By Brutal As Hell staff
At last we reach our final five – read parts one, two and three if you haven’t already…
Tucker and Dale versus Evil (2010)
Tristan: Rednecks get a bad press in horror – all too often we find ourselves back in the lair of a bearded, plaid-shirted mouth-breather who stockpiles broken cars, has an impressive collection of power tools and keeps the eyeballs of co-eds in his kitchen. And with horror so often holding up a mirror to the society that produces it, it’s great to see an inversion on America’s fear of its own rural dwellers. Tucker and Dale takes a winning idea, and spins it into comedic gold, and, much like Some Guy Who Kills People, satisfies both gorehounds and those looking for a touching romantic comedy – and, to the film-makers credit, they know that those aren’t necessarily always two separate audiences.
Comix: I would like to start off by saying this movie was hilarious! After being awash in other horror spoofs like Scary Movie 20 or some shit, it was cool to see a flick that didn’t feel forced. While not the most original idea (what with the hillbillies and all), it was the way that it was handled that really worked. It turned the whole good/evil thing on its head without coming off too wacky and yet still keeping the chainsaws and axes intact. The dialogue was fresh and the jokes kept rolling in a very organic way, perfectly punctuated with physical gags and even, dare I say, some love? Though it’s easy to write this off as another horror joke, the movie proves itself otherwise by keeping the deep, dark woods setting true to standard “cabin horror” and playing off all those lovely tropes that are ripe for the picking.
See Britt Hayes’ review from 2010.
Antiviral (2012)
Annie: This auspicious debut by Brandon Cronenberg (son of Body Horror Master David) is colder, bleaker and more sterile than a freshly bleached bedpan in an ICU unit. The dystopia it portrays is an icy comment on our “sick” obsession with celebrities and the lengths to which we will go to fill the void within ourselves with the zeitgeist of another. Alabaster angel-faced Caleb Landry-Jones turns in a stunning lead performance as a sort of imploded American Psycho – one who tortures and maims himself rather than others in a mad grab for an identity in a faceless world. I’d shoot myself up with some of his sexy ginger cells, just saying.
Keri: How is this film not huge? Perhaps it’s just too cold, too harsh, or perhaps it’s just a little close for comfort in its depiction of a mindless, celebrity-obsessed society which will stop at nothing to get closer to its idols, even stooping so low as to pay to contract illnesses incubated by the stars. At the nub of the plot is Syd Marsh, Lucas Clinic representative, a man who has made a tidy profit on the black market by infecting himself with these conditions in order to pass them on illicitly, who then finds himself ill with a sickness which, it seems, has killed one of the clinic’s most illustrious star clients. Looking authentically ill throughout, Caleb Landry Jones’ performance here adds a haunting, disturbing note to an already grim tale. Brandon Cronenberg’s very modern spin on body horror is an unsettling one; the universe he creates is by turns recognisable and repellent, and the film’s conclusion disturbed me enough to have stuck with me ever since.
Steph: Brandon Cronenberg’s Antiviral is one of the most ambitious and innovative feature film debuts from a young director that I’ve seen in recent memory. It certainly isn’t subtle in its condemnation of the sickness of our celebrity obsessed culture and the possible repercussions of this, but it’s so singularly odd and surgical in its approach that it deserves to be admired. Antiviral is so unsettling and odd with a wonderful, and seriously creepy, central performance from Caleb Landry Jones as Syd March. Although it’s unfair to compare Cronenberg’s work to that of his father, he seems to share that obsession with the deterioration of the human body combined with social critique, and whilst Daddy Cronenberg is off making the likes of Cosmopolis and A Dangerous Method, it’s extremely pleasing to see Cronenberg Jnr. following in his earlier grossfest footsteps. This absolutely won’t be to everyone’s taste as it is a difficult film to emotionally engage with as anything more than a morbid curiosity, but I think by sheer audacity and originality it deserves a place on this list.
See Keri’s review from 2012.
Tokyo Gore Police (2008)
Ben: There is not a doubt in my mind that when future generations of horror fans look back on the early 21st century, the current wave of Japanese gore movies will be regarded as every bit as distinct a breed of horror as, say, the Hammer movie, the Italian zombie movie, or the first wave slasher. And from this perspective – Tokyo Gore Police is J-sploitation’s Horror of Dracula, Zombie Flesh Eaters, Halloween. It might not have been the first, but it’s the one that really showed all the others how it’s done. The jewel in the crown of director and FX master Yoshihiro Nishimura (who’s ridiculously prolific in the latter category), it’s positively bursting with mind-bogglingly excessive gore and bizarre creature FX the like of which most western horror movies can only dream about – most of it (hallelujah!) practical – but none of this is at the expense of intelligent storytelling, sophisticated themes, and bona fide wit. And, of course, Eihi Shiina: absolutely terrifying, but at the same time – mmm…
Tristan: One of the most cheering trends in the horror scene in the past five years has been the resurgence of Japanese exploitation, largely due to the efforts of the Sushi Typhoon production company and their various members. Since Noboru Iguchi’s Machine Girl wowed worldwide audiences in 2008, we have been exposed to a steady stream of over-the-top gore comedies, often featuring bold satirical wipes at Japanese cultural stereotypes. Whilst Mutant Girl Squad, Dead Sushi and Horny House Of Horror all deserve a mention, it’s Tokyo Gore Police that really made the world sit up and notice – like a live action anime with over-the-top gore effects that don’t let up, yet with a jet-black sense of humour that comes across perfectly in the fake adverts that pepper the film, Tokyo Gore Police is one for those who are starting to feel like they’ve seen it all.
Read Marc’s review from 2009 – see also Ben’s Definitive Directors profile of Yoshihiro Nishimura from 2011.
Trick ‘r Treat (2007)
Ben: Halloween – it’s our time, people. For too long we’ve seen it hijacked by pretenders, people for whom horror is a once-a-year thing. Mike Dougherty grabbed the holiday by the tips of its hairy, protruding ears and dragged it back into the shadows just for us, delivering arguably the first real horror movie to really be about All Hallow’s Eve, as opposed to just set on that night. In so doing, he created an instant seasonal classic, which has become staple October 31st viewing less than five years since its two-years-late release. Gorgeous to look at with its great production design, beautiful photography with perpetual orange Jack O’Lantern glow, and of course Anna Paquin in a Red Riding Hood outfit – and that impish patron saint of trick’r’treaters Sam has carved himself a seat at the table of horror icons.
Comix: Yay! Trick ’r Treat! There are so many good things about this movie! It was like the writers combined a bunch of Are You Afraid of the Dark episodes, upped the violence factor, and created their own Halloween urban legends. It’s the exact kind of movie that is perfect for aging trick-or-treaters, like Hocus Pocus or Satan’s Little Helper; a great representation of orange pumpkins, piles of candy, and rubbery, cloaked monsters. It’s fantastically kitschy and just screams “spooooooky,” playing on those weird little fears we had as kids alone for the first time as we hunt for sweets on Devil’s night. Trick ’r Treat is just fun. The characters were fantastically well done and even some of the more eye-rolling scenes were great to watch simply because of the context of the movie. You don’t take it seriously, you just roll with the punches and watch the scary stories. I mean, they are just stories… right?
Quin: Trick ‘r Treat does something truly remarkable. It captures archetypal Halloween imagery as well as the feeling that Halloween personally gave me as a kid. The first time I saw it, I stared at the screen with my mouth open while feeling joy that most people would associate with Christmas. This is a super fun and sometimes creepy (but mostly darkly hilarious) anthology film that I sincerely hope is someday as closely associated with Halloween as A Christmas Story is associated with the holidays today. I’m trying to remain as positive as possible at the news of the pending sequel. But even A Christmas Story has a sequel that went straight to DVD in 2012, and I’m pretty sure that no one thinks that takes away from the original. Of course, maybe it’s just that not many people know of its existence. Oh well, I really don’t see Trick ‘r Treat having this issue. If the sequel is terrible, we can all agree to ignore it.
Read Kayley Viteo’s review and Marc’s review from 2009.
The Cabin in the Woods (2012)
Ben: How many times have we seen big-budget studio horror movies pop up making extravagant claims to have broken all the rules, done something genuinely new and exciting with a tried-and-tested formula? 99% of the time it turns out to be bollocks, of course, hence the deeply anti-mainstream sentiment that we so often see among horror aficionados. Therefore, on the rare occasion that a studio horror movie actually makes good on those claims, it is worthy of celebration. To whit – Cabin in the Woods. While some found it a bit too smart-arse for its own good, for me it was a tremendous breath of fresh air, offering reassurance that the studio system can still produce horror movies which really do take risks, credit the audience with some intelligence, and – hooray! – sport a shit-load of awesome monsters. Only thing I’d change – slight spoiler, I suppose – that final shot should’ve been an oozing, Lovecraftian tentacle rather than a humanoid arm. Otherwise – love it completely.
Comix: One of the things that really worked for me with Cabin in the Woods was how ridiculously epic it was. While it started off as horror spoof, it quickly became a lot more than that, adding a really weird (but awesome) angle to the movie. To me, it was like reading a comic, which makes sense seeing as it was written by Joss Whedon. It played with the idea of larger than life figures controlling our existence, a very comic book idea, and shows how even the smallest person can change the world (in this case, not for the best). It didn’t just stay a standard spoof, but became its own movie, changing up the premise into something we were actually involved in instead of just laughing at. The vision for Cabin in the Woods was very unique and took a huge pool of talent to pull it off, which the film did in spades, and added something different for non-horror audiences to get into. I mean, you can show this to anyone and not have to worry about them losing interest. It also helps that Chris Hemsworth is in it. I do love me some Chris Hemsworth.
Annie: What do you do when a tired premise has run its course? You deliver the fucking punchline, that’s what. CITW gleefully gathers up all of the stereotypical elements of the cabin in the woods genre and reweaves it into a tapestry of spoof and self-deprecation that is the exclamation point at the end of the sentence. Done, over, finis and brava – no cabin in the woods movie that dares follow will ever be more than a needless footnote.
Read Steph’s review from 2012.
So there you have our fifth anniversary top 20: Let the Right One In, The House of the Devil, Martyrs, the REC Trilogy, Some Guy Who Kills People, Troll Hunter, Berberian Sound Studio, Maniac, Midnight Son, Pontypool, Stake Land, The Loved Ones, Orphan, The Raid, Thirst, Tucker and Dale vs. Evil, Antiviral, Tokyo Gore Police, Trick ‘r Treat and The Cabin in the Woods.
Honourable mention to the close-but-no-cigar runners up: A Serbian Film, American Mary, Antichrist, Black Swan, Byzantium, Cold Fish, Dead Snow, Dead Sushi, Drag Me To Hell, The Human Centipede: First Sequence, I Saw the Devil, Jug Face, Lovely Molly, Monsters, Red White and Blue, The Battery, The Bunny Game and Valhalla Rising. (Upwards of 60 more films garnered single nominations, but I doubt you’re quite that curious…)