December 28, 2017

I’ve already listed my 10 favorite non-genre films in one of my previous posts. And also, my 2017 music discoveries. I’ve even done the best vinyl soundtrack releases of the year! But what about the horror? Oh, the horror!

If you’re a listener of the Shock Waves podcast, then you already know my top 10 horror movies of the year! But regardless, people love to see a list. And so, I’ll provide that here below, but I still strongly recommend you check out Shock Waves Episode 77 embedded below first.

The obligatory preface, these are just my personal highlights of the year, mostly based on one time viewings and my experiences of seeing them. I missed out on a few titles: RAW, THE TRANSFIGURATION, IT COMES AT NIGHT, CREEP 2, JIGSAW. I’ll list a few notable mentions at the end of this piece, but for now, here’s my top 10!

10 – A DARK SONG

An extremely ambitious and impressive debut from writer/director Liam Gavin, A DARK SONG is a contained story with two people in one house; a determined woman and a damaged occultist attempting to perform a dangerous ritual in order for her to communicate with her dead child. But is there more going on than meets the eye? Of course there is!

9 – HAPPY DEATH DAY

It’s been so long since we’ve had a traditional “slasher” movie play in theaters! And while this one takes a queue from GROUNDHOG DAY and puts it in a horror setting, it’s an absolute blast. This is definitely catered to a much younger audience, but I still enjoyed the hell out of it, mainly because I loved the characters, in particular leads Isreal Broussard (as the innocently charming Carter Davis) and Jessica Rothe as Tree Gelbman, who begins the movie as the traditional bitchy girl and morphs into “the final girl.” Plus, the killer is pretty darned cool looking. This one’s just pure fun.

8 – LIFE

This one surprised me! I didn’t watch it until after nabbing it during a Black Friday sale, and what struck me about it was how unpredictable and scary it was! An all star cast fronted by Ryan Reynolds, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Rebecca Ferguson, this was pretty much a modernized “ALIEN” with maybe a bit of THE THING. Go in blindly, let go of all expectations, and just let yourself be swept away by this tense, paranoid thriller. (Germophobes, beware!)

7 – 1922

This was the year of Stephen King! And we got not only one, but two Netflix original movies based on his work. I knew next to nothing about 1922. I wasn’t familiar with the source material, but I’m a huge Thomas Jane fan, and here, he gives an incredible performance as farmer Wilfred James, who conspires with his son to murder his wife. It’s a dark drama of the Coen Brothers variety. And it’s compelling and fascinating to watch how this story unfolds, especially in the aftermath of said murder! Highly recommended.

6 – ANNABELLE: CREATION

David Sandberg is two for two in terms of taking simple straight-forward scripts and elevating the material in a way that most filmmakers would be unable to do. The first ANNABELLE has its moments, but is a bit of a misstep for this shared “CONJURING universe.” But ANNABELLE: CREATION is a prequel that brings it all together and ties up all loose threads. It actually retcon’s the story in a way that makes the first ANNABELLE a better movie! And it’s scary! A fun roller-coaster ride that doesn’t simply focus on one possessed doll, but evil demons, entities, and even a fun mention of “The Nun!” In terms of pure popcorn horror, this prequel delivers!

5 – THE BLACKCOAT’S DAUGHTER

Here’s a film that myself and Elric from Shock Waves have been praising for years. I caught it at Beyond Fest under the title of FEBRUARY, and I was completely engulfed by Oz Perkins’ classy, atmospheric and stunning debut. I wonder if this loses it’s power on the small screen, but regardless, I’m just glad it’s finally out in the world. Admirers of Ti West’s work, take note. It’s as if David Lynch made THE SHINING, and added a Satanic element to it. Also, Elvis Perkins’ score is terrific and unsettling. You can find this one on Amazon Prime right now.

4 – IT

Probably the cultural horror event of the year, IT surpassed all expectations and was much bigger than I think any of us could’ve anticipated. Much like ANNABELLE: CREATION, this version is a nearly perfect studio horror film. It hits all the beats you’d expect, delivers scares like clockwork every 10 minutes, and at least in spirit, stays true to the original King novel, even if it isn’t exactly all that faithful of an adaptation. I still have a soft spot for the 90’s TV mini-series, but this was a great theatrical horror movie, and now I patiently wait to see how it’ll all resolve itself when IT: CHAPTER 2 arrives in theaters in 2019. This is one of those rare cases where the sequel will either strengthen or weaken the impact of this first movie on repeat viewings. I have faith in director Andy Muschietti.

3 – GERALD’S GAME

Mike Flanagan proves yet again that he’s our modern “Master of Horror.” This time, he adapts Stephen King’s novel GERALD’S GAME, often thought of as an un-adaptable King story, and does it with finesse as a Netflix original movie. The majority of the book finds Jesse handcuffed to a bed after her husband Gerald suffers a heart attack. How does one film everything that follows? Flanagan found the most logical way, and delivers easily the most cringe-inducing and horrific horror scene of any movie this year, let alone of the decade! It’s not traditional King, but for those that like their horror a bit different, you should definitely watch this on Netflix ASAP. (They’ll also be putting out Flanagan’s long-delayed and excellent BEFORE I WAKE on January 5th, which features yet another stellar Thomas Jane performance.)

2 – THE DEVIL’S CANDY

This is a film I was fortunate enough to catch on the big screen very early in the year, and although I’ve only seen it once, it stuck with me and remains one of my favorite modern horror flicks. I’m talking about filmmaker Sean Bryne’s sophomore feature THE DEVIL’S CANDY. Having been a fan of his first flick THE LOVED ONES, I was curious how this story revolving around an artist/metalhead, played by Ethan Embry, would play out. It’s the relationship between Embry’s Jesse Hellman and his wife and daughter that really make you care about these characters. They’ve moved into a home where the previous tenant went crazy over supposed Satanic forces. He’d block it out by playing a distorted electric guitar really, really loud. (Hence, heavy metal is the cure, in this case!) Are those same forces speaking to Jesse? Loved the hell out of this movie, and I think you will too.

1 – GET OUT

What can I say? Jordan Peele’s first foray into the horror genre couldn’t have come at a more perfect time. Once in a blue moon, a horror film will tap into the public subconscious and really hit a nerve, and this was that movie. Playing like an expanded TWILIGHT ZONE episode, or more accurately BLACK MIRROR, Chris (the great Daniel Kaluuya) is brought home by his new girlfriend Rose (Allison Williams) to meet her family. But, things aren’t as they seem, both with Rose’s folks and the entire town. You’ve probably read plenty about this movie, so for those of you that have seen and loved it, I’ll present to you a fun video of Jordan Peele answering fan theories regarding GET OUT.

Notable Mentions:

A lot of people hated THE DARK TOWER, but I’ve seen it twice now and on its own, I think it’s a fine modern Western fairy tale with a great third act showdown between good and evil. Now, I’m not well versed in the source material; I’ve never read any of the books, so I can understand that people that have been invested in those for years and years would be disappointed by this adaptation, but as I mentioned earlier, I don’t think IT is faithful to the novel at all. And yet, it works for most people. Hey, I like THE DARK TOWER and that’s that. Take it or leave it.

SPLIT was a return to form for M. Night Shyamalan. It’s always great to see how Don Mancini continues the CHILD’S PLAY franchise while still maintaining continuity! So, CULT OF CHUCKY was a wild ride. And there was a little indie flick called AARON’S BLOOD that I thought had a unique spin and told a great, modern vampire story. I recommend that one too.

I loved Guillermo del Toro’s latest THE SHAPE OF WATER, but I struggled to call it a “horror” movie, and hence it’s on my best of (non-genre) list instead.

Here’s to another horror filled year in 2018! (Hopefully just on the big screen! We’ve had enough real life horror to last us a while!)

UPDATE: Go in blindly, and check out BETTER WATCH OUT as well! A modern Christmas horror classic in the making. ‘Nuff said!