HORRORPHILE'S 50 NIGHTMARES OF THE DECADE: 2000 - 2009
January 14th 2010 06:32
My criteria for selection for Horrorphile - Pleasure of Nightmares’ best of the decade was pretty straight forward: the movies that have burnt their imagery onto my retina, atmospheres and textures which have permeated my skin, the nightmare tone and elements lingering in my mind long after the movie had finished.
I’ve opted to list in chronological order as it was proving too difficult to compile a definitive scale for the entire decade, however when push comes to shove comes to stab and there’s the demand to single out my personal favourites, then the titles in scarlet make up the proverbial thirteen (although that in itself was a tortuous task!).
Nearly half the movies were American (not too surprising), the next closest being France with seven entries (if you count co-productions). Good to see that Australasia made a substantial contribution, with seven entries combined, while Spain and Canada each delivered three. I thought Asia would come to the party, but only one from Japan and one from South Korea made my final selection.
The most intriguing statistic was that 2007 and 2008 proved to be the strongest years by far; sixteen movies from 07 and another ten from 08, while the rest of the individual years managed on average only two or three. Several directors managed to get two movies included. Thirteen movies were in a foreign language, five were remakes, three were sequels, and I included one mini-series - which worked superbly as a two-and-a-half hour movie.
Of course there are numerous movies I didn’t get to see (and several in the list that I have yet to review!), so one must take this list with a grain of salt, but I trust you’ll appreciate the calibre that did make the cut. Hopefully there are no glaring absences!
American Psycho
An urbane post-modern horror of controlled retro excess and sardonic disposition.
Chopper
A gleefully black portrait and dysfunctional character study of standover violence.
Ginger Snaps
Sometimes being a girl can be such a howling, snarling, hair-bristling bitch.
Maelström
It is the jagged nightmare that transmogrifies into a slippery dream. Curiosity stroked the cat, as the surf came crashing in.
Requiem for a Dream
A dream that implodes with a slow-burn ferocity sending shards of reality to the marrow.
Hannibal
A very elegant, yet profoundly carnivorous beast with dark-humoured meat marbled in for those who relish a dry lingering comedic edge.
The Lord of the Rings trilogy
Flashes of oneiric brilliance under the gigantic shadow of a literary oneirodynic behemoth.
Dog Soldiers
It does more than simply snarl and growl; it howls long and hard, bites and tears and rips off large chunks of flesh.
Irréversible
Both beautiful and grotesque, a ghastly examination on the destruction latent in the ploy of cause-and-effect; for the fabric of time can tear so easily the joy of love and life.
Ju-on: The Grudge
An atmospherically-drenched tale of malevolent spectres and dark supernatural energy.
Oldboy
A dense and feverish tale of revenge told as cold and vivid as a sharp poke in the eye with an ice-pick.
Wrong Turn
A spunky bunch of actors, three vicious killers ... a sickly sweet scary little outdoors package. .
Dawn of the Dead
Snyder pulled a rabid rabbit out of his hat and delivered a near masterpiece in new millennium horror.
Shaun of the Dead
Very skillfully captures and upturns a hard basket: a love of zombies, a love of laughter, a love of the movies, and a love of life’s little ironies. It’s the best romantic comedy a horrorphile could ever hope for.
The Descent
Enough intensity and truly palpable fear for several horror movies. It’s a real dark treat, prepare yourself for some serious subterranean shivers!
King Kong
An immense rollercoaster ride of romantic intrigue, endeavour, adventure, danger, terror, horror, sadness and despair.
The Proposition
There hasn’t been an Australian film as darkly poetic as this in years. A modern classic, a masterpiece of period horror, a mutant western.
Sin City
A mischievous indulgence of stark and violent exploits told with consummate sensual flair.
Wolf Creek
Arguably the cruelest Australian horror movie of all time ... For desensitized horrorphiles wanting intense visceral gratification.
Hard Candy
Game-playing most illicit and dangerous with consequences most foul and perverse.
The Hills Have Eyes
The rare result of a remake that betters the original ... More intense on almost every level.
Ils (Them)
Essentially a cat and mouse game taken to terrifying measures.
A History of Violence
A slow-burning study of one man's unwanted return to the darkness of his past and his soul.
Ŕ L'intérieur (Inside)
A grueling and utterly compelling 80-minute rollercoaster ride of abject horror and desperation.
El Orfanato (The Orphanage)
A haunted house and ghost story par excellence.
Frontičre(s)
A tour-de-force of unrelenting grimness ... An assault on the senses that will appeal darkly fabulous to hardened horrorphiles.
Funny Games
Haneke hasn’t compromised his original vision ... just as powerful, just as provocative, just as infuriating, and just as disturbing.
Hostel: Part II
In a rare Hollywood moment a sequel turns out to be way better than the original ... One of the darker and more explicit horrors to come out of Tinseltown.
Lĺt den Rätte Komma In (Let the Right One In)
Uniquely blends awkward romance with the loss of innocence amidst the horror of desperation.
No Country for Old Men
Cinematic storytelling par excellence ... A post-modern horror movie.
No Moriré Sola (I’ll Never Die Alone)
This is hardened exploitation wearing a high level of distinction.
Paranormal Activity
Just the hellride ticket you desire ... if you like a movie dealing with malevolent supernatural forces.
Planet Terror
Unbridled ultra-violent midnight fun, with severed tongue-in-cheek, a shit-eating, pizza-smeared grin slapped on your spliff-ripped face, and an insatiable hunger for all things fleshy an’ drippin’.
[REC]
A lean mean killing machine.
Rogue
It growls, lurches like a locomotive, and chomps down with the most impressive biting power I’ve seen in a while.
Teeth
A revenge fantasy flick cloaked as a high school coming-of-age story, but with horror overtones and satirical undertones.
30 Days of Night
Re-injected the vampire myth with some serious bite! It’s neo-gothic, almost science fiction.
28 Weeks Later
Actually more of a horror movie than the original, and a damn impressive one too.
The Broken
Remains fragmented; the malevolence lingering on, masked by the evil veneer of a bloodshot stare and a dark smirk obscured by the harsh light of an indifferent sun.
Cloverfield
It’s Godzilla meets Aliens meets The Day After Tomorrow.
Dead Set
Essential viewing for all hardcore zombie fans who like their social satire with a healthy helping of unbridled viscera.
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
A spectacular visual and aural assault on the senses and I can safely say is a superior movie to the original, which makes it a rare beast indeed.
Linkeroever (Left Bank)
A superbly dark and atmospheric tale of black magic and supernatural weirdness.
Los Cronocrímenes (Timecrimes)
If you like films like Momento and Primer, you’ll love Timecrimes.
Martyrs
A brutal assault on the senses that presents a very dark quest for the perverted uber-wealthy.
The Mist
Rates as one of the two or three best Stephen King movie adaptations.
Quarantine
The level of hysteria that is ratcheted up over the course of 80 minutes is superbly handled.
Splinter
A tight script, solid acting from a charismatic cast, and inventive special effects that skillfully blend good old fashioned gruesome prosthetic appliances and sly CGI work.
District 9
A hardcore actioner for the sf movie geeks.
Drag Me to Hell
Pure carnival popcorn, salted liberally and dripping with butter.
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Comment by sethtg
Through those 15 years critiquing, you good sir, have found some fantastic films. I could even spout off another 5 from this list. Bravo.
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
King Kong, I was lucky to see on a massive screen in Wellington, NZ (my old home town), where Peter Jackson lives. He invested a lot of money into the Embassy cinema giving it a complete overhaul in terms of audio/visual so that he could proudly premiere Lord of the Rings there. King Kong looked and sounded extraordinary, and although the movie is overlong, I still think it's an excellent remake.
Comment by Morgan Bell
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i also enjoyed Shaun Of The Dead, Hard Candy, The Descent, and American Psycho
not a fan of Paranormal Activity, Hannibal, District 9, or The Mist
overall im surprised how many i have seen from your list considering horror is not really my genre, i wonder if its because horror is becoming more mainstream, or is the mainstream embracing elements of horror?
theres a few on there ive been meaning to see, and of course some i am not familiar with at all
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
Curious that considering you don't like horror you've listed some pretty intense horror movies as the ones you rate highly (Wolf Creek, The Descent, Funny Games).
Comment by Morgan Bell
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Wolf Creek is one of the most intense movies ive ever seen, i guess that got more local publicity because it was an Aussie project which is why it crossed my path
Funny Games, i actually read Jason's review on Salty Popcorn where he gave it a $0 score so i made a point of keeping an eye out for it, i did not find that particularly intense, but it was extremely clever as a commentary on societys love affair with gratuitous violence, i liked the breaking of the forth wall, i would almost consider it to be an anti-horror movie
i think within the genre of horror (or nightmare) im more likely to enjoy psychological terror than flat out gore
the horrifying part of Wolf Creek, for me, was not the specifics of their torture or abuse but the idea of having nowhere to turn for help when you are being hunted, the vastness and isolation of the location, trying to clamber your way back to civilisation, and i think movies like The Descent and Texas Chainsaw etc work on the same kind of premise, being lost and cut off, you feel emotionally exhausted when you watch them
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
Funny Games is indeed a kind of anti-horror movie, which is exactly what Haneke wanted to achieve with the first version. He wanted to slap desensitized English-speaking audiences (especially Americans) in the face, but unfortunately the second version failed to make any impact in the States; most audiences didn't get the point and felt they were ripped off.
I reviewed the first version back in 1998 for Revolver magazine and hated it. I understood it, but just didn't like it. Curiously I really "enjoyed" his American version, which is essentially a shot-for-shot remake. Yes, the "Brechtian" element was an inspired touch.
Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD
As expected a stellar list that includes a few foreign gems I have yet to see...nice to see Inside make the grade, though Frontiers was a little middle of the road for me..still fun.
Teeth, martyrs, timecrimes, REC, let the Right one in...so many greats.
It has been a good decade for film...said the converted pessimist. Didn't even realize it till I started compiling my list just how strong numerous films were in the 10 years past.
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
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- Jay, from the Philippines
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Comment by JESUS
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Need to see about 10 of these and so seeking them out! thanks man
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