This week got me thinking about why I’m not all that excited for the holiday. I mean, in reality I should be ecstatic, I absolutely love horror in all forms, from video games to movies to tv shows. If it’s a little bit strange or a lot terrifying, chances are I’ve either seen it or its on my seemingly never ending To-Watch list.
Not to mention Halloween ranks worldwide as the second most popular holiday, right after Christmas (and let’s be honest, if it wasn’t for the whole gift giving tradition, it would undoubtably sway the vote its way). However, all that being said, I just can’t quite get excited for it because I can’t help but feel that it’s all gone a little too commercial, and child-like. I completely agree that the holiday should be for all ages, but do we really need to celebrate it with plastic tacky decorations and cutesy treats?
I think this holiday should be all about celebrating what made me fall in love with this macabre genre in the first place. Which is embracing the quirky, exploring your curiosity and more importantly, enjoying the rollercoster ride of fear and built up anticipation that all great horror movies bring with them. Add that to a great storyline, or psychological mind games, and you’ve got the makings of an excellent horror movie.
So, that’s why I’ve decided to compile an article celebrating the Top 12 movies, that stray a tad from the norm and boring overly used plot lines. Get in the mood this week and check some of these brilliant titles out!
The Orphan
The plot centres around a rather wholesome family, who have recently undergone an unfortunate tragedy, namely the mother losing her baby. However, to try and turn this awful turn of events into a positive one, and fill their undoubtable parental urge to nurture, they decide to adopt a child.
Cabin in the Woods
This movie is an amazingly meta-movie, considering the reputation of the genre, it proves that not all greats have to be slasher fests with little to no plot line. It’s capable of being funny, strange and scary – frequently all at the same time. Seriously, just watch it. I’m not even going to give anything away, that’s how good it is.
Shutter Island
This falls more underneath Psychological thriller rather than downright horror itself, which may make it a better choice for the faint of heart. Nevertheless, the storyline is fantastic and deserves a spot on the list for its creepy elements. The plot follows a detective investigating the disappearance of a patient within the enclosed Mental Hospital, as the story progresses, the truth begins to unravel along with it and become ever more evident.
Old Boy
I’ll be discussing the fantastic recent remake, as this is the one I’ve actually watched. The plot centres around a man who is imprisoned for 20 years. No joke, 20 long painful years of captivity, with not one inkling of an idea why. Hell bent on vengeance, and rightfully so, the protagonist wants answers. Nothing is as it seems in this movie, and the ending is one of the most bone chilling realisations that I’ve ever had after watching a film.
The Mist
This Stephen King adaptation, brings with it mixed reviews, but in my humble opinion is a phenomenal take on society in a minority. The story focuses around a rather ambiguous and frightening mist, which engulfs the town, causing a small group of individuals to take refuge in a grocery shop. The interaction between characters, and the roles they adapt to for survival is what I find fascinating about this film. Also, the last 5 minutes are truly heartbreaking.
The Awakening
This story follows a young woman, whose profession includes hoax exposing and applying science to the inexplicable. However, her doubts start to become evident and her unwavering beliefs begin to unravel once visiting a Boarding School, where one student has been recently found dead. The twist in this one, may seem a bit far fetched for some, however, I love the ambiguous ending and that it’s really up to your own interpretation. I feel that more movies should adopt this, rather than providing an unsatisfying ending.
The Others
I’m going to have a little bit honest here and confess, this is the only movie I haven’t actually watched myself on the list. That being said, it came up on countless lists as I was doing my research, and I felt unjust leaving it out. It’s based around a mother who lives in an old house with her two photosensitive children who become convinced that their family home is haunted.
Devil
Considering that most of this film is filmed inside an elevator around a group of trapped individuals, you could easily see how the movie might not be all that exciting. However, it manages to be the exact opposite, and is really quite astounding. Somehow it manages to take a refreshing and an unexpected turn to the traditional, who-do-it plot, which leaves you guessing right till the last moment.
[REC]
This movie takes an interesting first person perspective, which can be annoying in some instances, but somehow it manages to pull it off excellently in this case. The entire film is being captured as if the reporter and cameramen were actually recording as they explore what is lurking in the dark apartment building, and due to this, manages to build up anticipation and fear brilliantly. This is also in Spanish, and yes I do realised this is starting to become a common occurrence within this list, but I do thoroughly believe that movies don’t necessarily need to come straight out of Hollywood to be great, and this proves it.
Pan’s Labyrinth
This made the list, not because of any plot loops or fancy twirls, but due to the extremely whimsical feel to it. This film is more of a mixture between fantasy and horror, and it’s astoundingly captivating and at times, pretty damn terrifying. The story follows a young girl who may or may not be the mythical princess of an underground kingdom. Does she simply have an overly active imagination or is it all real? I’ll let you decide.
(Sorry guys, there is no english version with this one, however, if you’ve ever seen a Guillermo del Toro movie, you’ll know its worth putting up the subtitles)
Let the Right one In / Let Me In
A refreshing take on an over used and slightly ridiculed theme in the horror film genre. This movie revolves around two pre-teens who find comfort in one another due to their rather bleak lives, and begin to develop a strange but mesmerising friendship. One of which, just so happens to be a vampire, but it’s not the central theme in the movie, strangely enough. (It’s available, in both English and Swedish. I had watched the original in Swedish because I quite like foreign movies, and it was fantastic, however, I’ve heard the remake is just as good!)
28 Days Later
I just had to put a zombie movie in the list, I mean, no horror list is complete without one really! That being said, out of the countless ones I’ve watched, this is by far one of my favourites. It’s got a captivating plot line, and a smart take on what mankind would actually resort to if an outbreak were to occur. Everything from how the infection spreads, to showing humanity’s reaction is eerily believable, and that’s exactly what makes it great in my opinion.