Best Horror Movies of 2011 - and the Biggest Disappointments
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2011 was a good year for horror movies, especially those that were independently produced yet gained major theatrical or DVD release. The big-studio horror was alive and kicking as well, and we’re glad to have money applied to our favorite genre, but it was the Indies far and away that wrapped up the top spots.
Written by The
Horror Czar
January 1, 2012
2011 also had some big promises and films promoted to be highly entertaining and fun, only to leave Horror Freaks gloomy and sad with disappointment. We don’t mess with the worst horror movies of the year – most of those that were terrible didn’t come as any surprise… did anyone actually have high hope for Dylan Dog: Dead of Night or Red Riding Hood? Me neither. The Biggest Disappointments are those that had sufficient potential, hype or promotion to lead us to believe we were in for a treat, only to be left puzzled and unfulfilled.
Here, Horror Freaks, are the Best Horror Movies of 2011, and the Biggest Disappointments.
Best Horror Movies of 2011
The Woman
Review
Very rarely does a film come along that is rich in commentary about complex and important subjects like male domination of the family unit, domestic violence and feminism that avoids getting preachy in it’s message. Add to that an amazing story, perfect performances and gore that will make the most hard core among us avert their eyes, and you have The Woman. Lucky McGee co-writes and directs this brilliant horror feast with Angela Bettis and Pollyanna McIntosh playing two different versions of women suffering oppression, and taking very different courses to rectify the situation.
Tucker & Dale Vs. Evil
Review
Tucker & Dale vs. Evil managed to be many topes of movie; horror/comedy, romantic/comedy, date movie, bloodbath and a great addition to the horror beginner’s shelf. With all of the bloody, gore, carnage and horror comes the lesson to us all that “all of our problems are rooted in a lack of communications. This film will have you yelling out loud from the outrageous gore and hoping that the dumb college students, and Tucker and Dale for that matter, can at some point catch a break.
Insidious
Review
Insidious puts the writer/director team of Saw together again, this time in a PG13 setting. Without an “R” rating to lean on, something that can cause many of us to recoil, this film had to be clever with creepy visuals and tried and true techniques to really pull the fear out – and it pulls it off well. Great story, great performances, and not a single moment where we found ourselves wondering “why on earth would that character do that?” – something very rare in a horror movie.
Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale
Review
This film actually had a limited release in December 2010 before getting back on the festival circuit, but because the DVD release was in November 2011 and it previously went largely under the radar, we say it counts. Christmas- themed horror movies are a favorite at the appropriate time of year, but nobody expects a film like Silent Night, Deadly Night to be much more than a cheesy 80s horror romp with good nostalgia value. Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale, a foreign film from our friends in Finland, uses the Christmas theme, or more specifically the concept of Santa, to weave a scary tale of the dark side of the holiday legend. This film has kids in it, but it is definitely NOT for kids.
I Saw the Devil
Review
I Saw the Devil is an a-typical “revenge” film. In most films with this plotline it’s clear the difference between the “hero” and the “villain”, but in this one the hero’s methods are so violent, brutal and cold that it’s hard to tell sometimes who the bad guy really is. This film has uncomfortable violence and gore, well-placed dark humor, a great story and incredible acting performances.
Panic Button
Review
Social networking is huge in our culture, with “facebooking” becoming much more common than sitting down with the family for dinner. The concept of privacy and just how much personal information is being given away crosses most of our minds, but not with enough intensity to keep us offline. Panic Button gives a glimpse into what might happen if your deepest and darkest Internet secrets got into the hands of a ruthless lunatic who’s mad at you.
Attack the Block
Review
Aliens landing in the middle of the projects and coming to blows with the local thugs has so many ways to go wrong. Can we really root for a hero who, just moments before being confronted by an alien invasion, was mugging a poor young nurse with the help of his street gang? The answer is “yes!” Attack the Block is not traditional horror, but definitely has the gore and scares mixed in with the trills and comedy. Very entertaining film indeed.
Black Death
Review
Black Death is period-horror that happens in Medieval Europe in 1348 and mixes religion with the Black Plague. We’ve got religion, right and wrong, black magic and necromancy happening here, but in spite of the “heroes” and “villains” presented, who is really “good”? This film does an excellent job of capturing the feel of the times, is complex without being daunting, and the excellent characters and performances make this a film that will stick with you for a while.
Cold Fish
Review
Cold Fish is not horror in the traditional sense, and not exactly horror/comedy, but manages to capture the macabre in a way that prompts you to let your guard down and while the horror of it just absorbs. This film is very well done because the gore and horror are completely over the top and yet it just kind of sneaks up on you out of nowhere, and can inspire an acceptance of it all that is just “not right”. This is an excellent film, even if it takes you 24 hours after watching to realize it.
Trollhunter
Review
Where would any Best Horror Movies of 2012 (and the biggest disappointments) list be without at least one “found footage” entry? Troll Hunter gives a glimpse into Norway’s hidden trolls, and those who chase them. The visuals are amazing, and you will quickly start to think of troll hunters in the same way we see storm chasers on the Weather Channel today. Plus, this handi-cam film crew did a great job reducing some of that headache-inducing shake.
Honorable Mention: YellowBrickRoad, Wake Wood, Rammbock: Berlin Undead
The Biggest Horror Movie Disappointments of 2011
Creature
Review
Creature was mildly entertaining, and in the grand scheme of low budget Indie horror it is not the worst film ever made by a long shot. So what makes it the number one entry for the biggest horror movie disappointments of 2011? First, it was a low budget entry that somehow got a pretty wide theatrical release, suggesting that perhaps there is something special about the film. There is not. To make matters worse, writer/director Fred Andrews got pissy when his film wasn’t received well and called horror critics who didn’t like his film “lowbrow” and “bottom feeders”. So, he’s a bad filmmaker AND he’s a fragile and weeping little candy-ass. Very disappointing.
Contagion
Review
The whole concept of a mutated virus that can go airborne and infect millions in the blink of an eye is a horrifying concept, and unfortunately a very real one that could potentially hit at any minute. A dramatization of something like this actually happening, with heavy-hitting talent like Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow and Kate Winslet had the potential to be truly fantastic, and horrifying in a way that your average slasher could never be. Alas, although the film was well made and well acted, the story was so clinical that this may as well have been a “what if” segment on the History Channel. Missed opportunity, and very disappointing.
Rubber
Review
In a world where finding an original horror concept is about as likely as happening upon the pot of gold at the end of a rainbow, an old tire with consciousness, the ability to roll around on it’s own and psychic powers it can use to make people’s heads explode is quite exciting indeed. How quirky and cool is that going to be? The likelihood for goofiness and cheese is so high from the beginning that the existence of those elements wouldn’t necessarily land the film on a list of the biggest disappointments of 2011 – trying to stick a commentary about life and the nature of cinema inside a story about a sentient tire does.
The Thing
Review
John Carpenter’s The Thing is considered a classic by most Horror Freaks, in spite of the fact that it was not originally well received upon initial release and almost ruined John Carpenter’s career. If The Thing 2011 had come out promising to be just another remake of a beloved classic, the expectations wouldn’t have been high and therefore the release not disappointing. But… this was going to be a prequel. This was going to explain the origins of the sled dog and the fate of the Norwegian research team from John Carpenter’s film – what it did instead was mimic the storyline of Carpenter’s film with a few different characters, and present us with people who figured out what was going on so quickly that it’s clear they’d already seen the movie so knew what was going to happen. Very disappointing.
Shark Night 3D
Review
Shark Night 3D is an unlikely candidate for a listing of the most disappointing horror movies of 2011 because nobody in their right mind was expecting much from this film in the first place. But I was – the promotion promised a great mix of CGI and mechanical sharks, awesome kill scenes and red bloody water everywhere. What we got instead were smiling cartoonish sharks, fish that seemingly flew through the air to make a surprise kill, the most ridiculous storyline imaginable and the best shark attack scene being the one that was released before the film came out as a teaser; Anti-climactic and highly disappointing.
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