Editorials
Mr. Disgusting Picks the Best Horror Films of 2015!
As Bloody Disgusting embarks on its 15th year, it’s hard to look back and say any were better than this one.
In 2003 we saw the release of Wrong Turn, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Cabin Fever, Freddy vs Jason, Underworld and even Identity, with 2004 becoming the year of SAW, with Dawn of the Dead, Shaun of the Dead also hitting theaters.
But 2015 was still the best, and one worthy of celebration. The reason? With the aid of VOD platforms and direct distribution, independent cinema really took off.
Last year, independent films dominated my “best of” list. But what really bothered me was that none really blew me out of the water. It was a great year, with The Babadook and all, but no title felt like it deserved to be cemented as a statue alongside other greats in the horror parthenon.
While The Babadook was the (unfortunate) clear best genre film of 2014, deciding which deserved the honor this year was a painstaking process. There were four indie films that easily deserved the honor of being dubbed “the best” – too bad only one will get bragging rights.
[Related Post] 10 More Must-See Horror Films of 2015!
Whatever the case, what you really should be looking at is how there are zero studio productions included on the following list. Yes, ZERO! It’s important to note that all of the below were independently made (some acquired by studio labels), which is incredibly telling. It’s sad that studio slates are filled with franchises and half-assed “packaged” films that all look the same – this leaves no room for them to take a chance on the critically acclaimed indie films that break out during their festival runs.
Hopefully things change in the future. But for now, let’s just celebrate the artists outside of the studio system who put their heart and soul into delivering quality horror…
Bonus. The Green Inferno (Universal)
Eli Roth’s The Green Inferno is the one that got away. I’ve never been the last critic on the planet to see a horror movie, but this one just kept evading me. So much so that I even forgot to include it on my end of the year list. I’m quickly adding Roth’s latest as a bonus, because it’s easily one of my favorite films this year. For whatever reason, critics weren’t getting behind this throwback to Ruggero Deodato’s Cannibal Holocaust, which is why it took me so long to check it out when it finally hit theaters. I am so glad that I did.
I absolutely loved The Green Inferno. For me, Roth has never made “torture porn” (let’s be clear, I don’t even believe in this sub genre), including Hostel. To receive that annoying label, a film must carry a mean-spirited soul, for which neither Hostel nor The Green Inferno have. For me, Green Inferno walks a fine line between brutal and fun, and never punishes the actors for the sake of shock (even though you’re going to cringe).
The Green Inferno packs a powerful punch; it created an emotional charge in me that films so rarely bring out. In the end, this has cemented Roth as a “master of horror.”
10. The Visit (Universal)
No matter what the promotional materials say, it should be known that M. Night Shyamalan independently made The Visit, his found-footage horror about two kids visiting their estranged grandparents. It’s got a “Hansel and Gretel” vibe to it, and is shrouded in tension that’s built around the idea that these kids are trapped with two loons in the middle of nowhere.
The twist is very Shyamalan-esque, but its the enjoyment isn’t predicated on whether or not the twist is “shocking”. In fact, the big turn of events are sort of ho-hum, feeling like good story structure more than anything. I’m starting to think Shyamalan has turned a corner, especially with “Wayward Pines” also on his resume, and am surprised that Shyamalan wrote the screenplay himself. Deanna Dunagan and Peter McRobbie’s performance as Nana and Pop Pop, respectively, is truly frightening, and the duo literally carry the chiller on their backs. I think Ed Oxenbould’s goofy performance is hilarious, although I think it’s going to be a “make or break” for some.
I hate to think that people are avoiding The Visit because of Shyamalan’s name; those individuals are truly missing out on the purest of horror films that’s as clean, simple, and bare-bones as Grandma’s apple pie.
9. Turbo Kid (Epic Pictures Group)
I loved the post-apocalyptic vibe of Turbo Kid, helmed by Anouk Whissell, Francois Simard and Yoann-Karl Whissell, which made the film feel like a geeked-out Mad Max. It’s clear that us 80’s kids are now behind the cameras as Turbo Kid hones in on the 80’s film vibe from the effects to the story arc. This splatter-fest has so much gore and even more “holy shit” moments that drop it straight into cult status.
I think the coolest thing about Turbo Kid is that, even though it’s easily accessible, it feels like a “discovery” film – you know, one of those late night rentals that surprise you so much that you tell all of your friends (who never heard of it) that they have to see it.
8. A Christmas Horror Story (Image/RLJ)
I haven’t been tricked this hard in a long, long, long time, and was so blown away by the finale that it made A Christmas Horror Story one of my favorite holiday horror movies ever. There’s all sorts of craziness in this anthology that delivers on so many different levels; it’s gory, but it’s also goofy, then all of a sudden it’s insanely scary. In fact, A Christmas Horror Story warrants multiple viewings because the impact and enjoyment changes once you know the twist.
For me, though, the biggest selling point is that it’s directed by Grant Harvey (Ginger Snaps Back: The Beginning), Brett Sullivan (Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashed, “Darknet,” “Orphan Black”), and Steven Hoban. That’s an un-fucking-real lineup.
7. Darling (Screen Media Films)
This is the year that I became a Mickey Keating superfan. This young indie filmmaker has hit the scene hard and already is showing his range through four films – Ritual, Pod, Darling and Carnage Park – none of which are similar in any way, shape or form. My favorite, so far, is Darling, his black and white descent into madness that’s an homage to 1960s horror.
Darling, which features another mind-blowing performance by Lauren Ashley Carter, is a trip into madness that can simply be described as maniacal. It’s insanity in its pure form inspired by films like Repulsion and The Tenant. I think what I love best is that it’s unapologetic and never panders to the audience.
Darling is a Mickey Keating experimental film that deserves to be ranked among the greats in history. Seriously. Time will stand behind Darling.
6. The Final Girls (Stage 6/Vertical Entertainment)
I suspect Todd Strauss-Schulson’s The Final Girls will top a lot of people’s end of the year lists. Not here. While it is one of the better horror films, I was disappointed with the violence. To put it in perspective, I liken it to Behind the Mask, which has a phenomenal story but failed when it came to the “slasher” portion of the film. The Final Girls is super funny, has an astounding cast – Taissa Farmiga (“American Horror Story”), Malin Akerman (Couples Retreat), Adam DeVine (“Modern Family”), Thomas Middleditch (“Silicon Valley”), Alia Shawkat (“Arrested Development”), Alexander Ludwig (“Vikings”), and Nina Dobrev (“The Vampire Diaries”) – and features a unique and innovative storyline, only when it comes time to some slashing, there’s no blood to be shed. It’s clear these filmmakers were aiming for a PG-13 and it truly, whole-heartedly hurts the final product. While it had the potential to become a masterpiece, let’s be honest here, The Final Girls is still pretty great, and the perfect popcorn flick for a night with the friends.
5. Deathgasm (Dark Sky Films)
Dark Sky Films’ Deathgasm is a mix between Evil Dead 2 and “Metalocalypse”, and delivers on its promise to be the most metal horror film ever. What I love most about Deathgasm, directed by Jason Lei Howden, is that it’s focused on being fun, and keeping the viewer entertained through jokes, goofs, gore and insane set pieces. As I said in my review, Deathgasm is the horror film a 15-year-old me would have creamed his pants over. I’m pretty sure it will obtain cult status in the years to come.
4. The Nightmare (Gravitas Ventures/FilmRise)
Earlier this year it looked as if Rodney Ascher’s docu-horror The Nightmare was a shoe-in for best of 2015, but eventually was surpassed by a glutton of great films (see below). While The Nightmare, the next doc from the filmmaker behind Room 237, isn’t as scary as people were boasting, it’s pretty chilling. The film explores the phenomenon of ‘Sleep Paralysis’ through the eyes of eight very different people, and shares reenactments of their accounts.
While there’s a lot of scary stories told throughout, one really stuck with me, one that I personally found fucking terrifying. In a scene, a young man recounting his first experience with Sleep Paralysis. Now, while most people have isolated incidents, his was passed on from his girlfriend. Yes, just the notion that his girlfriend was experiencing Sleep Paralysis was enough to trigger it within himself. That is scary as fuck. Why? Ask yourself this: could a viewing of The Nightmare be infectious? Could the very notion of sleep paralysis cause a viewer to experience it? Watch at your own risk.
3. What We Do in the Shadows (The Orchard)
Modern spoofs are terrible, mostly because they’re focused on pop culture and show zero understanding of the movies they’re goofing on. This is why Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi’s What We Do in the Shadows is a masterpiece. The pic is a docu-style story of a house of vampires who are, quite frankly, idiots. While there are no actual references to specific horror movies, the film makes a joke of all of the tropes and cliches in vampire films, but does so in a loving way that shows Clement and Waititi are clearly huge horror fans at heart.
What I think I love the most about What We Do in the Shadows is that it’s made specifically for us horror fans and isn’t pandering to anyone else. But most of all, it gets funnier with each and every viewing proving that it will stand the test of time.
2. February | retitled as The Blackcoat’s Daughter (A24)
There’s nothing better than a movie that resonates with you. Osgood Perkins’ directorial debut had me joining his cult of loyal followers. I am obsessed with February (read my review), which is set at an all girls boarding school where two women are bound together by a series of sinister events.
Not only does February star two of my favorite actresses – “Mad Men’s” Kiernan Shipka, and “Scream Queens” and “American Horror Story’s” Emma Roberts – but it’s one of the best Satanic horror films ever. It’s tremendously difficult to portray Satan in a film without him coming off cheesy, yet, February is chilling, haunting, and downright frightening. Any other year, February would have topped this list.
1. It Follows (TWC-Dimension)
It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a genre film have as much open dialogue as David Robert Mitchell’s It Follows (read my review), his homage to classic horrors such as John Carpenter’s Halloween and Wes Craven’s A Nightmare On Elm Street. Usually “the best” is associated with perfection, only It Follows is riddled with plot holes that drove many viewers insane. The thing is, It Follows is legitimately scary, something I can only say about a handful of movies. It’s also propelled by Maika Monroe’s astounding performance, as well as heavy social commentary to go along with a timeless look and feel.
It’s easy for us to look back at all of the genre greats, but to experience the release of one is pretty special. You may not know this now, but when you look back at the release of It Follows 20 years from now, you’ll be bragging to the younger generation as to how you were an intricate part of its success.
Due to a complex series of anthropological mishaps, the Wayans Brothers are a huge deal in Brazil. Around these parts, White Chicks is considered a national treasure by a lot of people, so it stands to reason that Brazilian audiences would continue to accompany the Wayans’ comedic output long after North America had stopped taking them seriously as comedic titans.
This is the only reason why I originally watched Michael Tiddes and Marlon Wayans’ 2013 horror spoof A Haunted House – appropriately known as “Paranormal Inactivity” in South America – despite having abandoned this kind of movie shortly after the excellent Scary Movie 3. However, to my complete and utter amazement, I found myself mostly enjoying this unhinged parody of Found Footage films almost as much as the iconic spoofs that spear-headed the genre during the 2000s. And with Paramount having recently announced a reboot of the Scary Movie franchise, I think this is the perfect time to revisit the divisive humor of A Haunted House and maybe figure out why this kind of film hasn’t been popular in a long time.
Before we had memes and internet personalities to make fun of movie tropes for free on the internet, parody movies had been entertaining audiences with meta-humor since the very dawn of cinema. And since the genre attracted large audiences without the need for a serious budget, it made sense for studios to encourage parodies of their own productions – which is precisely what happened with Miramax when they commissioned a parody of the Scream franchise, the original Scary Movie.
The unprecedented success of the spoof (especially overseas) led to a series of sequels, spin-offs and rip-offs that came along throughout the 2000s. While some of these were still quite funny (I have a soft spot for 2008’s Superhero Movie), they ended up flooding the market much like the Guitar Hero games that plagued video game stores during that same timeframe.
You could really confuse someone by editing this scene into Paranormal Activity.
Of course, that didn’t stop Tiddes and Marlon Wayans from wanting to make another spoof meant to lampoon a sub-genre that had been mostly overlooked by the Scary Movie series – namely the second wave of Found Footage films inspired by Paranormal Activity. Wayans actually had an easier time than usual funding the picture due to the project’s Found Footage presentation, with the format allowing for a lower budget without compromising box office appeal.
In the finished film, we’re presented with supposedly real footage recovered from the home of Malcom Johnson (Wayans). The recordings themselves depict a series of unexplainable events that begin to plague his home when Kisha Davis (Essence Atkins) decides to move in, with the couple slowly realizing that the difficulties of a shared life are no match for demonic shenanigans.
In practice, this means that viewers are subjected to a series of familiar scares subverted by wacky hijinks, with the flick featuring everything from a humorous recreation of the iconic fan-camera from Paranormal Activity 3 to bizarre dance numbers replacing Katy’s late-night trances from Oren Peli’s original movie.
Your enjoyment of these antics will obviously depend on how accepting you are of Wayans’ patented brand of crass comedy. From advanced potty humor to some exaggerated racial commentary – including a clever moment where Malcom actually attempts to move out of the titular haunted house because he’s not white enough to deal with the haunting – it’s not all that surprising that the flick wound up with a 10% rating on Rotten Tomatoes despite making a killing at the box office.
However, while this isn’t my preferred kind of humor, I think the inherent limitations of Found Footage ended up curtailing the usual excesses present in this kind of parody, with the filmmakers being forced to focus on character-based comedy and a smaller scale story. This is why I mostly appreciate the love-hate rapport between Kisha and Malcom even if it wouldn’t translate to a healthy relationship in real life.
Of course, the jokes themselves can also be pretty entertaining on their own, with cartoony gags like the ghost getting high with the protagonists (complete with smoke-filled invisible lungs) and a series of silly The Exorcist homages towards the end of the movie. The major issue here is that these legitimately funny and genre-specific jokes are often accompanied by repetitive attempts at low-brow humor that you could find in any other cheap comedy.
Not a good idea.
Not only are some of these painfully drawn out “jokes” incredibly unfunny, but they can also be remarkably offensive in some cases. There are some pretty insensitive allusions to sexual assault here, as well as a collection of secondary characters defined by negative racial stereotypes (even though I chuckled heartily when the Latina maid was revealed to have been faking her poor English the entire time).
Cinephiles often claim that increasingly sloppy writing led to audiences giving up on spoof movies, but the fact is that many of the more beloved examples of the genre contain some of the same issues as later films like A Haunted House – it’s just that we as an audience have (mostly) grown up and are now demanding more from our comedy. However, this isn’t the case everywhere, as – much like the Elves from Lord of the Rings – spoof movies never really died, they simply diminished.
A Haunted House made so much money that they immediately started working on a second one that released the following year (to even worse reviews), and the same team would later collaborate once again on yet another spoof, 50 Shades of Black. This kind of film clearly still exists and still makes a lot of money (especially here in Brazil), they just don’t have the same cultural impact that they used to in a pre-social-media-humor world.
At the end of the day, A Haunted House is no comedic masterpiece, failing to live up to the laugh-out-loud thrills of films like Scary Movie 3, but it’s also not the trainwreck that most critics made it out to be back in 2013. Comedy is extremely subjective, and while the raunchy humor behind this flick definitely isn’t for everyone, I still think that this satirical romp is mostly harmless fun that might entertain Found Footage fans that don’t take themselves too seriously.
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