By Brutal As Hell staff
Here we go with the penultimate instalment of our fifth anniversary top 20 – and here’s where I think we might really surprise you. If you missed our first ten (remember, they’re not in preferential order), click here for part 1 and here for part 2.
Stake Land (2010)
Steph: Being a sucker for pretty much anything post-apocalyptic I was both relieved and excited when Jim Mickle’s Stake Land turned out to be one of the best offerings from the sub-genre in the last few years. This is a future where a vampire epidemic has wiped out most of the human population, leaving pockets of survivors who have all learned to adapt. I think the strength of the film lies in the human element; we stick with a small group of very well written and rounded characters that we emphasise with, something so often lacking in a lot of movies, horror or otherwise. We really care about these people as they fight for their lives on a daily basis, not just against the vamps but often against a far crueller enemy in other the survivors who have become fervent religious cultists, rapists and generally just not very nice people. Jim Mickle is proving himself to be a very interesting and talented filmmaker with originality and a very unique style. His recent reworking of We Are What We Are was a masterclass in atmospheric southern gothic, and I think it’s fairly safe to say that we can expect good things from him in the future. Stake Land is that very rare beast, in that it has managed to take vampires and do something interesting with them. Just when you think you’ve seen it all it is refreshing when someone comes along to prove you wrong.
Keri: I expected great things to come from director Jim Mickle when I saw the very promising Mulberry Street, and in Stake Land I was definitely not disappointed. There was absolutely no question for me that this film needed to go on this Top 20; it’s one of my favourite films full stop. I’m a big fan of post-apocalyptic cinema generally, and here we have a film which deftly crafts a dystopian world which is by turns distasteful and terrifying, where religious fanaticism is as destructive as the change in circumstances which precipitated its rise. This change in circumstance is, of course, the arrival of vampirism – and Stake Land makes vampirism genuinely horrific again. Gone are the suave, aristocratic bloodsuckers or the lovelorn teens. No vampire here sparkles. In fact, Stake Land’s creatures have more in common with the earliest vampire folklore – they are vile, bloated, savage creatures, humans no longer, driven only by wracking hunger. The opening sequences of this film had me on the edge of my seat – and I felt able to empathise with Martin and ‘Mister’ as they traversed this threatening world, maintaining their humanity only via each other.
Read Nia’s review and Marc’s review from 2011.
The Loved Ones (2009)
Annie: If Jeffrey Dahmer had been a teenage girl, he would have been Lola, the psychotic Aussie high schooler who doesn’t take “no” for an answer. Ever. This almost ordinary tale of teenage angst quickly becomes a harrowing adventure in torture, humiliation and crude brain surgery as the depths of Lola’s sickness proves deeper and blacker than the pits of horror hidden beneath her house. The only equivalent to this film is a glassful of warm pickle juice followed by a hard punch in the gut.
Steph: When I first saw The Loved Ones a few years back as a late night screening at FrightFest I knew next to nothing about it, and what a treat it proved to be. I think as horror fans we relish the once in a blue moon occurrence when something comes along that serves to remind you of exactly why you love the genre so much and The Loved Ones was one of those. I think one of the things I like about the film so much is that Lola is a female perpetrator who claims her victims not out of revenge, or because she’s been goaded into it by a man, but because she is a bona fide sociopath in her own right, which is refreshing to say the least! That on top of the fact this is a thoroughly entertaining, funny and hugely original film that has some nice squirm-inducing moments, especially for male viewers. It’s also surprisingly touching in its portrayal of teen relationships and dealing with the aftermath of death, so there’s a lot more to this film that you’d expect for a low-budget Aussie horror. It balances humour, drama and horror in a way that few films manage and is successful on all accounts without nullifying any of these elements.
Read Britt Hayes’ review from 2010.
Orphan (2009)
Nia: I’m not the type of person who ever manages to see a twist coming (the one time I did manage to was when I watched Monsters Inc., which is probably quite indicative). If I wasn’t already enjoying Orphan by two-thirds of the way in (I very much was) then I sure as heck was enjoying it when *that* twist happens. I watched the film several times in the cinema, and enjoyed it just as much each and every time. I was quite surprised by the seemingly mixed critical response the film received, and given as it’s made this list it seems I’m not alone in having greatly enjoyed the film. There’s no denying that Isabelle Fuhrman’s central role as Esther makes the film, wholly convincing in her eventually almost dual role. I’m fairly sure a lot of horror fans take great joy in deriding those multiplex-going masses who lap up the latest Saw/Paranormal Activity/PG-13 tripe and fall for every jump-scare like children falling for ‘got your nose!’ However, I can’t deny that I take great pleasure in watching these audiences jump in all the signposted places, cling to each other, and giggle nervously when it’s a film as entertaining and as fun as Orphan (I’m not saying that part of that entertainment isn’t from a certain sense of superiority, of course). Orphan, gladly, appeals to multiplex horror fans and ‘die-hard’ horror fans alike, and it’s a pleasure to see it make this list.
Tristan: I’ll admit I have a bit of a soft spot for ‘killer kids’ movies – there’s something strangely satisfying about seeing those sweet little tykes carving up the adults that I can’t quite place my finger on (perhaps a rebellion against the ‘all children are angels’ mindset that seems to propagate among the general public?). It just so happens that The Orphan happens to be a cracking ride too – efficiently scripted, and, although you might well spot the much-heralded twist from a long distance away, it remains a sheer joy thanks to Isabelle Fuhrman’s devilish performance as the manipulative little madam who may be hiding a dark secret (or several).
Read Marc’s review from 2009.
The Raid (2011)
Ben: Okay, so it’s not a horror movie in any way, shape or form. This didn’t stop me naming it my number one film of 2012 – and it doesn’t stop it being one of the most breathtaking, adrenaline-charged cinematic experiences of our time, and one of the most brutal shoot-‘em-up/beat-‘em-up movies there has ever been. There are a hell of a lot of bullets fired and kicks and punches thrown in this movie, and by God the audience feels every last one of them. Achieving wonders on a fraction of the budget most Hollywood action movies have to work with, Gareth Evans’ film takes everything that works from the last four decades of martial arts filmmaking, discards everything that doesn’t, and leaves us with something that is genuinely smart and involving, as well astonishingly visceral.
Steph: Not sure what I can say about The Raid that hasn’t already been said before, but I absolutely loved this movie. I saw it in an empty cinema on a weekday, not really knowing what to expect and by the end was practically cheering in my seat. This is a no holds barred pure action film that left me speechless and wanting more. It is excessive, ridiculous, relentlessly violent and unlike anything I’d seen before. Proof that a Welshman making an Indonesian martial arts film isn’t as bad of an idea as it may initially seem! If I am being honest I am neither a particular fan of action movies nor martial arts, but as soon as I saw The Raid I couldn’t stop raving about it and have sat though and enjoyed it countless times since its release in a bid to expose as many people as possible to it, because it really has to be seen to be believed. I think one of the things I like most about it is the fact that the fight scenes are predominantly in camera and carefully choreographed, with little noticeable CGI which creates a very visceral and palpable air of physical violence, I’d never been aware of pencak silat (the type of martial arts used) before seeing The Raid, but it’s truly something else and some of the stunts pulled off in this film are quite astonishing.
Read Ben and Keri‘s reviews from 2012.
Thirst (2009)
Quin: Let’s be honest, vampire movies these days really suck. Fortunately, even in tired horror sub-genres the occasional great film arises among all of the garbage. Thirst is one of those rare films. I have enormous respect and admiration for Park Chan-wook as a director and screenwriter. He did, after all, bring us the amazing Vengeance Trilogy as well as this past year’s English language film Stoker. Now combine his enormous talent with the genius acting of Song Kang-ho (I’ve been a huge fan ever since I saw him in Memories of Murder) and you have a recipe for greatness. Thirst is first and foremost a love story (like so many other vampire movies) but the horror is pretty gruesome. There is also a sinister element present in the details and the dialogue. But, it’s also worth mentioning how much fun this movie can be. The visual style is stunning to look at and the ever present dark humor kept a smile on my face throughout the entire thing. So many will undoubtedly be turned off by the mention of the vampire love story theme, but the originality in the way the story is told is fascinating and beautiful. Thirst is up there with Let the Right One In as one of the best foreign language horror films this century. Both of these films are love stories with vampires that have so much more to say in addition to the vampires and the love.
Keri: A visually-stunning piece of cinema, Thirst demonstrates that director Chan-wook Park has far more in his range than the savagery of his ‘revenge’ flicks such as Oldboy. As great as those films are, Thirst is a very different creature indeed. Another film which is able to take a trope like vampirism and transform it, making it intriguing and interesting again, Thirst is really a warped love story, set against a backdrop of religious doubt and moral quandry which the complicating factor of bloodlust only serves to amplify. Yet, it also brings a strange kind of freedom with it. The unhappily married Tae-ju gains a new kind of life through her encounter with Father Sang-hyeon (Kang-ho Song); their relationship is never straightforward, but it’s oddly believable and in places, touching.
Read Britt Hayes’ review from 2009.
The end is nigh: read on for our final five…