A "Best Of" list from all the movies I have reviewed
Better than all the rest
Greetings fellow horror fans. Have you missed me? I sure missed you. I know I posted back in January that I was going to post a few more things, but life always manages to get in the way. To make up for my lack of posting, here is my "Best Of" list where I break down some of my favorite movies from the past year. If you think I should add another genre or missed out of something, leave me a comment. I'll be doing a "Worst Of" list soon as well. Hopefully it won't take me four months to get to like this post.
Zombie Movie (Romero)
George Romero sure does love his zombie
movies. Most people split them up into two categories: The original
“...Of The Dead” trilogy of Night, Dawn, and Day and then the
recent trilogy of Land, Diary, and Survival. Most would agree that
the second trilogy is far inferior to the first three movies. Each of
those movies have their moments, but they have too many flaws to even
be mentioned in the same breath as the original trilogy. While Night
and Day are both entertaining, Dawn Of The Dead is really head and
shoulders above the rest. The action starts off right away, the
characters are good, and the violence is great. The movie really
picks up when they get to the mall, fulfilling the audience's fantasy
of doing whatever they want. As is common with Romero's other movies,
Dawn has a lot of smart social commentary and really positions people
as the real monster.
Runner-Up: Night Of The Living Dead
Zombie Movie (non-Romero)
Pontypool really caught me by surprise.
I watched the movie on a whim with no prior knowledge. I saw no
trailers, read no reviews. I hadn't even heard of it until I started
watching. It's a smart zombie movie that is also incredibly scary.
While it may not have as much blood or violence as your typical
zombie movie, it stays true to the basic tenets of zombie horror.
There is a true sense of panic and utter hopelessness as the movie
progresses. I also appreciated that the zombies come about not
because of radiation or the dead coming back to life, but because of
“infected” words that change people. It's abstract and unique,
yet still plausible.
Runner-Up: Exit Humanity
Vampire Movie
Despite almost half the movie having no vampires, From Dusk Till Dawn is still an incredibly entertaining vampire movie. It doesn't hurt that the cast includes George Clooney, Harvey Keitel, Juliette Lewis, Quentin Tarantino, and a bikini-clad Salma Hayek. The movie has equal parts action, suspense, and horror, all of which make for an incredibly fun watch. It's over-the-top entertainment thanks to the great performances and director Robert Rodriguez's incredible eye for action.
Runner-Up: John Carpenter's Vampires
Werewolf Movie
Director John Landis manages to create
a werewolf movie that is both scary and funny. The movie is best
known for it's werewolf transformation scene. Unlike previous movies,
the transformation takes place in clear light for an extended period.
Thanks to incredible special effects, the audience practically feel
the pain of the transformation as well. It's your traditional
werewolf movie, but thanks to good acting and solid direction, An
American Werewolf In London is a great watch.
Runner-Up: Ginger Snaps
Monster Movie
The Host is fashioned after the classic
Godzilla movies from Japan. The movie has plenty of emotion and lots
of social and environmental commentary. The monster itself looks very
good thanks to some great special effects work. The characters are
all likable and relatable. Thankfully the movie is in it's native
Korean and not dubbed. It's a little long, but it's worth it.
Runner-Up: Monster Brawl
Foreign Movie
Frontier(s) came out of nowhere for me.
I had never heard of it before and decided to watch it on a whim. It
is shockingly violent, but does not rely on gore alone. It's brutal,
grim, and gritty, and not for everyone. The sets and natural
locations both look very good and transport the viewer to another
place, fully enveloping them in horror.
Found Footage Movie
Cloverfield manages to put the audience
directly in the path of a gigantic monster. The movie uses Manhattan
to it's advantage with scenes on bridges, on the streets, and in
subways. You really feel like you're right there with the characters.
There's even a decent love story thrown in for good measure. The
monster looks great and some great camera work makes Cloverfield more
than just another shaky-cam headache-a-thon.
Runner-Up: Quarantine
Favorite Slasher Movie
I have a special
love for Satan's Little Helper. It's cheap, simple, and occasionally
stupid, but it's still incredibly fun. The mask for “Satan” looks
great and I love that we never see the killer's face. Technically,
we're not even sure of the killer's true identity. The ending manages
to be both scary and depressing, a high accomplishment for a
lesser-known movie. While it might not make it on many (or any)
lists, I enjoyed it immensely and have given it multiple views.
Runner-Up: Halloween
Favorite Universal Monster
The classic story is full of horror,
romance, and romantic horror. Bela Lugosi is the one and only Dracula
and everyone else after him is just holding his place until he
inevitably rises from the grave once more. The movie is over 80 years
old and hasn't lost anything to time or changing trends. The movie is
drenched in shadow giving it an unshakable creepiness that stands to
this day.
Runner-Up: Frankenstein
Favorite Horror Comedy
It's Mel Brooks and Leslie Nielsen.
What more could you want? The movie stays pretty true to the Dracula
story, but still manages to cram in loads of laughs. While it may not
be Brooks' best movie, it's still far better than any sort of “spoof”
movie that has come out in the past twenty years. Comedy doesn't always work in horror, but Mel Brooks manages to do the impossible.
Runner-Up: Suck
Favorite Satanic Movie
I don't know why, but something about
this movie legitimately scared me the first time I watched it. The
slow descent of the outside world, the race against time, and the
supernatural elements all work together to create something awkward
and unsettling. We only see the arm of the Prince of Darkness and it
still manages to be frightening. An unsung gem by John Carpenter.
Runner-Up: The Omen
Favorite Stephen King Movie
Misery is scary because it is very
real. There's no supernatural elements, no aliens, no magic powers.
Just a man trapped in a room with a psychopath. The real praise goes
to James Caan and Kathy Bates who put in award-winning caliber
performances. Director Rob Reiner does a great job giving us both
thrills and chills. Misery proves that you don't need wild stories
and fantasy to make good horror. Sometimes a person is the scariest
monster.
Runner-Up: The Shining
Favorite Sci-Fi Horror Movie
One of my all-time favorite movies.
What can be scarier than an alien creature that can look like
anything? An alien creature that can look like hideous twister
monsters. Thanks to some great special effects, we see a monster
straight out of our nightmares. The movie has plenty of mystery,
action, suspense and horror. Kurt Russel is great as well as the rest
of the supporting cast. One of John Carpenter's best.
Runner-Up: The Fly
Favorite Horror Anthology
When you combine two great horror minds
like Stephen King and George Romero, you know you're in for a good
time. Each story in Creepshow is highly enjoyable and could stand on
it's own as a full-length. There are great performances from a myriad
of talented actors that aren't necessarily synonymous with horror.
People like Leslie Nielsen, Ted Danson, Ed Harris, Adrienne Barbeau,
Hal Holbrook, and even Stephen King himself make the movie that much
more enjoyable. The stories are all different and avoid falling into
the usual horror cliches. Highly recommended.
Runner-Up: Trick R Treat
Favorite Masters Of Horror
This was the one Masters of Horror
episode that actually gave me the chills. I actually regret reviewing
it so early because I feel like I probably missed some things. I
really like everything about this movie; from the concept, to the
acting, to the execution. Everything about it is as good as it is
terrifying. The idea of a haunted video isn't new (The Ring anyone?),
but once we actually see clips of said-haunted movie, everything
becomes that much more terrifying. This could easily have been a
full-length movie and could have even become a new horror classic.
Runner-Up: Family
Favorite Remake
The Crazies took a decent, if somewhat
forgettable, George Romero horror movie and improved on it in just
about every way. It manages to achieve both reasons for remaking a
movie: Exposing the audience to something they might not have
originally scene and making it better. The movie has lots of great
action and some good scares. There are some memorable scenes and some
pretty good acting that help the story along. I'm not the biggest fan
of remakes, but The Crazies gives me hope for future ones.
Runner-Up: Fright Night
Most Shocking Moment
Wow! This scene completely and utterly
shocked me when I saw it. I was literally on the edge of my seat as I
saw a woman pulled closer and closer to a piece of broken wood.
Movies tend to cut away, leaving the brutal violence to the
audience's imagination. Zombi stays with the scene, showing exactly
what happens when the human eye meets something sharp. Here is the scene if you are morbidly curious.
Runner-Up: The “hobbling” scene
from Misery
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