2014 Horror Highlights

All-round awesomeness:

What We Do in the Shadows

From the ‘New Zealand Documentary Board’ comes What We Do in the Shadows, a mockumentary by Jermaine Clement, following the lives of three vampires who share a flat together. As (horror) comedies go, this is by far one of the best I’ve ever seen; the jokes just never stop coming! The characters in this film are so well written and comedy is nicely mixed; there are memorable one liners, character & situation comedy, and hilarious visual gags. The film cleverly links the characters to creatures in vampire folklore, so their personality traits are a result of their histories and backstories. The interaction between the characters is a joy to watch and the actors’ comic timing is spot on. One of the funniest films I’ve seen in a long, long time.

Scariest:

It Follows

I’m well aware that this hasn’t gotten a UK release yet so I won’t bang on about it too much. The concept is seriously disturbing: ‘it’ is a relentless, unstoppable force. It can appear in any form. It maintains pace and purpose, and no matter where you are, no matter what you’re doing, it will reach you. This chilling nightmare, played out in contrast to its setting (the roads and backyards of a tranquil suburb) haunts our protagonist Jay (Maika Monroe) who must overcome it by any means possible. The film plays with the common horror concept of punishing teens for having sex by turning it into a very literal scenario; one of the many horror genre conventions it plays with. Don’t miss out on this one.

Best cinema experience:

The Babadook

The Babadook was a sensational cinema experience, not just because of the scares (of which there were plenty), but because of the emotional story. Single mother Amelia’s personal journey through the film is mapped over her terrifying encounters with The Babadook, a monster which she thought to be a figment of her son’s imagination. She struggles with her grief, her increasing distress over her son’s hyperactive behaviour, and even a hint of resentment towards him. But as the film reaches the final act, her acceptance of loss enables her to connect with her son. It’s a gorgeous and compelling conclusion, which isn’t something you often get in the horror genre. It was beautiful and terrifying in equal measures.

My favourite:

The Guest

The Guest is the latest offering from director Adam Wingard, but unlike his horror debut You’re Next (which made it onto last year’s list!), The Guest isn’t really a horror film, strictly speaking. Instead, Wingard has created a brilliant genre pastiche of ‘80s action/thriller films, laced with the same black comedy as You’re Next and another strong, resourceful female character. In terms of performance, Dan Stevens steals the show with a searing depiction of the enigmatic ‘David’. The subtlety in this performance added to the mystery surrounding David’s intentions, which was really effective. With plenty of Halloween goodness, little references to You’re Next and a soundtrack you will literally never forget, The Guest is just perfect. And the final act is the best thing ever.

Celluloid Screams highlight:

The Editor

The latest sub-genre to receive the Astron-6 treatment is the Giallo film; the crude, over-sexed, violent and often nonsensical European horrors of the ‘70s and ‘80s. The Editor lovingly emulates and parodies these genre characteristics with authenticity and absolute comic genius. Little nods to popular Giallos, a hilarious & oh-so quotable script, and numerous visual gags made this one of my favourite films of the year. It took me twice the running time to get through it just from hitting rewind so many times. Astron-6 have always been onto a winner with their spot-on genre pastiche, but I think The Editor takes things a step further in terms of the characters and storyline; it comes into its own as a well constructed and engaging film. They’ve done themselves proud.

Biggest letdown:

The Quiet Ones

Following the success of the film adaptation of The Woman in Black, I had high hopes for The Quiet Ones, the next horror to emerge from Hammer. Unfortunately, I was disappointed. The film drags itself across a number of dull, overly long sequences in a house, where an experiment is taking place on a young woman. The film sets itself up to tackle the science vs the paranormal debate but then quickly loses interest in that side of things. Instead, it treads a formulaic path which is parallel with (but not identical to) a run-of-the-mill possession film. A poor script, uninteresting characters with very unclear motivation and next to no tension, The Quiet Ones is lacking on many levels.