Thanks to limited theatrical releases, streaming services, and video on demand, it can be extremely difficult to navigate the overwhelming number of movie selections at our disposal. Especially for the more independent films without much of a marketing budget. Some movies are lucky enough to amass a loud enough word-of-mouth reputation that can’t be ignored, like Panos Cosmatos’ Mandy, while many fall into quiet obscurity after a successful festival run. For those looking for great horror that exists at the edges of the genre or simply slipped under the radar, these 10 releases are 2018’s best.

Cold Hell

Directed by Stefan Ruzowitzky, who helmed the underseen but fantastic horror film Anatomy, Cold Hell blends giallo with action in this underseen stunner that arrived quietly on Shudder in March. A serial killer is on the loose in Austria, targeting prostitutes and murdering them in slow, gruesome fashion. When taxi driver Özge (Violetta Schurawlow) inadvertently witnesses one of the murders from her apartment window, she becomes the killer’s next target and the police are of no help. Rich visuals with an emphasis on vivid colors and dark shadows work in conjunction with the sleazy murder mystery that makes Cold Hell a modern giallo, but Özge’s take no prisoners attitude and intense action sequences evokes retro action-brawler fare that makes this one something wholly new and exciting.

Mom and Dad

Nicolas Cage’s performance in Mandy has earned a lot of praise and attention, for good reason. His portrayal of Red isn’t as over the top as reputed, but an authentic exploration of a man caught deep in the throes of grief after witnessing the brutal demise of his soul mate. In other words, it’s much more sedate than what people have come to expect from the actor. If you want over the top Cage, in the best possible way, then you want Mom and Dad. The premise revolves around a mysterious virus that renders parents homicidal toward their own children exclusively, and as infected dad Brent, Cage really lets loose. Selma Blair holds her own against the actor as the mom that’s equally unhinged, and the two are the sole reason to watch this B-movie romp. It’s entertaining and funny, and Cage and Blair really bring the repressed rage of parental frustrations.

Wildling

Co-writer/director Fritz Böhm’s feature debut is a new spin on a coming-of-age horror story that follows Anna, a young teen who spends most of her life sheltered by her overprotective father until tragedy shoves her out into the real world. Anna then has to learn how to exist in society while uncovering dark truths about her childhood and who she really is. Brad Dourif gives another great performance as Anna’s father with a twisted secret, and Liv Tyler is serviceable as the sweet cop that just wants to help. But it’s Bel Powley as Anna that makes Wildling rise above its flaws. This coming of age creature feature isn’t perfect, but it’s engaging and genuine just the same.

The Cured

For those still clamoring for a continuation of 28 Weeks Later, The Cured may be as close as we’ll ever get. As the title indicates, it’s set in a world where the zombie population has been cured, but the once-infection zombies are still discriminated against by both their families and society- neither having forgiven them for the devastation incurred during the outbreak. It leads to heavy tension and social issues that causes the military to intervene. Ellen Page stars as Abbie, a single mother who lost her husband to the zombies but finds herself sheltering one of the cured. Though this focuses far more on the drama and heavy-handed social metaphors, there are moments of startling horror and a third act that submerses fully into genre fare. It’s a rare glimpse beyond the initial outbreak.

Let the Corpses Tan

A caveat; this one is most certainly not for everyone. As with Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani’s previous films Amer and The Strange Color of Your Body’s Tears, the filmmaking duo are less interested in following a traditional, coherent narrative and more about a sensory onslaught experience steeped in vintage Italian filmmaking pastiche. Whereas their previous films were gialli, Let the Corpses Tan pays respects to the ‘70s Italian spaghetti western. It’s as grotesque as it is beautiful, and it does go to some horrific places. A gang of thieves hideout at a remote village in the desert-like cliffs of the Mediterranean, inhabited by an eccentric artist and her followers, after stealing a truckload of gold. It’s all going well enough until a pair of cops show up, and the entire island erupts into a hallucinatory shootout that endures all night. It’s strange, surreal, and bloody.

Tumbbad

A visually rich allegory for greed, Tumbbad hails from India and really delivers on the horror. A dark, gothic fairy tale, Tumbbad spans generations as it follows Vinayek Rao from childhood well into adulthood and the curse that surrounds his family. Opening with heavy exposition that explains the mythology at the center of the Vinayek family curse, it’s a story of the corruptive power greed can have and just how deep it takes root. Although it plays out much more dark fairy tale, the horror elements are downright terrifying.  Early scenes were young Rao discovers his cursed grandma, locked away and demonic, is pure terror.

Possum

This psychological horror film doesn’t offer much in the way of clear-cut answers, but it does provide creeping dread and nightmarish imagery. Sean Harris stars as Philip, a disgraced puppeteer that returns to his childhood home and is forced to confront his childhood traumas. Though Possum prefers ambiguity, it’s crystal clear why Philip’s last paying gig caused him to run home in shame; his puppet, Possum, would terrify anyone let alone an arachnophobic. With an arachnid body and monochromatic human head, Possum elicits some extremely creepy moments. Harris also nails his performance as the socially isolated man descending into madness. This character study will likely be too slow for some, but boy is it creepy.

Thoroughbreds

Anya-Taylor Joy stars as Lily, an upper-class teen that connects with Olivia Cooke’s Amanda in the hope of recruiting her to assist in the murder of her stepfather. A darkly funny story in the vein of Heathers or American Psycho, Lily and Amanda’s burgeoning friendship is fully of surprises, laughs, and even horror. Both have perfected masks that hide their inner darkness, but which one is worse? The emotionally self-destructive girl who hates her mean stepfather, or the disconnected girl with a host of extreme personality disorders that renders her unable to feel emotion? This is for those that like their horror much closer to reality and with biting wit. Anton Yelchin also stars in a supporting role as the town’s resident drug-dealer.

The Clovehitch Killer

Set in a small town nestled in the Bible Belt, teen Tyler begins to suspect his own father might be the infamous Clovehitch Killer responsible for murdering 10 women a decade ago before disappearing. The crimes were so vicious that memory of the Clovehitch Killer never faded from the town’s memory, and Tyler stumbles onto proof that the killer has started anew. Dylon McDermott plays Tyler’s father, a squeaky-clean church-goer and doting family man. But there’s an underpinning of danger there, and the more Tyler begins to dig into the Clovehitch Killer, the creepier dad gets. It’s because of McDermott’s performance that this coming of age story meets terrifying serial killer cat and mouse game is as captivating as it is horrific.

Good Manners

Written and directed by Marco Dutra and Juliana Rojas, Good Manners is a horror meets fable story about lonely nurse Clara and the unexpected bond she forms with her wealthy employer Ana. Ana hires Clara to be the nanny for her unborn child, and despite coming from very different backgrounds, the pair form a strong bond that’s forever altered on one fateful night of terror. Playing out in two distinct narrative halves connected by that fateful night, the less you know about Good Manners going in the better. This dark fairy tale is a beautiful and often bloody entry in a beloved sub-genre, and offers many heartfelt and heart wrenching surprises.

The post 10 Best Horror Films You Might Have Missed in 2018! appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

“The film follows Anna (Bel Powley), a woman who spent her entire childhood locked in the attic, under the care of a mysterious man she only knows as Daddy (Brad Dourif). Anna is scared to death of a creature he calls the Wildling, a child-eating monster that roams outside. After a small-town sheriff Ellen Cooper (Liv Tyler) frees Anna and helps her start a new life, her childhood nightmares of the Wildling return, disrupting the possibility of a normal life.”

James Le Gros, Collin Kelly-Sordelet, and Mike Faist also star.

In the clip, Anna tells the sheriff that she’s told that the wilding eats children. She snidely replies, “Did your daddy tell you that?, referring to her captor. ” What’s fact and what’s fiction?

Check out three additional clips that take place early in the film after Liv Tyler helps Anna escape the imprisonment of her father, played by Brad Dourif.

The post The ‘Wildling’ Is Said to Eat Children [Clip] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

“The film follows Anna (Bel Powley), a woman who spent her entire childhood locked in the attic, under the care of a mysterious man she only knows as Daddy (Brad Dourif). Anna is scared to death of a creature he calls the Wildling, a child-eating monster that roams outside. After a small-town sheriff Ellen Cooper (Liv Tyler) frees Anna and helps her start a new life, her childhood nightmares of the Wildling return, disrupting the possibility of a normal life.”

James Le Gros, Collin Kelly-Sordelet, and Mike Faist also star.

All three clips take place early in the film after Liv Tyler helps Anna escape the imprisonment of her father, played by Brad Dourif.

The post ‘Wildling’ Clips Take Place After a Traumatic Escape appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

The Worst

10. Blood Fest 

It’s a shame that the meta horror comedy Blood Fest doesn’t work nearly as well as it should because the premise is so great. In the film, teenage Dax (Robbie Kay) sneak into Blood Fest, a horror lover’s wet dream of an event in which several acres of land are divided into sub-genres for guests to traverse like a haunted house, with his friends. Once there, the gates are locked and electrified as the emcee (the film’s writer/director, Owen Egerton) announces that the guests will all be murdered by Blood Fest’s costumed employees by sunrise.

From my review:

“Unfortunately, nothing about Blood Fest is witty. You can practically feel the film winking at you every time a character utters a one-liner or makes a comment about the rules of horror. Watching it, you imagine Egerton and Co. patting themselves on the backs after every take…There is a passion behind Blood Fest that is somewhat endearing, and you can’t help but admire Egerton for his efforts. If only the movie wasn’t a complete failure at what it tries to do: be fun. “

Blood Fest will be released on Rooster Teeth. No release date has been set.

9. The Ranger

How do you make a slasher movie about a psychotic park ranger killing a bunch of punks boring? Look no further than The Ranger, which manages to do exactly that.

From my review:

“The Ranger is ultimately a missed opportunity for the punk horror sub-genre. It may seem like I’m criticizing it for not being what I wanted it to be, but I would be okay with it being something different if it was good. What could have either been a ridiculously fun time or a suspense-filled slasher is instead reduced to a boring slog of a film. Filled with obnoxious characters and an unmemorable villain, there isn’t much to recommend about The Ranger. Fans of ’80s slashers might want to check it out if it gets distribution, but all others need not apply.”

I may not have liked The Ranger very much, but our own Justin Yandell offered up a more positive take on the film, writing:

“The Ranger isn’t going to be for everyone. But it’s not trying to be. At all. It’s an unapologetic movie fully confident in its own identity and central themes of self-acceptance and empowerment. This probably isn’t the correct nomenclature but, in that way, The Ranger is one of the most punk horror movies that has ever punked. It’s like a hot pink mohawk – if you’re not into it, it’s not meant for you anyway.”

The Ranger is currently seeking distribution. No release date has been set.

The Good

8. Upgrade

Upgrade is more of a sci-fi thriller than a straightforward horror film, but the fact that it is written and directed by Saw and Insidious scribe Leigh Whannell immediately makes it eligible for coverage. In this highly entertaining combination of Her and The Stepford Wives, a tetraplegic named Grey Trace (Logan Marshall-Green) is offered an experimental paralysis cure in the form of an implanted computer chip called STEM. Grey soon finds that the chip has a voice and a mind of its own.

From Meredith Border’s review:

“Upgrade is more fun to watch than a lot of low-budget sci-fi movies we see in festival or VOD settings. It’s really visually interesting, with warm and colorful tech replacing the sterile blues and greys typical of films like this. Upgrade looks more expensive than it almost definitely is, and that’s to Whannell’s credit. He does a lot with a little and crafts a really cool look at the near future. It’s a good-natured film that will never bore you, but don’t enter into it thinking you’re about to find a thoughtful, mature treatise on the dangers of over-reliance on technology. Upgrade is not that movie – even though it might think it is.”

I actually liked Upgrade more than Meredith did (it’s a 4/5 for me), but to each their own!

Blumhouse Tilt will release Upgrade on June 1, 2018.

7. What Keeps You Alive

Colin Minihan’s (Grave Encounters, It Stains the Sand Red) next feature is a tense and sometimes humorous survival horror film about a couple (Jigsaw‘s Hannah Emily Anderson and Brittany Allen) who learn some harsh truths about each other during a vacation to a remote cabin in the woods.

From my review:

“What Keeps You Alive is a solid thriller that works more often than it doesn’t thanks to the performances of Anderson and Allen. Those, combined with Minihan’s skilled direction, make for one of the better survival horror films to come out recently. Just don’t watch it with your spouse as it may plant a few seeds of doubt about who they really are.”

What Keeps You Alive is currently seeking distribution. No release date has been set.

6. Wildling

Word of advice: don’t watch the trailer for Wildling before you see it as it pretty much gives away the big reveal. Just wait a few weeks for IFC Midnight to release it, because it’s best watched knowing as little as possible.

From my review:

“Wildling is a solid debut feature for Böhm and features a magnetic performance from Bel Powley as well as some excellent creature and gore effects. The film loses its way a bit towards the end, but its heart is in the right place, making for a rather endearing viewing experience. If anything, the film leave you with a strong desire to see Böhm’s next film, whatever that may be.”

IFC Midnight will release Wildling in theaters and VOD on April 13, 2018.

The Best

5. Unfriended: Dark Web

Viewers who found the characters in the first Unfriended to be too insufferable will want to give its sequel Unfriended: Dark Web a chance, as the characters are much more likable this time around. In the film, a 20-something (Colin Woodell, Unsane) finds a cache of hidden files on his new laptop and is thrust into the deep waters of the dark web. Just like the first Unfriended, this thriller unravels in real-time, entirely on a computer screen.

From my review:

“Unfriended: Dark Web manages to simultaneously address and fix a lot of the problems that Unfriended had while still managing to have some problems of its own. Flaws aside, this is a sequel that is better than anyone could have hoped for and practically demands to be seen with a crowd. This isn’t high art, but it is a clever little sequel that aims to do more than just duplicate the original.”

Unfriended: Dark Web will be distributed by Universal Pictures. No release date has been set.

4. Ghost Stories

Jeremy Dyson and Andy Nyman adapt their stage play of the same name with Ghost Stories, a horror anthology that centers on Professor Phillip Goodman, who covers three incidents of supernatural ghost sightings. These include a night watchman in an old factory, a teenage driver whose car breaks down and a businessman who is awaiting the birth of his child

From Meredith Border’s review:

“Ultimately, Ghost Stories examines what’s behind our fear, the ways that our history and emotional makeup condition us to be afraid – and what’s behind our cynicism, our fierce determination to believe that the world is black and white and mundane. There are some serious jump-scares in here, but none of them feel cheap, despite the fact that “cheapness” is sort of the defining characteristic of a jump-scare. Instead, Ghost Stories is playing with our expectations and instincts, revealing a little more of what’s behind its clever curtain with every fright.”

IFC Midnight will release Ghost Stories in theaters and VOD on April 20, 2018.

3. Profile

In Timur Bekmambetov’s (Night Watch, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter) Profile, freelance journalist Amy Whittaker creates a fake Facebook profile of a Muslim convert in order toto investigate the recruitment techniques used by ISIS to lure women into Syria as Jihadi brides. When an ISIS recruiter contacts her online character, Amy comes across an opportunity to experience the process first hand.

From Ari Drew’s review:

“Profile taps into very real fears tied up in technology, terrorism, and the unknown in novel ways. Moreover, Bekmambetov’s ability to elicit nail-biting tension simply via alerts, keystrokes, and clicks while simultaneously maintaining an engaging, character-centric story on a computer screen makes Profile especially noteworthy for a film of its ilk. Ultimately, Profile is proof that the truth can indeed be far more terrifying than the fiction we create.”

Profile is currently seeking distribution. No release date has been set.

2. A Quiet Place

John Krasinski proves himself to be adept at directing a horror film with A Quiet Place, a mostly silent film that will have viewers jumping out of their seats (or at least that’s what happened at the screening at SXSW). The film follows a family fighting to survive in a future where blind creatures hunt using sound.

From Ari Drew’s review:

“While audiences may be drawn in by the promise of monster-filled mayhem–which A Quiet Place no doubt delivers–many are sure to be pleasantly surprised by the genuine emotional beats the film hits amidst the scares. Ultimately, A Quiet Place succeeds because it transcends its core premise of a family struggling to simply survive, emerging instead as an equally engaging story of a family working every day to salvage meaning and hope in one another in a world where such concepts are all but lost.”

Paramount Pictures will release A Quiet Place in theaters nationwide on April 6, 2018.

1. Hereditary

What more can be said about Ari Aster’s debut feature Hereditary that hasn’t already been said? There’s no doubt about it: it was the best horror film screened at SXSW this year. Rather than hype the film up even more than it already has been, I’ll just leave you with this tidbit from my review:

“I can’t get the damn thing out of my head. Images from the film frequently pop up in my mind. I can’t stop hearing one particular sound effect from the final act (you’ll know it when you hear it). I’m seeing things in the shadows. I didn’t think the film had scared me, but I was very, very wrong. Hereditary will stick with you long after you’ve left the theater. You will want to talk about it. You will want to see it again (I most certainly do). It is a film that will no doubt reward the viewer on repeat viewings, that is if you can stomach it.”

A24 will release Hereditary in theaters nationwide on June 8, 2018.

The post The Best and Worst Horror Films at the 2018 SXSW Film Festival! appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Since she was born, Anna (Bel Powley) has been raised by a man (Brad Dourif) she knows only as Daddy. Throughout her childhood, Daddy has kept her locked in the attic and warns her of the Wildling, a beast that ate all of the other children in the world. Thinking Daddy is protecting her, Anna never once questions his motives. When Anna is 16 she is freed by local sheriff Ellen Cooper (Liv Tyler), who takes her in to live with her and her younger brother Ray (Collin Kelly-Sordelet). As Anna begins to acclimate to her new life, the memory of the Wildling comes back to haunt her, leading to chaos within her new family.

You don’t really need to know anything else about the plot of Wildling (and you’re better off ignoring the trailer embedded below) because this is the type of film that will play a lot better going in blind.

Wildling is essentially a modern-day fairy tale, and thanks to Böhm’s camerawork and cinematographer Toby Oliver’s (the director of photography for last year’s Get Out and Happy Death Day) blue and grey color palettes, it really does look like a live-action fairy tale, albeit a significantly bloody one. The film follows some familiar beats of coming-of-age films, but it’s so delightfully weird that you almost don’t care. Almost. There are two possible directions for Wildling‘s narrative to go and the direction it chooses may make or break the film for some viewers, but considering I write for a horror site and live for things like this I was in it from the get-go. Lest you think that Wildling is without surprises, rest assured that Böhm’s screenplay, which he co-wrote with first-time screenwriter Florian Eder, has a quite a few tricks up its metaphorical sleeve.

Unfortunately, as Wildling careens towards its climax, it threatens to run of the rails. It never fully derails so as to ruin the experience, but a few occurrences will require significant suspension of disbelief that the film doesn’t entirely earn. This mostly has to do with the relationship between Ray and Anna, despite both actors turning in wonderful performances and displaying a palpable chemistry. You just never fully buy their relationship as it turns from a platonic friendship and into one of a more sexual nature (The Shape of Water, this ain’t). It is an odd feeling to want a movie to be longer, but Wildling could have benefited from devoting more time to its central pair of lovebirds. Editors Matthew Rundell and Robb Sullivan’s restrained editing also grows more erratic as the film enters the third act, making it difficult to tell what is going on in some of the action sequences. This could be an attempt to mask poor effects due to the film’s low budget, but it is a glaring flaw in an otherwise solid film.

Böhm has assembled a strong group of actors for Wildling. Horror fans will come for Dourif, who gives an over-the-top but captivating performance as the mysterious Daddy, but it is Powley who anchors the film. She turns in a nuanced and animalistic performance as she morphs from a young girl afraid of the world around her into a woman afraid of her own body. It’s nice to see Tyler return to the horror genre (it’s her first genre film since The Strangers was released 10 years ago). She gives Ellen a sweetly maternal quality and is heartwarming to watch in her scenes with Powley. James Le Gros also pops up in a brief cameo as a forest hermit with some ties to Anna’s past.

Wildling is a solid debut feature for Böhm and features a magnetic performance from Bel Powley as well as some excellent creature and gore effects. The film loses its way a bit towards the end, but its heart is in the right place, making for a rather endearing viewing experience. If anything, the film leave you with a strong desire to see Böhm’s next film, whatever that may be.

IFC Midnight will release Wildling on VOD on April 13, 2018.

The post [SXSW Review] Creature Feature ‘Wildling’ is An Accomplished Debut for Director Fritz Böhm appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

“The film follows Anna (Bel Powley), a woman who spent her entire childhood locked in the attic, under the care of a mysterious man she only knows as Daddy (Brad Dourif). Anna is scared to death of a creature he calls the Wildling, a child-eating monster that roams outside. After a small-town sheriff Ellen Cooper (Liv Tyler) frees Anna and helps her start a new life, her childhood nightmares of the Wildling return, disrupting the possibility of a normal life.”

James Le Gros, Collin Kelly-Sordelet, and Mike Faist also star.

Böhm wrote the script with Florian Eder.

The post The Last of the ‘Wildling’ Revealed In First Trailer appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

“The film follows Anna (Bel Powley), a woman who spent her entire childhood locked in the attic, under the care of a mysterious man she only knows as Daddy (Brad Dourif). Anna is scared to death of a creature he calls the Wildling, a child-eating monster that roams outside. After a small-town sheriff Ellen Cooper (Liv Tyler) frees Anna and helps her start a new life, her childhood nightmares of the Wildling return, disrupting the possibility of a normal life.”

Wildling will release theatrically and on VOD on April 13.

James Le Gros, Collin Kelly-Sordelet and Mike Faist also star.

Böhm wrote the script with Florian Eder.

The post IFC Midnight Dates Brad Dourif and Liv Tyler-starring ‘Wildling’ appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Rising UK talent Bel Powley stars opposite The Strangers‘s Liv Tyler in Wildling, which is currently in post.

“The film centres on a girl who spends her whole childhood in a room under the care of a mysterious figure known only as Daddy.

The custodian raises the girl to fear the outside world with stories of a beast that prowls beyond the four walls. When she is freed at the age of 16, the youngster’s biggest challenge begins. ”

Germany’s Fritz Böhm makes his feature directorial debut.

IM Global showed footage in Berlin where buyers have responded strongly, explains the site who adds that the UK deal demonstrates the appeal of the cast, not to mention a storyline that bears similarities to that of Room starring Academy Award frontrunner Brie Larson.

In fact, this sounds more like Room mixed with ideas from M. Night Shyamalan’s The Village.

The post ‘Wildling’: Daddy “Saves” Liv Tyler From Prowling Beasts appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.