Howdy troops,
After much deliberation, here is my assessment of the year that was. All of the films listed below were encountered for the first time from January 1 to December 31, 2010 (i.e. no repeat viewings were eligible). To accommodate and acknowledge as many films as possible, I've broken them down into various categories in alphabetical order, with my top pick denoted with an asterisk.
As always, feel free to tag me with any comments, and I'll tag you back. Thanks so much for the past year of rapping and chatting - looking forward to more of the same in 2011!
TOP 10 2010 HORROR RELEASES
Black Swan*
Cold Prey 2
Crazies, The
Human Centipede (First Sequence), The
Last Exorcism, The
Rare Exports
[Rec] 2
Triangle
Suck
MIXED BAGS
Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever
Daybreakers
Dread
Frozen
Horde, The
Lesbian Vampire Killers
New Daughter, The
Pirahna 3D
Saw 3D
Splice
SOMETIMES IT’S TOUGH BEING A HORROR FAN
Descent Part 2, The
Giallo
Survival of the Dead
Wolfman, The
TOP HOME VIEWING DISCOVERIES
Next time you think you’ve seen it all, check one of these bad boys out…
10 Rillington Place (1971)
Alien Raiders (2008)
Altered (2006)
Baby’s Room, The (2006)
Angst (1983)*
Cookers (2001)
Coraline (2009)
Embodiment of Evil (2008)
Hills Run Red, The (2009)
Invasion of the Bee Girls (1973)
Left Bank*
Mummy’s Revenge, The (1973)
Murder Party (2007)
Panic Beats (1983)
Psychos in Love (1987)
Roman (2006)
S&Man (2006)
You’ll Find Out (1940)
PLEASANT SURPRISES (NOT AMAZING, BUT WORTH SEEING)
Big Bad Wolf (2006)
Blood Creek (2009)
Bloody Birthday (1981)
Carrie (2002)
Curse II: The Bite (1989)
Devil’s Hand, The (1962)
Do You Like Hitchcock?(2005)
Fear[s] of the Dark (2007)
Flesh Eaters, The (1964)
Forbidden World (aka Mutant) (1982)
Fragile (2005)
Jennifer’s Body (2009)
Leech Woman, The (1960)
Masters of Horror: Sounds Like (2006)
Nesting, The (1981)
Screams of a Winter Night (1979)
Slumber Party Massacre III (1990)
Spare Parts (1979)
HOME VIEWING TORTURE
Amateur Porn Star Killer (2006)
Bloody Ape, The (1997)
Santa Claws (1996)
Sometimes Aunt Martha Does Dreadful Things (1971)
TOP 10 “WHAT THE &@%^@% DID I JUST SEE?” FLICKS
(in the best possible “pick your jaw up off the floor” way)
Absurd (aka Horrible) (1981)
Airport 1975 (1974)
Bete, La (1975)
Black Gestapo (1975)
My Son My Son What Have Ye Done? (2009)
Omen IV: The Awakening(1991)
Seytan (Turkish Exorcist) (1974)*
Slumber Party Massacre II (1987)
Terror from the Year 5000 (1958)
Wild Beasts (1984)
WORST HORROR VIEW OF 2010
Nightmare on Elm Street, A (2010)
Did you ever go back and give the director's cut of The Wolfman a look? Because I believe it's a marked improvement over the compromised version that was released in theaters. Still not a great film by any stretch of the imagination, but it's proof that the raw materials were there to make a better first impression on audiences.
ReplyDeleteSigh. I *may* go back and give it a look someday, but it was less about the raw materials and more about the look and feel of the whole thing. Too slick, too glum, too much CGI, stupid HULK-type werewolf battle. The story was not the problem (well, not the biggest problem), but just the overall feel to the film in general. Stank of Hollywood money, and too caught up in its multi-million dollar production values to realize that whirling camera angles does not a thrilling thriller make.
ReplyDeleteAhem. Can you tell I was a little disappointed?
Nice lists. Glad to see THE CRAZIES on top. And thank you for putting that horrible ANOES remake at the bottom. What garbage!
ReplyDeleteHonestly, it was a tough call between ANOES and SURVIVAL OF THE DEAD, but while SOTD was just goofy and misguided, NIGHTMARE had absolutely no soul whatsoever. Just deadsville. And everyone was talking about Jackie Earle Haley...the guy did absolutely nothing. I still think he's a great actor, but he was one note the entire time, all growly-voice and finger-knife flicking. Bleah.
ReplyDeleteAhem. Can you tell I was a little disappointed?
ReplyDeleteI'm beginning to get that impression, yes. I guess I have a tendency to give films featuring hairy-handed gents a bit more slack than you do. (That said, I will continue to give An American Werewolf in Paris a wide berth until my dying day.)