Best Horror of 2015: Karen's Picks
I wasn't able to watch as many new movies last year as I would have liked, but most of the ones I saw were great. Without further ado, here's my list (in no particular order).
It Follows
Once you get over the fact that it's basically about a sexually transmitted disease, it is an awesome movie. The soundtrack takes the feeling of dread to the next level and this is the only movie in the list that made me lose sleep.
Check out our review of It Follows, here.
What We Do in the Shadows
We've had pretty good luck with horror-comedies lately and this is the cream of the crop. This movie is basically a Real World episode about vampires. I cannot stop watching it.
Check out our review of What We Do in the Shadows, here.
A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night
This movie is unlike anything you have ever seen, even the category 'vampire western' is unique. It's a beautiful black and white movie with a great soundtrack.
If you haven't already, listen to our podcast episode where we cover A Girls Walks Home Alone At Night.
We Are Still Here
This haunted house movie set in 1979 feels authentic. It made me jump at least a few times and had some fantastic special effects.
Check out our review of We Are Still Here.
The Visit
I didn't have high hopes for M. Night Shyamalan's new movie, but after seeing the trailer, I had to give it a shot. I could not have been more pleased. Creepy fast-moving old people plus Kathryn Hahn is a winning combination!
Check out our podcast review of M. Night's, The Visit.
The Hallow
The acting is great and the creatures are pretty terrifying. It even features a creepy book like the Babadook.
Best Horror of 2015: Amy's Picks
What is with our obsession with lists? Every year at this time I read through dozens of year-end lists touting the same 20-30 movies or books or albums in different arrangements with pictures & blurbs, & I eat that shit up. It's a silly waste of time, but do we have anything better to do? Not really. So, here's my list!
Goodnight Mommy
Gorgeously shot, deliberately paced, it's stylish & suspenseful enough that I didn't mind the obvious plot twist.
Listen to our review of Goodnight Mommy here.
It Follows
Do I even have to explain why this one is on the list? If you haven't seen it yet then I'm pretty confused about how you wandered across this site, since you're obviously not a horror fan.
Listen to our review of It Follows here.
Creep
I'm not one to prefer my horror to be of the 'it could actually happen' variety. Knife-wielding maniacs & home invasions still don't feel plausible enough to actually disturb me. But Creep, on the other hand. Yikes. The victim's naive trust in a stranger and his desire to be a nice guy (or to avoid awkward situations) is precisely what puts him in danger. And unlike most 'it could actually happen' stories, I can absolutely see this happening to someone like me.
A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night
It Follows was a pretty cool movie, most would agree. Well, this one is about a hundred times cooler than that movie could ever hope to be. The black & white looks beautiful & the soundtrack is perfectly integrated in a way that only the greats like Scorsese, Tarantino & either Anderson (Wes or P.T., take your pick) can pull off. I guarantee this is not the last time we'll be talking about Ana Lily Amirpour. I just hope she continues making genre films.
Listen to our review of A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night here.
Cub
If you watch horror to be disturbed, one particular scene in Cub will get you there. I'm a little afraid to rewatch the movie, knowing that I'll have to go through that scene again, but I'll probably do it anyway. That's because Cub has more to offer than just shocking violence. It's also well-paced, very tense & very scary. Think Michael Haneke's Time of the Wolf as a slasher.
Spring
I didn't much care for this directing duo's first feature, Resolution, but this one really worked for me. And not because there's a smokin' hot Italian babe in it, either. Well, not just because of that. The story shouldn't work, but the leads are so likable & the dialogue so good, that it just does.
What We Do in the Shadows
Thank you, 2015, for giving us a new highly quotable comedy to watch a zillion times. And thank you, our Dark Lord Satan, for making it a horror-comedy.
Listen to our review of What We Do in the Shadows here.
The Visit
Hey, who had 2015 in the pool as the year M. Night Shyamalan finally made a good movie again? Nobody? Well, I guess I'll just keep all this prize money.
Listen to our review of The Visit here.
And I'm spent. Sorry I didn't make it to ten, but I'd rather have a shorter list than pad it out with movies that were just okay. Here's hoping my best of 2016 will be a much longer list.
Best Horror of 2015: Jamie's Picks
So...if you've been a faithful listener of the podcast, you will probably know by now that I have a really hard time rating or ranking things. I get nervous about committing to some things that really shouldn't warrant any level of nervousness (honestly, even large menus give me anxiety). I do, however, love making lists. Therefore, without further ado, here is my list of "must-see" horror movies from 2015 (obviously, in no particular order...):
What We Do in the Shadows - "We're vampires, we don't put down towels." I will forever compare this movie to any others claiming to be horror-comedy. It's a Christopher Guest-style movie and seems to just get funnier each time I watch it (it's also wonderfully quotable). I worry about you as a person if you don't find this movie funny.
The Voices - This movie became one of my favorites after my first time watching it. It is not a movie that everyone will enjoy and almost requires a second viewing to fully get it. That being said, a movie that can make me laugh whilst also making me feel so sad and uncomfortable that I'm still thinking about it for days after is a total win, in my book.
It Follows - This is probably the most obvious inclusion on my list, considering all the hype and love surrounding it - it was basically impossible to avoid. But no one (especially no lover of horror) should avoid it. With its retro feel and seriously awesome score by Disasterpeace, this movie was pretty dang close to horror perfection.
The Visit - It all started out with an innocent trip to Grandma and Grandpa's. Classic tale. This movie - the return of M. Night Shyamalan - was an absolutely pleasant surprise. It was funny, creepy, well-written, etc. - everything I could've wanted it to be. Worth the watch, for sure.
Goodnight Mommy - This is definitely not a movie for everybody. I, however, loved it. Sure, it was an “artsy fartsy” type of movie but I was hooked right from the beginning. The direction and editing were great and made for a very unsettling story about a mom and her psychopathic kids. Let's see more horror movies from Austria, please!
Unfriended - Ok, I’m sure some folks are thinking, “say whaaaat?” but for real...I thought this movie was solidly creepy. It had me truly uncomfortable within the first 20 minutes or so. I immediately recommended that Amy watch it and she basically ignored me. Way to be a pal.
A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night - Perhaps not the scariest movie of 2015 but totally worth the watch. It didn’t have particularly stellar acting or a completely original storyline, but as a vampire-western directed by an Iranian woman, this movie was unlike any other horror movie I saw this year. Also worth mentioning, it had a great soundtrack (check out “Dancing Girls” by Farah - it's catchy as hell).
Ex Machina - Not so much horror as it is sci-fi thriller, but this movie unsettled me. What makes it so unsettling is that it's not that far off from where we are today, in terms of technology and how much of everyone’s life is out there in the interwebz, completely available for anyone to see. Plus, who doesn’t find the idea of AI to be totally terrifying?! They could be out there among us!! Also worth mentioning, Oscar Isaac is a gd hunk.
Creep - This movie was a surprise win for me. It also made me far more uncomfortable than I would’ve guessed - even for a movie called "Creep." Honestly, who would ever think someone could make the words “peach fuzz” creepy? Mark Duplass, I guess. Note to self: never answer a Craigslist ad for any sort of film project. I just don’t think any good could ever come of it.
Spring - This was another sort of ambiguous movie that is hard to categorize as actual horror - it's really more of a sci-fi rom-com with horror undertones. If that doesn't pull you in, I don't know what will. Tentacles? Graphic "human to creature" transformation? Beautiful shots of Italy?? Spring has all of that, plus it delves into some cool mythological themes. I can confidently count it amongst my favorite movies of 2015.
That's all folks! Here's to more great horror in 2016!
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