen out for the bloodthirsty baa-ing of the man-eating ovines. The special effects are of the kind you could do at home with a bottle of ketchup and leg of mutton. The scream-ridden soundtrack is often drowned out by audience laughter. It is all good, camp fun.” – Nigel Andrews, Financial Times
193. (+9) Severance
Christopher Smith
2006 / UK / 96m / Col / Slasher | IMDb
Toby Stephens, Claudie Blakley, Andy Nyman, Babou Ceesay, Tim McInnerny, Laura Harris, Danny Dyer, David Gilliam, Juli Drajkó, Judit Viktor
“A tidy mixture of old and new horror motifs, the British-German thriller “Severance” is sometimes scary, often silly and occasionally jaw-droppingly daring. While it initially invokes such German silent classics as “Nosferatu” and “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari,” it quickly introduces a modern bogeyman: war criminals who were unleashed during the Soviet breakup… “Severance” can be taken as a political satire aimed at the military-industrial complex and its promoters, but despite its pretensions, it’s no “Lord of War.” At heart, it’s a sophisticated variation on “Friday the 13th,” a splatter film with a slightly more interesting collection of targets.” – John Hartl, Seattle Times
194. (new) Évolution
Lucile Hadzihalilovic
2015 / France / 81m / Col / Mystery | IMDb
Max Brebant, Roxane Duran, Julie-Marie Parmentier, Mathieu Goldfeld, Nissim Renard, Pablo-Noé Etienne, Nathalie Legosles, Chantal Aimée, Laura Ballesteros, Eric Batlle
“I’ve seen people refer to Evolution as a horror film, but that kind of pigeon-holing isn’t going to do this film many favors. It’s true that it bears plenty of the trademark elements of horror cinema, but everything here appears in function of the mystery. There are some moments of dark, gloomy and even gory beauty, but the film never seems to aim for dread, fear or grossing out its audience. I’m pretty certain the average horror fan isn’t going to find much to his liking here, instead these elements are merely there to further develop Evolution’s mysterious, nightmarish atmosphere.” – Niels Matthijs, onderhond.com
195. (new) Beyond the Black Rainbow
Panos Cosmatos
2010 / Canada / 110m / Col / Surrealism | IMDb
Michael Rogers, Eva Bourne, Scott Hylands, Rondel Reynoldson, Marilyn Norry, Gerry South, Chris Gauthier, Sara Stockstad, Roy Campsall, Geoffrey Conder
“Very deliberate in its pacing, “Beyond the Black Rainbow” is the epitome of a slow burn. Some may be frustrated by the way Cosmatos edits each scene—indeed, since she’s still fighting a drugged haze, even Elena’s third-act attempt to escape never rises above a feet-dragging walk—but pulled together, there’s an entrancing poetry to it all. Jeremy Schmidt’s synthesizer theme music is outstanding, like John Carpenter by way of Goblin, while the cinematography by Norm Li outdoes itself, each shot taking on the appearance of a vibrant-colored painting as seen through the eyes of a hallucinating, time-traveling hippie from the 1960s whose just stepped foot into 1983 after a quick trip to 2075.” – Dustin Putnam, TheFrightFile
196. (new) Saw II
Darren Lynn Bousman
2005 / USA / 93m / Col / Splatter | IMDb
Tobin Bell, Shawnee Smith, Donnie Wahlberg, Erik Knudsen, Franky G, Glenn Plummer, Emmanuelle Vaugier, Beverley Mitchell, Tim Burd, Dina Meyer
“”Saw II” is pitch-black, ugly, and stomach-churning in spots, but those are precisely the characteristics director Darren Lynn Bousman was shooting for. And the ending, building one twist and revelation upon another, craftily comes full-circle with the original “Saw,” making a fresh viewing of that one worthwhile before seeing the sequel. Rough around the edges, but knowing how to ratchet up distinct feelings of tense giddiness and extreme apprehension, “Saw II” is an exploitation flick with style and skill to go along with its stream of red stuff.” – Dustin Putnam, The Movie Boy
197. (-21) Friday the 13th
Marcus Nispel
2009 / USA / 97m / Col / Slasher | IMDb
Jared Padalecki, Danielle Panabaker, Amanda Righetti, Travis Van Winkle, Aaron Yoo, Derek Mears, Jonathan Sadowski, Julianna Guill, Ben Feldman, Arlen Escarpeta
“Marcus Nispel’s remake… isn’t really a remake at all. After dispensing with Mrs. Voorhees before the opening credits, it launches into a brand new slaughterfest that sporadically pays homage to scenes from the first three films but stays truest only to their formula. And yet it works. It is easily the best Friday the 13th ever made, if only by virtue of the fact that it’s actually pretty good. How good? That depends what you’re looking for. By now, you know whether Friday the 13th is your kind of movie, and if it’s not, you’ve probably stopped reading by now. If it is, be assured that the acting is passable, the effects are impressively convincing, and the suspense is real. It’s not a great film, but it is a frightening one, and what more do you need to know?” – Rossiter Drake, San Francisco Examiner
198. (new) Vuelven
Issa López
2017 / Mexico / 83m / Col / Psychological | IMDb
Paola Lara, Juan Ramón López, Hanssel Casillas, Rodrigo Cortes, Ianis Guerrero, Tenoch Huerta
“Opening with silent statistics for the missing and dead in Mexico, paired with a teacher instructing her class to write a fairy tale, there’s no denying what López wants to say here. Like her producing-partner-to-be, López uses genre elements to frame a real, devastating story, this one being about children who learn to fend for themselves in a world that has abandoned them. The themes inherent in this narrative are often bleak, but like the best fairy tales, there is triumph as well. Beyond sociological truth, López infuses her narrative with acceptance and solidarity, friendship and comfort in the face of death. The abstract symbols serve the story, but its core rests in the small, intimate moments, which build to a finale that’s both thrilling and deeply emotional. López is a voice that should make us pause, one whose certainty and passion seem essential in a world that often lacks both.” – Ben Larned, Daily Dead
199. (new) Kamera o tomeru na!
Shin’ichirô Ueda
2017 / Japan / 96m / Col / Comedy | IMDb
Takayuki Hamatsu, Yuzuki Akiyama, Harumi Shuhama, Kazuaki Nagaya, Hiroshi Ichihara, Mao, Sakina Asamori, Takuya Fujimura, Ayana Gôda, Manabu Hosoi
“ONE CUT OF THE DEAD is as much fun as any movie in memory while it’s playing out, and as a bonus, it elicits a different kind of admiration when it’s over. Thinking back, you realize what an insane logistical challenge it must have been for Ueda and co. to pull this off, and are amazed at how natural and easy they make it look. Similarly, everyone in the cast gives their parts their all (Hamatsu’s multifaceted turn is especially memorable, as is Harumi Shuhama, as a makeup artist who undergoes a transformation of her own), and yet their performances seem even more impressive upon reflection on the circumstances in which they were delivered. ONE CUT OF THE DEAD is such a marvelously good time, and made with such clockwork precision, that after you’ve seen it, it’s hard to decide whether to watch it again or seek out a documentary on how it was made.” – Michael Gingold, Rue Morgue
200. (new) Only Lovers Left Alive
Jim Jarmusch
2013 / UK / 123m / Col / Vampire | IMDb
Tilda Swinton, Tom Hiddleston, Anton Yelchin, Mia Wasikowska, John Hurt, Jeffrey Wright, Slimane Dazi, Carter Logan, Aurelie Thepaut, Ali Amine
“The film is marked by a mood of exhaustion, an end-of-era fatigue that comes across as strangely heady in its world-weariness. Jarmusch undertakes this project in the full knowledge that if you’re making a vampire film now, you might as well be making it as if it were to be the very final example of its genre: a genre facing its exhaustion, even luxuriating in it. For this is an authentically Romantic (with a capital R) take on vampirism and on certain of its elements in particular: blood-linked love; immortality and its attendant ennui; the need to withdraw into nocturnal isolation; and the idea that if you had endless time to live, then you might benefit by accruing endless knowledge, however useless on the earthly plane that knowledge might be.” – Jonathan Romney, Film Comment Magazine
201. (new) Mom and Dad
Brian Taylor
2017 / USA / 86m / Col / Black Comedy | IMDb
Nicolas Cage, Selma Blair, Anne Winters, Zackary Arthur, Olivia Crocicchia, Lance Henriksen, Marilyn Dodds Frank, Samantha Lemole, Rachel Melvin, Bobby Richards
“Taylor’s fast-paced direction may seem chaotic, but it’s remarkably assured throughout, maintaining a tricky balance of tone and ensuring that the moments of caustic satire hit as hard as the moments of gore and violence. He also knows when to hold back for maximum effect, as evidenced by one of the film’s most chilling images, a line of fathers staring through the windows at their newborn infants in a maternity ward. In addition, the script has a lot of fun with character detail, suggesting that both Mom and Dad are already close to breaking point, with an increasingly exasperated Kendall failing to connect with her daughter, and Brent lamenting the loss of his carefree youth, as illustrated by a topless flashback scene that deserves some sort of award for bare-faced gratuitousness.” – Matthew Turner, Nerdly
202. (new) Absentia
Mike Flanagan
2011 / USA / 87m / Col / Mystery | IMDb
Katie Parker, Courtney Bell, Dave Levine, Morgan Peter Brown, Justin Gordon, James Flanagan, Scott Graham, Doug Jones, Ian Gregory, Connie Ventress
“Absentia provides so many layers of subtle characterization, gentle exposition, and gripping back story that affords just enough depth for our protagonists to earn our sympathy without seeming as if we’re being manipulated in to caring for them. And that’s thanks to the absolutely mesmerizing performances from the entire cast, all of whom bear a strong importance to the end result of Mike Flanagan’s horror film that is utterly reliant on competent performances from a cast who has to sell not only the sheer terror of this situation that grows more and more maddening with each waking hour, but in the logical sense of loss and grief at the notion that they’re losing the battle to a force of evil they can barely comprehend let alone battle.” – Felix Vasquez Jr., Cinema Crazed
203. (new) The Girl with All the Gifts
Colm McCarthy
2016 / UK / 111m / Col / Zombie | IMDb
Gemma Arterton, Dominique Tipper, Glenn Close, Anamaria Marinca, Paddy Considine, Sennia Nanua, Lobna Futers, Daniel Eghan, Fisayo Akinade, Anthony Welsh
“This fiercely intelligent British chiller from Scottish director Colm McCarthy, whose small-screen credits include Doctor Who, Sherlock and Peaky Blinders, breathes new life into age-old horror tropes, taking familiar fears of zombies, the apocalypse and eerie children and spinning them in surprising ways. Although writer Mike “MR” Carey’s narrative about a fungal plague that turns victims into cannibalistic “hungries” occupies a post-28 Days Later landscape, the central obsessions explored here are closer to the identity crises of Never Let Me Go (both book and film), with a strong underlying strain of the very British weirdness of John Wyndham.” – Mark Kermode, The Observer
204. (new) Tsumetai nettaigyo
Shion Sono
2010 / Japan / 146m / Col / Crime | IMDb
Mitsuru Fukikoshi, Denden, Asuka Kurosawa, Megumi Kagurazaka, Hikari Kajiwara, Tetsu Watanabe, Makoto Ashikawa, Lorena Kotô, Masaki Miura, Jyonmyon Pe
“Calling Cold Fish an allegory or parable is maybe a bit of a reach, but it’s certainly saying a lot about the generally bleak condition of humanity. The film is hugely misanthropic, almost comically so–by the end of it, its streak of black humor almost feels like a defense mechanism. Shion Sono crafts an unexpectedly elegant and visceral tour-de-force out of one of the bleakest molds imaginable; in short, Cold Fish is just a big, bloody ball of craziness that rolls up on you and crushes you under its weight.” – Brett Gallman, Oh, the Horror!
205. (new) Doctor Sleep
Mike Flanagan
2019 / USA / 152m / Col / Supernatural | IMDb
Ewan McGregor, Rebecca Ferguson, Kyliegh Curran, Cliff Curtis, Zahn McClarnon, Emily Alyn Lind, Selena Anduze, Robert Longstreet, Carel Struycken, Catherine Parker
“It’s typical King stuff, really, with small-town intrigue, sharply drawn and instantly recognizable players, and enough chewy New England accents to fill Boston Garden. But from the opening shots and synth notes — which build a bridge between the tone of “The Shining” and Flanagan’s own, thoughtfully constructed edifice — to a spectacularly chilling closing scene, “Doctor Sleep” makes a convincing case for its own greatness. Part of that is allowing the characters to breathe as they rapidly develop from one ominous scene to the next. “Doctor Sleep” may be a terrifying reminder that the world is a hungry place, that the darkness wants nothing more than to swallow up the light. But the wordless moments of humor and heart in the quieter scenes show Flanagan’s deft way with storytelling.” – John Wenzel, The Denver Post
206. (-11) The Ritual
David Bruckner
2017 / UK / 94m / Col / Supernatural | IMDb
Rafe Spall, Arsher Ali, Robert James-Collier, Sam Troughton, Paul Reid, Matthew Needham, Jacob James Beswick, Maria Erwolter, Hilary Reeves, Peter Liddell
“The Signal director David Bruckner’s deft adaptation of Adam Nevill’s acclaimed novel is an effective serving of woodland terror laced with psychological depth and eerie creature-feature spectacle, and proves old-school horror can be upgraded in a chillingly relevant way. After the violent murder of their best friend, four mates go on a hike of remembrance in northern Sweden’s mountain terrain. Taking an ill-advised shortcut through dense forest, they stumble on a derelict cabin where their pagan nightmares truly begin. Commandeering imagery from The Wicker Man, Troll Hunter and the Blair Witch franchise, Bruckner pulls off merciless tension between the well-played-out bickering to get up an uncommonly spooky head of scream.” – Alan Jones, Radio Times
207. (-28) V/H/S/2
Various
2013 / USA / 96m / Col / Anthology | IMDb
Lawrence Michael Levine, Kelsy Abbott, L.C. Holt, Simon Barrett, Mindy Robinson, Mónica Sánchez Navarro, Adam Wingard, Hannah Hughes, John T. Woods, Corrie Lynn Fitzpatrick
“More tales of terror are unearthed from another pile of dusty old videos in this slick sequel to the 2012 horror anthology. Like the original, the top-and-tail story takes place in an “abandoned” house where, on this occasion, it’s two private investigators on a missing-persons case who come across the cassettes. But whereas the first film’s quintet of stories were of varying quality, the calibre of the four shorts here is consistently higher… the pick of the bunch is Safe Haven, co-directed by Timo Tjahjanto and The Raid’s Gareth Huw Evans, in which a film crew’s visit to the compound of an Indonesian cult turns decidedly nasty. The deceptively sedate beginning soon gives way to a cornucopia of artery-rupturing gruesomeness, which will assuredly have some viewers all a-splutter.” – Jeremy Aspinall, Radio Times
208. (new) Ready or Not
Matt Bettinelli-Olpin & Tyler Gillett
2019 / USA / 95m / Col / Thriller | IMDb
Samara Weaving, Adam Brody, Henry Czerny, Andie MacDowell, Melanie Scrofano, Kristian Bruun, Elyse Levesque, Nicky Guadagni, John Ralston, Liam MacDonald
“At times, you may have to suspend your disbelief, but the joy of Ready or Not is its willingness to be outlandish without compromise. Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett create a harmonious blend of genres that can too often feel at odds with one another: the elements of horror become the catalyst for comedic relief and vice versa. Weaving comes alive as a hilarious and deeply macabre play on the “final girl” archetype, and it’s nothing short of cathartic to cheer her on and echo the rage that quickly consumes and empowers her.” – Cody Corrall, Chicago Reader
209. (new) Cult of Chucky
Don Mancini
2017 / USA / 91m / Col / Evil Doll | IMDb
Allison Dawn Doiron, Alex Vincent, Brad Dourif, Fiona Dourif, Dan De Jaeger, Matthew Stefanson, Michael Therriault, Zak Santiago, Ali Tataryn, Marina Stephenson Kerr
“Even in terms of visual flair this entry holds up and looks very distinct from its predecessor. The psychiatric institution is very much a gothic building when glanced from the outside but the interior exchanges Curse’s aesthetic of gothic gloom for clinical whites (serene yet menacing) that will inevitably get painted in hues of red as darkness arrives on the doorstep. Split-screens are not the most subtle visual complement to a narrative that messes around with the multiple personalities concept in more ways than one but still evince how much thought Mancini has puts in all aspects of the lowbudget production; this is not a by the numbers hack-and-slash offering. Cult of Chucky’s look and feel can turn on a dime and runs the gamut from realist minimalism to surreal nightmare and pure self-spoofing camp. This never feels like stylistic indecisiveness but rather appropriate instability.” – Tom Kiesecoms, ScreenAnarchy
210. (-36) The Transfiguration
Michael O’Shea
2016 / USA / 97m / Col / Psychological | IMDb
Eric Ruffin, Chloe Levine, Jelly Bean, Phyillicia Bishop, Dangelo Bonneli, Andrea Cordaro, Larry Fessenden, Danny Flaherty, Anna Friedman, Jose Ignacio Gomez
“George A. Romero’s Martin is the most overt inspiration for The Transfiguration, with writer/director Michael O’Shea, like Romero, stripping out the supernatural elements of the usual vampire movie for a stark realism… the deeper Milo dives into his obsession with the vampire lifestyle, the more disturbed he becomes by the violence he commits. The Transfiguration gradually reveals itself to be a coming-of-age tale, one whose central figure reaches a point at which he’s forced to reckon with the evil lurking within himself. Whether the conclusion Milo ultimately reaches is a moment of clarity or simply the tragically inevitable endpoint of his demented obsession is something O’Shea leaves unsettlingly open.” – Kenji Fujishima, Village Voice
211. (new) Jug Face
Chad Crawford Kinkle
2013 / USA / 81m / Col / Supernatural | IMDb
Sean Bridgers, Lauren Ashley Carter, Kaitlin Cullum, Larry Fessenden, Katie Groshong, Scott Hodges, Daniel Manche, Alex Maizus, Chip Ramsey, Jennifer Spriggs
“Jug Face does many things exceedingly well. The atmospheric cinematography, the ominous sound design, and the unnerving look of those jugs all combine in an effective way. The supporting actors are good, too, especially Sean Young, who hits just the right notes as Ada’s domineering mother. Most importantly, though, Jug Face tells a really compelling story. It’s about more than just scares or shocks, although they’re well accounted for; in the end, it’s about a young woman facing her destiny, realizing that she doesn’t want it, then dealing with the repercussions. This is first-class horror that is worthy of your attention.” – Mike McGranaghan, The Aisle Seat
212. (new) Stitches
Conor McMahon
2012 / USA / 86m / Col / Evil Clown | IMDb
Ross Noble, Tommy Knight, Shane Murray-Corcoran, Gemma-Leah Devereux, Thommas Kane Byrnes, Eoghan McQuinn, Roisin Barron, Hugh Mulhern, Tommy Cullen, Lorna Dempsey
“Aside from Noble’s funny-bone chilling performance, writer/director Conor McMahon seriously brought the gore and death scenes to audience appeasing levels in his glorious three ring circus of pain. Every kill outplays the last in both grossness and awesomeness, pulling every possible trick out of Stitches’ bottomless hat of indulgent gorehound pleasures, delivering creativity, originality, and unapologetic entertainment to horror fans around the world. The greatest part about a murderous clown no doubt had to be the promise of a movie packed with darkly comedic kills followed by lame but entirely appropriate one-liners, and in that respect our fearless ringleader has an entire spectacle to show off through each and every completely bonkers death.” – Matt Donato, We Got This Covered
213. (-70) Lovely Molly
Eduardo Sánchez
2011 / USA / 99m / Col / Psychological | IMDb
Gretchen Lodge, Johnny Lewis, Alexandra Holden, Field Blauvelt, Camilla Zaidee Bennett, Kevin Murray, Katie Foster, Doug Roberts, Bus Howard, Josh Jones
“Since scaring the living daylights out of audiences with Blair Witch, writer-director Eduardo Sanchez has rather been left behind in the found-footage stakes thanks to the likes of Cloverfield and Paranormal Activity. Here he returns to the concept (as Molly gets increasingly frazzled she captures it all on a camcorder) with a truly disturbing sequence of events that rely on a rumbling sound design and the occasional big bang to keep audiences teetering on the brink… We could have probably done without the libidinous preacher and the running time could do with a trim, but this succeeds thanks to Lodge’s extraordinary central performance, a terrifyingly mesmerising study of a woman in diabolic torment” – Tim Evans, Sky Movies
214. (new) John Dies at the End
Don Coscarelli
2012 / USA / 99m / Col / Comedy | IMDb
Chase Williamson, Rob Mayes, Paul Giamatti, Clancy Brown, Glynn Turman, Doug Jones, Daniel Roebuck, Fabianne Therese, Jonny Weston, Jimmy Wong
“The narrative’s constant tonal shifts do become numbing after a while and the final act is frustratingly formulaic, but when John Dies At The End fires all cylinders, it is a spectacular rush. Director Don Coscarelli (Bubba Ho-Tep, Phantasm) knows exactly how to pitch this type of story, cleverly balancing a novel mix of drug comedy, gory body horror, and OTT sci-fi. At its best the picture resembles a cross between Joss Whedon’s Buffy and Ghostbusters as directed by Terry Gilliam. At its worst, the film is a noisy, unintelligible mess. Occasionally it is both of those things at once. It’s the type of movie where a man’s moustache leaps off his face and flies around the room for no explainable reason. If you can’t embrace the weird then you will have some trouble.” – Richard Haridy, Quik Flix
215. (+22) Laid to Rest
Robert Hall
2009 / USA / 90m / Col / Slasher | IMDb
Bobbi Sue Luther, Kevin Gage, Lena Headey, Sean Whalen, Richard Lynch, Johnathon Schaech, Thomas Dekker, Nick Principe, Jana Kramer, Lucas Till
“The gore effects are about as good as they get in a film with this kind of budget, which is hardly surprising given the directors exhaustive make-up effects resume. They are gleefully over-the-top and excellently realised from start to finish and it‘s nice to see a complete lack of CGI. ‘Chrome Skull’ makes for a fantastic villain, his concealed face looking like a bizarre cross between the distorted Edvard Munch-inspired Scream mask and Donnie Darko’s twisted futuristic rabbit… On too many occasions filmmakers get bogged down with including some convoluted rhyme and reason when it simply isn’t necessary. Hall, instead presents us with a gloriously straight-forward, blood-soaked, 80’s throwback of a stalk ‘n’ slash movie.” – Sarah Law, Gorepress
![[Rec]²](http://theyshootzombies.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/rec22009.jpg)
216. (-103) [Rec]²
Jaume Balagueró & Paco Plaza
2009 / Spain / 85m / Col / Zombie | IMDb
Jonathan D. Mellor, Óscar Zafra, Ariel Casas, Alejandro Casaseca, Pablo Rosso, Rafa Parra, Pep Molina, Andrea Ros, Àlex Batllori, Pau Poch
“The story being depicted elaborates on the original scenario and is endlessly intriguing. We only got a taste of the virus’ demonic nature in the original and here, that concept is expanded in a frightening manner. This is no longer the story of crazed infected humans running around biting each other’s faces off; it’s a terrifying tale of deadly people being influenced by a demonic source… Balagueró and Plaza really know what they’re doing. The continuation of their story is what keeps you intrigued, but it’s the eeriness and constant need to be prepared for what’s lurking around the corner that makes this film downright as horrifying as it is relentless. REC 2 it isn’t as good as its predecessor, but only finds itself a notch below, making it an enjoyable and honorable sequel” – Perri Nemiroff, CinemaBlend
217. (new) Some Guy Who Kills People
Jack Perez
2011 / USA / 97m / Col / Black Comedy | IMDb
Kevin Corrigan, Barry Bostwick, Karen Black, Leo Fitzpatrick, Ariel Gade, Eric Price, Lucy Davis, Lou Beatty Jr., Janie Haddad Tompkins, Ahmed Best
“Some Guy Who Kills People has to be one of the sweetest slashers ever. You don’t say that about horror movies very often, but this one earns the praise–it’s a uniquely cute, gentle, and touching story that’s deftly put together by director Jack Perez. This movie takes so many unexpected turns, hiding trick after trick up its sleeve; its best one is reinvigorating the slasher genre by actually suppressing the slashing–it’s been done so much that, to become interesting again, you need to almost do an entirely different genre. Once all is revealed, you’ll realize that kernel revenge story here has been done dozens (if not hundreds) of times; it’s just never quite been done like this. So, no, Some Guy Who Kills People is more than likely not what you expect at all–it’s better.” – Brett Gallman, Oh, the Horror!
218. (new) Hagazussa
Lukas Feigelfeld
2017 / Austria / 102m / Col / Folk | IMDb
Aleksandra Cwen, Celina Peter, Claudia Martini, Tanja Petrovsky, Haymon Maria Buttinger, Franz Stadler, Killian Abeltshauser, Gerdi Marlen Simonn, Thomas Petruo, Judith Geerts
“With Hagazussa, Fiegelfeld eschews easy, obvious answers—if you’re hoping for the definite and concrete, look elsewhere. Your mileage may vary with A Heathen’s Curse—I already imagine certain viewers rolling their eyes at the gradually churning tempo and willfully obtuse tone. This is careful and calculated, moody and brooding, lovely and oblique. But for fans of a certain type of horror, with a particularly attuned temperament—or even if you’re just in a momentary mood for a slow-burn nightmare—there’s much value to find in these deep, dark woods.” – Brent McKnight, The Last Thing I See
219. (new) Stage Fright
Jerome Sable
2014 / Canada / 89m / Col / Slasher | IMDb
Minnie Driver, Meat Loaf, Allie MacDonald, Douglas Smith, Kent Nolan, Brandon Uranowitz, Ephraim Ellis, Melanie Leishman, Thomas Alderson, James McGowan
“Funny, bloody and graced with an original musical score, this send up of the slasher genre is like Hairspray fused with Friday the 13th and TV’s Glee. The talented cast certainly get into the groove with their kooky characters, while the gore on offer might be a turn off for some (as its not strictly played for laughs). Horror fans will get a chuckle out of the film references (some very obscure), while Meat Loaf fans will get a thrill from seeing the Bat Out of the Hell legend bellow out a couple of witty toons.” – Peter Fuller, What’s on TV
220. (new) Ouija: Origin of Evil
Mike Flanagan
2016 / USA / 99m / Col / Haunted House | IMDb
Annalise Basso, Elizabeth Reaser, Lulu Wilson, Henry Thomas, Parker Mack, Halle Charlton, Alexis G. Zall, Doug Jones, Kate Siegel, Sam Anderson
“What really stands out about ORIGIN OF EVIL is just how respectfully and dignified Flanagan treats the material. This is a tautly plotted, assiduously scripted horror movie that treats its subject matter seriously, so much so that it’s quite obvious Flanagan is a truly knowledgeable horror film fan who’s taken the time, care and craft to ensure likeminded horror-heads like us aren’t let down. This isn’t a chintzily venal, exploitative cash-grab like the first film was…the kind littered with laughable horror clichés and rote plot contrivances. No, this is a superior sequel in every filmmaking facet, a surprisingly well thought out movie that takes it’s time to slowly mount a level of dreadful tension and tightly coil your nerves until an absolutely manic and maniacal eruption caps off the final 20-30 minutes.” – Jake Dee, Arrow in the Head
221. (new) Antiviral
Brandon Cronenberg
2012 / Canada / 108m / Col / Body Horror | IMDb
Caleb Landry Jones, Sarah Gadon, Lisa Berry, Douglas Smith, Nenna Abuwa, Donna Goodhand, Adam Bogen, Salvatore Antonio, Matt Watts, Dawn Greenhalgh
“If David Cronenberg is the king of body horror, Brandon would be the king of body parts. Almost the entire film is shot in an uncomfortable close-up. Shots of hands, eyes, arms, and stomachs all fill the screen. It’s as if the film is invading your personal space, like it’s the virus trying to get inside of the audience, and it works very well. Not only is it visually disturbing at times, but you begin to feel uncomfortable with it seeming to be so close. Imagine trying to have the most interesting two hour conversation of your life with someone who stands inches away from you. You wouldn’t dare leave for fear of missing something important, but you squirm the entire time.” – Will Brownridge, The Film Reel
222. (new) The Theatre Bizarre
Douglas Buck et al.
2011 / USA / 114m / Col / Anthology | IMDb
Udo Kier, Virginia Newcomb, Amanda Marquardt, Amelia M. Gotham, Jeremy Gladen, Liberty Larson, Christopher Sachs, Nicole Fabbri, Catriona MacColl, Shane Woodward
“Horror works best in short, bloody spurts. The longer, more bloated, and drawn out it becomes, the more the terror shifts from the savagery of shrapnel to the dull, vaguely creepy boredom of taking a 10-hour road trip in the creepy car from the Munsters. So, anthology films like The Theatre Bizarre—which features punchy short films from some of horror’s finest underground filmmakers—are frequently worth a look, even if the quality is occasionally uneven […] The films cover a full range of horror themes and styles, which provides welcome variety but naturally makes it difficult for The Theatre Bizarre to create a cohesive tone. But that’s not the goal here. Instead, we have a sampler featuring quick bursts of sharp edges, providing a largely effective and entertaining primer into the horror underground.” – Al Kratina, Montreal Gazette
223. (new) Possum
Matthew Holness
2018 / UK / 85m / Col / Psychological | IMDb
Sean Harris, Alun Armstrong, Simon Bubb, Andy Blithe, Pamela Cook, Charlie Eales, Ryan Enever, Raphel Famotibe, Joe Gallucci
“Possum is nasty to its very core; a film baked in greasy browns and beigey bile that gets the eyes and stomach churning straight from the off. The fact that Under the Shadow’s Kit Fraser is the man behind the camera, and that the whole thing is shot in grained-up 35mm should tell you enough visually, making sure that Harris’s angled dowdiness rules every frame that it’s in. Cult outfit Radiophonic Workshop marry it all together with an eerie, static-scraping score that really dials up the blood-pressure too, making Holness’s film not an all-out attack on the senses, but more of a carefully-considered, almost surgical, slice right under the fingernails.” – Ben Robins, HeyUGuys
224. (new) ABCs of Death 2
Various
2014 / USA / 125m / Col / Anthology | IMDb
Eric Jacobus, Andy Nyman, Simon Barrett, Teela Cull, Kelsey Hudson, Stefanie Wood, Xin Sarith Wuku, Ben Maccabee, Jason Cabell, Josh Ethier
“What’s most impressive is how much of an improvement this sequel is over the first film. Things are a lot more dark, as well as a bit more serious. There’s still some lighter moments, some of which are actually quite hilarious, but overall the films seem to be taking things more seriously. There’s nothing wrong with a little fun, but when you start getting one short after another that leans into ridiculous territory, some viewers will be left out. ABCs of Death 2 does a great job of delivering something for every horror fan in perfectly paced amounts. There’s some great gore, a few funny moments, a few serious ones, and just enough scares. With a great balance between each of these elements, fans should find even more to enjoy with this sequel.” – Will Brownridge, The Film Reel
225. (new) Life After Beth
Jeff Baena
2014 / USA / 89m / Col / Zombie | IMDb
Aubrey Plaza, Dane DeHaan, John C. Reilly, Molly Shannon, Cheryl Hines, Paul Reiser, Matthew Gray Gubler, Anna Kendrick, Eva La Dare, Thomas McDonell
“Cloaking tragedy in a veil of resonant humor without compromising the truth of its thematic eulogy to love and loss, the film runs the gamut of emotions. It’s droll. It’s mournful. It’s adorable, and surreal, and eerily burrows its way under the viewer’s skin. There is a lot to be said of human relationships because they are such universal parts of life. Even when they are seemingly unbreakable, they are fragile, the limited timeframe of one’s very existence an inescapable fact of living. “Life After Beth” broaches this sorrowful notion with an impassioned sensitivity—and a few missing limbs.” – Dustin Putnam, TheFrightFile
226. (new) As Above, So Below
John Erick Dowdle
2014 / USA / 93m / Col / Found Footage | IMDb
Perdita Weeks, Ben Feldman, Edwin Hodge, François Civil, Marion Lambert, Ali Marhyar, Cosme Castro, Hamid Djavadan, Théo Cholbi, Emy Lévy
“This is a tidy little horror film heavy on mood, light on gore, and bursting with a refreshing originality of story line. Fans of alchemy will find much to reward them here, including the true meaning of vitriol. Fans of the Lovecraftian school of weirdness will also find much to enjoy. Plus, there’s a dash of Dante, and a hint of Templars that make the mix of hubris and guilt that much more piquant… AS ABOVE SO BELOW gifts us with a lively history lesson on the catacombs of Paris, the history and practice of alchemy, and some nifty insights into ancient engineering practices even as it makes our pulses races. It’s a fun flick that is clever, surprising, and satisfyingly well-executed.” – Andrea Chase, Killer Movie Reviews
227. (new) It Comes at Night
Trey Edward Shults
2017 / USA / 91m / Col / Thriller | IMDb
Joel Edgerton, Christopher Abbott, Carmen Ejogo, Riley Keough, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Griffin Robert Faulkner, David Pendleton, Mikey, Chase Joliet, Mick O’Rourke
“Like many of the current crop of art horror films, director Trey Edward Shults’s film has a strong social subtext. Like most zombie movies, it’s about what happens when society fails and it’s every man and woman for themselves. But by removing the zombies from the equation, its solutions to the question become much more stark. What happens in a hypercapitalist society where everyone is heavily armed, resources are scarce, and cooperation is taboo? It looks something like Travis’ nightmares, which provide the spooky counterpoint to the brutal, bloody realism of the rest of the film. What is the frightening “it” that comes at night? It’s us.” – Chris McCoy, Memphis Flyer
228. (-28) Donnie Darko
Richard Kelly
2001 / USA / 113m / Col / Mystery | IMDb
Jake Gyllenhaal, Holmes Osborne, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Daveigh Chase, Mary McDonnell, James Duval, Arthur Taxier, Patrick Swayze, Mark Hoffman
“Maybe Richard Kelly’s fate is to be the cult circuit’s Michael Cimino — forever admired for one great film amid subsequent missteps, including a director’s cut of the same movie. Kelly has yet to match the mysterious mood or magnitude of his filmmaking debut, 2001’s “Donnie Darko” — a collision of time-travel sci-fi, commentary on ’80s Reaganomics malaise and teen angst that’s simultaneously witty and poignant… And what works as nervy comedy also foreshadows Donnie’s burden and reinforces Kelly’s thematic idea that teens can be capable of amazing, world-changing things. Concluding with compassionate nobility and an unforgettable epilogue, “Donnie Darko” represented the one moment when Kelly’s eccentricities weren’t extraneous and ambition matched his grasp.” – Nick Rogers, The Film Yap
229. (+1) Final Destination 5
Steven Quale
2011 / USA / 92m / Col / Supernatural | IMDb
Nicholas D’Agosto, Emma Bell, Miles Fisher, Ellen Wroe, Jacqueline MacInnes Wood, P.J. Byrne, Arlen Escarpeta, David Koechner, Courtney B. Vance, Tony Todd
“Fans of this franchise know precisely what to expect, and the film delivers it with wit and flair. The Final Destination movies are like inspired Kentucky Fried Movie sketches, but also like deadpan satires of a particular sub-genre they invented in the first place… This being a 3D movie, there are loads of sharp objects flying directly out of the screen. A group of youthful interns are employed at a drab office, presided over by a managerial nerd, adjoining a factory shopfloor. (So to the list of American institutions indirectly influenced by Ricky Gervais we can now add the Final Destination movies.)” – Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian
230. (-43) A Dark Song
Liam Gavin
2016 / Ireland / 100m / Col / Supernatural | IMDb
Steve Oram, Catherine Walker, Susan Loughnane, Mark Huberman, Nathan Vos, Martina Nunvarova, Breffni O’Connor, Sheila Moloney
“Fans of Ben Wheatley’s oeuvre will recognize a certain amount of that director’s offbeat influence… but ultimately Gavin’s debut is its own brand of nightmare. Walker and Oram are perfectly cast here. It’s impossible to figure out who’s the madder one, so driven by their collective need to break the bounds of reason. The harsh, atonal score by composer Ray Harman is a masterpiece of hair-raising instrumentality that’s every bit as grand and discomfiting as the images onscreen, and cinematographer Cathal Watters’ use of natural light – or the lack thereof – is profoundly distressing, in the best possible way.” – Marc Savlov, Austin Chronicle
231. (new) Tragedy Girls
Tyler MacIntyre
2017 / USA / 98m / Col / Black Comedy | IMDb
Brianna Hildebrand, Alexandra Shipp, Jack Quaid, Kevin Durand, Timothy V. Murphy, Katie Stottlemire, Nicky Whelan, Elise Neal, Craig Robinson, Andy Bethea
“Although it’s largely a total shit-kicker of a satire on the 21st-century teenage dream of internet stardom, the reason MacIntyre’s movie really excels is down to his foundations. Underneath this all is a film about friendship and psychopathy – the two un-moveable core ideals of the teen and slasher genres in a nutshell. The rest is all stitched in over the top, diluted with enough playful horror in-jokes and whip-smart humour to keep you laughing all the way through to the finale. And if MacIntyre’s bang-on genre chops weren’t already enough to keep the dream alive, he’s supported by two of the finest female performances in recent genre history too.” – Ben Robins, HeyUGuys
232. (new) The Final Girls
Todd Strauss-Schulson
2015 / USA / 88m / Col / Comedy | IMDb
Taissa Farmiga, Malin Akerman, Alexander Ludwig, Nina Dobrev, Alia Shawkat, Thomas Middleditch, Adam DeVine, Angela Trimbur, Chloe Bridges, Tory N. Thompson
““Final Girls” isn’t the first movie to show self-aware characters using their knowledge of horror films to plot an escape. Drew Goddard’s “Cabin in the Woods” and Wes Craven’s “Scream” mined that ground a while back. But give director Todd Strauss-Schulson some serious credit here. “Final Girls” still manages to use a quick wit and a few surprises to keep things interesting for the audience… The most surprising thing about “Final Girls” is how sweet it is. The subplot about Max and her mother leads to a number of tender scenes, and “Final Girls” has a genuine heart in the middle of all of its experimentation and social commentary. None of the characters are especially deep, but almost all of them are easier to cheer for than the cannon fodder of the “Friday the 13th” films.” – Josh Terry, Deseret News
233. (new) Depraved
Larry Fessenden
2019 / USA / 114m / Col / Body Horror | IMDb
David Call, Joshua Leonard, Alex Breaux, Ana Kayne, Maria Dizzia, Chloë Levine, Owen Campbell, Addison Timlin, Alice Barrett, Andrew Lasky
“Depraved is a Frankenstein story, but it is a very different Frankenstein story. Of course, if a classic creature-on-the-loose feature is a must, know that Depraved slowly evolves into a picture-perfect, thunder & lightning, gothic tale. Sure, the film’s budget is visible at times but no expense was spared on the design of the monster himself. Every scar, every stitch is realistically gnarly and a roadmap of references and homage to every monster that came before him. Depraved is a unique film all its own with characters and set pieces unlike any other before it but The Creature (the true core of this story) is your connection to the past, stitched together from over 200 years of artistry to create something that walks it’s own path.” – Jonathan Dehaan, Nightmare on Film Street
234. (new) Happy Death Day
Christopher Landon
2017 / USA / 96m / Col / Comedy | IMDb
Jessica Rothe, Israel Broussard, Ruby Modine, Charles Aitken, Laura Clifton, Jason Bayle, Rob Mello, Rachel Matthews, Ramsey Anderson, Brady Lewis
“Landon is careful not to let his focus stray too much, though, nor does he allow that schmaltzy sentiment to overwhelm the horror sensibilities here. In fact, he and co-writer Scott Lobdell deviously play against audience expectations, gleefully stringing them along with an increasingly unhinged murder mystery with outrageous twists and turns that would feel quite at home in a giallo. Despite taking an obvious cue from Ivan Reitman’s seminal film, the script isn’t expressly concerned with capturing existential angst of Groundhog Day, preferring instead to send audiences on an unrelenting thrill ride full of deviations, red herrings, and a wildly trashy finale.” – Brett Gallman, Oh, the Horror!
235. (new) In Fabric
Peter Strickland
2018 / UK / 118m / Col / Supernatural | IMDb
Sidse Babett Knudsen, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Julian Barratt, Steve Oram, Jaygann Ayeh, Zsolt Páll, Richard Bremmer, Deborah Griffin, Fatma Mohamed, Susanna Cappellaro
“That aesthetic, of cheaply printed, hyper-saturated fashion catalogs, permeates every frame of In Fabric. Seemingly set at an indeterminate point in 1970s London (or, perhaps, a London in which the 1970s never ended), the film’s production design is an expertly curated assemblage of thrift store chic, all chunky plastic and shag in deep reds, greens, and wood tones. The world is recognizably our own, but the locations, costumes, and (especially) the dialogue are exaggerated just enough to be completely alien– yet subtle enough that you may do a double-take.” – Oscar Goff, Boston Hassle
236. (new) The Autopsy of Jane Doe
André Øvredal
2016 / USA / 86m / Col / Mystery | IMDb
Brian Cox, Emile Hirsch, Ophelia Lovibond, Michael McElhatton, Olwen Catherine Kelly, Jane Perry, Parker Sawyers, Mary Duddy, Mark Phoenix, Sydney
“Integrating elements of body horror, Agatha Christie and, least interestingly, contemporary horror films, Autopsy has both a cheeky simplicity (the production design of the morgue is at once devilishly eerie and cleanly pragmatic) and Carpenter-inspired formalism: Øvredal lingers on things like hallways and blood dripping down a funnel while familiarizing us with the spaces in the underground morgue. Less a subversion of genre conventions than a relatively effective repackaging of them, The Autopsy of Jane Doe is made up of established pieces that it repositions in a manner ranging from the obvious to the dexterous.” – Josh Cabrita, Cinema Scope
237. (new) Prometheus
Ridley Scott
2012 / USA / 124m / Col / Science Fiction | IMDb
Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron, Idris Elba, Guy Pearce, Logan Marshall-Green, Sean Harris, Rafe Spall, Emun Elliott, Benedict Wong
“Prometheus is a strongly acted, superbly designed movie, an exciting and at times emetic experience. Some surprises might have been anticipated with a little thought, others not. It’s a weightier undertaking than Alien, an existential horror picture that didn’t attempt to raise the big religious, cosmological and teleological issues that are thrashed out here. Some may find it pretentious, and the title, suggestive of hubristic man confronting the gods, has the film flaunting its ambition. But the action moves so swiftly that for most of the time I wasn’t aware, as I usually am, of it being in 3D, and the final couple of minutes are as gut-wrenching as anything in the Alien cycle.” – Philip French, The Observer
238. (-106) Wrong Turn
Rob Schmidt
2003 / USA / 84m / Col / Slasher | IMDb
Desmond Harrington, Eliza Dushku, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Jeremy Sisto, Kevin Zegers, Lindy Booth, Julian Richings, Garry Robbins, Ted Clark, Yvonne Gaudry
“This horror flick about young campers stalked and slaughtered by gruesome backwoods barbarians is a fairly decent crossbreeding of Friday the 13th and Deliverance. Despite the typical hunky-guys/babes-in-tank-tops Hollywood cast, Wrong Turn is gritty and uncompromising, and it includes several suspenseful and shocking moments. Unlike Deliverance, though, it’s not consistently believable enough to make you think seriously about cancelling that next trip into the forest… If screenwriter Alan B. McElroy had found more plausible ways to put his characters in danger, Wrong Turn could have been a real doozy of a fright flick. But it’s still chilling enough to please fans of nature-set nasties like The Hills Have Eyes.” – Steve Newton, Georgia Straight
239. (-49) Tusk
Kevin Smith
2014 / USA / 102m / Col / Black Comedy | IMDb
Michael Parks, Justin Long, Genesis Rodriguez, Haley Joel Osment, Johnny Depp, Harley Morenstein, Ralph Garman, Jennifer Schwalbach Smith, Harley Quinn Smith, Lily-Rose Melody Depp
“The first two-thirds of Tusk is arguably the best film Kevin Smith has both written or directed. The dialogue feels more natural and distinctly menacing, he commands the camera like an auteur, and the performances from all involved are especially strong for this genre… If you are looking for an absurd yet original horror-comedy, Tusk mostly fills this void. The performances are all top-notch and, even though the last act spirals out of control a bit, the story is consistently engaging throughout. While this might not be Kevin Smith’s best work, it is by far the strongest direction from his storied career and all of the words I could muster would still not do the film’s story justice. Tusk demands to be seen to be believed.” – Aaron Peterson, The Hollywood Outsider
240. (-44) Curse of Chucky
Don Mancini
2013 / USA / 97m / Col / Evil Doll | IMDb
Chantal Quesnelle, Fiona Dourif, Jordan Gavaris, Danielle Bisutti, A Martinez, Maitland McConnell, Brennan Elliott, Summer H. Howell, Adam Hurtig, Darren Wall
“Curse of Chucky shows serious restraint, which is rare for a fifth sequel. Instead of jumping right in, Mancini works his way to the reveal, treating the film like an introduction to a completely new, younger audience. And even after ol’ Chuckster is on a path of destruction, Mancini continued to peel layer, after layer, after layer off of the story, blasting the hardcore fans with more hat-tips than they’ll be able to handle… It’s a sincere love letter to the fans that really drop the gloves and goes for it. For some, the self-referential model may even be a little too much – but it without question carries the biggest geek-out moments since the 2003 Freddy vs. Jason.” – Brad Miska, Bloody Disgusting
241. (new) The Killing of a Sacred Deer
Yorgos Lanthimos
2017 / UK / 121m / Col / Psychological | IMDb
Barry G. Bernson, Herb Caillouet, Bill Camp, Raffey Cassidy, Denise Dal Vera, Colin Farrell, Barry Keoghan, Nicole Kidman, Drew Logan, Alicia Silverstone
“Lanthimos commands [the] world with precise craftsmanship, resulting in a crisp aesthetic underscored by unsettling rumbles of bass and strings. All of this congeals into an atmosphere of fragility and natural unease, which escalates into pure dread by the end. While it features little of the blood and spectacle of a studio horror film, Sacred Deer frightens in a more unconscious manner. It introduces a nightmare concept and milks it for every drop of morbid, deeply uncomfortable dread […] The strangeness only escalates from there, until it reaches a point of either confusion or terror, depending on the viewer. The film’s anxiety feels closely tied to our country’s current state—the privileged paranoia that an outsider will take your safety from you, leaving you at the mercy of senseless, violent nature.” – Ben Larned, Daily Dead
242. (-61) La casa del fin de los tiempos
Alejandro Hidalgo
2013 / Venezuela / 101m / Col / Haunted House | IMDb
Rosmel Bustamante, Adriana Calzadilla, Simona Chirinos, Gonzalo Cubero, Alexander Da Silva, Miguel Flores, Guillermo Garcia, Amanda Key, José León
“Something of a slow-burner, Venezuela’s first ever horror movie drifts back and forward in time to reveal tantalising clues to explain why the acts of the past continue to resonate in the house in which the crimes took place – and in which most of the movie is set. Even though it rolls out a number of over-familiar horror genre tropes, it rarely shows us what is scaring Dulce, and The House at the End of Time isn’t really a horror at all. It fact it does an admirable job of hiding its true colours until confounding its audience by introducing an unexpected dimension in the third act which transforms it into an altogether different story to the one we thought we were watching. The twists that then unfold aren’t new, but they belong to a different genre and it’s to Hidalgo’s credit that he manages to seamlessly blend the two without jarring us from the story.” – Richard Cross, 20/20 Movie Reviews
243. (new) The Purge: Anarchy
James DeMonaco
2014 / USA / 103m / Col / Thriller | IMDb
Frank Grillo, Carmen Ejogo, Zach Gilford, Kiele Sanchez, Zoë Soul, Justina Machado, John Beasley, Jack Conley, Noel Gugliemi, Castulo Guerra
“Unlike the first Purge, director James DeMonaco, trades constant brutality and bloodletting for a character based study about man’s incessant need for vengeance and how the wealthy elite look down upon the “have nots”. It still features enough killing to satisfy any horror hound’s desire for on screen death, but it doesn’t feel as vile or dirty this time around. There’s a point DeMonaco is trying to get across and he does so by keeping the story fresh, by upping the tension loaded ante, and by using lesser known actors that offer a true sense of horror […] Instead of lingering on a repetitious retread, the script feels more evolved, the characters are more rounded, the score is dynamically correct, and the message is abundantly clear. DeMonaco took his obvious errors with the first and fixed them, gave them a fresh coat of paint, and delivered a shiny new package that’s leaps and bounds better than his first attempt at this new found horror franchise.” – Chris George, The Movie Sleuth
244. (new) The Reef
Andrew Traucki
2010 / Australia / 94m / Col / Nature | IMDb
Damian Walshe-Howling, Gyton Grantley, Adrienne Pickering, Zoe Naylor, Kieran Darcy-Smith, Mark Simpson
“Relying primarily on atmosphere, tension, and dread, it manages to be quite an intense, intimate suspense story. Like Open Water, the immensity and isolation of the ocean plays a key role; you’ll go nearly 40 minutes before you see so much as a shark fin. However, by that point, you’re drawn in by the complete hopelessness of the situation–there’s really nothing these characters can do to save themselves, as they’re at the complete mercy of the elements. Director Traucki manages some interesting shots to ramp up the suspense; we often see the action from the point of view of the characters, so we’re almost constantly peeking up over the rolling water to see what could be off in the distance.” – Brett Gallman, Oh, the Horror!
245. (new) Upgrade
Leigh Whannell
2018 / Australia / 100m / Col / Science Fiction | IMDb
Logan Marshall-Green, Melanie Vallejo, Steve Danielsen, Abby Craden, Harrison Gilbertson, Benedict Hardie, Richard Cawthorne, Christopher Kirby, Richard Anastasios, Kenny Low
“The latest sneak attack from genre kings Blumhouse is an unusually patient, detailed and visceral cyber-thriller that plays like a Black Mirror rethink of The Six Billion Dollar Man, and may be the closest any mainstream production is likely to get to Japan’s cult Tetsuo movies… at its best – in a boundless chase round a hackers’ hangout, and a high-speed freeway pursuit – Upgrade is as fluid and exhilarating as anything the Wachowskis signed their names to in the days when they were brothers: the kind of nifty, sometimes nasty surprise our multiplexes sorely need.” – Mike McCahill, Guardian
246. (-105) Shutter
Banjong Pisanthanakun & Parkpoom Wongpoom
2004 / Thailand / 97m / Col / Supernatural | IMDb
Ananda Everingham, Natthaweeranuch Thongmee, Achita Sikamana, Unnop Chanpaibool, Titikarn Tongprasearth, Sivagorn Muttamara
“If you’ve seen any Asian horror movie of the last ten years, you know the drill: ghosts with bad hairdos, a Grudge from beyond the grave and technophobia that turns ordinary household objects (here the humble 35mm camera) into gateways to the next world… For all its technology-obsessed focus, Asian horror’s always been fascinated with the relationship between the living and the dead. Shutter’s no exception. “We think spirits long for their loved ones,” claims the editor of Ghost magazine (Thailand’s answer to The Fortean Times) as our heroes look for answers. It’s a line that’s laced with irony, although you won’t get it until after the credits roll.” – Jamie Russell, BBC
247. (new) Hush
Mike Flanagan
2016 / USA / 81m / Col / Home Invasion | IMDb
Kate Siegel, John Gallagher Jr., Michael Trucco, Samantha Sloyan, Emma Graves
“Beautiful in its narrative simplicity, observant in its human complexity, and vital in its stylistic precision, “Hush” is the kind of nerve-shredding thriller which lays waste to its viewers’ fingernails while leaving said audience literally perched on the edge of their seats. There are no needless subplots on hand to muddy the waters or lugubrious tangents to slow the pacing. Director Mike Flanagan is laser-focused on what he has set out to do, and achieve, and he does it magnificently.” – Dustin Putnam, TheFrightFile
248. (-32) Dead End
Jean-Baptiste Andrea & Fabrice Canepa
2003 / USA / 85m / Col / Psychological | IMDb
Ray Wise, Lin Shaye, Mick Cain, Alexandra Holden, Billy Asher Rosenfeld, Amber Smith, Karen S. Gregan, Sharon Madden, Steve Valentine, Jimmie F. Skaggs
“Jean-Baptiste Andrea and Fabrice Canepa’s Grimm fable is hardly blessed with originality, its road trip to hell device being a staple of everything from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre to the recent Wrong Turn. Moreover, those with even a passing acquaintance with the genre will guess how the movie pans out long before it reaches its abrupt and rather unsatisfying conclusion. Where it scores is in its canny exploration of family dynamics and a jet-black gallows humour that will have you tittering into your popcorn… while there’s ultimately less to Dead End than meets the eye, it remains an ingenious exercise in nerve-shredding tension that makes a virtue of its limited means.” – Neil Smith, BBC
249. (-4) World War Z
Marc Forster
2013 / USA / 116m / Col / Zombie | IMDb
Brad Pitt, Mireille Enos, Daniella Kertesz, James Badge Dale, Ludi Boeken, Matthew Fox, Fana Mokoena, David Morse, Elyes Gabel, Peter Capaldi
“Gone are the slowly stumbling zombies of earlier generations, replaced by a frantic horde who dive, tackle and bite like a snarling biblical horde of rats, a mass of bodies that wail and gnash teeth, thrashing insatiably in search of human flesh. And although plenty are slaughtered by Pitt and company, the gory details are spared, Foster wisely playing this as thriller rather than splatter. With all the action, there’s little time for character development or heart, but Pitt holds his own as an hero with a mission to save the world. And given what he goes through, it’s just as well he’s more indestructible than the average zombie.” – Simon Weaving, Screenwize
250. (new) Fright Night
Craig Gillespie
2011 / USA / 106m / Col / Vampire | IMDb
Anton Yelchin, Colin Farrell, Toni Collette, David Tennant, Imogen Poots, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Dave Franco, Reid Ewing, Will Denton, Sandra Vergara
“Scripted by Buffy alum Marti Noxon and directed by Craig Gillespie (Lars and the Real Girl), the film is packed with obvious but effective metaphors, plenty of laughs, digs at post Twilight vampirism and a couple of genuine scares. Throw in a great cast delivering performances that range from steadily dramatic to hilarious and unexpected, and Fright Night is a funny, savvy and suspenseful horror-comedy with plenty of entertaining bite.” – Tom Clift, MovieDex