Best Horror of 2016

Here we are at the finish line of a year that if you're like me probably glad to see the ass-end of. So many shitty things in the news that it's hard to comprehend them all. I wish things had been better because for me personally, it was a pretty good year. My second short film Lively scored Canadian distribution and I produced two more that will hopefully see the light of day in 2017. I finished my long-gestating feature script and joined the programming teams of three different film festivals. Not too shabby. But we're here to talk movies...

It has been an up-and-down year and if I'm honest, a lot of the most resonant pieces of genre I've ingested have been outside of film (Limetown, Life Is Strange, Inside, Black Mirror, Channel Zero), but that's not to say there weren't some fantastic horror movies released. I would normally offer up five titles, but since I put The Witch on 2015's list, I can only nominate four that went above and beyond.

Raw
France, Dir: Julia Ducournau

Bold and veracious, this deserved every bit of praise it received at this year's Midnight Madness. Putting aside the circus of the premiere's “medical emergencies” its importance to the genre should not be overlooked. Using the platform of a coming-of-age film, Raw is every bit as evocative as modern classics Let The Right One In and Ginger Snaps.

Under The Shadow
Iranian/UK, Dir: Babak Anvari

This Persian powerhouse really took me by surprise when I saw it back in April. The comparisons to Jennifer Kent's The Babadook are valid, but I would propose that Anvari's film is even better pound-for-pound as it relies less on its production design to deliver the creeps. As if the backdrop of war-torn Iran wasn't unsettling enough, the addition of a supernatural element leads to almost unbearable amounts of tension. This is a terrific piece of horror filmmaking.

The Invitation
USA, Dir: Karyn Kusama

I adore this movie and have not seen suspense this well utilized in a long time. This movie took something as benign as a dinner party and through sharp writing and pace managed to keep me on the edge of my seat. I knew the what, but my anticipation of the when, why and how kept me razor focused. I'm so impressed by how well this movie is put together, as even something as small as where someone stood during a scene caused me so much anxiety.

Train To Busan
South Korea, Dir: Yeon Sang-ho

Let's all admit it. We're all a little bored of zombies now that they've passed their saturation point. Yet even despite this, Train To Busan still manages to be all kinds of awesome. There's an energy to this movie that you can feel when you watch it with a crowd. While it's true that the unique location provides some freshness, it's also the colourful characters (and there are a lot of them) that really give life to this movie. I think you may be as surprised as I was by how much heart it has -- where did all these feels come from???

Honourable Mentions

If you had said to me a year ago, “Hey Jay, your best of list next year is going to include a Polish musical adaptation of The Little Mermaid” I'd have asked what you were smoking and if I could have some. However, that is absolutely the case. Agnieszka Smoczynska's The Lure is tremendous. Even on a second viewing I was amazed by how much confidence and swagger Smoczynska shows in her debut! The Lure is an absolute joy!

This year, I finally got to see The Void. It was thankfully exactly what I was hoping for. It rose beyond homage to actually exist as one of those crazy creature fests we grew up watching in the eighties. I'm extremely proud of Steve Kostanski and Jeremy Gillespie for what they accomplished here.

I was glad to lay my eyeballs on some cool indies this year, most notably Perry Blackshear's They Look Like People and Billy O'Brien's I Am Not A Serial Killer. Both were able to portray mental illness in a tangible and non-sensationalized way while weaving some fine storytelling.

I was also really impressed with 10 Cloverfield Lane. Dan Trachtenberg directed the shit out of this movie. His three leads (John Goodman, Mary Elizabeth Winstead and John Gallagher Jr. - what a year for that guy with Hush and The Belko Experiment also on his 2016 resume) put in some of the best performances this year in my opinion. Say what you want about where the movie eventually goes, but this was a super taut thriller.

Lastly, I just wanted to bring up what a solid year it was for genre-related documentaries. In addition to the uber-creepy Beware the Slenderman, we also had a pair of great docs about the medium itself in The Frankenstein Complex and 24 x 36.

Moving onto the negative side of things, I am afraid I saw an unusually large number of things I didn't care for this year like the mind-numbingly dumb Yoga Hosers, the mind-numbingly gross The Greasy Strangler and that unconvincing not-as-clever-as-it-thinks-it-is bore Safe Neighbourhood. For the latter, I'm not usually in the minority when it comes to these things, but now I get the mindset of those people who sat in the corner and rolled their eyes at the praise heaped on Cabin In The Woods and You're Next. Except those two movies were awesome. Safe 'Hood can ess a dee.

However, nothing came close to my dislike for Mickey Keating's Darling. It is a mess in concept, in tone and almost everything else. It has been a while since I've seen something so unapologetically pretentious and I'm not having any of it.

So, that's another three-sixty-five down. Have a great New Year and I'll see you back here next week to rundown all the horror goodies coming up in 2017. 

Welcome To The Family.

Things got so crazy with my latest project, I never got to tell you how you the latest edition of Fright Night Theatre went. The answer is very well. I was particularly proud of the short film programme we put together this year, but I think I’ll post about all the tremendous shorts I’ve seen over the last few months at a later date.

As  for the rest of FNT, in addition to seeing Neil DiLiberto’s Nova Seed for a third time (man, I adore that movie) I also took in Scott Schirmer’s newest release, Plank Face.

While out camping with his girlfriend, Max (Nathan Barrett) is captured by a family of feral cannibals and forced to adopt their primitive way of life.

Schirmer and his crew at Bandit Motion Pictures have served up another bizarre and uncompromising tale here – and no, that will not be the last cannibal pun you read here. I thought how the film explored the idea of family, that it is an instinctual constant no matter how civilized the subjects, was really fascinating. It could be the best representation of this I’ve seen since the bar was set in the nineteen-seventies.

As this movie progresses, we witness the stripping down of the protagonist and his gradual indoctrination into the family. Perhaps the most impressive part of this was that it was done with very little dialogue with almost none past the first act. As we’ve come to expect from Schirmer, there was tons of gore and nudity, but in this movie, it rarely felt exploitative. I feel that is one of his strongest talents, as his more provocative sequences (in Harvest Lake and this) always seem to have purpose and make sense within the narrative that he is spinning.

Nathan Barrett as the titular character, Plank Face.

However, the real reason all of this works is the up-for-anything cast that Schrimer assembled for Plank Face. Whereas most of the cast was made up of locals and referrals, Nathan Barrett was a complete question mark going into production. They had to take his word that he would be cool with “being put through hell”. In the end, he exceeded expectations, as Barrett handled the emotional and physical challenges of the role pretty much as well as anyone I’ve ever seen.

As for the family, they were all one-hundred-per-cent committed, but I especially liked Bunny Girl (Alyss Winkler). Her animal-like, yet playful physicality drew my eyes to her every time she was onscreen. Ellie Church was as stalwart as always here, and having also done the hair, make-up and costume work for the project, she remains one of Bandit Pictures' most reliable and important assets.

Alyss Winkler as Bunny Girl.

Back as cinematographer on Plank Face, was Brian Williams. While this wasn’t as visually pleasing as Harvest Lake, he still beautifully utilized the Indianian forest well. Those two films were actually shot in the same area, barely one season apart, but it’s quite shocking how different they look. It just goes to show how much of a difference a colour palette can make to a movie's essence.

I’ve got to hand it to Bandit Pictures, they make perversely engaging films. And while it is true their subject matter might not always be easily digestible (there it is!), I really admire how bold and unique they are. We need more of that these days.

They're Back, Baby!

Midnight Madness continued on Monday with Julia Ducournau's first solo effort, Raw.

After being forced to eat meat during a hazing ritual at her first week at veterinary school, vegetarian Justine (Garance Marillier) begins developing deep carnivorous urges.

During the 00's, horror fans were blessed with a series of films collectively referred to as The New French Extremity that included such nerve-shredding titles as High Tension (2003), Inside (2007) and Martyrs (2008). Then they seemed to fall away, just as the Spaniards took their turn as the darlings of modern horror. Well, after seeing Raw, I can say the French are now back with a vengeance.

Raw has been described as both feminist and veganist, but I feel those labels are too narrow. This is a coming of age film. Much like films such as We Are What We Are and Ginger Snaps, Raw had a grounded and introspective quality to it that was so incredibly well orchestrated. The subject matter was both primal and sexual, which elicited genuine reactions from the crowd. You could feel it in the air and it gave the film's title all that much more meaning.

Garance Marillier as Justine in Raw.

Some viewers may have felt a little too much, as I'm sure you all heard about the pass-outs and ambulances. The PR was quick to jump on that and I can corroborate, as one of the affected was sitting a few seats over from me. Raw was gory and gross, with many wince-tastic moments, but I'd be surprised if it was the visuals alone that caused the kind of thing I saw – they were more like seizures than pass-outs. I can't explain it, but it was like there was some other variable at play that night. It was a very strange experience.

The highlight of Raw – apart from the awesomely tactile F/X work by Olivier Afonso, the man responsible for Inside's nightmarish splatter – was the fantastic and fully committed performance by Garance Marillier. Ducournau said during the Q&A that she has been working with Marillier for several years now and they have developed a creative shorthand. This was immediately evident onscreen, as Marillier was fearless and brilliantly calculated in every stage of her character's evolution.

Director Julia Ducournau.

It is one thing to say that a movie was made for the Midnight Madness audience, as was the case with this year's opener, The Belko Experiment, but it's another thing entirely to make a film that defines the programme. Raw is the kind of work that keeps the spirit of Midnight Madness alive and away from marginalization and mediocrity. Ducournau's film is bold and veracious, possessing an energy that is unique to the cinema from her corner of the globe. Don't ever change!

Trailer Tuesdays: Parents

Today's trailer is Bob Balaban's kooky 1989 horror flick, Parents.

I saw this when it came out and wasn't a fan. However, I've been thinking about giving it a re-watch because a) I can't recall a damn thing about it, and b) everyone else seems to remember this movie so much more fondly than I.

Strange.

Kids Be Misbehavin'

After getting myself settled into my downtown Montreal abode, my Fantasia experience began with Jonathan Milott & Cary Murnion's horror comedy Cooties.

After an elementary school's student population become infected by a mysterious virus that turns them into feral cannibals, the teachers find themselves in a struggle for survival.

After its premiere at Sundance last year, Cooties seemed to disappear for a while, so I was glad to see it play here before it releases wide (and by wide, I mean the US and likely not Canada) in September.

Before I get to Cooties though, I'd like to mention the fantastic little short that played before it called Point of View. Made by fellow Torontoian Justin Harding – whom I was surprised none of my crew were even aware of, our film community is small, but obviously not as small as we thought – this short is basically everything you could want in a horror short film. While liberally borrowing from the premise of Doctor Who baddies The Weeping Angels (saying so in the credits makes it ok, right?), this piece had excellent pace, performances and makeup effects which made it a huge crowd pleaser.

Anyhoo, Cooties was a fun time. After an opening credit sequence that'll make you never want to eat chicken nuggets again, the film wastes very little time getting to the carnage. Though there are several good set pieces revolving around dispatching infected foes, I think the real strength is the ensemble assembled for this. They mesh together well and keep the movie from falling apart when the novelty of the byline wears off about an hour in. While the focus is on Elijah Wood & Rainn Wilson, who both do what they do very well, I thought that Leigh Whanell was the real scene stealer here. He had the majority of the best one-liners (perhaps because he co-wrote the screenplay) and his comedic timing was really on point.

Alison Pill & Elijah Wood in Cooties.

After recently re-watching The Faculty, it was funny to see this, as it is pretty much the reverse scenario, with the teachers being the besieged by the students. As the trailer would suggest, there is a lot of child murder in this movie. Granted, it is comedic and the antagonists are ferocious beasts, but they get mowed down in droves. It was interesting to see the reactions, which ranged from overly enthusiastic – seriously, after screenings of 2008's The Children and this, it seems like some people have a real blood lust for this stuff – to downright disturbed.

Patient Zero Shelley (Sunny May Allison) in Cooties.

Cooties is one of those movies where the trailer gives you an exact representation of what to expect. If you dig the trailer, you'll dig the movie.

Shock Stock 2015 Part 2

On Saturday, I checked out of my swanky suite in the morning, but not before sharing an elevator with one of the permanent residents. No sooner had the doors closed that, this old lady turned to me and said,

“You know they're finding AIDS and Hep A in blood products. I'm tellin you, all this sexual immorality has to cease. What do you think?”

I said that things were getting of hand, which she took to mean I wanted to hear her life story about raising several kids on her own in Alberta. Then, mercifully, the doors opened and I was saved by the concierge at the front desk. Apparently, this woman just does this sort of thing.

I walked down the street to Centennial Hall and through the door of the Con. With the screening behind me, I was finally able to get a good look at the floor. There were some new vendors and, like I said before, an increased number overall.

The old standards were in attendance of course, like Suspect Video, The Vault, Twisted T's, Troma, Fangoria, Hollywood Canteen, The Butcher Shop, Black Fawn and Blood In The Snow.

Part 7 mold taken straight from Kane Hodder's own mask.

BITS crew Melanie, Jen & Jason.

There were two newcomers that especially caught my eye. The regular poster vendor in the back corner had been replaced with a new outfit called Poster Mortem. It was basically a guy who was selling off his recently acquired collection of foreign horror posters, of which there were some bee-oots.

The second one was a glass artist company called Slay It Mosaics. There were some great stuff here, very creative and striking work.

Not cheap, but custom glass work never is. Shock Stock always a few local indie filmmakers promoting their works, and this was no different. I have to give a shout-out to Reel Phobia Productions based out of Cambridge, Ontario. Super nice people.

What a great Goddamn title, right? Hopefully these guys get hooked up with Zack for a screening at The Vault, or maybe even a premiere at Blood In The Snow? Stranger things have happened!

I was actually surprised by the amount of VHS this year. Last year, it seemed like the demand had dropped off a bit, but it was back with a vengeance this year. I'd say there were at least ten different sellers schlepping their wares this time around. 

I was very good this year though, and only picked up these.

This was the first time I'd seen Demented in the wild for many years, so I picked that one up for sure. Plus, until the whole Tangerine Dream rights get sorted out, it's gonna be a while before we see an official digital release of The Keep, as well.

As far as guests go, Italian exploitation icon Giovanni Lombardo Radice was really interesting to listen to. You don't really realize how many people he has worked with until you go down the list. Fulci, Deodato, Lenzi, Soavi, Margheriti, the list goes on.

He talked about his first role on House on the Edge of the Park, and how he became indispensable on set because he was the only one who could speak all three languages of the cast and crew (Italian, English and French) and also spoke of his experience working with the great Lucio Fulci.

“I'd heard the stories of his screaming and such, but he was always gracious with me. He later told me that sometimes he had to make up problems to keep the crew on edge. If they weren't, they would get sloppy. So I think any bad behaviour on his part was more an act rather than in his nature.”

Actor Giovanni Lombardo Radice.

However, he did not sugar coat his time working on Cannibal Ferox.

“Okay, this is the thing. If you're going to be working in the Amazon, you have to be working with Scorsese. If you're going to be working with Umberto Lenzi, you have to be shooting in the south of France and staying in a five-star hotel. Working with Lenzi in the Amazon was hell, it was a nightmare. God created the Amazon when he was really pissed.”

Radice also mentioned that his autobiography, A Zombie Life would be out later this year.

Speaking together were actors Tony Todd & Eugene Clark. They had great chemistry and riffed off one another. Todd was really excited about his new project, a retelling of Frankenstein. Reunited with Candyman director Bernard Rose, their efforts recently won them best picture at the Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival. Todd also said he was working on a one man play about the life of boxer Jack Johnson.

Actors Tony Todd & Eugene Clark.

When asked if the two of them would ever appear in a movie together, Eugene replied;

“Nah, they'd never put two brothas in the same movie.”

Later, Edwin Neal did a short Q&A before the retro-screening of 1985's Future Kill. He was every bit as eccentric as his character in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, but you know, more in a jovial kind of way, than in a slice you & eat you kind of way.

He said that the question he most gets asked is how they did the shot with the swing;

“Everybody assumes it was really complicated and used like $40,000 crane, Christ, that was almost the whole budget. These big time directors would come up with these elaborate ways we must have done it - and I'd say. 'the girl gets up from the swing and then the two biggest guys on the crew lifted the swing so the camera could pass under it.' They'd just look at me in shock. It just goes to show you, that you don't need big equipment to get some of these shots, just ideas and some strong crew.”

Actor Ed Neal.

When he was talking about Future Kill, he did say that working with particular first-time (and coincidentally last time) director Ron Moore was a challenge.

“Unfortunately, when you're dealing with someone fresh out of school, they spend a lot of time asking the crew 'should I do this? should I do that?' I remember having to palm money to members of the crew just to make sure they didn't walk off the set.”

I hadn't actually seen Future-Kill before, but was obviously familiar with the instantly recognizable H.R. Giger cover art. Even though that cover was probably responsible for hundreds, nay thousands of rentals, it is so good that the movie couldn't possibly live up to it. I didn't mind it though. Sure, it's ultra low budget and its limitations are constantly evident, but its Animal House meets Escape From New York vibe kind of worked.

Later that night was the Scumbag Soiree. It was crazy. I mean, the Shock Stock parties of year's past have been epic, but this one was absolute off the chain. Death metal and self immolation were the warm up acts! And the Miss Shock Stock crowning ceremony was the stuff of legend.

Sharlotte Dresden, Shotzi Blackheart & Sadie Katz.

Think Girls Gone Wild mixed with Backyard Wrestling. Stuff I'd seen on VHS, but never in real life, and within spraying distance. It makes a difference.

After making sure to leave a high score on the bar's Galaga machine, I took off into the night and made the inadvisable three-a.m drive back across the 401. Though still fairly young at five years, this was definitely one of the best editions of Shock Stock I'd say. And now that they've has teamed up with the other new horror entertainment event on the block, Horror-Rama, I see bright things in the near future.

Congrats to the scumbags, Jake & James for another memorable beer & blood drenched event!

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Good afternoon! It would appear I have now hit the quarter-century mark for these things. That's a lot of Sundays! Thanks to everyone who keeps coming back on these lazy mornings.

Blood On The Wall.

A friend turned me onto a really cool artist named Patrick Hart. He creates all things grim and grotesque and then mounts them to canvas. Here is a sampling.

You can check out the rest here, but prepare to be there a while, as his collection at this point is nothing short of prolific.

XX.

This week, the poster for the female driven horror anthology XX hit the Web, and it is a beaut.

Featuring the talents of Jovanka Vuckovic (The Captured Bird), Mary Harron (American Psycho), Jennifer Chambers Lynch (Surveillance), Karen Kusama (Jennifer's Body) and animator Sofia Carillo, we can expect this welcome shot of genre estrogen to hopefully arrive sometime in late 2015.

As Advertised.

Director Alrik Bursell's short film Strange Thing has been touring the festival circuit for the last year, and has now found its way online. Check it out below.

A Delicious Morsel.

While it is maddening that we have to wait until summer for more Hannibal, we did get this teaser trailer.

It would appear that there will be some globe-trotting this year, as Will Graham hunts down Hannibal after the grisly events of last season's finale. It was also revealed recently that the infamous Frances “Tooth Fairy” Dolarhyde will appear this season, played by Richard Armitage. Perhaps of more interest to me is that Rutina Wesley is along for the ride as Dolarhyde's love interest Reba McClane. 

Actress Rutina Wesley

When I gave up on the hot mess that was True Blood about four seasons in, Wesley one of the many actresses I missed dearly, so I'm glad she's back on TV.

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Hello all. I hope your Easter festivities are going well. Here are some rotten little eggs from this past week. Enjoy!

Kane is Coming.

It was announced this week that my friend Serena Whitney, in collaboration with Justin McConnell of Unstable Ground, have optioned the rights to the 1990 novel, Kane by Douglas Borton. Genre veterans Adam Mason (Blood River, Devil's Chair) & George Mihalka (My Bloody Valentine) are on board as consulting producers, as well as Avi Federgreen (Still Mine).

It's always to great to see your friends realize their dreams, and this has some great potential. Kane tells the story of a lone traveller who comes to the small town of Tuskett with one goal in mind - kill everyone of its twenty-three inhabitants!

For the original press release from The Hollywood Reporter, click here.

Giallo Mondo.

Here below, is the trailer for the Argentinian love-letter to the giallo, Sonno Profondo.

It is gorgeous to be sure, but that narration makes it feel like it is supposed to be a parody, rather than an emulation. That is unless it is supposed to be a parody... In that case, good job! Sonno Profondo aka Deep Sleep screened at last year's Sitges Film Festival in Spain.

Cannibal Cookout.

A new teaser has surfaced for Eli Roth's new flick Green Inferno.

I saw this last year at TIFF and I still maintain it to be an authentic rendition of the subgenre. If you are at all a fan of the works of Deodato and Lenzi, this is a must watch. The tribe they used in the film are fantastic and there are some top notch set pieces that won't disappoint the gorehounds.