Author Topic: "The Best Movies & TV of 2009: Horror"  (Read 3506 times)

wakela

  • Hipparch
  • ******
  • Posts: 779
    • Mr. Wake
on: November 13, 2009, 10:45:04 PM
Some blogger at Amazon posted their list of the best horror DVDs of 2009.  I haven't seen any of these and haven't heard of most.  I was wondering what you guy's thoughts were on this.



Alasdair5000

  • Editor
  • *****
  • Posts: 1022
    • My blog
Reply #1 on: November 13, 2009, 11:00:37 PM
GAZE IN TERROR!  At the horror podcast host betraying his ignorance of some of these movies!

COWER IN EMBARASSMENT!  As he realises an Amazon wishlist could have sorted some of this out!

MURMUR APPRECIATIVELY!  As he subverts traditional '50s b-movie trailers for a cheap comedic pop!

Hopefully at any rate:)

1. Let the Right One In
Vampires are so hot right now.  This carefully controlled vampire tale manages to be quietly terrifying and oddly sweet.   

   Not seen it, desperately want to.  I'm currently looking at the spine of a friend's copy (As opposed to a friend's spine) so that will be remedied shortly.

2. Drag Me to Hell
Sam Raimi is back!  That probably should be enough of a reason why Drag Me to Hell is number 2, but it doesn't hurt that no one does creepy-campy-funny-actually-scary better, and it's almost strong enough to forget about the horrors of Spiderman 3.

   MASSIVE fun.  Loved this to pieces, especially the world's most evil goat.

3. Splinter
A really fun, really gross monster (not-technically, it's more like a parasite/bloodsucking/icky thing) movie set in a gas station and starring Paulo Costanzo.  Maybe my tastes are a little bit retro, but give me a gross-out gore flick with lots of exploding blood and guts over the horrifying torture-porn of movies like Saw any day.

   This looked marvellous and I don't think ever played over here.  Will have to seek it out.

4. Martyrs
French.  Incredibly disturbing.  An Amazon customer said it best "Brilliantly made, hard to watch".  I think it's worth it.

   Again, I'm interested, but not had the chance to track it down.

5. Night of the Creeps [Blu-ray]
One of the greatest, most underrated campy sci-fi horror films of the '80's gets the treatment it deserves for repeated home viewings.

6. Trick 'r Treat
Finally released after being shelved for who knows what reason, just in time for Halloween - this movie has cult hit written all over it.

   I saw this at the supermarket of all places for a fiver.  If they've still got it on Sunday, it shall be mine:)

7. True Blood: The Complete First Season
See Number 1.  Scary enough to satisfy, sexy enough to make you happy it's on HBO.

   Northern Exposure with added sex, violence, vampires and swearing.  What's not to like?:)

8. Audition: Collector's Edition [Blu-ray]
Japanese horror master Takashi Miike made Audition back in 1999 - it was and still is the scariest movie I've ever seen. Reliving the amazingly disturbing climactic scene in new 1080P high-def is something I'm equally dreading and can't wait to experience.
   
   Sweet JESUS this is a disturbing movie.  I find Miike's stuff hard going, as much due to the hype surrounding it as the violence, but this is a masterpiece.  An awful, nasty, saw toothed masterpiece.

9. Grace
It's sick, it's wrong, but I love a good zombie baby.  There are no laughs in Grace, the tone is unsettling from start to finish, but it's an interesting idea executed really well.
#
   This and Rover are top of my zombie movie list as of now.

10. Repulsion - Criterion Collection [Blu-ray]
Well, it's Roman Polanski.  So there's that.  But very few films have ever come close to achieving this level of skin-crawling terror - it's gorgeous to watch on Blu-ray.

   Know nothing about this, will put it on the list.



Alasdair5000

  • Editor
  • *****
  • Posts: 1022
    • My blog
Reply #2 on: November 13, 2009, 11:01:36 PM
Oh and Night of the Creeps was apparently a major influence on Slither, so that's more than recommendation enough for me:)



Sgarre1

  • Editor
  • *****
  • Posts: 1214
  • "Let There Be Fright!"
Reply #3 on: November 13, 2009, 11:41:01 PM
LET THE RIGHT ONE IN is marvelous.  See it before the inevitably sucky American remake! (do some research online, though, as earlier subtitled versions are seemingly exceedingly lame in their subtitle translations...)

DRAG ME TO HELL - great fun, best to see with a crowd knowing that they're seeing a goofy, cartoonishly ghoulish horror romp!  No thinking required!

SPLINTER - pretty solid little monster movie.  Not amazing or anything, but a nice addition to the siege subgenre

NIGHT OF THE CREEPS - always loved it.  Again, no thinking required, just a sense of humor (I'm footnoted in Tim Lucas's VIDEO WATCHDOG BOOK as one of the early identifiers of the alternate TV ending)

REPULSION - always love Polanski's films.  This, ROSEMARY'S BABY and THE TENANT are great horror movies that all turn around a similar setting, but go in vastly different directions.  This is the dark, disturbing, psychological direction.  The last shot is very affecting and implies some context to the events that would have been less obvious at the time of release.

Haven't seen the others.  MARTYRS sounds promising but maybe a little too intense. AUDITION is probably very good but gets kind of defused because I know the twist so I still have to get around to seeing it.  TRICK  R TREAT looks like good fun.  Know nothing about GRACE and am not really interested in TRUE BLOOD.