Editorials
Ranking the Returning Horror Icons of 2017
*Keep up with our ongoing end of the year coverage here*
This year has been tremendous for horror, from massive box office wins to surprise creative successes. 2017 has also brought a surprising number of returning horror icons, some reviving long-dormant franchises while others sought to answer criticisms on more recent entries. The resurgence of horror icons looks to continue into 2018, too, with new appearances by icons like the Predator and the Boogeyman himself, Michael Myers.
With the year winding to a close, let’s rank the returning horror icons and their films of 2017:
7. Leatherface
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise has had a rather uneven run, especially when it comes to continuity. Yet when Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury were tapped to helm an origin story, the minds behind 2007’s modern classic Inside, it was enough to give fans hope that this was going to be something special. Or at the very least extremely tense and gory. I suppose on that front it succeeds in its revelry for violence, but it also somehow manages to be pretty dull, at least for the long stretch of the running time. The beginning and the end of Leatherface’s origin story are the most interesting, but somehow the character is relegated to a supporting role in his own film during the sagging middle. That’s because, inexplicably, the narrative wants to play a “guess which messed up kid is actually going to be Leatherface” type of game. Bustillo and Maury wholly deliver on what they were hired to do, in terms of gruesome sequences, but I can’t help but wonder what Leatherface’s origin story would be like had they gotten to write the script as well.
6. Alien: Covenant
The lack of xenomorphs in Prometheus was a common complaint, among many other flaws, so Ridley Scott continued with the plot threads he was most interested in while giving fans what we thought we wanted; a lot more xenomorph (and neomorph) action. The trailers looked fantastic, giving glimpses of back bursting aliens and Katherine Waterston as a potential new character on par with Ripley. What we got, though, were two different movies crammed into one. One film continued the themes of creation that Scott began exploring in Prometheus, which proved to be the most interesting aspect of the film largely thanks to Michael Fassbender’s performances as androids Walter and David. The other film, though, was a rehash of previous Alien films involving an ill-fated crew that, for the most part, didn’t even get proper introductions before being dispatched by new iterations of the xenomorph. On a visual level, Covenant is fantastic. The gore was top notch, as was anything related to Fassbender’s David playing god with the xenomorphs. The introduction to neomorphs and back bursting aliens was fantastic. Anything related to the Covenant crew, however, added a lot of dead weight. I cared about the crews of the USCSS Nostromo and USS Sulaco. I didn’t even know who most of the crew was in Covenant, even when they were dying.
5. Jigsaw
Reviving the Saw franchise after seven years of lying dormant brought a ton of excitement for the potential; if the studio is bringing the series back after its conclusion, there must be a compelling reason, right? Eh, not so much. Our own Trace reviewed it, stating, “Jigsaw is a competently made film, but it does feel a bit passionless.” It summed up the overall mixed reception to Jigsaw’s return. While imperfect, I felt like Jigsaw succeeded in its goal. I can’t say that it reinvented the wheel, nor did it offer much in the way of the series’ trademark twists, but boy did it entertain. I had a blast with Jigsaw. The kills were inventive, and the victims didn’t grate on me like they have in the past few installments. Best of all? No Mark Hoffman! That was a character that had long overstayed his welcome, so I was happy with a fresh batch of players in the Jigsaw’s twisted games. It’s always a welcome sight to see Billy the Puppet on the big screen, too, even if the latest entry didn’t reinvent the wheel.
4. Victor Crowley
One of the things that I love about Adam Green’s Hatchet trilogy, aside from the retro slasher vibe and glorious gore, is that overall it feels like one big story instead of three films in a franchise. Each one escalates the battle between Marybeth Dunstan and Victor Crowley in proper measure, from the tourists of the first film to the search and recovery team of the third film. The trilogy was given a proper send off, but that didn’t lessen the fans’ desire for more. Adam Green pulled a fast one, though, when he revealed a sneaky sequel in lieu of the original Hatchet set to screen on its 10th year anniversary. Set 10 years after the events of the first film and following survivor Andrew (played by series mainstay Parry Shen), Victor Crowley is mistakenly resurrected to begin his terror anew. Which is all you need to know going in. Except of course, everything you loved about the franchise isn’t diminished in any way. All of the gore and humor you could want, with some well-earned fan surprises in the mix. That’s a tough accomplishment, if you ask me.
3. Annabelle: Creation
This modern, recent addition to the horror icons stole our horror loving hearts with her chilling introduction in James Wan’s The Conjuring. So much so that she got her own spinoff in 2014, though it didn’t hold a candle to her previous film appearance. It performed well at the box office, and audiences were receptive enough to her standalone film that it warranted a sequel. Or rather, a prequel. New Line Cinema and James Wan tapped David F. Sandberg to helm the film after his work on Lights Out, and the result was something much more at home in The Conjuring universe. Sandberg drew inspiration not only from Wan’s work, but classics like The Haunting or the score of The Shining to craft a creepy prequel that nails its scares. Sandberg softened Annabelle’s look, attempting to make her look more like something a child would actually play with. I can’t say he was entirely successful, because she was still pretty terrifying. Not only did Annabelle’s second standalone appearance work well on her own merit, the film also nicely sets up the upcoming spinoff The Nun, boosting Annabelle: Creation’s ranking.
2. Cult of Chucky
After the comedic tone of Seed of Chucky, the series went back to its straight horror roots with Curse of Chucky. It worked. Between the new look for Brad Dourif’s serial killing doll Chucky, new characters, and toning down the comedy to let scares take the spotlight, Don Mancini re-ignited the franchise in the best possible way. Which made the direct follow up to Curse of Chucky highly anticipated. Leave it to Mancini to continue the battle between Nica (played by the fantastic Fiona Dourif) and Chucky in the most unexpected of ways. Those expecting something more in the vein of Curse of Chucky might be disappointed, but long-time fans found themselves with a sequel offering huge ideas and memorably iconic moments. Cult of Chucky earns high marks for its bold new direction and originality, bringing Alex Vincent and Jennifer Tilly back into the fold, and the utterly fantastic scene featuring three Chucky dolls. The war between good versus evil seemed impossibly uneven by the time the credits rolled, so huge thank you to Mancini for that pleasant surprise during the end credit scene.
1. IT
It says a lot about Stephen King’s source material as well as Tim Curry’s performance in the 1990 made for television adaptation that Pennywise became such an instant icon that resonated with fans. Curry’s version of the coulrophobic inducing entity that terrorized the Losers Club was so iconic that fans were instantly apprehensive of anyone else stepping into the role. Instead of using Curry’s performance as a guide, though, Bill Skarsgard and the creators behind the new adaptation smartly took it in a completely different direction. New look, new personality and mannerisms, but same terrifying evil at its core. Thanks to Skarsgard’s performance as Pennywise the dancing clown, both versions of the character stand out on their own. That weird eye thing that Pennywise does in the movie, making him even more unsettling? That’s all Skarsgard, utilizing his lazy eye to enhance the strangeness of Pennywise. Even cooler is that Skarsgard’s version has instilled a fear of clowns in a whole new generation. Andy Muschietti’s IT works for so many reasons, but in terms of returning horror icons Pennywise stole the year.
In this day and age, the word “troll” is often used to describe various online nuisances. Yet as abundant and irksome as the modern troll can be, they aren’t usually as fearsome as their mythological counterparts. I’m not talking about the small and gentler versions that have become more common to see in media. No, there are much bigger and scarier trolls out there—and André Øvredal’s movie Troll Hunter is one of the best places to find them.
It doesn’t take long for Troll Hunter (or Trolljegeren) to dump the Blair Witch Project-esque setup and aim for something a lot fresher. The trajectory of the story is augmented by Otto Jespersen’s character Hans, the titular Troll Hunter. The second he comes barreling out of the deep, dark woods and shouts “troll” at the camera, this movie takes a turn into what feels like uncharted territory. Not only subject-wise, but also conceptually.
For fantastical and made-up subject matter in cinema, found footage is a fast way to add a guise of believability. After all, what we accept to be the most crucial aspect of documentaries—the truth—rubs off on pseudo-documentaries, despite our understanding of the pretense involved. That is what Øvredal delivered with Troll Hunter: a movie so convincing that some viewers wondered if trolls really do exist. So, had this been straightforwardly made, it likely wouldn’t have been as effective. Conventional narratives would be more inclined to treat something like trolls as flat out unreal, and never try to convince the audience to think otherwise.
Hans petrifies the three-headed Tusseladd troll.
The viewers, like the characters trailing Hans, are quickly thrown into the deeper end of that extraordinary story. They have to process all this new information while staying on the go. So, although there is no significant amount of meandering, narratively or physically, there is still a good amount of atmosphere, not to mention tension building. It’s never anything frightful, but then again, Troll Hunter isn’t your standard offering of horror; it’s more on the low end of the dark fantasy spectrum. We aren’t ever spirited away to a faraway world—we stay in rather familiar surroundings, as well as dip into those less so. The outcome is a movie where you’re constantly more in awe than in terror.
As fantasy fiction might do, Troll Hunter prefers not to deal with incredulity. There is no time to waste on doubt, as interviewer Thomas (Glenn Erland Tosterud), soundperson Johanna (Johanna Mørck), and cameraman Kalle (Tomas Alf Larsen) all follow Hans around, recording whatever this character is willing to reveal about his bizarre job. Of course, the Troll Hunter himself is not an open book; in that respect, the diegetic documentary fails to fully capture and unpack the more interesting of its two subjects. Yes, all those giant, monstrous trolls are indeed incredible, but understandably, your mind wanders to their pursuer. What kind of person signs up for this gig and then chooses to stick with it for so long?
Reviews have called out Troll Hunter for its lack of character development. In regard to Thomas and his fellow documentarians, that criticism is valid, but bear in mind, they aren’t the focus of the story, either. Meanwhile, Hans is a well-crafted character. At least better than first realized. Before he was introduced, Hans had already grown tired of the troll grind. Fed up with that low compensation for his services, resentful of the bureaucracy, and wanting to expose his employer on a large scale, Hans’ discontent is glaring.
Then there are those finer details about the Troll Hunter, such as that indifference to both the natural splendor of his everyday surroundings and the affections of an obviously smitten colleague, that also suggest some level of despondency. So it is fair to say this movie doesn’t feature any sizable growth for its characters; however, the namesake isn’t underwritten. No doubt, putting a real-life character like Otto Jespersen in that role is partly why Hans is so fascinating—maybe even relatable.
Otto Jespersen as Hans the Troll Hunter.
There is always a small risk whenever using the term “mockumentary” to describe a found-footage movie, as the word could imply humor where there is none. In the case of Troll Hunter, the term’s usage is appropriate. Some folks have claimed the English-dubbed version has the more comedic tone, however, the Norwegian cut isn’t exactly humorless. Apart from the trolls’ absurd appearances, this is a movie where the characters nearly choke on the monsters’ farts, and Christians are like walking targets. Hans’ complete apathy towards everything is another cause of laughter. Overall, the comedy is intentionally dry and inconsistent. Unfunny, though? Absolutely not.
In a movie where endemic creatures are maltreated, as well as disavowed from living freely and peacefully, it’s hard not to notice the ecological message buried beneath the story. In addition to that is the unmistakable political satire. There is this whole business about intrusive and unsightly power lines—like trolls, they’re big blemishes on the land—that leads to what is perhaps the movie’s funniest moment. The scene in question is that one where certain electric lines, the ones secretly being used to keep the trolls at bay, go in a loop and don’t actually send power to any residents. Yet the monitors of said lines don’t find this at all weird. So it stands to reason that Øvredal was having a go at those who accept the government’s doings without question.
Looking past the fact that trolls aren’t actually real, this movie is an enlightening source of information. And not just for international audiences; Norwegians, too, get schooled about their homeland’s own mythology. It’s also evident from everything on screen that Øvredal and his crew were enthusiastic about the topic. The creature designs are the most indicative of that zeal; those imaginative yet myth-accurate manifestations are equally amusing and grotesque. One second you’re laughing at their phallic noses, the next you’re white-knuckling during a hairy sequence. Most surprisingly is how well the trolls’ visual effects hold up after fifteen years. It’s not all spotless, but on the whole, they remain impressive.
Vouching for a mockumentary about trolls isn’t easy, but those who do come around and give it a shot will more than likely be grateful for the recommendation. For Troll Hunter is a real find in that vast and varied genre we call “found footage“.
A bridge troll reaches up for food and finds Hans decked out in armor.
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