A Rundown of the 13 Best Horror Movies I've Seen in the Past Year

[4 of 13]
The Anthology Slot

The first of three ties this year...

TALES OF HALLOWEEN

(July 2015)

"Do you know what would perk up this candy-ass display?

“Some motherf*ckin’ blood!”

With ten stories in its 97-minute running time, The October Society’s Tales of Halloween* has a pretty darn good batting average for a horror anthology, in that--at least as far as I’m concerned--there really isn’t any segment in here that’s a particular stinker.

Naturally, you will like some stories more than others, but it’s a pretty good bet that you’ll come out of this thinking, “Sh!t, yeah, that was fun!”

And that’s what Tales of Halloween is, really.

From the “SNL sketch as directed by old school splatter Peter Jackson” insanity of Mike Mendez’s “Friday the 31^st” to the stylized horror of Lucky McKee’s “Ding Dong” (with Pollyanna McIntosh!), from the blackly comedic commentary of the ultimately pointless debate between old school horror and the more modern black metal splatterpunk aesthetic in John Skipp and Andrew Kasch’s “This Means War” (with James Duval!) to the bizarro horror of Neil Marshall’s “Bad Seed” (with Pat Healy as “Forensic Bob”!), Tales of Halloween is some awesomely fun Halloween horror viewing.

“Are you kidding me?! My nuts were viciously assaulted by a monster, dude!”

Plus, there’s a whole bunch of familiar genre faces in here, including Greg Grunberg, Lin Shaye, Noah Segan, Sam Witwer, John Landis, Adam Green, and Joe Dante.

Alex Essoe (from ¡Qué horror! 2015 title, Starry Eyes) and Drew Struzan (as “Rembrandt”) are in here, too, along with Adrienne Barbeau, who basically echoes her Stevie Wayne character from The Fog as the very loose bridging element of “The Radio DJ”.

Originating from an idea by Axelle Carolyn (who also happens to be Neil Marshall’s wife), Tales of Halloween is a mighty fine addition to the ranks of horror anthologies out there.

So be sure and stuff this one into your Halloween candy sack!

“Go bag me some of those horror freaks!”

* The film is dedicated to the memory of Ben Woolf, who recently appeared as Meep in American Horror Story: Freak Show.

SOUTHBOUND

(September 2015)

"Well, this next one is for you. All you lost souls racin’ down that long road to redemption, and all you sinners runnin’ from your past, but headin’ straight into that pit o’ darkness up ahead.”

The contemporary horror anthology film continues to tread the kicka$$ territories completely alien to the bland Hollywood horror that currently clutters up the multiplexes, this time, in the form of Southbound.

Bloody Disgusting’s Brad Miska--who also brought us the V/H/S anthologies--has his paw prints all over this one too, a collection of interconnected tales brought to us by the likes of David Bruckner (¡Qué horror! 2008 title, The Signal and the V/H/S segment, “Amateur Night”) and Radio Silence (“10/31/98” from ¡Qué horror! 2012 title, V/H/S).

Not really much more I can say without spoiling the surprises, so just get out there and hunt this down!

“We’re all on the same endless highway, the one with no name and no exits, lookin’ for a way out of tonight and inta tomorrow.

“Well, they’re gonna try to stop you, but you gotta say, “F*ckin’ keep movin’,” because this is your highway, and tonight might just be the night you finally outrun those wicked demons once and for all…”

Parting Shot 1: The one and only Larry Fessenden has his presence known here, as “The D.J.” (I guess the radio DJ as a horror anthology bridging element in now officially a thing...)

Parting Shot 2: I have mixed feelings about Siren, the upcoming feature-length adaptation of “Amateur Night.”

While I’m curious to see how it’ll play as a feature, I am wondering why Gregg Bishop is directing, and not Bruckner, who helmed the original short.

It doesn’t help that I wasn’t overly fond of “Dante the Great,” Bishop’s segment in V/H/S Viral, either…

(Tales of Halloween OS’ courtesy of aintitcool.com & bloody-disgusting.com; Southbound OS courtesy of impawards.com.)

¡QUÉ HORROR! 2016

Candidate #5

SOUTHBOUND

(September 2015)

"Well, this next one is for you. All you lost souls racin’ down that long road to redemption, and all you sinners runnin’ from your past, but headin’ straight into that pit o’ darkness up ahead.”

The contemporary horror anthology film continues to tread the kicka$$ territories completely alien to the bland Hollywood horror that currently clutters up the multiplexes, this time, in the form of Southbound.

Bloody Disgusting’s Brad Miska--who also brought us the V/H/S anthologies--has his paw prints all over this one too, a collection of interconnected tales brought to us by the likes of David Bruckner (¡Qué horror! 2008 title, The Signal and the V/H/S segment, “Amateur Night”) and Radio Silence (“10/31/98” from ¡Qué horror! 2012 title, V/H/S).

Not really much more I can say without spoiling the surprises, so just get out there and hunt this down!

“We’re all on the same endless highway, the one with no name and no exits, lookin’ for a way out of tonight and inta tomorrow.

“Well, they’re gonna try to stop you, but you gotta say, “F*ckin’ keep movin’,” because this is your highway, and tonight might just be the night you finally outrun those wicked demons once and for all…”

Parting Shot 1: The one and only Larry Fessenden has his presence known here, as “The D.J.”

Parting Shot 2: I have mixed feelings about Siren, the upcoming feature-length adaptation of “Amateur Night.”

While I’m curious to see how it’ll play as a feature, I am wondering why Gregg Bishop is directing, and not Bruckner, who helmed the original short.

It doesn’t help that I wasn’t overly fond of “Dante the Great,” Bishop’s segment in V/H/S Viral, either…

(Southbound OS courtesy of impawards.com.)

A Rundown of the 13 Best Horror Movies I've Seen in the Past Year

[8 of 13]

ABCs OF DEATH 2

(September 2014)

The following feature film was created by 26 directors from around the world. Each director was given a letter of the alphabet and asked to choose a word.
They then created a short tale of death that related to their chosen word. They had complete artistic freedom regarding the content of their segments.

Anthologies and consistency are rarely a close partnership.

Because of so many factors, chances are, in any given anthology, there will probably be entries that you will love, entries that you will not love, and entries that you will feel indifferent towards.*

I guess the original The ABCs of Death was simply too much of a mixed bag for me to feel right about giving it a blanket ¡Qué Horror! nod.

Thankfully, that isn’t the case with the follow-up, the definite article-less ABCs of Death 2.

Among the definite standouts, we’ve got: the stop-motion grotesqueries of Robert Morgan’s “D is for Deloused”; Kristina Buožytė and Bruno Samper’s “K is for Knell”; Jen and Sylvia Soska’s “T is for Torture Porn”; and Chris Nash’s showstopping “Z is for Zygote.”

(Well, it would have been a showstopper if it had been anywhere else but at the end; as it is, it’s the most brilliant, WTF ending the anthology could have hoped for. Nash is known for his Skinfection Trilogy of short films: “My Main Squeeze”; “Blackhead”; and “Liplock.” He also submitted the entry “T is for Thread” for The ABCs of Death, though that slot was ultimately taken by Lee Hardcastle’s “T is for Toilet.”)

We’ve got the excellently-paced and edited “N is for Nexus” by Larry Fessenden (yay!) and “S is for Split” by Juan Martínez Moreno; the future dystopia of Vincenzo Natali’s “U is for Utopia”; the sordid goings-on in Jerome Sable’s “V is for Vacation”; and the gonzo bizarro “Y is for Youth” by Soichi Umezawa.

There’s also the weighty horror of Julian Gilbey’s “C is for Capital Punishment”; Aharon Keshales and Navot Papushado’s “F is for Falling”; and Dennison Ramalho’s “J is for Jesus.”

And entries from a few other ¡Qué Horror! alumni: “A is for Amateur,” directed by E.L. Katz and written by David Chirchirillo (who collaborated on ¡Qué Horror! 2014 title, Cheap Thrills) and “X is for Xylophone,” which sees Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo once again work with their dark muse, Béatrice Dalle.

“Based on a franchise dream by Ant Timpson,” with a title sequence directed and animated by Wolfgang Matzl, ABCs of Death 2 is without a doubt a stronger title than its predecessor, and it most definitely deserves a ¡Qué Horror! shout-out.

It’s also given me a whole boatload of faith and excitement for the third installment in this franchise dream, which is announced at the tail end of the credits roll.

Huzzah!

* There are, of course, exceptions to this rule, such as when all the segments are executed by one person (Michael Dougherty’s Trick ‘r Treat, which wound up on the ¡Qué Horror! 2010 Final 13) or if the number of segments is low to begin with (Little Deaths, which has three segments; anthologies with four segments or more, that’s where I think you start to get into trouble with consistency).

(ABCs of Death 2 OS courtesy of aintitcool.com.)

A Rundown of the 13 Best Horror Movies I've Seen in the Past Year

[1 of 13]

WENDIGO

(January 2001)

"Wendigo is hungry. Always hungry. Its hunger, never satisfied.”

When I first saw Larry Fessenden’s The Last Winter, I had already been aware of both Habit and Wendigo, but had never had the opportunity to nail either one down for a proper watch.

Having been deeply impressed by The Last Winter (which grabbed itself a ¡Qué Horror! 2008 slot) I subsequently increased my efforts to see both of Fessenden’s earlier films, without much success.

Until now.

Just in time for the upcoming Blu-ray release of “The Larry Fessenden Collection” (more on that later), Wendigo glided right up to me, tapped me on the shoulder, and said, “Hey, look at me! I’m an awesome horror movie!”

And Wendigo was absolutely right.

In a teeny nutshell, Jake Weber and Patricia Clarkson get away from the city with their son (played by Malcolm in the Middle’s Dewey, Erik Per Sullivan), with spectacularly horrible results.

And while that’s all I’ll say as far as what the film is about--at any rate, some of you may be able to glean some of its thematic preoccupations from the title alone--I will go on the record as saying it makes for an excellent companion piece/double bill with The Last Winter, and, if anything, has made me even more antsy to finally see Habit.

Which may become significantly easier, with the upcoming Collection, which will feature Fessenden’s No Telling, Habit, Wendigo, and The Last Winter, all remastered in high-definition. The Collection will be released on October 20, to celebrate 30 years of Glass Eye Pix, Fessenden’s indie production company that has also brought us Jim Mickle’s Stake Land, Ti West’s The House of the Devil, and Adrián García Bogliano’s Late Phases (to name a select ¡Qué Horror! few).

So, yeah. Wendigo.

See it. Or wait for The Larry Fessenden Collection.

I know I will…

(Wendigo DVD cover art courtesy of fandango.com.)

¡QUÉ HORROR! 2015

Candidate #16

WENDIGO

(January 2001)

"Wendigo is hungry. Always hungry. Its hunger, never satisfied.”

When I first saw Larry Fessenden’s The Last Winter, I had already been aware of both Habit and Wendigo, but had never had the opportunity to nail either one down for a proper watch.

Having been deeply impressed by The Last Winter (which grabbed itself a ¡Qué Horror! 2008 slot) I subsequently increased my efforts to see both of Fessenden’s earlier films, without much success.

Until now.

Just in time for the upcoming Blu-ray release of “The Larry Fessenden Collection” (more on that later), Wendigo glided right up to me, tapped me on the shoulder, and said, “Hey, look at me! I’m an awesome horror movie!”

And Wendigo was absolutely right.

In a teeny nutshell, Jake Weber and Patricia Clarkson get away from the city with their son (played by Malcolm in the Middle’s Dewey, Erik Per Sullivan), with spectacularly horrible results.

And while that’s all I’ll say as far as what the film is about--at any rate, some of you may be able to glean some of its thematic preoccupations from the title alone--I will go on the record as saying it makes for an excellent companion piece/double bill with The Last Winter, and, if anything, has made me even more antsy to finally see Habit.

Which may become significantly easier, with the upcoming Collection, which will feature Fessenden’s No Telling, Habit, Wendigo, and The Last Winter, all remastered in high-definition. The Collection will be released on October 20, to celebrate 30 years of Glass Eye Pix, Fessenden’s indie production company that has also brought us Jim Mickle’s Stake Land, Ti West’s The House of the Devil, and Adrián García Bogliano’s Late Phases (to name a select ¡Qué horror! few).

So, yeah. Wendigo.

See it. Or wait for The Larry Fessenden Collection.

I know I will…

(Wendigo DVD cover art courtesy of fandango.com.)

¡Qué horror! 2015

Candidate #8

LATE PHASES

(March 2014)

After barging onto the ¡Qué horror! 2012 rundown with Penumbra, Argentinian director Adrián García Bogliano is back with his English language feature debut, Late Phases, working off a script written by Eric Stolze.

Here, Nick Damici plays retired US Army officer Ambrose McKinley, who has only just moved into the Crescent Bay Retirement Community, when he is rudely made aware that something beastial seems to be active in the area, something that seems to have a monthly cycle…

So, yes, no need to be coy, it’s all over the trailer and the one sheet below: werewolf.

The beauty of Late Phases is, it doesn’t quite play like any werewolf film I’ve seen.

True, it’s got the familiar horror movie trope of the protagonist who seems to be the only one aware of the nature of the threat, but Damici’s crotchety (and blind) McKinley isn’t your average misunderstood horror movie lead.

With some excellent supporting performances by Ethan Embry and Tom Noonan, a practically unrecognizable Lance Guest, brief appearances by Dana Ashbrook and Larry Fessenden (also one of the film’s producers), and some noteworthy creature effects courtesy of Robert Kurtzman’s Creature Corps, Late Phases is a solid entry in the annals of werewolf cinema, which, let’s face it, needs a whole lot more of this kind of title to beef up its hairy, lupine ranks.

(Late Phases OS’ courtesy of impawards.com.)

A Rundown of the 13 (+1) Best Horror Movies I've Seen in the Past Year

[12 of 13]

JUG FACE

(January 2013)

Chad Crawford Kinkle’s feature debut, Jug Face, walks firmly and comfortably in the fine horror tradition of Shirley Jackson’s The Lottery, where a secluded community harbors a long and dark tradition steeped in sacrifice.

Here, Lauren Ashley Carter is the luckless Ada, whose desperate need to keep her shameful secret safe upsets the unsettling status quo of her small backwoods community; Carter was one of the voice talents on Antoine Charreyron’s The Prodigies, and also appeared in Lucky McKee’s The Woman (McKee executive produces on Jug Face).

Other familiar genre faces, Sean Young and Larry Fessenden (hurrah!), are also in here as Ada’s parents.

This is certainly not your standard Hollywood horror affair, and it’s all the better for it!

(Jug Face OS courtesy of impawards.com.)

¡Qué horror! 2013

Candidate #15

JUG FACE

(January 2013)

Chad Crawford Kinkle’s feature debut, Jug Face, walks firmly and comfortably in the fine horror tradition of Shirley Jackson’s The Lottery, where a secluded community harbors a long and dark tradition steeped in sacrifice.

Here, Lauren Ashley Carter is the luckless Ada, whose desperate need to keep her shameful secret safe upsets the unsettling status quo of her small backwoods community; Carter was one of the voice talents on Antoine Charreyron’s The Prodigies, and also appeared in Lucky McKee’s The Woman (McKee executive produces on Jug Face).

Other familiar genre faces, Sean Young and Larry Fessenden (hurrah!), are also in here as Ada’s parents.

This is certainly not your standard Hollywood horror affair, and it’s all the better for it!

(Jug Face OS courtesy of impawards.com.)

¡Qué horror! 2013

Candidate #12

THE BATTERY

(October 2012)

“Just say it, man.”

“Say what?”

“Say it! Say it! Say it! Say the ‘Z’ word!”

So the zombie apocalypse has again come to the movies.

This time, what we’re looking at in Jeremy Gardner’s The Battery is basically a two-character piece, as we join ex-baseball players Ben (Gardner, who also wrote the screenplay) and Mickey (Adam Cronheim), as they constantly stay on the move in their day-to-day struggle to stay alive in a world where the hungry dead just keep on keepin’ on.

So while that may sound like the most generic description of a zombie movie ever, rest assured that The Battery doesn’t quite play out the way your average deadhead flick does.

Plus, it’s got Larry Fessenden in a minor (but nonetheless pivotal role).

And it features tracks by Wise Blood, El Cantador, The Parlor, and Rock Plaza Central, to name some, so it’s also one of the best-sounding entries in zombie cinema I’ve seen. (Props for the crazy use of Rock Plaza Central’s “Anthem for the Already Defeated.”

As I said when I talked about Les Revenants and In The Flesh, if The Walking Dead isn’t quite giving you what you want from your zombies, then you might want to check this one out.

(The Battery OS courtesy of impawards.com.)