Dr. AC's 2012 Horror Wrap-up Extravaganza!

Greetings, fellow lovers of the moving image,

365 days ago, 2011’s recap began thusly: “First off, let it be duly noted – this year was INSANE...”

Yup. Second verse, same as the first.

2012’s total of 607 films represents the 4th highest I’ve ever amassed in a single year, with an emphasis on recent releases like never before (many of which have yet to play outside of film festivals), conventional Top 10 List wisdom must be defied. Besides, who made this Top 10 standard anyhow? Why should we leave so much on the cutting room floor when all that’s required is a few more seconds of reading and a larger patch of cyberspace? Why indeed.

Therefore, after much deliberation, below is my assessment of the horror year that was. All of the fright flicks listed below were encountered for the first time sometime between January 1 and December 31, 2012 (i.e. no repeat viewings were eligible). To accommodate and acknowledge as many as possible, I've broken them down into various categories in alphabetical order, with my top pick denoted with an asterisk. (*)


If you are curious about or want to celebrate/debate why a certain title landed in a certain category, please leave a comment and we’ll go at it. Also, if you’re interested in reading the original reviews of the films in question (and really, who wouldn’t be?), you can easily access them via the Blogger search function in the upper left hand corner of the screen.

Thanks so much for the past year of rapping and chatting - looking forward to more of the same in 2013!




TOP HORROR RELEASES IN (OR AROUND) 2012:

Berberian Sound Studio (2012)
Cabin in the Woods (2012)
Chronicle (2012)
Citadel (2012)
Father’s Day (2011)*
Frankenweenie (2012)
Hole, The (2009)
Juan of the Dead (2011)
Kill List (2011)*
Loved Ones, The (2009)
Manborg (2011)
Rabies (2010)
[REC]3 Genesis (2012)
Replicas (aka In Their Skin) (2012)
Screaming in High Heels (2011)
Sinister (2012)




FESTIVAL FAVES (AWAITING WIDE RELEASE)

Beast (2011)
Dead Sushi (2012)
Doomsday Book (2012)
Found (2012)
Game of Werewolves (aka Lobos de Arga) (2011)* Grabbers (2011)*
Henge (2012)
Human Race, The (2012)
Inbred (2011)
Kotoko (2011)
Mon Ami (2012)
Motivational Growth (2012)
Resolution (2012)
Sennentuntschi: Curse of the Alps (2010)




FAVORITE HORROR DISCOVERIES OF 2012:

Blue Eyes of the Broken Doll (1974)
Case of the Scorpion’s Tale, The (1971)
Clownhouse (1989)
Cold Fish (2010)*
Devil Bat, The (1940)
Don’t Go to Sleep (1982)
Hypnotic Eye, The (1960)
Mad Magician, The (1954)
Night Warning (aka Butcher Baker Nightmare Maker) (1982)*
Phantom Carriage, The (1921)
Skin I Live In, The (2011)
Society (1989)
Taxidermia (2006)
Threads (1984)
Wild Hunt, The (2009)





HONORABLE MENTION – HORROR 2012

Dead, The (2010)
Dear God No! (2012)
Divide, The (2011)
Eddie the Sleepwalking Cannibal (2012)
Exit Humanity (2011)
Lonely Place to Die, A (2011)
Lovely Molly (2011)
Penumbra (2011)
V/H/S (2012)









HORROR DISCOVERIES - HONORABLE MENTION:

All the Colors of the Dark (1972)
Candle for the Devil, A (1973)
Evil, The (1978)
Magnetic Monster, The (1953)
Mansion of the Doomed (1976)
Missile to the Moon (1958)
Next of Kin (1984)
Rabid Grannies (1988)
Shakma (1990)
Video Nasties: Moral Panic, Censorship and Videotape (2010)
Violent Midnight (1963)





MIXED BAGS:

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2012)
Atrocious (2010)
Chained (2012)
Chernobyl Diaries (2012)
Dark Shadows (2012)
Excision (2012)
Hidden in the Woods (2012)
Innkeepers, The (2011)
Megan is Missing (2010)
Paranormal Activity 4 (2012)
ParaNorman (2012)
Prometheus (2012)
Shallow Ground (2004)
Sushi Girl (2012)
Tall Man, The (2012)
Woman in Black, The (2012)





NOTABLY INEPT/DISAPPOINTING/BORING:

Bog (1983)
Boogeyman II (1983)
Cannibal Terror (1980)
Clown at Midnight, The (1999)
Dark Corners (2006)
Don’t Go Near the Park (1979)
Fantastic Fear of Everything, A (2012)
Gathering, The (2003)
Grave Encounters (2011)
Look What’s Happened to Rosemary’s Baby (1976)
Monster Brawl (2011)
My Soul to Take (2010)
Night Fright (1967)
Son of Dracula (1974)
Stanley (1972)
Terror at Tenkiller (1986)
Thankskilling (2009)
Theatre Bizarre, The (2011)
Tormented (2011)
Two Orphan Vampires (1997)
Under the Bed (2012)
Victim, The (2011)
Wicker Tree, The (2010)





FAVORITE WHAT THE *&*%#^$%#% DID I JUST WATCH?
(in the best possible “pick your jaw up off the floor” way)

Beware! Children at Play (1989)
Cat, The (aka Lao Mao) (1992)
Late Bloomer (2004)
Things (1989)
Visitor, The (1979)













WORST HORROR VIEW OF 2012 (TIE):

Apparition, The (2012)
Devil’s Carnival, The (2012)















Stay tuned for top Civilian picks, year-end stats and more...!