The year 2010 is almost over – and what a year it was for horror in the theaters!
At the beginning of the year, horror was off to a slow start with films like LEGION and THE WOLFMAN. Scott Stewart’s LEGION was so convoluted that it was almost offensive. The writing was weak so the acting suffered, and the plot barely made sense – perhaps because of the editor’s axe? I’m still not sure. Blech.
THE WOLFMAN was a general disappointment for horror fans as well, and not because it was a bad film – Shelly Johnson’s cinematography was fantastic, and Rick Baker is the master of makeup. Despite all of the elements being in place, director Joe Johnston made a film filled with so many stylistic missteps that it felt like the film was pulling in a million different directions at once.
Adam Green’s FROZEN saved the genre in late February. Completely original, the film was frightening, realistic, and upsetting. Your worst winter nightmare onscreen. This month also saw Breck Eisner’s remake of Romero’s THE CRAZIES. Compared to the original, this remake took gore to the next level, but it still maintained the political backdrop that was so profound in Romero’s film. Besides, after a decade of torture porn and newly desensitized audiences, it was probably necessary.
2010 was definitely the year of the remake (yes, we’re still rehashing horror films of the past) and in April, Samuel Bayer’s A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET was released. Bayer over stylized every shot and rarely gave pace, characters, or performances any regard. The film provided its audience with no likeable protagonist, and the details given to Freddy’s child molesting past was poorly executed. Michael Bay is producing a sequel to be released in 2012, but it looks like we’re in the clear for 2011.
Steven Munroe pulled his own reboot trick with I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE, which premiered at the Texas Frightmare Weekend in May. The revenge scenes in this remake were definitely 2010’s most gory and twisted. Similarly, so was the thirty-plus minute rape scene filmed in different angles, all in one take. The film apparently caused many walk-outs, and stories of theatre isle puking. It paneled well with several horror journalists, despite all of its brutally violent, and sexist discrepancies.
Summer 2010 brought us heat waves, sunshine, and two horror trends that are here to stay: 3D and controversy. Aja’s PIRANHA 3D was the perfect summer horror flick: sexy, bathing suit clad men & women, a side-splitting Eli Roth cameo, and killer fish. Although a bit ridiculous a times, PIRANHA 3D knew how to have a good time, and rack up a tremendous body count in a matter of minutes. Audiences everywhere had a hard time getting that image of a three-dimensional, castrated, floating male-member out of their head. PIRANHA 3D was definitely the most awkwardly memorable horror film of the year.
Daniel Stamm’s THE LAST EXORCISM was released in August as well, and with all of these remakes coming out, we know that making an original horror film is no easy task. This film served up plenty twists and turns, right up until the credits rolled. THE LAST EXORCISM was engaging, and the ending itself shocked, confused, frustrated, and surprised audiences. We can look forward to more from fresh actress Ashley Bell (Nell in THE LAST EXORCISM) when she stars in a new thriller called THE DAY in 2011.
Horror hero of the year, Adam Green premiered HATCHET II at Frightfest in late August, and the film was later (briefly) released in theatres across North America for a week in October. 2010 is the year of controversy: horror VS the MPAA. Green decided to release the film unrated, and horror fans all over every social media network sport the ‘SUPPORT UNRATED HORROR’ image in their profiles. According to the AMC theatre chain, the film is pulled due to poor box office revenue, the movie blows up, and then every major journalistic outlet wants a piece of Green. This theme of controversy, and horror vs. the world does not appear to be going away any time soon, and it could rear its head again in 2011.
The fall season is the best time of the year for horror films. I had the pleasure of covering a few up-and-comers at the Toronto International Film Festival, so I can tell you that James Wan’s INSIDIOUS will blow your mind in 2011, while John Carpenter’s THE WARD will probably disappoint. Speaking of disappointment, Craven’s MY SOUL TO TAKE (released October 8th in 3D) was one of the biggest let downs of the year, and probably the worst film Craven has ever made. The extra dollars spectators had to spend to see this film in were especially peeved, because the 3D in MY SOUL TO TAKE was practically nonexistent.
Later in the month, a sneak preview of Craven’s SCREAM 4 was shown at the 2010 SCREAM AWARDS, just two weeks after the release of MY SOUL TO TAKE. This very well could have been Craven’s attempt at saying “sorry – it will be better in 2011”. Let’s hope so.
With October came several good horror flicks: LET ME IN, SAW 3D, and PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 2. Many horror fans were skeptic about LET ME IN, Matt Reeves’ remake of Alfredson’s Swedish LET THE RIGHT ONE IN, released just two years ago in 2008. However, the film ended up a huge success, and rightly so. Many horror critics called LET ME IN the best horror remake of the year – quite an accomplishment, considering how many were made in 2010!
Horror lovers were equally skeptic of the final SAW installation, SAW 3D, but the film turned out to be a gory fun-fest with a somewhat predictable plot, but an original film nonetheless. The SAW franchise shaped and changed horror in the 2000s, and while you may be tired of the sequels, you won’t be able to stop yourself from thinking about the series every Halloween, from and beyond.
PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 2 impressed people, and although the film used the same formula as the first - it worked. PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 2 was utterly creepy and it delivered a wild ride of suspense. Some may disagree, but October brings out the best in horror fans, and the fact that this film impressed most horror critics could possibly be attributed to the horror high we all feel around Halloween. Whatever the case, PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 2 was an entertaining film if you went into the theatre with an open mind.
Finally, December has brought BLACK SWAN for us. This film premiered at the Venice Film Festival, then Telluride, before hitting the Toronto International Film Festival. It was released on December 3rd in theatres, and is already a huge success. Not so much a traditional horror movie, BLACK SWAN is more of a psychological thriller, but horror fans cannot deny the film’s creepy factor, and it’s simply an incredible cinematic achievement. This could also be a trend for 2011 – a return to inner fears (as opposed to body parts grazed everywhere). THE LAST EXORCISM also toyed with this psychological theme as well.
So what can we look forward to in 2011? Hopefully Drew Goddard’s A CABIN IN THE WOODS (co-written and produced by Joss Whedon) will finally be released. SCREAM 4, INSIDIOUS, and THE WARD have already been mentioned above. Other films rumored to be released in 2011: RED RIDING HOOD, MOTHER’S DAY, Craig Gillespie’s FRIGHT NIGHT remake, PIRANHA 3DD, PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 3, 11-11-11, AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON, POLTERGEIST (although this remake may not see theatres until 2013), and THE HUMAN CENTIPEDE II (FULL SEQUENCE).
Should we look forward to THE HUMAN CENTIPEDE II (FULL SEQUENCE)??
Perhaps we’ve all seen enough ass-to-mouth human-sequencingto last us a few more years, at least…
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
xox
Lianne Spiderbaby
