Editorials
The Top 10 Hidden Horror Gems You Might’ve Missed in 2021
As uncertain as everything might feel right now, we can always count on horror to overcome the odds and stay a part of our lives. The genre has been prolific in recent years, and 2021 was no different. This year alone saw a number of high-profile horror releases as well as smaller ones. Many of which were delayed or didn’t see domestic distribution until now.
With this year being so jam-packed horror-wise, it goes without saying a lot of releases got lost in the shuffle. Whether they came and went with no publicity, or they escaped attention regardless of their merits, these movies are considered my hidden gems of 2021.
Scare Us
Not to be confused with either of the Scare Me movies from last year, Scare Us is a completely unrelated anthology. The premise is simple enough; aspiring writers regularly gather at a bookstore so they can share their work. As they do this on a particularly tense night, they have no choice but to address the pink elephant in the room — a killer named Cutthroat is terrorizing the area.
Reviews have been especially hard on Scare Us, but unlike other horror portmanteaus coming out today, this one is not another mere “Frankenthology.” The multiple filmmakers involved all work toward a cohesive framing story. As expected, the plot threads vary in quality; Ryan Kjolberg‘s surreal offering “Untethered” has understandably gained the most attention. Yet, the other stories are no pushovers either. What Scare Us lacks in gimmickry and craved nostalgia it makes up for in artistry and consistency.
The Toll
After screening at multiple film fests, Michael Nader‘s The Toll eventually came home in 2021. The movie is Nader’s directorial debut after penning another hidden gem, Headcount. In this one, a woman (Jordan Hayes) and her ride-share driver (Max Topplin) become trapped inside a supernatural anomaly with an entity known as the Toll Man.
The Toll is an atmospheric journey into darkness. Nader marries nightmarish imagery with emotional landmines. There is the occasional moment of overwriting, but it’s not too distracting from the overall story.
The Arbors
Due to bouts of isolation and distancing over the last two years, many people have become all too familiar with loneliness. The main character at the center of this creature-feature can relate, although his solitude exists for different reasons. Drew Matthews plays a closed-off locksmith named Ethan, who discovers a strange “insect” one day. As the residents of this rural community then start to disappear, Ethan goes to great lengths to protect his new companion.
Clayton Witmer‘s feature debut, co-written with Chelsey Cummings, centers on a man who has become detached from both his family and himself. The monster doubles as a tangible threat and a sort of avatar for Ethan’s frame of mind. As far as the creature goes, what little we see of it is impressive given the budgetary restraints. Don’t expect a lot of carnage or action in The Arbors; we catch only the occasional glimpses of death and chase. Even knowing this is a slow burn, the movie would have benefitted from a shorter runtime. Be that as it may, few monster movies coming out today are willing to be this vulnerable.
15 Things You Didn’t Know About Bigfoot (#1 Will Blow Your Mind)
Originally called The VICE Guide to Bigfoot when it played at film festivals in 2019 and 2020, Zach Lamplugh‘s movie was retitled 15 Things You Didn’t Know About Bigfoot (#1 Will Blow Your Mind) once it was released for home viewing in 2021. The new name is a mouthful, yes, but the movie is a total treat for cryptid enthusiasts. In this mockumentary, a millennial reporter (Brian Emond) bites off more than he can chew when he visits the Appalachian foothills for a feature about Bigfoot. He and an amateur cryptozoologist (Jeffrey Stephenson) land themselves in trouble as they delve deeper into both the myth and the region’s more mysterious parts.
Lamplugh deftly satirizes clickbait culture while also delivering a unique Sasquatch movie. The humor leaves a sting, and the protagonists are likeable oddballs. The only thing more elusive than the most iconic cryptid is a quality Bigfoot flick. Well, look no further because 15 Things hits its target and then some.
Happy Little Bunnies
The line between horror and dark comedy is blurred in this British import. On paper Happy Little Bunnies sounds like a basic slasher, but the further you watch, it’s obvious something else equally sinister is at work. Patrick McConnell‘s movie focuses on a young man’s (John Scott Clark) rather unorthodox therapy session. His new counselor (Simon Manley) goes to extremes to “help” his patient. In the meantime, the city is on edge because of an at-large serial killer who wears a bunny mask.
Happy Little Bunnies is a quasi-slasher with a mean streak. The narrative style isn’t all that clear-cut, but the payoff is more than worth your time and patience. An appetite for transgressive stories and black humor makes this movie go down easier.
Come True
Anthony Scott Burns hit the genre scene with the “Father’s Day” segment in Holidays and the underrated feature Our House. The follow-up Come True sees Burns acting as both a director and a writer; Daniel Weissenberger helped conceive the story. With Burns being more involved in the writing, we get a better sense of his style and vision. Here, a young runaway (Julia Sarah Stone) incidentally invites an uncanny force into reality when she volunteers for a sleep study.
Come True is compelling in spite of a minor flaw or two, but it’s those imperfections that also make it memorable. So much of the film is gorgeous; the rich soundtrack and visuals keep you engaged. The dread unfolds in increments, and by the time the divisive ending rolls around, you’re already too consumed with everything that came before it.
Horror in the High Desert
While some might say found footage has gone out of fashion, others will attest the format is as alive as ever. Of course its mainstream visibility has dwindled since the heyday, but anyone who visits Tubi enough knows there’s still a yearning for first-person thrills. One of the better finds this year is Horror in the High Desert, a mockumentary about a missing man in Northern Nevada.
Three years after his disappearance, friends and family of Gary (Eric Mencis) come together to shoot a documentary about their loss. The case’s investigation is described in great detail before the startling reveal toward the end. Unlike other similar movies, Horror in the High Desert avoids the patent but overused “throw everything at the camera and hope it sticks” routine. On the contrary, Dutch Marich creates a hefty bit of tension by doing very little. The performances and scares all come across as authentic even if we know better by now.
Initiation
From Fear Street to the upcoming Scream sequel, masked murderers are trending like it’s the late ’90s again. Some things about slashers never change; the killers still love their signature weapons and very specific motivations. John Berardo‘s Initiation is no exception, but what really makes this neo-slasher stand out is the incredible writing. Initiation wows with its acting and depictions of grief. In general, the meeting of drama and suspense here is exceedingly well done.
In the movie, a college campus is left in shock when a fraternity brother (Froy Gutierrez) is brutally murdered in his own house. His sister (played by co-writer Lindsay LaVanchy) has no time to mourn because the assailant has only just begun their killing spree.
The Feast
Ecological horror has made a small comeback thanks to growing concern about the planet. On a smaller scale, the Welsh movie The Feast (originally Gwledd) examines the consequences of local avarice and absolute self-interest. An area known as The Rise is at stake in this beautifully shot morality tale. A wealthy family has no earthly idea of what’s to come as they plan their next — and possibly last — dinner party.
Bjørn Ståle Bratberg‘s eye for lavish scenery and opulent décor can be misleading, but director Lee Haven Jones fills every inch of this eco-horror with quiet, insurmountable dread. This languid approach to a theme as potentially farcical as “eat the rich” isn’t for everyone, but those who stay the course will feel sated by the outcome.
Roh
Two years after its release back in Malaysia, Emir Ezwan‘s Roh (Soul) is finally available in the U.S. This impressive debut is one of several homegrown horrors that’s managed to gain interest outside of Asia. Roh follows a single mother (Farah Ahmad) and her two children (Mhia Farhana, Harith Haziq) as they fend off a supernatural threat. This comes after they’re visited by strangers with vague intentions.
The confining forest prevents a quick and easy escape, and the dread is immovable. On top of all that is a merciless plot trajectory. Even though Roh never cares to explain itself, the movie is thoroughly unsettling.
Editorials
Before ‘The Blair Witch Project’, ‘Alien Autopsy’ Showed How Real Found Footage Could Feel
The line separating artist from con man is a lot thinner than you might initially believe. While I think we can all agree that lying for the sake of profit is actively malicious behavior, isn’t it also true that the faux documentary aspect of The Blair Witch Project is half the reason why that film became such a cultural phenomenon? After all, if there’s one thing filmmakers have in common with stage magicians, it’s that misleading and misdirecting audiences is simply part of the job.
That’s why I’ve developed a habit of mostly ignoring the moral quandaries behind many of film and television’s biggest “hoaxes” in favor of appreciating the narrative elements that drive productions like Mermaids: The Body Found and even Animal Planet’s highly underrated The Cannibal in the Jungle. However, if there’s a definitive case of a highly publicized broadcast fooling the world into taking it seriously, it has to be Fox’s infamous 1995 TV special Alien Autopsy: Fact or Fiction.
It’s been over three decades since that eerie footage first haunted television screens right at the peak of the ’90s ufology craze, and in that time, the video has taken on a life of its own. From countless parodies and references in everything from The X-Files to Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater (as well as John Dower’s recently released tell-all documentary The Alien Autopsy Scandal, which I’d highly recommend to genre fans everywhere), there’s no denying the legacy of the Alien Autopsy video. However, I rarely see the tape discussed as what it truly is: a highly convincing found footage film directed by a passionate stage magician and brought to life by masterful practical effects work.
That’s why I’d like to invite readers to join me on a deep dive into one of the most infamous broadcasts of all time in an attempt to reevaluate the footage as a fascinating narrative experience rather than a complete hoax.
The TV Special That Convinced Millions It Was Real
Ray Santilli next to Extraterrestrial replica in ‘The Alien Autopsy Scandal’
For starters, regardless of whether or not you believe that there was in fact an extraterrestrial crash in Roswell during the summer of 1947 and that some form of autopsy was performed on the victims, the producers behind the black & white recordings, Ray Santilli and Gary Shoefield, insist that their video was a “restoration.” Though I’d argue that the proper word is “remake”of genuine footage that was too damaged to air on television. That’s why the duo went on to recruit filmmaker and eccentric magician Spyros Melaris and sculptor/monster designer John Humphreys to bring their version of the autopsy to life and sell it to the highest bidder.
This is where the story of the Alien Autopsy as a narrative experience really begins. Melaris claims that his approach to the faux recording consisted of striving for extreme period accuracy in both shooting equipment and setting while also planting subtle details that would initially seem like mistakes but could later be revealed to actually fit the time period. That being said, the filmmaker was under the impression that the short would be released for free as a PR stunt, with the team later producing and selling an informative documentary chronicling exactly how the footage was faked and commenting on how easy it is to manipulate public perception with a good old-fashioned magic trick.
This obviously isn’t how things went down, and that’s likely the reason why Melaris has since distanced himself from everyone else involved with the project. Yet, no amount of behind-the-scenes drama can undermine the genuine effort that went into making the short as impressive as it is. From the sourcing of real animal organs from a local butcher to make the organic part of the creature more lifelike to the highly detailed sculpt that made use of a hollowed-out underlayer that could be filled with fake blood and assorted viscera, there’s a reason why so many Hollywood specialists are still impressed with the artistry on display here.
Of course, the believability is only half the story, as I think that the best part of the autopsy is how Melaris builds on the existing tension by obscuring certain details and often embracing the chaos of what a real examination of extraterrestrial life could feel like. The camera often goes out of focus at just the right time to make certain effects hit even harder, and we can only speculate as to what the hazmat-suited doctors are gesticulating about during the operation. There’s a real air of mystery to the whole thing that almost makes it feel like a cosmically terrifying, cursed film containing forbidden knowledge that civilians were never meant to see.
So when Fox’s Fact or Fiction brings in the specialists to comment on the film and its otherworldly subject, it’s no surprise that we end up with one of the most memorable mockumentaries of all time – albeit one where the participants are unaware that the footage they’re commenting on is basically a large-scale practical joke. A joke that the network was obviously in on, as many participants claim that the TV special cut out significant portions where guests point out that they believe the footage to be an elaborate hoax.
The Lasting Impact of the Hoax Turned Cultural Event
Regardless, I remember going to bed terrified after watching reruns of the special and thinking about the respected pathologist who claimed that the body was almost certainly inhuman, with even effects maestro Stan Winston commenting on how difficult it would be to recreate some of these visuals through practical puppetry. That’s not even mentioning Jonathan Frakes’ dramatic hyping up of the disturbing imagery as if he was talking about the tape from The Ring, with his spooky demeanor here likely being responsible for his later role as the host of Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction a few years later.
Personally, I’d argue that the Alien Autopsy phenomenon had just as much of an impact on me as a horror fan as The Blair Witch Project, a film that was almost certainly influenced by the success of this immensely popular hoax (to the point where they even produced their own TV special commenting on Heather’s found footage). Even if Fox didn’t intend to produce a narrative feature about the aftermath of the Roswell crash, the end product still holds up remarkably well as a highly entertaining mockumentary exploring the idea that we may not be alone in the universe.
While neither Santilli nor the rest of the production team has ever commented on this, I also think it’s very likely that the idea of a faux Alien Autopsy could have been influenced by Dean Alioto’s The McPherson Tape/UFO Abduction. I’ve already written about how this granddaddy of found footage was co-opted by rogue ufologists who began selling bootlegs of the tape at conventions as if it were real evidence of a close encounter, so it’s not that much of a stretch to imagine that Santilli and company could have heard about this phenomenon and been inspired to come up with their own highly profitable hoax.
At the end of the day, it’s unlikely that the Alien Autopsy film is recreating any real footage from Roswell, but I can still appreciate the short and the accompanying television event as a standalone horror story that still influences the way we see found footage to this very day.
After all, the possibility that something could be real is often much scarier than finding out for sure – and that’s why I think Alien Autopsy: Fact or Fiction is still worth revisiting three decades down the line.
You must be logged in to post a comment.