Lists (they're so hot right now) are scattered all over the movie blogosphere that I figured I would have to make one of my own. While the current year had a crap-load of embarrassing entries, we are compensated with few that deserved extol. In this list, I lay down those - the ten best horror movies of the year.
10. LOVELY MOLLY
Lovely Molly marks Eduardo Sanchez's (The Blair Witch Project) latest feature to the genre (after his recent mishaps like Seventh Moon and Altered). The pic may not exactly be the most beautiful thing but there's the climactic end. You're sold.
9. THE ROAD
Filipino horror found its vanguard in The Road, Yam Laranas's (The Echo) concoction of psycho-killer and malevolent ghost story. The movie is as eerie as it is stylish; tight script and deft direction further bolster.
8. V/H/S
Horror site Bloody-Disgusting.com's first feature film is a scattershot of good and bad horror tropes. But in deep in its core is a stewpot of (in fact) clever ideas. V/H/S's execution might fluctuate (as most anthologies' do), but the horror stays intense.
7. CITADEL
Not necessarily a pitch perfect debut, first-timer Ciaron Foy nonetheless has crafted a chilling movie in Citadel. Its mundane plot actually brings up a few good chills, some paranoia and creep under the skin.
6. SINISTER
The atmospherics in Sinister (by The Exorcism of Emily Rose director Scott Derrickson) is gritty enough; casting a shadow on the movie's flaws. Frequently imbecilic but constantly spooky; the kind of horror you always loved.
5. THE INNKEEPERS
Ti West's (The House of the Devil) old-school approach to the genre is meant to be exalt. After all, the secret to a well-cooked dish is the cook patiently waiting for that right moment to add the spice. The Innkeepers is a quick example, starting mundane then escalating to a highly effective climactic sequence at the end.
4. ANTIVIRAL
Brandon Cronenberg's directorial debut is unjustifiably influenced by his father's (David Cronenberg) works, but something in Antiviral conveys a distinct kind of terror. Gruesome, dreadful and perverse, this movie.
3. THE LOVED ONES
One shan't mess with Lola (played by Robin McLeavy), a troubled teenage girl who tortures her prospective beaus. Directed by Aussie-director Sean Byrne, The Loved Ones is a scrupulous and effective mix of a horror and a teen angst movie. McLeavy gives a startling performance.
2. CABIN IN THE WOODS
The kind of horror you longed for. Slick, smart and original. The Cabin in the Woods employs the slasher tropes and turn them into an effective piece of campy-fun and horror. Joss Whedon, indeed, is the godfather.
1. EXCISION
Annalynne McCord plays a teenager whose face is dominated by acne and pimples. She's obsessed with surgeries and fantasizes on what looks like Gaga-inspired music videos in which she is a goddess surgeon devoted by a handful of her hypersexual minions. Humanely malevolent and completely deranged, Excision is a towering piece of horror that every horror fan - either gore or psychological suckers - should see.
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