Well, another year has come and gone in the world of horror and I have to say it was only an average year for celluloid frights. Nothing this year was a reach out and grab me by the throat type of film except for a few but there was a lot I was really looking forward to when 2015 started and for the most part they met my expectations. This year’s list happens to be skewed more towards the independent and low-budget side. There isn’t a single big-budget film on my list. No Insidious 3, Crimson Peak, Krampus, Poltergeist remake to be found. Does that mean that big-budget horror is dead in my eyes – Not at all. I enjoyed many of the big budget films that were released this year, just not enough for them to make it into my top ten list of the year.
I saw a huge amount of films this year, but again I didn’t see every horror film that came out, as much as I would’ve liked to. So this list encompasses only films that I viewed and that were released in 2015 either in theaters, Blu-ray, DVD, VOD. My list probably will turn out much differently than most other reviewers’ year end lists, but that’s okay, I like what I like and I don’t apologize for it.
I hope you enjoy my Top Ten Horror Films of 2015 and if you haven’t seen some of them, give ‘em a shot, what do you have to lose?
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Hellions
Hellions is one of those films that you either love or hate, there doesn’t seem to be too much in between. I’ll admit that due to some questionable uses of lighting and/or imagery, some viewers could be put off by it – I’m not one of those people.
The film is directed by Bruce McDonald who helmed the film Pontypool that many consider to be a cult classic.
Dora (Chloe Rose) is an average teenager who just wants to have fun and get high with her boyfriend Jace (Luke Bilyk) on Halloween. She’s stunned when her doctor Henry (Rossif Sutherland) tells her that she’s four weeks pregnant, something that she says shouldn’t be possible. Distraught, she goes home to wait for Jace while her mother (Rachel Wilson) takes Dora’s younger brother Remi (Peter DaCunha) trick-or-treating. However before her boyfriend can pick her up, Dora is visited by several children in strange costumes. Their presence grows increasingly more menacing, culminating with one bringing her Jace’s decapitated head in a bag. Their reason for doing this is that they want her unborn child. From this point on Dora must fight against the monstrous children, a feat made more difficult by the fact that her pregnancy is progressing at an extremely accelerated and unnatural rate.
I found the film to be very creepy with some great moments of fright. The cinematographer created a unique canvas and the lighting and effects were will used to create some frightening imagery. The cast was led by Chloe Rose and the always great Robert Patrick.
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The Diabolical
This film was a total surprise for me. It’s a genre bending film where you go into it expecting one thing and come out with something completely different.
Madison, a single mother, moves into a haunted house. After being terrorized by ghosts, she enlists the help of her scientist boyfriend.
This one features another great cast led by genre vet Ali Larter. I can’t really say a lot about the plot of this film for fear of giving too much away, just suffice it to say you won’t be expecting some of the twists this film has to offer.
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Valley of the Sasquatch
If you’re into Squatchploitation films as much as I am, then you already know there has been a glut of these films coming out the past couple of years. Most of them are pretty bad but there have been a few standouts of the subgenre and for me, the one which rose to the top of the heap was Valley of the Sasquatch from writer/director John Portanova. It had enough suspense and glimpses of the creature to keep viewers on their toes. It also featured a very good script with a credible story.
After losing their home following a devastating tragedy, a father and son are forced to move to an old family cabin. Neither reacts well to being thrown into this new world. The son’s attempts to relate to his father are complicated when two old friends arrive for a weekend of hunting. This trip into the forest will unearth not only buried feelings of guilt and betrayal, but also a tribe of Sasquatch that are determined to protect their land.
I have to give kudos to genre vets Jason Vail and Bill Oberst Jr. who both added their own brand of something extra to the film, which wouldn’t have been half as good without their contributions.
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Last Shift
Last Shift is another critical success of 2015. You’ll see this one showing up on many best of lists for the year. When you first start watching Last Shift, many of you might have been thinking this is a rip off of John Carpenter’s Assault on Precinct 13, as was I. But the film veers off in a supernatural direction where it really shines. This film is full of great suspense pieces and at points becomes downright creepy.
The film’s lead, Juliana Harkavy turns in a powerhouse performance throughout.
From director Anthony DiBlasi (Cassadaga) comes a Manson inspired horror film centering around a transitioning police station. Officer Jessica Loren has been assigned to wait for a Hazmat team to pick up bio-hazardous waste from the station’s armory. But unbeknownst to Jessica, cult Leader John Michael Paymon has haunted the department ever since he and two of his followers committed suicide a year ago to date. And now, Jessica is about to find out how dangerous they can be when she’s left alone on this Last Shift.
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We Are Still Here
I love a good ghost story and writer/director Ted Geoghegan’s We Are Still Here hit the bullseye. Not only did the piece turn a run-down turn of the century farmhouse into a terror-filled, claustrophobic nightmare but also featured one of my favorite 80’s scream queen’s Barbara Crampton who is still relevant in 2015 when many of her brethren have long since faded away.
We Are Still Here has a great script and enough thrills and chills to keep you on the edge of your seat.
After their teenage son is killed in a car crash, Paul (Andrew Sensenig) and Anne (Barbara Crampton) move to the quiet New York countryside to try to start a new life for themselves. But the grieving couple unknowingly becomes the prey of a family of vengeful spirits that reside in their new home, and before long they discover that the seemingly peaceful town they’ve moved into is hiding a terrifyingly dark secret. Now they must find a way to overcome their sorrow and fight back against both the living and dead as the malicious ghosts threaten to pull their souls – and the soul of their lost son – into hell with them.
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Deathgasm
I’m a huge fan of heavy metal and horror, so when an awesome film combines my two loves then it’s a match made in heaven or hell in this case. Deathgasm is a film from New Zealand and they have quite a track record for making exceptionally great horror films and this film is no exception. Deathgasm is hilarious gore drenched homage to films like Peter Jackson’s Braindead aka Dead Alive and Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead. It also offers a funny and sincere look at the teenage heavy metal subculture of today.
The star of this film for many will be the mostly practical makeup effects used. To say that Deathgasm is a gorefest is an understatement.
After his mother is institutionalized, misfit Brodie is sent to live with his fundamentalist Christian Uncle Albert and Aunt Mary, whose son David torments him. A heavy metal fan, Brodie forms a band called Deathgasm with his friends Zakk, Dion, and Giles. When the bandmates break into a local house, they discover that one of their idols, reclusive musician Rikki Daggers, lives there. Daggers gives the band magical sheet music, which a cult later murders him to find. Skeptical of the sheet music’s power, the band plays it, only to summon a demon. With the help of his crush, Medina, and his bandmates, Brodie must find a way to defeat the demon.
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It Follows
This media and critical darling made a huge splash at film festivals early this year. The word of mouth for It Follows was nothing short of spectacular. This film turned out to be one of my favorites for the year, but it didn’t start out that way. I had to watch it several times before it really grew on me because at first, I just didn’t get it. I couldn’t understand exactly what “It” was that was following these people and I’m still not sure that I do but that’s the beauty of this film. It can be interpreted in many different ways and that’s why fans will be studying and dissecting this film for many years to come. The frights in It Follows are slight, but ultra-creepy. The soundtrack for the film by Disasterpeace was by far the best soundtrack of the past few years. It Follows is a film you own to watch over and over and find something new each time you watch.
For nineteen-year-old Jay, Autumn should be about school, boys and week-ends out at the lake. But after a seemingly innocent sexual encounter, she finds herself plagued by strange visions and the inescapable sense that someone, something, is following her. Faced with this burden, Jay and her friends must find a way to escape the horrors, that seem to be only a few steps behind.
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Bone Tomahawk
There aren’t too many times when the horror and western genres are mixed together to great effect. That’s why Bone Tomahawk is a nearly perfect film. The film is a mix of savagery, brutality, and has some comedy thrown into the mix. I simply loved this film. The script was written and directed by S. Craig Zahler, and boy does he know how to craft a compelling script.
Add the story along with a cast to die for including Kurt Russell, Patrick Wilson, Matthew Fox, Sid Haig, David Arquette and a Oscar worthy performance by Richard Jenkins and you have one hell of a great film.
Four men set out in the Wild West to rescue a group of captives from cannibalistic cave dwellers.
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Dark Was the Night
Dark Was the Night is a superior creature feature that completely blew me away. Creature features or monster movies as I like to call them have always been my favorite type of horror film. The only problem I have with watching these films is that only a handful of filmmakers can get it right. You have to sift through dozens of films that are unwatchable to find a diamond, but oh what a diamond Dark Was the Night is. It features a wonderful script by Tyler Hisel and was given to an excellent director in Jack Heller. Heller knows how to craft a suspenseful creature feature. Show only a little and let your imagination do the rest. That’s the tried and true formula that has created some of the greatest creature features in history. Next, the filmmakers assembled a top notch cast including Kevin Durand, Lukas Haas, Nick Damici, and Sabina Gadecki. I completely identified with Kevin Durand’s character and really felt for him. Dark Was the Night seemed to have gotten lost in the shuffle this year and didn’t get the chance it really deserved. Seek this film out!
Isolated and threatened, a mysterious force hidden within the trees outside the small town of Maiden Woods, strikes fear in the townspeople as Sheriff Paul Shields attempts to overcome the demons of his past while protecting those that he loves.
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Tales of Halloween
For my number one film of the year I have picked an anthology piece – A series of short stories that are intertwined together. All of the stories are as you might expect by the title are set during Halloween night in an ordinary small town. TOH was one of my most highly expectant films going into 2015. I had been covering news stories throughout 2014 on this film while it was in production and this was the film I wanted to see most in the year. Usually when my expectations get too high for a film or the hype becomes overrated I end up being disappointed. Not with TOH, it met and actually exceeded any expectations I had for the film. It was the one true bright spot to the fourth quarter of the year. TOH rivaled the best Halloween films ever, including Trick ‘r Treat, Night of the Demons, and even the ultimate classic John Carpenter’s Halloween.
Every sequence was nearly perfect and there wasn’t a throwaway sequence at all. The amazing cast was exceptional and you need to watch the film several times to catch all the cameos thrown in there with everyone you could possibly think of from the world of horror.
The ten stories featured are made by the top minds in horror today.
This critically acclaimed film weaves together ten chilling tales from horror’s top directors. Ghosts, ghouls, monsters, and the devil delight in terrorizing unsuspecting residents of a suburban neighborhood on Halloween night.
Let me know what you think of my list. Do you agree – disagree, were there any films missing that should’ve been included? Let me know in the comments, I’d love to hear from you.
Honorable mentions for 2015 were: What We Do In the Shadows, Extinction, The Visit, Krampus, A Christmas Horror Story.
