What a cool, varied set of lists! This is why I love horror films so much: we all have our own specific tastes and niche interests in the genre, but the very fact that horror is a thing brings us all together. And these lists have made me rethink a lot of my favorite entries. And reminded me to rewatch some of these. Case in point: LET THE RIGHT ONE IN. I really dug this when it premiered at the 2008 INCREDIBLE 2-HEADED MARATHON, but for some reason I haven't watched it again in the intervening years. So my sense memory isn't strong enough to place it in my Top 10. But geez, now that I'm going to go back to it soon, I might just change my mind. I also really enjoyed LET ME IN; it's one of the few faithful remakes I've seen that still feels fresh and intriguing (due in large part to the excellent cast....I have rule that Richard Jenkins makes any film better....which is also one of the reasons I adore THE CABIN IN THE WOODS). Although it's similar enough that bookending a Marathon with both films might be overkill. Of course, I'm also the guy who booked THE SATANIST, soooooo.....
In his excellent film-centric podcast, AMERICAN PSYCHO author Bret Easton Ellis often discusses the state of modern horror, and the plague of hyper-exposition that's befallen it. More and more, it seems like horror films (especially mainstream studio fare) rely far too much on explaining every motivation, origin point, and nook and cranny of the terrors they present. Rob Zombie's HALLOWEEN is a classic case. I actually enjoyed parts of it, but the beauty of Carpenter's original is that Michael Myers cannot be explained. He's the boogeyman incarnate, and that's what makes him so terrifying, even all these years later.
Likely to absolutely no one's surprise, I subscribe to this theory of horror in my favorite 21st century genre flicks. Most of the ones that have stuck with me rely on mood and atmosphere over pure plot mechanics. In fact, very often the plot mechanics are completely thrown out the window.
So without any further ado, here's my Top 10 in reverse order, preceded by my Honorable Mentions (and trust me, some of these were tough to leave off the main list.)
HONORABLE MENTION (in no particular order)
AMERICAN PSYCHO SESSION 9 CRIMSON PEAK -Agreed with notworldsfinest: this is a vastly underrated throwback to the Gothic horror films of yesteryear. Even though none of his films cracked my Top 10, I dearly love Guillermo del Toro's canon. The manner in which he crafts these beautiful, intricately woven cinematic worlds is often breathtaking. DIARY OF THE DEAD -Easily my favorite George Romero film since DAY OF THE DEAD, a low budget return to the primal fear of his older films. LET THE RIGHT ONE IN ANTICHRIST THE DESCENT -This was soooooo close to making the Top 10. We've been meaning to bring it to the Horror Marathon for some time now. 28 DAYS LATER BLACK SWAN -Again, agreed with notworldsfinest on all counts. Just an amazingly wrenching emotional experience, and a total balls to the wall, burn down the house performance by Natalie Portman. This is the film that Dario Argento would be making right now if his career hadn't gone into terminal decline. DETENTION -Anyone else seen Joseph Kahn's insane genre mash-up? It's great fun, and I've often thought of sneaking it into the lineup one of these years. BERBERIAN SOUND STUDIO THE HILLS HAVE EYES (Aja remake) SLITHER -Just to show you that its infamous cancellations have nothing to do with my love for it. SINISTER THE CONJURING A GIRL WALKS HOME ALONE AT NIGHT HOUSEBOUND Gareth Evans's "Safe Haven" episode of V/H/S 2, which might be one of my favorite horror shorts of all time.
THE TOP 10
10. YOU’RE NEXT -For the very reasons that others here have stated. Seeing it on opening day with five other people was great fun. Seeing it with what turned out to be an unsuspecting Nightmarathoid audience two years ago was a transcendent experience.
9. THE HOUSE OF THE DEVIL -I love the loose confederacy of directors and actors (Adam Wingard, Joe Swanberg, Ti West, AJ Bowen, Amy Seimetz, etc.) that have created this, YOU'RE NEXT, THE SACRAMENT, etc. I only hope that they stay with the genre in some manner as their careers progress. West's directorial breakthrough is such a vivid evocation of an analog era in which so much more was unknown, and in which some of those bumps in the night could be the real thing. A master class in filmmaking, with a relatively simple story shot to the moon by the stylistic bravado herein.
8. THE LORDS OF SALEM -Yeah, I know, I still get guff for defending Rob Zombie. And his other films have their notable flaws. But this remains for me the most fully realizes expression of his obsessions, as he abandons the overly heavy narrative of his other films for a dreamlike meditation on losing one's identity in the face of what might just be the supernatural evil you've been trained not to take seriously.
7. KILL LIST -An absolutely nerve-shredding experience in mounting dread, and a timely story of what economic ruin will do to someone (and by extension, will do to a society.) You know from the start that things are going to go so very wrong, but Ben Wheatley continues to crank up the tension to an unbearable level anyway.
6. SHAUN OF THE DEAD -Again, I'm in agreement with everyone here. The rare horror comedy that is both loving tribute and genuinely dramatically satisfying.
5. IRREVERSIBLE/MARTYRS/A SERBIAN FILM -I've explained in the past how the convergence of these three films at consecutive Horror Marathons was more the product of circumstance than of any supposed preoccupation I had with extreme horror. That being said, I'm still a firm believer that the horror genre has to actually, ya know, horrify and be dangerous and verboten to remain vital. All three of these titles made me feel deeply uneasy, and all three hit me emotionally in ways I never expected. And I'd argue that all three are also major stylistic achievements in their own ways.
4. INLAND EMPIRE -Ya know who scares me? David Lynch scares me. He's one of my all-time favorite directors, and even though he's never been associated with traditional horror, the manner in which he evokes a nightmare logic is definitely of the genre. There are so many moments in the TWIN PEAKS canon that still give me chills (the Red Room sequences, Killer BOB crawling over the couch, that mind-bending final episode of Season 2), ERASERHEAD is one of the most fully realizes screen nightmares, LOST HIGHWAY is like watching someone being turned inside out for two hours, and even BLUE VELVET is utterly terrifying in parts. INLAND EMPIRE might be the final traditional feature film he ever directs, and though I rarely see it associated with the horror genre, there are so many moments therein that feel like I'm just thaaaaat far from passing over into whatever dimension of grotesque fear is on the other side of reality, a short distance away from our daily lives. It's long, and strange, and difficult, and sometimes impenetrable. But I'll be damned if it doesn't haunt me to this day.
3. THE CABIN IN THE WOODS -For all the reasons listed in this thread.
2. THE STRANGE COLOR OF YOUR BODY’S TEARS -When I first saw this at the 2014 SHOCK AROUND THE CLOCK, I really enjoyed the cut of its jib, even as fatigue made it just a bit difficult to fully process every twist and turn. When I rewatched it on video last year, it completely blew me away, so much so that this might now be one of my all-time favorite horror films. Helene Cattet and Bruno Forzani abandon most any semblance of plot to focus on some of the most primal human (and mostly male) fears and neuroses in this hazy, psychedelic, giallo-inspired headtrip of a film. I'm getting excited to watch it again just as I type these words.
1. IT FOLLOWS -And speaking of all-time favorites........ya know, if there's anything that this thread has proven, it's that art is a highly personal matter. What may seem ridiculous and snore-inducing to one person can be the thrill of a lifetime for another. And it's not always easy to explain why. So it is with IT FOLLOWS. I've seen this three times now: once on a Japanese bootleg on my computer, once at SHOCK AROUND THE CLOCK, and once on Blu-Ray on a big screen TV. Each time, I've fallen ever more in love with David Robert Mitchell's haunting, harrowing, horror tone poem. It evokes the mystery and melancholic power of Halloween for me better than any film since....well, HALLOWEEN. The amazing score by Disasterpiece reminds me of a time when the mysteries of life were both frightening and fascinating, which is appropriate given that IT FOLLOWS largely derives its power from that most universal of themes: the often frightening transition from adolescence to adulthood. And there's the prowling camerwork, and the ambiguously timeless setting, and the bone dry humor, and the shell e-reader, and the classic movie theater, and......well, yeah, you can see what I mean. I never thought I'd say it two years ago, but IT FOLLOWS is hands down in my all-time Top 10, and is a work of art that I continue to find new ways to love.
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