702. (+183) Poltergeist II: The Other Side

Brian Gibson

1986 / USA / 91m / Col / Supernatural | IMDb
JoBeth Williams, Craig T. Nelson, Heather O’Rourke, Oliver Robins, Zelda Rubinstein, Will Sampson, Julian Beck, Geraldine Fitzgerald, John P. Whitecloud, Noble Craig

“If I’m being as objective as possible, I know that the movie just doesn’t measure up to the truly classic first film. There’s no doubt about that… But this doesn’t matter. Poltergeist II is fun, not just the usual, so-bad-it’s-good variety of horror film fun — though it is that, occasionally — but actual fun. You can’t help but enjoy how ridiculously far out it’s willing to go while still remaining completely straight-faced. What other film features a tequila worm monster, killer braces, a levitating chainsaw, and the wackiest failed doomsday prophet this side of Harold Camping?” – Casey Broadwater, Blu-ray.com

AKA:

704. (new) La bête

Walerian Borowczyk

1975 / France / 93m / Col / Fantasy | IMDb
Sirpa Lane, Lisbeth Hummel, Elisabeth Kaza, Pierre Benedetti, Guy Tréjan, Roland Armontel, Marcel Dalio, Robert Capia, Pascale Rivault, Hassane Fall

“Like so much provocative 1970s cinema, The Beast is representative of both the visual and aesthetic freedom allowed by the decade’s ease in censorship. Ironically though, having imbued its narrative with so much heavy thematic material, it was refused classification by the BBFC (though perhaps it was more to do with the continuous presence of giant, endlessly excited stallion). The combination of extreme sexual imagery and Borowczyk’s usual sense of powerful art-house ideas is still a shock today though one that is perhaps even more relevant in times of easy access misogyny and unquestioning desires of will at the click of a button.” – Adam Scovell, Celluloid Wicker Man

AKA: The Beast

706. (+154) Taxidermia

György Pálfi

2006 / Hungary / 91m / Col / Black Comedy | IMDb
Csaba Czene, Gergely Trócsányi, Marc Bischoff, István Gyuricza, Piroska Molnár, Gábor Máté, Géza Hegedüs D., Zoltán Koppány, Erwin Leder, Adél Stanczel

“Striking visuals attempt to match allegory; this is the stuff of Taxidermia. From the onset it’s quite clear that Taxidermia isn’t interested in being a typical horror film. The film blends elements of comedy, body horror, and political allegory into as unappealing of a package as possible. That is, however, the reason that Taxidermia is so appealing as a film. The images are often visceral to the extreme, repugnant in the way they depict the characters. People who see Taxidermia will probably never be able to look at competitive eating the same way again. Repugnance is the point of Taxidermia, or rather it is the point that is used to get to the root of the political issues that have plagued Hungary for years.” – Bill Thompson, Sound on Sight

AKA:

708. (-33) Maniac

Franck Khalfoun

2012 / USA / 89m / Col / Slasher | IMDb
Nora Arnezeder, Brian Ames, America Olivo, Genevieve Alexandra, Liane Balaban, Jan Broberg, Aaron Colom, Joshua Delagarza, Alex Diaz, Megan Duffy

“With the accomplished Maxime Alexandre serving as cinematographer, and Raphael Hamburger providing a euro-trashy synth score, Maniac proves exploitative horror flicks need not seem hastily slapped together to unsettle and disturb. Maniac is technically impressive, which is more than can be said for most schlock of its ilk. If you’re watching Maniac to admire cinematic handiwork, to ponder our culpability in slasher flicks, or to compare Wood’s performance with the original’s Joe Spinell, I can safely recommend it.” – Simon Miraudo, Quickflix

AKA:

710. (-69) Ghost Story

John Irvin

1981 / USA / 110m / Col / Haunted House | IMDb
Fred Astaire, Melvyn Douglas, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., John Houseman, Craig Wasson, Patricia Neal, Alice Krige, Jacqueline Brookes, Miguel Fernandes, Lance Holcomb

“Ghost Story plays its horror cards in all suits, from classical atmospheric chills (and as a note to Irvin’s love for detail, watch how the wind doesn’t begin to blow in the graveyard until Houseman says, “And the wind began to blow”) to Dick Smith’s excellent zombie make-up. It’s not gory, really, but some scenes, such as a body falling from a high-rise, shattering through a glass roof, and landing with a thud next to a pool, are more brutal than usual–Irvin graphically captures the tragedy and weight of the fall in a way that splattered body parts simply couldn’t do. The film’s real strength, though, lies in its ability to create ghostly thrills via deep characters who have a reason to be scared. And that, combined with all the other unique, superb elements, make this a must see for any genre fans or any serious fan of film.” – Brandt Sponseller, Classic-Horror

AKA:

712. (-100) Paperhouse

Bernard Rose

1988 / UK / 92m / Col / Fantasy | IMDb
Charlotte Burke, Jane Bertish, Samantha Cahill, Glenne Headly, Sarah Newbold, Gary Bleasdale, Elliott Spiers, Gemma Jones, Steven O’Donnell, Ben Cross

“The film doesn’t turn into a message movie, and this stuff can be ignored by a less perceptive viewer. Or it can be explained by the way that Anna’s loneliness manifests itself in her dreams. Her father is, at one point, introduced in her dream by a guitar stinger more suitable for a slasher movie. At first that seems like a dated misstep, until we consider how each image is part of Anna’s skewed viewpoint. Her world, encapsulated by this large, creepy, mostly empty house, in the middle of a spacious field, is the suggestion that she hasn’t lived long enough to fill in the details. As a film, Paperhouse is about Anna’s discovery of something she didn’t quite understand before- her own mortality. And she spends the entire film learning about it piece by piece.” – Adam Lippe, Examiner.com

AKA:

714. (-127) The Keep

Michael Mann

1983 / USA / 96m / Col / Supernatural | IMDb
Scott Glenn, Alberta Watson, Jürgen Prochnow, Robert Prosky, Gabriel Byrne, Ian McKellen, William Morgan Sheppard, Royston Tickner, Michael Carter, Phillip Joseph

“The best way I can describe everything is this: The Keep isn’t a movie. The Keep is an experience. It’s impossible for anyone not to get taken in by the lush visuals and the fantastical score, and if you can ignore the choppy plot, you’re going to have a great time. While the novel was really more of a Gothic horror story (and the movie is to an extent), this is more of a fairy tale filled with the classic good versus evil scenario, a romance, engaging characters, and some exploding Nazi heads thrown in for good measure.” – James Oxyer, Obscure Cinema 101

AKA:

716. (-88) The Night Flier

Mark Pavia

1997 / USA / 94m / Col / Vampire | IMDb
Miguel Ferrer, Julie Entwisle, Dan Monahan, Michael H. Moss, John Bennes, Beverly Skinner, Rob Wilds, Richard K. Olsen, Elizabeth McCormick, J.R. Rodriguez

“THE NIGHT FLIER stays true to the source material, while changing a few things up that actually work better in this visual medium. Even though Dees is a complete and utter tool, we can’t help ourselves enjoy watching this despicable man go through a creepy investigation that ultimately leads to a confrontation that will decide his fate. In the realm of Stephen King adaptations, THE NIGHT FLIER is great. In the world of vampire films, it’s also great. This is an underrated gem of a movie that deserves more acclaim than it gets.” – Derrick Carter, For The Love Of Celluloid

AKA:

718. (-37) Lady in White

Frank LaLoggia

1988 / USA / 113m / Col / Mystery | IMDb
Lukas Haas, Len Cariou, Alex Rocco, Katherine Helmond, Jason Presson, Renata Vanni, Angelo Bertolini, Joelle Jacobi, Jared Rushton, Gregory Levinson

“The overall mood of the movie changes from charming to alarming and back to charming as the story unfolds to its incendiary ending atop the cliffs by the white cottage. LaLoggia’s simple, old-time, approach using in-camera effects combined with basic process shots build his story in an economical but creative way. Like a good ghost story, simple elements combine to create an ethereal dread, making Lady in White a memorable movie.” – JM Cozzoli, Zombos’ Closet

AKA:

720. (-71) Strait-Jacket

William Castle

1964 / USA / 93m / Col / Psychological | IMDb
Joan Crawford, Diane Baker, Leif Erickson, Howard St. John, John Anthony Hayes, Rochelle Hudson, George Kennedy, Edith Atwater, Mitchell Cox

“It’s tempting to enjoy Straight-Jacket for all the external reasons; there’s a compelling perversity in watching the movie and knowing that Joan Crawford’s real daughter wrote a book accusing her mother of being a monster that tried to ruin her life. It’s also enjoyable to know that William Castle was over the moon working with names like Robert Bloch and Joan Crawford, thinking that he was finally creating that elusive A-picture. But I love Straight-Jacket for just being what it is: a cooky 1960s shocker that makes absolutely no sense and is full of great moments. That alone would guarantee at least a few fingers. But having Joan Crawford, wig askew and gams on full display, in the center of it all easily elevates this one to FIVE FINGER-ed classic status.” – Tower Farm Reviews

AKA:

722. (+22) Le viol du vampire

Jean Rollin

1968 / France / 95m / Col / Vampire | IMDb
Solange Pradel, Bernard Letrou, Ariane Sapriel, Eric Yan, Jacqueline Sieger, Catherine Deville, Ursule Pauly, Nicole Romain, Marquis Polho, Don Burhans

“The film is not really about anything, it is a series of abstract images, vaguely strung together with vampiric imagery that isn’t of the traditional stripe. This film is about atmosphere, more than perhaps any other film I’ve ever seen. It is incomparable in style and in substance, and yet feels quite at home in his filmography… Jean Rollin was a filmmaker for whom his work became an extension of himself. His films are all somewhat similar because he shot what he knew and what he felt. The chaos of late ’60s France made a huge impression on Rollin, and the abstract nature of The Rape of the Vampire reflects this chaos and puts it to the screen in a unique way that marries violence with eroticism in the very French tradition of the Grand Guignol.” – Charlie Hobbs, ScreenAnarchy

AKA: The Rape of the Vampire

724. (-219) Night of the Living Dead

Tom Savini

1990 / USA / 92m / Col / Zombie | IMDb
Tony Todd, Patricia Tallman, Tom Towles, McKee Anderson, William Butler, Katie Finneran, Bill Moseley, Heather Mazur, David W. Butler, Zachary Mott

“The idea of remaking the classic “Night of the Living Dead” would certainly seem like sacrilege to many fans. Yet the resulting movie stands on its own merits as a taut if slightly sterile horror film… Zombie films always suffer in critical terms. But what this boils down to, just as the original does, is a classic siege situation. Tempers fray, fear builds, the final stand-off looms and this movie exploits the form well, with some real tension building among some fine shock moments. Some purists will not condone this remake, but there’s little denying that this is a better horror film than most made in the 1990s.” – Almar Haflidason, BBC.com

AKA:

726. (-42) Halloween H20: 20 Years Later

Steve Miner

1998 / USA / 86m / Col / Slasher | IMDb
Jamie Lee Curtis, Adam Arkin, Michelle Williams, Adam Hann-Byrd, Jodi Lyn O’Keefe, Janet Leigh, Josh Hartnett, LL Cool J, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Branden Williams

“Scream scripter Kevin Williamson, a true-blue Halloween fan, revitalized the moribund stalk-and-slash genre with clever dialogue, self-referential irony and a healthy respect for horror traditions. Although he’s not credited as a screenwriter on H20 (he’s listed up with the co-executive producers), Williamson’s hand is all over it, from the sharp in-jokes to the fact that the about-to-be-terrorized teens are watching Scream 2 on TV before the real screaming starts. And it’s a blast… Director Steve Miner, who cut his teeth on Friday the 13th sequels, does a more than respectable job, supplying the requisite false scares (including a very effective sequence involving a mother, her little girl, and a highway rest-stop bathroom) and keeping the whole business moving at a brisk clip.” – Marc Savlov, Austin Chronicle

AKA:

728. (-99) House of Dark Shadows

Dan Curtis

1970 / USA / 97m / Col / Vampire | IMDb
Jonathan Frid, Grayson Hall, Kathryn Leigh Scott, Roger Davis, Nancy Barrett, John Karlen, Thayer David, Louis Edmonds, Don Briscoe, David Henesy

“The soap opera Dark Shadows was Curtis’ baby and it ran on ABC from 1966-1971 hitting the peak of its popularity with the release of this film in 1970. While the show had many long running storylines and even storylines in different eras, Curtis decided that the film version was going to tell the Barnabas vampire tale alone. Audiences were a bit shocked by how much harsher the film version of the show was, with a Barnabas that was much less sympathetic and violence that was, well, violent. With a tightly focused vampire story, Curtis produced a film which has the feel of a classic Hammer film… The film is aided immeasurably in this regard by its location photography in upstate New York and Connecticut.” – Brian Holcomb, Kinetofilm

AKA:

730. (-67) Fiend Without a Face

Arthur Crabtree

1958 / UK / 75m / BW / Science Fiction | IMDb
Marshall Thompson, Kynaston Reeves, Kim Parker, Stanley Maxted, Terry Kilburn, James Dyrenforth, Robert MacKenzie, Peter Madden, Gil Winfield, Michael Balfour

“Director Arthur Crabtree kept the formulaic story moving forward and the mood grimly earnest. His straight-ahead style serves the material without ruffles or flourishes, although his pacing is too leisurely through the first half. But when the monsters show at the climax, that’s when the oh-boy starts. They’re brought to life via Harryhausen-style stop-motion animation that’s better than you might expect while still maintaining a pleasurable cheese factor. Naturally, expect to whistle past gaps in plot logic (where’s all that light coming from in that sealed windowless crypt? Is dynamiting the control room to a nuclear reactor ever really a good idea?), which should be all part of the fun.” – Mark Bourne, DVD Journal

AKA:

732. (-305) Dead Silence

James Wan

2007 / USA / 89m / Col / Evil Doll | IMDb
Ryan Kwanten, Amber Valletta, Donnie Wahlberg, Michael Fairman, Joan Heney, Bob Gunton, Laura Regan, Dmitry Chepovetsky, Judith Roberts, Keir Gilchrist

“So what makes Dead Silence more creepy and clever than the dozens of horror films that have preceded it in this decade? It comes directly from the talents of director James Wan and writer Leigh Whannell. The scenarios they set in motion combine logical storytelling with strong suspense filmmaking and keep us in the audience in a constant state of alert, sitting on the edge of our seat, unable to predict what is going to happen next. Wan and Whannell never retreat to the typical horror cliches to achieve their scares. There are no unnecessary shock cuts, no red herrings and no abuse of bombastic musical scoring to tell audiences when to be scared. Where so many modern horror films are utterly predictable, the Saw pictures, all written by Whannell with producer credits for Wan on Saw 2 and 3, and now Dead Silence avoid predictibility by employing great staging and scene setting. The audience is so busy covering their eyes in anticipation of the next scare, they simply don’t have time to predict what comes next.” – Sean Kernan, Smart-Popcorn

AKA:

734. (-2) Schock

Mario Bava

1977 / Italy / 95m / Col / Supernatural | IMDb
Daria Nicolodi, John Steiner, David Colin Jr., Ivan Rassimov

“Shock differs sharply from earlier Bava features as it is much more understated – there is no gothic setting, no baroque décor, and no elaborate costumes. Obviously saddled with a much more economical budget this time around, Bava chose to concentrate on creating a tense, claustrophobic environment within the confines of a family home – and succeeds admirably. He blends psychosomatic and paranormal themes into a nice ambiguous twist – it’s up to the viewer to decide whether the house is really haunted or entirely a creation of Dora’s tormented mind.” – Michelle R., Digital Retribution

AKA: Beyond the Door II

736. (-214) 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

AKA:

738. (-277) Blade

Stephen Norrington

1998 / USA / 120m / Col / Vampire | IMDb
Wesley Snipes, Stephen Dorff, Kris Kristofferson, N’Bushe Wright, Donal Logue, Udo Kier, Arly Jover, Traci Lords, Kevin Patrick Walls, Tim Guinee

“[Blade] is a movie that relishes high visual style. It uses the extreme camera angles, the bizarre costumes and sets, the exaggerated shadows, the confident cutting between long shots and extreme closeups. It slams ahead in pure visceral imagery… Wesley Snipes understands the material from the inside out and makes an effective Blade because he knows that the key ingredient in any interesting superhero is not omnipotence, but vulnerability… By embodying those feelings, Snipes as Blade gives the movie that edge of emotion without which it would simply be special effects.” – Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

AKA:

740. (-93) Saw III

Darren Lynn Bousman

2006 / USA / 108m / Col / Splatter | IMDb
Tobin Bell, Shawnee Smith, Angus Macfadyen, Bahar Soomekh, Donnie Wahlberg, Dina Meyer, Leigh Whannell, Mpho Koaho, Barry Flatman, Lyriq Bent

“After helming the good, if somewhat generic Saw II, the second time is clearly the charm for [Darren Lynn Bousman]. He gets into the splatter spirit early and often. What’s particularly fulfilling, especially in light of all the wonderfully disgusting Jigsaw puzzle setpieces in the film, is how rounded and deep the narrative is. Almost all the characters, from serial killer in training Amanda (Shawnee Smith bringing it once again) to desperate, disconnected doctor Lynn go through some major mental changes during the course of the story, and Bousman allows the movie to meander to provide such a potent underscoring. Also, unlike other franchise films, Saw III actually makes an effort to incorporate elements we saw in the first two installments to keep the overall concepts linked and truly fascinating.” – Bill Gibron, DVD Verdict

AKA:

742. (+113) 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

AKA:

744. (+3) The Fall of the House of Usher

James Sibley Watson & Melville Webber

1928 / USA / 13m / BW / Surrealism | IMDb
Herbert Stern, Hildegarde Watson, Melville Webber

“What was theoretical in Epstein’s The Three-Sided Mirror is here freer, more lucid and ethereal, and from its first image of a visitor with busy fingers wading through a tangle of trees and branches to the final orgy of poetic destruction, the director intensely considers the push-pull relationship between life and art—the precarious soul-suck between the two and the chaos their battle risks. When Debucourt’s Usher looks at his painting, he is both staring at the visage of his elusive wife’s representation and the audience itself. Epstein treats celluloid not unlike Usher’s canvas—a delicate, fragile thing to draw on (slow or fast, sometimes twice, thrice, four times over)—and to look at the screen of this film is to witness a portal into a complex, heretofore unknown dimension of cinematic representation.” – Ed Gonzalez, Slant Magazine

AKA:

746. (+176) Requiem pour un vampire

Jean Rollin

1972 / France / 95m / Col / Vampire | IMDb
Marie-Pierre Castel, Mireille Dargent, Philippe Gasté, Dominique, Louise Dhour, Michel Delesalle, Antoine Mosin, Agnès Petit, Olivier François, Dominique Toussaint

“A film which is almost totally void of dialog in its first half and void of any significant characterization, REQUIEM FOR A VAMPIRE is an easily watchable surreal exercise in foreign filmmaking, crammed with bizarre comic art imagery strung together with various incidents of fetishistic kinkiness and sadism. With the usual low budget Rollin was allotted, he makes excellent use of some authentic gothic locations, and the picturesque, massive chateau makes for a better vampires’ liar than any studio could possibly provide. The use of oddball props, including rotted corpses affixed with squirming worms, severed arms protruding from stone walls, a line of hooded standing skeletons and assorted bats real and phony, add to the film’s unique appearance, and the clever use of colored lighting in some of the outdoor nighttime scenes is also noteworthy.” – George R. Reis, DVD Drive-In

AKA: Requiem for a Vampire

748. (-38) Vampire’s Kiss

Robert Bierman

1988 / USA / 103m / Col / Vampire | IMDb
Nicolas Cage, Maria Conchita Alonso, Jennifer Beals, Elizabeth Ashley, Kasi Lemmons, Bob Lujan, Jessica Lundy, Johnny Walker, Boris Leskin, Michael Knowles

“Practically nothing happens other than gradual deterioration of any distinction between reality and fantasy, and the theme is closer in some ways to Jekyll and Hyde (with the emphasis almost entirely on Hyde) than to Dracula or Nosferatu. What really makes this worth seeing is Cage’s outrageously unbridled performance… Even for viewers like myself who have never been especially impressed with Cage, his over-the-top effusions of rampant, demented asociality are really something to see, and they give this quirky, somewhat out-of-control black comedy whatever form and energy it has.” – Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader

AKA:

750. (+222) Detention

Joseph Kahn

2011 / USA / 93m / Col / Comedy | IMDb
Alison Woods, Logan Stalarow, Julie Dolan, Shanley Caswell, Daniel Negreanu, Will Wallace, Josh Breeding, Marco Garcia, Josh Hutcherson, Mickey River

“Don’t be turned off by Kahn’s satirical take on teen angst and high school drama though, even if you find yourself outside the tech generation of today. Detention still has enough polished oddities to win over anyone with an open mind and a hunger for cutting edge cinema. One can simply marvel at how our director effortlessly pulls off tonal 180’s, or creates such indulgently fun scenarios, but does so with grace and beauty while simultaneously throwing massive amounts of dense script material directly in our face. Both challenging and rewarding, Kahn’s sophomore feature oozes unfiltered creativity films like Jennifer’s Body tried so hard to emulate, given the whole horrific high school experience scenario. Most impressive is the usage of self-aware filmmaking, opening a hidden door of silly gags and playful interactions. Kahn ingeniously pokes enough fun at his own movie as a smack to the audience’s head, almost as to say “Hey, this is supposed to be fun and not serious! Just embrace it!”” – Matt Donato, We Got This Covered

AKA:

752. (-179) The Crazies

George A. Romero

1973 / USA / 103m / Col / Zombie | IMDb
Lane Carroll, Will MacMillan, Harold Wayne Jones, Lloyd Hollar, Lynn Lowry, Richard Liberty, Richard France, Harry Spillman, Will Disney, Edith Bell

“The underlying cynicism and despair about individual initiative and governmental intervention reflect the social insecurity of the period when The Crazies was released. The senseless prolongation of the war in Viet Nam and the decay of urban centers gnawed at the public mood, leading not to renewed social activism, but to the self-defeating narcissism that typified the latter years of the ‘70s. Romero’s horror films—like those of John Carpenter, Wes Craven, and David Cronenberg—illustrated a mood of entropy. The monsters these directors conjured may have been figments of their imagination, but they drew attention to very real horrors. And, at a time when SARS and terrorism exercises are daily news, the fabricated panic of The Crazies feels more than a little close to home.” – David Sanjek, Popmatters

AKA: Code Name: Trixie

754. (+111) Bone Tomahawk

S. Craig Zahler

2015 / USA / 132m / Col / Western | IMDb
Kurt Russell, Patrick Wilson, Matthew Fox, Richard Jenkins, Lili Simmons, Evan Jonigkeit, David Arquette, Fred Melamed, Sid Haig, Maestro Harrell

“There’s an elegance to Bone Tomahawk that doesn’t let up even when it veers into cult-movie territory. Zahler is a patient director, willing to let scenes unfold, with tension developing organically. He uses music sparingly; the early scenes in town are almost unnaturally quiet, with the moody, minimalist score (credited to Jeff Herriot and Zahler himself) only kicking in once the search party strikes out for the territory. As the men become more and more desperate, the camera comes in closer and closer. But even the final act is devoid of the kind of unhinged stylistic hysteria that can take over films that upend genre. You could even say that’s what makes it so disturbing — the director’s unflinching eye reveals both character and violence.” – Bilge Ebiri, Vulture

AKA:

756. (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

AKA:

758. (new) The Fourth Kind

Olatunde Osunsanmi

2009 / USA / 98m / Col / Science Fiction | IMDb
Milla Jovovich, Will Patton, Hakeem Kae-Kazim, Corey Johnson, Enzo Cilenti, Elias Koteas, Eric Loren, Mia McKenna-Bruce, Raphaël Coleman, Daphne Alexander

“THE FOURTH KIND proves that a horror film doesn’t need splashy digital effects or pyrotechnics to be effective. On the contrary, to work, a film needs to establish a discombobulating sense of unease, the which happens here with a smartly low-key mood. Director and co-writer Olatunde Osunsame couples that with some very smart filmmaking techniques to bring into play something else, that most terrifying of sensations, utter powerlessness in the face of something relentless and unswayable. While the subject at hand is alien abductions, the title refers to the fourth level of interaction with alien visitors, it would work as effectively as a study of madness.” – Andrea Chase, Killer Movie Reviews

AKA:

760. (-217) Feast

John Gulager

2005 / USA / 95m / Col / Comedy | IMDb
Balthazar Getty, Henry Rollins, Navi Rawat, Judah Friedlander, Josh Zuckerman, Jason Mewes, Jenny Wade, Krista Allen, Clu Gulager, Anthony ‘Treach’ Criss

“We’re introduced to our buffet of victims in unique style, as each cast member is presented with accompanying text giving their nickname (“Hero,” “Grandma,” “Bozo”), occupation, and life expectancy. Such an obvious goof on horror movie cliché nets some laughs, but might lead you to think you’re in for another excruciating post-modern genre wankfest. Such concern is unwarranted, happily, and the audience finds out rather quickly that everything presented in the first five minutes was a diversion, and absolutely no character is safe… This is a superior horror film. It hits hard and fast, letting up only to inject some black humor and amp up the tension again before coming back for more. “Feast” is nasty, brutish, and short, just like Hobbes said all horror flicks should be.” – Pete Vonder Haar, Film Threat

AKA:

762. (-249) What Lies Beneath

Robert Zemeckis

2000 / USA / 130m / Col / Haunted House | IMDb
Michelle Pfeiffer, Katharine Towne, Miranda Otto, James Remar, Harrison Ford, Victoria Bidewell, Diana Scarwid, Dennison Samaroo, Jennifer Tung, Eliott Goretsky

“A slick cross between a Hitchcock movie (two in particular, but to identify them would give away too much) and Stir of Echoes, What Lies Beneath is a supernatural thriller whose plot struggles to hold water. It’s the sort of thriller where the twists and surprises are decided first, and then the writers hang the story around those twists as best they can… What Lies Beneath works – to the extent that it works – because of Robert Zemeckis… Zemeckis is synonymous with slick, but he does have an impressive record of making the most out of material even when it’s weak. He gets an audience to care about what’s going on in a story rather than think about what’s wrong with the story. He knows how to entertain.” – Carlo Cavagna, AboutFilm.com

AKA:

764. (-16) The Day of the Triffids

Steve Sekely

1963 / UK / 93m / Col / Science Fiction | IMDb
Howard Keel, Nicole Maurey, Janette Scott, Kieron Moore, Mervyn Johns, Ewan Roberts, Alison Leggatt, Geoffrey Matthews, Janina Faye, Gilgi Hauser

“The Day of the Triffids depicts a world-wide meteor storm, a train wreck, a plane crash, military bases aflame, vast metropolitan centers devoid of life (in scenes that seem to forecast images in films such as Day of the Dead [1985] and 28 Days Later [2002]) and also makes the threat of walking. man-eating plants palpable…and by the climax, totally believable. That’s no small accomplishment, and the sense you get watching this film is that everybody – from director and actors to the special effects artists – truly committed to the project. They stretched their miniscule budget as far as it could possibly go, deploying ingenuity to fill the gaps.” – John Kenneth Muir, Reflections on Cult Movies and Classic TV

AKA: Invasion of the Triffids

766. (new) Rubber

Quentin Dupieux

2010 / France / 82m / Col / Comedy | IMDb
Stephen Spinella, Jack Plotnick, Wings Hauser, Roxane Mesquida, Ethan Cohn, Charley Koontz, Daniel Quinn, Devin Brochu, Hayley Holmes, Haley Ramm

“The experience inspires feelings of incredulousness, the stark “did that just happen” disbelief only provoked by works of art that dare to step boldly outside the mainstream. The sort of self-reflexive dialogue that comprises much of the production could easily register as smarmy, too cute self-absorptive schlock, but Dupieux and his actors ably tread the tenuous line between the fresh and the pretentious. Their philosophical musings about the nature of storytelling have a spontaneity to them that spurs charmed recognition rather than grating eye-rolls [..] Rubber is a deliberately out-there provocation and such works are geared to be despised. Yet if the WTF idea of a film centered on a psychotic tire fills your heart with joy, if you’ve long-harbored an affinity for the films of Jean-Luc Godard and other masters of this sort of insular fourth wall-shattering fare, you’ll be rewarded with one of the few recent movies to openly, brazenly play with narrative form while telling us something about ourselves.” – Robert Levin, Film School Rejects

AKA:

768. (+225) Los cronocrímenes

Nacho Vigalondo

2007 / Spain / 92m / Col / Science Fiction | IMDb
Karra Elejalde, Candela Fernández, Bárbara Goenaga, Nacho Vigalondo, Juan Inciarte

“The idyllic but mundane world of the film’s opening segues smoothly into a sequence out of a highly intelligent slasher film, before finally settling into its niche as a darkly funny, and at times mildly disturbing, sci-fi thriller. The scientific specifics of time travel are never discussed, but the question doesn’t ever really occur to you; as framed by Vigalondo’s script, you simply accept it as a reality, no convoluted explanations involving flux capacitors and stainless steel cars required… Vigalondo has made an entirely plausible science fiction movie with fewer effects shots than the average American romantic comedy, and it’s far better for having to stick to its realistic setting.” – Ian Buckwalter, DCist

AKA: Timecrimes

770. (-85) 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

AKA:

772. (-12) Daybreakers

Michael Spierig & Peter Spierig

2009 / Australia / 98m / Col / Vampire | IMDb
Harriet Minto-Day, Jay Laga’aia, Damien Garvey, Sahaj Dumpleton, Allan Todd, Gabriella Di Labio, Ben Siemer, Peter Welman, Ethan Hawke, Callum McLean

“Daybreakers is the pinnacle of fun, modern sci-fi horror actioners. Supported by a killer cast including Sam Neill and Willem Dafoe (in his seventh movie of the last year), the film creates a lush, dark universe in which the vampires won, humans lost, and now the world just might come to an end in a bloody orgy of self-destruction, quite literally tearing itself apart. Beautifully shot and masterfully crafted, it hits all the right notes, delivering what can best be described as a fun experience that doesn’t for a second cheat your brain out of the ride. This isn’t a “shut your brain off” action film. On the contrary, it is a great piece of speculative fiction with a lot to say about human nature and our disregard for the limits of our resources. All while rocking your face off with taut pacing, incredible action, and dark pathos.” – C. Robert Cargill, Film.com

AKA:

774. (+125) Red White & Blue

Simon Rumley

2010 / USA / 104m / Col / Psychological | IMDb
Amanda Fuller, Marc Senter, Jon Michael Davis, Nick Holden, Patrick Crovo, Mary Mathews, Noah Taylor, Julian Haddad, Ernest James, Jenny Gravenstein

“Restraint pays dividends for British writer/director Simon Rumley in this devastating and demanding revenge tragedy set in Austin, Texas. A low-budget tale of broken lives and misguided retribution, Rumley’s slow-burner is driven by superbly nuanced performances, with Amanda Fuller’s emotionally scarred nymphomaniac gradually forming a relationship with a mysterious Iraq War veteran… When the brutality finally explodes, Rumley continues to focus on reactions rather than action, the harrowing events hitting harder by being kept predominantly off-screen.” – Sloan Freer, Radio Times

AKA:

776. (-200) 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

AKA:

778. (new) [Rec]³: Génesis

Paco Plaza

2012 / Spain / 80m / Col / Zombie | IMDb
Leticia Dolera, Diego Martín, Ismael Martínez, Àlex Monner, Borja Glez. Santaolalla, Emilio Mencheta, David Ramírez, Miguel Àngel González, Ramón Agirre, Xavier Ruano

“It follows the basics of the zombie genre, going back at least to George A. Romero’s “Night of the Living Dead” (1968). But director Paco Plaza throws in more than enough ludicrous touches of his own to grab viewers by their arteries and never let go. The movie’s highlight is punk-haired Leticia Dolera as the bride. When matters get drastic, she grabs a chain saw, cuts off part of her wedding dress, exposing a red garter, and goes on the offensive. Blood flows, limbs fly. There has never been another wedding day like this. “[REC] 3 Genesis” is a prequel to the first two “[REC]” movies, but that doesn’t much matter. You don’t need to have seen them to enjoy this film, which provides fresh blood for a tired genre.” – V.A. Musetto, New York Post

AKA:

780. (-173) Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead

Lloyd Kaufman

2006 / USA / 103m / Col / Splatter | IMDb
Jason Yachanin, Kate Graham, Allyson Sereboff, Robin L. Watkins, Joshua Olatunde, Caleb Emerson, Rose Ghavami, Khalid Rivera, Joe Fleishaker, Lloyd Kaufman

“Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead is a soft-core scatological zombie kitsch musical complete with social commentary. It was directed and co-written by Lloyd Kaufman, the company’s fabled president, who packs every skeevy genre in history into this mad, mod exploitation mishmash. Poultrygeist is as savage as Dawn of the Dead, as slapstick nutzoid as Evil Dead 2, as gag-on-your-popcorn gross as Pink Flamingos, and as dementedly foulmouthed literate as a Kevin Smith raunchfest. It’s genuine sick fun, and there isn’t a boring moment in it.” – Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly

AKA:

782. (+95) Marebito

Takashi Shimizu

2004 / Japan / 92m / Col / Supernatural | IMDb
Shin’ya Tsukamoto, Tomomi Miyashita, Kazuhiro Nakahara, Miho Ninagawa, Shun Sugata, Masayoshi Haneda, Ayumu Saitô

“It’s safe to say that Marebito is a substantial departure from Shimizu’s other work, not to mention the work of many of his contemporaries. This is partly due to Chiaki Konaka’s eclectic script, which mixes elements of hollow-Earth theory and H.P. Lovecraft, throwing in references to Madame Blavatsky, Werner Herzog, and Kolchak: The Night Stalker along the way. Konaka deliberately avoids explanations and shifts course a few times, leaving the viewer unsure whether what they’re seeing is reality or delusion. Shimizu builds upon this foundation by constructing a deeply claustrophobic atmosphere. The use of confined spaces, handheld cameras, and the absence of long shots all contribute to the feeling of confinement and draw the viewer in, something that can make you noticeably uncomfortable during the film’s more effective moments.” – Jim Harper, Flipside Movie Emporium

AKA: The Stranger from Afar

784. (-9) Demon Seed

Donald Cammell

1977 / USA / 94m / Col / Science Fiction | IMDb
Julie Christie, Fritz Weaver, Gerrit Graham, Berry Kroeger, Lisa Lu, Larry J. Blake, John O’Leary, Alfred Dennis, Davis Roberts, Patricia Wilson

“Ultimately, this is the film’s greatest strength—that while he seems to hybridize Kubrick, Polanski, and Keaton in an initially obvious manner, Cammell eventually combines these influences into an idiosyncratic and oddly equivocal morality tale. Demon Seed recasts HAL as the ultimate, network bugaboo, revisits Rosemary’s insemination for its biological, and not its occult, unpleasantness, and re-erects an electric house that is not fraught with faulty, schlemiel-baiting technology, but is instead menacingly and incontrovertibly perfect. In this way, it is a great help that Cammell’s film (due in no small part to the Dean Koontz novel upon which it was based) remains quite relevant, and far more so now than when originally released.” – Leo Goldsmith, Not Coming To a Theater Near You

AKA: Proteus Generation

786. (-9) From Beyond the Grave

Kevin Connor

1974 / UK / 97m / Col / Anthology | IMDb
Ian Bannen, Ian Carmichael, Peter Cushing, Diana Dors, Margaret Leighton, Donald Pleasence, Nyree Dawn Porter, David Warner, Angela Pleasence, Ian Ogilvy

“The first of this film’s strengths is that it takes itself seriously. The stories could easily lend themselves to parody or black comedy, but Connor and his screenwriters never fall for that temptation. With the exception of “The Elemental,” which does have one broad, comic character, the stories in this film are presented as straightforward ghost stories. This presentation lends the film a foreboding quality that inculcates a sense of unease that pervades all of the stories. We never get the feeling that the cast or the filmmakers feel that they are above this kind of film, and this adds a sense of believability to the stories.” – Eric Miller, Classic-Horror

AKA: Tales from the Beyond

788. (+74) Wendigo

Larry Fessenden

2001 / USA / 91m / Col / Monster | IMDb
Patricia Clarkson, Jake Weber, Erik Per Sullivan, John Speredakos, Christopher Wynkoop, Lloyd Oxendine, Brian Delate, Daniel Sherman, Jennifer Wiltsie

“Writer/director Larry Fessenden throws everything including the kitchen sink into the visuals. “Wendigo” is a very good-looking film, even if a brief sequence using handheld cameras early on gets to be a bit tedious. The movie, despite being a slow and laborious character study, still manages to move well. Fessenden proves that he was paying attention in film school when the professors were talking about motifs and themes, and as a result the film’s visualization is swarming with secondary and third meanings — that is, if one cares to pick them out. Don’t go into “Wendigo” expecting a horror movie. Despite the title, the film is more about man’s interaction, and lack thereof, with one another than it is about a mythical beast. The film is never scary, but rather shocking in its nonchalant attitude toward human nature and violence.” – Nix, Beyond Hollywood

AKA:

790. (-180) Magic

Richard Attenborough

1978 / USA / 107m / Col / Evil Doll | IMDb
Anthony Hopkins, Ann-Margret, Burgess Meredith, Ed Lauter, E.J. André, Jerry Houser, David Ogden Stiers, Lillian Randolph, Joe Lowry, Bob Hackman

“Magic is an exceptional work of cinema that has much to offer to the viewer who is willing to indulge at different levels. Attenborough and Goldman conjure up a nightmarish world that grows creepier with every passing moment. Slowly but relentlessly, the viewer is sucked into the eerie world of endless uncertainties wherein he must come face to face with his deepest fears and innermost desires before being plunged into a psychological maelstrom of varied emotions. Magic is indeed magical! And it’s the dream-like director-actor pairing of two great English thespians, Richard Attenborough and Anthony Hopkins, which lifts the film above the other cinematic products of its kind.” – Murtaza Ali, A Potpourri of Vestiges

AKA:

792. (-22) Creepshow 2

Michael Gornick

1987 / USA / 92m / Col / Anthology | IMDb
Domenick John, Tom Savini, George Kennedy, Philip Dore, Kaltey Napoleon, Maltby Napoleon, Tyrone Tonto, Dorothy Lamour, Frank Salsedo, Holt McCallany

“The stories in “Creepshow 2” improve upon each other, and they’re all pretty good. “Old Chief Wood’nhead” and “The Raft” deliver the twists and carnage anticipated while still being dramatically cohesive, but it is “The Hitchhiker” that runs off with the glory. Fiendishly horrifying and hilariously acerbic, this third offering features one classic line and hair-raising situation after the next. – Dustin Putnam, The Movie Boy

AKA:

794. (+55) Body Parts

Eric Red

1991 / USA / 88m / Col / Slasher | IMDb
Jeff Fahey, Lindsay Duncan, Kim Delaney, Zakes Mokae, Brad Dourif, John Walsh, Paul Ben-Victor, Peter Murnik, Nathaniel Moreau, Sarah Campbell

“One of the things about Body Parts that makes it so different from other horror films of the early nineties is its killer action sequences. Of course, there are tense and suspenseful moments in the film, but while other movies toil away in the undercurrent of dread that they work so hard to create, Body Parts leans on the gas with bar fights, car wrecks, and footraces. The whole film culminates in one of the most awesome car chases ever committed to film… Dikker’s score won him the 1992 Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films Saturn Award for Best Music, and the award is well-deserved” – James Jay Edwards, FilmFracture