801. (-80) 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

803. (+84) The Lodge

Severin Fiala & Veronika Franz

2019 / UK / 108m / Col / Psychological | IMDb
Richard Armitage, Riley Keough, Alicia Silverstone, Jaeden Martell, Lia McHugh, Rebecca Faulkenberry, Danny Keough, Katelyn Wells, Lola Reid

“Austrian writer-directors Severin Fiala and Veronika Franz, who also made 2014’s deeply creepy “Goodnight Mommy,” serve up a disturbing story where shock factor plays an outsized role… “The Lodge” is first and foremost a mood piece. Religion, sin and repentance are major themes, and the film grows more disquieting as the situation inside the cabin becomes increasingly dire. If “The Lodge” doesn’t answer all the questions it poses, that’s okay. Its strength lies in its ability to stir a reaction, and that feeling lasts longer than its explanations. It’s a trip you won’t forget.” – Adam Graham, Detroit News Film Critic

805. (new) Ghost Stories

Jeremy Dyson & Andy Nyman

2017 / UK / 98m / Col / Supernatural | IMDb
Andy Nyman, Martin Freeman, Paul Whitehouse, Alex Lawther, Paul Warren, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, Nicholas Burns, Louise Atkins, Lesley Harcourt, Amy Doyle

“Horror has a long legacy of stories of people who think they know all there is to know about the supernatural, and learn about their ignorance the hard way. “Ghost Stories” doesn’t reinvent the wheel in any way, but it owes a debt to films that modern genre filmmakers might have forgotten. In that sense, it feels both old and new at the same time. And, perhaps most importantly, it’s honestly scary in ways most indie horror doesn’t even try to be. It’s the sound of a creaking door, footsteps when no one else is home, the sudden drop of temperature in the center of a room—these are ghost story elements that will always be timeless, and it’s so refreshing to see a modern horror movie that knows how to use them as well as “Ghost Stories.”” – Brian Tallerico, RogerEbert.com

807. (-355) The Day of the Triffids

Steve Sekely

AKA: Invasion of the Triffids

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

809. (new) Deathgasm

Jason Lei Howden

2015 / New Zealand / 86m / Col / Supernatural | IMDb
Milo Cawthorne, James Blake, Kimberley Crossman, Sam Berkley, Daniel Cresswell, Delaney Tabron, Stephen Ure, Colin Moy, Jodie Rimmer, Nick Hoskins-Smith

“In a world that had been plagued by generic Hollywood horror, the films that are being released now wear their limited appeal as a badge of honor. Certainly, Deathgasm is not a film that will captivate a broad market, it’s far too gory and far too deep within a music subculture many people don’t know much about. Horror buffs will enjoy it, but those who get the most out of it will likely be metalheads, gorehounds, or both. It’s because it plays to a small audience that the film feels confident in its’ direction and makes no attempt to water itself down.” – Valeriy Kolyadych, PopMatters

811. (+116) Fatal Attraction

Adrian Lyne

1987 / USA / 119m / Col / Thriller | IMDb
Michael Douglas, Glenn Close, Anne Archer, Ellen Hamilton Latzen, Stuart Pankin, Ellen Foley, Fred Gwynne, Meg Mundy, Tom Brennan, Lois Smith

“Years hence, it will be possible to pinpoint the exact moment that produced ‘Fatal Attraction,’ Adrian Lyne’s new romantic thriller, and the precise circumstances that made it a hit. It arrived at the tail end of the having-it-all age, just before the impact of AIDS on movie morality was really felt. At the same time, it was a powerful cautionary tale. And it played skillfully upon a growing societal emphasis on marriage and family, shrewdly offering something for everyone: the desperation of an unmarried career woman, the recklessness of a supposedly satisfied husband, the worries of a betrayed wife. What’s more, it was made with the slick, seductive professionalism that was a hallmark of the day.” – Janet Maslin, New York Times

813. (-105) Mumsy, Nanny, Sonny & Girly

Freddie Francis

1970 / UK / 102m / Col / Black Comedy | IMDb
Michael Bryant, Ursula Howells, Pat Heywood, Howard Trevor, Vanessa Howard, Robert Swann, Imogen Hassall, Michael Ripper, Hugh Armstrong

“Girly is not the nightmarish blur of sex, color, and violence one would expect judging by the poster. Instead, it is a slow, psychological meditation, a playful look into the disturbing details of suppressed sexuality, morbid isolation, and the notion of insanity by proxy. We are led into a world fully contained within a decaying mansion, but we aren’t met with a parade of bloody horrors and gleefully violent imagery; instead, we are witness to a coy, clever game of cat and mouse, where no action or emotion is ever true. Comically depraved actions and lustful yearnings hidden behind a strange veil of morality are commonplace.” – James Merolla

815. (+36) 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

817. (new) Homicidal

William Castle

1961 / USA / 87m / Col / Slasher | IMDb
Glenn Corbett, Patricia Breslin, Eugenie Leontovich, Alan Bunce, Richard Rust, James Westerfield, Gilbert Green, Joan Marshall

“Despite its obvious flaws, however, Homicidal comes across today as a reasonably enjoyable cult film, primarily because all its ludicrous elements add up to such silly fun. Plus, though the primary plot twist is far too easy to guess, the hidden secret behind this twist comes as a genuine surprise. If you forget that Homicidal was ever meant as a serious rival to Hitchcock’s masterpiece, you’ll probably get a kick out of its enjoyably campy approach to sibling rivalry, gender, loyalty, and murder.” – Film Fanatic

819. (new) The Shallows

Jaume Collet-Serra

2016 / USA / 86m / Col / Natural Horror | IMDb
Blake Lively, Óscar Jaenada, Angelo Josue Lozano Corzo, Joseph Salas, Brett Cullen, Sedona Legge, Pablo Calva, Diego Espejel, Janelle Bailey, Ava Dean

“As good as Blake Lively is as the stranded surfer, the real star of The Shallows is Jaume Collet-Serra. The Spanish director is firing on cylinders using slow motion to build tension, misdirection to keep the audience on the edge of its seat, and still maintaining a sense of fun to harrowing ordeal on display. Opening with some GoPro footage of a shark attack, The Shallows opens like one of the more ominous episodes of Breaking Bad – you know something bad is going to happen it’s just a matter of how it happens. Knowing that the audience is curious as to how these events unfold, Collet-Serra frequently employs misdirection before unleashing the more horrific elements to incredibly effective results. It’s a constant cycle of building tension and releasing it ever so slightly before compounding the tension to an even greater degree.” – Sean Mulvihill, FanboyNation

821. (-44) Rogue

Greg Mclean

2007 / Australia / 99m / Col / Natural Horror | IMDb
Radha Mitchell, Michael Vartan, Sam Worthington, Caroline Brazier, Stephen Curry, Celia Ireland, John Jarratt, Heather Mitchell, Geoff Morrell, Damien Richardson

“Rogue may keep its creature hidden for large stretches in order to generate tension through omnipresent suggestion, but its expertly orchestrated set pieces don’t skimp on the killer-croc goods, providing enough glimpses of the beast feasting on terrified humans to deliver requisite horror-premise payoffs. Mclean’s tight scripting rarely relies on stupid behavior to elicit scares and refuses to one-dimensionally condemn its characters for less-than-noble reactions to trauma, exhibiting shrewd, nonjudgmental consideration for the strains its stranded travelers are under. All the while, his evocative widescreen cinematography of the Australian landscape – part Terrance Malick-entrancing, part John Carpenter-creepy – lends the action a sense of encompassing ominousness, and in its reverence for the natural world, proves in tune with the director’s own respect for his characters, his B-movie genre, and his audience.” – Nick Schager, Lessons of Darkness

823. (new) 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

825. (new) Attack of the Killer Tomatoes!

John De Bello

1978 / USA / 83m / Col / Comedy | IMDb
David Miller, George Wilson, Sharon Taylor, J. Stephen Peace, Ernie Meyers, Eric Christmas, Ron Shapiro, Al Sklar, Jerrold Anderson, Don Birch

“In some ways there’s very little that can be said about this totally gonzo effort that the title doesn’t already disclose. This is guerilla filmmaking at its most basic, to the point that a horrifying helicopter crash inadvertently caught on film during the shoot was simply folded into the plot because — well, horrifying helicopter crash. Anyone looking for finely reasoned plot points or even a baseline level of verbal humor in this film is probably going to want to keep looking, but when taken on its own decidedly lo-fi terms, there’s nothing quite like seeing an army of sentient tomatoes attacking helpless humans.” – Jeffrey Kauffman, Blu-ray.com

827. (-68) 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

829. (+123) Body Bags

John Carpenter & Tobe Hooper & Larry Sulkis

1993 / USA / 91m / Col / Anthology | IMDb
John Carpenter, Tom Arnold, Tobe Hooper, Robert Carradine, Alex Datcher, Peter Jason, Molly Cheek, Wes Craven, Sam Raimi, David Naughton

“Broadcast on Showtime in 1993 as a one-off horror anthology film, Body Bags bears more than a passing resemblance to HBO’s EC Comics-inspired Tales from the Crypt, not only for its reliance on a cast cannily salted with seasoned heavyweights eager to play against type, but also for its unabashed depictions of splattery violence. Body Bags is also notable for bringing together two of modern horror’s best-known names, John Carpenter and Tobe Hooper, as co-directors… That Body Bags largely succeeds, despite the perceptible lack of novel material, can be attributed to the strength of the assembled performances as well as the filmmakers’ attention to the dynamics of visual storytelling.” – Budd Wilkins, Slant Magazine

831. (-318) Inland Empire

David Lynch

2006 / USA / 180m / Col / Surrealism | IMDb
Laura Dern, Jeremy Irons, Justin Theroux, Karolina Gruszka, Jan Hencz, Krzysztof Majchrzak, Grace Zabriskie, Ian Abercrombie, Karen Baird, Bellina Logan

“Because watching movies is a bizarre business, and a movie creates its own world, in some ways more persuasively cogent and real than the reality surrounding it, Lynch positions himself in the no man’s land between these two realities and furnishes it with a landscape and topography all his own… It is mad and chaotic and exasperating and often makes no sense: but actually not quite as confusing as has been reported. Even the most garbled of moments fit approximately into the vague scheme of things, and those that don’t – those worrying rabbits – are, I guess, just part of the collateral damage occasioned by Lynch’s assault on the ordinary world. How boring the cinema would be without David Lynch, and for a long, long moment, how dull reality always seems after a Lynch movie has finished.” – Peter Bradshaw, Guardian

Genres: Surrealism, Psychological Horror, Mystery, Psychological Thriller, Experimental, Postmodernism, Psychological Drama, Hyperlink Cinema, Postmodernism, Analog Horror, Supernatural Horror

833. (-406) Danza macabra

Antonio Margheriti

AKA: Castle of Blood

1964 / Italy / 87m / Col / Gothic | IMDb
Barbara Steele, Georges Rivière, Margrete Robsahm, Arturo Dominici, Silvano Tranquilli, Sylvia Sorrente, Giovanni Cianfriglia, John Peters, Merry Powers

“One of Barbara Steele’s most impressive vehicles, and one of the cornerstones of the classic Euro Horror Renaissance (1956-66), Castle of Blood is perhaps the best film by the erratic, prolific Antonio Margheriti. A very nifty ghost turn involving a perpetual cycle of sex and murder among a quintet of libidinous ghosts, the story brings in vampiric ideas as well. Edgar Allan Poe makes an appearance as a character, which is all well considering that the story attribution to him is a complete falsification.” – Glenn Erickson, DVDTalk

835. (-300) Le pacte des loups

Christophe Gans

AKA: Brotherhood of the Wolf

2001 / France / 142m / Col / Werewolf | IMDb
Samuel Le Bihan, Vincent Cassel, Émilie Dequenne, Monica Bellucci, Jérémie Renier, Mark Dacascos, Jean Yanne, Jean-François Stévenin, Jacques Perrin, Johan Leysen

“Christophe Gans’ “Brotherhood of the Wolf” takes a colossal leap at that opportunity, melding all sorts of different genres, visual styles, scripting techniques, plot gimmicks, characterizations and story arcs like it were collecting souvenirs on a tourist’s excursion through the northern hemisphere. What’s quite remarkable about the result, at least other than the basic effort to use every element it can in 140 minutes, is how well the movie is made without seeming overly worked or lazy in the process. This isn’t a product that requires time to adapt to all the techniques tossed into the court, either, because it masters a balanced pattern almost as swiftly as the characters sail through their dialogue. It’s a stylish, smart, edgy, exciting and profoundly involving trek though familiar folklore, often better than the masses have been told and even more appealing after repeat viewings.” – David Keyes, Cinemaphile

837. (-74) 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

839. (new) The Return of the Vampire

Lew Landers

1943 / USA / 69m / BW / Vampire | IMDb
Bela Lugosi, Frieda Inescort, Nina Foch, Miles Mander, Roland Varno, Matt Willis

“The Return of the Vampire is an interesting, WWII-set take on the overdone vampire genre that gets point[s] for having a female Van Helsing character… The script, written by Randall Faye, Griffin Jay, and Kurt Neumann, doesn’t just explore the boundaries of the genre through the female protagonist; they introduce and hone a supernatural world living just below the surface of our real one. The war is raging in London, with the dropping of bombs literally unearthing the vampiric plague that could decimate the world; in essence, the war and vampirism are the same. It could be too on-the-nose, but I thought it was intriguing that the script doesn’t lie to the audience.” – Kristen Lopez, Journeys in Classic Film

841. (new) Huesera

Michelle Garza Cervera

2022 / Mexico / 97m / Col / Body Horror | IMDb
Natalia Solián, Alfonso Dosal, Mayra Batalla, Mercedes Hernández, Sonia Couoh, Aida López, Anahí Allué, Martha Claudia Moreno, Emilram Cossío, Norma Reyna

“”Huesera” falls into the subcategory of pregnancy-as-body-horror, combined with a haunted-house element that sees Val plagued by a demonic spirit that announces its presence with the cracking and snapping of bones. “Huesera” doesn’t necessarily re-invent either of those subgenres. But it does present them in a vessel that’s so artfully crafted, and filled with details that bring the characters and their relationships to such vivid life, that it accomplishes a lofty goal for genre cinema: Taking a familiar formula and turning it into a personal statement.” – Katie Rife, RogerEbert.com

Genres: Body Horror, Psychological Horror, Supernatural Horror, LGBTQ, Family Drama

843. (-27) Child’s Play 2

John Lafia

1990 / USA / 84m / Col / Slasher | IMDb
Alex Vincent, Jenny Agutter, Gerrit Graham, Christine Elise, Brad Dourif, Grace Zabriskie, Peter Haskell, Beth Grant, Greg Germann, Raymond Singer

“An inevitable sequel that’s not as good as its progenitor, but better than most movies with the numbers 2 through 8 in their titles… “2” actually gets clever at the end, when Andy (Alex Vincent) and sidekick Kyle (Christine Elise) battle Chucky in the Good Guys factory amid moving conveyor belts, hydraulic presses and molding units. As surreal as it is suspenseful, the climax may be a little too sophisticated for the genre, but it manages to lower its expectations at the last minute.” – Richard Harrington, Washington Post

Genres: Slasher, Supernatural Horror, Black Comedy, Puppetry, Evil Doll

845. (new) Trauma

Dario Argento

1993 / Italy / 106m / Col / Giallo | IMDb
Christopher Rydell, Asia Argento, Piper Laurie, Frederic Forrest, Laura Johnson, Dominique Serrand, James Russo, Ira Belgrade, Brad Dourif, Hope Alexander-Willis

“Dario Argento’s first American feature, was almost uniformly ignored or disparaged as “Americanised,” ie, cleaned up and “dumbed down.” Another adjective, unutterable but couched there in the silence, was “feminised.” The maestro had suddenly gone soft on women… The film’s issues are the stuff of female gothic and 1990s “trauma culture”: anorexia/bulimia nervosa, dysfunctional mother-daughter relationships, oppressive medical institutions, malpractice cover-ups, recovered memories, incest and false memory syndrome. The pop psychology usually left by Argento to subtext or used to wrap an already baroque finale, Trauma foregrounds and then develops in its case-study of a suicidal anorexic and a mother traumatised by the loss of her infant son.” – Linda Badley, Kinoeye

847. (new) The Green Inferno

Eli Roth

2013 / USA / 100m / Col / Cannibal | IMDb
Lorenza Izzo, Ariel Levy, Daryl Sabara, Kirby Bliss Blanton, Magda Apanowicz, Sky Ferreira, Nicolás Martínez, Aaron Burns, Ignacia Allamand, Ramón Llao

“”The Green Inferno” should be taken only as seriously as the midnight grindhouse flicks inspiring it. The movie is neither campy nor outright comical, but it is wholeheartedly intended to be delightedly demented entertainment, not a documentary commentary on hot-button topics of female genital mutilation or rainforest preservation. One can either be offended/repulsed by imagery of tribal villagers salting severed limbs and boiling a human head with an apple in its mouth or chuckle amusedly at the absurdity of it all. Those falling in the former camp should know better than to watch an Eli Roth cannibal movie in the first place.” – Ian Sedensky, Culture Crypt

849. (+140) 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

851. (+47) Das Testament des Dr. Mabuse

Fritz Lang

AKA: The Testament of Dr. Mabuse

1933 / Germany / 122m / BW / Crime | IMDb
Rudolf Klein-Rogge, Gustav Diessl, Rudolf Schündler, Oskar Höcker, Theo Lingen, Camilla Spira, Paul Henckels, Otto Wernicke, Theodor Loos, Hadrian Maria Netto

“What is perhaps most striking about Das Testament des Dr Mabuse is its scale and sophistication. Not only does it qualify as a masterpiece on artistic grounds (some of its imagery is the stuff of film legend), but it is by far and away the most ambitious dramatic thriller of its time, thanks to some extraordinary action sequences (which incudes one of cinema’s most imaginative car chases). Lang uses sound almost as effectively as he uses image to tell his story and create an unsettling mood of paranoia and anticipation.” – James Travers, French Film Site

853. (new) Ye ban ge sheng

Weibang Ma-Xu

AKA: Song at Midnight

1935 / China / 113m / BW / Drama | IMDb
Menghe Gu, Ping Hu, Shan Jin, Chau-shui Yee, Wenzhu Zhou

“Besides having a great story, Song at Midnight is also a visual treat. Ma-Xu was a not only a fan of Tod Browning’s Universal monster films, he was also an admirer of German universal_style_thumbexpressionism, most notably the works of Fritz Lang and Robert Wiene. Ma-Xu put together a film heavy with gothic atmosphere and haunting images. Ma-Xu sets the mood from the very beginning, by introducing the audience to the cobweb infested theater at night, and having a mysterious man lurking in the shadows. From that point on the scene is set and what follows truly comes from an artistic mind.” – Kimberly J.M. Wilson, 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die

855. (+44) Terror Train

Roger Spottiswoode

AKA: Train of Terror

1980 / Canada / 97m / Col / Slasher | IMDb
Ben Johnson, Jamie Lee Curtis, Hart Bochner, David Copperfield, Derek McKinnon, Sandee Currie, Timothy Webber, Anthony Sherwood, Howard Busgang, Steve Michaels

“And damn me, but I left Terror Train feeling not just satiated as one will after watching a slasher film, full but slightly queasy and aware of the imminent fact of indigestion, as after the final bite of a Big Mac with large fries; I was engaged, and delighted. It’s such a snazzy way to end what was already an irreproachably decent flick that it’s even easy to overlook that Terror Train has effectively no gore to speak of and blandly-staged killings: amazingly, when you have compelling, entertaining filmmaking on your side, you don’t need to do anything tawdry to keep things interesting.” – Tim Brayton, Antagony & Ecstasy

857. (+2) Cannibal ferox

Umberto Lenzi

AKA: Cannibal Ferox

1981 / Italy / 93m / Col / Cannibal | IMDb
Giovanni Lombardo Radice, Lorraine De Selle, Danilo Mattei, Zora Kerova, Walter Lucchini, Fiamma Maglione, Robert Kerman, John Bartha, Venantino Venantini

“Cannibal Ferox is a popcorn cannibal flick, if such a thing can exist. Sure, Lenzi throws in the “we’re the savages” type dialogue that cannibal films seemingly all have, but the focus of the film is the gore and nothing else. A lot of dialogue is cheesy in the good way and there are a handful of familiar Italian horror faces to reminisce about and try to decipher just what the hell you’d seen them in before. The score and music in the film is great fun as well and fits the tone of the film perfectly.” – Brett H., Oh, The Horror

859. (-117) Dead Silence

James Wan

2007 / USA / 89m / Col / Supernatural | 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

Genres: Supernatural Horror, Mystery, Gothic Horror, Evil Doll

861. (new) Freaky

Christopher Landon

2020 / USA / 102m / Col / Comedy | IMDb
Vince Vaughn, Kathryn Newton, Misha Osherovich, Emily Holder, Nicholas Stargel, Kelly Lamor Wilson, Mitchell Hoog, Dana Drori, Katie Finneran, Alonzo Ward

“Simplicity is the secret to “Freaky’s” success. Should you ever need a textbook example of fluid film structure, particularly for a crowd-pleasing comedic thriller, this is it. Director Christopher Landon and co-writer Michael Kennedy’s snappy script barely has an ounce of fat to slow it down or give it an unattractive bulge. Every element introduced directly services story. Side characters deceptively appear disposable in singular scenes only to bound back a second time to pay off gags you didn’t see set up. “Freaky” stays speedy with inventively gory kills staged with whiplash-inducing momentum to make them feel outrageously fantastical. Amidst a wealth of self-aware slasher savagery, the movie makes time for emotional moments that are surprisingly sweet without dampening action. Whether it’s being sassy, silly, stabby, or even sentimental, the breeziness behind “Freaky” makes the movie’s mixture an easy treat to swallow.” – Ian Sedensky, Culture Crypt

863. (new) I Saw the TV Glow

Jane Schoenbrun

2024 / USA / 100m / Col / Psychological | IMDb
Justice Smith, Brigette Lundy-Paine, Ian Foreman, Helena Howard, Lindsey Jordan, Danielle Deadwyler, Fred Durst, Conner O’Malley, Emma Portner, Madaline Riley

“Far too often, when filmmakers graduate up the ledger, they become conservative, safe, and careerist; it feels like they’re making the current film solely with the mindset of remaining at the budgetary level they’ve just attained. With “I Saw the TV Glow,” the director’s glossy follow-up to their resourcefully executed “We’re All Going to the World’s Fair,” Schoenbrun films like a director who doesn’t want to live in regret of the shot they didn’t get, the risk not taken, the leap that never left the ground. The earworm original soundtrack, exciting practical effects, intoxicating photography, and risky editing—blending together conscious and imagined worlds—are the big, adventurous swings of an undaunted filmmaker.” – Robert Daniels, RogerEbert.com

Genres: Techno-Horror, Psychological Drama, Queer Cinema, Coming-of-Age, Teen Movie, Surrealism

865. (-284) Scream 3

Wes Craven

2000 / USA / 116m / Col / Slasher | IMDb
Liev Schreiber, Beth Toussaint, Roger Jackson, Kelly Rutherford, Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, Julie Janney, Richmond Arquette, Patrick Dempsey, Lynn McRee

“Whereas any old second sequel to a slasher franchise would be more than showing its age by now, “Scream 3” is that rare case in which it is not merely here to cash in on the big bucks, but was all along planned as a trilogy. One could possibly question if this is actually true, or just an excuse by the filmmakers once the original struck pay-dirt, but “Scream 3” does a fabulous job of wrapping things up and filling in the missing pieces, all the while delivering what fans have grown accustomed to: scares, snappy dialogue, believable characters, and some sort of unique spin on the otherwise cliched formula. While “Scream 2” was the most straightforward of the series, in terms of its violence and occasionally messy plot developments, “Scream 3,” like its 1996 precursor, is a multilayered funhouse of chills that does a more than sufficient job of keeping the surprising twists coming.” – Dustin Putnam, The Movie Boy

867. (-425) Scary Movie

Keenen Ivory Wayans

2000 / USA / 88m / Col / Comedy | IMDb
Carmen Electra, Dave Sheridan, Frank B. Moore, Giacomo Baessato, Kyle Graham, Leanne Santos, Mark McConchie, Karen Kruper, Anna Faris, Jon Abrahams

“A raucous, satirical attack on slasher movies, teenage horror movies and “The Matrix.” I saw the movie, I laughed, I took notes, and now I am at a loss to write the review. All of the usual critical categories and strategies collapse in the face of a film like this… The bottom line in reviewing a movie like this is, does it work? Is it funny? Yes, it is. Not funny with the shocking impact of “Airplane!,” which had the advantage of breaking new ground. But also not a tired wheeze like some of the lesser and later Leslie Nielsen films. To get your money’s worth, you need to be familiar with the various teenage horror franchises, and if you are, “Scary Movie” delivers the goods.” – Roger Ebert, rogerebert.com

869. (+27) Mute Witness

Anthony Waller

1995 / Russia / 95m / Col / Thriller | IMDb
Marina Zudina, Fay Ripley, Evan Richards, Oleg Yankovskiy, Igor Volkov, Sergei Karlenkov, Alec Guinness, Aleksandr Pyatkov, Nikolai Pastukhov, Aleksandr Bureyev

“Mute Witness has a keen sense of geography, and the camera movement is choreographed against the positions of the actors to sustain a remarkable cinematic tension. Sudina has a keen sense of her character, too, playing Billy as determined but terrified, smart but vulnerable. Her performance, along with Waller’s sure, straightforward direction, render some of the script’s more obvious implausibilities irrelevant in favor of sharp audience identification with Billy. And when the veracity of what she saw is called into question — was the ‘murder’ she witnessed really just a clever special effect? — the audience, too, is forced to reconsider its own experience of the murder on screen.” – Bryant Frazer, Deep Focus

871. (-147) Versus

Ryûhei Kitamura

2000 / Japan / 119m / Col / Zombie | IMDb
Tak Sakaguchi, Hideo Sakaki, Chieko Misaka, Kenji Matsuda, Yuichiro Arai, Minoru Matsumoto, Kazuhito Ohba, Takehiro Katayama, Ayumi Yoshihara, Shôichirô Masumoto

“All in all, “Versus” delivers on its one basic promise: action, and tons and tons of action. This movie has, for lack of a better word, style. It is obviously a low-budget film, since there are barely any special effects of the computer variety, but many of the old-fashion practicals and gallons and gallons of fake blood variety. It’s gore at its finest, and it’s quite fine, let me assure you. Gorefiends will pray their eyes don’t fail them during the viewing.” – Beyond Hollywood

873. (new) Nekromantik 2

Jörg Buttgereit

1991 / Germany / 104m / Col / Exploitation | IMDb
Monika M., Mark Reeder, Lena Braun, Jörg Buttgereit, Carola Ewers, Astrid Ewerts, Florian Koerner von Gustorf, Käthe Kruse, Eva-Maria Kurz, Bernd Daktari Lorenz

“So while much of the dense narrative concentrates on mood and plot, Buttgereit certainly delivers on the gorehound’s expectations in the last reel for the sequence in which Monika literally swaps her boyfriend’s head for that of Rob’s. This outrageous scene easily surpasses Daktari Lorenz’s ‘climax’ in part one. And aside from the corpses and the blood and the grim atmospherics, Nekromantik 2, like its predecessor, so offers a touch of humour here and there, including the romance between Monika and Mark, and Mark’s work which sees him improvising sound effects and dubbing p*rn very badly into German.” – Horror News

875. (-19) Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare

Rachel Talalay

1991 / USA / 89m / Col / Slasher | IMDb
Robert Englund, Lisa Zane, Shon Greenblatt, Lezlie Deane, Ricky Dean Logan, Breckin Meyer, Yaphet Kotto, Tom Arnold, Roseanne Barr, Elinor Donahue

“The Nightmare movies have also, to this point, refused to take themselves too seriously, walking a line between absurd and creepy and placing a toe (or ten) on either side every once in a while. This movie goes whole hog into a tone that bordered on slapstick in more than one scene. Freddy is also back to his old self, quipping with his victims and vogueing as though he is, on some level, aware of the film audience. Even with much more history and backstory than we’ve gotten so far, this movie manages to stay squarely in the kind of territory that Nightmare does best.” – Sophie Day, Bloody Good Horror

877. (+11) The Human Centipede II (Full Sequence)

Tom Six

2011 / USA / 91m / BW / Body Horror | IMDb
Laurence R. Harvey, Ashlynn Yennie, Maddi Black, Kandace Caine, Dominic Borrelli, Lucas Hansen, Lee Nicholas Harris, Dan Burman, Daniel Jude Gennis

“If you are a true fan of horror then you will appreciate what Six is doing. If you are not you may ask why put yourself through the grinder and watch something as uncomfortable and disturbing as this? Well the answer for a horror fan is that there’s something deeply satisfying about going to the dark side, to looking as what can lurk inside a person and discover that the most terrifying thing is the darkness that can lie within the human soul. It’s also a carefully constructed work of art that makes us think about how we view violence, about how we have been lulled into numbness by horror films that sanitize violence and make it palatable so that you can walk out of a Hollywood horror film and only talk about where to go to dinner. Six wants to jolt you in order to remind you that violence in films should offend you, should upset you.” – Beth Accomando, KPBS

879. (-74) From Beyond the Grave

Kevin Connor

AKA: Tales from the Beyond

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

881. (new) Gaslight

George Cukor

AKA: Murder in Thornton Square

1944 / USA / 114m / BW / Psychological | IMDb
Charles Boyer, Ingrid Bergman, Joseph Cotten, Dame May Whitty, Angela Lansbury, Barbara Everest, Emil Rameau, Edmund Breon, Halliwell Hobbes, Tom Stevenson

“Beautifully filmed in a gloomy, atmospheric black-and-white, Gaslight exhibits all the classic visual elements of ’40s film noir. The attention to detail is more obvious than in many modern films. The benighted streets of London are cloaked with fog, and the large, lonely house where most of the action transpires is filled with shadows and strange noises. The paranoid, claustrophobic world of Paula’s confinement is effectively conveyed. Even though we, as viewers, know that her insanity is contrived, we can feel the walls of the trap closing in as the situation grows progressively more hopeless… although “tame” by today’s standards (and even by those of Hitchcock’s Psycho), Gaslight is chilling enough to engross even a jaded modern audience.” – James Berardinelli, ReelViews

883. (new) Prevenge

Alice Lowe

2016 / UK / 88m / Col / Black Comedy | IMDb
Alice Lowe, Dan Renton Skinner, Jo Hartley, Tom Davis, Leila Hoffman, Kate Dickie, Kayvan Novak, Mike Wozniak, Tom Meeten, Marc Bessant

“The star of the show is Lowe, who is able to convey fragility, confusion and downright craziness, while being eight months pregnant in real-life. In addition to incorporating an ominous visual style to her direction that complements her wry screenplay, her performance as Ruth conveys an evident conscious clash. Her imaginary conversations with her unborn daughter shows a darker side to her psyche, but she is unable to resist the urge to kill. It hints that she is compelled by the remaining part of the love she lost, and so driven by her need for him that it blinds all sense and meaning.” – Katie Smith-Wong, Flick Feast

885. (new) Cam

Daniel Goldhaber

2018 / USA / 94m / Col / Thriller | IMDb
Madeline Brewer, Patch Darragh, Melora Walters, Devin Druid, Imani Hakim, Michael Dempsey, Flora Diaz, Samantha Robinson, Jessica Parker Kennedy, Quei Tann

“Cinematographer Katelin Arizmendi fills the frame with a lush neon palate that is at once sexy and ominous. Sturdy assured direction from Daniel Goldhaber ensures that Cam will be a perfect mixture of style and substance, a hypnotic nightmare unfolding in a neon glow. Here’s a film that is seductive visually and stimulating intellectually, building its layers to further your unease. In what has shaped up to be a great year for horror, Cam stands near the top of the year’s best. It’s an engrossing, audacious work of horror filmmaking that pulls you in and keeps you captivated.” – Sean Mulvihill, FanboyNation

887. (-648) Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Tim Burton

2007 / USA / 116m / Col / Musical | IMDb
Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman, Timothy Spall, Sacha Baron Cohen, Jamie Campbell Bower, Laura Michelle Kelly, Jayne Wisener, Ed Sanders, Gracie May

“In lesser films, songs can prove to be an alienation device by emphasising the constructed artifice of the film, foregrounding the performance aspect and losing the audience’s belief in the onscreen events. Here, they fit in seamlessly as part of the cohesive and bold direction from Burton. The calibre of acting is uniformly sublime from the veteran thespians to the younger performers. Depp and Bonham Carter complement each other well as the devious couple, their sunken eyes often saying more than several pages of script. Similarly, Burton’s expressionistic landscapes also convey a great deal, with the rare flashes of bright colour serving a narrative function by transporting us into the warmer memories of Barker/Todd. They also highlight the brutal barber’s potential for compassion and good, eroded by the injustices of humanity.” – Ben Rawson-Jones, Digital Spy

889. (new) Gon-ji-am

Beom-sik Jeong

AKA: Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum

2018 / South Korea / 95m / Col / Found Footage | IMDb
Seung-Wook Lee, Ye-Won Mun, Ah-yeon Oh, Ji-Hyun Park, Sung-Hoon Park, Ha-Joon Wi

“Director Jung Bum-sik relies on the power of suggestion, the sounds of silence and the less-is-more kind of filmmaking to great effect rather than the use of jump scares, blood and gore or even actual violence. He does crib from films like The Blair Witch Project, particularly with scenes set in the dark forest, but they are still quite effective in their own right. Overall, Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum is an above-average entry in the found-footage genre. With genuine scares, a fitting cast and a strong adherence to verisimilitude from Bum-sik’s direction, it’s a haunting experience that’s bound to spook a few frights out of the audience.” – Harris Dang, easternKicks

891. (new) The Last Broadcast

Stefan Avalos & Lance Weiler

1998 / USA / 86m / Col / Found Footage | IMDb
David Beard, Jim Seward, Stefan Avalos, Lance Weiler, Rein Clabbers, Michele Pulaski, Tom Brunt, Mark Rublee, A.D. Roso, Dale Worstall

“Honestly, this film is a lot of fun. It’s a small cast and a very low budget (around $12,000 reportedly) but there’s a pleasing amount of professionalism all round. None of the actors come off as anything less than genuine. This is particularly surprising as many of the interviewees were just ordinary folk off the street. Also, the film holds the honour of being the first professional release that was completely edited on a desktop computer using consumer software… The fictitious documentary maker David Leigh perhaps gives a little bit of flat performance when he’s on camera compared to the rest of the cast but other than that the documentary is well paced and genuinely intriguing.” – Jack Thursby, Collected Cinema

893. (new) Waxwork

Anthony Hickox

1988 / USA / 95m / Col / Comedy | IMDb
Zach Galligan, Jennifer Bassey, Joe Baker, Deborah Foreman, Michelle Johnson, David Warner, Eric Brown, Clare Carey, Buckley Norris, Dana Ashbrook

“Waxwork is like a warped cross between a slasher film, featuring a group of 80s caricatures being picked off one-by-one in a strange place, and a loving homage to the classic horrors of old. Never scary in the slightest and filled with so much camp, it would make a drag queen blush, Waxwork defines the 80s comedy-horror to a tee… Nothing really makes much sense but then the film feels like a dozen films all rolled together anyway so just sit back and enjoy Waxwork, a great slice of 80s comedy-horror with a large side-order of ‘fun’ slapped into it. It’s an enjoyable cult film which is sadly hampered from total greatness by a weak plot and disappointing finale.” – Andrew Smith, Popcorn Pictures

895. (+63) And Soon the Darkness

Robert Fuest

1970 / UK / 99m / Col / Mystery | IMDb
Pamela Franklin, Michele Dotrice, Sandor Elès, John Nettleton, Clare Kelly, Hana Maria Pravda, John Franklyn, Claude Bertrand, Jean Carmet

“Half of the film’s beauty stems from is very ability on the part of both writer and director to allow the viewer to come to these conclusions themselves: nothing is explicit, and everything is ambiguous. Thus, unlike some, equally great films which more or less make the killer’s identity known from the start by leaving EXTREMELY obvious clues (Deadly Strangers, Assault, I Start Counting, Scream And Die! and Schizo all spring to mind) lying around, Clemens, Fuest and Nation really do provide us with a brainteaser, in which ANY one of the principal protagonists could be the culprit if one gives time to stop and consider it. These subtleties are further underscored by the dialogue, which is still central to the plot but sparser than one would find in many films of the period, allowing the scenery- or rather the characters’ perception of it- to tell the tale.” – Drewe Shimon, Brit Movie

897. (-297) 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

899. (-334) I Bury the Living

Albert Band

1958 / USA / 77m / BW / Thriller | IMDb
Richard Boone, Theodore Bikel, Peggy Maurer, Howard Smith, Herbert Anderson, Robert Osterloh

“I Bury the Living is an inexpensive, stark picture, but it succeeds through its dark style and its unbending, relentless pursuit of the oddly imaginative, yet simple premise. The entire action of the movie takes place in only a few rooms and in a small portion of the cemetery. This combined with the fact that the majority of the scenes of tension take place in the small, dingy caretaker’s office intensify the picture’s claustrophobic, paranoid, almost surreal edge.” – Josh Hickman, Film Threat