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?

Why I haven't been blogging as much

If you're a regular reader of this blog you might have noticed that I haven't been posting as much news recently. I have been aware of it, obviously, and I figured I would tell you guys why that is.

The basic explanation is I don't have as much time. I have a job and I went back to school for the semester earlier in August. My days consist of waking up at 6am, going to school, coming home around for like an hour or so, and then turning around and going to work. By the time I get home I am just beat and when I do go online and read news stories and movie sites, I just don't feel like spending the extra time to write something up to share. I have been keeping up and I read my sites just about every day like I always did, but posting on here has been difficult. A good 13-14 hours of my day is eaten up away from my computer so it just is what it is.
In addition to this subject is I don't have the time to go see as many movies anymore. As it currently stands I have only seen 11 movies in theaters this year. By this time last year I had seen 20+ and the year before I was practically at the movie theater every weekend to see something. I had a lot more time and more to talk about and review. At this point a majority of news stories I could keep talking about I don't want to keep focusing on and that leads into this next reason.

I have hopped on board with a group of moviegoers who are sick and tired of spoilers. I watch the YouTube show, Pretty Much It, and they were the first ones I noticed that really started practicing this and I have seen how it changed their views on film. It seems that the studios are fine with releasing 3-5 trailers for each movie along with set photos, promo spots, and viral campaigns to get people excited. However, all it does is ruin the allure of the movie. I used to be one of those people to read and watch just about everything about an upcoming release that I was excited about, but when I saw the movie I would either be disappointed that all the good stuff was something I already saw in the trailers or that the good stuff I saw in the trailers wasn't even in the movie.

Recent examples of things I have limited myself on or stayed away from:

1. Guardians of the Galaxy: I absolutely loved this movie, but I don't think I would have loved it as much if I would have read and/or watched as much as I did on previous Marvel releases. I watched the first two trailers and then decided to stop. I didn't watch interviews, I didn't look at promo photos past the first set that was released, etc.. I went in pretty fresh and I wound up enjoying that movie probably more than any previous Marvel release.
2. Jurassic World: I was cool seeing the posters and the JW cars at SDCC and all that, but when I saw that people were leaking the Jurassic World maps and stuff like that I decided to step away. I'll watch a trailer but after that I'm done until the movie is released.
3. Star Wars - Episode VII: I am curious about this new Star Wars film, don't get me wrong, but I don't want to spoil it for myself. I looked at the first set of photos that were leaked by TMZ but I am not going to look at any more until we get any official stuff. I will watch the trailer when it comes out and I will look at a set of promo photos but I'm stopping after that.
4. Gone Girl: The trailer looked great so I am stopping before I have the entire movie ruined for me by promotions and viral marketing. 
5. Interstellar: Again, the trailers look great and I don't think Christopher Nolan will disappoint with this one. Why keep watching for stuff that will ruin the movie?
6. Mockingjay - Part 1: I am excited as all hell but after fully immersing myself in the marketing for Catching Fire, I want to leave myself some surprises for Mockingjay. 

When it comes time for trailers and promos to come for other 2015 releases such as The Avengers: Age of Ultron, Tomorrowland, Insidious: Chapter 3, and Ant-Man I will be very limited. My first real test with this whole way of viewing movies was Guardians of the Galaxy and I had such a good time that I'm irritated with myself about how I was watching movies before. Movies are supposed to be fun. They aren't supposed to be nitpicked and spoiled before you even walk into the theater. I don't think I even need to go into what happened with The Amazing Spider-Man 2. 
The same applies for television shows at this point. I haven't watched or looked at anything for the fifth season of The Walking Dead other than the initial trailer shown at SDCC. I watched everything leading up to season four and I didn't enjoy it as much as I could have. I've been scrolling right past TWD posts on websites and on Facebook because I don't want the spoilers. I'm limiting myself on American Horror Story promos, too. I am watching the teasers but I don't think I'm going to watch the first full trailer or look at any other promotional stuff.


Now what does this mean for this blog? Well, there obviously won't be as many posts. I apologize for that if you're a regular reader and I appreciate you taking the time to read, but it's just gotten ridiculous lately. I will still post on here but I am being even more selective with what I post.

The Best Movies of 2013

It is about that time again. This time we are talking the best movies of 2013.
Now, as always, I will only discuss the movies that I saw this year. I did miss some major movies this year that I might add if I see them before the end of the year. I also want to reiterate that this is all my personal opinion and are in no particular order. Deal with it.

Let's get started!


Side Effects

I feel like this movie didn't get enough attention. It was interesting, had a great cast (minus Channing Tatum), and had a great ending. I even watched it twice. If you didn't see it I would check it out.

Dark Skies

This was one that most people thought was really bad, but I enjoyed it. I thought the premise was somewhat unexpected and I appreciated that.

Evil Dead

I did have gripes with this movie, but overall it is one of the best horror movies we have received in years. As a reboot it wasn't that great, but as a stand alone movie it was fantastic. Great effects.

Antiviral

I went in not knowing what to expect. I did really like it, though. It was a very interesting concept and I like movies that stretch your brain a bit and make you think. By the end of the movie I just sat there and was like... that was really cool. Very appreciated.

Iron Man 3

Not the best Iron Man movie, but a decent attempt. The effects were good and the story kept you intrigued enough. Minus the confusion and outcry over the butchering of The Mandarin, I enjoyed this one enough to make this list and not the worst list. The way I see it, Iron Man 3 was better than Iron Man 2. That's all that matters in the end.

Star Trek Into Darkness

Great. It was just great. The effects, the acting, the story, and just everything was awesome. Benedict Cumberbatch stole the show and I loved it.

The Hangover Part III

Calm down, everyone. I put this one on this list because of a couple reasons. First, it was so much better than The Hangover Part II. Second, this movie actually had a story greater than the characters get hungover and try and trace their steps. It actually had a plot and some conflict but managed to stay true to the characters and stay funny. It was a pretty good movie in general, not just for a Hangover movie.

This is the End

I regret not seeing this in theaters. By far the funniest movie I have seen all year. If you thought it was going to be bad, pray for forgiveness and watch the movie.

Man of Steel

Similar to what I said about Iron Man 3, this one makes the list based on a couple reasons; General Zod being the biggest reason. Michael Shannon was fantastic and brought so much to the table. Russell Crowe and Kevin Costner also made this one for me. Granted it was full of overdone Zack Snyder effects and was basically all CGI, but it was a lot more enjoyable than I expected it to be.

Monsters University

I wasn't expecting much because it was a prequel, but I walked away with a smile. Good show, Pixar.

The Heat

Before I saw This is the End, this one was my funniest of 2013. Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy need to do another comedy together. They were meant for each other.

V/H/S/2

This is on the list for the sheer fact that I saw the cult segment. It was just fantastic. I would have loved to see a full length movie on that subject. 

The Conjuring

Best horror film of the year. Maybe even the best of the decade. James Wan deserves all of the praise for this movie and went out of the genre with a bang. It was stressful, interesting, beautifully shot, and rather creepy. I loved every single second of this movie. Getting an R-rating for being "too scary" says it all. It lived up to the hype.

The Wolverine

It was better than X-Men Origins. That's all that is important.

Elysium

This one had a lot of problems, but based on concept and effects I decided to put it on here. It's worth seeing at least once.

Insidious: Chapter 2

I enjoyed this one as much, if not more, than the first one. James Wan delivered another quality product and it was terrifying.

Gravity

This is probably my #1 of the whole year. It was such a great movie. I hope it wins Best Picture.

Ender's Game

A decent book adaptation with fantastic special effects. I would check it out if you didn't.

Thor: The Dark World

Another quality Marvel release that was better than Iron Man 3. Just saying. It was better than Man of Steel, too.

Frozen

I put this on here for animation and animation only. I didn't like the movie as a whole all that much, but the animation was beautiful. The characters as a whole weren't bad either.

American Hustle

Funny, interesting, sad, happy, total package. I enjoyed this movie a lot. Kudos to David O. Russell for giving us another gem. 


Like I said, there are still a couple I would like to see before the year is up so this list might change a bit. Do you agree with my list? Did I miss something you liked? Did I add something you hated? Let me know in the comments.

Also check out my list of the best posters of 2013 (link) and my best Netflix picks of 2013 here.

The Worst Movies of 2013

It is about that time again. It's time to talk about the worst movies of 2013.
Now, as always, I will only discuss the movies that I saw this year. I did miss some major movies this year that I might add if I see them before the end of the year. I also want to reiterate that this is all my personal opinion and are in no particular order. Deal with it.

Let's get started!


Texas Chainsaw 3D

I didn't see this in theaters but figured since I am a horror buff that I would give it a shot. Let's just say I'm happy I got this through Netflix and didn't waste my money on it at the box office. It was just ghastly. The story was lame, the acting was borderline hilarious, the effects were awful, and I can imagine that nothing would have even been visible in 3D. Moving on.

A Haunted House

Unoriginal. Unfunny. Tired. Stupid. End of story. 

Movie 43

I don't really have much to say about this one. I thought it tried a bit too hard. I don't think it was as bad as people made it out to be, but it was still pretty bad.

Warm Bodies

aka, Twilight zombies. I didn't like this movie. It was just stupid for me. The idea of a zombie coming back to life and saving the world because he falls in love was lame. I didn't like the humor and I didn't find it that interesting. I had to pause it for a while to keep myself from falling asleep. It just dragged and dragged.

The Haunting in Connecticut 2: Ghosts of Georgia

It made the first one look like a masterpiece. I just found it very predictable and boring. 

21 and Over

Never even saw the whole movie because I turned it off. That's all I need to say.

Jack the Giant Slayer

It just... ugh. 

The Last Exorcism: Part 2

Yet another one I turned off after a half hour or so. I'm glad I didn't go see it in theaters. The again, the first one wasn't good either.

On the Road

Good cast but bad movie. It was too long, too disconnected, and it really wasn't that great of a book adaptation. I now understand why it got trashed at the festivals. 

The Lords of Salem

I should have liked this movie and I was kinda borderline about it, but in the end I found it to be very weird and quite blasphemous. I think that Rob Zombie used this movie primarily for shock value and it had no real substance. I like witches when it comes to story but this one didn't quite come together for me. It's unfortunate.

The Purge

I loved the concept and hoped it would be good, but it just wasn't. There was a lot wrong with it, it was too short, and they wasted a great concept. 

World War Z

Holy shit, what a terrible movie. It had no substance, no character development, terrible effects, and took absolutely nothing from Max Brooks' book other than the title. The fact that they're making a sequel is downright painful. I blame everyone that gave it great box office numbers.

The Lone Ranger

There is nothing to really say about this one. It was just so bad. 

Carrie

I went into this interested and somewhat excited, but I left disappointed which was expected. Chloe Moretz was severely miscast, the effects were not very good, the acting was overdone, and the directing was even worse. Yet another attempt at Carrie in the trenches.


Yeah, 2013 definitely had some stinkers. But there were good ones to shine through which I will post next. Do you disagree with me? Did I miss a movie that you didn't like? Let me know in the comments.
Also feel free to check out the Worst Posters of 2013. You can see what made the cut here. 

Welcome to the new format

See, I listen.

I have been working on this format for a while and I feel like it's finally to my liking. I kind of had enough of the complaints about the white font on black background (that isn't hard to read), so I think this is a little easier on the eyes. It's nothing flashy but I like it.

I also changed the name and the url, as you might have noticed, and if you didn't,,, well, I did! Enjoy the new movie blog, guys.