This October I participated once again in the #31HorrorFilms31Days Twitter challenge, finishing on October 30. I chose films that I had not seen, or had watched once when I was too young to remember it well. Here are the films I watched this year:
31. Frankenstein Created Woman (UK, 1967). What if Peter Cushing combined YOU and YOUR high school sweetheart in one body?!! #31HorrorFilms31Days
30. Starry Eyes (USA, 2014). What does it take to make it in Hollywood? Turns out Pilates has nothing to do with it. #31HorrorFilms31Days
29. Funny Games (Austria, 1997).I had only seen the remake. Henke's existential essay on cinematic violence is great filmmaking. #31HorrorFilms31Days
28. Demons (USA, 2015). An indie rock band's manager has satanic ambitions. I fell asleep twice during this. #31HorrorFilms31Days
27. Rigor Mortis (Hong Kong, 2013). Gorgeous HK horror with ghosts, vampires, and wizards. I'm not sure what was happening. #31HorrorFilms31Days
26. The House At The End of Time (Venezuela, 2013). Starts like a standard haunted house story, ends with heartstrings being tugged. #31HorrorFilms31Days
25. Wyrmwood (Australia, 2014). Super-fun, action-packed Australian horror-comedy adventure. #31HorrorFilms31Days
24. Embodiment of Evil (Brazil, 2008). This long-awaited final installment of the Coffin Joe trilogy really delivers the wtf. #31HorrorFilms31Days
23. Insidious 3 (USA, 2015). Pure cheese, but Lin Shaye gets to serve up a delightful can of whoop-ass once again! #31HorrorFilms31Days
22. Devil's Pass (UK/Russia, 2013). I thought this Dyatlov Pass-based story was going to be standard, but it got so nuts in a good way. #31HorrorFilms31Days
21. [Rec]4 (Spain, 2014). Forgettable. Wait, what did I just watch? There was a boat, I think. #31HorrorFilms31Days
20. Insidious 2: Electric Boogaloo (USA, 2013). "Homages" to Carnival of Souls and Poltergeist pad out this obligatory sequel. #31HorrorFilms31Days
19. The Gallows (USA, 2015). Dumb fun in a deadly high school drama class. But what can you do- you need an elective to graduate. #31HorrorFilms31Days
18. Haunter (Canada, 2013). This haunted house is like an onion...it's got layers. Also, I root for any character in a Siouxie shirt. #31HorrorFilms31Days
17. Creep (USA, 2014). Simple but well-acted and written. And Mark Duplass gets to be really weird. The scariest on my list so far!
16. Inner Demons (USA 2014). The crew of Intervention discovers that their subject is using drugs to escape more than her issues. #31HorrorFilms31Days
15. Phantasm 2 (USA, 1988). Sags a bit in the middle, but hey it's always great to see Reg and those flying metal balls. #31HorrorFilms31Days
14. Witching and Bitching (Spain, 2013). Was this Spanish horror comedy written by a dude going through a break-up? Pero, me gusta. #31HorrorFilms31Days
13. [Rec] 3 (Spain, 2012). This dark comedy set at a wedding, is perhaps the most Catholic zombie flick ever. Much love for Sponge John!#31HorrorFilms31Days
12. The Company of Wolves (UK, 1984) . My take away is that I can relate to the protagonist's thing for these creepy/hot werewolf guys. #31HorrorFilms31Days
11. Burial Ground (Italy, 1981). This piece of formaggio has it all: camp, budget effects, hilarious dubbing. And it is never dull! #31HorrorFilms31Days
10. We Are Still Here (USA, 2015). Imaginative haunted house flick packed with delightful scares. A real treat! #31HorrorFilms31Days
9. Dead Rising: Watchtower (USA/Canada, 2015). I don't usually go for movies based on video games, but when I do I go for ones this silly. #31HorrorFilms31Days
8. Goodnight Mommy (Austria, 2014). Things go pear-shaped for a family during the worst summer vacation ever. #31HorrorFilms31Days
7. The Beast With 5 Fingers (USA, 1946). The moment you read the cast list you know who the killer is in this "hand"-some creeper. #31HorrorFilms31Days
6. Woman In Black: Angel of Death (UK, 2014). This sequel is pretty, but the story is dull. It's still good to have Hammer back.#31horrorfilms31days
5. The Fly (USA,1958). Full in parts, but the "help me help me" ending terrified me as a child, and it is still creepy. #31horrorfilms31days
4. The Grapes of Death (France, 1978). It pays to be a beer drinker in this Crazies-like infected French vintner village. #31horrorfilms31days
3. Human Centipede (Netherlands, 2009). Today was finally the day, I guess. This flick makes me very glad I never wanted to be an actor.#31HorrorFilms31Days
2. The Visit (USA, 2015). Creepy fairytale atonement of M Night's past cinematic sins. #31HorrorFilms31Days
1. Cannibal Holocaust (Italy,1980). Now pondering "who the real cannibals are" as I battle nausea. #31HorrorFilms31Days
FUNNIEST: Though several of these are dark comedies (Creep and Funny Games being the most noteworthy) or wacky action-comedies (Witching and Bitching and Wyrmwood both delivered!) Burial Ground was absolutely hilarious, with absurd charcters, bizarre acting choices, and resourseful zombies. But I’m not sure it was intended to be.
BEST FAIRYTALE: Goodnight Mommy, though I also thoroughly enjoyed In the Company of Wolves and The Visit.
BEST FRANCHISE: José Mojica Marins’ Embodiment of Evil delivered everything the first two Coffin Joe flicks did, and almost effortlessly updated for a new century.
MOST FUN: Wyrmwood, no contest. It has loveable characters, funny jokes, creepy zombies, and non-stop action.
SCARIEST: The only movie that came close to giving me nightmares was Creep. It was a tame year, I guess.
I WANT THAT HOUR, 30 BACK: Several films on this list are sort of dull or mediocre ([Rec4], Woman in Black 2, Phantasm 2, Insidious 2) but they all had enough going for them to entertain me. Not Demons (2015). Nope, not good. And it shares the same name as at least half a dozen other films.
HONORABLE MENTIONS: I would recommend both Devil’s Pass and We Are Still Here. Both are entertaining, creepy, and have some surprises in store.
And yes, I saw It Follows earlier in the year. So far it is my favorite horror film of 2015.
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