Editorials
[BEST & WORST ’11] The 5 Best Performances of the Year!
Oh hey, I didn’t see you there!
When it came time for me to write this list I was utterly surprised by the choices I was making. I saw a lot of great films this year, horror and non-horror alike, but there was a certain freedom in limiting myself to films that (more or less) fit in the horror genre. For instance, I loved George Clooney in The Descendants and I thought Charlize Theron was pitch perfect in Young Adult. But those are great performances that are already going to make almost every list out there.
So by shaking off the burdens of consensus (whether or not I largely agree with it), I was able to focus almost solely on roles that surprised me. There’s a couple of performers included that I would have never in a million years considered putting on any list – good or bad – even just a couple of weeks ago. It was such a great pleasure to strip away my own expectations and simply write about what performances made me happy – for various reasons. I guarantee that there’s only one in here that has a chance in hell of overlapping with the Academy.
Hit the jump to check them out! 
Micah (Best/Worst) | Lonmonster (Best/Worst) | Evan Dickson (Best/Worst) | Lauren Taylor (Best/Worst)
Posters (Best/Worst) | Trailers (Best/Worst) | Performances (Best)
Oscar-nominated actresses often take risky low-budget roles between the agent approved, career trajectory signpost films that make up the bulk of their body of work. But rarely are those roles this risky and this low budget. As Libby in James Gunn’s Super, Ellen Page gets to play an infectiously energetic young woman who just happens to be a 100% complete sociopath. It’s a fearless performance that draws upon the heretofore unseen reserves of innocence, sexuality and violence in Page’s repertoire. Waves of vicarious glee wash over you as she dives headfirst into the carnage afforded by her new identity as Boltie. It’s a kinetic, visceral performance that’s enhanced tenfold by how unpretentious it is.
The Innkeepers is an effective thriller that literally had me pounding the armrests of my seat in suspense during its final act. It also happens to possess a sort of adorable innocence that impressively enhances the film’s fear factor in places where you would expect it to be diminished. The same can be said of Sara Paxton’s performance as Claire. She’s cute and adorable, but there are also some very real layers to her character and the place she’s found herself in life that are key to justifying her need to explore the darker corners of the Yankee Pedlar Hotel. I’ve seen Paxton in a ton of stuff before and she never really popped out at me as a performer. So whether she’s found her voice, the right piece of material, the right director in Ti West or some combination thereof – something’s happened that allows her to portray all these layers and yet remain an insanely likable character. Almost as much as TI West, she gives The Innkeepers its sense of identity.
If you’ll allow me to plagiarize myself from my year-end list, “‘You’re Next’ may very well be my favorite of the horror films I’ve seen this year, at least on a visceral level. It’s at times uneven and angular, but it’s never less than invigorating. And to be fair, the unevenness never stems from a lack of quality, but an abundance of it. The film’s highs are so soaring that the lows have to settle for merely being “really good”.” It’s a confluence of many factors, most of them structural, that the film really takes off around the same time Joe Swanberg arrives onscreen as Drake (the seemingly douchey brother to AJ Bowen’s Crispian). But to deny him credit for this uptick in the film would be criminal. It would seem at first glance that he has little to do in the movie, but if you look closer you’ll find that his supporting role provides the central family’s fractured dynamic the most clarity. He’s a hilarious dick whose slightly more tender dimensions are slowly revealed by his actions throughout the film. I’d never really thought of Swanberg as a performer before this, but I’d be surprised if a ton of roles didn’t get thrown at him after the film’s release this coming fall.
Lucky McKee’s The Woman, for all of the controversy surrounding it, remains at its satirical heart an ensemble character piece. And while Pollyana McIntosh is absolutely fearless in her role as the titular character – it’s Bridgers performance as family man Chris Cleek that grounds the film’s tone. Actually, his performance isn’t just responsible for grounding the tone – it’s the anchor the audience needs to buy into the decisions the Cleek family makes as a unit. The facade of normalcy, the secrets, the violence, the damaging sexual politics – it all stems from the roots that grow out of his “aw shucks” All-American demeanor. It’s not the showiest role in the film but, by a nose, it’s the most important.
If you don’t think Contagion is a horror film, then you haven’t seen it. It’s utterly terrifying and if you have a brain in your skull you’ll find its wholly plausible, probable, realities as impossible to shake as the best scare or kill you witnessed in a cinema this year. It’s a film filled with fine performances, but Damon’s turn as soft hearted cuckolded family man Mitch Emhhoff not only sells you on the personal horror, but the heartbreak as well. By design, Contagion is admirably clinical, economical and dispassionately scary. That Damon emerges from the ensemble, sharing more or less equal the amount of screen time as many others, as the film’s heart and the audience’s point of access speaks volumes about the chops he displays here.
Despite ancient humans having already overcome several potential doomsday scenarios in real life, post-apocalyptic fiction used to be relatively rare until the invention of the atomic bomb convinced us that the end of the world could be just around the proverbial corner.
Since then, we’ve seen many different stories about the collapse of civilization and the strange societies that might emerge from the rubble, but I’d argue that one of the most interesting of these apocalyptic visions is the post-nuclear America of the iconic Fallout games. A witty satire of American jingoism and cold war shenanigans, it’s honestly baffling that it so long for us to finally see a live-action adaptation of this memorable setting.
Thankfully, Graham Wagner and Geneva Robertson-Dworet’s Fallout TV show isn’t just a great adaptation – it’s also an incredibly fun standalone story that makes the most of its post-apocalyptic worldbuilding. And since fans are going to have to wait a while to see the much-anticipated second season, we’ve decided to come up with a list highlighting six post-apocalyptic thrillers to watch if you’re still craving more Fallout!
As usual, don’t forget to comment below with your own apocalyptic favorites if you think we missed a particularly fun one. And while it’s not on the list, I’d also like to give a shout-out to The Hughes Brothers’ underrated post-apocalyptic action flick The Book of Eli – which I recently covered in its own article.
With that out of the way, onto the list…
6. The Divide (2011)
Xavier Gens may be best known for his memorable contribution to the New French Extremity movement – with the eerily prescient Frontière(s) – but the filmmaker is also responsible for a handful of underrated thrillers that flew under the radar despite being legitimately solid films. One of the most interesting of these flicks is 2011’s The Divide, a single-location exercise in claustrophobic tension.
Telling the story of a group of New Yorkers who find themselves trapped in a bomb shelter after a surprise nuclear attack, this dark thriller is more interested in the ensuing social chaos than effects-heavy physical destruction. And while critics at the time were horrified by the bleak story and cynical characters, I think this mean streak is precisely what makes The Divide worth watching.
5. The Day After (1983)
One of the highest-rated TV films of all time, ABC’s The Day After is one of the scariest movies ever made despite being more of a speculative docu-drama than an actual genre flick. Following an ensemble of families, doctors and scientists as they deal with the horrific aftermath of all-out nuclear war, this radioactive cautionary tale was vital in convincing real-world politicians to review their policies about nuclear deterrence.
In fact, the film is even credited with scaring President Ronald Reagan into changing his mind about expanding the United States’ nuclear arsenal, with this new stance eventually leading to a treaty with the Soviet Union. With a story this powerful, I think it’s safe to say that The Day After is a must watch for Fallout fans interested in the more down-to-earth elements of the apocalypse.
4. The Postman (1997)
If I had a nickel for each unfairly maligned post-apocalyptic epic starring Kevin Costner that was released in the 90s, I’d have two nickels – which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it happened twice. And while Waterworld has since seen a resurgence in popularity with fans defending it as a bizarrely expensive B-movie, I haven’t seen a lot of discussion surrounding 1997’s more serious vision of a fallen America, The Postman.
Following Costner (who also directed the flick) as a post-apocalyptic nomad who begins to rebuild America by pretending to be a member of the newly reformed postal service, this David Brin adaptation is consistently fascinating – especially if you view the story as a cynical fairy-tale, which was Costner’s original intention.
And while the flick suffers from some goofy dialogue and a bloated runtime, it makes up for this by having directly inspired Hideo Kojima’s Death Stranding.
3. Turbo Kid (2015)
Turbo Kid may have been billed as an indie Mad Max with bicycles instead of cars, but François Simard, Anouk Whissell and Yoann-Karl Whissell’s comedic throwback to the post-apocalyptic future of 1997 is much more than meets the eye. From quirky characters to madly creative designs, the flick rises above nostalgia bait by being a legitimately fun time even if you don’t get the copious amounts of ’80s and ’90s references.
And despite the horror-inspired ultraviolence that colors the frequent action scenes as we follow a young comic-book fan deluding himself into thinking that he’s a superhero, it’s the childlike sense of wonder that really makes this a treat for cinephiles. It’s just a shame that we’re still waiting on the sequel that was announced back in 2016…
2. Six-String Samurai (1998)
A lo-fi homage to spaghetti westerns and classic samurai films – not to mention the golden age of rock ‘n roll – Six-String Samurai is a must-watch for those who appreciate weird cinema. While I’ve already written about the madly creative vibes that make this such an entertaining flick, I think it’s worth repeating just in case some of you have yet to give this musical fever dream a try.
And appropriately enough for this list, the film was also a source of inspiration for the 3D Fallout games – especially Obsidian’s fan favorite New Vegas. The game even includes a New Vegas Samurai achievement (unlocked by killing enemies with a katana) with a vault-boy illustration modeled after the film’s rendition of Buddy Holly.
1. A Boy and His Dog (1975)
The grisly post-apocalyptic comedy that inspired the original Fallout games, L.Q. Jones’ adaptation of Harlan Ellison’s novella is just as shocking today as it was back in ’75. Telling the story of a teenage scavenger who travels the wastelands of 2024 America alongside his telepathic canine companion, A Boy and His Dog feels like a Heavy Metal comic brought to life.
While the film’s rampant misogyny and brutal violence make it tough to revisit under modern sensibilities, it’s still a landmark in post-apocalyptic cinema and one hell of a memorable ride. Not only that, but the flick also inspired the creation of Fallout’s most beloved NPC, the ever-loyal Dogmeat.
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