Audiences have become rather accustomed to quick-buck, bright and bloody horrors that come about every couple of months from large studios, where nearly every moment of tension is ruined by a falsely acquainted jumpscare, and a lack of believable performances. Honestly, this is exactly how I believed The Black Phone would turn out. Never have I ever been more wrong!
The Black Phone follows Finney (Mason Thames), a middle schooler who along with his sister Gwen (Madeleine McGraw) have become a form of careers to their widowed alcoholic father, Terrence (Jeremy Davies), making sure that he doesn’t cause too much harm once he begins bingeing. Together they fight through the hardships, especially as Terrence has a penchant for berating Gwen over her psychic dreams. Amidst their other daily struggles of school bullies and playground antics Finney is captured by The Grabber (Ethan Hawke), a local masked kidnapper. All alone with no help in sight, it seems that Finney is destined for death, however, a mysterious black phone and Gwen’s visions may hold the key to his survival.
Adapted from Joe Hill’s (son of genre proficianado Stephen King) short story of the same (2004) is Scott Derrickson’s latest feature that calls back to one of his previous horror’s Sinister (2012), in being a shockingly gut wrenching delight that will have you peeking through the gaps of your fingers as you sit on the edge of your seat. The boxes are ticked in all categories, whether it’s the creepy performance from Hawke playing the bloodthirsty local kid-snatcher, or the illustrious whodunit mystery that goes on in the background as the cops race against time to get to the bottom of the killings before it’s too late.
As with most classic auteurs in the making, Derrickson uses his common collaborators Hawke and writer C. Robert Cargill to plunge The Black Phone into a refreshing territory that holds up for the entire film. The film transports us back in time to Colorado circa 1978, where kids would play out on the streets unequipped with no phones in sight, feeling safe amidst the presence of strangers, however, it is this exact uniformed trust that The Black Phone uses as a backbone for terror to ensue, constatnly toying with our knowledge that times are no longer as simple and Finney should definitely not be walking home alone with an unknown boogeyman lurking about. And although we sit waiting for the ‘big surprise’ of The Grabber’s appearance, what we are not prepared for is how petrifyingly wicked the prowler truly is.
Hawke’s career spans across a plethora of films including Dead Poets Society (1989), Reality Bites (1994), and Boyhood (2014); Whilst these works portray his outstanding capabilities, his recital of a maniacal deranged serial killer in The Black Phone is a career-distinguishing extravaganza, exhibiting Hawke’s duality of being a deeply disturbed individual whose depravity also oozes a sense of childlike giddiness. Convoluting the story even further is the dark land that the film doesn’t neescarly assert, but is suggested throughout. Finney’s ghostly conversations with his captive chums allude to The Grabber’s motives as somewhat being connected to a regressive state of adolescence, where he doesn’t see himself as a grown man abducting little boys, but instead a fellow child. Here, Derrickson very much leaves further analogy and the dissection of what The Grabber is ‘capable’ of doing to the viewer’s imagination. Hawke’s performance is more than commendable, but it’s important not to forget all of the other characters that make the film what it is. Spiritually joining Finney in the basement is the titular gang of fellow victims who include a small town bully, a local baseball player, and most importantly Finney’s own friend Robin (Miguel Cazarez Mora), who over the course of the film becomes Finney’s ghostly sidekick, keeping him motivated to escape the cell and tackle his inner fears.
The surveyance of suggestion is another feature that is pushed constantly throughout the film. Gory imagery does not always equate to an overused gimmick to get a visceral reaction, instead it can be used as a rather quintessential and necessary plot device for cinema, especially in the works of zombie features or body-horrors. The Black Phone delicately works with heavy material without becoming too infatuated with the sensory elements. Yes, you will feel a shiver as you come to terms with how The Grabber has anihilated his victims, but the reaction isn’t thanks to a harsh show-and-tell, instead, Derrickson takes his time in unravelling the backstory and fleshing out the grounds to conjure a narrative that employs your own imagination, forcing the misdeeds to stay in your own psyche for long after watching. Through The Black Phone continuously telling not showing, we mould the story around our own fears and worries, making the film memorable and beyond personable.
In keeping in touch with Derrickson’s pathos of personalness is the setting and time that the film uses to force a further level of despair into Finney’s chances of escaping. During the 1970s and early 1980s there was an influx in abductions, raising the now too familiar saying of ‘Stranger Danger’ into public domain. During this time, milk cartons were plastered with missing posters, meaning that the threat and knowledge of alarming events were in the family home, not just a distanced and avoidable event on the news.
As with any major event, cinema took ahold of these panics and manifested the terror into works of media, with recent entries including Prisoners (2013), The Captive (2014), and I See You (2019). Films akin to these mystery dramas with heavy doses of horror have had a slight rehaul over the years, with studios opting to position the ‘missing kids’ narrative during one of the more notable heights of worry– during the 1970s/1980s. Rather than Derrickson using nostalgia and retro framings as an easy trick to hone in on the trend, the vintage aesthetic is used appropriately and to the film’s utmost advantage. In honour of the throwback vibes Finney becomes entirely hopeless, with zero social media to track his location, nor any savvy list to keep track of neighbourhood creeps.
Everything, whether it’s the dim layer where Finney is held, the retro style complete with grainy intercuts of 8mm footage enlightening viewers of Gwen’s visions, or even the foreboding score that knows exactly when to quieten before erupting into a thunderous peak- The Black Phone has it all, making it not only one of 2022’s most standout films so far, but also a strong contender for being one of Blumhouse Productions best releases yet.
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Dani (Florence Pugh) travels to Sweden with her anthropology boyfriend (Jack Reynor) and his friends to celebrate the town’s annual Midsummer Festival.
Ari Aster may have begun drawing heaps of attention thanks to his incredibly dark short film The Strange Thing About the Johnsons (2011), but it would be nearly a decade until he reached pivotal success with Hereditary (2018), and then the infamous Midsommar, which received praising reviews from both tough to please critics and cinema goers. The film takes its time to unravel, where the horror is delayed to focus the attention of Dani’s inner psyche and what it means to feel lost and lonely even though she is surrounded by people. Like its folk predecessors The Wicker Man (1973), and Penda’s Fen (1974), Midsommar is rooted both physically and metaphorically within nature and the allure of innocence that secretly hides ancient secrets. The anonymity that Midsommar possesses is one of the many reasons behind its success, with the harmonious town of Hälsingland creating a sense of safety. Akin to the earthy aesthetics that Aster creates, the film takes inspiration from the dark nature that lies within humanity, especially conflicting emotions of grief, desperation, and guilt.
2- The Fear Street Trilogy (Directed by Leigh Janiak, 2021)
The town of Shadyside is terrorised by an infamous evil that has been plaguing the town for centuries.
R. L. Stine’s Goosebumps series just may be the igniter that started many horror fan’s love of the morbid and macabre. However, Goosebumps wasn’t Stine’s only creepy venture as his Fear Street novels also garnered plenty of success. And rightly so! In 2021, Netflix dropped the news that Leigh Janiak would be writing and directing an entire trilogy based on the Fear Street books, with every film being released one week after the after. The first entry acts as a solid introductory point where nostalgia is the keen focus all thanks to the slasher-like vibes that run throughout. The sequel goes back in time and utilises the cabin in the woods vibe that dominated 1980s horror, and last but not least the finale acts as an overarching binder that moulds together everything that Fear Street has been working towards, nestling the trilogies place as an absolute must-watch that has a bit of something for everyone.
3- The Lost Boys (Directed by Joel Schumacher, 1987)
The lively, sunny town of Santa Carla may seem like a haven for the sweet life, but a gang of cruel vampires take over and cause utter mayhem.
The Lost Boys is not an unfamiliar entry on this list for any horror fan, some might even say that Joel Schumacher’s vampire flick is one of the most notorious blood-sucking films to come from the 1980s. This praise may seem far fetched from a glance, but The Lost Boys is an unmissable thrilling descent into gory antics and wicked effects. The Santa Carla beach setting lays the path for a tale rife with coming-of-age bonding, beachside parties, and beyond entertaining vampire escapades.
4- Summer of 84 (Directed by François Simard, Anouk Whissell and Yoann-Karl Whissell, 2018)
Set in the summer of 1984, a group of teens suspect that their local police officer may be a serial killer.
Summer of 84 perfectly wraps together what modern audiences loves about 1980s horror; it’s the whole aspect of adventure, and a sense of freedom that allows the characters to explore the land of the films narrative, almost akin to beloved throwback films such as The Goonies (1985) and Stand By Me (1986). Keeping up with this theme is Summer of 84’s heartfelt basis that lies at the bottom of the grisly horror, just like 2017’s IT remake, the film puts friendship at the heart of the journey, meaning that the threat of this murderer on the loose becomes so much more real and menacing, forcing the audience to actually care about what happens to the group.
5- Jaws (Directed by Steven Spielberg, 1975)
In a bid to stop a killer shark from ruining the tourist buzz in Amity Island, a group head out into the ocean to capture the deadly beast
Summer and horror may seem like a world apart, with gruesome fates and sunny skies contrasting against one another. However, this clash wouldnt last for long thanks to Academy Award winning director Steven Spielberg combining slow burning terror with the creature feature to create one of cinema’s favoruite horrors. Set in the beach town of Amity Island is a story that made audiences scared to go out into the ocean for years, fearing that a great white will come along and snap them up. Besides the hysteria that Jaws caused (including the supposed reaction of neurosis in one audience member…), the film offers a tidal wave of good old fashioned fun to be had amidst all the jumpscares and impressive effects, making it one of the most quintessential summer films.
6- Aquaslash (Directed by Renaud Gauthier, 2019)
Wet Valley Water Park becomes the centre for the graduation class of Valley Hills High to celebrate their upcoming futures. However, it’s not long until their gratuitous debaucheries are interrupted as a mad killer sets their sights on killing as many of the students as possible.
Keeping in theme with the water-based frights is possibly one of horror’s most under-recognised entries in recent years– Aquaslash. Fresh from Fantasia’s Film Festival in 2019 is this Canadian gem that unearths a new-found fear for waterparks, with the film’s daring third act being grossly horrifying enough to even make professional fright-seekers wince and cover their eyes. In order to ensure audiences’ shocked reactions as the film’s conclusion hits, we’ll keep it brief, however, just know that this irreverent, outrageous film is sure to be a surprise.
7- The Ruins (Directed by Carter Smith, 2008)
Two couples go on a romantic vacation to Mexico, where they are invited on a trip to a Mayan temple where they find themselves entangled within the hungry vines of the Mayan jungle.
The 2000s harboured a reputation as being rather contentious for a while, and whilst over the years this era has received plenty of praise for its slasher-inspired, teen-based, overly cheesy movies, many films from this period still remain fairly undetected by the masses. One of these entries include The Ruins, a sun-soaked, fable-filled, earthy horror that explores the vengeance of the elements. The nature of the film itself allows for brave levels of hysteria and uncertainty of actions to thrive, but what makes the film become really elevated is the surprisingly graphic body horror, whose visuals remain etched in the viewer’s mind for long after watching.
8- The Town That Dreaded Sundown (Directed by Charles B. Pierce, 1976)
A fictitious retelling of the 1946 Moonlight Murders, whose perpetrator stalks their prey at night killing them in the most horrific ways possible.
The Town That Dreaded Sundown has remained somewhat timeless, which is a bold statement considering it has been forty-six years since its release. Yet, those decades have not been without controversy for Charles B. Pierce, in fact the film came across as so raw to the true story that a lawsuit was filed against the film’s marketing team, as well as Pierce being involved in a court trial after someone involved in the true case tried to sue him for privacy infringements. This highly heated hit has a foreboding atmosphere that fails to quit, as well as crafting such a terror stricken aura that any form of security the viewer may have found is completely jolted, alarming the senses and creating a memorably horrific film.
9- The Burning (Directed by Tom Maylam, 1981)
In upstate New York, Camp Blackfoot becomes the playground for a vengeful serial killer who is hellbent on creating a world of hell for the unlucky campers.
Cabin, camps, and creepy caretakers were at the forefront of horror in the 1980s. One of the film’s that started this trend included Friday the 13th (1980), leading to many filmmakers drawing inspiration from the success of Sean S. Cunningham’s work, with movies such as Madman (1982), Sleepaway Camp (1983), Cheerleader Camp (1988), and later hits such as Cabin Fever (2002) all becoming staples in the summer horror realm. But one horror that didn’t just copy and paste the teen-summer-slasher was Tom Maylam’s The Burning. The general concept of a crazed killer targeting a group of unsuspecting victims is a classic method that is destined to provide a fun ride for the viewer, however, where The Burning really shines is within the special effects orchestrated by none other than the legend himself Tom Savini. Throughout, super gnarly gushing wounds and smashed heads feature, leaving no stone unturned when it comes to the gore factor.
10- Turistas (Directed by John Stockwell, 2006)
A group of vacationers travel to the Brazilian Coast where the bright nightlife and climate makes the trip seem like a dream, that is until they are unknowingly drugged and find themselves stranded in the middle of nowhere with no belongings left. They eventually travel to a supposed safe haven where imminent rescue is promised, however, they soon realise that it is all a deadly trap.
Holidays are a chance to kick back and relax, leaving inhibitions at the door. But, at the back of everyone’s minds there is a lingering worry that being in an unfamiliar land where there are language and cultural barriers can lead to nightmarish consequences. Turistas is aware of exactly that, as it preys on very real worries, leading the viewer anxious to let their guard down abroad ever again. All of this paranoia would not be as effective if it wasn’t for the genuinely powerful performances from Melissa Geroge, Olivia Wilde, Josh Duhamel, and Beau Garrett, who all nail that paranicked fear, making Turistas so much more than a cheap thrill.
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The newly widowed Harper (Jessie Buckley) embarks on a solo trip to the countryside to escape from her worries. However, once she arrives a string of bizzare events unravel a world of horror…
Folk horror justifies the human body to be connected to an ethereal being that is one with nature, as if the soil beneath a character’s feet is a reasoning, an aid in their emotive flow. Men, Alex Garland’s latest feat, is an earthy experience that assaults the viewer’s senses through compartmentalising what they may or may not have believed about gender politics, and how the very source of a threat runs deeper than anyone may have previously understood.
Beware spoilers ahead…
Known for Ex-Machina (2014) and Annihilation (2018), Garland’s filmography thrives in the communication between humanity and otherness. That otherness in his previous work has been primarily communicated through science and creatures, and these sci-fi-like stories all have one thing in common- each piece resonates with something higher that can not always be understood in the everyday, where tales of grief, despair, sorrow, and self-condemnation thrives.
Men elicits its own message in a convoluted but mesmerising way. The impactful gut punch swung at the audience within the first scene acts as a warning shot to the entirety of Men’s harsh reflection about the cycles of abuse. With the rest of this narrative portion told in flashbacks, it is slowly revealed that Harper’s escape to the countryside was a means of therapy, a place of solitude to heal from the loss of her abusive husband. A tumultuous debate ensued when Harper informed her partner James (Paapa Essiedu) that she wanted a divorce, with the presumption being lumped on his controlling behaviour. James reacts in a callous manner that far too many people have experienced, touching on the deep wounds from the more ‘quieted abuse’.
He begins with carefully telling Harper that her absence will result in his suicide, coinciding her to being his emotive murderer. Their argument continues after he catches her texting a friend that she is scared of his behaviour, resulting in the discussion becoming heated when he knocks Harper straight across the face, blasting her into the kitchen cupboards and leaving her with a bloody nose. Rightfully so, Harper kicks James out of the marital home before he makes his way to the upstairs balcony and falls (or as it’s suggested) ‘lets himself go’ from the railings, plummeting to his death right in front of Harper.
The suffering experienced in a domestic situation is not always as obvious as soap operas make it out to be. Slowly persuading social exclusion, demanding to see someone’s phone, controlling what attire is and isn’t suitable, and hanging a warning of ominous events over an individual’s head is what can go on behind closed doors without anyone else ever knowing. Men implicates this subtlety that harm can harbour. Harper’s past with James is just the tip of the thunderous iceberg that Men touches upon.
As Harper enters the grounds of her idyllic home for the next two weeks, Geoffrey (Rory Kinnear), the keeper of the manor is introduced. His tweed layered outfit, buckled front yellowed teeth, and upper-class clipped tones all scream true to the country-gentlemen stereotype. Here, as it will become clearer later on, Garland has not fallen trap to easy labelling of a character out of sheer ignorance, Geoffrey’s precise aesthetic and tone is very much deliberate, lathering up the scene for the unbearably gruesome horror to ensue as the film progresses. At first Geoffrey seems harmless, almost awkward, and very eager to make Harper feel comfortable and safe all on her own. Whilst a woman shouldn’t have to wear a metaphorical coat of armour to feel safe when solo travelling, it seems that Geoffrey is concerned that Harper, or Mrs. Marlowe (emphasis on the Mrs.) as he calls her, has not brought ‘hubby’ along for the trip.
After Garland has denoted adequate time to develop the background of Harper’s disposition, the viewer is welcomed into Men’s true motives. Lush emerald fields and abundantly leafed trees frame Harper as she ventures out on a walk through the forest. The land swallows her stature and becomes all-encompassing to the frame, illustrating the sheer vastness of Harper’s seclusion and tethering her to nature, encasing her with the trees as if she is part of the shrubbery. It suggested that Harper has been disconnected from herself ever since her widowing, becoming stricken with the grief and guilt that was forced upon her.
As her journey into the forest deepens, her demeanour becomes lighter and more at ease, finding comfort in the breeze of the cool wind amidst the evergreen architecture. This happiness continues after she makes her way down a muddied trail to the abandoned railway track. The outside of the tunnel is bleak and dauntly lit, highly juxtapositioned against the previous scenes of open brightness. However, her boost of merriment from the walk encourages her to walk into the disused channel where she discovers the echo effect that the tunnel makes. Since she’s finally feeling spirited again, glee takes over and she creates a quaint melody, singing little calls down the tunnel. All is finally well. That is until her vocal sessions receive a reply…A loud screechy reply at that.
The cathartic bliss is interrupted within this one single moment. And from this point forward all hell is unleashed. As the film unravels it turns out that the reply Harper heard was from a naked, gaunt man who stalked her back to the cottage. However, as Garland slowly reveals, this stalking event does not take up the entire film, instead this horrific incident is barely a drop in the ocean compared to the following events. This brief climax in the first act opens the door for a string of chilling encounters to occur. The male police officers assisting Harper in dealing with the assailant are easy to shift the blame, the priest who she bumps into whilst exploring the village is quick to judge, a rude schoolboy who she unfortunately meets is rude and threatening, and the male townspeople she witness at the local pub are all majorly eerie, enacting a silent dread that has become increasingly familiar to many over the years.
Despite the rise in awareness and rights, there has been an insurgence of violence towards women, with the primary assailant being men. These antagonists are not always overt boogeymen lurking around corners. No…They could be (as Garland rather unabashedly exposes) a friendly neighbour, a religious vicar, it can be a young boy, a stranger who you may have simply crossed paths with, they could even be a respected police officer-a figure of the law.
Harper’s relationship and the reasons as to why she ends up in the countryside in the first place is just a means to an end, shielding the true meaning that Men possesses. Many have argued that Harper’s damsel-in-distress status is a receding factor in the cinematic representation of women. Her panicking, paranoia, and trepidation is largely seen as steps put in place to make her weak. And of course with Garland being a man himself, Men has become the target point for heavy scrutiny. Yet, one could argue that by constantly pushing on-screen women to be powerhouses, devoid of emotion (especially considering Harper’s circumstances), and completely fearless, then a similar pressure is once again placed upon the female viewer. Audiences want women to be absent of trauma, but at the same time, the true pathology of a person (female or male) depicts a variety of emotions all at one time. The comments degrading Garland’s work, and more importantly Buckley’s performance, as being ‘too-sentimental’ is in itself the sort of criticism that Men actively wants to disavow. Harper feels how she wants to feel, reacts as she sees fit, and is determined to do whatever she wants, no matter who it may displease. In the horror genre fear and anxiety are the driving forces behind the film, so why would Harper not be a bundle of nerves in this situation? I know I would!
Whilst Men can stir passionate debates about representation and the censorship of feelings (as seen above), what also needs thorough examination is the ‘why’s’ behind the film’s message. Rory Kinnear, known for his roles in Black Mirror (“The National Anthem”) and the Daniel Craig saga of James Bond films, plays the role of all the men in the village. Through all of these numerous character performances being synched together by Kinnear’s presence, it’s hinted that no matter the age, career, or appearance the danger is always there. Thus, inflicting an additional layer of context into Men. Its as if Garland is playing on the current social climate’s phrasing of the political standpoint- “Not All Men ”. Of course, these matters deserve more than a mere nod here, but to keep matters simple, in summary it can be argued that Garland decides to target the prolonged toxic masculinity trope.
Moving on, Kinnear is not the only shining star that graces the screen with the presence of pure talent. Jessie Buckley tears the barriers between screen and viewer, persuading us that this film is not a veil or a sheer piece of entertainment, but an important step in modern horror. Buckley willingly goes through such stern emotions of melancholia and utter desolation, and in doing so she drags the viewer directly into the horrid events, heightening the already nervous sense of fear and granting Men with an ubiquitous power.
Men builds a tower of fear through alerting us of the dangers out there, whether that be the everyday threat from the residential creeper, or the seedy underbelly that lurks within the least suspecting character. The entire pretext Men grounds itself within is both human nature and the outdoors itself, with the phallic tree stalks, the dominating masculine presence, and the constant symbolism of ‘father nature’ stalking Harper wherever she goes. In a bold, but refreshing sense these undeniable mankind-like features are purposefully juxtaposed with feminine touches from the rounded ripe fruit that falls from the trees, the red painted innards of the cottage, and the film’s unforgettable conclusion.
Arguably, the mixed reviews reading Garland’s stance towards misogyny as detrimental to any progress made can be sympathised with. However, I would argue that Garland did not set out to make a propaganda piece confirming his stance, instead Men screens a small portion of gender politics as a discussion piece, not a tale that aims to immigrate his own ethos into the mix. We are invited to sit back and witness, and make up our own minds about what we think is going on- making Men more of an experience as well as a film.
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1- The Toxic Avenger (Directed by Michael Herz & Lloyd Kaufman, 1984)
A measly nerd (Mark Torgl) residing in New Jersey finds himself transforming into a ginormous monster after falling into a barrel of toxic waste.
If there was one singular film totally synonymous with the entire Troma legacy, then the film at hand would be The Toxic Avenger, the key to the company’s legacy and long-lasting success. The basis of the film’s existence came about in quite a typical fashion for Troma; Kaufman got wind that horror movies were apparently ‘no longer popular’ after reading an article at the Cannes Film Festival. So, with a boost of gumption and an upcoming production company backing him up, Kaufman and Herz concocted the idea of a swampish monster who would take on a hero persona to tackle those up to no good. The 1980s mainstream media would constantly belittle the horror genre, but Kaufman and Herz’s efforts were still met with solid reviews, leading to flocking audiences desperate to see this weird and absurd creation. Over time, The Toxic Avenger has built an entire franchise running behind it, with comic books, sequels, tv-series, a range of merchandise, and an upcoming reboot directed by Macon Blair and starring Peter Dinklage, which is due to be released later next year.
2- Combat Shock (Directed by Buddy Giovinazzo, 1986)
Frankie Dunlan (Rick Giovinazzo), a war veteran who fought in Vietnam is living in despair with his argumentative wife and deformed baby. The gritty poverty that he lives in, along with his less-than-perfect home life forces him to lose touch with reality and descend into insanity.
During the golden age of Troma came Combat Shock, a wild, wacky, and enthusiastic exploitation flick directed by Buddy Giovinazzo. Even those completely unfamiliar with Troma will probably have heard of Combat Shock being thrown into filmic conversations every now and then, primarily thanks to its nihilistic, drastic take on wartime history, particularly the Vietnam War. Whilst, Giovinazzo is certainly not the first filmmaker to tackle this important world event, he is however one of the only creators who have depicted such events in a radically chaotic and torturous way.
3- Cannibal! The Musical (Directed by Trey Parker, 1993)
A man on trial for cannibalism tells his story of how his deeds all went down through songs, performances, and dramatic flashbacks.
This cannibalistic, flesh-frenzied, meat-eating musical is nothing short of completely trippy. It was slightly based on the true story surrounding the self-confessed ‘Colorado Cannibal’ Alfred Packer, the film boards gruesome, grizzly visuals, epic settings, and surprisingly uplifting songs to create a film, unlike anything anyone would ever expect. Director and writer duo Trey Parker and Matt Stone (Now known for creating South Park) originally came up with the film’s premise for a project for a film class where they had to compose a trailer. The short garnered a lot of attention, encouraging the pair to raise a tidy budget of $125,000 to shoot a full-length movie. After the project wrapped and editing was complete, Cannibal! The Musical did not get a general release. However, in 1996 Troma saw the grave potential in the darkly spirited musical and picked it up. Over the years, Troma considered the film to be one of its best releases, even including it in the 2008 launch of the ‘Tromasterpiece Collection’.
4- Father’s Day (Directed by Astron-6, 2011)
Ahab (Adam Brooks) becomes hellbent on seeking revenge on the man who murdered his father.
Although Troma has its ties with the 1980s slasher hit Mother’s Day, 2011’s aptly named Father’s Day holds no relation to the classic; instead, this extravaganza is much more obscure, depraved, and downright hilarious. Father’s Day is directed by the team known as Astron-6, composed of Adam Brooks, Jeremy Gillespie, Matthew Kennedy, Steven Kostanski, and Conor Sweeney. The collective is responsible for must-sees such as The Void (2016) and Psycho Goreman (2020). Similar to Cannibal! The Musical, the film was conceived as a short film, but demand would take over, with the eventual full-length feature premiering at the Toronto After Dark Film Festival where it would receive a whopping total of 8 awards, including Best Film, Best Director, and nearly every Fan’s Choice award going. It’s difficult to pinpoint just one of the many reasons why the film is both one of Troma’s best features and a standout Grindhouse-like film, but a starting point is how far Father’s Day is willing to go whilst still remaining quick-witted and comedic. Throughout the violent journey expect plenty of mutilation, decapitations, and incest.
5- Terror Firmer (Directed by Lloyd Kaufman, 1999)
A maniac killer is out on the prowl at the same time as a film crew is shooting a low-budget feature in New York. To stop the madman on his path of destruction the crew bands together, resulting in tons of bloodshed and chaotic mania.
Grimy b-movies including Peter Jackson’s Braindead (1992) and Michael Muro’s Street Trash (1987) are distinct setups for that niche subgenre of horror that often gets overlooked and downgraded as total schlock. Terror Firmer understands this critical reception and uses it as a blueprint to create the most gnarly and gross-out b-movie to ever grace Troma’s books. The film was birthed by Douglas Buck, Patrick Cassidy, Kaufman, and James Gunn, and was based on the autobiography book written by Kaufman and Gunn titled ‘All I Need to Know About Filmmaking I Learned from The Toxic Avenger’ (1998). This gory voyage utilises the meta trend that soared through cinema during the late 1990s, setting the perfect scene for gruesome kills and humorous quips throughout.
6- Tromeo and Juliet (Directed by Lloyd Kaufman, 1997)
Filmmaker Tromeo (Will Keenan), falls head over heels for Juliet (Jane Jensen), the daughter of his rival.
William Shakespeare’s tragedy, Romeo & Juliet is an embracing tale of forbidden love, battling families, and the tortured fate of life without romance. Troma’s Tromeo and Juliet is an ‘interesting’ adaptation of the said play, except it follows a much more alternative route, depicting violent bodily vandalization and explicit phallic fantasies. Across the board, Kaufman’s vision may not be to every individual’s taste, but it is certainly a feast for Troma fans, with James Gunn’s script steeping the film in nightmarish scenes that dare the viewer to keep watching throughout all of the madness.
7- Class of Nuke ‘Em High (Directed by Richard W. Haines, Michael Herz, Lloyd Kaufman, 1986)
A group of students from Tromaville High mutates into hideous freaks after toxic waste finds its way into their water supply.
In the same lines as The Toxic Avenger, Class of Nuke ‘Em High is one of Troma’s most defining hits, with four sequels following (one [Return to Return to Nuke ‘Em High AKA Volume 2– 2017] even premiering at Cannes Film Festival). And just like The Toxic Avenger, this film acts as a loose sequel, also being based in Tromaville and being soaked in visceral, green sludge that makes every violent act even more audacious. Adding to the genre-defying theme are the electric-like sci-fi elements including the threat of nuclear plants, radiation fears, bodily mutations, and dominating creatures–all commanding the screen, creating a lingering fandom that refuses to stop.
8- Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger IV (Directed by Lloyd Kaufman, 2000)
The Toxic Avenger (David Mattey) arises once again to save Tromaville from his evil counterpart The Noxious Offender.
Troma is rife with sequels, prequels, trilogies, and entire franchises. And out of all of these continued films, one of the best has to be Citizen Toxie. Just like the original–The Toxic Avenger–Citizen Toxie has plenty of bold gravitas and a keen sense of what Troma fans adore, tons and tons of madness. Quite impressively, the fourth installment features some stellar cameos from the likes of Eli Roth, Stan Lee, Corey Feldman, and Lemmy from Motörhead. Similar to nearly every Toxic Avenger film, the lack of societal correctness is a deliberate strategy to both provoke the comfort that resides in mainstream cinema and to create a film that soars past what anyone could possibly expect.
9- Blood Sucking Freaks (Directed by Joel M. Reed, 1976)
Magician, Sardu (Seamus O’Brien), kidnaps a string of people to use for his magic show. Little does the audience know that the torturous tricks are actually real.
Blood Sucking Freaks is possibly one of Troma’s most controversial films, and that’s saying a lot considering some of their other titles include Chopper Chicks in Zombietown (1989) and Surf Nazis Must Die (1987). Joel M. Reed’s nightmarish extravaganza was picked up by Troma in 1981, where they would make certain cuts to the film to receive an R rating, however, the version they ended up releasing depicted extremely graphic content, leaving no stone unturned through every scene, even including visuals of botch amputations, head crushing, teeth-pulling, and healthy doses of general torture. Of course, the censor board was not happy with the release of such content, but like with any cult classic, this made Blood Sucking Freaks all the more fun.
10- Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead (Directed by LLyold Kaufman, 2006)
A fast-food restaurant is taken over by zombie chickens after the building was constructed over an ancient burial ground. If the name of Kaufman’s 2006 feature doesn’t give you enough information already, Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead is a demented, unreal, and shockingly absurd descent into mayhem. In the essence of true independent filmmaking, the film was made possible by the pure devotion to the cinema, with Kaufman and Herz partially self-funding the film just to get it made. Along with this, most of the crew were volunteers who were fortunate enough to see the adverts on Craigslist and other messaging boards looking for a pair of extra hands to help out on a film set for a legendary production company. However, this hard work wasn’t in vain as the film was a rip-roaring success, with its reception making it a firm favorite for Troma fans.
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Chris (Dana Kimmell) brings along her boyfriend Rick (Paul Kratka) and a group of their friends to Chris’ lake house at Crystal Lake for a boozy weekend. Little do they know Jason Voorhees lingers, waiting to attack.
“Ki ki ki, ma ma ma”… Whenever this death siren plays, a machete wielding iron man appears into frame, donning blood stained clothing and that oh so iconic hockey mask… Jason is here.
It’s these intrinsic qualities that have meshed itself into horror history, ensuring legendary status for decades to come. But, not all of these Friday the 13th staples were introduced in the 1980 slasher that started it all, instead it was in the series most underrated film, Friday the 13th Part III where Jason’s iconic status kicked off.
Friday the 13th Part III (1982) directed by Steve Miner is the entry that changed the entire game for both the franchise and the genre in general. The setup for Part III takes place directly after the sequel, where Ginny Field (Amy Steel) managed to fight off Jason with his own weapon. However, the slasher laws obviously dictate that the killer is never dead, nicely setting up the events for the next film to follow. Miner introduces the new generation of victims through enacting a rather predictable, nevertheless effective plot following a group of teens heading on a trip to Crystal Lake. The night is rife with the standard debaucheries followed by stabbings, slashings, and gouging’s that naturally come with 1980s splatter fests, but it’s within this air of familiarity and expectedness where the film thrives. Unique takes at cat-and-mouse chase kills highlight what Part III does best, and whilst it is still a great and easy popcorn movie, Miner divulges into heavier themes such as arising trauma.
At one point Part III’s final girl Chris, discusses the reason why she previously left Crystal Lake–A deformed man attacked her, hinting at a possible assault. After all this time she’s plucked up the courage to return to the dreaded grounds that left her shaken in hopes of facing her fears. The necessity of the plot point is irrelevant, what truly matters is that Chris is one of the first final girls akin to other survivors such as Jess Bradford (Black Christmas, 1974) who are fully fleshed out, willing to survive through critical thinking, and most importantly Chris challenges the archetype of the ‘survivor’, shaping the final girl character that we all know and love today.
The fruitful execution of Chris embodying the opposite of a montonous recycled scream queen is brazen, leaving her counterparts to come across as even more braindead and fun to see fall. The rest of the group are just meat for Jason to devour, and whilst their annoying tone could have been a fatal mistake it only works to the films benefit. Jason is ruthless, vile, and downright savage, definitely not a happy camper. Some of the franchise’s best kills reside in Part III, especially with the oh so icky pitchfork through the jugular kill, or the old’ spear through the eye. It doesn’t get better than that!
Jason has remained one of horror’s most prolific serial killers, as well as being extremely culturally referenced and recognised all thanks to the iconic mask. Masks are inherently rooted within depictions of cinematic psychopathy, shielding emotions, and denoting the killer to be anonymous, creating a god-like power to be feared. Originally, there were plans for Jason to wear a mask, but there wasn’t any particular cover chosen yet, nor was it particularly important to the story. Jason’s mask came about as an accident as the film’s makeup artist Doug White and his crew didn’t want to apply the laborious makeup to Jason just for a light check. Luckily enough a crew member brought in their hockey gear, and they were able to borrow the face shield. From that day forward movie history was made.
Watching such an immensely entertaining film emits a vibe, one that is perfect in a cinema, meant to be watched in a crowd to here the boos, experience the howling’s when Jason finally brings the machete down to his victim, and to feel the jolt when he jumps out from a dark corner. Part III’s box office smashing figures was due to the epic extravaganza that Miner captures, and the use of 3D technology that soared the gore to the next level. Every possible image that would benefit from being 3D was used, with every whack and weapon thrown being a complete immersive stab at the audience.
Another element of surprise for Part III lies within the first drafts of the script. Ginny was supposed to reprise her role as Jason’s arch nemesis, continuing the franchise with her being the Laurie Strode within Jason’s path. However, Ginny’s riddance moulded this replaceable element towards the characters in Part III. Each film in the franchise is individualistic, with the only consistent factor across the continuing nine films being Jason, and this is all linked back to Part III’s encouragement of going off in a new direction. Many slasher films ended up following in these footsteps, keeping the excitement alive, and commemorating the villain over the protagonist every single time.
Throughout the film there is a constant riveting energy that only adds a punchy injection to the overall camp demeanour and excess of exaggerated kills. It may be 40 years since its release, but Part III is still an exhilarating trip into the slashing world of Jason Voorhees.
We’ll be screening Part 3 in 3D this May, more details here.
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1- As Above, So Below (Directed by John Erick Dowdle, 2014)
Scarlett (Perdita Weeks) is a devoted archaeologist who is desperate to continue her deceased father’s search for the Philosopher’s Stone. After breaking codes to unearth the stone’s location, Scarlett and a group of fellow adventurers head down into the underground of Paris to find the world’s biggest treasure.
Deep in the catacombs lies an ancient but deadly secret, and just as we follow the camera scurrying through the strange corners and enveloping tunnel, we also emotionally accompany the group on their psychological journey to hell. Heaps of the tension rely on the film’s overtly nightmarish setting, it’s certain that no one is immune to the claustrophobic nature that lies underneath. Yet, the immensity of the environment refuses to overshadow As Above, So Below’s soulful arrangement. Without even realising it, something quite sinister happens within the character dynamics, as more and more about their backstories are unearthed. Over time, a sense of cathartic realism is released, as if the catacombs dig out buried secrets, making for a haunting tale surrounding ego, denial, grief, and inner content.
2- Noroi: The Curse (Directed by Kōji Shiraishi, 2005)
Masafumi Kobayashi (Jin Muraki), a notable paranormal researcher, suddenly goes missing after finishing a documentary on supernatural occurrences in Japan.
Noroi is unlike the barrage of found footage films swinging about. A tonne of credit is owed to the subgenre, but a lot of narrative angles have been done and dusted many times before. However, when it comes to Noroi, director Kōji Shiraishi uses the recycled ‘ancient demon’ paradigm and transports the legend into unknown territory. Japanese horror is rooted deep in the psyche, where cinema acts as a probe to provoke your own individualized versions of terror. Noroi meshes in countless themes from ghosts, urban legends, parasites, rituals, and mutilation (to name a few); and in doing so Shiraishi dares the viewer to not be completely immersed in this devilishly macabre story. Purposefully teetering on the side of dullness is the film’s utilization of the ‘found footage’ method. Every scene is bathed in the ordinary and it’s very realistic, with overlapping dialogue, moments of silence and pauses, and a monotonous palette, creating an eerie sense of realism as if these tragedies really did happen. Sometimes it’s the stories that are drenched in the humdrum of everyday life that ignite a surging, dreaded fear.
3- The Fourth Kind (Directed by Olatunde Osunsanmi, 2009)
Dr. Abigail Tyler (Milla Jovovich), a psychologist in rural Alaska begins to suspect that the recurring haunting scenarios her patients are experiencing surround a string of alien abductions.
Sci-fi cinema has a special bond with horror. They both flourish in the obscure, and they both aim to explore consequences. The Fourth Kind is a gleaming example of what can happen when these two genres marry. In short, the film is an epic report of how losing someone will eventually deteriorate your own conscious self, in emotional form the living also withers away. The Fourth Kind savours the sensitive tribulations surrounding trauma, but the narrative is not necessarily the film’s sole trophy point, instead, the return to meta-horror through the 1990s-esque storytelling holds a great X-factor. At the beginning of the film, a prelude is shown introducing the actors whilst they state their roles, which are “based on true stories”. Whilst, this element could fall into the gimmick category, it unleashes a certain sensibility that makes you ponder over the whole alien debate.
4- The Houses October Built (Directed by Bobby Roe, 2014)
Five friends set out on the road to tour some of America’s most notable haunted house attractions. Along the way, plenty of scares are had and laughed over, yet they can’t shake the feeling that something or someone may have sadistic plans for them.
All Hallows’ Eve is essentially Christmas for horror hounds. Carved pumpkins, spooky decor, and crisp autumn nights introduced in October are perfectly paired with a good old-fashioned horror. Halloween (1978) and Hocus Pocus (1993) may be ideal watches, but sometimes it’s nice to spice it up and add a new film into the mix. This is exactly where The Houses October Built fits in. The film takes aim at the scary truth behind these horror haunts that tour up and down the country during Halloween. These events are always jam-packed with fright-seekers waiting to be taunted and prodded by the ‘haunt’s’ actors. But what if these performers have something more sinister up their sleeves? Director Bobby Roe introduces this underlying fear that you won’t even know you have. Tourist attractions ask for our trust, and quite naively we give it to them. Not only is the premise alone unsettling, but the set design of the attractions and buildup all also contribute to the ominous world Roe implicates. Just like the tourist traps themselves, Roe is determined to put on a rip-roaring show that revels in the gory theatrics and sets up such an immersive ride that you’ll add it to your annual Halloween watchlist.
5- The Medium (Banjong Pisanthanakun, 2021)
A family from the Isan region of Thailand begins to suspect that one of their own has become possessed by a benevolent ancient force.
The Medium is a rattling experience that simultaneously demands attention and threatens the viewer’s disposition for horrific material. Laid out in a mockumentary format is the heartfelt tragedy that expands upon the rulings within Shamanic culture in the contexts of Isan religion. The film is set in Isan, the northeast region of Thailand. Within this setting Shamanism is commonly practiced, with a strong backbone for the religion surrounding the presence of ‘being’ and how everything in nature has a soul, not just humans. As the film progresses, this inherent belief of transcendence through the other is explored, leading the viewer on a complex journey into alternative cultures and how ancestral practices are inherently rooted in modern customs. The Medium packs in the aforementioned heavy content all within the 130 minute time frame. But, not for one second does the film dwell, as themes such as cannibalism, incest, assault, psychological torment, exploitation, and self-mutilation amalgamate to compose a harrowing descent into utter insufferable chaos. The film will test the viewer’s strength for disturbing content and will leave you perplexed over the unsettling third act.
6- What We Do in the Shadows (Directed by Jemaine Clement & Taika Waititi, 2014)
Vampire roommates Viago (Taika Waititi), Vladislav (Jemaine Clement), Deacon (Jonathan Brugh), and Petyr (Ben Fransham) go about their daily routine as a documentary crew films them.
What We Do in the Shadows began as a short film in 2005, which captured the feature film’s iconic immortal-themed banter. After garnering success, Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi took the adapted short to the next level, with the project now standing as a growing franchise, including two television spin-offs and an upcoming sequel. The nocturnal characters are what pushes the film’s hilarious remarks to the next level, as the deadpan and slightly off-kilter jokes mime other mockumentary projects, especially The Office (UK). But amidst the galore of giggles is the entire reality that is presented. We don’t simply follow the multi-generational bloodsuckers going about their day-to-day routine, Clement and Waititi insist on throwing unexpected hurdles such as werewolf rows, vampire politics, and the turn of new creatures into the mix. In no time, an entire underground world of beastly beings is unearthed, setting the scene for laugh-out-loud gags and some super gnarly moments.
7- Creep (Patrick Brice, 2014)
Aaron (Patrick Brice) works as a freelance videographer who answers an online ad to film Josef (Mark Duplass) for the day as part of a memorial video of himself for his unborn child. His requests are immediately strange, but as the day continues Aaron begins to suspect that something sinister may be round the corner.
Creep does exactly what it says on the tin. Throughout the entire film nothing entirely dramatic happens, nor is there an abundance of jump scares, blood, or even much absurdity. Creep gets under your skin in a much more upsetting manner that works in a menacingly slow way. The threat level glides in so eerily that before the viewer knows it they are overcome with an overarching sense of dread. The film thrives in this ambiguity that shields away from direct answers. Patrick Brice continuously personalizes Josef’s actions, as if his strange (yet seemingly harmless) motives are just exaggerated advances that we all experience at one point or another. Of course, a knife wielding maniac wearing a mask would get anyone’s fight or flight instincts pumping, but we all know the rarity of the situation. Now imagine something much more ordinary. Some strange but slightly friendly man comes up to you for small talk, nothing untoward, but now imagine that you cant shift his lingering gaze as he innocently darkens the conversation. The awkwardness of not being able to escape an unfamiliar character is something that many people have experienced. Nine times out of ten, you’ll eventually manage to slip away, however, Creep reminds us of the alternative. Josef latches on to both Aaron and the viewer, allowing Creep to tap into intrinsic fears and taunt the threat of ‘the other’.
8- Man Bites Dog (Directed by Rémy Belvaux, 1992)
Ben (Benoît Poelvoorde) is a sadistic serial killer with zero remorse. Joining him on his killing rampage is a crew of documentary filmmakers who record his crimes. At first, the crew maintains a backstage role, but they soon find themselves enriched by the opportune violence, eventually turning into ruthless accomplices.
Man Bites Dog premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 1992, with rave reviews hitting Rémy Belvaux from every angle. Despite the film’s still notorious reputation, an air of controversy still lingers, the film was even banned in Ireland and Sweden. Above every redeeming factor is the film’s sheer braveness. Even well-seasoned genre fans cannot say that the excess of sodomization and family annihilation is not testing. The valiant efforts to corrupt the screen are evident and certainly effective, particularly in regard to the ambitious nature of pov cinema and its relationship with audience participation. Classically, found footage derives from Mondo and Cinéma Vérité where the subject matter is treated with an educative view, akin to an exploration documentary. Through the camera crew falling into the lure of evil and accepting Ben’s action as the norm’, the barrier between screen and reality is blurred. Within this unplanned involvement and blended fiction is an inherent ruling that coerces the viewer into ceasing better judgments, questioning their lowbrow motives for watching some heinous material. Infamous films such as Cannibal Holocaust (1980) is an earlier example of such work, but Man Bites Dog has remained under the radar waiting to be rediscovered.
9- Banshee Chapter (Directed by Blair Erickson, 2013)
Anne (Katia Winter), an investigative journalist uses her skills to look into the puzzling disappearance of her friend who has supposedly ingested a top secret government substance. On her journey to revelation, she is led into the terrifying world of covert operations.
The Banshee Chapter is a true hidden gem. At heart, Blair Erickson’s directorial debut is a meaty Lovecraftian story that uses conspiracy theories in a hyper-stylized manner to create an interwoven web of lies, mistrust, and psychological torment. Within the film’s complicated sci-fi-ish extravaganza is a mysterious whodunit element that acts as both a distraction point and a serious part of the film’s backbone. The sheer ferocity of the film is a consequence of the complex relationship between truly horrifying imagery and a wicked soundscape that perfectly entwines a tense atmosphere with a strangely mythical landscape, mimicking the world of Stranger Things (2016-). One particularly potent image that acts as a recurring visual surrounds the presence of humanoid-like creatures who bear a strong resemblance to their formal living selves, but their hollowed eyes and gaunt skin take after a monster from your worst nightmare. Overall, the Banshee Chapter is entirely possessive, once you start watching you are completely devoted to getting to the bottom of this surreal, freakish mystery.
10- Megan is Missing (Directed by Michael Goi, 2011)
Megan Stewart (Rachel Quinn) is a popular high school student who one day decides to meet up with a ‘dreamy’ boy who she’s interacted with online. After Megan never returns, her best friend Amy Herman (Amber Perkins) makes it her mission to get to the bottom of what’s happened.
Megan is Missing started off as a micro-budget horror, filmed in 2006 with unknown actors, independent budgeting, and essentially supported by a one-man-band as director Michael Goi wrote, directed, co-produced, and edited the film. The film was shelved until 2011 when Anchor Bay Films gave it a limited release. Even then only a proportionally small number of people had viewed it, leaving Megan is Missing hard to source.
However, in 2020 the film blew up on Tik Tok, becoming a viral must-see which was always joined with a caption regarding the film as ‘the scariest movie in the world’ or ‘the most disturbing horror’. And whilst the theatrics aren’t necessarily going to keep you awake at night, the natural dynamic between the characters and the found footage element genuinely gives the impression that the work is entirely real. The film relies on true horror. Goi does not involve ghosts, demons, pagan gods, or even any immortal ghouls to torment the viewer. Instead, we are met with an evil worse than them all- people. It’s clear from the start that Megan will not meet a pleasant end, but what is shown is more depraved than anyone could imagine, leaving a lingering mental scar on the viewer for a long, long while.
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Wayne (Martin Henderson) is a hopeful producer who casts his younger girlfriend Maxine (Mia Goth), and fellow actress Bobby-Lynne (Brittany Snow) to star alongside former marine Jackson (Scott Mescudi) in Wayne’s upcoming “dirty movie”, The Farmer’s Daughter. Joining them is director RJ (Owen Campbell) and his girlfriend Lorraine (Jenna Ortega). The group head to a rural farm in Texas owned by the elderly couple Howard (Stephen Ure) and Pearl (Mia Goth), who are kept in the dark about what the crew is shooting. Although Howard and Pearl’s unwelcoming reception proves to be tense, events soon turn much more sinister…
Ti West’s long awaited return to the genre is a stinging melody of psychosexual dread, fleshy fearfulness and enough tension to make those with nerves of steel clench their jaws. The A24 produced film fuses together multi-dimensional acting and a flawless sound arrangement to harness a bold take on modern-retro cinema and the intertwined wiring between horror and venereal subtexts.
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X thrives on a meta-commentative spectrum where West clearly pours out his devotion to the art of filmmaking itself. There’s the external level of self-referentiality via the characters being part of a production crew, going out to make a film in hopes of taking advantage of the upcoming home video market. Accompanying the obvious and very direct nods to the audience is the group’s discussion of elevating a niche genre movie to be a product of quality and the potential that independent cinema holds. Rather than just rely on overt dialogue to marry the borders between screen and reality and how the 1970s setting advanced a creative surge for exploitation across all media is the reintroduction of split screen, wide zooms, and swiping transitional cuts. These factors are reminiscent of seventies classics such as Black Christmas (1974) and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1994) and still maintain a level of rarity amongst modern cinema, making these small touches noticeable, yet vital in bringing the viewer back in time.
The pastiche ode to a bygone culture makes the film the love letter to cinema that it is. West has long infused a certain level of passion into his films, with The House of the Devil (2009) and The Innkeepers (2011) lingering success being down to their unique portrayal of the nefarious horror that lurks amongst isolating souls and settings. Whilst the crystal clear loyalty to filmmaking is a crucial plot device, one of the more direct double-entendre strands is birthed from the film’s most ferocious element.
Hardcore porn is treated with an air of respect in X. West adds in the quintessential argument of morals thanks to a tense conversation between the holier-than-thou Lorraine and the rest of the crew, but overall the art of erotica serves as more than a cheap trick to lure in movie-goers and appease to the cliche that horror is just gory smut. It’s not a secret that horror has a long history of being taboo. Whilst heavy genre cinema still gets its premieres and mainstream releases, expressing a passion for horror still raises a few eyebrows to this day. X amalgamates the stereotypical lowbrow elements of horror and sex to conjure an artful expression of lust for life, bloodshed, and downright grizzly violence.
The weighty symbolism is both subliminal and full throttle mainly down to the absolutely riveting performances from every single cast member. Brittany Snow rips off that Pitch Perfect (2012) reputation to deliver a totally surprising parade, Scott Mescudi unveils his best performance yet, Jenna Ortega cemented her role as a future scream queen, Martin Henderson excels at the whole ‘everything is bigger in Texas’ vibe, Owen Campbell perfects the ‘awkward’ fish out of water role, and last but not least is Mia Goth in this career defining performance. X provides a stage to exhibit Goth’s immense talent and versatility as an actor. The entire aesthetic of Maxine is reminiscent of Linda Lovelace, another sex symbol from the decade. More significantly Maxine possesses this usually unattainable confidence that spares no prisoners and dares to be tested, fashioning a level of allure that makes the viewer both unsure and undoubtedly mesmerized by her assertiveness.
Whilst mimicking sleazy skin flicks holds a majority share in X’s growth, the cinematography is far from amateur. The brooding shots sweeping over the rural setting, as well as the slow motion scenes flourish stunningly within the slowburn narrative that allocates time specifically for director of photography, Eliot Rockett, to flesh out an eerie atmosphere that purposefully subverts our gaze and amplifies our curiosity. One particular scene masterfully raises the tension level through a bold overhead shot of Maxine taking a dip into a seemingly vacant lake. However, amongst the stillness in the swampy frame is a scaly alligator lurking right next to the unknowing Maxine. Whilst this reveal isn’t a spoiler, it does shed light on how West continuously diverts our attention and misdirects where the presumed violence is going to come from. The segment is a straight cut lesson on how to build a potent scare with no dialogue and soap opera dramatics.
Indeed, X has ample amounts of foreboding cinematography, bountiful performances, and unmissable set design, but one area that really rips into the visceral nature of the story is the hard hitting soundtrack. Audiences will definitely find themselves bopping along to well known tunes and the not so subtle “bow chicka wow wow” music that accompanies TheFarmer’s Daughter scenes. Welding the score to the more grounded texture of X is the cover of ‘Oui Oui Marie’ by Chelsea Wolfe, whose rendition of the dainty cabaret-esque 1918 song saturates the film with a gritty, dusty tonal expression. It’s just another one of the countless ways West dovetails the film’s neo-grindhouse influences throughout every single vessel.
X has already achieved a warm welcome from frequent horror watchers and hard to please critics. And it seems that the film’s legacy has only just reached the surface as West is already in the editing phases of ‘Pearl’, X’s prequel, which will follow Howard’s disheveled wife and how the cabin was occupied as a boarding house during the first war. As if this wasn’t already a surprise to fans, West has also revealed that he has begun writing the third film which will chronologically follow the events unfolding after X’s ending. Whilst this is pretty big news considering X was released less than weeks ago, the slasher sub-genre does adore adding a string of sequels.
X truly is the full package! Whether it’s the narrative arcs descending into touchy allegories surrounding death, or if it’s the sheer gory pandemonium X has it all, making it not only one of West’s most impressive films to date but also an unmissable soon to be classic.
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During an online seance, six friends unintentionally invite the presence of a sinister demonic force into their call, leading to fatal consequences.
Host will definitely be appearing in cinema textbooks in years to come, thanks to Rob Savage’s groundbreaking, record-shattering, and award winning horror that took the entire world of cinema and beyond by utter surprise. Co-written by Savage, Gemma Hurley, and Jed Shepherd is a modern tale of what can go wrong when you mess with the dead. Right from the bat Host’s method of execution is such a vital contributing factor to its success.
The film was entirely filmed during the pandemic using Savage’s real life friends as the cast, creating a breeding ground for genuine chemistry to appear and radiating a realistic quality that blurs the barrier between reality and fiction, giving the impression that the viewer is properly stuck in with the action. Joining the meeting of blurred lines is the Zoom-like staging, which for pretty much everyone was a massive part of 2020. With workplaces closed and gatherings cancelled during the pandemic, society had to interact on virtual platforms, like one big facetime. And although it is crucial to state that Host is not a pandemic-based film, the online telling of events is a key component in how the story unfolds, with the psychically distanced characters exaggerating the harrowing sense of isolation.
12. Don’t Look Now (Directed by Nicolas Roeg, 1973)
After suddenly losing their daughter Christine (Sharon Williams), Laura (Julie Christie) and John Baxter (Donald Sutherland) travel to Venice, Italy, where John is overseeing his commission to rebuild an old church. Whilst dining Laura meets two mysterious sisters (Clelia Matania & Hilary Mason) who tell Laura that they can see the deceased Christine. Despite being skeptical, John begins to see Christine wandering around the streets of Venice.
The entirety of Don’t Look Now can be encapsulated within the opening sequence. This scene is composed of over 100 shots and lasts seven minutes. It may not seem crucial to the whole film, but the imagery of damp weather, water, the colour red, reflections, doorways, close-up of eyes, and nature echoes the true connotations of Nicolas Roeg’s observations of agony through loss. Such substantial depth is given to the characters of Laura and John through their striking portrayals of parents suffering from the worst of tragedies.
Yet, they do not overplay their roles, avoiding any caricature claims and creating this bonded connection between the two, mingling Don’t Look Now’s ability to get under the skin of the viewer. Don’t Look Now forces us to come to terms with our own impending doom, no one is safe from the all being and all knowing presence of death. And whilst the threat in Don’t Look Now plays more on the character’s mental strength, a sense of psychical danger constantly looms, but we never know where from…
13. The Omen (Directed by Richard Donner, 1976)
The newly-adopted Damien (Harvey Stephens) raises his parent’s (Gregory Peck & Lee Remick) suspicions when strange occurrences begin to happen at the hands of Damien’s evil ways, leading them to the disturbing truth that their adopted son might be the Antichrist.
Supernatural horror played a large role within 1970s horror, with Richard Donner’s The Omen lining up with the likes of The Exorcist (1973). Allowing the film to remain recognisable after all these years later is the impeccable naturalness that Donner works with, even when the subject matter is woven with mysticism. Through this cosmic underlay comes a film rife with disturbing imagery that toys with societal fears of evil defeating the ‘good’. And thanks to the moralistic tone the horror is enveloped through an abundance of psychological terror and suspense.
This is mainly explored via a supposedly innocent subject, an actual child; making the viewer fearful of the most innocent of topics. Accompanying The Omen’s slow, creepy exposition is the pioneering achievements that were made in pushing horror out of its shell and into a commemorated piece of art (which was rare for the time). The film won an Academy Award for Best Original Score, which is no surprise as Jerry Goldsmith’s haunting composition combines atmospheric choir tones with Latin chants which remain chilling no matter how many times you hear the chime.
14. Censor (Directed by Prano Bailey-Bond, 2021)
Enid (Niamh Algar), an uptight film censor at the height of the video nasty panic, watches a film that parallels the events surrounding her missing sister’s disappearance, leading Enid on a quest to uncover the truth.
Nothing screams British traditionalist attitudes towards horror than the video nasty scandal. The 1980s saw a rise in home video recorders, introducing an influx of mainly Italian and American exploitation films and supposedly “corrupting” the minds of the country, due to the sick filth that these films displayed. Whilst this era of film censorship has not been lost on the history of cinema, not a single film has covered and used the scandal as a tool like Prano Bailey-Bond’s incredible hit Censor. Enid’s career as a film censor is a mechanical device that aids the story very nicely, with the metaphorical message of the video nasties being ‘an invasion of the mind’, mimicking Enid’s descent into a chaotic spiral where she is unable to differentiate fact from fiction. Censor is clearly food for the mind and soul, but for good measure Bailey-Bond also visually hypnotises the viewer through the vivid colour palette that has a 1980s aesthetic without being overly flashy and electric.
15. Dracula (Directed by Terence Fisher, 1958)
Jonathan Harker (John Van Eyssen) takes up a post as a librarian at Count Dracula’s (Christopher Lee) castle. After a lack of contact from Harker, vampire hunter Dr. Van Helsing (Peter Cushing) goes to the Count’s lair only to discover Harker has been turned into a vampire, leaving Van Helsing racing against Dracula to get to Harker’s fiancée Lucy before it’s too late.
Hammer Horror has reigned as a booming success within cinema for decades, making a name for themselves by bringing classic monsters from literature to a technicolour screen, including Frankenstein, The Mummy, and the one and only Dracula. Legendary auteur Terence Fisher took on history’s most significant vampire, and his execution was certainly monumental in creating the creature that audiences all know and love today. Christopher Lee is open about his inspiration for this role, having not seen any previous Dracula-based films prior to filming, but he did read the original Bram Stoker novel (1897).
Lee recognised the unusual romanticised portrayal of an undead man, leading him to play his role with an air of subtle eroticness and a shade of elusiveness. What Dracula essentially did for the genre was create an extravagant boost in making the image of the vampire one of high class, a wealthy being who oozes aristocracy and freedom to do what one likes. Lee makes Dracula unstoppable in his wrath, forcing us to be both highly intrigued and fearful of this mysterious bloodsucker.
16. The Girl with All the Gifts (Directed by Colm McCarthy, 2016)
A deadly disease has abolished free will and essentially turned those infected into zombies. Melanie (Sennia Nanua), is one of the few immune to the breakout and is confined to a research facility. After a lab breach, Melanie escapes along with her teacher (Gemma Arterton) and two soldiers on a quest to evade the infected, and potentially guide the rest of humankind’s survival.
The Girl with All the Gifts champions a bravely talented cast composed by the likes of Glenn Close, Gemma Arterton, Paddy Considine, and the girl with all the gifts herself, Sennia Nanua. The film is a literal breath of fresh air, especially considering the heavily flooded sub-genre, but Colm McCarthy’s treatment of the original source material, M. R. Carey’s book (2014) of the same name, is an enlightening prospectus that tackles human ideologies and how the mistakes society makes shouldn’t always be pardoned. Coupling up with the entangled web of consciousness is the starkly dramatic set designs and use of setting to convey a musty land that has perished due to the lack of societal efforts, almost furthering this message that people are the cause of the devastation, not necessarily the infected ‘zombies’.
17. Saint Maud (Directed by Rose Glass, 2019)
Maud (Morfydd Clark) is a young nurse who leads a simple life based on reclusivity, routine, and devout catholicism. After an undisclosed incident at her previous job, she takes on the role of hospice carer for Amanda (Jennifer Ehle), an eccentric retired dancer riddled with terminal cancer. Maud’s religious nature transcends into obsession, leaving her to believe that she can save Amanda’s soul from damnation no matter what the cost.
Saint Maud became one of the most talked about films in recent years, with the buzz promising an unorthodox descent into female chaos and the shattering effects of falsified devotion. The film is an intimate depiction of a carer’s unravelment into an alluring yet dangerous territory as she weaves her way in and out of consciousness to show the true extent that the psyche is willing to go through to achieve inner peace. Escorting Saint Maud’s spiritual temperament is the inherently British setting that grounds the reality of the film, allowing it to not become too whimsical and in return establishing a realistic uneasy environment that rings too close to home. The North Yorkshire coast acts as Maud’s playground where the dazzling vibrancy of the seaside arcades and packed pubs contrast against her empty and dark sense of mind. Through both the emotive tones and atmospheric setting, a world of uncertainty is grounded where we never know what to expect.
18. Peeping Tom (Directed by Michael Powell, 1960)
Mark Lewis (Carl Boehm) is a psychopathic serial killer who takes it upon himself to film his victim’s murders.
Peeping Tom may have a bountiful reputation as being an absolute classic, and that is very much true, however, upon the film’s release, a consensus arose that regarded Michael Powell’s work as too perverted, leading it to be pulled from some cinemas and damaging Powell’s reputation as a filmmaker. Powell’s brave notion of fixating a message between voyeurism on screen and real-life has been an inspiration for leading directors for years including the ‘Master of Suspense’, Alfred Hitchcock. Most notably Peeping Tom was an influential point in Psycho (1960) and retrospectively has a subtle impact on the origins of meta-cinema. Besides the innovative take on prying eyes, the film clearly is a visual celebration that revels in starkly lit rooms with stunning shadows that emulated the previous decade’s passion for noir cinema and mysterious figures.
19. Ghostwatch (Directed by Lesley Manning, 1992)
A documentary camera crew is invited into Britain’s most haunted house, leading to a night of chaos and terror.
If there’s one thing that British people love, it’s paranormal ‘reality’ television. Shows such as Most Haunted and Celebrity Ghost Stories have kept the curious entertained for years, but there’s one programme that went above and beyond and gave audiences the fright of their lives. Ghostwatch was a pseudo-reality made-for-TV special that aired on Halloween, 1992. BBC1 advertised the special as a live broadcast with the presented events being ‘real’ and the reactions being genuine. Little did the public know that the scripted show was recorded weeks before.
None of it was real, but as no one watching knew, the BBC switchboard received over 1,000,000 phone calls from concerned audiences detailing their fears over actual ghosts being presented. Considering that the respected Michael Parkinson was involved, many were furious over this hoax. Over the years Ghostwatch has acted as an inspiration point for countless television mediums including Derren Brown. More significantly, the creators behind Host (2020) have gone on to state that Ghostwatch was a point of reference for them, even going as far as to include subtle hints within the film. For example, in Host a Zoom caller ID reads 31101992, the same date as Ghostwatch’s broadcast.
20. The Woman in Black (Directed by James Watkins, 2012)
Arthur Kipps (Daniel Radcliffe) is a young lawyer working in 20th-century England. Following his wife’s death he travels to a remote village for work, however, he soon discovers that his late client’s house is terrorised by a vengeful ghost. Based on Susan Hill’s 1983 novel of the same name is one of Britain’s most terrifying ghost stories as the emotionally bound film is a white-knuckled terror fest from start to finish. This gothic horror is a modern Hammer Horror film, with their familiar grand story elements being immediately recognisable. But rather than feel like a classic film that we’ve all seen before, James Watkins uses Daniel Radcliffe’s incredible talent to showcase a vengeance-fuelled film in a romanticised light where both style and substance equally collaborate to create a highly effective horror.
The film works on two levels, one being the familiarity of the narrative, and the other being the eerie gothic setting that is reminiscent of films such as The Haunting (1963). The almost castle-like environment surrounded by dark water and foggy skies immediately set up an environment that feels unsafe and beyond uneasy. The Woman in Black also understands its need to create something refreshing. Even though Hill’s work has been developed previously, the film throws in effective jumpscares when necessary to surprise the viewer, whilst also working on creating tension through simple atmospheric measures.
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1. Shaun of the Dead (Directed by Edgar Wright (2004)
The lives of aimless salesman Shaun (Simon Pegg) and his do-nothing roommate Ed (Nick Frost) are turned upside down when a zombie apocalypse hits the streets of London.
Burrowing itself as one of Britain’s most iconic films is Edgar Wright’s Shaun of the Dead, a gory zombie mashup with a classic sentiment and enough one-liners to get even stone-faced viewers a right belly laugh. The world Wright establishes from the get go is dull and monotonous, giving Shaun and Ed’s habits a paint-by-numbers feel. Even after the first zombie appearance nothing much changes, they ‘keep mum’ about the severity of the literal apocalypse. Although the humour thrives in the humdrum moments, what keeps the script fresh is the continuous trajectories that Wright throws in the mix.
The original strategy for Shaun’s zombie action plan is to go to his mum’s (Penelope Wilton), kill his snobby step-father (Bill Nighy), grab his disgruntled girlfriend Liz (Kate Ashfield), then “go to The Winchester, have a nice cold pint, and wait for all of this to blow over”- if that doesn’t ring true to the good ole’ British spirit then I don’t know what does! Overtime Shaun of the Dead has done nothing but continue to defy everyone’s expectations for both British cinema and horror, with the film even featuring in the likes of Stephen King and Quentin Tarantino’s top film’s lists, and that’s not to mention the fact that the Zombie Godfather himself George A. Romero was so impressed that he gave Wright and Pegg a cameo role in Land of the Dead (2005).
2.The Wicker Man (Directed by Robin Hardy, 1973)
Sergeant Howie (Edward Woodward) lands on the grounds of Summerisle, a small Scottish island, to investigate the disappearance of a child. Howie’s puritan ways are tested after being shocked at the Islander’s worship of pagan Celtic gods and behaving in an open frivolous manner, leading Howie to suspect that something suspicious lurks around the corner.
British folk horror has seeded its way through the roots of classic cinema with the assistance from The Unholy Trinity- Witchfinder General (1968), Blood on Satan’s Claw (1971), and The Wicker Man (1973) with the latter being a distinctly respected piece of British cinema. In the early 1970s, writer Anthony Shaffer read the novel Ritual (David Pinner), detailing the events of a Christian police officer investigating a supposed ritualistic murder in a small village. Shaffer and Robin Hardy decided to use the novel as a source to create a horror focused upon old religion to contrast against the flow of Hammer horrors being released; lead Christopher Lee was also keen on breaking away from his archetypal Hammer roles.
Over the production course, it was decided that the film would stay away from graphic violence and gore as a focus on visceral material was not the method they wanted to adopt as their fear provoker. Hardy wanted a slow burning sense of doom to gradually unveil itself within the viewer, bubbling up an atmosphere of complete dread where we know that something terrible is going to happen, but are unaware of the when and where’s. And that’s precisely what was achieved. The Wicker Man has an earthy quality, one whose quiet tension is sown from the first scene, brewing a disconcerting air of trepidation and awe over the alarming exposition and dark landscapes.
3. Eden Lake (Directed by James Watkins, 2008)
School teacher Jenny (Kelly Reilly), and her boyfriend Steve (Michael Fassbender), take a trip to a remote lake in the English countryside to spend a romantic weekend together. However, a group of delinquent teens takes their chaos a step too far, resulting in a bloody fight for survival.
Eden Lake is a rough and gritty story that uses contemporary moral panics against a muddy backdrop to expel a level of savageness that rings back to classics such as Straw Dogs (1971) and Deliverance (1972). James Watkins works at a fast pace to immediately portray Jenny and Steve to be wholesome and soppy, far from the violent criminals they’ll be running from. Whilst the plot is being thickened we are lulled into siding with the couple. During this Watkin subtly plants in elements that foreshadow their fates. For example, instead of enjoying a chill evening in a beer garden, they are surrounded by screaming kids who are way up past their bedtime, followed by angered parents slapping the littluns. It may not be much, but from the getgo, a divide is created.
During the mid to late 2000s, every news channel and paper would have a feature on rising violence amongst adolescents, raising the alarm over the knife crime epidemic, but rather than give admittance over how these problems are created due to social and generational issues, the blame would be placed on ‘hoodies’ and grime music. Filmmakers such as Watkins employ the worries of Broken Britain to create a film that makes you feel morally conflicted and worrisome. Collaborating with the commentary is the film’s genuinely frightful nature. The woods have birthed an incredible setup for horror to thrive, with the dark trees casting haunting shadows and exuding a sense of isolation. Eden Lake tactically positions us alongside Jenny and Steve in the hardened wilderness, knowing that like them we are all alone amongst the terror.
4. 28 Days Later (Directed by Danny Boyle, 2002)
Cillian Murphy in “28 Days Later” (Photo by Sundance/WireImage)
A team of animal rights activists clumsily free a chimpanzee infected with the Rage virus which causes its host to go into a zombified uncontrollable rage. Four weeks later, Jim (Cillian Murphy) awakes from a coma, not knowing that civilization has come to an end. Whilst hastily discovering what’s happened he runs into a group of survivors and travels with them to a supposed safe haven.
The scene is the early 2000s, slow brooding zombies have held the spotlight for long enough, it’s time for rapid, furious, rabid zombies to rule the platform. By nature zombies are abject, their entire basis repulses, what with their drooling mouths and mangled decaying skin. When combined with the fact that the infected can climb and race, a terrifying recipe for fear is created. Danny Boyle knows how to alert our darkest anxieties, and 28 Days Later rivets and rolls to sharply hone in on that white-knuckle terror from the very first scene.
The setting avails use of the desolate grounds of the skeletal London town and dispiriting countryside as a terror provoking instrument that contrasts against the quick-paced camerawork and of course the zooming undead themselves. Adding to the intense pandemonium created in 28 Days Later is the panic-inducing score composed by John Murphy. The soundtrack continuously blasts synthesised electric drones that faintly mimic the air raid signals which would have gone off within those 28 days of the apocalypse. All of these elements, from the widescaped cinematography and booming score, to the heated performances and crazed zombies all meld together to create an unmissable showstopper.
5. The Devils (Directed by Ken Russell, 1971)
In 17th-century France, Father Grandier (Oliver Reed) attempts to protect the city of Loudun from the corruption-fueled establishment run by Cardinal Richelieu (Christopher Logue).
Ken Russell was a known agitator of the BBFC, igniting feuds amongst movie-goers over the graphic content of many of his films, and The Devils really take the honours for being not only one of his most controversial films but also a conqueror in 1970s banned British cinema. A large part of the contention resides with the themes of promiscuity painted upon a religious foreground, highlighting hierarchical abuse structures within worship and Rusell’s conscious wielding of distasteful, excess debaucheries. The Devils lewd principles take centre stage and become entirely inescapable, luckily enough the horror aspects are not covered up by the excess vulgarity. Plague-infested bodies being dumped into a limb pit, self-mutilation, and maggots sliming out of skull sockets are just some of the ghastly imagery that audiences are subjected to, thrusting the film into a dark territory that drives out a panicked and tense reaction.
6. Dog Soldiers (Directed by Neil Marshall, 2002)
A small squad of soldiers attend a mission in the Scottish highlands against a Special Air Service unit. Morning comes and they come across the unit’s sprawled apart remains, pushing the conclusion that someone or more like something is after them.
Neil Marshall forgoes a cosmopolitan setting and characters in favour of occupying the screen with rural land and pragmatic characters that waft an essence of realist brutalism throughout a fantastical storyline. Furthering the tough as nails exhibition is the apt lack of dramatics surrounding the werewolf’s existence. Marshall has stated that the werewolves purposefully do not have a lore background or curse-infused reasoning for their being.
The werewolves’ tall, gangly stature is enough to be absolutely nerve-wracking, especially when they bare their protruding fangs ready to sink into their prey’s unlucky flesh. The maximization of terror actually comes from an unexpected place, the humorous dialogue. Witty quips such as “We are now up against live, hostile targets. So, if Little Red Riding Hood should show up with a bazooka and a bad attitude, I expect you to chin the bitch” have the audience cracking up, but rather than linger in the comedy Marshall exploits the fact that our guard is down and uses the settled mood to throw in unexpected lashes of gore and frights, shaking the expectations of the audience. Dog Soldiers both mopped the floor with many creature features and created the blueprints for many werewolf films to come.
7. Kill List (Directed by Ben Wheatley, 2011)
Jay (Neil Maskell) and Gal (Michael Smiley) served together in the forces, creating a strong bond. Eight months have passed since they left an unspecified disastrous assignment, leaving Jay mentally scarred, making him unable to work. After an argument between Jay and his wife Shel (MyAnna Buring) over money worries he joins Gal in a contracted job to kill a list of people.
Ben Wheatley over the years has created some true standout British horror’s including Sightseers (2012) and A Field in England (2013), and most recently In the Earth (2021). Kill List unveils Wheatley’s naturalistic filmmaking methods in a remarkably raw manner that inflames a deep level of disturbance amongst the viewer, guaranteeing a hold over them for long after watching. Joining his fervent displays of provocation are the award worthy performances from Michael Smiley, MyAnna Buring, and Neil Maskell who all bring such ferocity and realness to their characters that it’s nearly impossible to tell that they’re actors and not the actual people they are portraying.
Kill List somehow goes both full throttle and gentle within its storytelling, with the subtle elements of something darker lurking amidst the surface, whilst also pushing frenzied chaos into the frame. This perplexing balance is even more advanced by the unpredictability of Jay and Gal’s actions, pronouncing the ambiguous nature of events and the slight art-house style that Wheatley adopts.
8. Prevenge (Directed by Alice Lowe, 2016)
Pregnant widow Ruth (Alice Lowe) loses her partner in an unfortunate climbing accident, leaving her alone. Shortly after, she begins to hear her baby talking, convincing Ruth to exact revenge on anyone involved in his death.
Alice Lowe’s directorial debut is an absolute shocker of a film. Prevenge is literal proof that budget constraints and the brackets of independent cinema are not blockades in creating a potent piece as Lowe hatches an audaciously somber and fruitfully macabre vision of a woman unhinged. There is not a single moment where we don’t align with Ruth. We have to listen to her and follow her every step, encouraging us to see the world through her damned perspective.
This creates an off-kilter atmosphere that fashions a normal-looking world, but with a surreal and untrustworthy ambiance, similar to British TV shows such as Green Wing and The IT Crowd. Prevenge is entirely impressive as it is, but what pushes the film’s intrinsic likeability even further into the atmosphere is the personable energy that the film emits. Lowe wrote, directed, and stars in this one-woman show, all whilst she was actually pregnant in real life. The level of dedication and the film’s success has to be owed entirely to her.
9. The Ritual (Directed by David Bruckner, 2017)
A tragedy strikes in a group of friends, leaving the bond disabonded. To rekindle their friendship the four of them set out on a hike through the rural Scandinavian wilderness, however, when a wrong turn ends them into ominous land, they must fight for survival.
The Ritual remains efficient, rich, and menacing– heeding onto the complexities of trauma and the threat of expelling one’s grief inwards, rather than seeking the comfort of shared loss. Boasting The Ritual’s emotional rhythm is David Bruckner’s ability to take elements of the source material (Adam Nevill’s 2011 novel of the same name) and manifest a story that alludes to Nevill’s rural atmospheric strengths, but with a surreal edge that transcends the barriers between the mind and the psychical body.
Due to this constant escalation of illusory texturization, the viewer can never decipher what the fates of the four will be. Immediately, when an isolated forest setting is disclosed an air of the ‘other’ forebodes the script, with many recalling the likes of The Blair Witch Project (1999) or The VVitch (2015) as an archetypal framework for The Ritual to base itself around. However, Bruckner dismisses the urge to be predictable or imitate previous works, opting for unfamiliar occurrences that have you questioning whether the sinister happenings are held within the fragile group’s mind or if something very real and very evil is actually at play.
10. Hellraiser ( Directed by Clive Barker, 1987)
Frank Cotton (Sean Chapman) opens a portal to hell after solving a puzzle box, unleashing sadomasochistic beings called Cenobites, led by their leader Pinhead (Doug Bradley) who tears Frank’s body to shreds. Frank’s brother Larry (Andrew Robinson) and his wife Julia (Clare Higgins) have a strained relationship, which led to Julia having a secret affair with Frank before his death. To rekindle their estranged relationship the pair move into Frank’s old house, where a skinless Frank is accidentally resurrected, who convinces Julia to lure men back to the house for him to drain.
Director Clive Barker originally was a writer, having written the screenplays for Underworld (1985) and Rawhead Rex (1986), however, he was rather unhappy with the final execution of his developed work, leading him to direct the film adaptation of his novella The Hellbound Heart (1986). Immediately, Barker knew that he wanted to create a piece dosed in creative eccentricity and a horror betrothed to the atmosphere and cutting edge originality. Considering the fact that the film developed into an entire franchise, it’s assured that Barker’s goal of a successful adaptation was achieved.
Hellraiser’s moral compass is enriched with a dreamlike quality, resulting in dark sequences of death and destruction, and whilst the overall effect is beyond alluring, the primary source of the film’s seduction is due to the cruel unearthly creatures donning sharp exteriors and bondage-like clothing. The genealogy of the Cenobites has been diagnosed as ‘religious based’, with them deriving from a religious sect in the underworld known as the ‘Order of the Gash’ where their evolution has made them unable to differentiate pleasure and pain. Pinhead and his followers’ existence transport the film into a higher level of transgressiveness, allowing for the viewer to become blinded and lost within the utter absurd nature of Barker’s vision.
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Scream (Directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gilett)
Release date: 14th January
Kicking off this exciting year for horror is Scream. If there was any film that ignited a wave of excitement amongst movie-goers last year then it was the news of Ready or Not (2019) directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gilett bringing back Ghostface once again. The upcoming fifth instalment in the beloved franchise, created by horror icons Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson brings the series back in a new light, with Sidney Prescott, Dewey Riley, and Gale Weathers all returning to Woodsboro once again. Just like its predecessors, the plot details of the new Scream have been kept quietly under wraps, but the poster does give us a sordid tease at who the new villain is thanks to the witty tagline- “The Killer is on this Poster”…
Don’t Worry Darling (Directed by Olivia Wilde)
Release date: 23rd September
Olivia Wilde made quite the impression with her hilarious coming of age comedy Booksmart back in 2019, and now she is bound to ‘wow viewers yet again with her upcoming psychological film detailing the tale of a bored housewife in 1950s America as she unveils a dark secret, whilst her husband harbours a disturbing truth of his own. Starring in Don’t Worry Darling is Florence Pugh, Harry Styles, Chris Pine, Douglas Smith, and Gemma Chan. The teaser trailer has already got devoted Styles fans hysterical, especially when you take into consideration those rumours about the steamy scenes between him and Pugh (whose phenomenal performance in Midsommar [2019] will go down in history).
You Won’t Be Alone (Directed by Goran Stolevski)
Release date: 22nd January
You Won’t Be Alone sets the scene of a young witch who lives abandoned and feral in the woods. The isolated mountain setting ensures her secrecy, but curiosity strikes when she accidentally kills a peasant in a nearby village. The witch then shapeshifts into her victim’s body to quench her thirst for a human experience. However, events turn sinister when she begins to take the form of other bodies, leading to a riveting path of human discovery. The Macedonian set film will premiere at the upcoming Sundance film festival later this month, with high hopes already blossoming amongst future viewers all in ode to the spectacular trailer released late last year. Across the film an experience is provided, with the powerful themes not being afraid to cross emotional boundaries as stunning visuals and intense performances unite to simultaneously conjure shock and allure.
Nope (Directed by Jordan Peele)
Release date: 22nd July
Jordan Peele’s first film Get Out released in 2017 completely stole the limelight from the get go, it even did something that horror movies rarely get the opportunity to do, win an Academy Award. Soon after his debut, Peele released Us (2019), another first class film whose legacy will continue for years. It’s safe to say that audiences have been holding out for his next project. Luckily enough, we won’t have to wait long as Peele’s latest venture, mysteriously titled ‘Nope’ is set to be released this summer! Not a single ounce of information has been released about what the film entails besides the cast and the gripping poster. Leading the compelling lineup is KeKe Palmer, Daniel Kaluuya, Michael Wincott, Steven Yeun, and Barbie Ferreira. Although we do not know much, the aforementioned poster does make your thoughts run wild as to what Peele has got up his sleeves; could the carnival-esque setting pictured be hinting at a circus based setting? or could it just be throwing us off the scent? Only time will tell…
Orphan: First Kill (Directed by William Brent Bell)
Release date: TBC
Isabelle Fuhrman gave one of the most haunting performances modern horror has witnessed in Jaume Collet-Serra’s 2009 smash-hit, Orphan. Over a decade later director William Brent Bell brings the terrifying ‘Esther’ back to the screen as we follow her origin story. This upcoming horror is designed to be a prequel to the events in the first film and how Esther’s maliciousness was molded. The plot is set to begin with her escaping from an Estonian asylum, and then taking on the identity of a family’s missing daughter, but Esther’s childlike impression is not fooling everybody. Orphan: First Kill utilised creative filmmaking, such as forced perspectives and body doubles to ensure that Fuhrman pulls off that same doe-eyed performance that she mastered all those years ago. Joining Fuhrman are Julia Stiles and Rossif Sutherland, who will play the unsuspecting family that Esther digs her claws into.
Bed Rest (Directed by Lori Evans Taylor)
Release date: 15th July
Bed Rest is certainly a standout indie horror due to come out this year. The script is an original story, the cast is more than promising, and the plot is beyond intriguing. Bed Rest comes from writer and director Lori Evans Taylor, who has written the latest upcoming instalment of the Final Destination franchise. Bed Rest will follow Julie Rivers (Melissa Barrera), an expecting mother who moves into a new home with her husband to get a fresh start. Soon after she is ordered to bed rest, causing her to become frustrated through the monotonous routines of her now day-to-day life. However, boredom will be the least of her troubles as she begins to experience ghostly events within her home, leaving her to question her own sanity and safety. Amongst a year crowded with reboots, remakes, and revivals, Bed Rest will certainly be a rejuvenating injection for the genre.
Hellraiser (Directed by David Bruckner)
Release date: TBC
The Hellraiser franchise has long garnered massive amounts of praise ever since Clive Barker’s intense visions was adapted for screen in 1987, encouraging an embrace for darker horror with taboo themes. Continuing the ever expanding Hellraiser universe is David Bruckner’s reboot, which will closely adhere to the original source material from Barker, The Hellbound Heart (1986). The news of this installment has been floating around for years now, with constant back and forths and creative disagreements causing the project to fall through. However, with the likes of David Gordon Green’s Halloween (2018) blossoming in popularity and generating an interest in horror classics, Hellraiser finally got the green light.
Horror reimaginings over the years have adapted and remolded their iconic villains, and now the infamous Pinhead, leader of the mighty Cenobites, will be played by the incredibly talented Jamie Clayton, the series first female Pinhead.
The Black Phone (Directed by Scott Derickson)
Release date: 24th June
Blumhouse Productions is set for another very successful year, particularly in ode to Scott Derrickson’s The Black Phone amassing a lot of buzz. The film is an adaptation of the 2004 short story from Joe Hill, that will take the viewer on a journey back in time to the 1970s where a string of abductions are plaguing a small suburban town in Colorado. Mason Thames will star as Finney Shaw, a young boy who gets kidnapped by a spiteful serial killer, resulting in him being trapped inside a completely soundproof basement. It seems that all hope of discovery is gone, but Finney discovers a disconnected phone that has the ability to feedback voices of the killer’s previous victims. Ethan Hawke makes his return back to horror through playing ‘The Grabber’, the sinister man responsible for the disappearances. As seen in the trailer, The Black Phone has something for everyone, whether it’s a creepy mask, haunted basements, a dash of psychological horror, or a vicious fight for survival.
Bones & All (Directed by Luca Guadagnino)
Release date: TBC
Bones & All is one of the most promising films to be released later this year across every single genre. The film stars Timothèe Chalamet and Taylor Russell, accompanied by Luca Guadagnino as director. Bones & All is based on Camille DeAngelis’s novel of the same name. Throughout the book, copious themes surrounding loneliness and angst, all encased within a dramatic, romanticized frame are explored. Although these elements are already weighty subject matters, what Bones & All exposes above all is the relationship between cannibalism and self discovery, as we follow Maren (Russell) and Lee (Chalamet) whilst on a treacherous road trip across America where a craving for flesh lays bare more than they can handle.
With Guadagnino behind the camera, the film is sure to join previous masterpieces exploring such hypersensitive material, such as Ravenous (1999) Trouble Every Day (2001), and Raw (2016).
Halloween Ends (Directed by David Gordon Green)
Release date: 14th October
Halloween has not only sparked an interest for horror amongst younger audiences, but it has also generated a more than pleasant reception for die hard Michael Myers fans. The final instalment within this reboot trilogy is set to be released this October, meaning that it’s not long until we get to see the conclusion of this riveting battle between Haddonfield residents and ‘The Shape’. Direct plot details surrounding Halloween Ends have been kept extremely hushed, and considering how merciless Halloween Kills (2021) was, anything can happen next. What we do know is that in the film (unlike the previous two) the events will not take place on the same night, instead there will be a time leap of four years where issues surrounding the pandemic will be covered. Although this decision of focusing on incorporating a sense of grounded reality is beyond a risk, hopefully David Gordon Green will pull it off.
Something in the Dirt (Directed by Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead)
Release date: TBC
Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead have collaborated many times before to create some truly amazing cinema, particularly Spring (2014) and The Endless (2017). Once again they are expected to deliver yet another visually impactful and emotionally rich film in their latest project Something in the Dirt. The ominously named film acquires the acting talents of Benson and Moorhead as they play the characters of neighbours John and Levi who witness supernatural occurrences in their apartment complex. Upon realising that their ghostly haunts could earn them some serious internet wealth and fame they begin to document the events, only to voyage down a much darker rabbit hole. The duo have proven in previous works that they have a natural talent for showcasing complex relationships with the self, all the while forgoing cliches and predictability.
Texas Chainsaw Massacre (Directed by David Blue Garcia)
Release date: 18th February
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHzYCSZW6lY
Back in the early 1970s Tobe Hooper was an assistant film director at university doing documentary work on the side, hoping for a shot at cinematic success. Little did anyone know that he would become one of the biggest horror icons in filmic history all thanks to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974). The franchise has spawned a further eight films with the latter being released in February this year. This take revolves around Melody (Sarah Yarkin), her sister Lila (Elsie Fisher), and their friends Ruth (Nell Hudson) and Dante (Jacob Latimore), as they travel to rural Texas to set up a new business venture. But, the harmony doesn’t last for long as they land in Sawyer’s territory, encountering Leatherface himself. Their only chance of survival comes from the return of Sally Hardesty (Olwen Fouéré), who’s been waiting for a chance at vengeance all along. David Blue Garcia serves as director, whilst Fede Álvarez and Rodo Sayagues wrote the original story. Texas Chainsaw Massacre will be a direct sequel to the original, discounting all of its predecessors. There have already been multiple attempts at resetting the series, yet not all tries have been well received, Texas Chainsaw 3D (2013) only holds a mere 19% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Fingers crossed Garcia’s talents will ensure that this anticipated sequel will be a triumph.
Fresh (Directed by Mimi Cave)
Release date: 20th January
Mimi Cave’s feature film debut titled Fresh delves into the tribulations that innately infest the dating scene for women in the modern age. Daisy Edgar-Jones will play Noa, a singleton tired of scrolling on dating apps. On a whim, she goes on a date with the shy charmer Steve (Sebastian Stan). From the first date, their chemistry is fiery, leading to Noa becoming smitten, seeing a potential partner to settle down with, but an impromptu weekend away with prince charming unveils his unusual “appetite’’.The coverage surrounding Fresh has been sparse, but if that electrifying synopsis is anything to go by, then we’re definitely in for a treat.
All of Us Are Dead (Directed byLee Jae-kyoo and Kim Nam-su)
Release date: 28th January
All of Us Are Dead surrounds itself with one of the most famed movie monsters of all time- ZOMBIES! The undead (as gruesome as they are) always makes for great entertainment material, with old-time classics such as Night of the Living Dead (1968) to modern staples including Shaun of the Dead (2004) being considered as two of the best horror movies out there. To add to the ever expanding sub-genre is the highly anticipated South Korean TV series, All Of Us Are Dead which will follow a group of students trapped in their high school whilst a savage zombie apocalypse roars throughout society. The series is based upon the popular Naver webtoon titled Now at Our School created by Joo Dong-geun.
Archive 81 (Directed by Rebecca Thomas)
Release date: 14th January
Colliding a daring blend of truth and fiction is Archive 81, a convoluted series combining found footage, cult activity, cold cases, and demonic activity, The series is co-produced by the one and only James Wan, the force behind the Insidious franchise, the Conjuring Universe, and most recently the opinion dividing Malignant (2021). Archive 81 will take us on a menacing journey with Dan Turner (Mamoudou Athie), an archivist who is employed to restore a horde of damaged videotapes dating back to 1994. On the tapes is the work from documentarian Melody Pendras (Dina Shihabi), who went missing under suspicious circumstances 25 years ago after investigating a shady cult. Archive 81 is a semi-original piece, with the inspiration coming from a real-life, found footage podcast of the same name that explores the fictionalised mystery of cults and rituals.
This weeks article comes via Grace from Film Overload, you can check out more of her work here.
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