25. Zodiac

Zodiac really stands out as a serial killer film, because it takes a very different approach and in the end the true value lies in the man searching to find the true zodiac killer more than the actual killer himself. The film begins with a number of brutal murders by the murderer pinned The Zodiac Killer after a killing spree during the 1960s and 70s. These beginning moments are slow, suspenseful, and dreadfully creepy. It gives us a chance to see the events, caring for the innocent victims, while still getting caught up in the brutal nature of our killer. To this date, this is an unsolved murder case. Most of film is spent with Jake Gyllenhaal as Robert Graysmith searching for answers, never giving up even after the case is closed from lack of evidence. It really becomes about obsession and what not knowing the truth can do to you, especially when this lack of truth means there’s still a killer on the loose.      

24. The Gift 

The Gift is a rich and suspenseful supernatural thriller with gripping characters and an all star cast that grip you from the beginning. Cate Blanchett brings out the main character, a psychic who helps unravel a dead body and the murderer responsible who is after her next if she can’t find him in time. She’s one of the strongest actresses working today and she really powers the film and gets the audience to genuinely care. Greg Kinnear, Hilary Swank, Katie Holmes, and even Keanu Reeves all give great supporting performances. The film takes so many turns, surprising you again and again. The story is really engaging and we are given some morbid moments and the tension really heightens towards the end when the true killer becomes evident.

23. Fido

In Fido, the zombie genre takes over 1950’s suburbia. Fido puts zombies in to a different context. Rather than zombies causing the end of the human species, they are merged in to everyday life. The zombies are pets and inferiors to regular humans rather than being the ones in control. Our title zombie conveys thought, reliability, concern, protection, attraction, and emotion without saying one word. The sympathetic viewpoint of zombies is brought out wonderfully, making them seem like misunderstood, but humane beings while still showing the primitive nature inside of them. Fido is one of the few zombie films that portray zombies in a peaceful environment rather than going through an epidemic or the usual set of zombie formula. Fido satires zombie films, brings something new to the table, while still embracing the fundamental nature of the living dead and even throwing a non-conformity message in to the film.

22. Paranormal Activity

 I’m thrilled with how well the film ended up doing, but at the same time I think all of the hype actually compromised a lot of people’s appreciation for it. Paranormal Activity is an important film because of how wonderfully it embodied the minimalist approach of filmmaking. The home video style works excellently, showing us only what is captured on our character’s home camera, thus only what our characters are able to see if not in that moment than later when they watch the tape. I also found the characters to be very likable. It really felt like I was there with them, watching this couple. This just made them seem all the more real and in turn the situation that they were in seemed more realistic too. So little action of any kind happens in the film that when the littlest thing happens like a sudden slamming of the door or the moving of the covers, you really take notice. All of these little things slowly progress, adding the tension, putting you on the edge of the seat just waiting for the horrific you are sure it is going to take. I actually jumped a few times, which very few films can make me do. It’s notable enough that it could get so many strong reactions out of me; excitement, intrigue, and surprise. The fact that most action comes in very small steps just raises the tension and anticipation. Luckily, the characters were so enjoyable and the film was actually quite hilarious, largely through Micah’s character. Not only does this make it more fun of a film, but it also puts you off guard for the ghostly attack that creeps up behind you. I really commend the filmmakers for how much they did with so little, really creating something genuinely scary rather than relying on CGI effects, black outs, and high pitched startling sounds like most ghost films tend to.

21. Martyrs

Martyrs is an intense and fascinating horror film powered by the concept of victimization vs. martyrdom. Horrible torturous acts take place one after the other to innocent victims, yet the torturers don’t let themselves fall in to the role of the villain. They use religion to justify their acts. It’s so relentless and painful that the audience could clearly never sympathize, but it gives us morally gray villains who do terrible things and come off as downright evil, but are also interesting and complex characters. Through them the desire for humans to know what comes after death is communicated and just how radically it can twists their supposedly good hearted intentions to find the answers they want. Writer/director, Pascal Laugier, challenges the horror genre with Martyrs and clearly was out to give a film that could satisfy the horror fans. He creates great suspense and fascinates the audience, but as soon as you start to figure out where the film is headed, he completely turns things around through the pacing, tone and perspective of the film, ensuring that his audiences never know what could happen next. The film is almost split in to two; the first belonging to Lucie and the second to Anna. Yet they do collide to an extent, making the movie as a whole stronger. With Lucie’s story on her side and her ability to survive, it gives Anna more strength and hope for enduring everything that is ahead of her. Lucie and Anna are both extremely strong female characters, who endear far more than the vast majority of people would be able to. Martyrs is a very gruesome and intense horror film with relentless torture that will make even the most avid horror fan squirm and disturbed.

20. Shaun of the Dead

Although Shaun of the Dead does follow the Romero-esque zombie formula that has been done time and time again it’s creating a satire in response to the genre. It pokes fun at it, while creating the perfect balance between spoof comedy and embracing the horror and zombie elements. Not only was Shaun of the Dead the start of the zombie horror comedy, but it goes further than that to establish the Rom-Zom-Com, where are genres that didn’t seem like they should go together, but it’s awesome that they do. While horror, comedic, and romantic interest elements are always there, the beginning clearly dominates the comedic elements, the romantic elements increasing throughout, and horror dominating at the end, leaving us with an authentic zombie film full of mayhem and the flesh eating walking dead, and plenty of bloody deaths in between.

19. 28 Days Later

One of the first zombie films that ditched the zombie term in place and simply replaced it with the infected. The film opens up on a surreal state where Cillian Murphy’s character wakes up in a completely deserted world that destruction has overcome. Trying to figure out what happened and if there is anyone else is a confused, lonely, and dreamlike state. Even once we learn of the virus and he does find others, it’s still a pretty lonely, tragic, and scary existence. The brutality of human nature through population, survival, and sexual needs is one of the most memorable and disturbing elements of the film. It embodies a very raw look and discomforting tone, showing the harshness of how an epidemic from the undead can tear humanity and society apart. 28 Days Later is probably the most influential zombie film since Night of the Living Dead.

18. Funny Games

Being a shot-by-shot remake of the original by the same director as the original down to the exact measurements of the set, it’s clear that Michael Haneke wanted to create Funny Games to speak to the American audience that he targeted with his original film. The film goes against conventions like breaking the fourth wall, having the killers talk to us and make bets with the audience on when the family will be dead, establishing the film as the killer’s perspective rather than the innocent family’s. The film also plays out the typical Hollywood ending only to rewind it and replace it with an ending that shows how the villains are in control, destroying the predictable climatic moment where the victims rise up and escape from their killers. The killers themselves are pretty anti-Hollywood, dressing in white and being far more clean cut and polite than any serial killer we have witnessed in horror before. This just makes it scarier and more effective as a home invasion film where the bad guys look like good guys, leaving you helpless until it’s too late to do anything about it. There’s a few times when the victims escape the house, but it becomes clear that they aren’t going anywhere; they’re just playing with us. When they ask the killers why don’t they just kill them they reply “You shouldn’t forget the importance of entertainment”. We give them the motive, energy, and reason to continuously do this, because after all they are putting on a show for us and it must meet the entertainment standards that we have placed upon media.

17. Hostel Part II

I hated the first Hostel. It was a completely unbalanced and horribly paced film with an hour of crazy partying than suddenly turns to nothing but a torture.  Hostel seemed to want to be a serious and intense film, yet it lacked any reason or motives and just came off as meaningless. There still seemed to be a great amount of potential. Hostel Part II is the very rare example of a sequel that is actually better than the original. Not only is the quality better, but Eli Roth seemed to improve on all the faults of the first film specifically. The pacing is far better, taking us directly in to the horror with a nightmarish delusion from a past victim. There is a lot more motive and exploration in Hostel Part II as well. The sub-plot between the new torturers was the most fascinating element of the film. Through them we get to view what these individuals are like, showing us how they are not only capable of murder, but pay ridiculous sums of money so they can torture people. Still by seeing things through their perspective it showed how someone can have a normal life and seem human while still having the potential to inflict pain on others. The dynamic between the two killers was really interesting. One embracing power, control, and fear of others while his more timid and nervous friend seems to be fearful and just giving in to his friend’s pressure. It contains one of the most memorable recent torture scenes where a victim is hanging upside down while her female torturer lies below her slashing a blade in to her, sexually getting off as she hears her screams and tormenting this girl to the point of death. It really shows how twisted these torturers are and how one’s pain is another’s pleasure. Killing being so present that even kids in the surrounding area are brought up on it shows the inevitable cycle of killing and torture. The ending is really what made it have a lasting impact though with all of the turns it took. It showed the lengths that a seemingly innocent and good person would do to save themselves, how the theory of having power of another through torture is a lot easier to swallow in theory than in practice, and how when pushed and belittled enough people can take on a monstrous nature that never seemed to be there before.

16. High Tension

High Tension was the first film of the recent trend in brutal French horror films and shows director, Alexandre Aja at his best. The film is quite the mental roller coaster, showing us that everything we think we saw was compromised by the viewpoint that we saw it from. Thus, what we think is innocent is anything but, questioning what the real evil is and the reason it has manifested in this disturbed and distorted way. The gore is bloody and extreme and there is little dialogue, especially from the killer, being so shielded from him. The lack of heavy dialogue made it feel like we were right there with the characters, the silence emphasizing the intensity and danger present.

15. Eden Lake

Eden Lake takes theoretically innocent and harmless teenagers and kids and turns them in to nearly demonic figures that will stop at nothing to torture and murder simply to mess with their elders rather than respecting them. It’s a brilliant film with just the right amount of blood, despair, and disturbance, reversing the roles of power and analyzing why youth has such a heavy dependence on excessive violence. Eden Lake is a survival film and an analysis on youth violence. It’s amazing all that our protagonists go through; making the kids cruelty all the more severe as they hunt down their prey. Since we start out in the sane, normal world and the first half hour focuses on character development we begin to care for them very deeply only for them to walk in to a trap they never expected. Yet in the end, it’s not their story it’s the troubled kids and their broken families. I appreciated that even through this transferal of character concentration that the kids weren’t made out to be all that sympathetic, just doomed to be the way they are. Eden Lake really hits on the theory that violence begins in the home. We witness parents who use and condone violence and then let their kids get away with anything. Denial is a big part of this. “Not my kid” is the response. The parent’s don’t even let the thought cross their mind that while their kids are free to run around and do as they please all day, they could be causing harm to others. The kids test their limits and learn that they can get away with murder, literally. Eden Lake is a dark, gripping and brutal tale with great character development, pacing, and reversal of roles that depicts how violence is bred.

14. Doctor S. Battles the Sex Crazed Reefer Zombies: The Movie

Doctor S Battles the Sex Crazed Reefer Zombies: The Movie is a hilarious and highly stylistic horror comedy. With a title like that you wouldn’t expect anything less. It’s a film that has a ton of fun with itself, which is completely contagious to the audience. Writer/ director, Bryan Ortiz’s influences of Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez work really comes through in his technique and direction, but combines this with the horror element. Doctor S takes us in to the spirit of the 1950’s with mockingly snappy characterizations and plenty of danger and destruction. The title character battles the zombies with such ease, keeping his cool as if they are nothing but a mild annoyance. Our other main character is the prim and proper, Mary Jane. The two offer a great opposition to the other. One coming off as heroic and bad ass while the other offers great comedy in just how appalled she is even by the littlest things in a world where reefer sex crazed zombies have taken over and killed just about everyone they know. There are some really great chase scenes between the zombies and our characters. The best has got to be one where zombies suddenly start swarming around Doctor S at all directions, making his fate seem inevitable. He ever so effortlessly gets on the elevator and seems to escape them only for them to swarm in and be at his throat. The elevator closes and when it opens again Doctor S nonchalantly walks over the pile of dead zombie bodies. Doctor S. Battles the Sex Crazed Reefer Zombies: The Movie mocks the 1930’s propaganda film, Reefer Madness, an exaggerated account of how marijuana turns kids in to murderous and sexualized villains. Doctor S and Reefer Madnesss: The Musical both mock the original Reefer Madness and adapt the same tongue-in-cheek, fun-filled approach to poking fun at the innocent time they are set in opposed to the hell on earth brought on by the reefer. The difference is Doctor S throws zombies in to the mix, which just ensures awesomeness. This is a little indie film that deserves to be known and seen. I really encourage everyone to keep their out for this film as it’s hilarious, stylistic, and undead fun from the beginning to end.

13. The Orphanage

The Orphanage is one of the best ghost/haunted house films. It takes more of a dramatic tone and story than the average film of its type, but it escalades in to a haunted spiral of troubled spirits. One thing that really makes it stands out is the element of the past is really concentrated on. Ghosts are creatures of the past, unable to really move on after death. It only makes sense to concentrate on this aspect, especially since the house the film is set in has a history with not only the ghost who once lived there, but our protagonist, showing the link between the two of them. Her essential family, the other children who grew up with her at the orphanage, had to face horrible deaths. She has to come back to face this and becomes tied in to this when she comes back even though this revenge that she is facing isn’t her fault. The theme of what one will do to keep the bond between a mother and her children is present, a bond that no danger can break. The visuals between the past, present, and the new state that is found in the end are striking and explores what each of these mean.

12. The Mist

The Mist is one of the best Stephen King adaptations in quite some time. It’s mystical, cryptic, and eerie creating plenty of suspense throughout the apocalyptic stages. We get many similar motions something clearly not being right, the mist brutally killing people all throughout the streets, trying to hide away, trying to put up protective barriers, and finally deciding they need to escape before whatever creatures lives in the mist can get to them first. The stages are pretty similar to the zombie formula, particularly that of Dawn of the Dead. Yet, there are more than just monsters to fear. Still, we don’t know what these creatures are, what they’re capable of, and how or if they will ever be stopped. There is great mystery in the film as we don’t know much more than our characters do as they search for answers. They hide out inside of a local grocery store, hoping to be safe from whatever evil creatures lie in the mist. They test their limits and learn that they are in far worse trouble than they imagine. Some of the people in the store even begin to hold on to the notion that Judgment Day has come and the sinners are being punished. Everyone begins choosing sides, staying put with the religious followers or trying to escape from the place where they are so caged in while simply waiting for their deaths. What really makes The Mist such a remarkable and memorable film is the ending. All hope is lost and things take a completely tragic turn where our protagonist has to go to such great length to keep his family and his respect. Just after this we are really led to the ultimate ‘You’re screwed’ ending. It’s about as depressing, tragic, and morbid you can get, making the film stay with you for long after the credits role.

11. Final Destination

Final Destination only escalated my fear of flying, with that horrifying vision sequence where everyone burns up in flames as the plane plummets down to the ground, killing everyone on board. It’s really the original and completely gripping theme of death itself being the killer that makes it stand out. It plays with one’s morbid fate being inevitable even if you know what’s coming and change it. Death will just get you in another way, never stopping until it’s finished the job. Even though we know the order of the characters dying in the order that they would have if they were on the plane that crashed just after they exited, we don’t know how this will happen. There are a lot of great kills, especially since how they happen is the surprise. There’s the bus hit with splattered guts galore, strangulation, and the train track head decapitation, all made to look like accidents.

10. AntiChrist

Antichrist opens up on a captivating black and white high contrast slow motion shot. From the beginning we get full frontal nudity and penetration between the couple making love to each other (probably the only time they do make love, although there is a massive amount of sex throughout). After this the sex is more rough, violent, and forced, not feeling too far off from rape. During this beginning segment they are so caught up in each other that they don’t notice their toddler getting up and walking right out the window, falling to his death. After this things become much more solemn as the mother in particular is in great misery and regret, even turning on her husband and placing the blame on him, although there is plenty to go around. Her husband convinces her to throw out her anti-depressants so she can deal with the pain head on. He begins doing aggressive therapy exercises, expanding her pain from emotional to physical. She is physically strained and has a number of attacks on her body that he forces her to feel and take it in. After he finds out that the place that contains her fear is the cabin in the woods called Eden. This is the place where she was fearful of losing her son before he died. It’s incredibly hard for her to walk through the woods, but through extensive exercises she seems to be getting better. When her husband finds his wife’s research on the book she was writing on female genocide he’s appalled to find out that she seemed to be supportive as if they deserved the horrible things that had happened to them. Through this we get the concept of man vs. woman, which resonates with the wife’s research of historical times, taking us back to the type of logic that was present during the witch hunting days. It was all instinct and emotion, void of any reason. This can be said of the roles placed within men and woman and how they differ. In this case, women are portrayed as being closer to nature, which makes them wicked in this case. Also, man is usually viewed as the stronger and more animalistic of the two, but the roles are reversed here. Embracing the true battle of the sexes, both are brutally attacked in the most fragile place. The husband’s penis is bashed and once he is knocked out is clenched and stroked until blood spurts out of it. Followed by attacking the woman’s own sexuality; She grabs scissors and performs vagina self-mutilation in the single most disturbing moment of the film. I know understand why guys squirm and freak out so much during castration scenes in films. She does this to herself though because she believes all women are wicked and she is not free of this treatment herself. Through this we also get the theme of nature being inherently evil. At first it seems that this is just through the spooky woods and the things that go bump in the night. In this aspect it’s one of the best man against nature films. The even more terrifying aspect of this is in human nature, that women in particular are wicked by nature. This enables her to be free of all of her guilt. She has blame and anger towards her husband that she needs to release, yet it really isn’t her, it’s just her evil nature.

9. Repo! The Genetic Opera

Repo! is really a completely original and creative film unlike any other movie. It brings us in to the futuristic and beautifully gothic and dreary world that is in “not so distant future”. Yet Shilo and Mag seem to shine and glow against the dark shadows that surround them, dying to get out of the prison like state they seem to be stuck in. The visuals set this dark tone wonderfully as does the music that not only tells the story, but makes us really understand the diverse and fun characters surrounded in greed, deception, and yearning for truth and freedom from everything keeping them down. Corruption surrounds them and they are all very desperate to get away from the twisted fates that seem to be dragging them along. The songs are completely contagious and are full of style. The comic illustrations help pick up any confusion, filling in the holes left behind from the music, showing us all of our character’s tragic background that have led them to where we are seeing them. The illustrations are colorful, dynamic, and really follow the artistic nature of the film. The futuristic society’s obsession as a fashion statement with surgery to redefine their look and the black market pawned addictive drug, Zydrate, isn’t too different from our own society especially with Hollywood’s obsession of staying young and looking flawless. Repo! just takes it a step further. Of course, you can’t forget about the horrific norm that rules the Repo! world; people’s organs being repossessed when they can’t make their payments in time, killing the patient in cold blood in the mean time. So many face this fate that the dead lie in piles in the graveyard, not even left in peace when their organs have been ripped apart, used further for their potential to create Zydrate. It’s a brutal, selfish, and entrapped state where many are unnecessarily living in mystery because of all of the lies and trickery.

8. Saw

Saw brought on the popularity of the torture film and even though the latter films are far more flawed it was the start of our only current mainstream horror franchise. More importantly was the way it portrayed the torture, as a game; losing your life if you lose the game (and there are a lot of losers). Every round it’s something different, a new death gripping trap. There’s a lot of diversity in the kills and the devices that do the victims in. They’re all very brutal and bloody, giving us a gruesomely gory and intense film. Also, with each one there is a small amount of hope. The victims have to do horrible and painful things to themselves to prove how far they would go to save their lives. To be able to even attempt to do the things that they’re asked to do seems bad enough, but they could try only to be killed anyway, making their last moments all the more painful. There still is that little bit of hope, it is possible for them to survive the test. What’s really fascinating is the unique and morally gray villain; Jigsaw. He even claims not to be a killer and technically he doesn’t kill anyone with his own hand. He orchestrates the death machines and arranges for his victims to be kidnapped and placed in these situations. He does leave them a chance of survival even if the odds aren’t in their favor. Through Jigsaw we get the questioning if humanity is worth saving or humans have become too weak. He feels that these tests are necessary, because he needs to see that his victims deserve to live by testing the lengths of human strength. There are so many intriguing themes involved. The film gave us one of the most unique and interesting villains of the decade and brought back the brutal and intense gore, while never painting things as black and white.

7. The Host

The Host is the best creature disaster film of the decade. The birth of the creature is really interesting, mostly because how it all starts actually comes from an actual account. It’s spawned by acid being poured in the Han River through a U.S. military institution. The formaldehyde was sent through the sewer system against regulation, poisoning the river. The Host takes that initial event and crafts it in to exciting and intriguing monster movie coming as a combination of Godzilla and 28 Days Later. The monster himself serves as a metaphor for the controlling government, using its powerful in a harmful way. It was a government agent that was responsible for creating it in the first place. The monster isn’t the only villain either; the doctors and authority figures are nearly just as dangerous. The citizens are on the run from two villains, desperately seeking peace, freedom, and safety. Everyone who is left alive is rounded up and kept as if they are essential prisoners, not even letting them out to find their loved ones that could be in danger. The Host is very heavy on character development, is genuinely interesting all the way through, and has plenty of action, destruction, and suspenseful chases.

6. Trick R Treat

Trick R Treat is one of the best horror anthology films and the best Halloween themed film since John Carpenter’s original Halloween. It’s full of frights, laughs, and a very witty approach to horror. Some of the funniest moments were of a high school principal lurking around in the night, burying a body. As he inches closer and closer to his son with knife in hand, we fear for the boy, yet get caught up in the suspense just as it takes a turn we don’t see coming. He’s not after killing his son, but after teaching him in a very unique way. Then we have a group of young troublesome trick or treaters who are more in to the trick than the treats; creating a truly horrifying trick that is surely enough to terrify anyone. They’re testing the myth of a bus driver who once killed a bus load of mentally challenged children who were chained to the drowning bus and get a first glance of their spirits. We also have a truly creepy ghost covered in a burlap sack who haunts an old, grumpy loner, viciously dying under this ghosts hand. Lastly, a virginal and innocent girl goes to a Halloween party with her friends, all dressed as princesses and Anna Paquin cleverly dressed as Little Red Riding Hood as we later find out there is great irony in her costume choice as her and her friends turn out to be fierce, vicious, hungry and anything but innocent. All of these different story lines work so well together while being strikingly different and making a fun-filled and sharp film full of terror.

5. The Devil’s Rejects

The Devil’s Rejects is Rob Zombie’s best film and it’s seeming unlikely that he will be topping this one anytime soon. It is far superior to the original, House of 1,000 Corpses, even though I did appreciate it more than most. The film presented a family of psychotic serial killers and the fun games they played in enjoying tearing their victim’s skin apart. The Devil’s Rejects brought out the crazy yet playful of this tight nit family, showing the tables turn around when they’re the ones that get hunted. It turns out not to just be about getting justice and much more about giving them a taste of their own medicine, no matter how cruel it might be. They learn what torture is like firsthand, but to their torturer’s disproval they just scream for more. The Devil’s Rejects doesn’t just give us one awesome villain, they give us a whole family of them. Their nurturing and loving gestures toward each other against their murderous and gleefully insane nature makes for both an extremely fun and vicious horror film.

4. Let The Right One In

A great change of pace for the vampire film. It has a slow, still, and strangely quiet tone for a vampire film, but it completely draws you in through the story about a young vampire girl and a lonely outcast. The cinematography is visually stimulating as majority of the film is glowing white . The blood against the shining image of the snow combined with the moderation it is showed to us in makes it stand out even more. The film’s not a continuous bloodbath with victim after victim. The attacks and hunting are much more spread out, but when we do see young Eli on the prowl, quenching her blood thirst it’s really stands out and makes an impact. She seems kindhearted and likable when she is with Oskar, yet that darker side to her does exist. I liked that she wasn’t shown as too innocent or too evil, she has both sides to her. She needs blood to survive. Sometimes she visits the hospital for her fix, choosing one who is already heading towards hid death. Bottom line though, Eli doesn’t make apologies for what she is. Still the real evils seem to come from Oskar’s normal world, the one where he is bullied brutally day after day, seeming as if there is not stop to it even when things take a much more drastic and morbid turn. Eli uses violence out of necessity while the bullies use it as sport. Through an under water shot while Oskar is nearly being drowned we slowly see something plunge in to the pool, which ends up being body parts one by one dropping. Once Oskar is safe we see that revenge has been established through what is left of the dead bodies lying near the pool. The light haired human with the dark haired vampire work well to bring out the good and the evil not just in these two, but in the very lonely world that they are living in. The two of these have a lot of contrast in them; Oskar is unable to fight back and Eli is unable to stop.

3. The Skeleton Key

The Skeleton Key is full of things not being what they seem at first glance. In fact, it’s probably the horror film that I found myself going back to after my initial viewing, trying to piece everything together only to learn that there is no one answer. The film sets up a number of frightening possibilities. What’s really terrifying about the film is the complete paralyzing state of utter physical helplessness that the victims are placed in to. What happens truly doesn’t even seem possible, which just makes it worse because who would ever suspect it? It has the chilling atmosphere of a ghost haunting against the shield of hoodoo, trying to fight it oddly enough with the thing that manifested the evil in the first place. What’s going on is bigger than our protagonist and will clearly only continuing in the cycle that has already been put in place. We don’t actually see anyone die aside from the flashback of the past we are given of the people who used to live in the house years ago. Even in that case, we can’t even trust what we saw. We really don’t know who died and who lived on. Obviously there’s not really any blood, but that’s just because the film doesn’t need it. People are being killed in a much more horrid way than their physical bodies just dying. The Skeleton Key is completely overwhelming in the twists, trickery, and suspense; giving us an exciting horror film that you won’t be able to get your mind off of.

2. Inside

Inside is one of goriest cat and mouse chases. So it’s no surprise that it’s a French horror film, they really seem to be bringing the best out of the genre. It’s a pretty simplistic film with little dialogue and only two main characters; victim and killer. The film is entirely shot in one house where the chase and hiding out takes place, making it feel more claustrophobic and intense. The victim runs for the bathroom, hiding out in there, already covered with blood, trembling and fearful for not only her life, but the life inside of her as she is pregnant. This is the very reason she is being hunted like she is, the killer wants her baby. Motherhood is a major theme in the film, one woman clinging on for her dear life in the most horrendous of conditions when she might have given up long ago in hopes of saving her unborn baby while the other takes on a vicious, murderous, and crazed path, so desperate to make up for the child that she herself lost. All of her moral and rational thinking goes out the window and she is filled with anger and rage. Inside is a fast paced horror film, throwing us in to the bloody chase from the very beginning of the film. Our victim is already covered in her own blood. The gore only increases as she gets scissors stabbed through the door and in to her now lifeless hand only to be followed by the bloody scissors that violently split her stomach open just as the baby is about to come out.

1. Frontier(s)

Frontier(s) really shows all that horror can be. It’s full of passion and understanding for the genre, taking the real life race riots that were going on in France at the time and inserting it in to the film. It seems far more creative to me to use these things in a horror film while they could have been depicted in a documentary or even straight forward drama. Instead, the film uses symbolization and metaphors of the deceit, fear, and conformity through a torturous Neo-Nazi family molding one poor girl in to one of their own. It uses the severity of the torture the characters are forced to deal with to expose the insanity that is very much alive in the world. There’s a motherhood theme in Frontier(s) as well, but it’s not a very optimistic one. The thought seems to be that the world is such a crazy, brutal place where morality is no longer a prevalent value that it would be cruel to bring another child in to a place like this. Our main characters themselves come from broken homes, making them believe this. Their bad home lives combined with their lack of faith in the devious government leads them to stealing in hopes of survival. The race riot comes in to the play through the power hungry Neo-Nazi family looking to create a baby of the perfect race, kidnapping, torturing, and imprisoning others to fulfill this desire. The idea of perfection needing to be dominant and with the French government’s lack of tolerance or very many rights of equality or freedom of expression is shown through this comparison. There was also a fear of police brutality especially given the anarchic state that was present and the Neo-Nazi’s are the ones who end up handing out that brutality on their behalf in the way of torture and imprisonment. It’s as if they are all on the same team. If one doesn’t get you the other will. When the characters find themselves fleeing from one of them, they end up in the mercy of the other. Showing that there is no way out. Frontier(s) uses blood and twisted kills to spread a message, but it exerts the film’s motives completely, showing us that horror is a genre that can do good, even going beyond a viewing of the film, producing a bond and vital energy that we should feel whenever a movie is done right, as the brilliant Frontier(s) certainly is.