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.