Top Ten Horror Movies of 2008 (and the Biggest Disappointments)
The Top Ten Horror movies for 2008 include U.S. theatrical releases, foreign horror from both likely and unlikely countries and Independent horror that deserves a nod regardless of production budget. While 2008 was not the most prolific year for horror movie releases there were certainly enough quality productions, sometimes with unexpected big-name stars, to jolt the junkies of frightful films.
Written by BHM Editor The Horror Czar (Don Sumner)
January 10, 2009
Also included in this accounting of the Top Ten Horror Movies of 2008 are the Biggest Horror Disappointments for the year. These films are not necessarily the worst (although in some cases they indeed are) but rather the horrors that built sufficient buzz and had enough promotion to whet the appetites of Horror Freaks everywhere, only to spiral dismally to the bloody abyss of crap-o-rama.
Horror Freaks, Best-Horror-Movies.com presents The Top Ten Horror Movies of 2008.
The Top Ten Horror Movies of 2008
#1 - The Orphanage
Review
Guillermo del Toro, who brought us last year's fantasy extravaganza Pans Labyrinth, displayed his story-telling mastery again as the producer of 2008's The Orphanage (Well, VERY late 2007 but I'm not counting that...). This is just about as perfect a ghost story as one can imagine with just the right amount of back story, confusion, drama and suspense. Real creepiness and suspenseful thrills do not require graphic gore or cinematic tricks to be effective, and this lush Spanish saga illustrates that fact masterfully. The acting, visuals, story and atmosphere are engaging enough to make you completely forget the subtitles.
#2 - The Ruins
Review
Killer Plants are generally not the best path to inclusion as one of the Top Ten Horror Movies, in 2008 or any other year. The Ruins, though, made it happen by focusing not specifically on the villainous vegetation but rather on the desperate actions taken by the humans in peril. Real horror is found in the actions of typically rational humans in unreal circumstances, and the most powerful horror movie heroes are sometimes those that do extraordinary things to save themselves and others - even from green meanies.
#3 - Quarantine
Review
Last year there was a wonderful Spanish film called [REC] (named after the "record" button on a video camera) that spawned an English-language adaptation, Quarantine. Both films are essentially identical sans the language used in production, and both are scary fright-fests with a message. This film exposes the atrocities of man by allowing the viewer to experience them first hand as one of the victims - while also feeding the Horror Freak hunger for zombie-like creatures feasting on human flesh. The best "that's not a zombie" zombie movie of 2008, and certainly one of the Top Ten Horror Movies.
#4 - The Strangers
Review
Liv Tyler (of Lord of the Rings fame) is not the first name that comes to mind when thinking of horror movie scream queens. The name, then, brought movie-goers to The Strangers in droves that may not have otherwise watched a horror film, and luckily they were not disappointed. Lovers of psychological horror as well as gore hounds are satisfied as Liv and her jilted fiance duck and dart from mask-wearing killers in number four of the Top Ten Horror Movies of 2008, that targeted the couple simply because they happened to be at home.
#5 - Hell's Ground
Review
Billed as “The first PAKISTANI gore flick”, Hell's Ground is an interesting blending of themes from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and George A. Romero's zombie classics, from the point of view of a culture very different from the United States. Great gore, classic slasher themes, the Pakistan origin and the appearance of the rare Pakistani carnivorous dwarf zombie work together to make this a special film for the Horror Freak who has seen everything. Bring your love for U.S. Slasher films from the 1980s when you watch number five of The Top Ten Horror Movies of 2008.
#6 - Hospitality
Review
Independent Horror is prolific in the United States and abroad and we watch a lot of the notables here at Best-Horror-Movies.com. Many Indies are good, many more are less good... and some are absolutely terrible (see 'Disappointments' below for an example). Hospitality is that very rare inclusion in the Top Ten Horror Movies that completely transcends budget and high-dollar promotion through a superb and disturbing story artfully executed. Everything, from the individual performances to the sinking feeling of terror elicited work together in this film to create a horror/thriller that will leave you drained and satisfied.
#7 - Shutter
Review
There was no shortage of U.S. remakes of Asian films in 2008, and they are mostly forgettable. Shutter, remake of a Thai film from 2004, stands out as the exception this year and is included in The Top Ten Horror Movies of 2008. This ghost story is well acted and well displayed, in spite of the "Asian Horror Purists" that will claim any remake of their beloved Asian horror is a travesty regardless of the film's quality. A compelling plot is a compelling plot, regardless of remake status, and this one will have you engaged from beginning to end. Asian Horror Intelligencia be damned.
#8 - The Haunting of Molly Hartley
Review
"The Haunting of Molly Hartley is quite an astonishing film on many accounts, not the least of which is the fact that it is Mickey Liddell’s Directorial debut. In a sea of slasher movies that typically comprise the horror genre, this film stands apart as a truly chilling tale that combines edge-of-your-seat suspense with a compelling mystery involving the supernatural." -Horror Queen
This film did not do particularly well in the box office but the modest $5 Million budget helped it be profitable nonetheless. Reviews will catch up to this one for those who enjoy something off the beaten horror path.
#9 - Otis
Review
What "best of" list would be complete without the inclusion of one good horror/comedy? Otis takes a look at kidnapping, inferiority complexes and suburbia that is made hilarious by the wacky family trying to retrieve their imprisoned daughter and a villain so incredibly dorky that it is both tragic and funny. Even horror/comedy can be Top Ten Horror Movies material.
#10 - The Signal
Review
The Signal has a couple of interesting things going for it, not the least of which is the use of three different writers and directors for three segments of the film. Each segment, from the "trouble begins" to the "living with the trouble" and finally the "conclusion of the trouble", has a different feel and tone although the actors and general story are consistent throughout. This film has such outrageous gore, perpetrated by the villains with such gleeful zeal, that I couldn't help but shriek with glee throughout.
Honorable Mention:
Johnny Sunshine: Maximum Violence (very low budget indie), Chtulhu, Cloverfield
Top 5 Horror Movie Disappointments of 2008
#1 - Saw V
Review
You know that old woman you saw walking down the street in a hot-pink mini-skirt and a half-shirt that bares her belly button? She reminds me of the Saw franchise... what ever happened to aging gracefully? Considering projections that Saw VI will gross $30 Million in October of 2009 we are certain to have this series around for quite some time, no matter how silly the films get.
#2 - Day of the Dead
Review
Such promise. Steve Miner directing (Friday the 13th parts 2 and 3) and Jeffrey Reddick writing (Final Destination) the remake of the Romero classic. Dawn of the Dead from 2004 was good, right? This one is a travesty that should have never been made, no matter how cool the 3-D DVD cover is.
#3 - Cowboy Killer
Review
I don't typically include a micro-budget Independent horror film in the "biggest disappointments" list because, really, nobody is actually anticipating these films so how can they be disappointed... but this one is an exception. Perhaps it is my love for the Indies that really got me fired up, but while Cowboy Killer avoided the typical Micro pitfalls of bad visuals and sound, this is quite possibly the worst movie I have ever seen in my life. Script, acting, plot, directing... all simply terrible.
#4 - One Missed Call
Review
This one shouldn't be a disappointment to anyone, but it REALLY was for me. Why? The Horror Intelligencia consistently berates any remake of Asian horror right out of the gate, simply because it is a remake and therefore could never measure up. I typically take a contrary stance to their inane rantings because, for the most part, they are moronic idiots. But... occasionally, even a blind squirrel finds a nut. I HATE it when they are right!
#5 - Automation Transfusion
Review
This film was very highly rated by several of the well-known horror movie sites. The filmmakers lavished some sites with "exclusive" photos, interviews and details and were rewarded with rave reviews and proclamations that Automation Transfusion was the "Holy Grail" of Indie Horror. What crap. This film had some great gore scenes to be sure, but the best thing about it was how cheaply they bought off the pencil-neck dorks of horror sites with a few trinkets and bobbles, to the determent of horror fans looking for the truth.
Honorable Mention (Primarily because they were really, REALLY bad): Pulse 3, Prom Night
Questions or comments about The Top Ten Horror Movies of 2008? Discuss it on The Ossuary Forums!
Talk About This on The Ossuary Forums!
Horror Movie Freaks is the FREE eZine from Best-Horror-Movies.com that will give you the new horror releases, the new horror news and the new horror reviews that you CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT!!
Subscribing is easy, painless and free.
Do it NOW!!
