Best Of Horror 2005
By: Film Staff |
Friday January 13, 2006 |
| It's Friday the 13th and we put together a list of the best horror movies of the past year to start your night with a fright. |
| Here it is, gals and ghouls, Static's top five horror films for 2005. The
horror genre certainly gave us some gruesome jumps and jolts, and even a
few classics to be remembered for years to come. It's so horribly clear
that with all that's repulsive in the world, we still can't get enough of
that good old celluloid scare me all t'hell. So R. Burke and R. O'Donnell
compare their blood-spattered notes, and list their top five horror
flicks, just encase the real boogieman outside your window simply ain't
enough.
R. Burke's Top Horror Films 2005
1. Wolf Creek Weinstein Co. Greg McLean's Aussie horror flick (inspired by true events, of course) follows two gals and a guy wandering into the outback only to encounter a psycho fiercely portrayed by John Jarratt. Easy enuf. Been there, done that, but this truly in your face, mean-spirited terror romp scared the B'Jesus out of me. What more do you want? 2. Sin City Dimension Films Frank Miller's Sin City, directed by Robert Rodriguez and Miller is a bloody horror film. You don't watch flesh-eating serial killers colliding with pill-popping psychos and think you're watching anything but. Mickey Rourke's Marv stole the show. Talk about comic books coming to life-simply superlative, folks. 3. High Tension Lions Gate Films Alexandre Aja's wicked slasher had everyone in the theater ducking for cover. A potent piece of genre filmmaking, Gianetto de Rossi's special effects where gory extraordinaire while Cécile De France's performance was mighty fine indeed. Scared me good and plenty too. 4. A History Of Violence New Line Cinema This super violent comic book to screen was a blast from start to finish. With a bunch of sleazy wise guys that included Ed Harris and William Hurt (who delivers the best line in the film) threatening sexy couple Viggo Mortensen and Maria Bello, this film of ultimate redemption is classic Cronenberg. 5. Land of the Dead Universal Pictures George Romero concludes his living dead series and proves once and for all that no one does it better. It's that flawless Romero jumble of repulsion and social commentary, a genre flick with scruples that place his movies far above the rest. Add Dennis Hopper and John Leguizamo to the mix and you got yourself one helluva zombie magnum opus. Honorable Mention The Skeleton Key Universal Pictures This is a great DVD rental. Grab your popcorn and your soda and watch the jolts unfold. More Goosebumps than horror, Iain Softley's errie thriller includes a cast of mighty fine actors. Peter Sarsgaard, Gena Rowlands, and John Hurt (who nearly speaks a word,) give riveting performances, while Kate Hudson gives us someone to truly identify with, each and every Hoodoo turn of the screw. R. O'Donnell's Best Horror Films Of 2005
1. Oldboy Tartan Films Park Chan-Wook's Oldboy is a masterpiece of dread that eats away at you from the inside out. It grabs your psyche and then leisurely oozes outwards to Goosebumps and chills. Horror doesn't have to come from fanged monsters and gruesome serial killers, but could just as well come from the more mundane and overlooked things we do in life. 2. King Kong Universal Pictures I grew-up absolutely terrified by the original and Peter Jackson's King Kong brilliantly recreates that same adolescent anxiety. Yet the director pushes the envelope by presenting a Kong that is more victim than monster, more hero than horrible, and in the end a tragic reminder that good old American capitalism can be the real monster. 3. A History of Violence New Line Cinema David Cronenberg's adaptation of a graphic novel by the same name also proves that horror doesn't have to be obvious. It can come from your past and stalk you until a blood-soaked lawn outside your quaint country getaway is all that's left. Stellar cast, crisp writing, great pacing, edgy sex all topped-off by a violence torn from the pages of today's trendy comic books, A History Of Violence places the crown back on Cronenberg's luminous head. 4. Haute Tension Lions Gate Films I'll admit it, there were some flaws in this super-slick gooey import from French filmmaker Alexandre Aja, but Cécile De France made it all okay for me. Her performance equals Sigourney Weaver's in Alien. Cécile De France is so riveting in this ultra-violent thriller that in spite of the film's blemishes, I walked away knowing a star is born. Go for the horror, stay for a kick-ass performance. 5. The Skeleton Key Universal Pictures British director Iain Softley's Southern Gothic thriller was a great surprise indeed. With a virtuoso cast, which included Kate Hudson, Gena Rowlands, John Hurt, and Peter Sarsgaard, The Skeleton Key shocked, thrilled, and absolutely entertained me. American/European dark magic known as Hoodoo plays a vital role in this atmospheric ghost story, and pleasantly reminded me of Alan Parker's horror masterpiece Angel Heart. Honorable Mention War of the Worlds DreamWorks When the alien's bellowed into the cold night's air, a sound that still painfully echoes in my ears, I was truly terrified. Not since Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park has trepidation curled up beside me, hitching a ride home after the credit's rolled. Tom Cruise singing to his daughter to calm her from the horror of it all was proof of his super star status, and although he is regarded as big box office, he is, sadly, very underrated. |
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