#the human centipede 3 (final sequence) | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

nationmckinleyscorset · 3 months

Text

The time I'm writing this is 1:14 am and I have just finished the final movie in the most disturbing trilogy I've ever watched.

The human Centipede is one of my favourite topics because I like to figure out who watches it for enjoyment (because who the fuck do you think they are) and who treats it as an endurance test. I personally have only watched all 3 movies because after the second, despite vowing to never go near the movies again, I had to know just how much more twisted they could get (plus I like closure and can never leave a series alone once I've started it).

Perhaps the most disturbing part of the final sequence is that Tom Six (the director) included himself as a character in the movie, aside from the odd comment along the lines of this is so messed up, his character had a sick fascination with the whole thing. Are we really surprised? The man was inspired to make the series after thinking up the punishment for a criminal he had seen on TV. I find it worrying that, although Six has stated he has a very innocent soul and can't abide violence, he has thought out real world applications for his disgusting punishment.

Not to piss off any fans of the 3rd movie but I also despise the fact that the main character Bill was yelling so much that his character had no substance. I got that he was insane and had discriminatory ideals but had no reason to sympathise with his character (as in the 2nd movie where the man had been abused, not an excuse by any measure but at least some backstory and vulnerable moments rather than just screaming slurs at the top of your lungs and sexually assaulting the same woman repetitively).

You know the movie was twisted when, rather than coming away from it thinking "damn, that actually made me think about society" you go to Google and spend half an hour searching "what the fuck is wrong with Tom Six"

I do appreciate that Six has veered away from the severely graphic surgical scenes and extreme gore but think the racism, misogyny and various other disturbing, incorrect viewpoints were unnecessary.

We get it, you want to shock people, you've been doing it for years. In trying so hard to disturb people these movies are becoming predictable, besides the plot lines are becoming more obnoxious and the acting is becoming so over the top that it isn't believable.

Honestly Six needs to get over himself and stop taking pleasure in being labeled the sickest man on earth, the constant desire to shock audiences is becoming childish and because the same Storylines are being reused (for example starting each movie with a character inspired by the last movie) they're actually becoming less shocking, I could probably create a bingo card of things I expect to happen and they will. As a random example, "someone gets shot", "crazy person inspired by dodgy movie", "crazy person attempts acts committed in movie", "woman sexually abused", "barbed wire mentioned/used", the list goes on

#Had to write something on this #If I'd gone to sleep not giving an opinion the people in my class would have to hear it instead #And nobody wants that #the human centipede #tom six #Wtf is wrong with him #tw sa mention

4 notes · View notes

sharpth1ng · 2 years

Note

random hc Ive been yhinking abt

Stu LOVES really shitty horror films, like he eats that shit up.

he probably looks at the cove poster and KNOWS its horrid and definitely shitty but hypes it up to Billy like its really good and “dude I promise, its sooo good like, you would really like it!!”

Billy doesn’t trust any of Stu’s recommendations because this man will hype up the worse movies.

Also Billy and stu would definitely like the human centipede, second sequence. Specifically the second one, but they certainly would have watched all 3

This is 100000% true. Stu loves camp.

Some other faves of his include the final destination series, troll 2, Jason x, and Birdemic. He’s also a massive fan of all the child’s play movies and def has a chucky doll that he moves around the house like it’s a fucking elf on the shelf.

In 2003 he forced Billy to go to the premier of Freddy vs Jason and Billy still hasn’t forgiven him for that.

And you KNOW he found a way to trick Billy into seeing Megan with him. Billy is traumatized. He will never trust again.

And also yeah they would have loved that early 2000’s torture porn era. These boys play Saw in their free time and Stu can’t let Billy forget that he has the same name as the godamn puppet.

Edit more:

Other fucked up post 96 movies they’re into:

-ichi the killer, Tokyo gore police, martyrs, the house that jack built, grotesque, the Poughkeepsie tapes, house of 1000 corpses

-Billy specifically also gets really into Robert Eggers, Ben Wheatley, and Ari Aster movies

#ask #scream headcanons

13 notes · View notes

fizziepopangel · 1 year

Text

The Human Centipede Trilogy (TW: mentions of gore, death, and SA)

The first sequence of The Human Centipede was released in 2010 with its second and third installments following closely behind in 2011 & 2015. Labelled as horror, slasher, and splatter, the writer and director of this trilogy (Tom Six) takes viewers on 3 separate journeys; each getting more disturbing than the last.... so much so that only the first movie was worth watching. And, yes, I did waste roughly 4 hours of my short little life watching all 3.

For anyone reading this who isn't familiar with the concept of The Human Centipede movies, the photos should give you an idea of the basic concept of the movies. This of course being that a string of people is surgically strung together mouth the ass, taking the phrase "eat shit" to a while new, sickening level.

Sequence 1: Believe it or not, the 2010 movie was actually good, and something I would and have recommended to those who think they can stomach it. This movie depicts a crazy German doctor kidnapping 3 tourists and sewing the strangers together to create one long digestive tract.... While the doctor's experiment works and he does end up with a functioning three-person centipede, his overall success ends with the tail end of the centipede unaliving himself and the front of the centipede dying from blood poising from the basement surgery (big surprise there, huh?), and the doctor himself being shot fatally by a police officer. While the doctor being unable to hurt anymore people was definitely a huge win, the two officers in his home also ended up being fatally wounded and leave the middle segment of the centipede alive, alone, and most likely on her way to a slow, painful death from dehydration, starvation, or eventually infection from being sewn to two different dead bodies. Despite the ending, overall, the movie was a solid, well shot piece of gore. If I were to rate the film, I would give it a solid 6.5 out of 10 and I wouldn't be opposed to sitting down to watch it again some time.

Sequence 2: A year after the original movie was released, the second sequence of the trilogy came into existence. This movie, while again written and directed by a mister Tom Six, followed a different storyline. As much as I went into this movie experience wanting to like it, there is very little to say about it that's actually good. This sequence actually takes place in a timeline in which the first movie was a movie that the main character (Martin) has an unhealthy obsession with. Martin, a man shy, mentally challenged little man suffering from abuse that had been ongoing since his childhood, falls in love with the idea of the human centipede and decides to study the film in order to make his own human centipede. I won't bore anyone with the details of each individual instance of Martin's crazed centipede extravaganza, but I will say that plot wise, the movie seemed lazily written, and I was sad to see that the movie was shot completely in black and white, which seemed to drown out most of the gore and splatter. On top of that, most deaths in the movie seemed to do little to advance the plot, only really done for the dramatics of it all... and the lazy writing in this sequence really used the "it was all just a dream" trope to wrap the movie up.... While the acting was decent, the style choices in this movie, the unnecessary deaths and crude behavior all seemed like a desperate effort to shock viewers into believing it was good horror because it was uncomfortably gross. Due to the poor stylistic choice and lack of a halfway decent plotline, this film ranks extremely low on my list of things to watch again , ranking at only a 2 out of 10.

Sequence 3: Although fully in color this time, this was arguably the worst thing I've sat through start to finish. After watching the first sequence and enduring the second, I felt obligated to watch the final sequence, and while I again started the movie with a bowl of ramen and an open mind, I quickly found that I would have a long hour and a half. Sequence 3 is centered around Bill Boss (played by the same actor who played the doctor in sequence 1), a cruel yet cowardly prison warden. Again, in this film universe, sequence 1 and 2 are bother purely fictional works pitched to Bill Boss by his accountant to rehabilitate the inmates, cut costs and crack down on prison violence. This leads to the idea that they may be able to make a human centipede with the 500 inmates within the prison walls to present to the governor when he visits the prison. When this experiment is completed, Bill proceeds to shoot and kill the prison doctor that helped them make their sick centipede and worm ideas a reality for being too excited to continue his work when he asks about the next round of surgeries without the knowledge that the entire thing had been shot down by the governor just moments before. His accountant suffers the same fate when the governor returns to the prison with a change of heart about the centipede idea being a permanent fixture in their facility, crediting Dwight (the accountant) for the idea. From SA to torture to murder over greed, to the 500 person centipede (and the caterpillar), there was nothing good within the near two hours I sat through it. It was stale, needlessly vulgar, and overall extremely upsetting to watch. After almost tapping out while watching the movie, I can say with full confidence that I will never be sitting through this again unless there is a hefty amount of cash on the line. there isn't a rating low enough to give this sequence an accurate rating.

Now, I know no one asked me to talk about this trilogy, but I had to. The movies were just too much to not talk about them. I thank everyone who read and enjoyed my late night ramblings on the movie, anyone who didn't can eat shit (see what I did there lol😂).

#fizziepop thoughts #tw mention of death #tw mentions of sa #horror movies #bad movies #movie review #human centipede #tom six

3 notes · View notes

ikramsarwar · 3 months

Text

#corteiz

0 notes

hellstar12 · 4 months

Text

0 notes

thebloodbuddies · 2 years

Text

The Human Centipede 3 (Final Sequence) [2015]

It's time for dessert! We're wrapping up our run of Human Centipede movies by watching the final sequence in all of its icky glory.

Check out this BRAND NEW episode!

#blood buddies #horror #horror movies

0 notes

the-acid-pear · 11 months

Text

Human Centipede 3 (The Final Sequence) time. I'm really hoping this is better than the last. I honestly don't know what to expect. Well, except for one thing: I expect babygirl Heiter to be as crazy as he can be 😍

#luly talks #🐛 liveblog

43 notes · View notes

movieweb · 4 years

Photo

Dieter Laser Dies, The Human Centipede Star Was 78

Dieter Laser, the German actor who starred as Dr. Josef Heiter in The Human Centipede, has passed away at the age of 78.

https://movieweb.com/dieter-laser-dead-human-centipede-trilogy/

#The Human Centipede #The Human Centipede 3 #The Human Centipede Part 3 (Final Sequence)#Obituaries

2 notes · View notes

roadsidegrave · 3 years

Note

human centipede…? Isn’t it like…kinda boring beyond the disturbing parts?

If you think human centipede is boring then might I suggest human centipede 3 the final sequence which in addition to never having a dull moment is also a thrilling critique of the american prison system as well as the government and medical abuse

8 notes · View notes

strawberrygirldick · 3 years

Note

Dr. Josef Heiter is the antagonist of the first film, The Human Centipede (First Sequence).

He was portrayed by the late actor Dieter Laser, who in 2015 played Bill Boss, in The Human Centipede 3 (Final Sequence).

Contents 1 Biography1.1 Background 1.2 The Human Centipede (First Sequence) 2 Behind the scenes 3 Trivia 4 Related 5 References

Biography

Background

Much of Josef Hei

Cool? Wh... Why is this in my ask box..?

3 notes · View notes

gofancyninjaworld · 5 years

Text

Thoughts on One-Punch Man Season 2: But what about the story?

Second part: So much for the structure, what was the effect?

Just before the second season started, I posted about what I hoped I’d see, assuming it ended where it did. Let’s see how they did.

Yup, I keep cutting the words, but the bastards keep multiplying

The Story Itself

What I’d hoped for:

There’s a lot less of the monster of the week situation, this series. I love the care with which the Monster Association goes about attacking. What looked like random stuff (egregiously stretched out by the tournament), will come together to be a coherent and potent threat that will leave us viewers desperate to find out how the Hero Association replies.

[…]

And at the end of this season, even though we’ve had a very interesting time of it, none of it will be over. The stakes will have been delineated, the battle lines drawn and I really hope that J.C. Staff does enough to make it clear why we should care enough to come back for season 3 whenever it airs.

What we got:

No question about it, there’s a Monster Association and it’s pretty serious. We got their ultimatum to the Hero Association and there’s no question that they’re taking it seriously. The problem comes with the overall lack of energy and urgency in the treatment of the plot. We’re missing bodies, broken buildings, landed punches, follow through, all the things that sell that sense of urgency, of a situation that’s threatening to spin out of all control. Which is a pity, because then we don’t get the sense of relief once the monsters disappear, only to be replaced with foreboding as the Monster Association makes its demands.

They really can’t use time as an excuse for that. It was really bad scripting with a tendency to soft-soap all impacts by panning away at critical moments. It’s a real shame when episode 7 (19) is named ‘Class S Heroes’ – the heavy cavalry whom should turn the tides of battle – and we see very little of how they work. The rare times they have followed through with blows, the entire mood of the episode changes for the better.

It’s interesting that when chapter 84 was released, it felt like an excellent season finale. And it could have been, but for the lack of a build up in tension and urgency that should have been sustained all season long. So many missed opportunities – like little scenes of Atomic Samurai going in person to Bang’s dojo only to find it locked, more scenes of Bang hunting increasingly desperately for Garou, a running tally of heroes struck down by Garou adding pressure to his search… all sorts of things the manga has left wide open to be added to that would have created continuity and tension against the backdrop of a crisis that really, really needs the help of *every* hero.

Special note: Can I just say that Phoenixman is awesome in his garishness? He looks like a children’s show mascot put together by people on the last day of a ten-day bender. Guaranteed to give children nightmares. I love him.

Don’t believe the monster, kids

The Characters

Charanko: I wasn’t expecting anything of him, so honourable mention to him. I absolutely love the small but important addition J.C. Staff made to his story, whereby he came across Garou, heard and saw all the heroes the latter was beating up, and, despite his fear and knowledge of his weakness, went forward anyway. Fantastic!

Death Gatling: I’d been afraid that they’d undersell him. He wasn’t and I was very, very happy to see that. He’s ever inch as serious, tactically astute, and legitimately charismatic as he needs to be. They could have made Flashy Flash slightly more obnoxious to bring across the extent to which he felt slighted but that’s minor.

Looking at how fans took him, I’ve been a bit disappointed in the number of fans who don’t get that he’s far from wrong both in seeking recognition (although he did pick the wrong target to make an example of), and for not believing Garou, but that’s not a critique of the way he’s been presented. The thorny issue of recognition is something I’ve been mooting a meta on, but another day!

Garou: What I’d hoped for

I want to see the story of how Garou grows from a malcontent and apparent crazy to this juggernaut whose appointment with destiny cannot be stopped.

What we got:

I’d say this was fulfilled! His luck and unstoppable destiny come across well. I really like his relationship with Tareo and with Bang being expanded on.

Fans definitely have taken Garou to heart with very few people neutral on him. I appreciate the fans who correctly point out that he’s incoherent and hurting heroes who have done nothing to him on account of the childhood trauma he’s projecting onto them. Like him or not, he’s definitely been given the space he needed and it’s going to be very interesting to see how people change their views of him as the anime continues.

King: What I’d hoped for

I want to see King be exposed as a fraud and a coward who runs from danger and leaves people to die, then redeem himself as a decent human being and become the fraud and coward who stands before danger so people might live. That’s huge – he’s been running like a rabbit for years.

What we got:

Fulfilled. I love how his relationship with Saitama unfolded, pretty much note perfect. The scene of his wiling himself to courage is great; it and the flashback JC Staff added linked back to to where he started out quite nicely.

Who doesn’t love King? I suspect he arm-wrestled Mumen Rider for fan favourite, particularly as he’s so very ordinary a man in a world of demi-gods.

Saitama: What I’d hoped for

We see Saitama finally make a friend, get resolution as to why the world ignores him, and get to celebrate his progress, even as we learn how deep his sense of alienation goes. I love how it’s going to start with Saitama walking away from his disciple and end with Saitama running for his disciple and how nothing else mattered until he saw him safe and well.

What we got:

Mostly fulfilled. His stasis and ongoing dissatisfaction with life come across excellently. His feeling ever more irrelevant and removed from the flow of life is literally and metaphorically on show, even as we get to witness the life-changing impact of his punches on others.

Folk missed Saitama sorely, which is as it should be. JCStaff, bless their lily-livers, really did miss a trick in not having Elder Centipede continue disintegrating for several seconds – after having been parched for Saitama, that ludicrous scene really helped.

Genos (why always you, my friend?): What I’d hoped for

Last series, we saw Genos try and lose, try and lose, try and lose, try and lose yet again. This season, from the very first episode to the very last, we watch that process of change from a failing hero to a truly fearsome one fit to rub shoulders with the best of heroes. I want to see how it thrills us, entertains us, breaks our hearts and maybe we dare to hope for even crazier heights in the future.

What we got:

Hm. Let me paraphrase Dr Bofoi here: ‘It takes a special sort of stupidity to mess up this badly’. This is worth unpacking a bit as when things go wrong, we often get a better opportunity to see what makes them work. And I’m always interested in what makes communicating ideas effective.

For once, let’s start with fan reactions. The actions Genos takes on the screen are pretty much the same as in the manga (a little abridged in places, but more or less the same). After manga chapter 84, you got reactions like this: ‘ Genos from now on to me will no longer be a joke. He’s earned my respect.’ ‘…if he still had a human body, he’d have broken his limiter by now…’, ‘he really stepped up’, etc. After episode 12: it’s ‘oh, everyone can beat Genos’ 'he’s like a princess in distress’ 'he’s lucky that Garou wasn’t at full health’… ‘…that man has felt useless since when he first met Saitama during the mosquito fight…’

Manga readers are less scathing than anime only viewers, but they have the benefit of the manga and aren’t reacting to what’s actually presented on screen. Where the anime has made the case for Genos being awesome, as it did in episode 11 (23), fan reactions followed appropriately.

Interesting. How the hell did JC Staff create the diametric opposite reaction of the one Murata and ONE had elicited? Particularly when they made a decent fist of the other characters?

From the beginning, I’d worried most about Genos – the clumsy, lifeless sequences we saw of him in the PV inspired no confidence. With Genos both opening and closing out the season, they really needed to get him right to set the correct tone and leave the right taste in the audiences’ mouths. JCStaff have struggled most with his portrayal, both in visuals and action, although it came together nicely in episode 11 (23). Mostly, it’s Ishikawa’s sterling voice acting that has carried the character all season.

And then they silenced Ishikawa. A mix of stupid-lazy-desperate-for-time meant that for the last episode, they cut out all of Genos’s POV regarding how uneasy he still felt about the monstrous presence he couldn’t pin down, his shrewdly wondering how to find their headquarters, his initial assessment of the Elder Centipede and even how very carefully he thought before deciding to take action. They thought his amazing actions could speak for themselves. They were wrong.

It’s like having Garou act without benefit of flashbacks and assuming his actions will speak for themselves. They don’t! Without the benefit of our knowledge of his motivations and thoughts, he really is just a thug launching unprovoked attacks on heroes.

Instead of us seeing and understanding that Genos had learned, was thinking carefully on all he’d been told and the drastic action he took was because he’d weighed up the options and realised only someone sacrificing his life would save the others, we got the opposite. So what they created instead was a guy who wouldn’t listen to repeated good advice, took on a too-strong enemy and got his butt kicked. Again. And if there’s anything fans rightly hate, it’s a fool who won’t learn. As I pointed out earlier, Genos opened and closed the season – so the impression that nothing had changed really took a lot of any climactic feel out of the episode.

The title of the final episode didn’t help either. Instead of translating it as ‘taking responsibility for one’s disciple’ which would apply with equal force to both Bang trying to bring Garou to heel and to Saitama, rushing in to deal with a situation Genos couldn’t deal with, Crunchyroll went with the near-literal ‘cleaning up the disciple’s mess’ and Hulu with the literal ‘wiping the disciple’s butt’. Both of which set the viewer to see whatever Genos did as a mistake. Even though, ironically, he didn’t make any this episode. It’s a translation klutz like finding out that someone has translated the English idiom ‘catching Peter’s eye’ as ‘gouging out Peter’s eye’ instead of ‘being noticed by Peter’ (no Peters were harmed in the making of this sentence). That is out of JCStaff’s hands, but I hope that whoever does the DVD/Blu Ray has a better set of translators available.

Ah, it’s not worthwhile grousing. It’s not like they had the time to watch the finished episode back and consider the story they were actually telling. I don’t envy whoever takes up season 3. They have a lot of extra work to do to change viewers’ impression of the character and the source material isn’t going to help them. It's going to br difficult to explain why, when faced with a fool who won't listen to him and appears intent on self-destruction, Dr Kuseno would hand Genos an outfit that needs the most careful judgement to use with any degree of safety. For manga readers, it makes sense. For anime watchers some heavy duty retconning will be necessary.

While ONE cried tears of joy after reading Chapter 84, if he’s crying any tears after this season, they won’t be happy ones.

#opm #anime #season 2 #review #characters #story #please DON'T come back JCStaff #they didn't entirely suck #but they sucked too much to be entrusted with more #dodgy visuals can be redrawn #ropey sound can be remastered #but missing the point of major characters argh #that and poor scripting throughout

29 notes · View notes

tlbodine · 5 years

Text

A Decade of Horror Recommendations

With 2020 approaching, we’re reaching the end of a decade that has been uncommonly good to the horror genre, especially the last few years. Here’s an overview of some of the stand-out titles and my recommendations. Feel free to ask me about any of the titles on this list and I’ll happily share my more in-depth thoughts on them!

Note that, of course, I have not seen every movie that’s come out in recent years, so I’ve probably missed some titles -- feel free to jump in with your own recommendations!

Also this post is really long and has gifs, so I’m putting it under a cut. Sorry for the dash spam, mobile fam. Tell Tumblr to fix their shit.

2010: Supernatural Horror Starts Making a Comeback

Some stand-out films:

Insidious: An important film for modern horror history, helping to usher in the new wave of paranormal/hauntings/demon films. It lays the tropes for a lot of the films that would get big in upcoming years. I thought it was pretty solidly decent.

Devil: A clever script about being trapped on an elevator with the devil. It’s a bit too ambitious and doesn’t quite live up to those ambitions, but it’s solidly decent and refreshingly original. A hidden gem for the year.

Black Swan: Maybe the height of Darren Aronofsky’s career as a household name. Not my favorite of his movies, but a pretty solid psychological suspense.

Frozen: No, not that one. This is a clever movie that embraces a narrow scope: some teenagers get stuck on a ski lift and have to endure the elements and some hungry wolves below. Not a great movie, but worth watching as a study in what you can do with limited resources.

Black Death: Quick shout-out for a dark and grisly historical horror involving witchcraft and torture. It’s not a fun movie to watch, but it’s got Sean Bean and Eddie Redmayne, and I feel like both original screenplays and historical horrors are rare enough to warrant support.

2010 also had its share of predictable franchise tie-ins (a Saw movie, a Resident Evil movie, remakes like I Spit on Your Grave and The Crazies, etc.) The Horror Renaissance was a few years in coming.

2011: The Year of the Predictable Remakes

So many franchises getting flogged to death this year -- tripe like SCRE4M, Final Destination 5, Human Centipede 2, a Hellraiser reboot literally no one watched, and Paranormal Activity 3. Blech. BUT. 2011 also brought us a couple of my favorite movies ever:

You’re Next: I would credit You’re Next with re-defining the “final girl” in horror. Also it’s a damn good home invasion movie with buckets of gore and a smart script.

Cabin in the Woods: This one’s a bit divisive -- some folks really hated it I guess -- but it’s such a loving deconstruction of horror, and it’s wholly original even while being comfortingly familiar. Also it’s hilarious.

2012: A Few Important Titles

I feel like 2012 was full of movies nobody has actually ever seen or talked about. But some of the good ones that I’d recommend:

Sinister: Like Insidious in some ways, but maybe better. Also, “Snakes don’t have feet.” Honestly just a very good, solid demon/haunted kid movie.

V/H/S: A must-watch for horror buffs. It didn’t invent the found footage genre, but it did refine it and really show off what it could do best.

Smiley: OK so like. This is not really a great film, but I think about it a lot and recommend it a lot. It’s stuck with me quite a bit somehow, and in some ways it feels very much ahead of its time as a creepy prediction of what internet culture would be like at the end of the decade. “We did it for the lulz.” Seriously, watch this movie today, and remember that it was made eight years ago, and see if it gives you chills too.

I guess I should also mention Prometheus here, which lots of people liked. I was not one of them, but it was a heavily talked-about film I feel like and of course an Alien franchise tie-in.

2013: The Year the World Remembered It Liked Horror

This was a big turning point year, launching some new franchises instead of just re-treading old ones:

The Conjuring: I personally hate all of these movies, but they are huge and you can’t swing a dead cat in the modern horror fandom without encountering one of them. The first Conjuring film was at least decent. For extra credit, watch it as a triple feature with Insidious and Sinister and do a compare/contrast.

The Purge: Not only the start of a successful franchise but also a pop culture phenomenon and a damn good movie to boot.

Mama: I love this movie. I have this movie on DVD. It’s kind of bittersweet and may not completely follow through on all of its promises, but it’s still quite good and has some lovely performances.

Warm Bodies: Not really a horror -- kind of a romance -- but it warrants mention here because zombies were a hot item in 2013, and that’s a current special interest of mine on account of having a zombie book of my own coming out that is more than a little influenced by this story. (the film is a pretty good adaptation of the book, although honestly you could just skip the movie and read the book and get a better experience.)

Willow Creek: I feel like I recommend this movie a lot, but that’s just because I think it’s very good and a very smart use of its own resources. A found footage mockumentary that actually manages to make Bigfoot frightening. Totally worth the watch.

Mr. Jones: Here’s another hidden gem, also in found footage style (I feel like that was a prevailing theme in the years after V/H/S) but it’s surprisingly fresh. It’s a folk horror piece that doesn’t go at all where you might expect despite its thoroughly well-trodden ‘couple in secluded house’ setup.

A bucketful of remakes and sequels this year too, including an Evil Dead reboot, V/H/S sequel, Insidious sequel, etc. I should also probably mention World War Z, which was not actually very good and also had nothing in common with the book of the same name, but does mark an important moment in the mainstreaming of the zombie revival, especially considering it came out the same year as Warm Bodies.

2014: Fuck Yeah People Actually Like This Shit Let’s Make More

I feel like maybe our current horror renaissance started this year. Some recs:

The Babadook: No surprises to anyone who follows my blog, but I love The Babadook and I will defend it to the bitter end against its detractors. It is one of my favorite horror films of all time and one of the best of the decade.

It Follows: Ok confession, I actually did not like this movie at all. I thought it was ridiculous and over-hyped. But it makes the list because a lot of other people really, really loved it, and I accept that they saw something in it that I didn’t. Watch it and make up your own mind (and report back with your findings).

As Above, So Below: This may be the most claustrophobic film ever made, and it deserves to be studied on that merit alone. It’s also pretty creepy and I suspect a lot creepier for folks who are unnerved by Christian horror/mythology (I am not, but I know lots of folks really are).

Housebound: A hidden gem from New Zealand, this one is worth a watch because it takes a familiar haunted house premise and gives it a surprising and honestly delightful twist.

Jessabelle: Not a great movie, but deserving of a spot here because it’s a Southern Gothic and features a main character in a wheelchair, which I think is neat.

13 Sins: I feel like I’ve written about this movie for the blog before, and I recommend it a lot. But it’s clever and is a great early example of the “killing game” genre that has become increasingly prevalent (I mean, aside from the Battle Royale/Hunger Games version).

It was neat to see so many original horror stories (as opposed to reboots/franchises) coming out, and that’s a trend that would continue (and is something that makes horror one of my preferred genres - there are more original stories in it than in many other types of film).

2015: Hell Yeah Let’s Ride This Horror Train

So many excellent movies this year! Ahh!

Crimson Peak: Guillermo del Toro’s love letter to the Gothic. What I love about this movie (aside from Tom Hiddleston) is it plays all the tropes straight. It’s not trying to be a new spin or reinvent the genre or break all the tropes. It’s just a gothic horror story, told exactly like what it is, by a guy who makes damn good movies. I felt like that was really brave and surprising at the time.

The Visit: M. Night Shyamalan had basically made a joke of himself after a string of awful movies, but this movie was enough to earn back a bit of respect in my book. It’s a clever premise and a smart use of found footage.

The VVitch: Creepy-ass slow-burn supernatural historical horror, sign me up. I actually don’t like this movie as much as a lot of people (see above: religious-themed horror doesn’t push my fear buttons much) but it’s beautifully made, thoughtful, and artistic in a way that makes people sit up and pay attention to just how good the horror genre can be.

Krampus: This movie is extremely silly and I love it. A holiday favorite I watch every year now. It’s hilarious, and imaginative, with some really creepy visuals and a thoroughly satisfying conclusion.

The Invitation: For me, some of my favorite horror movies are the ones where the film is uncomfortable to watch before the actual horror stuff starts up. This one has an almost unbearably tense build-up and pays off in an incredibly satisfying and creepy manner.

2016: Horror Goes Hella Mainstream

I feel like 2016 was another year of just...lots of kind of fun unique premises tossed out like spaghetti to see what would stick. And I am here for it.

Don’t Breathe: Home invasion gone wrong is a great trope, and this one gets extra points for having the single most disturbing sequence utilizing a turkey baster I’ve ever seen in film.

Hush: Speaking of home invasions. This one is pretty standard fare -- homeowner fights back! -- but the deaf main character is a neat twist.

Lights Out: It’s pretty cheesy at times and the plot sort of falls in on itself, but the opening sequence is genuinely frightening and the movie almost literally killed @comicreliefmorlock so that’s a commendation I guess?

Train to Busan: An Asian take on the zombie survival story. It’s a really good movie (if horribly bleak) and it does such an excellent job of making you genuinely care for all of the characters.

The Autopsy of Jane Doe: A really neat premise with some wonderful slow-build horror. The storyline kind of goes off the rails, and it asks a lot of questions it doesn’t answer, but it’s quite good regardless.

The Forest: I was disappointed with this one -- it just failed to live up to my expectations -- but it’s decent, and it’s a good attempt at capturing the creepiness of Japan’s Suicide Forest.

Before I Wake: This one was sad more than scary, I thought, but it fits so neatly into a certain aesthetic that I am always a sucker for -- dreams and nightmares bleeding into reality, yes please.

Split: Say what you will, I thought Split was amazing, and James McAvoy deserves a goddamn Oscar for his performance in this movie.

The Monster: A hidden gem that’s worth watching to see how well it delivers on its premise: two characters stuck in a car with a monster outside. It’s not amazing, but it’s neat, and sometimes it’s nice to have just a straightforward creature feature with a bit of emotional heft for good measure.

2017: Did Somebody Say Blockbuster?

In hindsight, they’ll probably say 2017 was the start of the horror renaissance, but we’ll all know they’re a few years too late. Still, this was another great year:

Get Out: Funny, dark, deeply uncomfortable and with some real meat to it -- Jordan Peele knows how to make a great movie. This absolutely deserves all the awards.

It: Not a perfect movie, but a good adaptation of a difficult-to-adapt book. The kids are great. Pennywise is menacing, but that fucking flute lady is the scariest part.

It Comes At Night: I didn’t like this one much, but a lot of folks did so it makes the list. See above re: It Follows.

Gerald’s Game: Everything that’s wrong with this movie (ie, the ending) is wrong in the original story, so where this movie fails it’s a matter of sticking too close to its source material. But the premise is truly, genuinely horrifying, and the degloving scene almost made me vomit. So that’s cool.

Happy Death Day: Another horror-comedy, with a healthy dose of self-awareness. It doesn’t take itself too seriously, and that’s what allows it to be fun.

The Babysitter: This movie is hilarious. It’s also super bloody and clever and clearly made by people who love slashers, and the affection shows.

The Ritual: So-so in the acting and pacing, but the creature design is A+ and the concept is really neat. Seriously just watch this one for the monster, it’s super cool looking.

I should probably mention Mother here, but I can’t speak for it as I haven’t gotten around to watching it yet. It’s a very divisive film. One of these days I’ll watch it and let you know.

2018: There’s More Where That Came From

If 2016 was the year of filmmakers just trying stuff for the hell of it, 2018 was the year of talented filmmakers and studios realizing that, oh shit, you can make really good horror movies with mass appeal.

A Quiet Place: I’m glad I caught this one in theaters, because it really deserves to be watched in a dark, quiet room where no one dares to make a sound. The ending left a lot to be desired, but it was a clever premise.

Hereditary: The best horror movie of the year imo. Painfully uncomfortable - I’m not sure I could watch it again - but highly recommended.

Apostle: Watch this one in a triple-feature with The VVitch and Hereditary. A really good period piece with a character you actually want to root for.

Bird Box: I didn’t like this movie much, but it was hugely popular. I bought the book recently and suspect it is much better. Still, it’s worth a mention for its impact on mainstream viewers (lots of people who don’t like horror really liked this movie). I won’t budge from my initial opinion that it’s just A Quiet Place meets The Happening, though.

What Does 2019 Hold?

We’re only halfway through the year, so we’ve got some time to see what is coming down the pipe. Lots of things to look forward to! But some solid titles so far this year that I’d heartily recommend:

Us: Jordan Peele is at it again. It may not be as good as Get Out -- there’s some plot holes where the internal logic of the world is at odds with the message it’s trying to send -- but it’s thoughtful and gives plenty to chew on. And there are places where it’s just unbearably tense and creepy.

Brightburn: I had high hopes for this movie and was not disappointed. This is a super (ha, ha) good film.

The Wind: A Gothic on the American frontier. It accomplishes what I think It Comes At Night was supposed to do, but more effectively (for me anyway). Bonus points for being written and directed by women. Double bonus: Caitlin Gerard, the main actress, is also the lead character in Smiley.

I have not yet watched Velvet Buzzsaw, Ma or Midsommar this year, but I really want to. I’m also looking forward to the Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark film despite having some reservations about the whole concept.

#horror #horror movies #horror movie recommendations #movie recs #long post #gifs #horror by the decade

22 notes · View notes