Here’s a look at the best films of 2016! From suspense thriller to supernatural menaces, these films are sure to shock the socks right off your feet…Unless you watch movies barefoot that is.
Don’t Breathe
Fede Alvarez’s follow up to his Evil Dead remake follows a trio of likable burglars looking to make a big score and escape their miserable lives by robbing a blind military veteran living with a scary dog in a ghost town urban Detroit neighborhood. They immediately regret this decision.
The creaky old house is almost a character unto itself, and Stephen Lang delivers a towering performance as the complex and layered boogeyman who might just be the hero. Either way, the tension is palpable throughout this very original horror flick.
The Conjuring 2
Ed and Lois Warren are back! This time, they’re battling the spooks of Amityville and the terrifying hauntings bedeviling a family in Enfield, England. What makes the two Conjuring films work, besides rich performances, is the attention to character detail, period setting and the believable warmth between Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga as the Warrens.
And, oh yeah, there’s a scary ass nun running about!
Southbound
A terrific anthology flick concerning a very strange desert town where eerie happenings go down. Literally go down…to Hell. Phantoms floating in the heat, a freaky deserted hospital, an ending that connects neatly with the beginning.
One of the most satisfying anthologies I’ve seen in a while.
The Witch
In America of the 1630s, a Puritan family is cast out into the wilderness. They build a farm and plant crops at the edge of a forbidding forest full of mysterious dangers. The influence of darkness begins to overtake the clan, particularly the children. Audiences were taken aback by this very unusual, slow burn horror flick, featuring intense and fully committed performances, authentic period detail and dialect.
It took the antiquated and made it new again and introduced us to wonderful actress Anya Taylor-Joy, a talent to watch in 2017.
All Through The House
A woman discovers her kooky Christmas-loving neighbor might be connected to a murderous escaped mental patient dressed like Krampus and armed with gardening shears. Here we have a good old-fashioned Santa slaughter. It won’t be nominated for any Oscars, it doesn’t have CGI sharks or a blind Stephen Lang, but it IS pretty damn fun. It’s the perfect flick to kick back with your friends during this holiday season.
Unpredictable, amusing and featuring some totally insane practical gore effects, this House is worth the tour. Total bloody pleasure.
The Shallows
A young woman journeys to a mythical Mexican beach to contemplate life and reconnect with the spirit of her late mother, who once surfed these waters. Instead, she becomes the target of a hungry Great White shark after accidentally invading its feeding ground. What follows is a tense test of wits and survival…and a few people becoming dinner!
Watching this, I really didn’t know how it was going to end, which is a huge compliment. Blake Lively’s fine performance as the embattled and talkative heroine grounds the film.
The Mind’s Eye
Joe Begos, director of 80’s throwback “Almost Human,” continues his excavation of the past with this very Cronenbergian horror thriller about two friends with telekinetic powers who run afoul of an evil doctor who seeks to exploit and transfer their powers to him. What ensues is a practical gore hounds wet dream of exploding heads and psychic confrontations.
As a lover of “Almost Human,” I couldn’t resist this.
