Editorials
10 Great Horror Movies From the ’00s You Maybe Haven’t Seen
The first decade in the 21st century unleashed a torrent of horror, from the rise and fall of the “torture porn” subgenre sparked by international turmoil to rapid advances in technology that widened the scope of filmmaking and connected global markets. Found footage horror resonated with audiences in a major way with entries like REC and Paranormal Activity, and zombies felt dangerous again with films like 28 Days Later and the Dawn of the Dead remake. But not as dangerous as the way of extreme horror films both stateside and internationally with films like the Saw franchise, The Strangers, Wolf Creek, Inside, High Tension, Eden Lake, and more. In short, the decade was tremendous in selection for just about every aspect and sub-genre of horror. This means that there’s still a ton of great horror movies that have slipped through the cracks waiting to still be discovered, and here’s 10 of the decade’s best that you might have missed.
The Baby’s Room
The plot is simple; a young couple moves into an old house with their baby and soon begin hearing voices on the baby monitor at night. But being that this was co-written and directed by Alex de la Iglesia (The Day of the Beast, Witching and Bitching), this is less straightforward haunted house fare than you’d expect. A study of paranoia and tension, The Baby’s Room is even more surprising in that it’s a made for TV movie, which is also why it likely slipped under the radar. An entry in the Spanish horror TV series Historia paras no dormir, The Baby’s Room didn’t get much notice stateside, occasionally popping up on streaming services and getting a DVD release with the other episodes, titled 6 Films To Keep You Awake, but it’s worth seeking out.
Sauna
This Finnish period horror follows two brothers, Knut and Eerik, on their quest to mark the border between Finland and Russia after a 25-year war between the countries has finally ended. In their journey they come upon a village set in a swamp, with a mysterious sauna that they hope to use to cleanse away their sins of war. Full confession; I still don’t know that I fully grasp everything presented in Sauna. It’s abstract and non-linear in narrative, and explores the toll of guilt in a unique way. But it’s haunting in atmosphere and offers some of the most stunning cinematography.
Anatomy
Franka Potente stars as Paula, a med student who wins a spot at the select Heidelberg medical school. It’s daunting, competitive, and exclusive enough as it is, but Paula realizes there’s something more sinister happening at the school when a man she met on the train soon after makes his way to the dissection table in class. Paula discovers the secret Anti-Hippocratic Society, a group that vivisects people they deem unfit for living. A medical thriller that mostly sticks to convention, it’s slickly shot and doesn’t shy away from the gruesome nature of cutting people up. A sort of slasher that revels in gory nature of vivisections is pretty fun.
The Cottage
Playing like two movies in one, The Cottage is a British horror comedy begins as a kidnapping gone wrong and then turns into a satisfying homage to slasher films. Andy Serkis stars as David, one half of the brother duo who decide to kidnap the daughter of a crime boss only to find her a feisty handful who doesn’t take to being kidnapped well. Even still, none of them are prepared for the deformed killer dubbed The Farmer. The gore is a fun surprise to this horror comedy.
Timecrimes
Writer/director Nacho Vigalondo’s first feature film is a twisty sci-fi horror time travel story that sees its lead, Hector, stuck in a time loop following an attack by man covered in bloodied bandages. Those that are a stickler for time travel logic and characters whose decisions compound their own misfortune might be frustrated, but Timecrimes is a creative, fun face-paced romp in suspense. The more Hector continues his time loop, the deadlier things get. What starts as a slasher evolves into something completely different.
Uzumaki
Proving that J-horror is more than just long-haired vengeful ghosts, Uzumaki (aka Spiral) is a surreal adaptation of Junji Ito’s regarded horror manga of the same name. It’s not a film for those wanting something more linear in plot with cohesive answers, but a journey into madness. Consisting of four parts, the narrative tells of a town becoming obsessed and tormented by spirals. Yup. Spirals. It’s weird, offbeat, and wholly unique.
Shutter
Forget the 2008 American remake and head straight for the 2004 Thai horror film on which it was based. It’s grittier, creepier, and somewhat forgotten. When photographer Tun and his girlfriend Jane get into a hit and run, leaving a girl dying on the side of the road, strange faces and shadows begin taking over Tun’s photographs. The haunting escalates, and first appearances would lead you to believe it’s tied to the hit and run, but the twisty mystery behind the haunting is much more surprising and sinister. Shutter takes the Asian ghost horror tropes and makes it feel fresh again with effective jump scares and an engaging mystery.
Love Object
2003 marked a year that Desmond Harrington starred in two horror films; the higher profiled Wrong Turn and the underseen horror romance film Love Object. The latter sees Harrington star as lonely tech writer, Kenneth, who falls head over heels and then becomes obsessed with Nikki. Nikki is a sex doll. Kenneth’s obsession and psychological descent is unsettling, but what really elevates this into something special is that director Robert Parigi keeps the viewer guessing; is there more to Nikki than meets the eye?
Triangle
Director Christopher Smith (Black Death, Severance) brought forth on of the decade’s most mind-bending horror films in Triangle. Melissa George stars as Jess, a woman desperate for a break from her autistic son so she agrees to join a friend for a day on a yacht. A storm leaves them stranded until an ocean liner comes along, only it’s deserted. The group finds themselves hunted by a masked killer on board, a serious case of Déjà vu sets in for Jess, and no one can effectively predict the twists and turns the story takes from there.
Fragile
Two years before Jaume Balagueró teamed up with Paco Plaza to unleash one of the most terrifying movies of the decade, REC, he proved an aptitude for delivering chills with this underseen haunted hospital spookfest, Fragile. Calista Flockheart stars as Amy, a nurse brought on to the nightshift in the children’s ward at an old hospital in the process of closing down. The problem is that the hospital’s closing means a ghost is very, very unhappy about the children leaving, and Amy has to somehow find a way to keep the children safe from unseen attacks. Fragile is creepy and atmospheric with effective scares, but even better is that Balagueró gives this ghost story an emotional center that really connects.
Editorials
‘Leprechaun Returns’ – The Charm of the Franchise’s Legacy Sequel
The erratic Leprechaun franchise is not known for sticking with a single concept for too long. The namesake (originally played by Warwick Davis) has gone to L.A., Las Vegas, space, and the ‘hood (not once but twice). And after an eleven-year holiday since the Davis era ended, the character received a drastic makeover in a now-unmentionable reboot. The critical failure of said film would have implied it was time to pack away the green top hat and shillelagh, and say goodbye to the nefarious imp. Instead, the Leprechaun series tried its luck again.
The general consensus for the Leprechaun films was never positive, and the darker yet blander Leprechaun: Origins certainly did not sway opinions. Just because the 2014 installment took itself seriously did not mean viewers would. After all, creator Mark Jones conceived a gruesome horror-comedy back in the early nineties, and that format is what was expected of any future ventures. So as horror legacy sequels (“legacyquels”) became more common in the 2010s, Leprechaun Returns followed suit while also going back to what made the ‘93 film work. This eighth entry echoed Halloween (2018) by ignoring all the previous sequels as well as being a direct continuation of the original. Even ardent fans can surely understand the decision to wipe the slate clean, so to speak.
Leprechaun Returns “continued the [franchise’s] trend of not being consistent by deciding to be consistent.” The retconning of Steven Kostanski and Suzanne Keilly’s film was met with little to no pushback from the fandom, who had already become accustomed to seeing something new and different with every chapter. Only now the “new and different” was familiar. With the severe route of Origins a mere speck in the rearview mirror, director Kotanski implemented a “back to basics” approach that garnered better reception than Zach Lipovsky’s own undertaking. The one-two punch of preposterous humor and grisly horror was in full force again.
With Warwick Davis sitting this film out — his own choice — there was the foremost challenge of finding his replacement. Returns found Davis’ successor in Linden Porco, who admirably filled those blood-stained, buckled shoes. And what would a legacy sequel be without a returning character? Jennifer Aniston obviously did not reprise her final girl role of Tory Redding. So, the film did the next best thing and fetched another of Lubdan’s past victims: Ozzie, the likable oaf played by Mark Holton. Returns also created an extension of Tory’s character by giving her a teenage daughter, Lila (Taylor Spreitler).
It has been twenty-five years since the events of the ‘93 film. The incident is unknown to all but its survivors. Interested in her late mother’s history there in Devil’s Lake, North Dakota, Lila transferred to the local university and pledged a sorority — really the only one on campus — whose few members now reside in Tory Redding’s old home. The farmhouse-turned-sorority-house is still a work in progress; Lila’s fellow Alpha Epsilon sisters were in the midst of renovating the place when a ghost of the past found its way into the present.
The Psycho Goreman and The Void director’s penchant for visceral special effects is noted early on as the Leprechaun tears not only into the modern age, but also through poor Ozzie’s abdomen. The portal from 1993 to 2018 is soaked with blood and guts as the Leprechaun forces his way into the story. Davis’ iconic depiction of the wee antagonist is missed, however, Linden Porco is not simply keeping the seat warm in case his predecessor ever resumes the part. His enthusiastic performance is accentuated by a rotten-looking mug that adds to his innate menace.
The obligatory fodder is mostly young this time around. Apart from one luckless postman and Ozzie — the premature passing of the latter character removed the chance of caring about anyone in the film — the Leprechaun’s potential prey are all college aged. Lila is this story’s token trauma kid with caregiver baggage; her mother thought “monsters were always trying to get her.” Lila’s habit of mentioning Tory’s mental health problem does not make a good first impression with the resident mean girl and apparent alcoholic of the sorority, Meredith (Emily Reid). Then there are the nicer but no less cursorily written of the Alpha Epsilon gals: eco-conscious and ex-obsessive Katie (Pepi Sonuga), and uptight overachiever Rose (Sai Bennett). Rounding out the main cast are a pair of destined-to-die bros (Oliver Llewellyn Jenkins, Ben McGregor). Lila and her peers range from disposable to plain irritating, so rooting for any one of them is next to impossible. Even so, their overstated personalities make their inevitable fates more satisfying.
Where Returns excels is its death sequences. Unlike Jones’ film, this one is not afraid of killing off members of the main cast. Lila, admittedly, wears too much plot armor, yet with her mother’s spirit looming over her and the whole story — comedian Heather McDonald put her bang-on Aniston impersonation to good use as well as provided a surprisingly emotional moment in the film — her immunity can be overlooked. Still, the other characters’ brutal demises make up for Lila’s imperviousness. The Leprechaun’s killer set-pieces also happen to demonstrate the time period, seeing as he uses solar panels and a drone in several supporting characters’ executions. A premortem selfie and the antagonist’s snarky mention of global warming additionally add to this film’s particular timestamp.
Critics were quick to say Leprechaun Returns did not break new ground. Sure, there is no one jetting off to space, or the wacky notion of Lubdan becoming a record producer. This reset, however, is still quite charming and entertaining despite its lack of risk-taking. And with yet another reboot in the works, who knows where the most wicked Leprechaun ever to exist will end up next.
Horror contemplates in great detail how young people handle inordinate situations and all of life’s unexpected challenges. While the genre forces characters of every age to face their fears, it is especially interested in how youths might fare in life-or-death scenarios.
The column Young Blood is dedicated to horror stories for and about teenagers, as well as other young folks on the brink of terror.
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