Rather than doing a standard Top Ten-esque Halloween post, I thought I’d cover some of my favorite less-overexposed horror movies and thrillers; those that wouldn’t necessarily come to mind when thinking of Halloween options. I’ve mixed in some previously-reviewed movies with the new ones, and given each a Creep Factor on a scale from one to five: one being good fun and not super scary and five being SLEEP WITH THE DAMN LIGHTS ON.
I’m starting with movies that are not currently on Netflix Instawatch, and may take some time to find online elsewhere. Next week I’ll have the Instawatch options.
28 Days Later: 2002 British zombie horror film directed by Danny Boyle and starring Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris, Brendan Gleeson, Megan Burns and Christopher Eccleston. Jim wakes up from a coma to find the hospital, and seemingly all of London, totally abandoned. OR IS IT? While Jim was conked out some sort of anger virus (stay with me) has turned most of England’s inhabitants into zombies—not the shuffling, lazy variety. These things are wicked fast and manic, like 2010 Lakers fans on PCP. He’s saved by a still-human couple, and they eventually start making their way to the source of a radio signal promising the cure to infection. OR IS IT?
It’s a great movie, period; not just a great horror movie. It’s dark but occasionally sweet and funny, it’s scary and keeps you guessing. Side note: Don’t bother with the sequel. Despite the decent cast it’s really not worth it.
Creep Factor: 4
Copycat: 1995 thriller directed by Jon Amiel and starring Sigourney Weaver, Holly Hunter, Dermot Mulroney and Harry Connick, Jr. Helen Hudson is a criminal psychologist with a unique gift for profiling serial killers, who is severely agoraphobic after a traumatizing attack by a former patient. She now mostly gets drunk and pops pills, relying heavily on her caretaker and the interwebs to keep her connected to the outside world. When two detectives land a serial killer case, they form an uneasy alliance with Helen to catch him.
It’s suspenseful and interesting, Hunter and Weaver are hilarious in their eccentricities, HCJ is creepy as hell.
Creep Factor: 3.
The Descent: 2005 British horror film directed by Neil Marshall and starring Natalie Mendoza, Shauna Macdonald, and a slew of other adorable European actresses. Juno and Beth organize a caving trip with their college friends in an effort to cheer up their friend Sara, who is reeling from the death of her husband and daughter. The girls think they’re going on a nice, easy jaunt through an Appalachian cave system (can you hear the ominous plinking of banjos?), but unbeknownst to them Juno has planned a much more adventurous route through an unmapped cave. Their spelunking becomes increasingly more dangerous after a cave-in blocks their way back, and that’s when Sara starts to see shadows moving in the darkness. It provides fantastical monster scares along with very real claustrophobia scares. It’s gory and creepy and tense, and I think it’s great, even though the ending kind of sucks.
Creep Factor: 4
Pan’s Labyrinth: 2006 dark fantasy film directed by Guillermo del Toro and starring Ivana Baquero, Sergi Lopez, Maribel Verdu and Doug Jones. In post-Civil War Spain, 1944, a dreamy young girl named Ofelia travels with her sickly pregnant mother to be at her stepfather’s side in an outpost where he’s commanding troops fighting anti-Franco rebels. The night they arrive she meets a faun in an ancient labyrinth near the outpost, who believes she is a princess of the underworld. The faun gives her three scary tasks to perform before she can be returned to her magical home, which she does while dodging the commander and aiding her sick mother. It’s not really scary, perhaps a little startling at times with a few squirm-inducing moments. And it’s subtitled, if that sort of thing bothers you. But it’s a good dark fairy tale that’s different from the usual blood-and-guts fare.
Creep Factor: 2
What Lies Beneath: 2000 supernatural thriller directed by Robert Zemeckis and starring Harrison Ford, Michelle Pfeiffer and Diana Scarwid. Claire the Housewife and Norman the Prominent Scientist are an affluent couple living in Vermont who just sent their only child off to college. After overhearing her neighbors’ loud arguments and then experiencing strange and creepy phenomena in her big empty house, Claire becomes convinced that her neighbor killed his wife and they’re now being haunted by the woman’s ghost. It’s pretty suspenseful: is the woman dead? Is she the ghost? Is the ghost someone else? Is there even a ghost, or has Claire’s empty nest syndrome run away with her imagination? The twist is interesting and unexpected; it definitely keeps you on the edge of your seat. The ending is a little hokey, but forgivable.
Creep Factor: 2
 |
| Bathroom seance, anyone? |
The Mist: 2007 sci-fi horror film directed by Frank Darabont and starring Thomas Jane, Andre Braugher, Marcia Gay Harden, Toby Jones, and like 5 people from The Walking Dead. A heavy fog rolls into town the morning after a nasty thunderstorm, and some folks take shelter in a grocery store when they realize the mist is somehow killing people. OK, I know. At first I was all “Oooooh mist . . . scary.” But it does get pretty scary once the source of the mist’s killing power is revealed. The acting is fairly solid all around. Harden is hilarious as the uber-Christian soothsayer who attempts to convince her fellow refugees that God’s Judgment is at hand. I wanted her to be less crazy in the beginning, and let it ramp up more slowly, but it’s still a solid performance. It’s not at all what I expected, half an hour too long, and the ending is brutal. I say give it a shot if you like Walking Dead, or the bleak no-light-at-tunnel’s-end kind of horror movies.
Creep Factor: 3
The Cabin in the Woods: 2012 horror film directed by Drew Goddard, produced and co-written by Joss Whedon, and starring Kristen Connolly, Chris Hemsworth, Fran Kranz, Bradley Whitford, Richard Jenkins, and Amy Acker. Five college students decide to spend a weekend at a remote cabin in the woods. And that’s all I’m saying. Go see it immediately. SERIOUSLY. Just trust me on this one, ok? If you like any of the Whedon oeuvre, or Bradley Whitford, or comedy or horror or breathing, then go see it. Don’t read anything else about it; the less you know the better.
Creep Factor: 4?
Attack the Block: 2011 British sci fi thriller directed by Joe Cornish and starring Jodie Whittaker and John Boyega. Sam (Whittaker) is returning to her apartment complex after work when she’s mugged by a group of teenage boys. In the middle of the attack, a strange object plummets from the sky, giving Sam time to escape. Moses (Boyega), the leader of the gang, goes to investigate and is himself attacked by a frightening creature. The boys manage to kill it, but other larger creatures are soon on their tail. Since it turns out the teens live in the same complex as Sam, she’s soon dragged into the fight and must work with her former muggers if they’re going to survive the alien invasion.
It’s funny and exciting and scary and interesting and I loved it and you should see it. The acting is pretty fair, the aliens are realistic enough to be scary but not gross or ridiculous, the pacing is excellent, and there’s a cameo by Nick Frost! Seriously, SEE IT.
Creep Factor: 1.5
Halloween H2O: 1998 slasher film directed by Steve Miner and starring Jamie Lee Curtis, John Hartnett, Michelle Williams, Adam Arkin and LL Cool J, with brief appearances by Janet Leigh, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Nancy Stephens. Laurie Strode has been in hiding since her brother tried to kill her, living with her son in California as principal of a posh private high school. On the 20th anniversary of the attack Michael Myers tracks her down, and when the kids all go on a camping trip he stalks the nearly empty halls of the school, hunting Laurie, her son and the few people who didn’t think Yosemite sounded like fun.
I will say this: if you never saw the original, this won’t make much sense to you. Plus you should see the original. Go watch it. Also it is of the slightly campy ‘90s horror genre, so if you’re not into that, you won’t be into this. But I think it’s great, lots of little nods to the first two movies, ignoring sequels 4-6 (as well it should), and Janet Leigh is just adorable.
Creep Factor: 2
Urban Legend: 1998 slasher film directed by Jamie Blanks and starring—seriously, this line up—Jared Leto, Alicia Witt, Rebecca Gayheart, Joshua Jackson, Loretta Devine, Michael Rosenbaum, Tara Reid and featuring smallish parts for slasher movie veterans Robert Englund, Brad Dourif and Danielle Harris. Natalie is taking a class on folklore at Generic Northeastern University, when her friends and acquaintances start dying in the manner of urban legends – aren’t you glad you didn’t turn on the lights? Again, it’s very ‘90s horror, so if that’s your thing and you’ve already seen the Scream movies a gojillion times, give this a shot.
Creep Factor: 2
The People Under the Stairs: 1991 horror movie directed by Wes Craven and starring Brandon Adams, Everett McGill, Wendy Robie, A.J. Langer and Sean Whalen. How even to describe it? A young boy named Fool devises a plan to rob his family’s sleazy landlords of their fortune, but when he and his friends enter the house they find it’s a maze filled with booby traps, creepy cannibal foster kids who live in the basement, an ominous dude named Daddy who stalks the halls with a shotgun in full BDSM attire, a kid named Roach who lives in the walls and a scared little girl in need of rescue.
It’s really weird and strange and kind of darkly silly. I really liked this when I was a kid, and I’ve found that it holds up if you can watch it with a grain of salt.
Creep Factor: 1
A Perfect Getaway: 2009 psychological thriller directed by David Twohy and starring Milla Jovovich, Steve Zahn, Timothy Olyphant, and Kiele Sanchez. A nice young couple on their honeymoon in Hawaii find themselves in a cat v. mouse situation when they learn that another couple they’re travelling with may be responsible for a series of brutal murders. I have an inexplicable love for Multipass and Zahn, so I went into this pretty sure I would like it. And I did. I didn’t really buy the twist at the end, but still enjoyed it, if that makes sense. The actors all did a really good job with the material, so I would say if you like any of these people then see it. It’s decent.
Creep Factor: 2
No comments:
Post a Comment