Bob’s Thirsty Thursdays: Top Horror Movies of 2014
I’m meticulously putting together my Top 20 Movies of 2014 for next week’s BingeCast–a feat that is a shitload harder than it sounds, considering the incredible year of movies that was 2014. It’s funny–during the year, it never occurred to me how plentiful the amount of quality movies we had coming at us, but looking back… well, coming up with a Top 10 is nearly impossible, so a Top 20 will have to do. Also… while the overall year in movies rocked, this was a terrible year for horror movies. In 2014, we had ANNABELLE… we had OUIJA… we had THE PURGE: ANARCHY… we had I, FRANKENSTEIN… we had PARANORMAL ACTIVITY: THE MARKED ONES… we had CABIN FEVER: PATIENT ZERO… we had LEPRECHAUN: ORIGINS… and we had DRACULA UNTOLD. That, right there, is a bunch of horseshit. Of course, there were a few gems in there… but not as much as you’d think, considering the amount of quality flicks that came out this year.
Since this won’t necessarily be on next week’s BingeCast, I present to you my Top 5 Horror Movies of 2014 (or Horror Movies I Saw in 2014 That Didn’t Suck):
5. Horns
While it’s not a “great” movie, I certainly enjoyed the hell out of HORNS. I’m a big fan of Joe Hill’s novel, I’m a big fan of director Alexandre Aja, and I like that Harry Potter is branching out of Hogwarts and doing something “risky” and against type. The soundtrack was really good, too. Any other year, this likely wouldn’t have made the list, but like I said above… this year sucked for horror… so hooray for HORNS!
4. Oculus
A surprise on just about every level, I wasn’t expecting much out of this little haunted house movie, but it proved to be all kinds of awesome with its various”twisty-turnys” and the unconformity of its non-linear storytelling. What? Anyway, it’s a good one. Even if ends up being like a few different movies you’ve seen before rolled into one, it certainly satisfies.
3. The Babadook
Can’t get enough of them BabaDIIIIIIIIIICK! A solid little spookfest that was way too overhyped for its own good. And by that, I mean… this could have been my favorite horror flick of the year if my expectations weren’t so damn high. But they were and the film couldn’t quite meet those expectations. That being said, I really dug the concept, dug the creepy atmosphere, hated the kid (but that’s a good thing, cause you’re supposed to), and loved the mother’s decent into madness. And, of course, I love me that BabaDIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICK!
2. Honeymoon
Some people dug this, some people hated it. Ygritte taking time away from GAME OF THRONES really pulled through for me, though, and I ended up digging the hell out of this flick–probably more than I should have, but what the hell? I didn’t necessarily see the end coming, the flick was thick with manic atmosphere, the building of tension was intense, and the levels of creep was astronomical. Yes, there were some fails in logic and for newlyweds the two were a little too familiar, but…. it still worked.
1. The Town That Dreaded Sundown
Call it a remake. Call it a reboot. Call it whatever you like, but you know what I call it? The Best Horror Movie of the Year. An interesting twist on the original film while at the same time making it a film of its own, the flick bleeds style, the killer looks cool as f*ck, it’s a slasher (so that’s awesome), there are some nasty brutal kills, and from beginning to end, it’s 100% entertaining. Absolutely fantastic movie that didn’t make as big of a splash as it should have, and you know what else? The poster art was pretty damn cool too. Add it all up and it’s the best 2014 had to offer, but in all honesty… THE TOWN THAT DREADED SUNDOWN is a solid horror flick no matter what year it was released. And for all that, I give it my #1 spot.
I just realized all these flicks are rated R. Awesome.