Mike C.’S TOP 5 Best Horror Of 2008

1. LET THE RIGHT ONE IN
- It seems we’ve all fallen for this dreamlike Swedish flick. “Let the Right One In” is beautiful, you’ll hear that repeated from critic to critic, even on our site. I remember when Rob insisted that I watch this I really wasn’t in the mood for a quiet, deliberately paced film, but I was almost immediately captivated.

A love story between two 12 year old kids, one of whom has been 12 for a very, very long time, seems creepy in a very taboo way. However, this isn’t a film that’s challenging in a sordid way. I love the way this movie handles the subject of vampirism.

A must-see, and hands down the best film in the current vampire trend, if not the best horror movie of the year, and just one of the best movies of the year period.

2. [REC]
- While watching this Spanish film, which was remade for American audiences as “Quarantine”, was the first time in years I can remember being completely, totally creeped out.

Hair standing on the back of my neck creeped out. By now you know the premise which, yes I agree, sounds completely hackneyed in the year that brought us “Diary of the Dead” and every schmoe with a camcorder, $20 and a box of Krispy Kreme donuts shooting a zombie movie in their backyard.

Well, the hell with those, because this is the one that works, this is the one that’s scary, and in the last act when you think they couldn’t possibly turn this movie around on you again it goes out with one of the scariest final 10 minutes in recent memory.

3. INSIDE
- Let 2008 stand as the year in which the newly emerging and ignoble art of womb snatching got the “home invasion thriller” treatment. “When did the French get so Italian?” was my reaction halfway through this very bloody movie.

A movie that showcases damage to parts of the human anatomy I, as a card carrying member of the male sex, will never have and makes me react viscerally, wincing in agony for what seemed hours?

To that end I say well done, even if I’m not sure it’s exactly scary. While much of the proceedings in this movie are impossibly over the top, including the ending, I certainly will never forget it (and I will never watch it again). See more reviews about this movie here.

4. THE STRANGERS
- Despite any glaring amateurish flaws (like a knife that makes the “schnink” sound when picked up off the carpet) this was a very impressive directorial debut.

When it is in full swing it is a truly scary, jumpy, fun house horror movie. I may not have liked the characters in it (either the victims or the attackers) but it delivered. Marred only by an extremely grim ending where I was hoping for vengeance.

Extra kudos for the inclusion of Joanna Newsome on the soundtrack. Buy it now for christmas!

You can see another review by ROB G.’S in this post ROB G.’S TOP 10 PICKS of Best & Worst Horror Movies of 2008!

5. BABY BLUES
- Never heard of it? Came out on DVD in August. Find it. Writer/director Lars E. Jacobson delivered a powerfully taboo breaking horror movie about a mother on the verge of a total mental breakdown and the unfortunate young children in her way. I was shocked, appalled, unnerved. If there’s a movie I saw this year that truly horrified me, this is it. If you have kids, please, you’re probably best to avoid this one altogether, it will be tough. The title left me with the impression that I might be getting ready to watch an inappropriately campy movie on the subject of a mother murdering her children.

There’s nothing funny about that, or the incidents in recent years when it’s happened. But this is not a campy movie, it’s dead serious, and while it may seem like borderline (or from your perspective obvious) exploitation filmmaking, the subject is handled with extreme care.

MIKE C.’S HONORABLE MENTION

TRUE BLOOD
- I love this show. Absolutely love it. Obviously I can’t name it as one of my top favorite movies of the year but I need to call it out. Alan Ball has taken some very silly books and made a fine supernatural television series out of them. The show is sexy, engaging, and just raunchy enough to be made for HBO. I kind of also dig the idea that when it first aired “Twilight” fans might have tuned in out of curiosity. I love the idea that Alan Ball’s TV show about vampires maybe have introduced some 13 year old tween to the concept of erotic asphyxiation. That tickles my soul a little. “Mommy, that vampire is definitely NOT sparkling!” But seriously, it’s a damn fine show. Call me up for Team Sookie.