Editorials
Mr. Disgusting Picks the Best Horror Films of 2012!
Other Year’s Lists: 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020
Every year I seem to have a conversation with someone about how weak the year was for horror. Reflecting back, I think it’s more so that every year there are a few gems that need plucking from a landfill of garbage. This doesn’t mean it was a “bad year,” it just means that the goodies are to be discovered and then celebrated.
My odd scenario comes in that I attend major festivals – Sundance, SXSW, TIFF and more- thus, I see quite a bit more than the average folk…and I see everything early. This isn’t me bragging, more so just a note that, like previous years, most of the films on my list have yet to be released.
I just hope that this list, which also carries the first two ever “Editor’s Choice” tags, gives you all a few films to be excited for in 2013. Shit, you may finally get to see You’re Next this year, too!
Posters (Best/Worst) | Trailers (Best/Worst)
Bonus. Prometheus (June 8; Fox)
This is a bonus entry I forced at the top of my list because I really think Ridley Scott’s quasi-Alien prequel deserves way more credit than it received. The movies a stunning showcase of visual talents that’s also jam-packed with practical effects. And while the story was thin (on purpose), it still had people talking about it for months after its release. I disagree with many of the argued logic gaps, and found myself constantly immersed in the sci-fi epic. Give this one a few years and can pretty much guarantee many of the haters will come around.
10. Detention (April 6; Sony)
Joseph Kahn, who directs incredible music videos, created this genre-bending indie that’s made for one specific crowd. If you’re not aboard within the first 5 minutes, there’s no shame or harm in turning it off, otherwise prepared to be catapulted into pop culture madness littered with gore, laughs and a time-traveling bear. Yeah, you read that correctly…
9. Antiviral (TBD; IFC)
Brandon Cronenberg, son of infamous Canadian filmmaker David, has quietly snuck onto the scene with his horror drama Antiviral, a social commentary on our culture’s obsession with celebrities. The expectations may have been unfairly high (being the son of a legend demands some sort of competence), yet he surpasses them by delivering a deep, engaging, and beautifully shot art house horror film.
8. Frankenweenie (October 5; Disney)
Tim Burton’s Frankenweenie is the best animated genre film of the year. It’s a heartfelt return to Burton’s roots, jam-packed with classic horror homage and laughs. This truly is a horror film for all ages as nearly everyone can relate to the struggles of loss.
7. Citadel (October 26; New Video)
A therapeutic horror film created to rid the director of his own personal phobias and demons, Citadel is a dark, disturbing and unnerving claustrophobic horror film about a building filled with feral children. Way under the radar and even more so underappreciated, Citadel is a towering horror flick filled with scares.
6. Chronicle (February 2; Fox)
You can argue all you want that Chronicle isn’t a horror movie, but it’s actually a Found Footage movie about the beginning of the apocalypse. The only difference between the antagonist in Omen and Chronicle is that the destructor in Chronicle isn’t self-aware. The Max Landis penned story is a direct inspiration from Akira, and features an incredible third act fight sequence. Now if only filmmakers could stop referencing the camera filming… we get it.
5. Juan of the Dead (May 4; Focus World)
I had actually seen this at a market and absolutely hated it. But after a completely new edit, this Cuban zombie film became an instant classic that had me laughing aloud on more than a handful of occasions…and the gore, well, it’s out of this world good.
4. Sound of My Voice (April 27; Fox Searchlight)
Nearly a year later, I’m still obsessing over Sound and its star Brit Marling, two polar opposites that mix together like ying and yang. Her haunting beauty propels the film’s believability and counters the dark tone of the cult subject matter. While this high concept indie plays it small, it delivers quite a massive punch that’s not only fulfilling but will have you thinking about it for days after. Sound is guaranteed to have you joining the cult of Marling.
3. Stitches (TBD; Dark Sky)
Completely under the radar, the slasher has the potential to be the next Hatchet, only with clowns. Owner of Bloody Disgusting’s first ever “Editor’s Choice” tag, this micro-budget indie doesn’t pull any punches and will easily be one of your favorite slashers ever.
2. The Cabin in the Woods (April 13; Lionsgate)
I love a good horror film that’s completely on the nose, yet plays it straight. Cabin is a massive love letter to the slasher subgenre that’s crazy high concept actual works, a feat that I consider award worthy. It’s scary, crazy violent, and super cool. If anything it left me wanting way more. Most importantly, Cabin‘s rewatch value is off the charts, which makes it an instant classic and a must-own.
1. Maniac (TBD; IFC Films)
I had heard nothing but negative buzz out of Cannes, which is why I literally had to drag myself the theater to see Alex Aja’s latest production, a remake of Maniac directed by P2‘s (barf) Franck Khalfoun. These are the defining moments on the site as, had I skipped out on the screening, I would have missed the single best horror film of the year. While it’s touted as “Found Footage,” it’s not, as it’s told from the perspective of Elijah Wood’s character. His portrayal of a mentally stinted adult is haunting, chilling and makes for an off-the-charts suspenseful slasher. The film is not only mesmerizing, but it’s also incredibly violent. The filmmakers have some serious balls as they could have had Elijah look away (being that it’s from his perspective), but kept true to his character in full-on displaying his murderous chaos. This isn’t for the faint of heart.
Honorable Mentions:
Arriving via IFC later this year, Rodney Ascher’s Room 237 explores the conspiracy theories behind Stanley Kubrick’s brilliant The Shining. Dredd 3D wasn’t as good as The Raid, but was visually interesting and a ton of fun. With Hotel Transylvania 3D, I had primed myself full of hatred for this animated comedy, mostly because it looked like a quick cash in. I was shocked to discover that this Adam Sandler comedy was actually funny, and pretty damn entertaining. It’s made for the MTV generation, and those with short attention spans, so if you fit in that category check it out STAT.
Having grown up in a religious family, Christian movie night was something that happened a lot more often than I care to admit. However, back when I was a teenager, my parents showed up one night with an unusually cool-looking DVD of a movie that had been recommended to them by a church leader. Curious to see what new kind of evangelical propaganda my parents had rented this time, I proceeded to watch the film with them expecting a heavy-handed snoozefest.
To my surprise, I was a few minutes in when Denzel Washington proceeded to dismember a band of cannibal raiders when I realized that this was in fact a real movie. My mom was horrified by the flick’s extreme violence and dark subject matter, but I instantly became a fan of the Hughes Brothers’ faith-based 2010 thriller, The Book of Eli. And with the film’s atomic apocalypse having apparently taken place in 2024, I think this is the perfect time to dive into why this grim parable might also be entertaining for horror fans.
Originally penned by gaming journalist and The Walking Dead: The Game co-writer Gary Whitta, the spec script for The Book of Eli was already making waves back in 2007 when it appeared on the coveted Blacklist. It wasn’t long before Columbia and Warner Bros. snatched up the rights to the project, hiring From Hell directors Albert and Allen Hughes while also garnering attention from industry heavyweights like Denzel Washington and Gary Oldman.
After a series of revisions by Anthony Peckham meant to make the story more consumer-friendly, the picture was finally released in January of 2010, with the finished film following Denzel as a mysterious wanderer making his way across a post-apocalyptic America while protecting a sacred book. Along the way, he encounters a run-down settlement controlled by Bill Carnegie (Gary Oldman), a man desperate to get his hands on Eli’s book so he can motivate his underlings to expand his empire. Unwilling to let this power fall into the wrong hands, Eli embarks on a dangerous journey that will test the limits of his faith.
SO WHY IS IT WORTH WATCHING?
Judging by the film’s box-office success, mainstream audiences appear to have enjoyed the Hughes’ bleak vision of a future where everything went wrong, but critics were left divided by the flick’s trope-heavy narrative and unapologetic religious elements. And while I’ll be the first to admit that The Book of Eli isn’t particularly subtle or original, I appreciate the film’s earnest execution of familiar ideas.
For starters, I’d like to address the religious elephant in the room, as I understand the hesitation that some folks (myself included) might have about watching something that sounds like Christian propaganda. Faith does indeed play a huge part in the narrative here, but I’d argue that the film is more about the power of stories than a specific religion. The entire point of Oldman’s character is that he needs a unifying narrative that he can take advantage of in order to manipulate others, while Eli ultimately chooses to deliver his gift to a community of scholars. In fact, the movie even makes a point of placing the Bible in between equally culturally important books like the Torah and Quran, which I think is pretty poignant for a flick inspired by exploitation cinema.
Sure, the film has its fair share of logical inconsistencies (ranging from the extent of Eli’s Daredevil superpowers to his impossibly small Braille Bible), but I think the film more than makes up for these nitpicks with a genuine passion for classic post-apocalyptic cinema. Several critics accused the film of being a knockoff of superior productions, but I’d argue that both Whitta and the Hughes knowingly crafted a loving pastiche of genre influences like Mad Max and A Boy and His Dog.
Lastly, it’s no surprise that the cast here absolutely kicks ass. Denzel plays the title role of a stoic badass perfectly (going so far as to train with Bruce Lee’s protégée in order to perform his own stunts) while Oldman effortlessly assumes a surprisingly subdued yet incredibly intimidating persona. Even Mila Kunis is remarkably charming here, though I wish the script had taken the time to develop these secondary characters a little further. And hey, did I mention that Tom Waits is in this?
AND WHAT MAKES IT HORROR ADJACENT?
Denzel’s very first interaction with another human being in this movie results in a gory fight scene culminating in a face-off against a masked brute wielding a chainsaw (which he presumably uses to butcher travelers before eating them), so I think it’s safe to say that this dog-eat-dog vision of America will likely appeal to horror fans.
From diseased cannibals to hyper-violent motorcycle gangs roaming the wasteland, there’s plenty of disturbing R-rated material here – which is even more impressive when you remember that this story revolves around the bible. And while there are a few too many references to sexual assault for my taste, even if it does make sense in-universe, the flick does a great job of immersing you in this post-nuclear nightmare.
The excessively depressing color palette and obvious green screen effects may take some viewers out of the experience, but the beat-up and lived-in sets and costume design do their best to bring this dead world to life – which might just be the scariest part of the experience.
Ultimately, I believe your enjoyment of The Book of Eli will largely depend on how willing you are to overlook some ham-fisted biblical references in order to enjoy some brutal post-apocalyptic shenanigans. And while I can’t really blame folks who’d rather not deal with that, I think it would be a shame to miss out on a genuinely engaging thrill-ride because of one minor detail.
With that in mind, I’m incredibly curious to see what Whitta and the Hughes Brothers have planned for the upcoming prequel series starring John Boyega…
There’s no understating the importance of a balanced media diet, and since bloody and disgusting entertainment isn’t exclusive to the horror genre, we’ve come up with Horror Adjacent – a recurring column where we recommend non-horror movies that horror fans might enjoy.
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