Editorials
Trevor Macy and Stacy Title Tell Us Their Favorite Films of 2016…
…and what they’re looking forward to the most this year.
This week The Bye Bye Man director Stacy Title is acting as a guest editor, and with that comes some editorials she wanted to share with Bloody Disgusting readers. Yesterday she shared the main movie that inspired her as a genre filmmaker, while today she enlists the help of producer Trevor Macy (Hush, The Strangers, Doomsday, Oculus, The Strangers, The Raven) to pick their favorite films of 2016 and what they’re looking forward to most in 2017.
“There were a handful of compelling scary movies this year, but for me the headline goes to a late-breaking entry: The Autopsy of Jane Doe,” says Macy. “In addition to strong characters, I am drawn to horror that offers a window into other genres as well, and there really aren’t enough cool mysteries out there. Andre Ovredal’s direction was fresh and interesting (which you know because it isn’t easy to make a dead subject riveting in so many shots), and the performances were really fun. It let you exhale after the light-hearted jump scares then chilled you to the bone with the slow-build thriller elements. And while we’re on the subject of horror’s successful marriages with other genres, The Purge: Election Year was a great reminder that a scary movie can thrive with healthy doses of action and political bite.
Title adds: “There is no doubt in my mind that the best horror film of 2016 is the Korean entry: Train to Busan, directed by Yeon Sang-ho. There were many fun movies this year that worked on different levels and I certainly enjoyed The Witch, too, but for me nothing compares to the fully realized and brilliant apocalyptic amalgam of emotion, zombies, terror and building intensity that is Train to Busan.
“At the core, this is a story of a dysfunctional, divorced, busy fund manager Seok-Woo and his shut down young daughter Su-An as they’re relationship is put to the test. Fluid and beautifully shot the Busan bound train journeys into a heart of darkness. Harrowing and emotional it delivers beyond a typical comedic zombie story or a tropey violent one. In the end when Su-An sings the song her father missed at her school recital and will now miss because he gave his life for hers– it is deeply moving. A true achievement.”
In regards to 2017, Macys says, “I will be first in line to see Alien: Covenant. The trailer took me straight back to the original and sent chills up my spine. Full disclosure: I don’t know anything else about the movie beyond the trailer, but my hope as a fan is that Ridley Scott embraces the genre-defining tone and execution of the Alien and pins me squarely to the back of my chair. And since there are a good number of sequels on deck for 2017, I’m hoping an original scary movie or two bubbles to the top.”
As for Title: “Looking ahead I am excited about the new del Toro, The Shape of Water. Though since my favorite Doug Jones aka The Bye Bye Man only mentioned minor plot elements and they’ve kept all the rest of the details under wraps–I can’t say much — ‘cause I have little to go on other than the great master’s past movies. I’m also very excited about Mike Flanagan’s Gerald’s Game. Not because I have seen any of it, but because of his past work and the great Stephen King’s masterful novel that is this movie’s source material. Gerald’s Game is no doubt going to be fascinating and transgressive, two pluses in my book. The movie I can actually opine about the most and have the most zeal for is Jordan Peele’s Get Out. This one is original and unique, a domestic horror movie about racism and hegemony. In it a bi-racial couple heads to her white parent’s house for the weekend and his anxiety about their distaste for their relationship is the least of his problems. He is now in a new kind of hell where white people try to make America great again. A Stepford Wives for race relations, Get Out can’t come soon enough.”
The Bye Bye Man…don’t say his name on Friday the 13th of January.
![Don't Think It, Don't Say It - Finding the Good in 'The Bye Bye Man' [The Silver Lining]](https://i0.wp.com/bloody-disgusting.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Dont-Think-It-Dont-Say-It-Finding-the-Good-in-The-Bye-Bye-Man-The-Silver-Lining.jpg?resize=400%2C240&ssl=1)
![Don't Think It, Don't Say It - Finding the Good in 'The Bye Bye Man' [The Silver Lining]](https://i0.wp.com/bloody-disgusting.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Dont-Think-It-Dont-Say-It-Finding-the-Good-in-The-Bye-Bye-Man-The-Silver-Lining.jpg?resize=80%2C80&ssl=1)
Judging from the unprecedented box office success of Kane Parsons’ Backrooms adaptation, you’ve likely already seen the liminal horror hit that managed to make audiences afraid of empty hallways and bad wallpaper. And now that so many of us have already entered the yellow labyrinth (some of us more than once), the time has come to discuss the spoiler-filled details that make the movie so fascinating in the first place.
And if there’s one element here that makes the Backrooms movie stand out from any previous lore/mythology, it has to be the genius addition of the Still Life entities. Warped recreations of real people that somehow wandered into the Complex, these misremembered creatures are responsible for some of the most disturbing imagery of 2026 – as well as laugh-out-loud memes created by one of the film’s very own concept artists.
However, true to Parsons’ word that the movie would rely heavily on practical effects, each of these distorted monsters was brought to life by real actors under heavy layers of makeup and prosthetics (with the occasional splash of CGI enhancements). While Anora and If I Had Legs I’d Kick You actress Ivy Wolk wasn’t among these performers, despite what Letterboxd might have you believe, the creature cast did benefit from veteran players with plenty of genre experience.
For starters, Alien: Romulus alumni Robert Bobroczkyi (who previously brought that film’s horrific Offspring to life during its most memorable sequence) plays the flick’s main antagonist, the Still Life version of Captain Clark. And though there was some obvious CGI involved in making the character’s peg-leg and nightmarish face more believable, Bobroczkyi’s monstrous performance and his natural 7’7″ frame helped to make that final chase sequence a clear highlight among this year’s genre offerings.
The film’s Texas-Chain-Saw-inspired “dinner” scene also features a freaky collection of less-aggressive Still Life creatures in the form of the Bearded Man, the Red-Headed Woman and, strangest of them all, the cheekily named “Archibald Leland Sutter Still Life” (who earned this title among fans and crewmembers as a reference to his apparent affinity for lamps).
While this was the first major horror outing for both Patrick Baynham (The Bearded Man) and Dana Mahmood (Archibald), Rhiannon Roberts has worked as a stunt performer in everything from Yellowjackets to HBO’s The Last of Us adaptation – which is probably why The Red-Headed Woman is the most active out of Clark’s impromptu “family.” That being said, the Archibald Leland Sutter Still Life is my personal favorite of the bunch simply because his anachronistic outfit suggests that the Backrooms phenomenon might be a lot older than the Async Foundation. I also love how hard he tries to be helpful with that little light of his!
That might be it for the Still Life entities, but I think horror fans will also be pleased to hear that the film’s Found Footage prologue stars none other than Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City star Avan Jogia as Naren Warne – and American Mary herself Katharine Isabelle also shows up in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo at Mary’s house party towards the middle of the story (though I have a feeling that she originally had a bigger part that was likely cut for time).
At the end of the day, Parsons’ Backrooms may have been an auteur-driven project motivated by the young director’s unique take on the classic creepypasta, but film has always been a collective artform, so it’s fun to see just how many talented performers it takes to bring this kind of supernatural nightmare to life in a way that connects with so many people.
You must be logged in to post a comment.