The Mike's Top 11 Horror Films of 2013

I said it last year and I'll say it again - going to 11 never gets old.

I realize things have been a little bit slow here of late, and even the Midnight Movie of the Week is on vacation. But I'm not gonna miss my chance for a good year-end wrap up. Moreover, there have been too many horror movies I didn't have the chance to cover in 2013, so this is my way of making up time for all y'all out there who might not know how good 2013 was in the horror 'verse.

Before we get to the top eleven, some honorable mentions are in order, and some ground rules must be set. The most important of these ground rules is that not all of these films are strictly 2013 releases. Like previous years (here's 2012, here's 2011, and here's 2010), I'm considering films that a) were widely released in 2013, b) were provided to me for review in 2013, or c) were never widely released until their home video release in 2013.  So, there will be a couple of outliers but I assure you they are damn fine horror films and if you're that broken up about them being here then you're clearly being silly. OK?

Honorable Mention: 
(listed in alphabetical order)

American Mary - This might be #12 on the list, and it was a hard cut. I dig the Soska sisters' bold approach to filmmaking, and Katherine Isabelle owns the lead role. It's haunting in a gross kind of way.

Byzantium - I feel like I might be undervaluing this one, which is probably the biggest and most romantic vampire story in ages. Vampires have been a tool for lesser filmmakers of late, but Neil Jordan and company seem like they respect what they're doing here. That made the film stick with me longer than I expected.

Cockneys vs. Zombies - I feel like I've been fed up with zombies for years, but there's always a movie each year that surprises me. This year that movie was Cockneys vs. Zombies, which sounds like the worst idea but is actually a really funny and really exciting action comedy. 

The Conjuring - I don't get the love many have for this one, but I sure did have fun in the theater watching it. That counts for something.

Dark Skies - For my money, this is the most underappreaciated horror film of the year. I went to see it just because I wanted to make fun of it (and because I had to see the school counselor when I thought I saw a UFO as a kid), but it ended up keeping me entertained. Well written and intense; it feels more genuine than most jump scare horror films we've seen lately.

Frankenstein's Army - This one's here mostly because it's just so cool looking. It feels like a low budget twist on a Guillermo Del Toro film, with a nice tie in to World War II and some jolting surprises. Director Richard Raaphorst is one to watch.

Jug Face - A unique backwoods horror with excellent work from Lauren Ashley Carter in the lead. Possibly the most original horror film I saw this year, and I think it might grow on me as time goes on.

Manborg - Not sure I saw anything this year that was more ridiculously fun than this.

V/H/S 2 - A huge step up from the first film - which I liked a lot, too - and the much loved third segment in this one is probably as good as most people say it is. The whole thing still feels a little rushed to me, but I love the concept and wouldn't mind more of this series.

World War Z - It's mostly here because it was so much more exciting than I thought it would be and wasn't a total train wreck. Brad Pitt will do that for your movie.

(In the interest of full disclosure, here's a few limited release 2013 flicks I really want to see but didn't have a chance to get to before writing this. Maybe you'll see them on the 2014 list.
Berberian Sound Studio, Big Bad Wolves, Contracted, A Field in England, Haunter, Magic Magic, Only Lovers Left Alive, Resolution, We Are What We Are, Willow Creek, Witching & Bitching, WNUF Halloween Special, Would You Rather.)

Now, list time!

Number 11 - The Lords of Salem
(Directed by Rob Zombie.)

I'm surprised that I'm listing this here too. Rob Zombie has never been my favorite cup of tea, but I've always respected something about his films, even when he was ruining everything I love about the first two Halloween movies. (Oh, did I bring that up again? My bad. Still bitter.)

The Lords of Salem has a lot of the same problems Zombie's other films have - it's 100% style-over-substance, for example - but it's also the first time that his wife, Sheri Moon Zombie, has been a capable actress - and she actually carries the whole darn film. There's a lot of beauty in this grimy film, and Zombie manages to create something that bizarre and memorable visually. The ending falls apart, but I still feel like the whole thing works. Well done, Mr. Zombie. You have my attention in a good way for once.

Number 10 - Grabbers
(Directed by Jon Wright.)

Lots and lots of tentacles combine with a great comedic energy in this Irish monster flick, where likeable actors and a smart script reign. Richard Coyle and Ruth Bradley really work well together as the mismatched cops on the monster's trail, and the film ends up feeling like Shaun of the Dead than Tremors - two movies that any horror comedy should strive to replicate.

(By the way, this would be a heckuva double feature with Cockneys vs. Zombies, which you just read about in the Honorable Mentions section. Why do those UK folks get horror comedy so well when us Americans are making Scary Movies and A Haunted Houses? Poor America.)

Number 9 - Here Comes The Devil
(Directed by Adrian Garcia Bogliano.)

A Mexican homage to films like Rosemary's Baby, Here Comes The Devil is one of the creepiest horror films I've seen in a long time. The plot balances between human and supernatural horror very well as we learn about the evil at work in this family's life, and great performances by the young co-stars only make the film that much more effective. At the center of everything is a fantastic performance by Laura Caro and one of the best reveals we've seen in a long time. This one left me thinking and feels like a script from the 1970s that's been updated perfectly to modern times.

Number 8 - John Dies At The End
(Directed by Don Coscarelli.)

It's about time that I start talking about Don Coscarelli as one of the greatest horror filmmakers, at least when it comes to being bizarre and unique. The man who created Phantasm and Bubba Ho-Tep did it again with the clinically insane John Dies At The End, a dimension-crossing, drug-induced fever dream with all sorts of entertaining stuff. Like meat monsters. And killer mustaches. See what I mean?

John Dies At the End (or, J-DATE, as I like to call it) doesn't work as well as Bubba Ho-Tep did in the pathos department - heck, very few horror movies are as emotionally involving as that one - but Chase Williamson and Rob Mayes are perfectly adaptable to the randomness of the film as the leads. J-DATE also features top notch special effects throughout, and it's the rare film that I can truly say never suffers a dull moment.

Number 7 - Kiss of the Damned
(Directed by Xan Cassevetes.)

Style definitely won out over substance in many horror films this year, and Xan Cassavetes - the daughter of legendary director/Rosemary's Baby co-star John Casssavetes - provided one more example of that with Kiss of the Damned. This is another throwback vampire whose sexually charged roots spread into both Hammer Films' heyday and Italian vampire films of the '70s like Daughters of Darkness.

Shoddy acting aside - there's some language barrier issues at work here, even with English speaking Milo Ventamiglia - Kiss of the Damned is a captivating modern addition to the vampire subgenre, and - alongside the previously mentioned Byzantium - a nice reminder that some filmmakers are still willing to take vampires seriously when Hollywood doesn't.

Number 6 - The Last Will And Testament Of Rosalind Leigh
(Directed by Rodrgio Gudino.)

This is one of the few films this year that made my skin crawl. A son inherits his late mother's home, and soon realizes the religious artifacts around the house are related to some cult stuff and suddenly everything gets creepy. It seems like a standard plot, but the approach to the film by director Rodrigo Gudino really plays up the relationship between mother and son that ended badly.

Many horror films deal with unfinished family business, but here we get terrifying work from the great Vanessa Redgrave, a whole lot of commentary on religion and Heaven and Hell, and in the end everything just feels so incredibly tense that it's impossible not to be affected by The Last Will and Testament of Rosalind Leigh.

Number 5 - Maniac
(Directed by Franck Khalfoun.)

This seemed like a bad remake of a film that didn't need to be remade when it was announced, and the casting of Elijah Wood in the lead didn't inspire much confidence in this horror fan - who is now pleased to admit he was totally wrong.  Director Franck Khalfoun nails the sleazy tone of the original film and presents one of the most interesting portrayals of a mentally disturbed serial killer that I've ever seen on screen.

Khalfoun does a De Palma-esque job by keeping the camera inside the killer's eyes for much of the film, which creates a voyeuristic feeling that had me hooked on this film. Aided by a beautiful cast of potential victims (SIDE NOTE: That redheaded actress Megan Duffy who appears early in the film is literally the cutest thing. I just have to say that.) and a shockingly sinister Frodo, Maniac works. And it works really darn well.

Number 4 - Sleep Tight
(Directed by Jaume Balaguero.)

It's been about 11 months since I watched Sleep Tight, and just the thought of it makes me smile a sinister smile. One half of the duo behind the first two [REC] films provides this marvelous thriller in which a demented doorman (Luis Tosar, giving what is probably my favorite performance in recent memory) pines for a beautiful woman and then begins to do nasty things in the name of love.

My favorite thing about Sleep Tight is Tosar's performance, as he makes Cesar the doorman into the most Norman Bates-ish horror villain since...well, Norman Bates, probably.  I struggled with wanting to root for this guy, even though he was doing awful terrible things to this woman, because Tosar does such a good job of seeming lost in his love. It's probably kind of the same way we dudes always root for John Cusack when he stalks women, and I'm sure some feminists might say I'm evil for admitting what I just said - but the point I'm trying to make is that Sleep Tight is too good at getting the viewer involved and being creepy on a human level. And that's great horror.

Number 3 - Stoker
(Directed by Park Chan-Wook.)

The English language debut of the South Korean director behind the rightfully Vengeance trilogy, Stoker - like Sleep Tight - draws on the influence of Hitchcock and manages to be incredibly unsettling while entering into the characters' home life.

Mia Wasikowska and Nicole Kidman both shine as the women of the film who are dealing with death, but it's the consistently undervalued Matthew Goode who steals the show as the bizarre uncle at the center of the script (which was written, oddly, by television star Wentworth Miller).  Goode is perfectly stilted (it's eerily reminscent of this his turn as Ozymandias is Watchmen, only he's in a rich country home instead of a skyscraper) and his posturing throughout the film makes the character uncomfortable to watch. Park Chan-Wook plays on the same tensions between sex and violence that filled films like Oldboy, and with help from his cast leaves us with the most engrossing horror story of the year.

Number 2 - You're Next
(Directed by Adam Wingard.)

I saw this thing three times while it was in the theater and if it was in the theater right now I would watch it again. (It's not, but it is out on blu-ray next Tuesday and I will be watching it then.)  You're Next is kind of the ultimate junction between exploitation horror and slasher horror and torture horror and home invasion horror, and I'm still kind of in awe of it living up to the hype that had built around it over the last few years.  Even more so than last year's The Cabin in the Woods - which ran away from the pack as my favorite horror movie of that year - this is a perfect party horror movie to enjoy with a group of blood-loving film fans.

But aside from just being a gory spectacle, You're Next has some of the more intriguing characters who have been brought to life in years, and several performances that pop off the screen. Sharni Vinson takes the "final girl" role to the next level, while AJ Bowen, Nicholas Tucci, and Joe Swanberg all shine as the competing brothers in this dysfunctional family of victims. And, to top everything off, one of my all-time favorites, Barbara Crampton, gets to scream in fear one more time. There are about 470 reasons this movie makes me smile (Larry Fessenden's in it too, you guys!), and I imagine it'll hold a place in the heart of horror fans for a long, long time.

Number 1 - Evil Dead
(Directed by Fede Alvarez.)

I don't understand why horror fans aren't all in love with this movie like I am. I mean, I do understand - it's called Evil Dead but it's not The Evil Dead and horror fans are more defensive of their territory than a pack of opossums - but most of the criticisms I've seen lobbed at this movie make absolutely no sense in my mind. (P.S. - Even though I think you're taking crazy pills - I still love you, horror fans.)

Instead of talking about what other people think, I should probably tell y'all why I love Evil Dead so much, shouldn't I?  For starters, I should also point out that I love all the other Evil Dead films as much as anyone, and I wouldn't say this one improves on those films in any way. The biggest treat for me as I look at the four films that now inhabit this franchise is that each one has a different tone and feeling for the viewer than any of the rest. While this Evil Dead mimics some of the details of its predecessors and offers more than a few winks and nods at the series, it also makes enough changes along the way to feel unique and different.

I also love the lead character created for the film. Mia, realized wonderfully by Jane Levy, is not Ash - and she also doesn't need to be Ash for the film to work. Alvarez and co-writer Rodo Sayagues made a brilliant choice by introducing drug addiction to the series and Mia's arc through the story provides for maximum drama as the film unfolds. Some have decreed that this is not a "strong" female character, but this portrayal of a young woman who is dealing with addiction - a portrayal that spotlights the trials of her addiction - allows her to grow while fighting herself and the forces at work in the woods. Maybe she's not Sigourney Weaver in Aliens, but I think this kind of strong female presence is more real and accessible than it would be if the film had just made Mia a regular old-fashioned butt-kicker.

Most importantly, the film crescendos perfectly to a final confrontation that I think is as good as anything horror has produced in a long time. It's a literal bloodbath that is perhaps the goriest thing that's ever been sent to multiplex screens. It gives me goosebumps just thinking about it. For my money it might be the most beautiful horror sequence since Suspiria, and I don't feel like I'm being too hyperbolic when I say that.

Evil Dead has provided to be a divisive entry to the horror canon, and I am trying to understand when people voice their complaints about it. (Although, I generally feel like any complaint people have about this one is also a complaint that could be made about the original The Evil Dead - but that's a different story for a different day.)  I think the new Evil Dead is a welcome companion to the original trilogy that I love so dearly. It's one of the most exciting, thrilling, disgusting, and memorable horror films of this generation.

Have your own favorites that I missed? Love these movies too? Think I'm being ridiculous and bat-shit crazy? The comment section below is open. Here's to another great year of horror in 2014, and I can't wait to make another list and have these conversations again next January.  To paraphrase my hero Joe Bob Briggs and his thoughts on the drive-in, 2013 is a great example of why horror will never die.

(Any excuse to add Joe Bob to a post is an excuse I LOVE.)

Midnight Movie of the Week #199 - Cemetery Man

Most horror fans I know are quick to point out how lackluster the genre output of the 1990s was.  As with any time and any genre, there were several very good films released during that time span. (A few years back I listed these as my favorites.)  But, with fond memories of the 1980s in our minds and several impressive serious horror films hitting audiences in the new millennium, it's easy to see why the '90s are held in such contempt.

The horror subculture that might have taken the biggest hit in the 1990s was the Italian horror scene, which peaked with Argento, Fulci, and Bava through the '60s and early '80s but produced very few horror hits after the '80s ended. The biggest outlier to this train of thought is certainly Cemetery Man (originally titled Dellamorte Dellamore in its native tongue), which stands out to me as one of the most interesting horror films of its time and place due to its bizarre tone and chaotic plot.

British actor Rupert Everett, who would go on to much success starring romantic comedies like My Best Friend's Wedding and doing vocal work for Shrek movies, is at Cemetery Man's center as Francesco Dellamorte, the caretaker of an unholy cemetery where the dead often rise and walk seven days after their demise.  Many horror films would present a man in this position as an empowered hero, but Dellamorte just seems kind of annoyed by his predicament, sulking through much of the film and struggling to put much effort into sending the dead back to their graves. Cemetery Man uses his indifferent attitude as a platform to great things and Everett is a perfect fit for the moody and disinterested role.

There is one thing that inspires Dellamorte to feel passion, and that - of course - is a woman with huge breasts. She's played by Anna Falchi, who might be the most perfectly endowed woman in horror history, and her place in the caretaker's life drives the film toward the darkly comic tone that pushes it to surprising heights as a star-crossed romance and as an existential fantasy. Falchi first appears and captures the caretaker's heart as a widow who is turned on by the dead, and later shows up in two more roles to throw more salt on the wounds of Dellamorte's tortured love life.  The sexual encounters between the two leads are presented in ridiculously humorous ways - think of that awkwardly hilarious sex scene from Watchmen and you'll start to get the idea of what the director does here - but the caretaker's obsession with this woman through all of her different incarnations is always presented as a serious and somewhat deadly affliction for him.

While this sad sack is wondering what he has to do to hold on to the most beautiful pair of breasts woman he's ever seen, everything around him is increasingly bizarre and wild. His assistant and closest friend is a large bald man named Gnaghi who can only grunt and who also develops an obsessive love for the young daughter of the mayor after he vomits on her. Everyone around the cemetery seems rather uninterested in the fact that these "returners" continue to come back from the grave so Dellamorte can shoot them in the head, and the personification of Death even shows up to warn the caretaker that he should "stop killing the dead."

Everything in the film could be played for straight up laughs, and if that didn't work the story could also have been taken to gory extremes for the horror crowd. But director Michele Soavi seems to have an almost Shakespearean approach to the material, and the spirit that he gives Cemetery Man might be the biggest key to establishing the film as one of the most fascinating horror films of its era. A tonal comparison could be made to Peter Jackson's much loved Dead Alive, but the more human and less slapstick approach gives Cemetery Man a more tragic, thought-provoking edge over other splatter films like it.

Initial viewings of Cemetery Man may puzzle viewers - especially after the abstract ending - but returns to the film have really made me appreciate just how much this quirky horror film has to offer. It pushes the boundaries where many horror films stand pat, and never really suffers from its more abstract and existential choices. It's a movie that you don't want to look away from, and not just because you might see Falchi's God-given gifts at any moment. (Seriously, when she has a shirt on it looks like she's smuggling tetherballs.) The dark comedy, the ill-fated romance, and the zombie splatter all fit together perfectly here, establishing Cemetery man as a one-of-a-kind winner.

Midnight Movie of the Week #173 - Let Sleeping Corpses Lie

Let Sleeping Corpses Lie might be one of the five best zombie movies in existence, and yet nobody ever seems to talk about it. There are plenty of reasons this could be the case - "It's almost 40 years old" and "there's no big stars in it" are acceptable, but stupid, examples - but I'm most concerned that the movie is a horror film that suffers from a bit of an identity crisis.

Identity crisis is a bizarre diagnosis for a movie, so allow me to explain. For starters, it's a movie that seems to have a different title for every viewer. In the UK, it's The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue. But in other parts/times of the UK it was called The Living Dead. In the United States the film was called Don't Open the Window at one point, and titles from other parts of the world translate to all kinds of things. My favorite example of this is the original Spanish title - Non si deve profanare il sonno dei morti - that translates to Do Not Speak Ill of the Dead.  I don't know the history of the movie and its release, but it seems like it's been given more names than The Artist formerly known as The Artist Formerly Known as Prince.

As if that's not confusing enough, Let Sleeping Corpses Lie also seems kind of like a homeless film. Most horror fans would look at the film and say "Oh, that's an Italian horror flick" and they'd be wrong....kind of.  The film was directed by Jorge Grau, a Spaniard, produced in Italy and England, and features a cast made up of plenty of Italians, Spaniards, and even American Arthur Kennedy as a stodgy detective. The other primary cast members are half British/half Italian Ray Lovelock (who has a fantastic name and a fantastic beard) and Spanish born Cristina Galbo, who seem to have chemistry together despite being obviously dubbed. Which is kind of a microcosm of why the film works so well, because all of these random ingredients are here, yet they inexplicably fit together.

A majority of the credit must be given to Grau, a director that I'm not very familiar with but one that I respect immensely. In an introduction filmed for the DVD release of the film, Grau sends a wonderful message to horror fans about to see the film for the first time. "I hope you have a bad time" and 'I hope you get very scared and that you suffer profoundly" aren't things most directors would say to their audiences, but Grau seems almost cheerful as he reminds us that his intention is to make us squirm.  There's something about this little nod from the director that has stuck with me for years, and really made me admire the guy's eye for horror.

The other reason I love the guy is for how perfectly he balances all the things I want from a zombie movie throughout his film. Let Sleeping Corpses offers an actual plot, a ton of atmospheric tension, and just the right amount of gore to keep me fascinated. Don't let the European shine fool you, because Grau's film doesn't go for Fulci levels of blood splatter. It does, however, feature some perfectly executed attacks and enough organ-ripping to keep you disgusted, all while still managing to feel like a nightmare for the characters involved. 

The plot has an ecological explanation for the zomificiation epidemic, and some of the symbolism Grau uses to make his point is a little too on-the-nose at times. But the heavy handed segments of the film can be forgiven, as they are a wonderful excuse to move the story to some vibrant country settings and one of the most realistically dreary graveyards in horror history.  A lot of zombie movies skip the reason why zombies are happening, but Grau's film does a good job of having a reason and not getting too caught up in it. Above all else, this film is a fever dream of undead madness, not a social commentary.

I'm not sure I was very scared, nor did I suffer profoundly, but I still can see where Grau was coming from when he made this fine horror film. Let Sleeping Corpses Lie is always entertaining and never insulting, with great special effects - those zombie eyes do haunt me - and a nice pace.  It's an odd little zombie film that feels like the bastard child of Romero and Bava, but that doesn't stop the film from being one of the most underrated horror films of the 1970s. No matter which title they decide to use or which country they attribute the film to, most horror fans should fall in love with this one.

One Minute Review - Julia's Eyes

(2010, Dir. by Guillem Morales.)

Twin sisters with degenerating sight are the centerpieces of Julia's Eyes, an atmospheric horror film from Spain that is most noticeable from a distance because it has the blessing of horror hero Guillermo Del Toro.  The blessing of a top notch director doesn't always mean much when it comes to quality, but I'm happy to say that Del Toro seems to have backed the right horse with this one.

Belen Rueda stars as the title character, who hopes to investigate the strange death of her blind twin sister Sara (also played by Rueda), which is detailed in a fantastic opening scene. Julia slips closer and closer to blindness as she tries to figure out who or what is responsible for her sister's death, and we

A palpable atmosphere of dread is the film's biggest asset, as director Guillem Morales takes the story into plenty of dark places as we follow Julia's investigation. Rueda is a more than capable star, and the supporting characters all seem to have a place amidst the film's twisty ride. The final result is a neat game of cat and mouse that should hold your attention.

Items of Note: Lots of blind people with zombie eyes. Naked old women with blind/zombie eyes. Commentary on the size and beauty of the universe. One creepy basement. Mouth knifing. Moments that remind me of the blindfold match between Jake Roberts and Rick Martel at Wrestlemania VII, which I thought was awesome when I was nine. An impressive dual performance in the lead.

The Score: 4 blind victims out of 5.

Sleep Tight

(2011, Dir. by Jaume Balaguero.)

Sleep Tight is a very simple thriller that makes itself great through very extraordinary methods.  The obsessed stalker subgenre has been an American favorite at times - particularly around the late '80s and early '90s - but this Spanish chiller dares to take risks that many filmmakers would avoid.  The result of those risks is a film that kind of blew my mind.

The story primarily follows two characters - Cesar (played by Luis Tosar), the concierge at a pretty decent apartment building; and Clara (played by Marta Etura) a twentysomething tenant who is young, beautiful, and the object of Cesar's lust.  In fact, we learn very quickly that Cesar spends most of his evenings hiding under Clara's bed and waiting until she's asleep and he can sedate her.

Now, I'm willing to bet that any female reader who just considered the possibility of a man hiding under their bed and waiting to pounce just freaked out. That's the natural, and probably correct, reaction to the premise.  Director Jaume Balaguero - who knows a bit about apartment based horror after co-directing the first two [REC] films - doesn't waste any time setting up Cesar's role as aggressor, and the first act of the film does more than enough to make us uncomfortable with the man. 

The thing about Sleep Tight - the thing that I think is truly amazing - is that it's not that easy to really hate Cesar. I feel awful saying that - I don't support stalking and raping, obviously - but Balaguero focuses almost all of the film's attention on Cesar, and the obsessed man is never painted as a one-note psychopath.  Many films of this sort add scenes that are entirely there to make us think the perpetrator is a total freak, but Sleep Tight takes Cesar's side in the story more often than you'd expect.  I couldn't help feeling like there were moments when Cesar was more like Cary Grant in To Catch a Thief than Anthony Perkins in Psycho, and I feel kind of crazy admitting that.

I won't say that I was rooting for the creeper, nor will I suggest that you should. But the real treat of Sleep Tight is that it doesn't settle for the simple approach to this story.  Cesar is a troubled man, not a representation of evil.  Clara isn't built up as the representation of everything that's good, either.  We have plenty of reasons to know that Cesar is a bad guy and Clara is a victim - the most obvious of which is common sense - but Balaguero knows how to create drama in any situation. I am still kind of shocked that I found myself worried about how Cesar would escape being found out in so many situations, but the film is so engaging that I just couldn't help it.

Sleep Tight will certainly go down as one of the most impressive and memorable horror films of recent years for me. It's got a truly Hitchcockian tone, a marvelous lead performance, and enough creepy moments to make most films of its type jealous.  Balaguero will be returning to the [REC] series soon to bring more hyperactive horror to us all, but Sleep Tight should put genre fans on notice that this is a filmmaker who can control a film in many different ways.  I've been thinking about it for days, and can't recommend it enough.

(P.S. - Why is everyone in Spain listening to music from America? Only thing that confused me about this flick.)

Kill List

(2011, Dir. by Ben Wheatley.)

If nothing else, Kill List is definitely the most devious horror film in recent memory.  Like many great shockers, you could walk in to the film blind and have no idea that what you're watching is supposed to be part of the horror genre.  Yet I'm pretty sure the film will tweak that nerve that reminds you that something's not quite right here, and will do so long before a big reveal takes you into the territory of the bizarre.

The plot follows a British hitman named Jay (Neil Maskell) and his associate Gal (Michael Smiley), who take on an odd job that asks them to take down a list of three targets.  The trio - a priest, a librarian, and a member of Parliament - seem like an unlikely combination, but Jay, who is too unhinged and explosive to really care, moves in to his task undeterred.

The film's first hour is almost entirely on the volatile performance given by Maskell and the vision of Smiley's seemingly apathetic watching him erupt.  The dynamic between the two is very accessible to anyone who's ever had a friend whom they simply don't agree with on every matter.  Of course, the catch here is that one is a ticking time bomb/assassin, and the other is the guy who enables this explosive rage.  Maskell's performance is the film's centerpiece, and it does not disappoint - the character shows a spontaneous brutality that is terrifically unsettling. Also selling his instability is the relationship with his wife, played by The Descent's MyAnna Buring, and the verbal battles between them make us feel a lot of real and bitter tension.

And there's a twist, because this is that kind of film, and Kill List becomes something entirely different. I've been told I'm crazy, but I thought the impending twist was incredibly obvious throughout the film.  This might be because I've seen a lot of horror movies, or it might be because it's the most likely answer to the film's mysterious hints. Even a reveal in the final scene didn't really shock me like I thought it could - maybe the hype just got me too worked up? - but at the same time I was not at all opposed to where the film ended up.

But, when I put aside my personal battle of wits with the twist - a battle that doesn't matter because a) I'm being a bit stodgy and b) the twist still works within the film's narrative and is perfectly entertaining - there's very little to be concerned about regarding Kill List.  This is a well-made, delicately plotted, and viscerally memorable film that doesn't miss many opportunities.  The film also capitalizes on fantastic performances - led by Maskell's - and offers equal amounts of chilling surrealism and jaw-dropping gore.  It might be more admirable than it is enjoyable, but I think intelligent horror fans who also enjoy the work of Tarantino or early Guy Ritchie will find Kill List to be one of the more impressive films in some time.  It took me a couple of viewings to get to that conclusion, but I'm finding myself more and more sure that this will end up as one of my favorite new horrors of 2012.

[REC] 3: Genesis

(2012, Dir. by Paco Plaza.)

I sometimes forget just how good the [REC] series has been.  Though a certain studio - *cough*SONY SUCKS*cough* - tried to ruin the first film for us (by buying it, shelving it, and releasing their own remake first), the original film's found-footage meets 28 Days Later concept would have rivaled Paranormal Activity in popularity had it just been a) released and b) in English.  Unfortunately, us Americans can't be trusted with nice things, and [REC] and its terrific sequel [REC] 2 have been left for most Yankees to find on DVD.

A lot of film franchises go through some addition as they go on, but it's the subtractions from the equation that make [REC] 3: Genesis such a unique direction for the series.  There are fundamental changes - Sony's no longer involved and the awesome Magnet Releasing is distributing the film, and co-director of the first two films Jaume Balaguero has left director duties to counterpart Paco Plaza - but the biggest change is that the found footage gimmick (and the quarantined apartment complex) from the first two films is just a memory.

The change in pace that is [REC] 3 is a surprising follow up to the second film, but Plaza's film seems comfortable being a parallel story to the events of its predecessors.  There's only a minor tie in to the first film, as one of the guests at a wedding is connected to the outbreak we saw there, but the aggressive and frantic zombie-esque aggressors from those films return with a vengeance.  The twist ending from the second film is part of this film's narrative - and Plaza finds some clever ways to remind us just what the creatures are - but the story is completely new and focused mostly on the newly married couple - Clara and Koldo - who find themselves in the middle of the carnage.

Without the handheld camera viewpoint for most of the film and with a more cinematic approach, [REC] 3 does seem to lose some of the tension of its predecessors.  This film is not "in your face" as much as its parents were, but the pace doesn't suffer.  Instead, Plaza's new direction mixes the survival aspects of classic zombie films with some gory humor, and the film plays like more lighthearted films like Night of the Demons or The Return of the Living Dead when it does let up on the gas.  There is still plenty of blood spewed, but Plaza finds ways to move between dramatic and comedic splatter to keep the film moving.  The split between comedy and seriousness is another new turn in the series, but neither side of that equation overwhelms the other and effects the bigger picture.

With the added focus on gore and the romantic side of the script, the film is set up perfectly for Leticia Dolera (who stars as Clara) to shine, and she takes advantage of the opportunity.  Confined to a wedding dress and exceedingly runny makeup for the duration of the film, the role primarily requires Dolera to look the part of a woman who's fighting for her future, and Dolera does not miss a beat.  The diminutive actress handles herself very well throughout the film, and horror fans will surely enjoy her ability to handle a chainsaw.  The rest of the cast is made up of folks with a similar willingness to face the gory side of the film with their tongue in cheek, which leads to Clara standing up as a somewhat comic heroine in a horror film with a welcome slapstick edge.

The changing pace is probably the biggest obstacle to overcome with [REC] 3, and fans of the series who expect more of the same might find the tone to be too much to bear.  I do think the film feels slight in comparison to the first two films, but it's still a lot of fun to watch and a nice new twist on the mythology these filmmakers have created.  With Clara and Koldo's plight as the primary focus the film feels a little like a fan fiction tale, but the violent action and the unforgiving shocks fit the series well.  It's different, but I'd recommend it alongside the first two films to anyone who wants to see something special in the modern horror scene.  And, with [REC] Apocalypse in production - and promising to reconnect with the ending of [REC] 2 - I have a feeling that there's more great horror that will be rolling out of Spain in the near future.

Midnight Movie of the Week #134 - Blood and Black Lace

Mixing some overbearing music, lighting that randomly covers every color in the rainbow and - at least to us Americans - some incredibly stiff dubbing, Blood and Black Lace might not seem like a must see piece of horror history.  Some might argue that the film is little more than a cheap detective picture that looks like it was shot in a whorehouse. And when I put it that way, it sounds like a crappy flick.  Luckily, I'm the crappy one here - because I'm not the guy who can put all those elements together and somehow make something that's insanely fascinating.

That guy would be Mario Bava, whose films (along with Dario Argento's) reside in my mind as Italy's most valuable export.  Bava's a director who made a living by combining beauty with death, but he's never pulled this off just as well as he does in Blood and Black Lace.  There's an unhealthy dose of sleaze pouring off the screen - you could probably guess as much from the title - but there's trickery in his work too.

The film's debauchery begins as it follows a bunch of models and a bunch of men as a faceless killer moves about their house of fashion.  The house is large and full of mannequins and pretty people, but also the whole place is lit up like that scene in Vertigo where we see Kim Novak's silhouette against a dark background while the green light from the hotel sign pours in through her windows.  (Yes, that was literally the best way I could describe the lighting in this film. If you haven't seen Vertigo I can't help you here.)  I look at the cast, and I look at the setting, and I sit there and I think to myself "My God, if Bava was young and working today he'd probably cast porn stars in his film."

Of course, this is 1964, so Bava's brand of pornographic horror is incredibly tame compared to our times.  Clothes are ripped and lace is exposed, but nothing more than that.  There's an element of sexuality throughout the film - the black lace part of the title wasn't about doilies - but its an undercurrent for most of the movie.  The final act picks up the frantic sensuality of what is going on in the film's mysterious plot, leading to some hammy overacting as the film reaches its finale.

While the plot and motivations behind Blood and Black Lace could also belong to a late-night Cinemax presentation, it's Bava's ability to make all of this sleaze seem so artistic that makes his film something special. I mean, I freakin' compared it to Hitchcock earlier! Do you have any idea how much it means for me to compare something to Hitchcock?  It's a shame that copies of Bava's films are so poorly preserved, because I can only imagine how great this thing would have felt on a fresh print and a big theater screen.

It's unfair to say that the visual component is Blood and Black Lace's only redeeming factor, because Bava also seems to have strong control over the pace and tone of his film.  It's hampered by some production values and age, but the nuts and bolts are all in place and the final coat of polish over what we see leaves the film looking like a winner.  Blood and Black Lace is a simple proto-slasher with some Scooby-like detective moments, but it's also a piece of seedy art that provides a fantastic horror viewing experience.

The Mike's Top 50 Horror Movies Countdown: #22 - Suspiria

Previously on the Countdown: Number 50 - Happy Birthday to Me  Number 49 - Prince of Darkness  Number 48 - House on Haunted Hill  Number 47 - The Monster Squad  Number 46 - Hellraiser  Number 45 - The Fog  Number 44 - Creature From the Black Lagoon  Number 43 - Zombie  Number 42 - Tales from the Crypt  Number 41 - Bubba Ho-Tep  Number 40 - Phantom of the Paradise  Number 39 - Dog Soldiers Number 38 - Pontypool  Number 37 - Dark Water  Number 36 - Army of Darkness Number 35 - The Legend of Hell House  Number 34 - Poltergeist  Number 33 - The Abominable Dr. Phibes  Number 32 - The Phantom of the Opera  Number 31 - The House of the Devil   Number 30 - Evil Dead II  Number 29 - Dead of Night  Number 28 - Carnival of Souls  Number 27 - Nosferatu  Number 26 - Candyman  Number 25 - The Texas Chain Saw Massacre  Number 24 - Horror of Dracula  Number 23 - The Wicker Man

Suspiria

 (1977, Dir. by Dario Argento.)

Why It's Here:

Dario Argento reached a new plane of horror with his 1977 hit, one of the rare films that feels like a genuine nightmare while still managing to make sense.  The director, most known for his slashery giallo films, managed to enhance that formula in Suspiria by adding a touch of witchcraft and some of the most well-placed red paint blood in horror history.  And don't act like that music isn't about the best thing ever added to a horror film.  Because it is.

The Moment That Changes Everything:

The minute Suspiria starts is the minute that sets it apart from the rest of horror. The music picks up, the rain starts to pour, and everything just seems to fit perfectly into place from the starting gun. Some ads for the film famously stated that "The only thing more terrifying than the last 12 minutes are the first 92.", but I'd take that a step farther and say that the first 10 minutes of Suspiria are a perfect piece of horror.

It Makes a Great Double Feature With:

Italy was a great place for horror in the '60s-'80s, and Argento wasn't the only director who mastered their craft during that time.  Setting the tone for directors like Argento since the 1950s was Mario Bava, who also balanced his art between giallo and supernatural terror.  If you want to see him at his best, I recommend the gorgeous Blood and Black Lace, which is as good-looking as any horror film I've seen.

What It Means To Me:

Suspiria isn't really scary in any way - this is one of those movies that the people who want to see a "scary movie" might scoff at - but it's the way Argento presents his film that really sells this as a horror masterpiece.  It's an otherworldly film filled with vibrant colors and ominous sounds, and the perfomers - particularly displaced American Jessica Harper - are perfect for the dreamlike film. Argento's masterpiece is a visceral triumph that must be seen.

FMWL Indie Spotlight - Low

(2011, Dir. by Ross Shepherd.)

There's something about distance from society that just brings out the horror in people, isn't there?  You can set a horror movie in the middle of a city, sure, but is it really as scary as when the character realizes they have miles around them and no place to go?  You can have all the green hills in the world in front of you, but when there's an aggressor around you and you don't know which way is out...well, you might as well be trapped in a box or cell.

By following those ideas, Low is an exercise in tension that approaches the viewer with only a few resources.  One woman walks into the British countryside for her own reasons. She encounters one man who is wandering the same countryside for his own reasons.  The movie adds a few more characters and a couple other settings, but the focus of the film is directly on three things - the woman, the man, and the rolling green hills.  And - if you're following the definition strictly - none of these three things are innocent.

The less you know about Low's plot will be a definite benefit to the experience.  Though it runs under 70 minutes, the indie feature is packed full of twists - some blatant, some shocking - as we follow the path of Alice (Amy Comper), the scared woman, and Edward (David Keyes), the man who seems to hold her captive in the wide open countryside.

When you take one look at the man, you can tell that Edward is one of those seedy types of villains that only seem to come from England.  Keyes plays the role well, offsetting his delicate frame with bold and vicious explanations of what's going on with him. The words he speaks are direct and ominous, and they sell the man's deadly mindset better than any amount of violence could.  It's a cold performance that's gripping to watch, especially when we start to learn more about why Edward is the way he is.

On the other side of the coin is Alice, who is better prepared for a bullying male figure than Edward might think.  The character seems like the traditional damsel in distress early in the film, but a big reveal about what is going on in her life stands the film on end and makes us think twice about Alice and why she's here.  I won't go into the details of just what she endures through the film - again, the surprise of this film is crucial to its charm - but there was certainly a moment that had me fully shaken from my comfort zone and left me feeling deeply affected by the film's representation of human horror.

The third star of the film - and certainly the aspect of the film that drew me in to the story the most - is the stunning cinematography. I'm not a technophile by any means, so I can't tell you just what the cameras used were or how the picture was achieved, but I can say that the movie looks and sounds phenomenal. Colors pop off the screen just as they would in any big budget film, and the cameras do their best to make the settings look like landscapes out of a dream.  There's something terrifically haunting about a film that looks so beautiful yet contains some pretty unspeakable things, and Low gets plenty of benefit from how beautiful the film looks.

Considering how professional the film appears, it's a bit of a surprise to learn that director Ross Shepherd put the film together over a two week span in 2010, working with merely a three man crew.  I can't imagine the limitations that the filmmaker and company were dealing with, but the final product definitely overcomes most of the shortcomings.  My few complaints were tied to the plot, where a few of the developments seemed a little forced and the characters' motivations occasionally border on silly.

With a plot that keeps the viewer on their toes and some interesting characters, Low plays out like a story from The Twilight Zone.  There are a few leaps of faith to be made, but none are deal breakers.  When you add in how well the film is presented, Low seems like the kind of thriller that's just begging to be found.  If you're a fan of minimalist thrillers that keep the focus on the characters - some modern comparisons would be Vincenzo Natali's Cube or Stuart Hazeldine's Exam - Low is a film that you're going to want to watch out for.

If you want more information, don't hesitate to check out the film's official website, and make sure you check out the trailer below.

The Mike's Top 50 Horror Movies Countdown: #29 - Dead of Night

Previously on the Countdown: Number 50 - Happy Birthday to Me  Number 49 - Prince of Darkness  Number 48 - House on Haunted Hill  Number 47 - The Monster Squad  Number 46 - Hellraiser  Number 45 - The Fog  Number 44 - Creature From the Black Lagoon  Number 43 - Zombie  Number 42 - Tales from the Crypt  Number 41 - Bubba Ho-Tep  Number 40 - Phantom of the Paradise  Number 39 - Dog Soldiers Number 38 - Pontypool  Number 37 - Dark Water  Number 36 - Army of Darkness Number 35 - The Legend of Hell House  Number 34 - Poltergeist  Number 33 - The Abominable Dr. Phibes  Number 32 - The Phantom of the Opera  Number 31 - The House of the Devil  Number 30 - Evil Dead II

Dead of Night

(1945, Dir. by Alberto Cavalcanti, Charles Crichton, Basil Dearden, Robert Hamer.)

Why It's Here:

Revolutionizing the horror anthology long before even The Twilight Zone, Ealing Studios' production of Dead of Night might as well be something that is told around a campfire. In a way, it is - thanks to a perfectly drawn wrap-around tale that bridges the gaps between three tales of terror (and one goofy ghost story that provides a late film bit of comic relief).  The film's reliance on the age old desire to tell "scary" stories keeps it from feeling out of date - the same principle that helps things like The Twilight Zone and those awesome Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark books we loved as kids - even if it is more than 65 years old.

The Moment That Changes Everything:

I adore Dead of Night as a whole, and have for a long time. But, if we're being completely honest I don't know if the film would have gotten that far if it weren't for the wonderful Ventriloquist's Dummy segment near the end of the film. Again, this is an age-old horror standard - dolls = scariness - but thanks to some wonderful direction and a great Michael Redgrave performance, it meets our fearful expectations and then some.

It Makes a Great Double Feature With:

It's impossible to find something of its era that's quite like it and quite good, so let's just jump all the way forward to the 2007 horror anthology Trick 'r Treat. Creepshow is most likely a better anthology horror flick, but Trick 'r Treat's central theme of old legends and spook stories coming together is more in tune with Dead of Night's personality.

What It Means To Me:

When i start comparing something to The Twilight Zone and the Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark books, that's a big deal. Dead of Night gets a special place in my heart because it's completely interested in tapping into fears of the unknown, something that surprisingly few horror tales do anymore. It's not a monster film, it doesn't need blood and gore to make a point - it just wants to make our skin crawl a bit. It meets that goal whenever I watch it.

Midnight Movie of the Week #38 - The Diabolical Doctor Z

Wait, which Diabolical Doctor?

Oh, THAT Diabolical Doctor!

Classic horror goes European in The Diabolical Doctor Z (originally titled Miss Muerte), a relatively early offering from Spanish schlockmeister Jesus Franco.  According to IMDB, Franco has directed 192 films in his career, yet many horror fans are quick to dismiss him based on heavy sexual themes in his output.  In fact, Franco is also known for "making Spain's first pornographic film", and his most popular film is the flamboyantly titled Vampyros Lesbos.

With his reputation preceding him, I was kind of shocked when I came across The Diabolical Doctor Z.  This isn't a restrained film by any means, but it feels more like the offspring of a Terence Fisher or Herk Harvey to me.  It borrows from classic tales like Frankenstein and foreshadows future horrors like The Abominable Dr. Phibes, and puts it all together in a bizarre yet artistic manner.

Summing up the plot of the film briefly, the Diabolical Doctor Z is a scientist with a God complex who dies of a heart attack after defending his ideas against a panel of doctors who dismiss his methods.  He is survived by his loyal daughter Irma, who vows she will take revenge on the men who drove her father to his grave.  I guess the easy methods of murder weren't available, because she decides it'd be best to brainwash a macabre dancer known as Miss Muerte, and then have her seduce and kill the fellows with her poison-tipped fingernails.

(REALLY WEIRD TANGENT ALERT - I have to say, I always was kind of terrified of the poisonous female when I was growing up.   While I was religiously watching professional wrestling in the early '90s, I convinced myself that a particularly fatale valet known as Lady Blossom (who was accompanying future megastar Steve Austin) was the type of woman who, like Batman's Poison Ivy, wore lipstick containing a sedative that could knock out one of Austin's opponents in a pinch.  All she had to do, of course, was give them a little peck on the lips.  Part of me wants to believe this actually happened on TBS one Saturday afternoon, but it's probably just something I made up while playing with my wrestling figures and subbing one of my sister's Barbies into Lady Blossom's role.  Whether or not it was real, it made a lasting impact on me.

And now that I've talked about my completely embarrassing childhood (I lived on a farm, OK???  I had to make up my own weirdness!), back to the movie....)

Miss Muerte is not a willing assassin, which leads to a lot of weird torture scenes in which the female Doctor Z (though I'm not sure she got her degree) gives her a "treatment" that brainwashes her.  Of course, one of those boring European chisel-jawed heroes shows up to try and help her escape Irma's power, and the film mixes a lot of the plot elements that would later reign in the Italian horror scene, such as the hero's quest to find a countryside locale.  As punctuation, the music of the film volleys between ominous organ music (like Harvey's Carnival of Souls) and manic Jazz music - fitting some of the more odd moments brilliantly. 

As Irma and Miss Muerte, respectively, Mabel Karr and Estella Blain definitely succeed on opposite ends of the "Women in Horror" spectrum.  With her short blond hair and eventual facial disfiguration (occurring in a fabulous scene in which she murders a young woman by plowing over her with a car), Karr is viciously intimidating, but can turn on the charm when she needs to convince others of her normalcy.  On the other hand, Blain's showgirl-turned-slayer is incredibly naive for such a picturesque woman.  She doesn't seem like she wants to recognize the power that comes with her beauty, and the treatments from Irma seem to release her onstage persona as a tangible, real-world being.  Irma, whose mastery of science compels Muerte, is the true killer, yet it's fascinating to see this young woman live up to her name.  There's definitely some catharsis as Blain's character truly becomes the spider-woman that she portrays on stage.

 At just over 83 minutes, The Diabolical Doctor Z is a slice of Euro horror that's easy to get into, though there are a few lulls in the action.  Despite the director, it's not a film about nudity or exploitation; it's an honest-to-goodness psychological horror with wickedly surreal imagery and plenty of weird science.  It's also one of Franco's lesser seen films, receiving only 271 ratings from users at IMDB (In fact, only one of Franco's 192 films has received more than 1000 votes on that site, a staggeringly low number).  While I'm still relatively new to his work, I can't imagine he's made many films better than this one, and I think any fan of classic black-and-white horror should seek it out as soon as possible.

(Oh, and if you have any doubts about this one, just click on those pictures and make 'em bigger.  Wicked cool, I tell ya!)