The Best Horror Films (2000-2014)

Next year will mark 15 years since the new millennium and since then we have seen a lot of horror movies. Some were good while most were bad, but here is a list of ones that I personally found to be some of the good. This list was very difficult to order but I tried to do my best.

In this list we will see domestic and foreign, gory and psychological, reboots, and more. Let's get started!

First on the list, we will start with some honorable mentions. These aren't necessarily good enough to make my personal list, but they are still movies that I enjoyed to a point.

House of 1000 Corpses (2003)
Final Destination (2000)
Hostel (2005)
All the Boys Love Mandy Lane (2006)
Train (2008)
Paranormal Activity 3 (2011)
Cloverfield (2008)
Dreamcatcher (2003)
30 Days of Night (2007)
I Spit on Your Grave (2010)
Shutter Island (2010)


Let's get onto the list!


45. Halloween (2007)

44. The Mist (2007)

43. Mother's Day (2010)

42. Jeepers Creepers (2001)

41. Grave Encounters (2011)

40. Teeth (2007)

39. The Ruins (2008)

38. Cabin Fever (2002)

37. Underworld (2003)

36. [REC]2 (2009)

35. The Others (2001)

34. The Devil's Rejects (2005)

33. Quarantine (2008)

32. [REC] (2007)

31. Maniac (2012)

30. Slither (2006)

29. The Crazies (2010)

28. The Haunting in Connecticut (2009)

27. The Strangers (2008)

26. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)

25. You're Next (2011)

24. The Ring (2004)

23. The Descent (2005)

22. Excision (2012)

21. Orphan (2009)

20. The Loved Ones (2009)

19. High Tension (2005)

18. Deadgirl (2008)

17. Evil Dead (2013)

16. American Mary (2012)

15. 28 Days Later (2002)

14. Shaun of the Dead (2004)

13. Zombieland (2009)

12. The Cabin in the Woods (2012)

11. Let the Right One In (2008)

10. Let Me In (2010)

09.  Trick 'r Treat (2010)

08. Drag Me to Hell (2009)

07.  American Psycho (2000)

06. Insidious (2009)

05. Saw III (2006)

04. Saw II (2005)

03. Saw (2004)

02. Martyrs (2008)

01. The Conjuring (2013)

Agree with the list? Have anything you would add?

SDCC: Evil Dead television show in the works

During the panel for Last of Us at SDCC today, we learned from Sam Raimi that he is currently developing a television show based off his 1981 cult horror classic, The Evil Dead.

There was an overall lack of details but he did say that he is writing the series with his brother, Ivan Raimi, and that Bruce Campbell will also be involved. One plus side about this is that a lot of cable networks are not afraid of horror. We see gory, bloody television shows all the time like True Blood, Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead, Bates Motel, Hannibal, American Horror Story, Dexter, etc.. The list goes on at this point. Making a show about this story won't be as hard for people to grasp as it would have been just 10-15 years ago.
However, just because it's being written doesn't mean it's actually going to be made. Seeing the development hell that both Army of Darkness 2 and Fede Alvarez's Evil Dead sequel are going through it doesn't seem that things are so easy.

What do you guys think? Do you want an Evil Dead show?

The Best Posters of 2013

Along with the best movies of 2013, I decided to reflect on the best posters we got this year. Just because the poster is on this list doesn't necessarily mean the movie was in the "best of" list. It just means that the movie had a pretty bomb poster. Again, these are in no particular order.

Here we go!

42
I thought this poster was great. It was one of many, but this was the main one I saw floating around. It is to the point and gives you a nice visual to set the tone for the film. Well done. 

Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues
Straight and to the point. It is a good teaser for the sequel.

The Conjuring
This is great in so many ways. There are aspects that are classic horror, but it does fit with the time period and theme of the film quite well. It gives the creepy vibe, for sure.

Elysium
It fell victim to yet another "from behind looking away" shot, but I think the machinery does assist in the poster by making it interesting. It looks a bit more practical than digitally enhanced.

Saving Mr. Banks
This is just a cute, simple poster. Bottom line. It draws your attention and hints to the plot in a tasteful way. The simplicity fits the time period, as well.

Gravity
Great poster. Beautiful effects and you get a sense of tension just from the image.

Man of Steel
Out of the many, many posters we got for this movie I think this image was the best. It showcases the new suit and logo in a tasteful way and doesn't have any distractions. By far the best of the choices.

Evil Dead
Another "from behind" shot, but I personally found this poster very effective. It sets the film up for a big expectation, but it is simple and attention grabbing and that's what you want in an advertisement.

You're Next
Although I still haven't seen this movie, I loved this poster. It is a bit busy but it keeps your attention and gives you something interesting to look at. I just like it.

To check out the rest of the posters, click the jump and take a look.

[Updated] Fede Alvarez not leaving Evil Dead 2

Just a couple days after Sam Raimi was confirmed to direct Army of Darkness 2 it has been announced that Fede Alvarez will not return to direct his Evil Dead sequel. After Alvarez's 2013 reboot of the horror classic was a decent success, Alvarez and his co-writer Rodo Sayagues were tapped to return for a sequel. Sayagues is now claiming he and Alvarez are off the project.

Alvarez already hinted the sequel was at a standstill at Comic-Con in July stating that they were struggling to think of a great story to tell. Sayagues is now saying he and Alvarez left the project months ago because they had no story to present. Sayagues told Gorosito.TV:

“Look, I am sorry to tell you this but that movie won’t happen. Evil Dead 2 is not going to happen, at least not with us involved. We left that project many months ago because we preferred to put our energies on other things. I don’t know if the producers still have intentions of making it. But what I can tell you is that we are not part of that project.”

To me that sounds like plain arrogance that he believes that Evil Dead 2 won't happen without them. If the studio wants it bad enough they will find people to do it. Period.  However, if Alvarez and Sayagues really left the project months ago and the studio hasn't publicly replaced them yet the sequel might not happen after all.
Alvarez and Sayagues are moving their focus onto their upcoming sci-fi film Machina. The original short film, Panic Attack!,  is what landed Alvarez the Evil Dead directing chair to begin with.

I find this interesting in a way because Alvarez is the one who leaked that Sam Raimi was returning for Army of Darkness 2 and he has had no comment about leaving Evil Dead 2. Not to mention the studio has said nothing. I would classify this as rumor for right now and would advice Sayagues to shut the hell up.

[UPDATE] Changed to rumor patrol. Fede Alvarez has already taken to Twitter and is telling people, "Don't believe everything you read online."
Alvarez has said the interview Rodo Sayagues gave has been taken out of context and he meant Evil Dead 2 is not taking priority over Army of Darkness 2. He also included the sequel to the 2013 Evil Dead reboot is very much alive. 

Sam Raimi to direct Army of Darkness 2

Fede Alvarez has done the liberty of confirming some speculated news for us. The director of the 2013 Evil Dead reboot confirmed via Twitter that Sam Raimi will return to the Evil Dead franchise and direct Army of Darkness 2, the sequel to the 1992 film Army of Darkness.
In addition to Raimi returning (according to Alvarez) we got confirmation earlier this week that Bruce Campbell will be returning for the film as well.
This marks Raimi's first Evil Dead film since 1992 and puts speculation to rest that a sequel to the 2013 reboot could be considered Army of Darkness 2. There will indeed be two separate films as Alvarez is currently working on Evil Dead 2, the sequel to his reboot.  Whether the films will be tied together as a means to bring the two series based off the same story together is unknown, but I wouldn't be surprised if that happened. There is no word on which film will come first, either.

Welcome back, guys!

Focus Features will absorb FilmDistrict

Universal has announced that the subdivision, Focus Features, will be absorbing FilmDistrict. The reasoning behind the move is FilmDistrict CEO, Peter Schlessel, taking over for Focus Features. This will give Focus the opportunity to release a wide variety of films and increase them to at least 10 films per year. All FilmDistrict films released after January 2014 will be released as Focus Features.

This year Focus only had four releases this year (Admission, The World's End, Closed Circuit, and The Place Beyond the Pines), and they are looking forward to absorbing the specialty projects FilmDistrict has enjoyed such as Insidious, Evil Dead, and Drive.

Black Sabbath joins Halloween Horror Nights

In addition for the mazes announced for Evil Dead, The Walking Dead, and The Cabin in the Woods, we now have news of a 3D maze to be based off the pioneering heavy metal band Black Sabbath.

Black Sabbath: 13 3D will be the only maze to incorporate 3D video along with traditional props and characters and will, obviously, feature scenes based off the band's 2013 album release, 13. Guests will be transported into a land of graveyards, battlefields, and madhouses and will encounter Lucifer and his blood soaked bride.

Black Sabbath vocalist Ozzy Osbourne had this to say:

“We were all really excited when Universal Studios Hollywood approached us about doing a 3D Halloween Horror Nights maze based on our music. I’ve seen the drawings of what it will look like when it’s finished and it looks amazing. I can’t wait to walk through it on opening night in September.”

So far it looks like this maze will only be at Universal Studios Hollywood. It joins mazes Evil Dead: Book of the Dead and The Walking Dead: No Safe Haven.

Evil Dead sequel to give homage to 80's horror

Back in March at the SXSW premiere of his Evil Dead reboot, director Fede Alvarez announced a sequel was in the planning stages. Since the film has been released on DVD (today to be exact) Alvarez has begun to discuss the sequel a bit more.

Alvarez said they are still working with Sam Raimi and discussing exactly what they want to do with the sequel. He also said being a child of the 80's, he likes the idea of not knowing what is going on unless you have seen the first movie. He wants to take one character and move on to continue the story, not create a brand new one based on the premise of the first movie.
However, he does understand that it is easier said than done. The reality of sequels these days is just taking the storyline concept and throwing new characters into the same kind of environment. The other idea is to throw a new group of friends into the cabin and re-introduce the book.

It is assumed that Fede Alvarez will return to direct Evil Dead 2, but that isn't confirmed. Right now he is on board purely as a writer. If he doesn't wind up directing I assume that he will also be brought on as a producer alongside Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell.

#EvilDead

Evil Dead joining Universal's Halloween Horror Nights

So far the only project announced for Universal Studios' annual Halloween Horror Nights was for The Cabin in the Woods. Now we have some news that there will also be a haunted maze for Evil Dead. Naturally it will be based off the 2013 reboot directed by Fede Alvarez and will feature, like the film did, an abundance of practical effects.
TouringPlans also insists that there will be new Halloween shows including "Bill and Ted's Excellent Halloween Adventure" and a Rocky Horror Picture Show tribute. The shows will likely replace the Beetlejuice Graveyard Revue.

Universal Studios Hollywood creative director John Murdy stated:

"If you’re familiar with what we do with Halloween Horror Nights, we create living horror movies. So we want make our guests feel like they got up from their movie seat, walked through the screen, and now they get to live through the world of Evil Dead. So we’re bringing it to life with movie-quality sets, makeup, costumes and props. It’ll be like living the experience for real"

 Michael Aiello, Universal Orlando's assistant director of creative development, added:

"We’re attacking both these mazes on both coasts as fans of the movie. Taking that movie, taking elements from the film, it’s kind of a chronological retelling of that film for our guests. But it always comes from a place of total fandom about the properties that we use, in this case, Evil Dead being an amazing horror film remake of the classic Evil Dead film series."

Halloween Horror Nights runs at Universal Studios parks in Hollywood, CA and Orlando, FL from September 20th to November 2nd. 

#EvilDead

Evil Dead - Review

Evil Dead is a revision of the 1981 cult classic telling the story of five young people who head off for retreat at an isolated cabin. The group discovers the "Book of the Dead" and unleashes evil in the woods.

Warning: This review contains spoilers. Also keep in mind that about 90% of the footage in the trailers was not in the movie.

I was not initially excited for Evil Dead as I am a huge fan of the original and its sequels. When I heard it was being remade I wanted nothing to do with it. I didn't start warming up to this remake until I saw the redband trailer and some promo pictures. I also read some reviews from SXSW and from some early screenings and they were all pretty positive including those from fans of the original. With that said, I went into the theater last night fairly comfortable with the idea. 
Now... I want to emphasize that as a horror film, and as a horror fan watching, it was not a bad movie. It was actually quite good. However, I would not call this a remake. I would classify it as a revision and interpretation of the original source material. There were nods to the original that I appreciated, but as a whole it really wasn't that close to the original movie. The dialogue was different, the characters were different, the book was different, and the chain of events was all different.
I also need to say this before going too far into this review: please do not bring your children to the theater with you. My theater had a very decent amount of young children 8-years old and younger and there was a lot of crying, screaming, and whining throughout the whole movie. I noticed at least five groups with young kids leave after the opening scene and didn't come back. More people kept getting up with their kids and walking in and out of the theater. It disgusted me and was very distracting. Personally, I think you deserve to lose money on tickets and food and deserve to deal with your kid whining about being scared if you are idiotic enough to bring them to a movie like this. Don't do it. This isn't a kids movie in any way, shape, or form. 

I want to give massive props to Fede Alvarez and the whole team for the use of practical effects and for leaving the CGI bullshit out of the picture. I enjoyed every second of the visuals and absolutely loved the use of makeup, fake blood (and tons of it), and the basic grittiness of the movie as a whole. People need to look at the effects in this movie and take notes.
I also appreciated that it wasn't totally modernized in the sense of them having cell phones and whatever else, but you could tell that it took place in the modern era. The clothing and styling of the characters is fairly timeless, so if this movie is watched 10 years down the road it's not like the audience can say "oh you can totally tell this took place in the 70's." I also liked the way they didn't use any commercial music in the movie to give away potential time period, either. The only music was the score.
Like I said, there were nods to the original like the necklace, the Michigan State clothing, and some of the injuries. And yes, Ash's car was present. However, the references didn't go too far into the plot and some of them weren't even acknowledged by the characters. I think the only real reference that played any important part, like in the original, was the necklace. Examples like these are what make me say this wasn't really a remake. I guess the term "reboot" fits better.
The plot was, admittedly, a little more interesting than the plot of the original because it had more characterization and substance. They had an actual reason for being at the cabin and it wasn't just because they wanted to go on a group retreat for a weekend. Because of this there was reason for the characters to stay there and not take off just because things get weird. I did like that.
I also want to say the acting wasn't too shabby. Jane Levy stole the show and did a great job, but there wasn't a cast member that didn't pull their weight. The dialogue was alright. It had it's own elements of humor with lines like, "I don't want to be the Devil's bitch."

But, of course, there were things I didn't like. The main thing was the fact that Eric, (played by Lou Taylor Pucci) basically knew the outcome of what was going on. They gave him a little too much sarcasm and information. The thing I loved about the other characters and about the original Evil Dead was the fact that they had no idea what was coming next. With him looking through the book and basically knowing what was about to happen took a lot away from me and from the suspense of the plot. I also didn't really like the whole unleashed creature twist at the end.
This is a weird complaint seeing that profanity doesn't really bother me, but I found the use of foul language a bit unnecessary. I feel like they went with the current trend of the possessed being obscene rather than using visuals and actual possession like the original did. Having the evil Mia say she was going to suck her brother's cock and stuff like that was a bit unnecessary. It took away from the movie for me. Movies don't need to have bad language to be good or to fit in with the current horror genre.


Apart from that, I did enjoy Evil Dead. As a stand alone horror film it was good, but as a classified remake it was... so-so. Comparing it to the original it loses big time.

[Updated with trailer] Carrie trailer to screen before Evil Dead

Keep your eyes open!

The Carrie trailer is also supposed to debut online sometime today so when I get a chance I will update this post with a link.


[Update] - Here is the first trailer for Carrie. It debuted today on Yahoo! Movies

It doesn't look as good as I was hoping for, but it doesn't look like a total loss. They obviously modernized the shit out of it, as well. Eh... what can you do. I'll still see it. 

New clip from Evil Dead

I never thought I would be saying this, but I am so damn excited for this movie. The more I see the more I like. Bring it on!


Click here to see the clip via Yahoo! Movies: http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/evil-dead/trailers/evil-dead-going-die-190024102.html

New images and poster for Evil Dead

Just a little over a month away!

Evil Dead release pushed to early April

The release date for the upcoming reboot of Evil Dead has been pushed forward to April 5, 2013. This is about a week earlier than the original release date the film got. This move is because The Heat, starring Melissa McCarthy and Sandra Bullock, got pushed back to June so Evil Dead took its spot. This puts Evil Dead in direct competition with Jurassic Park 3D as they now open the same weekend.

Evil Dead Green Band Trailer Debuts; New Footage Revealed

This is quite different than the red band trailer we got a couple weeks ago, but this is the "safe" trailer for Evil Dead. I'm still pretty excited for it but I think after this trailer I'm done watching them and if any clips surface I will avoid them. I don't want to have the whole movie spoiled.

SXSW Film Festival sets screening list; Evil Dead to premiere

The screeening list has been set for the 2013 South by Southwest Film Festival and Conference (aka, SXSW) in Austin, TX. Several world premieres will happen including Evil Dead and The Incredible Burt Wonderstone.

The list includes:

The Incredible Burt Wonderstone (opens SXSW on March 8th)
Evil Dead
Drinking Buddies
Downloaded
Gool Ol' Freda
Everyone's Going to Die
Spring Breakers

Also screening will be the pilot episode for Bates Motel, the new Psycho prequel (well, kind of) series to air on A&E.


SXSW Film runs from March 8th to March 16th.

2013: The year of the sequel?

Did you know that 29 of the film releases slated for 2013 are either a sequel or a prequel to a previous film? Believe it because it's completely true... and just a little sad. The titles highlighted in red are the ones I am actually excited for.

January:
Texas Chainsaw 3D

February:
A Good Day to Die Hard

March:
The Last Exorcism Part 2
G.I. Joe: Retaliation
Oz: The Great and Powerful

April:
Scary Movie 5

May:
Iron Man 3
Fast Six
The Hangover: Part III
Star Trek Into Darkness

June:
Monsters University
Kick-Ass 2

July:
The Smurfs 2
Grown Ups 2
The Wolverine
Despicable Me 2

August:
Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters
300: Rise of an Empire
Insidious Chapter 2
RED 2

September:
Cloudy 2: Revenge of the Leftovers
Riddick

October:
Paranormal Activity 5
Sin City: A Dame to Kill For

November:
The Best Man 2
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
Thor: The Dark World

December:
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Anchorman: A Legend Continues


We also have a significant amount of remakes/reboots set for 2013:

Evil Dead (April 13; original released in 1981)
The Great Gatsby (May 10; original released in 1974)
Man of Steel (June 14; original Superman released in 1978 and another reboot released in 2006)
Lone Ranger (July 3; original television show aired in 1949)
OldBoy (October 11; original Korean film released in 2006)
Carrie (October 18; original released in 1976)


Did I miss anything? Comment and let me know so I can update.

EVIL DEAD - Full Redband Trailer; Updated with screen shots

I take back every bad thing I have said about this remake. After watching this trailer I am super excited and I think this looks fantastic. Wow. *applause*

Click the jump to see some screenshots from the trailer!

Evil Dead poster promises scares

According to the first official poster for the upcoming Evil Dead reboot it will deliver "the most terrifying film you will ever experience." We will see about that one.

Evil Dead first redband trailer

Like I said before I am not happy that this movie has been remade, but I have to admit that this looks pretty decent. I am a lot more comfortable with it now.