The Top 20 Horror Films of 2016 Pt.1 20-11

Black Phillip says you're wicked.  He also welcomes you to this blog.

It goes without saying that 2016 hasn't been a particularly great year for most of us.  Me personally: ton of medical issues, financial problems, tons of anxiety about the future, loneliness and rejection...y'know, hilarity. For the rest of us: tons of icons from film, television and movies passed away, Brexit and, of course, a Trump Presidency.  Racism, sexism, homophobia have become dangerously normalized, and the threat of War and ruin looms above us all.

So, is it really so surprising that 2016 has been a particularly fantastic year for the Horror genre?  Not only have the films been excellent (which is, of course, the reason that you're reading this), but TV shows like Ash Vs The Evil Dead, The Exorcist, and even a particularly strong season of American Horror Story have graced the small screen.  Things are really looking up for the genre.  The reason for this sudden upswing in excellence is, in my estimation, a direct result of the political and social unrest that has been gripping the world: I think it's always true to say that as society suffers, art excels. On top of this, the horror genre has always been an outlet for our fears and anxieties, so it only makes sense that the genre would start representing some of those issues, while also throwing out a bunch of escapist scary stuff to keep us occupied.

In that spirit, I've expanded the list to Twenty films over last years Fifteen. This may seem arbitrary...and it kind of is...but it's to reflect the rise in quality that the genre has begun to exhibit this past year (not that last year was a slouch) and will hopefully continue to exhibit.

So, let's get the honorable mentions out of the way and get on with it, won't you?

Honorable Mention:

The Conjuring 2: Good, not great.  First one was better.

Green Room: Solid suspense outing, just not terribly engaging.

Phantasm:Ravager: Not the best film, but brought a cult favorite franchise to a close with dignity.

Last Girl Standing: Very good,just not QUITE good enough for this list.

20. Carnage Park/Darling

 

 While Darling is the better film, it's actual release date is kinda debatable.  It's not, for instance, on any critics top lists this year, but was on a few last year...while it was on the festival circuit last year, it got released to the public in early January.  So, even though it's an excellent film with an amazing performance by Lauren Ashley Carter (whom I adore), it may not be relevant.  So, in its stead, I've selected Mikey Keating's other effort this year. Carnage Park.  While she's no Carter, Ashley Bell is a very fine actress (best known for her turn as Nell in the underrated The Last Exorcism films) and gives a lot to enjoy here as an innocent girl who goes from being kidnapped during a bank heist to being hunted by a psychopath in the desert.  As a movie about isolation, hopelessness (Bells character is going through a tough time even BEFORE her ordeal) and helplessness, it hits home in a big way with a fantastic, though occasionally plodding, cat and mouse game.  Keating proved with these two films that he is definitely a talent to watch in coming years.

19. Southbound

One of the first horror flicks to be released this year (and quite possibly the first good one), Southbound manages to reclaim anthology based horror cinema from the disgusting, filth-encrusted hands of projects like ABC's of Death with an ambitious and surreal journey through hell.  While, as is the curse of all anthology films, not all stories are created equal and sometimes the movie finds its special effects marred by a lack of financial resources, some of the stories have a unique sense of danger and cleverness (the best of which being a Young Woman who ends up in a weird house when she and her friends van breaks down on the highway), while managing to keep everything moving forward nicely...and a connection between everything that is really interesting.  

18. Baskin

A gory, psychotic Turkish import about a group of Cops finding themselves dealing with a hellish nightmare.  While the characters feel somewhat shorted as the movie moves on (which, to be fair, is mostly caused by them being fully eclipsed by the films shocking and extreme imagery), it's still undeniably effective.  I'm not usually super into gore/torture flicks, but something about the horrific events performed in this film are hypnotic and, occasionally, beautiful.  It's one of this years weirder movies, and definitely one of the hardest to sit through (especially for the uninitiated or squeamish), but it's a really fascinating piece.

17. The Monster

Every once in a great while a film comes along and reminds me how effective simplicity can really be.  While director Bryan Bertino is something of a mixed bag as a director (what with the suspenseful but deeply stupid The Strangers and the cinematic stress headache that is Mockingbird), The Monster feels like his most mature and well conceived project to date.  The story revolves more on character than threat, focusing specifically on the dysfunctional but heartfelt relationship between a precocious and scarred little girl and her alcoholic, petulant and even more scarred Mother.  While the horror elements work well enough, it's the emotional moments that land the best, being moving without necessarily being too melodramatic.  Zoe Kazan gives an excellent performance as the Mother.  It was one of the biggest pleasant surprises of the year.

16. Creepy

Anyone who knows me knows that I've never been a huge supporter of Japanese horror: it isn't that I think it's bad, it just rarely ever works for me the way that, say, Chinese or Korean horror tends to.  With that in mind, know that I genuinely loved Creepy.  What impressed me to the most about it was the level of restraint it ultimately chose to exercise: considering that the film focuses a lot of psychological and emotional manipulation performed on Women by a sleazy psychopath, it never pushes the physical elements that an America film version certainly would have.  The general premise (an ex-cop and his Wife move next door to a dangerous, manipulative psychopath who manages to convince others to do his bidding) had me nervous about a rape sequence for most of its running time...and it never came.  This does nothing to diminish the films sense of tension or terror, though: the movie is without a doubt a hair raising ball of suspense.  On top of this, the performances are excellent, and some highly intelligent casting choices (the two men, the cop and the psycho, are played by polar opposites: the cop is one of the most handsome men I've ever seen, and the psycho looks like a Frog) make it a very effective thriller.

15. Ouija:Origin of Evil

One of two films featured on my best of list by director Mike Flanagan (Absentia, Oculus), who has become one of my favorite modern horror filmmakers, this one would have easily been one of the films this year I would have expected to be a pile of garbage but turned out to be a very effective film that performed a rare (but not unexpected, really, considering the source) feat: it outdid the original.  Again, this wasn't hard, seeing as how a kick to the face would likely be more entertaining than Ouija, but it still doesn't happen often.  And, more importantly, it's beyond being better than the original: it's actually Good. The performances are strong, and the story manages to be effective and even occasionally scary despite the handicap of being handcuffed canonically to an inferior film.  Annalise Basso, who had also performed in Flanagan's excellent Oculus, gives a teenage girl performance that feels very real instead of generic, and seems poised to be a legitimate star.

14. Evolution

I'm fairly certain that Evolution is the weirdest film on the list this year (well, close anyway), and that's a pretty big compliment.  Very sparse, very quiet, and undeniably creepy, Evolution challenges the viewer to piece together the information themselves, never succumbing to the urge to offer exposition OR denouement.  Never does the film explain its imagery, but that doesn't mean there aren't answers hidden within this bizarre little story of a Young Boy trying to figure out why the entire population of his home (or is it...) island is entirely populated by Women and Young Boys.  What any of it means tends to come second to the breathtaking, hazy and dreamlike cinematography that keeps things engaging.

13. 10 Cloverfield Lane

I really wanted this to be higher on the list, but its final twenty minutes feels so awkward and tacked on that I just couldn't justify it any higher despite its extraordinary qualities.  Easily one of the most suspenseful films of the year, with one of the strongest ensembles and fantastic set pieces, 10 Cloverfield Lane went from being a suspected joke to one of the best respected films of 2016.  While all the players are excellent, this film belongs to John Goodman who, with no doubt in my mind, is THE scariest horror movie villain of the year.  It's a performance that needs to be seen to be believed.  Extraordinary film, mediocre ending...but everything leading up to the end is a thing of absolute beauty.

12. Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse

The best thing about this buddy comedy/horror film mashup is how effortlessly and specifically it subverts expectations and tropes.  Any other film likely would have leaned even further on stereotypes when presenting its characters (especially in the main characters chubby, super-scout buddy, who is allowed to be a full-fledged character with thoughts and feelings instead of a walking punchline), which results in an overwhelming sense of honesty and charm.  While the comedy doesn't ALWAYS land quite right, and neither does the horror for that matter, the charm and sentimentality always does, leading it to be in the top movies of the year, and quite likely the most uplifting of the bunch.  

11. The Wailing

I've been a believer in South Korean horror films for quite some time now, so I was definitely excited at the opportunity to see this cop-drama/horror mashup.  A lazy, mostly ineffective police officer finds himself having to rise to the occasion when a series of strange deaths begin to rock his community, which might have something to do with the strange Japanese man who has moved in recently.  While a film of this kind usually would play itself painfully straight (and wouldn't be blamed for doing so, nor would such a choice damage the film in any way), The Wailing instead mines its premise and characters for just as much comedy as pathos, with extraordinary effect.  While it IS funny, the movie doesn't go full comedy, either, instead weaving the humor and drama together into a very honest slice of life: no matter how scary or funny things are, life always moves on.  While some of the story elements get muddy and obscure (even now I'm only half sure what the mystery amounts to), it's an excellent film.

On to Part Two!