31 Days of Horror 2017: Top 10

October 2017 was another glorious month of non-stop blood, death and devils in the annual tradition of 31 Days of Horror, jam-packing as many horror movies into the month as possible. This year I have parsed down the list into a rock solid Top 10, most of which are readily available for streaming or at least renting. As uninspiring as Netflix's movie catalog has seemed recently, they have a surprising number of really effective horror movies in the catalog currently. So as autumn winds down into winter, here are some movies for cold days and long nights.

1. Green Room (2016)

 

This economical horror thriller from director Jeremy Saulnier is best seen without watching the trailer. Knowing little or nothing about the story contributes to its overall effect, which is quite unnerving. It was filmed in and around Portland, OR and it is #1 on this list because there is no bullshit filler here. No contrived heroics, narrative fluff or clunky arcs - just a violent, confidently directed, well-acted story about a punk show gone horribly wrong. Available on Amazon Prime. 

2. Raw (2016) 

I've seen Raw described as an "emotionally driven coming-of-age story," which is a bit funny considering how this movie goes down. That doesn't mean it's not an apt description, but you've probably never experienced a bildungsroman that will make you squirm like this one. This is a strangely sexy, well-paced and ultimately grisly horror movie by French director Julia Ducournau. Best viewed while eating a juicy steak. Available on Netflix.

3. Train to Busan (2016)

Train to Busan is Korean director Sang-ho Yeon's first live-action movie, and I would make the argument that it is an instant classic of the zombie genre. The story centers on a self-absorbed father and his young daughter, on the train from Seoul to Busan as the country experiences the bloody onset of a zombie outbreak. The premise may sound simple, but this movie shines because of its execution, practical gore, and the emotional heart of the movie which lies in the relationship between father and daughter. Available on Netflix.

4. The Wailing (2016)

One of the more strange and ambitious movies on this list, The Wailing runs for 156 minutes and combines themes of Korean and Nepalese folk religions, Catholicism, true crim and the occult. Don't be deterred by the 2.5+ hour length - while it is a long movie, it isn't a slow one. It is a quickly paced film in which seemingly every scene presents a new crime or crazy new plot point, and the tone (for the first half at least) switches deftly from humor to dread and back again. Nobody is laughing in the last third of the film however, which really challenges the viewer with its violence, sudden plot turns and heavy symbolism. Available on Netflix.

5. Don't Breathe (2016)

Similar to Green Room, Don't Breathe is another efficient thriller which works best without watching the trailer. There are a couple dark surprises in this tense Michigan-set crime story which was made for $10 million. Uruguayan director Fede Alvarez previously directed 2013's hyper-violent Evil Dead remake, but this movie tones down the gore in exchange for more realistic suspense and a more thoughtfully crafted plot. A truly well-executed horror film which will cleverly subvert your initial expectations. Available on STARZ.

6. The Canal (2014)

 
Filmed in Dublin by Irish filmmaker Ivan Kavanagh, The Canal pulls from numerous inspirations to make a deliberately paced mystery which is part crime thriller, part ghost story and part occult horror - all under an umbrella of pervasive psychological terror. While it begins with a seemingly mundane story of marital discord, the horrific supernatural elements are revealed gradually and in waves, with an emphasis on our unreliable perceptions of reality. Like all movies on this list, best watched in the dark with the volume turned up. Available on Netflix.

7. Under the Shadow (2016)

Set in the immediate aftermath of the Iranian Revolution, Under the Shadow revolves around the life of a mother and daughter in Tehran during the tumultuous Iran-Iraq conflict. It is a film which is by definition a political and cultural study even as it operates as a supernatural horror, the darker aspects of which reveal themselves slowly throughout the second half of the movie. It has been compared to The Babadook for its thoughtful script and sparing effects which illustrate themes of motherhood, childhood fears, and emotional and cultural symbolism. An impressive debut from Iranian filmmaker Babak Anvari. Available on Netflix. 

8. A Dark Song (2016)

Another movie on this list filmed entirely in Dublin, Ireland, shot mostly in a 20-day span in a large country house that forms the base of operations for the two primary characters. This is a deliberately slow-paced film which revels in the details and traumas of its occult ritual, the effects of which come on slowly and menacingly. Its stately pacing and attention to detail are amplified greatly by a tremendous score by Ray Harman. Its climax finally opens up to the violence and horror one might expect, but for this film especially it's not so much about the destination as it is the journey. Available on Netflix. 

9. The Last House on the Left (1972)

 

This 1972 cult classic belongs on this list because of its cultural impact and importance to American horror, but don't mistake this as an outright recommendation. There are few people I would actually recommend this to, considering its overt theme of violent sadism and numerous acts of sexual violence and mutilation. It is the debut film of Hall of Fame horror director Wes Craven, and was actually a modest box office hit despite (or perhaps because of?) being heavily censored and outright banned in some countries. It is an impressive and perverse classic of extreme violence, shot in a mere 21 days by a rookie director, but its audience is limited by its extreme subject matter. Available for rental on FandangoNOW.

10. The Eyes of My Mother (2016)

  

Another debut feature, this one from Brooklyn-based director Nicolas Pesce, who was honored with the Official Selection of the 2016 Sundance Film Festival for the film. This black and white arthouse horror has been called Hitchcockian, albeit with a quiet and disturbing infusion of gore. This story of isolation and loneliness in the remote countryside finds an extra layer of repulsion in the way it tells the story of its heroine - slow pacing, careful editing and a reliance on long, static shots imparts a placid and matter-of-fact tone to its violent and disturbing subject matter. Available on Netflix. 

- Jonathan Ross

31 Days of Horror: The Leftovers

31 Days of Horror: Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3
 
Well, I cheated. I didn't watch every one of these movies in the month of October. Since I've started this tradition there has always been unfinished business that leaks over into the month of November. The final count for horror movies I've watched this season is 22 - not bad. It's not 31, but I'm working up to it. 

There are a few choice selections in this final batch of leftovers, so please don't judge them on their timeliness. Sometimes the leftovers are the best part.

Trick 'r Treat (2007)

Director: Michael Dougherty

 














The Setup: An anthology format intertwines five different storylines, all taking place on the night of Halloween. Not everyone makes it out alive.

A true holiday movie! I had never seen this minor cult classic so I decided to watch it on the night of Halloween. Very few movies have approached the holiday with the directness of Trick 'r Treat, a movie rather mysteriously buried by Warner Bros before eventually being released straight to DVD in October 2009. All of its intersecting storylines, told as non-chronological vignettes, take place on Halloween and draw from various themes and tropes of horror. It is undeniably silly in a lot of ways, but therein lies the charm: the humor and campiness are not accidental, and they find a happy balance with the blood and horror. If Home Alone and A Christmas Story get replayed every Christmas, then I would justify giving Trick 'r Treat the same treatment on Halloween. 

Availability: Digital Rental on Amazon, iTunes, Google Play and YouTube

The Nightmare (2015)

Director: Rodney Ascher

The Setup:  A documentary uses first-hand accounts of sleep paralysis to give vivid and frightening recreations of the strange phenomenon.

For admittedly personal reasons, this movie managed to disturb me in a way that no other movie did this year. I realize not everyone will have this reaction: The Nightmare seems to inspire a range of responses, from boredom to disappointment to an actual sense of fear and anxiety. The criticisms for Rodney Ascher's documentary are not without merit: some of the reenactments are cheesy, and the film doesn't do enough to talk to experts or approach the subject from a scientific standpoint. While most people who experience sleep paralysis don't also suffer the hellish hallucinations that these stories recount, the mere possibility of spending your nights this way is deeply unsettling. I have experienced sleep paralysis once in my life, and it didn't come with any visual or auditory hallucinations. But the nagging thought, however illogical, that I may "catch" sleep paralysis from my exposure to this movie (an idea the movie actually supports through one testimony) made this uniquely unnerving. 

Availability: Streaming Netflix, Digital Rental on Amazon, iTunes, Google Play and YouTube

Anatomy (2000)

Director: Stefan Ruzowitzky

The Setup: A bright young medical student earns a spot at a prestigious medical school, where she discovers an old and nefarious cult. 

Anatomy is a thankfully forgotten horror mystery that stumbled its way into box office success in Germany when it was released in 2000. It is a tonally confused mess that switches haphazardly from dark comedy to occult thriller to teenage slasher. There is not a likable character in the film except for the lead heroine, played by Franka Potente. All of the men are boorish pigs and her best friend is a vapid slut. It is not bloody enough to be shocking, smart enough to be suspenseful, or funny enough to be charming. Sometimes I watch movies so you don't have to. Bitte!

Availability: Purchase on Amazon

Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986)

Director: John McNaughton

The Setup: A sociopathic ex-convict roams the streets of Chicago, coldly murdering at will.

If the setup for the movie sounds simple, it's because it is. There is a remarkably straightforward quality to John McNaughton's violent character study, both visually and narratively. Michael Rooker plays the titular killer in his feature film debut, a role that has probably served to shoehorn him into villainous roles for most of his career. He is chillingly soft-spoken and forceful as Henry, a role he reportedly inhabited for the duration of the shoot, both on and off set. Rooker says of Henry that he can always bring that character back "in a second," and that in a way he's "never said goodbye to Henry." Before you cross the street next time you see Michael Rooker, understand that he said it in regard to Henry's idiosyncrasies and soft-spokenness, and that it reflects poignantly on the nature of method acting. The starkness of style, disquieting scenes of violence and general lack of silver lining makes it believable that this is one of the movies that caused the MPAA to create the NC-17 rating.

Availability: Streaming Shudder, Purchase on Amazon

The Hallow (2015)

Director: Corin Hardy

The Setup: A couple and their infant boy move from London to rural Ireland for the husband's job. Dire warnings from the locals about a threat in the woods soon turn out to be more than mere superstition. 

An important part of The Hallow's plot is directly inspired by cordyceps, a parasitic fungi documented in BBC's Planet Earth series - a truly unsettling genus that puts most horror and sci-fi movies to shame. And on a broader level, there is an environmental message here, although the depth or complexity of the point being made is up for debate. I want to talk more about the conflicted environmental implications of the plot, but this isn't the proper format. The film is rather beautiful, shot on location in Ireland and taking its inspiration from both contemporary "creature features" as well as Irish folklore. Director Corin Hardy says he wanted to place body horror and practical effects in the context of a dark fairy tale setting, and in that sense he was successful. The Hallow may not run very deep (or unpredictably) but its atmosphere, acting and effects make it worth a look.

Availability: Digital Rental on Amazon, iTunes, YouTube and Google Play

Martyrs (2008)

Director: Pascal Laugier

 











The Setup: A young woman brought into a crime of vengeance by her deeply troubled best friend discovers a sinister society, and a whole new world of pain.

If you read Part 1 of this blog series you know that I mistakenly watched the American remake of this film before seeing this original version, an oversight I regret considering the dark and surprising turns the plot takes. I won't spend much of my energy comparing the two, except to say the remake (while grim and violent in its own right) is fairly toothless compared to Pascal Laugier's ode to pain and suffering. I sat through some harrowing and distasteful cinema this season (I'm looking at you, A Serbian Film), but Martyrs may have been the hardest to watch for sheer endurance of violence and human pain. What I feel I must also mention is that I found it worth my time. It drew me into its horrible world and kept me there even through a sharp change of direction and an ending both bleak and audacious. A film well conceived, shot and acted for those with nerves of steel and stomachs of iron.

Availability: Digital Rental on Amazon, YouTube and Google Play


- Jonathan Ross 





 

31 Days of Horror

 I remember a moment as a young adult in suburban Michigan when I stepped outside in the falling dusk and felt the summer end. Growing up as a kid, summer was my favorite time of year because it meant long and languorous days with no school, and at least one lengthy adventure with my family. It meant that wonderful and excruciating boredom of being young and having your whole life ahead of you. It was the sound of lawn mowers and the feeling of dirty, calloused feet at the end of the day. The possibilities were infinite.

Fast-forward to adulthood and stepping outside at the end of the day and feeling suddenly a gust of wind that didn't belong to the summer. I remember feeling distinctly that I had just felt the first air of autumn, and I felt very privileged to have been there for that moment. It made me feel the deep kind of happiness that brings sadness along with it. Now, fall is my favorite season. The weather is cool and gusty, the trees blaze with color, and the season doesn't overstay its welcome. You have a brief time to drink cider and pumpkin beer, to murder an innocent pumpkin and, if you're like me, bask in the macabre.

For the last three years including this one, I've made a strangely satisfying personal tradition out of watching as many horror movies as I can pack into the season. In my head I've been calling it "31 days of horror," and the tradition is for me its own reward. This year I'm going to do a short write-up on everything I watch, partly for my own sake, but also in the hope that it provides you with some brief entertainment or edification. Perhaps you will get an idea for what to watch (or what not to) in the chilly nights ahead.
 
They are in no particular order or theme (not this year, at least) and I'm sure they will vary drastically in quality. So here goes. 

The Invitation (2015)

Director: Karyn Kusama

 










The Setup: A group of old friends are invited to a dinner party. As the night goes on it becomes clear that the hosts have some insidious and ulterior motives.

The strength of The Invitation is the same thing that might turn some viewers off: patience. Some might find the slow boil nearly interminable, and it probably depends on how much you buy into the sinister implications that are communicated through the mounting clues and effectively unnerving original score by Theodore Shapiro. The ultimate payoff happens with satisfying suddenness, even if it doesn't quite live up to the horrors of my own imagination. Overall it is an impressively cohesive thriller by director Karyn Kusama (Girlfight, Jennifer's Body), an unsettling journey for the patient viewer.

Availability: Netflix Streaming, Digital Rental on iTunes, Amazon, Google Play and YouTube

We Are What We Are (2013)

Director: Jim Mickle

 









The Setup: The Parkers are a small-town family that keeps mostly to themselves, until Mrs. Parker dies suddenly and mysteriously, leaving her two daughters and young son under the care of their stern patriarch. As torrential rain and flooding washes over the town, the disturbing truth about this reclusive family comes to light.

We Are What We Are is well shot and decently acted, and to its credit not over-eager to spill the beans on the thinly-veiled mystery surrounding its central family. This is a well-received effort from director Jim Mickle (he helmed the gory and satisfying vampire thriller Stake Land), but I'm having trouble getting on board. I was brought out of it by some fairly significant flaws in the script and, more importantly, I just didn't feel as horrified by the premise as the film clearly wanted me to be. It does finally lead to a climax that is equal parts grisly and absurd, which helped up the gore factor but made me groan and even laugh out loud (which I don't think was the point).

Availability: Netflix Streaming, Digital Rental on iTunes, Amazon, Google Play and YouTube

Martyrs (2015)

Directors: Kevin and Michael Goetz

 









The Setup: A girl traumatized by a childhood kidnapping and subsequent abuse seeks vengeance years later, bringing her best friend into the fold. What they discover while seeking to settle old scores is larger and more insidious than they could have imagined.

I'm not going to lie, I watched this movie by accident. I was looking for the 2008 French original and didn't pay enough attention to the details when I was "shopping" on the, uh...internet store. Oblivious boob that I am, I watched the entire movie curiously underwhelmed before heading to IMDB to find out my mistake. Remember when Spike Lee remade Chan-wook Park's Oldboy to the disappointment of audiences everywhere? This is the French-to-American version of that, though I can't directly compare the remakes since I steered clear of Lee's Oldboy adaptation. I will say that Martyrs is not entirely hapless; it has moments of narrative intrigue and unsettling violence, but ultimately it somehow amounts to less than the sum of its parts. Stay tuned for notes on the (higher-regarded) original!

Availability: Digital Rental on iTunes, Google Play and YouTube

Wyrmwood: Road of the Dead (2014)

Director: Kiah Roache-Turner

The Setup: A mysterious outbreak causes the vast majority of the population to become zombies overnight, and the few (un)lucky immune need to go to desperate lengths to survive.

Australia has produced some noteworthy horror films in the recent past (The Babadook, The Snowtown Murders, Lake Mungo to name a few) and Wyrmwood will definitely appeal to a certain blood-thirsty audience. It largely pushes aside exposition and characterization in its eagerness to show off its love for gore and visual style. While this seriously inhibits our ability to care deeply about any of the characters, there are a handful of genuine chuckles and memorable scenes to be found in what is essentially a high-functioning B-movie. For fans of zombie movies and dark humor, you could probably do a lot worse.

Availability: Netflix Streaming, Digital Rental on iTunes, Google Play and YouTube


- Jonathan Ross

The Honeycomb Hideout Episode 15: "Counter Culture Shock part 3" or "The Great Milenko's Thunder-Love!!"

New entry in the Imaginos Workshop dictionary:
"Blackwash": An instance in which a fictional character that is traditionally portrayed by white person is portrayed by a black person in modern adaptations without actually changing or affecting the fundamentals of the characters.

Your patience has been rewarded! Here's the final piece to the "Counter Culture Shock" series... for now. This time the gang's coming together to discuss the generational-based issues inherent in counter culture, often ranging from hipster-style fandom-based elitism to flat-out infighting and geek bullying to unfortunate remakes and adaptations. I know, right?!

Joining the boys this time around is long-time 'Combie Kristina Neuville making her return to the 'Hideout and first-time 'Combie Imaginos Workshop art student/intern/gopher Joseph Young making his 'Hideout debut! This episode is a bit crazy as the gang jumped in face-first but you'll get the gist with some quickness. Come on down and see what shakes out but watch your head because it gets a little raucous. You know how we do.  ;)

Beware the great Milenko and his thunder-love!!  LMAO!!

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The Honeycomb Hideout: (New) Episode 3: Halloween and "Horror"

What's up, guys? We're back with another dose of analyzed insanity just in time for Halloween! This time, Joe, Mark and Nik go over the current state of horror; domestic and foreign films, the unfortunate trends, and new crops in literature. Also, they go over what really qualifies a horror film as a horror film and some of the best examples of them. For those of you out there not trick-or-treating (and considering this is an 18+ podcast, that should be most of you) or partying it up tonight, now you got a place to hang out; right here in the Honeycomb Hideout!

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