We here at Fatally-Yours wanted to recognize the year in horror films, both good and bad, so I have compiled my annual lists for the best and worst horror films of 2009, presented here for your pleasure!
Besides the obvious picks for the best horror films of 2009 that may be included in my list, I also wanted to share with you some possibly lesser known titles you might have missed this year. Movies that shocked, delighted and scared me. Movies that got me through the worst and the best of times of 2009. With the good comes the bad, though, and 2009 certainly saw its fair share of stinkers, also represented on my "worst of" list!
While it is true I haven’t seen every horror film (good or bad) that was released in 2009, I think that my lists will give you excellent insight on the best and worst this year and lead you to discover some hidden gems as well as fondly revisiting some of the best horror of 2009 (just avoid the "worst of" picks!). As with any list there will be varying opinions, so please recognize that this isn’t a definitive list by any means, but merely my personal favorites and least favorites from 2009.
I am glad to see 2009 go, but am also grateful for the many amazing horror films that were released this year and I am eagerly anticipating to see where the horror genre goes in 2010!
(I’ve tried to be accurate with release dates, but with some films it’s a slippery slope when trying to pin down an exact release date [limited theatrical vs. DVD release, foreign releasing, etc.], so please give me some wiggle room…I am only trying to showcase the very best [and worst] films that caught my eye this year.)
BEST:
10.) The Burrowers – Horror movies set during the Old West are far and in-between, so I was anxious to check out J.T. Petty’s ambitious film about a posse of cowboys and cavalry looking for a missing family who come up against creatures the Native Americans call “the burrowers”. The Burrowers is Western horror done right, featuring creeping dread, beautiful panoramas and a unique storyline. This came out on DVD way back in April and was one of the first horror films of 2009 I truly loved!
Buy it on Amazon!
9.) Fever Night – Fever Night was made by a skeleton crew of three and took over two years to complete on a shoestring budget, but nonetheless the result is stunning. Featuring weird, trippy visuals, great performances by its three actors and a spooky story about Satan-worshippers who encounter the Devil himself after performing a black magick ritual, Fever Night had me enthralled from beginning to end. This psychotic and psychedelic satanic indie film managed to unnerve me far more than horror films with 100x its budget. Keep an eye on co-writers/co-directors Jordan Harris and Andrew Schrader, because they are the kind of raw talent that horror so desperately needs!
8.) Laid to Rest – One of the few slasher films in recent history to actually be decent! Sure, it didn’t try to reinvent the slasher genre, but it did manage to make slashers fun again! Instead of stereotypical characters, writer and director Robert Hall gave us likeable characters and a menacing and actually scary villain. Add loads of mind-blowing gore and you’ve got yourself a surprisingly good slasher that stands head and shoulders above all the wannabe’s released this year. Gory, gory hallelujah! This is how a slasher should be done!
Buy it on Amazon!
7.) Dead Snow – Nazi zombies…do I really need to say anymore? Well, ok…besides the Nazi zombies, this Norwegian film is full of self-referential humor and some of the most entertaining kill scenes all year! It is the perfect balance between slapstick and splatterfest and one of the most fun films to watch with a large group of friends.
Buy it on Amazon!
6.) Grace – I love horror flicks that focus on women characters and their dilemmas. After being stunned at Paul Solet’s short film Grace, I was thrilled when I heard it was being made into a feature film. This year it was finally released and I couldn’t be more pleased with the film! This is one disturbing horror film that is sure to ruffle both female’s and male’s feathers! A pregnant woman is determined to carry her dead baby to term, but when it’s born it miraculously comes back to life. Soon, it because obvious the baby isn’t normal and needs human blood to survive. This kind of film could have easily dissolved into the silliness of It’s Alive, but Solet’s writing and direction, plus a convincing performance by Jordan Ladd, keep things tense and serious. A truly shocking and unique take on the demands of motherhood and the extent a mother will go to protect her offspring.
Buy it on Amazon!
5.) Sweatshop – Another independent production to top my list, Sweatshop is pure gothic grittiness from indie filmmaker Stacy Davidson! It’s like an old school slasher, filled with colorful characters who are throwing an industrial rave in an old abandoned warehouse but soon realize they are sharing the space with a sadistic killer. Sure, it doesn’t sound like anything new, but what makes Sweatshop special is the way it’s executed and the strong performances from its actors, namely Jeremy Sumrall, who puts on one of the most menacing performances from a killer I’ve seen all year! Plus, it boasts some of the most insane gore this side of Laid to Rest and a killer soundtrack of industrial and EBM beats.
4.) Zombieland – Ok, this is an obvious choice for most horror fans, but it’s an obvious choice with good reason! First of all, do you know anyone who has seen this movie and didn’t like it? I didn’t think so…Zombieland is a rootin’ tootin’ good time, chock full of zingers, quotable lines and “rules” to live the apocalypse by (better get started on that cardio training…), with a very healthy dose of gore!
Buy it on Amazon!
3.) Jennifer’s Body – Maybe it was the women-centric themes that made fans avoid or dislike Jennifer’s Body, but as a woman horror fan I absolutely loved it. Many other women I’ve spoken to loved it as well, so it makes me wonder if males didn’t connect with this film because it featured strong women as the main characters and revealed how in control women are when it comes to sex. I’d take a guess that this film made most men uncomfortable, even if they didn’t realize it, and this led them to dislike it. It is a pity this film was overlooked by the majority of the horror community, because not only was it entertaining and sexy, it was smart! Diablo Cody’s clever writing and Karyn Kasuma’s sure-fire direction along with stellar performances from both Megan Fox and Amanda Seyfried made this one of my most fun theater experiences of 2009.
Buy it on Amazon!
2.) Drag Me to Hell – Still, THIS was definitely the most fun I had in a theater in 2009! Sam Raimi’s rambunctious Drag Me To Hell was a pure delight to watch. His triumphant return to horror was filled with groddy set-pieces, ominous atmosphere and one of the year’s best villains – “You have shamed me!!”
Buy it on Amazon!
1.) Trick ‘r Treat– What else can I say about this masterpiece that hasn’t already been said? As a spooky kid, I am always for more Halloween-themed horror films (not the shitty kind like The Pumpkin Karver), so I had high expectations when this was FINALLY released to horror fans this year. My expectations weren’t only met, but exceeded with Trick ‘r Treat’s entertaining and intertwined anthology. This is an instant Halloween and horror classic, and in my opinion has even surpassed Carpenter’s Halloween as the best Samhain-themed movie ever!
Buy it on Amazon!
WORST:
I make it a mission to avoid as much bad horror as I can (I skipped most of this year’s remakes and/or sequels – H2, The Uninvited, Sorority Row, etc. – as well as insipid looking big-budget “horror” – Orphan, The Unborn, Twatlight – New Moon,
etc.), so barring any horror that my gut told me was already going to
be bad, I present to you the bottom of the barrel horror I was
unfortunate enough to witness this year.10.) Afterdark Horrorfest III/Ghosthouse Underground 2009 Releases: Some of my least favorite horror films were released by these two companies. With Afterdark Horrorfest you have the trivial and boring Perkins 14, Autopsy, The Broken, Dying Breed, etc., etc…(most of which I didn’t review because they were so bland and forgettable) not one of their releases that I saw did I like. Ghosthouse Underground’s direct-to-DVD titles The Children, Seventh Moon and Offspring did little to impress me. The only one I sorta liked was The Thaw. When three out of four of your releases suck, it’s pretty much time to reevaluate your horror cred, kiddos.
9.) Dead in 3 Days – Unoriginal film from Austria that cribs the U.S. slasher formula and does ABSOLUTELY NOTHING NEW WITH IT! Pointless and a waste of time…
Buy it on Amazon!
8.) Plague Town – Normally, I think kids are creepy on their own, so I’m a sucker for evil kid flicks. I was definitely a sucker when I got sucked into watching this…because this film just plain sucked. More generic story-telling (a family stuck in the middle of nowhere, odd townfolk, etc.) and stupid decisions made by characters made me want to catch an actual plague to put me out of my misery from watching this flick.
Buy it on Amazon!
7.) I Know How Many Runs You Scored Last Summer – I was actually looking forward to this Down Under indie flick, expecting some tongue-in-cheek humor and vicious kills, but all I got was a lousy migraine from this uninspired slasher. It may have a catchy title and a cool premise (a killer cricket player…brilliant!) but it fumbles the ball big-time by sticking to the stereotypical slasher formula and not offering up any humor or even memorable kills.
Buy it on Amazon!
6.) Nature’s Grave – This remake of the Australian cult classic Long Weekend held none of the original’s suspense and the hammy performance by Jim Caviezel was embarrassing to watch.
Buy it on Amazon!
5.) Killer Shorts – Low budget pictures can be a joy to watch, but some can be downright excruciating. You certainly don’t need a big budget to make a good film, but by God you need solid storylines and somewhat competent actors and direction. Unfortunately, Killer Shorts had none of these pertinent components and was an absolute travesty. Unbelievably terrible and one of the worst low budget pictures I’ve ever seen.
4.) Autumn – I had high hopes for this film, based on David Moody’s acclaimed book, but the film failed to capture the urgency and human emotion of the novel. Instead, it plodded through its running time and was a drag to sit through.
3.) Surveillance – Jennifer Lynch attempted to follow in daddy David Lynch’s footprints for this one, but instead she made a boring and predictable genre flick. It was filed with such banality that I didn’t even bother to write a review for it.
Buy it on Amazon!
2.) Amusement – What a horrid mess of a movie! Riddled with plot holes, inconsistencies and characters making boneheaded decisions, this film had me rolling my eyes so many times I thought I’d go blind!
Buy it on Amazon!
1.) Friday the 13th – Where to I even begin with this awful, awful remake? Out of all the horrid remakes coming out of Hollywood, this ranks up there as the absolute worst. Unlikable characters, a pathetic Jason, gapping plot holes and some of the most forgettable kills of all the Friday the 13th movies left me feeling dirty and used by Platinum Dunes and seeking vengeance on those that made this piece of poo.
Buy it on Amazon!
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