¡QUÉ HORROR! 2019

The Wrap-Up

And there we are.

For the record, there was a brief moment where I considered having a Deadly Doppelgänger slot, but that might have invited the kind of involved geek discussion/debate that can get sticky and too protracted for its own good.
After all, while Us is very clearly about doppelgängers, Head Count features a shapeshifter and The Hole in the Ground seems more inclined towards the folklore of changelings. And then there's Cam...
In the end, I just opted to sidestep all of that potential controversy and give them their own individual slots.
At any rate, there were already a pair of twofers in the main rundown...

So.
That's that for this October then.

The only other thing that needs to be said is:
Have a Happy (and safe) Halloween.
Here's to all the awesome (screenbound) horror of the past 12 months, and to all the awesome (yes, screenbound) horror of the next 12...
 

13 Slots for the Best Horror I've Seen in the Past Year
[9 of 13]

THE HOLE IN THE GROUND

(January 2019)

“And the branch on the tree...

And the tree… in the hole…

And the hole in the bog…

And the bog… down in… the valley-o…”

Sarah O’Neill (Seána Kerslake) and her son Christopher (James Quinn Markey) have just moved to a new town--specifically, to a house on the edge of some deep, dark woods (are there any other kind of woods in these kinds of films?)--when she begins to suspect that Chris isn’t Chris at all…

That’s the central conceit of Lee Cronin’s feature directorial debut, The Hole in the Ground.

Working from a screenplay he co-wrote with Stephen Shields, Cronin gives us a potent dose of largely exposition-free horror that delves into the fears and anxieties a parent has for their child, relying on tone and atmosphere (and some excellent performances by Kerslake, Markey, and James Cosmo in a brief supporting role) to make its point.

And a fine, creeptastic point it is, punctuated by some unsettling set pieces (maaaaaan, that talent show number…) and wrapped up with Lisa Hannigan’s haunting rendition of “Weile Weile Waile” that runs over the end credits roll.

“The mirror always tells the truth.”

(The Hole in the Ground OS & UK quad courtesy of impawards.com.)

¡QUÉ HORROR! 2019

Candidate #18

THE HOLE IN THE GROUND

(January 2019)

“And the branch on the tree...

And the tree… in the hole…

And the hole in the bog…

And the bog… down in… the valley-o…”

Sarah O’Neill (Seána Kerslake) and her son Christopher (James Quinn Markey) have just moved to a new town--specifically, to a house on the edge of some deep, dark woods (are there any other kind of woods in these kinds of films?)--when she begins to suspect that Chris isn’t Chris at all…

That’s the central conceit of Lee Cronin’s feature directorial debut, The Hole in the Ground.

Working from a screenplay he co-wrote with Stephen Shields, Cronin gives us a potent dose of largely exposition-free horror that delves into the fears and anxieties a parent has for their child, relying on tone and atmosphere (and some excellent performances by Kerslake, Markey, and James Cosmo in a brief supporting role) to make its point.

And a fine, creeptastic point it is, punctuated by some unsettling set pieces (maaaaaan, that talent show number…) and wrapped up with Lisa Hannigan’s haunting rendition of “Weile Weile Waile” that runs over the end credits roll.

“The mirror always tells the truth.”

(The Hole in the Ground OS & UK quad courtesy of impawards.com.)