#1- Trick r' Treat- Yes I know, this movie was made a few years ago, and other horror sites named it as one of their best back then, but it wasn't released until this year, so shush. I can't remember the last time that a horror flick captured me, enraptured me, and left me wanting more, more, more like
TrT did. Don't just take my word for it either; everyone in the club, and everyone that they made watch it, raved about it just as much.
TrT captured the essence of
Halloween and all of its atmosphere, and took us on a clever and near perfect journey through it all.
I don't know that I've ever seen a movie that captured the spirit and atmosphere of Halloween this well, and it instantly becomes mandatory yearly watching for the creepy month of October. I hesitate to give a movie a 10/10 score, because to me that implies a sort of perfection, but after watching this movie, I had no other choice. Ignore the few internet naysayers that will say "it was OK" or "it didn't come close to living up to the hype", and own this movie. Own it and love it. Unless of course you don't like awesomeness, then feel free to ignore this one altogether.
#2- Zombieland-
I have one thing to say, and one thing only: any movie that plays For Whom the Bell Tolls over the opening credits is aces in my book. Ok I lied, I have more to say... This movie is fun as hell and, aside from the annoying actions of the main chicks throughout most of the movie, is easily one of the best of the year. Woody Harrelson is brilliant as Tallahassee, the zombie-ass kicking southern boy with a penchant for awesome one liners. I mean no disservice to the other actors in the movie, but he carried this one on his back, and even pressed it over his head a few times. Everyone else performed admirably too, but Woody definitely stole the thunder. As horror comedies go (especially of the zombie variety), dare I say this is better than Shaun of the Dead? That's totally up for debate but it is absolutely as good, if different, and I can only pray that we get a sequel at some point. See it, and if you already have, see it again.
#3- The Children- The best creepy kid movie I've seen in ages belongs to the British.
Dread and unease permeate this movie and never really seem to let up, and are eventually joined by some vicious violence and gore; when mixed together, they basically have a square dance on your nuts until you end up hiding in your closet and crying like a small child. Ok, I may be exaggerating just a bit, but this is one taxing movie, and that's no joke. This movie is profoundly disturbing, and left me feeling a bit numb at the end. Only bits and pieces of the reasons for the children turning on their parents are given to us, and maybe that's the worst part. Actually, the worst part is probably the fact that 6 and 7 year old kids are hell bent on killing their parents. The ending was one of the best I've seen in quite a while too. It came out of nowhere, and chilled me to the bone. It also left me with questions which I wish I had definitive answers too, but hey, at least it made me think.
#4- Drag Me To Hell- A return to horror form for
Sam Raimi,
Drag Me to Hell is jsut a hell of a lot of fun to experience. I love the dry wit on display here, as too many
Hollywood horror flicks seem to forget to be fun these days; the "we used to have a cat" bit kills me every time I see it. The look on
Alison Lohman's face is just priceless. Even the ending goes against popular convention in some ways, which I loved.
This movie definitely reminds me of campy 80's horror; It's fairly linear, over the top, a bit tongue in cheek, creepy, gross, tension filled, and we know exactly where it's going and we can't wait to get there with it... or rather for the movie to take us there. Aside from "the fire dance" and one obvious plot twist (you'll see it coming from miles away), this movie made me smile the whole way through. Unfortunately, it didn't kill at the box office as I had hoped it would, but it looks really good on
Blu-ray. If you haven't seen it yet, go grab a copy on
DVD or add it to your
Netflix que now. I promise it's fun.
#5- District 9- This one really isn't a horror movie per-se, but as a genre picture it has to be counted on even horror lists as one of the years best. What
Peter Jackson and
Neill Blomkamp pulled off here with the tiny budget of around $30 million is nothing short of pure genius. Gorgeous, action packed, bloody, messy, and engrossing,
D-9 reminded me that sometimes the good guys can win, and that smart, well made movies can stand far above their dumber, more expensive popcorn flick brethren, and shine brightly. Heart and soul count, and this is one crazy movie that delivers those goods while kicking your ass at the same time.
#1- Trick r' Treat- Yes I know, this movie was made a few years ago, and other horror sites named it as one of their best back then, but it wasn't released until this year, so shush. I can't remember the last time that a horror flick captured me, enraptured me, and left me wanting more, more, more like TrT did. Don't just take my word for it either; everyone in the club, and everyone that they made watch it, raved about it just as much. TrT captured the essence of Halloween and all of its atmosphere, and took us on a clever and near perfect journey through it all. I don't know that I've ever seen a movie that captured the spirit and atmosphere of Halloween this well, and it instantly becomes mandatory yearly watching for the creepy month of October. I hesitate to give a movie a 10/10 score, because to me that implies a sort of perfection, but after watching this movie, I had no other choice. Ignore the few internet naysayers that will say "it was OK" or "it didn't come close to living up to the hype", and own this movie. Own it and love it. Unless of course you don't like awesomeness, then feel free to ignore this one altogether.
#2- Zombieland- I have one thing to say, and one thing only: any movie that plays For Whom the Bell Tolls over the opening credits is aces in my book. Ok I lied, I have more to say... This movie is fun as hell and, aside from the annoying actions of the main chicks throughout most of the movie, is easily one of the best of the year. Woody Harrelson is brilliant as Tallahassee, the zombie-ass kicking southern boy with a penchant for awesome one liners. I mean no disservice to the other actors in the movie, but he carried this one on his back, and even pressed it over his head a few times. Everyone else performed admirably too, but Woody definitely stole the thunder. As horror comedies go (especially of the zombie variety), dare I say this is better than Shaun of the Dead? That's totally up for debate but it is absolutely as good, if different, and I can only pray that we get a sequel at some point. See it, and if you already have, see it again.
#3- The Children- The best creepy kid movie I've seen in ages belongs to the British. Dread and unease permeate this movie and never really seem to let up, and are eventually joined by some vicious violence and gore; when mixed together, they basically have a square dance on your nuts until you end up hiding in your closet and crying like a small child. Ok, I may be exaggerating just a bit, but this is one taxing movie, and that's no joke. This movie is profoundly disturbing, and left me feeling a bit numb at the end. Only bits and pieces of the reasons for the children turning on their parents are given to us, and maybe that's the worst part. Actually, the worst part is probably the fact that 6 and 7 year old kids are hell bent on killing their parents. The ending was one of the best I've seen in quite a while too. It came out of nowhere, and chilled me to the bone. It also left me with questions which I wish I had definitive answers too, but hey, at least it made me think.
#4- Drag Me To Hell- A return to horror form for Sam Raimi, Drag Me to Hell is jsut a hell of a lot of fun to experience. I love the dry wit on display here, as too many Hollywood horror flicks seem to forget to be fun these days; the "we used to have a cat" bit kills me every time I see it. The look on Alison Lohman's face is just priceless. Even the ending goes against popular convention in some ways, which I loved. This movie definitely reminds me of campy 80's horror; It's fairly linear, over the top, a bit tongue in cheek, creepy, gross, tension filled, and we know exactly where it's going and we can't wait to get there with it... or rather for the movie to take us there. Aside from "the fire dance" and one obvious plot twist (you'll see it coming from miles away), this movie made me smile the whole way through. Unfortunately, it didn't kill at the box office as I had hoped it would, but it looks really good on Blu-ray. If you haven't seen it yet, go grab a copy on DVD or add it to your Netflix que now. I promise it's fun.
#5- District 9- This one really isn't a horror movie per-se, but as a genre picture it has to be counted on even horror lists as one of the years best. What Peter Jackson and Neill Blomkamp pulled off here with the tiny budget of around $30 million is nothing short of pure genius. Gorgeous, action packed, bloody, messy, and engrossing, D-9 reminded me that sometimes the good guys can win, and that smart, well made movies can stand far above their dumber, more expensive popcorn flick brethren, and shine brightly. Heart and soul count, and this is one crazy movie that delivers those goods while kicking your ass at the same time.
