Movies
Best & Worst of 2009: David Harley Picks His Bottom 5!
The year is winding down and we’re about to say goodbye to both 2009 and the decade. Helping us look back at this past year is David Harley, one of Bloody Disgusting’s long-time contributing writers who resides in Orlando, FL with Tex Massacre and Horror Guy Keenan. Beyond the break you’ll find Harley’s picks for the 5 worst films of 2009. Watch for Mr. Disgusting’s list tomorrow.
David Harley (Best/Worst) | Ryan Daley (Best/Worst)
DAVID HARLEY’S BOTTOM 5 OF 2009
What kills me the most is that this was supposed to be a fun movie. When I read the script, I felt it was predictable but fun; if the journey getting to the end is enjoyable, it doesn’t really matter what happens during the big reveal. There’s still a sense of disappointment but it’s lessened substantially. One of the problems with Sorority Row is that nothing that happens between the inciting incident and the reveal is interesting. The death scenes were extremely tame and if there wasn’t a brief topless scene and some F-bombs, this could have been a PG-13 flick very easily. It’s a little too tame. I Know What You Did Last Summer is much more effective at presenting the same plot, which is basically a rip-off of the original Sorority Row, which is a rip-off of countless other films. If you’re going to do something so derivative, throw in some fun stuff and I’m not just talking about a weird sense of humor – which the film has but only got one or two laughs out of me but boy, did it try! It also commits one of the biggest no-nos of cinema: don’t put in stuff that won’t be relevant in a few years. Nobody watching this is going to care about iPhone apps and Facebook jokes a few years from now. For shame!
The return of Jason Voorhees seems to have left most of us split. Some praise the film for its return to a simpler slasher formula that harkens back to the 80s: tits, blood, thin plot, more tits. Others rag on the film for its incompetency, strange choice of lighting and cinematography (this is not TCM, guys), cliché characters, and eye-rolling and groan inducing sequences and plot points. Personally, I’m with the latter. I appreciate what they were trying to do but ultimately, everyone involved failed miserably. All of a sudden, Jason Voorhees is a kidnapper, he lives in an underground military bunker (which kind of takes away the mystery of how he gets around so easily and hides so efficiently), the discovery of his mask is so anticlimactic, and we’re given his back story not once, but twice, because as an audience, we’re too stupid to put the pieces together ourselves. Characters live up to stereotypes and, instead of being funny or campy, are often annoying. It’s not even that I wanted these characters to die; it’s just that I wish they hadn’t gone to the lake for the weekend and been in the movie. Here’s hoping they go with that winter setting for the sequel.
I’m going to come clean before I start rambling on about Zombie’s second Halloween effort: I didn’t really like the first one – though I will admit that the first half was surprisingly better than I anticipated. After the Weinstein’s juggled around directors like a rousing game of hot potato, Zombie finally stepped up to the plate, leaving Tyrannosaurus Rex on the backburner for the time being (which is the movie we all really wanted to see anyway). I don’t really know what I expected out of Halloween II; he promised that it would be nothing like the original but we all know how that turned out the first time around. Lo and behold, he did deliver on his promise this time and, boy, was it ever different. Hobo Michael Myers, rocker-chick Laurie Strode and pompous Dr. Loomis don’t even intersect storylines until the third act, leaving the build-up to be rather… well, boring. Some of the better scenes and ideas seem to be culled directly from the White Zombie videography, but they don’t really make sense in the context of the film to anyone except Zombie. It’s bat-shit crazy, which is more than I can say for the first entry; however, that doesn’t make it good in the slightest way. But I will say this: it’s definitely HIS film.
This is one of those films that I don’t get the love for. Sure, there’s a few instances of neat gore and the killer looks cool – which is why it isn’t the worst thing I’ve seen this year – but as a film, it doesn’t really go anywhere, do anything different, or inspire scares. To top it all off, the entire dilemma could’ve been avoided if the main character hadn’t of snapped the phone cord by walking across the room to check out a cadaver out of curiosity. As the film goes on, characters constantly make stupid decisions in order to showcase the talents of Almost Human. So, basically, this is a film that’s built around gore set pieces, and while that can sometimes be interesting, there’s nothing aesthetically pleasing about Laid To Rest.
This is THE example of why a film gets shuffled around on the release schedule. Amusement is a film with absolutely no redeeming qualities, devoid of any thought or effort. Upon watching it the first time, I was completely confused. I was under the impression that it was an anthology film, but my suspicions weren’t confirmed until halfway through the movie. It seemed totally random (and unentertaining). I still don’t understand the motivation of some of the characters, particularly in the first story, and thought the wrap-around story needed a lot of work. Oh, and it’s completely predictable too.
This week’s new releases offer everything from giant monsters to Spielberg aliens to ass-kicking martial artists and even an ash-eating medical student. Do we have your interest?
Here’s all the new genre movies that released on Friday, June 12, 2026!
These aren’t all HORROR movies, but we want you to be aware of them all the same…
Norwegian creature feature Kraken is now available on Digital.
The film was also unleashed in select theaters. Check your local listings.
In the monster movie Kraken, “unnatural behavior in wild salmon, followed by inexplicable deaths in Norway’s deepest fjord, points to the mythical Kraken. The ancient, multi-armed monster has awakened, ready to crush everything that moves or makes a sound.”
Pål Øie (The Tunnel) directs Samuel Goldwyn Films’ Kraken from a script by Vilde Eide, Kjersti Jelen Rasmussen, and Natasha Arthur. Sara Khorami, Mikkel Bratt Silset, Øyvind Brandtzæg, Jenny Evensen, Ingvild Holthe Bygdnes, Jon Erik Myre, Hans Morten Hansen, Steinar Klouman Hallert, and Filip Bargee Ramberg star.
An all girls trip into the desert for escapism fun instead implodes in violence in the revenge thriller Find Your Friends, now streaming only on Shudder.
In the film, “Amber and her four best friends flee Los Angeles for a girls’ trip in Joshua Tree, only to find themselves unwelcome in a desert town simmering with quiet hostility. As isolation sets in and encounters with aggressive locals grow more threatening, festering resentments within the group begin to surface.
“What begins as fun and reckless escape spirals into a violent struggle for control and survival, as past wounds and present dangers collide in a night that turns their trip into a nightmare.”
Bella Thorne (The Babysitter), Chloe Cherry (“Euphoria”), Helena Howard (I Saw the TV Glow), Sophia Ali (Uncharted), Zion Moreno (“Gossip Girl”), and Chris Bauer (“True Blood”) star in the feature debut by writer/director Izabel Pakzad.
Steven Spielberg is more sure today than he was when he made Close Encounters and ET that aliens are very real, and with Disclosure Day, he aims to make you a believer too.
Okay so it’s not a horror movie, but the sci-fi blockbuster is now playing in theaters.
The vague synopsis for Disclosure Day reads: “If you found out we weren’t alone, if someone showed you, proved it to you, would that frighten you? This summer, the truth belongs to seven billion people. We are coming close to Disclosure Day.”
The film stars SAG winner and Oscar® nominee Emily Blunt (Oppenheimer, A Quiet Place), Emmy and Golden Globe winner Josh O’Connor (Challengers, The Crown), Oscar® winner Colin Firth (The King’s Speech, Kingsman franchise), Eve Hewson (Bad Sisters, The Perfect Couple) and two-time Oscar® nominee Colman Domingo (Sing Sing, Rustin).
Based on a story by Spielberg, the screenplay is by David Koepp, whose previous work with Spielberg includes the scripts for Jurassic Park, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, War of the Worlds and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Combined, those films earned more than $3 billion worldwide. Koepp also wrote the script for Jurassic World Rebirth.
Steven Spielberg is of course no stranger to extraterrestrial encounters, directing two of the greatest alien movies of all time: Close Encounters of the Third Kind in 1977 and E.T. in 1982. It’s an arena he returned to in 2005, directing an adaptation of H.G. Wells’ War of the Worlds.
Here in 2026, Steven Spielberg sees hope in the existence of aliens. He notes in the final trailer for Disclosure Day, “How will disclosure change us? I believe for the better.”
Another movie that’s not a horror movie but worth mentioning here is the violent martial arts revenge thriller The Furious, which is now playing in theaters from Lionsgate.
Xie Miao (The New Legend of Shaolin) and Joe Taslim (Mortal Kombat) star.
After his daughter is kidnapped by a criminal network and he receives no help from the corrupt police, Wang Wei sets out on a rampage to find her himself.
His only ally is Navin, a relentless journalist whose wife has mysteriously disappeared. Fueled by a furious vengeance, the unlikely duo ruthlessly fights against the kidnappers.
Kenji Tanigaki (Enter the Fat Dragon) directs from a script by Mak Tin Shu (Kung Fu Jungle), Lei Zhilong, Shum Kwan Sin (Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In), and Frank Hui.
A disturbing weight loss craze involving human ashes opens up a haunting world of hurt for a young woman in Saccharine, which is now available on Digital outlets at home.
From writer/director Natalie Erika James (Relic, Apartment 7A), the Australian supernatural body horror film follows lovelorn medical student Hana, who becomes terrorized by a sinister force after taking part in an obscure weight loss craze: eating human ashes.
Midori Francis (“Grey’s Anatomy”), Danielle Macdonald (Patti Cake$), and Madeleine Madden (“The Wheel of Time”) star in Natalie Erika James’ latest nightmare.
From directors Arturo Ambriz and Roy Ambriz, I Am Frankelda is billed as the first ever full length stop motion movie from Mexico, and it’s now streaming on Netflix.
The history-making stop-motion film is a dark fantasy set in a world of monsters.
Here’s the synopsis: “In 19th-century Mexico, Frankelda is a gifted writer whose dark tales are ignored and dismissed. Forced to suppress her voice, she refuses to give up, even as many try to silence her. But when she is thrust into her subconscious, the very monsters she created come to life.
“Guided by Herneval, a tormented prince trapped between dreams and nightmares, she must restore balance between fiction and reality before both realms collapse. Meanwhile, the sinister writer Procustes and his conspirators plot to seize control. As Frankelda and Herneval grow closer, their bond becomes both a strength and a curse.
“To rewrite their fate, she must confront a love that defies existence and reclaim her power as a storyteller—before dark forces consume her imagination and reveal horrors beyond her creation.”
The directors said in a joint statement, “As brothers, we grew up inventing worlds together, drawing, playing, imagining. Over time we understood that fictional characters were not only companions but guides. Sometimes they felt closer than the people around us. They provided us courage, wisdom, and solace. We believe fiction is not an escape from reality but a way of understanding it. A way of converting truth into palatable chunks. I Am Frankelda comes from a lifelong love of storytelling.”
Mireya Mendoza, Arturo Mercado Jr., and Luis Leonardo Suarez lead the voice cast.
Meagan Navarro writes in her review for Bloody Disgusting, “Mexico’s first stop-motion animated feature is a macabre beauty.” Meagan also notes in her review, “I Am Frankelda is a gothic fantasy feature whose boundless creativity is matched by its ambition.”
The lines of reality and delusion blur in Time of Death, now available on Digital.
Michael Kelly (“The Penguin,” Dawn of the Dead 2004) stars with Kevin Pollak (End of Days), Mena Suvari (Vampires of the Velvet Lounge), and Dennis Haysbert (Send Help).
In the horror-thriller, “When a prisoner vanishes without a trace, Detective Frank Morley (Michael Kelly) is sent to a decaying prison on the verge of shutdown. What begins as a routine investigation quickly spirals into a dangerous search for answers.”
Will Wernick (Escape Room 2017, Follow Me) directs from a script by Jason Rosen. They also produce alongside Kelly Delson, Jeff Delson, and Kyle David Crosby.
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