The Year in Review: The Best Horror Films of 2015 (Honorable Mentions)

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2015, All Hallows' Eve 2, Best of 2015, cinema, Circle, Deep Dark, Digging Up the Marrow, Extinction, film reviews, films, horror, horror films, horror movies, Knock Knock, Last Shift, Lost After Dark, Love in the Time of Monsters, Movies, personal opinions, Pod, Spring, Stung, Suburban Gothic, The Gift, The Midnight Swim, Wyrmwood: Road of the Dead, Zombeavers

Just how good was the “Year in Horror,” circa 2015? It was so good, dear friends and readers, that your humble host had to compile a whole separate listing to contain all of the amazing films that just missed the “Best of” by this much (you can’t see it but it’s about a centimeter, give or take). In any other year, any or every one of these little gems might have made the big list: hell, once all is said and done, I’m sure I’ll second-guess at least a few of these and kick myself, anyway.

With no further ado, then (and in no particular order whatsoever), I present the seventeen runner-ups to Best Horror Films of 2015. If the “Best Ofs” are Rolls Royces, these are Jaguars. In other words, you just can’t go wrong taking any of ’em out for a spin.

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Love in the Time of Monsters — Pure fun from start to finish, this is one of the most unabashed good times I had watching a film all year. Full of endearing, quirky characters, a really great concept (the people who play Sasquatch at a Bigfoot-themed tourist trap are turned into murderous monsters by toxic waste), some great, gory special effects and one of the most kickass finales in some time, this isn’t perfect but it’s pretty darn awesome, nonetheless.

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Pod — Claustrophobic, endlessly tense and with a genuinely smart pay-off, the only thing that holds Pod back from neo-classic status are a set of performances that are slightly too intense and shouty for their own good. When the film is focused on the creeping, oppressive atmosphere and the question of just what, exactly, is down in the basement, there were few films that got under my skin quite like this.

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Last Shift — Full disclosure: I absolutely loathed the last film I saw by writer-director Anthony DiBlasi, the patently terrible Clive Barker adaptation, Dread. Combined with the truly terrible cover art for his newest, Last Shift, I had absolutely no interest in seeing the film whatsoever. Good thing I choked back my bias, however, because Last Shift isn’t just a good film: it’s an absolutely great one. Barring the stereotypical and cliched finale, everything about this film is a master study in minimal effort for maximum unease. Think of it as a ruthlessly slow-burning variant on Assault on Precinct 13 (kinda sorta) and that’ll get you close enough. I’m not to proud to say when I’m wrong: sorry, Anthony D…this was a keeper.

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The Gift — Not strictly a horror film but close enough for government work, actor-writer Joel Edgerton’s directorial debut is, hands-down, one of the subtlest, meanest and most uncompromising films of the year. Based on the idea that we’re only ever a stones’ throw from the sins of our past, The Gift features a trio of razor-sharp performances (Bateman, playing completely against type, is utterly magnificent) and the kind of twist that used to be Shyamalan’s stock in trade. This is psychological horror of the highest caliber and destined for classic status, down the road.

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Knock Knock — This one completely surprised me. While Knock Knock features the usual tonal shifts, inappropriate humor and “thinking bro observations” that are endemic to Eli Roth’s entire filmography, there’s something about this sneaky little gem that sank its hooks into me and wouldn’t let go. Come for the sick head-games, screwy gender politics and shocking level of restraint (suffice to say, this is the first Roth film that doesn’t feature copious gore) but do stay for the scene where poor Keanu discusses, in detail, his inability to turn down free pizza. This should have been completely wretched but, somehow, ended up being pretty good. Surprise, surprise.

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Digging Up the Marrow — In a true gift to genre fans, writer-director Adam Green (the mastermind behind the Hatchet franchise and under-rated “stuck on a ski-lift” epic, Frozen) teamed up with renowned monster illustrator Alex Pardee and the results are some of the flat-out coolest, creepiest and most awe-inspiring, diverse monsters to hit the silver screen since Clive Barker’s Nightbreed took us to Midian. The story, itself, is pretty meta for this type of thing: Green (playing himself) is invited by the always amazing Ray Wise (not playing himself) to check out some honest to goodness monsters. Things, as expected, don’t go well. More monsters on screen would have pushed this into the next echelon but what’s here is pretty damn unforgettable.

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Lost After Dark — In a genre where throwbacks to previous eras have become not only more popular but virtually expected, finding a new horror film that apes a ’70s or ’80s horror film really isn’t that hard. Finding one with the consistent quality, high production values and subtle wit of Lost After Dark, however, isn’t quite so easy. While writer-director Ian Kessner doesn’t do anything radically different, he does manage to nail all of the stylistic quirks of his intended homage, all while conducting things with a modicum more seriousness and less meta tongue-in-cheek than we usually get. If Lost After Dark really were an ’80s film, I’m pretty sure we’d be seeing homages to it right around this time.

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Extinction — Like Lost After Dark, Extinction doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel but, instead, doubles-down on what makes its particular sub-genre (zombie films) such an intrinsic part of our horror-loving culture. The performances are solid (Burn Notice’s Jeffrey Donovan is particularly good), the twists and revelations come across as fairly organic and the whole “zombie outbreak in a frozen wasteland” scenario is explored to good effect. Is this one of the best zombie films ever? Not even close. Was it the best zombie film of 2015? Maybe.

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Stung — Going in, I expected this to be another silly, over-the-top horror-comedy: after all, caterers standing as the last line of defense between a mob of giant, mutant wasps and the sniveling local aristocracy at a posh garden party sounds like the kind of thing that could, troublingly, be dubbed “zany.” Imagine my surprise and delight, then, when Stung turned out to be much more serious than that. Essentially an old-fashioned “giant insect” film with deft touches of pitch-black humor, this was just about a grand slam. Fantastic creature effects (easily in the Top 5 of this year), fun performances (Lance Henriksen gets a nice bit as the elderly, tough-as-nails mayor), some really great setpieces and some genuinely smart tweaks to convention (suffice to say there’s more than a little bit of Cronenbergian body horror here) make this an easy recommendation.

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Zombeavers — In a year with more top-notch horror-comedies than you could shake a funny bone at, Zombeavers wasn’t the creme de la creme but it still held its own. With an intriguingly gonzo premise (mutant, zombified beavers attack partying young people, all hell breaks loose), an all-in cast, some fairly outrageous gore effects and a helluva lot of impolite, politically-incorrect humor (the bit where the “wild girl” doffs her top, for no reason, only to be chided by a stereotypical backwoods yokel for making a spectacle of herself is but one example of the filmmakers biting the hand that feeds), Zombeavers is pretty much the perfect party film. Silly, funny but distinctly horror-minded, Zombeavers is one horror-comedy with real teeth.

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The Midnight Swim — Beautifully made, expertly acted and genuinely unsettling, writer-director Sarah Adina Smith’s The Midnight Swim was one of the most thought-provoking films I screened all year. This is a subtle film, certainly more sororal relationship drama than hard-core fright film. Look closer, however, and you’ll see that the concepts being discussed here (loss of the self, life after death, the dark mysteries of bottomless bodies of water) are the same sort of things explored in plenty of more “traditional” horror films. While those looking for gore and explosions should keep walking, anyone with a thirst for genuinely smart, evocative cinema should have no problem diving into the deep end.

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Suburban Gothic — Essentially a lesser version of Peter Jackson’s superior The Frighteners or Gerard Johnstone’s far superior Housebound (or a much, much better version of the inept Odd Thomas, if you prefer), Suburban Gothic stars Criminal Minds’ Matthew Gray Gubler as a grown man who moves back into his parents’ house and immediately begins seeing spooky things. Kat Dennings and Gubler make a fairly cute couple, Ray Wise is typically excellent as Gubler’s hateful, racist dad and the whole thing has a light-hearted feel that makes it endlessly breezy and rather pleasant. Barring a few scenes of extraordinarily stupid physical comedy, this was definitely a sleeper.

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Spring — Of the two indie-romance-inspired “guy dates a monster” films that were released in 2015 (the much more problematic Honeymoon being the other), Spring is definitely the better one. Featuring strong performances from both Lou Taylor Pucci and Nadia Hilker, great use of the picturesque Italian countryside and a decidedly Lovecraftian bent, this metaphor for the joys and terrors of new relationships is appropriately icky, when necessary, while also managing to be genuinely heartfelt and emotionally resonant. Small surprise that this is from Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead, the filmmakers behind the stunning Resolution and two of the most promising new filmmakers out there.

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All Hallows’ Eve 2 — One of the biggest surprises of the whole year for me, All Hallows’ Eve 2 was the equivalent of finding a golden ticket in my Wonka Bar. While I genuinely liked and respected the ultra-gory, no budget original film, nothing about this more polished and expensive follow-up inspired early confidence. Turns out I was wrong, however, since this modest little anthology ended up being one of the best I’ve seen in the past few years. While nowhere near the feral insanity of the original, this is still a rock-solid horror film with plenty of good ideas and no shortage of red stuff for the gorehounds. It’s no Trick ‘r Treat, mind you, but really…what is?

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Wyrmwood: Road of the Dead — Gleefully bonkers, this outrageous splatter film manages to deliver just what the cover promises: Mad Max meets Dawn of the Dead. Detailing one badass mofo’s trek across the zombie-ravaged Australian Outback, in search of his sister (kidnapped by mad scientists), while wearing homemade armor, there really aren’t a lot of films like this out there. Although the film is frequently quite funny (Leon Burchill provides excellent comic support as the sassy Aborigine sidekick), it’s actually more of a straight-forward horror/action flick than the synopsis might make it sound. While the exterior scenes provide plenty of tension, it’s the sweaty, claustrophobic sequences in the scientist’s lair that pack the biggest punch.

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Circle — With a simple concept, obviously low budget, largely unknown cast and lack of unnecessary backstory, Aaron Hann and Mario Miscione’s Circle instantly recalls another sci-fi sleeper: Vincenzo Natali’s classic Cube. Like Cube, Circle is a film that purposely keeps the audience off balance, wondering just what the hell is happening onscreen. By the time we get the full story, the film is already rolling the final credits, which is just the way it should be. Smart, economical and legitimately fascinating, I have a sneaking suspicion that Circle will enjoy the same favored status as Cube in the next decade or so. I went in expecting nothing and was completely blown away: that’s the definition of a nice surprise.

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Deep Dark — This year saw the release of two excellent films about sad sack losers receiving life advice from holes in their grimy apartment walls (if this baffles you, we obviously don’t run in the same circles): we’ll get to Motivational Growth later (I know, I know…”spoiler alert”)…Deep Dark is the other one. Although I prefer the batshit insanity of Motivational Growth, that has less to do with the quality of Michael Medaglia’s Deep Dark than it does with my personal sensibilities. Needless to say, if Motivational Growth wouldn’t have dropped this year, I’m pretty sure that Deep Dark would’ve got called up to the majors. This dark fable of a starving artist who seeks inspiration from a strange, fleshy hole in his apartment wall features blood-spraying art mobiles, man-on-wall sex and that all important warning: be careful what you wish for. Indeed.

 

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The Best of the 31 Days of Halloween (2015 Edition)

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31 Days of Halloween, A Christmas Horror Story, All Hallows' Eve 2, Asylum Blackout, Best of 2015, Bone Tomahawk, cinema, Circle, Cooties, Curse of Chucky, Deathgasm, favorite films, film reviews, films, Gravy, Halloween, Halloween traditions, horror, horror films, Lost After Dark, Love in the Time of Monsters, Movies, October, personal opinions, Tales of Halloween, The American Scream, The Boy, The Final Girls, The Houses October Built, The Midnight Swim, The Nightmare, We Are Still Here, What We Do in the Shadows

In the spirit of completion, I now offer my list of the very best films that I screened during this year’s 31 Days of Halloween. For purposes of this list, I’ve excluded any films that were screened in previous years (otherwise, American Mary and Trick ‘r Treat would become the equivalent of political incumbents). Since some of these were slightly older films that I was seeing for the first time, I’ve lumped them in with the 2015 films: I’ll separate everything out once I put together my Best of 2015 write-up, however.

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The Best of the 31 Days of Halloween (2015 Edition)

(in no particular order)

There’s one very good reason why this list is in no particular order: in most cases, it would be like trying to choose your favorite child at gunpoint. Whether it was a fistful of some of the best horror-comedies I’d ever seen, two of the most kickass anthology films ever created , the best horror Western in ages (forever?) or one of the most gripping, disturbing examinations of young evil that I’ll never be able to scrub from my brain, the best films of October really took things to another level. It’s pretty much a given that at least some of these will end up on my years’ end Best of lists.

Cooties (2015) — I try to keep my enthusiasm for new films tempered somewhat but I was anxiously anticipating this little treasure for too long to play it safe. Good thing, then, that Cooties not only met but massacred every one of my expectations. No two ways about this, this is a modern classic and one of the funniest, most outrageous and radical horror-comedies that I’ve ever seen.

The Boy (2015) — There’s an awful lot to recommend here: the frequently lovely cinematography…the intense, immersive performances from David Morse and Rainn Wilson…the unflinching violence…the measured pace that allows for maximum character development and audience identification. Perhaps the number one reason to see writer/director Craig William Macneill’s exceptional sophomore film, however, is the unforgettable performance by young Jared Breeze (also in Cooties) as the titular character. In an era where disturbed individuals commit violence on an increasingly wider scale, The Boy takes us right to the genesis of this internal evil: for this fact, alone, it may very well be the scariest (and most essential) film of 2015.

What We Do in the Shadows (2014) — Essentially a re-do of the almost as worthy Danish film Vampires (2010), this brainchild of Jemaine Clement (half of New Zealand’s Flight of the Conchords) and Taika Waititi is one of the smartest, funniest, most incisive and well-made films of the year, hands down. While the main emphasis is on laughs (the vast majority of which hit with laser-guided precision), What We Do in the Shadows isn’t afraid to hit the big, emotional beats, either, resulting in a film that’s equal parts hilarious satire and genuine character study. Needless to say, I don’t think we ever need another mockumentary about modern-day vampires dealing with the toils and humiliations of daily life: Clement and Waititi slammed that door and welded it shut.

Tales of Halloween (2015) — Until I screened Tales of Halloween this October, I was 100% sure that Michael Dougherty’s Trick ‘r Treat would always be the undisputed king of the Halloween anthology film. Now, however, I’ve been forced to admit the obvious: there are no absolutes in life. While not all of the segments manage to stick their landings, the ones that do emerge fully-formed and perfect, lovely little blood-flecked pearls that represent some of the very best horror shorts around. Looks like the Pumpkin King’s gonna have to share his throne, in the future!

Gravy (2015) — Outrageous, unrelentingly gory and violent and almost impossibly offensive, Gravy is one of those films that should split audiences right down the middle. If you prefer your horror-comedies tame, polite and conventional, please keep moving to the end of the line, nothing to see here, thanks very much. If, however, you’re the kind of viewer who prizes genuinely quirky characters, mature, thought-provoking humor, needle-in-the-red bloodshed and actual heart/emotion over shallow “attitude,” I suggest you grab a beer and come pull up a chair next to me: we’ve got ourselves a movie to watch.

Bone Tomahawk (2015) — I love horror movies, Westerns, and Kurt Russell pretty much unconditionally: ergo, any film that manages the hat-trick of tossing these divine elements into the same movie is going to have an automatic reservation in my heart. Good thing, then, that S. Craig Zahler’s debut manages to not only throw these ingredients together but manages to craft one of the tastiest cinematic dishes I’ve ever had the pleasure of devouring. Hell, just the supporting cast, alone, would vault this head and shoulders over most “prestige” films, let alone horror flicks. Another strong contender for my “Best Films of 2015” list.

Deathgasm (2015) — The second Kiwi export to make my “Best of…” list, writer/director Jason Lee Howden’s Deathgasm may just be the most perfect intersection of form and function that I’ve ever seen. Tackling the inherent connection between horror and heavy metal, the film’s biggest coup is its utter, unabashed love for its head-banging heroes. While most other genre efforts would relegate Deathgasm’s protagonists to the stereotype-plagued background, Howden moves them up front and treats them with the respect they deserve (us metalheads have to stick up for our own kind, after all). Hilarious, heartfelt and ridiculously fist-pumping (just like a good metal song!), Deathgasm is a jean-jacket-bedecked hessian’s dream come true. Lots of extra points for allowing Kimberley Crossman’s sweet-as-pie, goody-two-shoes to organically become one of the most kickass “final girls” out there.

A Christmas Horror Story (2015) — While this is nowhere near as consistently awesome as either Trick ‘r Treat or Tales of Halloween, the high points here are more than capable of heavy-lifting this onto my “Best of…” list. Truth be told, the only story that’s a complete letdown is the most conventional one (the one about the teens exploring their haunted school, natch): the rest of the material, including the wraparound starring the inimitable William Shatner, finds interesting and unique ways to twist and screw around with traditional horror tropes and storylines. If nothing else, the “Santa Claus vs. zombie elves” segment is worth the price of admission alone, finishing up with a deliciously demented twist that ends the film on the strongest note possible. Lots and lots of fun, with the added bonus of being a perfectly suitable December viewing. Huzzah!

Curse of Chucky (2013) — One of the biggest surprises of the entire month of October, franchise creator Don Mancini’s return to the shortest serial killer in history was never supposed to be more than a time killer in my schedule, something disposable to cleanse the palate between the “real” films. Imagine my surprise, then, when Curse of Chucky revealed itself to be an absolute masterpiece of sustained suspense, intelligent, Hitchcockian set-pieces and pure, unadulterated, snarky attitude. The film is fast-paced, ruthlessly smart, gorgeously shot and possesses the coolest Chucky visualization of the entire series, thus far. It’s a glorious return to form for Mancini and, more importantly, singlehandedly jump-started my lapsed interest in the Child’s Play franchise. Suffice to say, I can’t wait for the follow-up.

The Final Girls (2015) — Despite having an utterly gonzo premise (a group of modern teens step through a theater screen, ala The Purple Rose of Cairo, and end up in the ’80s slasher flick that stars one teen’s now-deceased mother), The Final Girls has more genuine heart than just about any film on this list. The interaction between Taissa Farmiga (as the daughter) and Malin Ackerman (as the mom) are spot-on and lead to some actual heartrending moments in the latter half of the film, while the entire ensemble cast plays off each other beautifully. Laugh-out-loud funny, never skimpy with the horror elements (certain moments actually reminded me of Adam Green’s grue-fest, Hatchet), possessed of a unique and clever premise and never condescending, The Final Girls is the perfect film for horror fans who aren’t afraid to let emotions besides “revulsion,” “fear” and “blood-thirsty glee” into their dark little hearts.

Love in the Time of Monsters (2014) — Yet another horror-comedy, Matt Jackson’s Love in the Time of Monsters throws a kitchenful of ingredients at the screen and, surprisingly enough, most of it sticks like glue. We get another great concept (toxic waste turns the Bigfoot-suit-bedecked employees of a Bigfoot-themed tourist trap into bloodthirsty “zombie-Squatches”), a fantastic ensemble cast (including great performances from genre vets Kane Hodder, Doug Jones and Michael McShane), a smart, funny script (courtesy of Michael Skvarla), great, gory action set-pieces and an outrageous final battle royale that features more genuine surprises than a bakers’ dozen of M. Knight movies. If the dance-off featuring the Big Kahuna and Brandi doesn’t turn you into a quivering mass of uncontrolled giggles, your heart may be smaller than the Grinch.

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The Best of the Rest

(in no particular order)

I ended up seeing so many quality films in October that determining the minuscule separation between “Holy shit…that was amazing!” and “Wow…that was really good!” became quite the Herculean effort. In that spirit, here are the films that “coulda woulda shoulda” been contenders in pretty much any other year. In the interest of space/time, I’ll just go ahead and list these here. Hopefully, in the future, we’ll all get a chance to explore these in a little more detail.

The Nightmare (2015)

The Houses October Built (2014)

We Are Still Here (2015)

All Hallows’ Eve 2 (2015)

The Midnight Swim (2015)

The American Scream (2012)

Circle (2015)

Lost After Dark (2015)

Asylum Blackout (2012)

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And there we have it: my favorite eleven films of October, along with nine runner-ups. Coming soon, I’ll take a look at the other side of the coin: the worst films and biggest disappointments of the 31 Days of Halloween. Stay tuned, gentle readers…stay tuned!

The 31 Days of Halloween: Week 3 Mini-Reviews (Part Two)

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31 Days of Halloween, cinema, Circle, Corpse Bride, Fantasia, film reviews, Halloween traditions, horror, horror films, Labyrinth, Movies, October, Omen IV: The Awakening, Soulmate, Tales of Halloween, The Last Unicorn, The Nightmare Before Christmas, The Otherworld, The Visitor, Unnatural

Despite the fact that we’re now in the early days of November, my quest to document all of my October viewings continues. This time around, we’ll talk a little about the films from the last half of the third week of October (10/16-10/18). As ever, faithful and patient readers, stay tuned as your humble host continues to convalesce: it may take a little longer than usual but we’ll eventually get to our destination.

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Friday, 10/16

Tales of Halloween — Right up until I actually saw Tales of Halloween, the new multi-director horror anthology, I was totally fine with calling Michael Dougherty’s Trick ‘R Treat the single greatest Halloween-themed anthology of all time. Afterwards…well, let’s just say that absolutes are made to be broken. Although it doesn’t have quite the singular vision that Dougherty’s modern classic does (chalk it up to the fact that each of the ten tales here are written and directed by ten different filmmakers), Tales of Halloween is an absolute blast from start to finish. When the stories are really good (Darren Lynn Bousman’s The Night Billy Raised Hell; Axelle Carolyn’s Grim Grinning Ghost; Mike Mendez’s Friday the 31st; Neil Marshall’s Bad Seed), they’re absolutely out of this world (in particular, Mendez and Marshall’s shorts are two of the best things these auteurs have ever done). In fact, of the ten shorts, only Adam Gierasch’s Trick failed to utterly enthrall me. Are we in the golden age of horror anthologies? Magic 8-Ball indicates “Yes.”

Labyrinth — As a child, there were a few films that were watched so often that I practically had all the dialogue memorized and Jim Henson’s Labyrinth was definitely one of those. Although my older sister and I never agreed on much, growing up, we were completely in sync on one important issue: this magical tale of a teenage girl trying to rescue her baby brother from the Goblin King (David Bowie, alternating between looking like he’s having the time of his life and suffering from a mild case of severe annoyance) is just about as good as ’80s kids’ fantasy films got. While the film is slightly dated and occasionally cheesy in the cold, hard light of our modern era, it’s also an endless amount of fun, thoroughly inventive and features one of Bowie’s coolest songs ever (try to get “Dance Magic” out of your head…I dare you). Watch this on a double-bill with Henson’s The Dark Crystal for the full effect.

Saturday, 10/17

The Otherworld — When it comes to filmmakers, writer-director Richard Stanley has always done stuff the hard way. Whether his utterly insane, hallucinogenic “killer robot” flick Hardware, his mystical, highbrow Dust Devil or his aborted attempt to bring another version of Wells’ classic The Island of Doctor Moreau to the screen (recent documentary Lost Soul gives an in-depth view of Stanley’s batshit crazy history with that particular production), Stanley seems to make the films that he wants to see, popular interest or modern clichés be damned. The Otherworld is Stanley’s fascinating documentary about his experiences in Montsegur, France, long-held as one of the most mystical, strange places on Earth. Undeniably strange, often disjointed but never less than enthralling, Stanley details the history of the Cathar religion in the area (a female-centric religion that prized feminine power at a time in history when powerful women were more likely to be burned at the stake than lauded), as well as various unexplained, otherworldly occurrences. While true disbelievers might not be as moved, anyone with an open mind will find plenty of eerie, unexplained and flat-out amazing phenomena to chew on.

The Nightmare Before Christmas — An utter classic, this collaboration between Tim Burton, Danny Elfman and Henry Selick is just as awesome today as it was over twenty years ago. The animation is unique and immersive, the songs are great and there’s a genuine sense of wonder and menace that reminds us all why Burton was once of the single finest purveyors of the strange working in American cinema. Occupying the enviable position of being both a suitable Halloween AND Christmas film, smart viewers should program this one twice a year, just to be safe.

Corpse Bride — Although it’s a solid half-step down from The Nightmare Before Christmas, Corpse Bride is still quintessential Burton and worthy follow-up to the classic original. Directed by Burton and featuring his longtime muses Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter, Corpse Bride feels like a Burton film through and through, ramping his Gothic tendencies up to a level that almost (but not quite) approaches parody. Above all else, however, this tale of a mild-mannered dweeb accidentally marrying a dead woman is a whole lot of fun and features a handful of truly wonderful setpieces. Smartest parallel here? The drab, boring, colorless world of the “living” versus the cotton-candy-colored, dynamic and utterly alive world of the “dead.”

Soulmate — For a time, Axelle Carolyn’s moody ghost story is pretty excellent, all foggy moors, creepy old houses and moldering “sins of the past.” Once the film reveals its true intentions and becomes an exceptionally silly romance between the lead and a debonair ghost, however, the whole thing circles the drain with alarming speed. Too well-made and evocative to be completely disregarded but too inherently stupid to be taken seriously, this went from “I like what they’re doing” to “How much time is left?” with disappointing ease.

Fantasia — While some might question the positioning of Walt Disney’s iconic Fantasia in a month of only horror films, I kindly direct their attention to the Night on Bald Mountain segment. Not only was this one of my earliest introductions to the world of horror, it still stands as one of the creepiest, most intense and casually awesome animated shorts in the history of the medium. To this day, I still consider the film one of the crowning achievements in the cinematic world, despite all of the innovations that have come since.

Sunday, 10/18

Omen IV: The Awakening — Until I actually sat down to watch it, I was completely unaware of the existence of the fourth Omen film, falsely believing that the original franchise ended with The Final Conflict. Turns out there was a very good reason I’d never heard of this TV movie from the dawning of the ’90s: it’s a complete and total piece of shit, even when compared with the notoriously low standards of the series. The whole thing is an awesome blossom of awful, from the howlingly bad dialogue to the dull death scenes (in a series that only ever had that aspect going for it, this might be the critical blow) to the acting that can politely be described as “blunt.” Hard to pick a “favorite” moment here, although the scene where Delia and Jo walk through a “psychic fair” has to be one of the single most ridiculous scenes ever filmed. Actual fans of the series should end with the third film and pretend this tax write-off doesn’t exist.

The Visitor — Some films exist to be mulled over, contemplated, debated and examined through a critical lens. Some films, however, exist for only one purpose: to be experienced. The Visitor, one of the most insane, confusing and outrageous Itallo-fantasies ever created, is obviously one of the latter. Although almost nothing makes sense, on any kind of fundamental level, this manages to throw evil children, killer hawks, extraterrestrial Jesus figures and basketball (?!) into an industrial-sized blender: the resulting concoction is frothy, silly, kinda stupid and endlessly entertaining. Extra points for featuring both John Huston and Sam Peckinpah in acting roles: extra, extra points for the fact that Peckinpah was such a mess, his dialogue had to be dubbed in post. Imagine what would happen if Jodorowsky decided he wanted to be Michael Bay. Can’t imagine it? Just watch The Visitor, instead. Mind…blown.

Unnatural — When it comes to horror films, there really aren’t a lot of “killer creatures” that haven’t been utilized: we’ve had killer sharks, killer bees, killer lions, killer birds, killer whales and killer dogs (among many, many more species of fauna). To this pile of snapping teeth and claws, we can finally add killer polar bears. Not just any killer polar bear, mind you: this particular polar bear is genetically modified to be bigger, meaner, smarter and scarier. While the genetically modified angle seems completely unnecessary (what, actual polar bears aren’t terrifying enough?), Unnatural is a pretty great fright flick, taking more than a handful of cues from that other well-known killer animal flick, Jaws. Lead James Remar is fantastic as our de facto hero and Twin Peaks alum Sherilyn Fenn is solid as a morally ambiguous scientist. Only real complaint? The filmmakers had the temerity to cast the one and only Ray Wise and then relegate him to a total of two scenes, neither of which really have anything to do with the narrative. Misuse of Wise? Not a wise move, my friends…not wise at all.

Circle — Many years ago, I took a chance on the modest, lo-fi debut of an (at the time) unknown filmmaker. Despite some rough acting and obvious budgetary limitations, the film ended up being pretty amazing: smart, unconventional, fascinating and completely its own beast, the filmmaker was Vincenzo Natali and the film was Cube. Natali would go on to become one of my favorite, most underrated filmmakers and Cube would go on to earn a place on my list of “neo classics.” This time around, the unknown filmmakers are Aaron Hann and Mario Miscione and the film in question is Circle. Using only one location (a dark room with a series of red circles on the ground), 50 unnamed characters and no movement, Circle manages to be endlessly fascinating, featuring some of the most cutting, potent discussions on morality that I’ve ever heard uttered in any film, much less a micro-budget sci-fi film. You might not think that a film featuring 50 unnamed people debating the logistics of who deserves to live and die in our modern society would be so interesting, well-made and thought-provoking. You would be wrong, of course, but that’s probably because you haven’t watched Circle yet. Rectify that immediately.

The Last Unicorn — I finished the third week of October with another of my longtime, favorite films from my childhood: The Last Unicorn. Possessed of a beautiful, ethereal style of animation that pretty much died with the ’80s, The Last Unicorn is a consistently lovely film to look at, sort of like a kids’ picture book come to life. The film, itself, is certainly an odd duck, juxtaposing the usual cartoonish antics that kids expected with some significantly more adult material (besides the terrifying Red Bull, there’s also the extraordinarily odd scene featuring the large-bosomed tree, a moment that must have scarred my formative mind at least a little). There’s an overriding air of melancholy to the film that keeps everything from becoming too lightweight and the scenes that stuck out the most when I was a kid (that amazing harpy, the ultimate demise of the king) still possessed the same power this time around. Will modern kids be able to appreciate something this out-of-fashion and out-of-time? While my head says “no,” my heart really, really wants to say “yes.”