2018 has been a really good year for horror movies.
A number of the biggest and most high profile titles have yet to be released this year ("Overlord," "The Predator," and the starry, prestige-y remakes of "Suspiria" and "Halloween"). With the commitment to the genre that has been made very clear by platforms like Netflix and Shudder, it's been an embarrassment of entrails-draped riches. Before we hit the peak spooky season, we wanted to list our favorite horror films of the year (so far). Chances are this list will get even bigger (and better) before 2018 comes to a close.
‘A Quiet Place’
Paramount
This year’s breakout horror sensation was, undoubtedly, “A Quiet Place,” an unnerving and fiendishly clever take on the alien invasion genre wherein the creatures’ primary motivation is sound. (It shares a lot with a terrific episode of the original “Twilight Zone” series, “The Invaders.”) Co-writer/director/star John Krasinski turned what could have been a gimmicky romp into something profound and unnerving, playing like a single continuously sustained suspense set piece for its entire 90-minute runtime.
But if it was only thrills Krasinksi was after, it wouldn’t have connected the way it did; thankfully, he grounded it with a remarkably human story of a single family living their lives at the end of the world. And Emily Blunt, as the pregnant matriarch struggling to hold her family together, gives one of the greatest performances of the year. She’s a scream queen who can’t make a peep.
‘Veronica’
Netflix
“Veronica” quietly premiered on Netflix in February, unceremoniously dropped on the service despite its high pedigree (it comes from Paco Plaza, co-creator of the wonderful “[rec]” franchise) and catchy, based-on-a-true-story logline (involving a teenage girl, a “spirit board” and demonic possession). But from those inglorious beginnings came something of a word-of-mouth sensation, with many taking to the Internet to proclaim it the scariest movie they’d ever seen.
And while that reaction might be a bit much, it’s not exactly wrong, either, especially since the most vocal Twitter users maybe haven’t seen some of the older classics. “Veronica” is definitely sleep-with-the-lights-on scary, and its supposed basis in fact makes it even more haunting and terrifying. Because stuff like this can’t happen in real life, right?
‘Cargo’
Netflix
Netflix debuted this deeply heartfelt post-apocalyptic chiller, arguably the most thoughtful and emotionally resonant zombie film you’ll see this year.
In “Cargo,” Martin Freeman stars as a man living in the Australian outback after the end of the world. He’s got a small child and, early in the film, loses his wife to the zombie outbreak. He also soon becomes bitten and so it becomes a race against time to get his child in safe hands before he succumbs. The film’s subtle, intricate world-building (people were bracelets that tell them how long they have until they turn, there are medical needles handed out that kill the undead) and nifty additions to preexisting mythology (the honeyed goo that covers the soon-to-be-zombie’s eyes and mouth is a great flourish) do much to pave over some of the more well-worn territory.
‘Hereditary’
A24
The breakout indie horror movie of the year (it wound up being A24’s biggest hit), “Hereditary” is still giving us the heebie-jeebies.
Ari Aster’s assured debut features a tour de force performance by Toni Collette as a woman whose family is coming unglued after the death of her mother, an overpowering matriarch with an incredibly dark secret. The movie unfolds slowly and deliberately, with the audience uncovering the mystery alongside Collette, to profoundly disturbing results. Punctuated by bursts of shocking violence, a spine-tingling score by frequent Arcade Fire confederate Colin Stetson and some of the spookiest moments in recent horror movie memory, “Hereditary” takes hold of you and never, ever lets go. *clucks tongue.
'Annihilation'
Paramount
To anyone who is thinking, Isn't "Annihilation" more of a heady sci-fi movie, we'd just like to remind you of the screaming bear creature that brutally murders somebody … or the mutant shark-alligator that puts the big beastie in "The Meg" to shame … or the part where somebody's stomach is sliced open and eel-like intestines slither underneath. And these are just the parts we can remember off the top of our head.
"Annihilation" is a brutal, brilliant film, that follows a scientist (Natalie Portman) as she journeys into an alien region known as The Shimmer, hunting for answers about what happened to her lost husband (Oscar Isaac) – and how to save him.
Ultimately, the title refers to her own self-destruction, beautifully depicted in the film's final act with a virtuoso climax as chilling as anything in a straight "horror film" this year.
'The Ritual'
Chances are, "The Ritual" (now on Netflix) will seem familiar to you. It most closely resembles "The Descent," in the sense that it's about a group of friends (this time, they're male and led by the in-demand Rafe Spall) who go on a hiking trip following a personal tragedy. Of course, like in "The Descent," that trip soon turns very, very ugly. But if you let go of its connections to other films, "The Ritual" is strangely rewarding, with a heavy atmosphere of dread that permeates every frame and a handful of finely honed performances (Spall, in particular, haunted by a brutal event, is compelling and cowardly in equal measure). Plus, the creature is one of the strangest, most bewitching designs in the current horror landscape. You'll be riveted.
'Mandy'
RLJE
This is kind of a cheat because, technically, "Mandy" doesn't come out until September. But it's played at Cannes and Sundance and it's worth mentioning at every turn, since it's not only one of the year's best horror movies but it's one of the year's best movies (period).
As directed by the truly visionary Pano Cosmatos ("Beyond the Black Rainbow"), "Mandy" concerns a lumberjack named Red (Nicolas Cage), who goes on a rampage after his titular girlfriend (Andrea Riseborough) is murdered by cultists. It's weird, for sure (we didn't even mention the supernatural S&M biker gang), but also profoundly moving and haunting, with one of the all-time greatest Cage performances (seriously).
It's also arguably the most metal movie ever made.
'Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich'
Full Moon
Sorry, “The Happytime Murders,” but this is the X-rated puppet movie we’ve all been waiting for. “Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich” is a gore-soaked reboot of the horror franchise that began way back in 1989 and has continued, unabated, to this day. (There was a canonical sequel – the 12th – released in 2017.)
In this entry, written by certifiable genius S. Craig Zahler (“Brawl in Cell Block 99,” “Bone Tomahawk”), the backstory has been rewritten (hello, Udo Kier as a Nazi toymaker!) and a new story has formed around a toy convention where the demonic playthings run amok. The narrative is inspired, in part, by racial, ethnic and homophobic prejudice. So, yes, this isn’t for everyone. But if you’re finding yourself wanting a bloody blast of inappropriate humor, outré horror, and some very, er, “heightened” performances (led by Thomas Lennon), it’s hard to top this.
https://www.moviefone.com/2018/08/24/the-best-horror-movies-of-2018-so-far/
Posting Komentar