ROB G.’S TOP 10 PICKS of Best & Worst Horror Movies of 2008!

1 - LET THE RIGHT ONE IN - I didn’t know what to expect when I sat down to watch LET THE RIGHT ONE IN. But what I got turned out to be not only one of the most unique vampire tales I’d ever experienced, but easily one of the best movies (of any genre) that I’ve seen in the last decade. The beauty of this film lines within the relationship between Oskar & Eli, two 12 year old kids falling in love with each other, only… one happens to be a vampire. And while that sounds like the makings for a horror film, the true horror comes from the human monsters of the movie - the bullies that torment Oskar. I’ve seen this movie about 6 times already and every single time, I catch something new. I’ve heard that a lot of the backstory for all the characters is detailed in the original novel (by John Ajvide Lindqvist) but the movie is so well crafted that all the details are there for you to discover on repeat viewings. The more I see this, the more I fall in love with it. And I’m sure you will too. Seek this one out!

2 - TRICK ‘R TREAT - Everything you’ve read on-line is true. Writer/Director Michael Dougherty has crafted the best Halloween themed movie since John Carpenter’s HALLOWEEN.
And while it was very difficult to decide between this and LET THE RIGHT ONE IN for my top spot this year, I can already sense that TRICK ‘R TREAT will inevitably end up being one of my all time favorite horror movies. The film takes multiple perspectives of Halloween (from child to teenager to adult to senior) and interconnects those separate perspectives into one grand Halloween tale. Think of it as a horror version of PULP FICTION.
I’d imagine that most of you like me make sure that John Carpenter’s HALLOWEEN is playing on one of the TV’s somewhere in your house on October 31st. But it’s time to retire that yearly tradition, because starting next year, TRICK ‘R TREAT will most definitely be in my DVD player from every Halloween here on out!

3 - [REC] - Let’s face it. The “found footage” gimmick wore itself out almost immediately. So if you’re going to try it, it’d better be a great original premise intended to set itself apart from the countless other recent attempts at “cinema verite”. Well, all it took was seeing the teaser trailer to the Spanish flick [REC] to realize that filmmakers Jaume Balaguero & Paco Plaza were going to deliver something totally unique and special. I own a multi-regional player (something I strongly recommend investing in to all of you fine readers out there), got myself a copy of the import DVD and was treated to easily one of the scariest “zombie” films I’d ever seen! And quite frankly, this is one of the best movies made using the “cinema verite” approach. Forget QUARANTINE. I haven’t seen it yet but the slight tweak to the ending I’ve heard about (something I found terrifying in the original) has already turned me off to it. Plus, this version probably won’t be as effective to you if you watch the practically shot-for-shot American remake. As much as I love Dexter’s little sister, films like this work for me so much better when there’s not a bunch of familiar faces in the leads. Hence, the foreign version gets the upper hand. Seek it out. It’s worth it.

4 - CLOVERFIELD - Another one I truly didn’t know what to expect, but was blown away by. Look - your ever-loyal ICONS staff got to see this one in Times Square in Manhattan, and quite frankly, it was unsettling and scary! Especially walking out into the very streets we’d seen destroyed on the big screen moments earlier. Multiple kudos to director Matt Reeves and writer Drew Goddard for figuring out a way to let this story tell itself using the limitation of the duration of one Mini-DV tape. It’s seriously brilliant & impressive filmmaking. Plus, the creature rocked! It reminded me of the 1st time I saw the original ALIEN as a kid. Anytime you’d get a glimpse of the monster, you couldn’t help but think “What exactly am I looking at?!” I rewatched this recently on DVD just to make sure I still felt as strongly about it, and sure enough, I love it just as much as when I first saw it in January of this year. (You can find more about this movie on FullHalloween Section: Horror Movies and of course, there are more horror movies!

5 - THE MIDNIGHT MEAT TRAIN - Not a perfect film, but easily one of the best movies to bare the name Clive Barker on it in over a decade! Who wouldn’t get excited at the prospect of a BOOKS OF BLOOD adaptation?! Let alone one coming from a stylish director such as Ryuhei Kitamura. Writer Jeff Buhler did a kick-ass job expanding upon Barker’s original story, and Kitamura gave us some fantastic gore & visual set pieces.
While the last 20 minutes gets a little iffy, Bradley Cooper still delivers a great little performance, as does the ever-scary Vinnie Jones as the menacing Mahogany. Add a Ted Raimi cameo and you’ve got my bonus kudos.
And thankfully, they kept the original stories ending in tact for the movie version. This one got a raw deal from Lionsgate when it obviously deserved so much better. Thankfully, you guys can discover it on DVD in February 2009! So be waiting for this oh yeah!

6 - THE WIZARD OF GORE - As soon as I heard the first notes of the beautiful song “The Old Kind Of Summer” by The Black Heart Procession playing over the “bloody” opening of THE WIZARD OF GORE, I knew I was watching something special. Add onto that the stellar casting of Crispin Glover (whom if you’ve seen his “performance shows” makes the perfect Montag The Magnificant), as well as Kip Pardue, Bijou Phillips, Brad Dourif, a welcome appearance by Joshua Miller and the Suicide Girls (?!) and you’ve got one of the most bizarre films of the year that if anything, you should check out just for curiosity’s sake.
The ever-reliable Jeffrey Combs also gives us an unrecognizable performance in this flick.
Multiple kudos to director Jeremy Kasten for envisioning Herschell Gordon Lewis through a punk-rock, noir Los Angeles. I’ll be keeping a close eye on all of his films from here on out.

7 - STUCK - Oh Uncle Stu! Not exactly a horror film, but definitely a film loosely based on a true story that just happens to be horrifying! Stuart Gordon gives us this deliciously twisted black comedy. Poor Stephen Rea is having the worst day of his life. His job interview didn’t go well, he get’s kicked out of his apartment and can’t even comfortably sleep on the street without a cop telling him to move. Eventually his bad day comes crashing into him (literally) in the form of Mena Suvari. Rea’s character becomes embedded in Suvari’s windshield, and although her character is a nurse that cares for people on a daily basis, she (for whatever reason) leaves him stuck to the front of the car to die in her garage. What follows is a series of gasp worthy incidences that truly made you feel sorry for this poor S.O.B. Be glad your day isn’t this bad! Maybe I shouldn’t have laughed as much as I did during this movie, but I found it darkly hysterical and the ending was utterly satisfying. Way to go Uncle Stu!

8 - THE STRANGERS - Believe it or not, I actually just rented and watched this one for the first time last night! I’d heard mixed reviews all over the place. Some of my friends hated it, some liked it. My cousin and I share similar tastes in movies and assured me I would love this one. While I didn’t exactly love it (nor do I think it’s a perfect film), I did think it was a solid and genuinely scary debut effort from writer/director Bryan Bertino.
One of my biggest fears (next to drowning) is home invasion. So to have a movie really turn up the tension on that basic concept, and then add creepy, spooky masked stalkers to the mix, just really got to me.
I’m still totally bummed out by the downbeat grim ending, but hell, that’s what makes for an effective horror movie, so for me this one totally worked. I personally like a little vengeance in my horror flicks, so hopefully that is the direction they will take the planned sequel!

9 - TIMECRIMES - Another one I just watched for the first time this week. TIMECRIMES is a Spanish movie by Nacho Vigalondo. And while it’s not exactly a “horror” film, this is one that stuck with me for a long time after the credits stopped. There’s a good tension filled build up in the first 20 minutes as our main character Hector is being stalked by a mysterious man wearing bandages across his face and chasing him with a scissor, but then… the idea of time travel is introduced. To go any further into the plot would just give away all the fun. But the great thing about the movie is, once you get further and further into the time travel angle, it starts to become somewhat frustrating for the viewer, just because it’s hard to wrap your head around the continuity. BUT, rest assured that all of the details will fit by the film’s conclusion and you’ll be left with plenty of satisfying afterthoughts. Hence, it becomes obvious that Vigalondo put a lot of advance thought and effort into exactly how this story should unfold and it totally works! It’s impressive storytelling, and easily one of this year’s best!

10 - INSIDE - At one point during INSIDE’s many gory sequences, Mike C. turned to me and said, “Robg… When did the French get so Italian?” And that’s the main reason I love this movie as much as I do. Now, to be fair, it disturbed me enough that I haven’t had the nerve to watch it a 2nd time, but any horror film that effects me that deeply definitely earns itself a slot on my “best of the year” list. It’s no surprise that lead Beatrice Dalle has a tendency to physically attack meter maids and is in fact kinda crazy in real life, because she’s fantastic in the film. It has it’s over the top moments (sheesh, how much blood did they use in this flick?!), but that makes it one you definitely have to see to believe.
Oh and the ending! I’ve seen a LOT of horror films in my time, but the ending to this one is genuinely one of the most shocking you’re bound to witness.