Sunday, March 31, 2019

Screaming Sunday: 10 best horror films since 2010

We are witnessing a wonderful time for horror movies. It seems like every year there are several that cause a lot of excitement and end up being very worthy inclusions to the "best of" horror genre. With Us, a movie which I thought was executed wonderfully but the writing was mediocre, getting a lot of attention I thought I'd list the 10 best horror films released since 2010. Here we go:

10. The Neon Demon (2016)
Hypnotic and disturbing, this is the tale of the ruthless world of modeling. With a bit of an inspiration from Suspiria and yet another wonderful score from Cliff Martinez the film is a colorful and captivating nightmare that features a wonderful performance from Abbey Lee and surprising turn from Keanu Reeves.

9. The Babadook (2014)
Featuring a horrific premise - a woman's husband dies in accident when he is driving her to hospital as she is giving birth - the film shows woman's descent into madness as she copes with her tragedy and struggles with motherhood.

8. Hush (2016)
Mike Flanagan is one of the most exciting horror directors right now. He is also responsible for terrific Haunting of Hill House series. Hush is yet another of his projects that stars Kate Siegel - his real life wife - in a terrific role, as she plays a deaf writer who is terrorized in her house by a mysterious man. It's a fantastic, tense and gripping movie which you can check out on Netflix.

7. It Follows (2014)
Visually spectacular, this horror film is a clever analogy to the dangers of sex. Featuring the lovely Maika Monroe and amazing score from Disasterpeace the film is a must see for those who don't like gore but appreciate creepy atmosphere. There's still some disturbing body horror moments in this movie, but mostly it relies on the sense of dread.

6. Bone Tomahawk (2015)
A fantastic blend of western and a horror movie, Bone Tomahawk spends majority of its runtime on establishing the characters and getting the audience to care about them. And then in erupts in pure terror and bloodshed and features the most harrowing death scene in recent memory.

5. The Conjuring (2013)
James Wan is the master of modern horror, having launched Saw franchise and The Coinjuringverse which started with this movie. Blending Wan's devotion to old school horrors and terrific use of modern miracles of film-making, the film has the creepy atmosphere and great execution, which stuns with clever tricks and amazing cinematography. But the real strength is that it also has so much heart rooted in great performances and lovely chemistry between Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson.

4. The Cabin in the Woods (2011)
This is one of the most entertaining and clever horror films in recent years. Funny, smart and engaging, it features tons of homages and references to other horror films and it's so much fun to try to find them all. The cast is brilliant, especially Richard Jenkins, Bradley Whitford and Fran Kranz. in a scene stealing role of a stoner Marty.

3. The Witch (2015)
This film frightens, transports to another era and completely captivates the viewer. The simple setting and archaic language set the restraint tone which makes the horrific elements work even better. The film was a breakthrough role for wonderful Anya Taylor-Joy and its ending is one of my favorite in the entire genre.

2. Hereditary (2018)
Ari Aster's movie like not many other before it captures the sense of pure evil. The film itself simply feels evil. The hidden pagan symbols, the horrific things lurking in the frame and the nightmarish occurrences make it one of the most unnerving horror films I had the horrific pleasure of watching. Toni Collette delivers a spectacular performance and the execution is simply top notch - Aster doesn't signal the dangers and you have to notice them yourself, continuously wondering if it was something you really saw or simply think you saw, much like the characters in the movie.

1. Get Out (2017)
While I didn't love Get Out upon my first viewing the subsequent rewatches made me adore this film. It's one of the most well written movies I've ever seen where any possible plot holes have explanations hiding in plain sight in the movie - why was the hidden storage's door open? Well, Georgina was messing around in that room and she had moments of lucidity. Why weren't the cops looking for other missing black men? Well, we did see just how little they care when it's actually an adult missing. It's so tight, you cannot find a single flaw even if you are looking for it. There's so much clever symbolism - like the silent bingo scene or what eventually rescues Chris - and every single line, every single moment is in this movie is there for a reason. There's lots of debate whether the film is a thriller or a horror but the sci-fi element in the third act - and let's just agree that this medical procedure is a sci-fi element - clearly pushes it into horror territory. The film is fun, it has truly hilarious moments and it's so, so creepy. Betty Gabriel's performance is iconic ("No, no, no, no, no....") and who can forget Rose's trophies proudly displayed behind her as she drinks milk through a black straw, while she is looking for another victim? The best horror films make us fear the ordinary and I bet no one could look the same way as before at the teacup after watching this movie.

30 comments:

  1. Solid picks! Good to see Bone Tomahawk on the list. I've always felt it was pretty underrated. I'd add Excision, We Are What We Are, American Mary, The Voices, and Maniac. And The Killing of a Sacred Deer if that counts; 10 slots just aren't enough. :)

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  2. Pleased to see The Babadook, Hereditary, Cabin in the Woods,& Neon Demon made the top 10!
    Below 5 more I rate highly, I know some are debatable as "horror" and are genre-mashups (like Bone Tomahawk is)
    What We Do in the Shadows (2014)
    Tucker and Dale vs. Evil (2010)
    The Love Witch (2016)
    I Saw the Devil (2010) (South Korean)
    The Skin I Live In (2011) (Spanish)

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    1. The first two are a bit too comedy heavy for me to consider horror but I love them, The Love Witch is also awesome, it's such a unique movie. I need to see "I saw the Devil" and the last one is imho, an excellent, but a thriller movie

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  3. Duuuuuuude....this list is soooo good. I haven't seen #5 and #10, but I absolutely endorse everything else on here.

    I'd actually like to see everything on here again , except Hereditary. F--k that movie in its demon ass.

    (Oh, and my guess is upon rewatching Us, you'll give it similar love to Get Out) (but what do I know, it's not like I called Efron or anything)

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    1. Jesus Christ, you STILL haven't seen The Conjuring?!

      Nope, I never dissected Get Out after watching it like I did with Us because I didn't have a feeling there are any plot holes. Us is just incomprehensible.

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  4. This is a pretty solid list...I don't think you're missing anything. Totally here for It Follows...such an underrated film. Get Out as #1 is perfect.

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    1. It really is! I wish Maika Monroe made better career decisions after that movie

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  5. Hey, look at me, somebody who never even watched horror movies having seen 7 of these!! SEVEN! I feel like I've done pretty darn good. The one I'm most eager to watch out of the three I haven't seen (Babadook, Neon Demon and Tomahawk) is the Neon Demon. The other two haven't really sparked my fancy but who knows, I might end up watching them.

    I loved It Fallows, I think that was the one that sort of turned it around for me because most of the ones I've seen are after that. Hush was a pleasant surprise too. I wouldn't know which to list first here, Hereditary or Get Out. The more I think about it, Hereditary sort of lingers longer on my brain. It was disturbing, the trailer was so well made since it completely threw us off the actual plot and the most most chilling scene ever takes place after that accident. Yeah, I'm not sure sure, but I might rewatch Hereditary and I feel like I would pop it on the first place.

    Nice list! Looking forward for the visuals parallels post next week!!! :D

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    1. Well done! Neon Demon is not for everyone but I really liked it, if anything the film looks and sounds amazing!

      Hereditary is so disturbing! It's also more of a horror movie than Get Out but Get Out is just so rewatchable, Hereditary is way too dark to watch over and over again :)

      Thank you, I hope you'll like it!

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  6. Love this list. It also reminds me I still need to see Bone Tomahawk. I'm a big fan of all the other movies on this list except The Neon Demon. I didn't care much for that one.

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  7. I LOVE LOVE LOVE this post! I'd make a very similar list. I'd probably throw Don't Breathe, Starry Eyes, Red, White, and Blue and Marrowbone in there somewhere too.

    I'm glad to see some love for The Neon Demon. That is such a visually stunning film. I'm also very glad that you forced me into watching The Conjuring because it was so worth it.

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    1. Thank you! I only saw Don't Breathe out of the ones you mention, I guess I have some catching up to do!

      Yes, now tell Mario that, he still hasn't seen it

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  8. oh brilliant list, with only 2 I have yet to see (bone tomahawke + hush).
    nice mention of neon demon and cabin in the woods, which had me HOWLING!

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    1. You should check those out! God, Cabin in the Woods is so funny! It's just such a fun movie, I've seen it so many times but it's a perfect film to rewatch

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  9. I've spent years claiming I'm not a horror fan and yet I've seen 7 of these movies! It's safe to say that recent times have converted me. I think out of the ones I haven't seen yet The Conjuring is the one I'm most afraid of!

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    1. You should check it out! It's scary but it's a great movie!

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  10. Great list! I haven’t seen all of them (they are on my watchlist though) but I loved the ones I’ve seen, especially The Conjuring.

    I haven’t seen The Cabin in the Woods in years. I remember liking it but never rewatched it because I had horrible taste in movies back then.

    PS sorry for commenting just now. I replied with my phone on Sunday but I guess it didn't go through 🤷‍♀️

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    1. Thank you!

      You should rewatch it, if only for Hemsworth :P

      oh no worries, whenever you comment is appreciated! :*

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    2. Hemsworth is the reason I watched it when it came out haha

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    3. It's the most noble reason to watch anything :)

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  11. LOVE this list! I'm not really a horror guy, but mostly because I don't do gore. Thankfully, the modern wave of horror seems to put gore in the backseat more often than not, so I can just enjoy the creepy atmosphere and being scared.

    I'm the same as you with Get Out - I liked it fine at first, but rewatches prove that it is truly brilliant. I think it might be perfect, but if it's not, then it's DAMN close to it.

    I love all of these (still haven't seen Neon Demon and Bone Tomahawk) and would only additionally consider Under the Skin (which I count as horror, anyway), the Canadian musical slasher spoof Stage Fright (which isn't "good", but I love anyway), The Invitation (SO CREEPY), Black Swan, mother!, and Suspiria. And maybe even The Conjuring 2 (the rare sequel that is as good as the original).

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    1. Thank you! Under the Skin is very disturbing, especially that scene with the baby on the beach that was so messed up. But comparing to the book I really missed all the substance in that movie. The Invitation is great! Black Swan is one of my favourite movies but I consider it a thriller

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  12. I'm a bit of a horror chicken so only just starting to appreciate this genre. The ones I've seen though It Follows and The Witch were totally worth it. I was surprised by how pretty (haunting might be a better word) they were in the ways they were shot which did tend to make the disturbing elements stand out even more.

    The Witch made me a total Anya Taylor-Joy fangirl and if these things were fair she and Katie Dickie would have been in all the awards conversations that year. I'll have to brave it up and check out some of these other ones!

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    1. Absolutely! The performances in the Witch were terrific, all the actors did an amazing job. I am so glad that movie put Anya on the map

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  13. GREAT list! Love that The Neon Demon made the cut. I haven't seen that since it first come out, so I definitely need to catch up with it. And I love that Hush made the list as well. I really enjoyed that one. More people need to see it!

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    1. Thank you! It seems like it's such an underseen movie, it's not an easy watch but it's so unique it definitely should be getting more attention.

      Hush is on Netflix so hopefully that will make more people check it out, it's so much fun!

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  14. Awesome list! I had no idea Keanu was in The Neon Demon - definitely going to check that out and Hush too. We just rewatched Get Out, and UGH - it never gets old and there's always something new to appreciate it. While I loved Get Out the first time, Us gets better on rewatches too.

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    1. Yeah! he has a small part but he is very good in it! I doubt Us gets better on rewatches, at least not for me, I only saw it once and that script was just so weak

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