Month: January 2015

Directed by: Ti West
Written by: Ti West

It’s easy to feel weary of found footage horror: The success of the Paranormal Activity series ushered in a surplus of copycat films, most of which were — much like the majority of Paranormal Activity sequels — disappointing. But there are still a few worthwhile found footage tricks emerging, as evidenced by several entries on this list, starting with Ti West’s Jonestown Massacre-inspired The Sacrament. Vice reporter Sam (AJ Bowen) and his cameraman Jake (Joe Swanberg) follow Patrick (Kentucker Audley) to utopian community Eden Parish, where Patrick’s sister Caroline (Amy Seimetz) has fallen under the sway of a Jim Jones-esque religious leader who simply goes by Father (Gene Jones). The story largely proceeds how you’d expect it to, but the found footage format gives The Sacrament an urgency that makes the devolution into violence almost unbearably stressful to watch.

Directed by: Alfonso Gomez-Rejon
Written by: Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa

The original 1976 film The Town That Dreaded Sundown was based on actual murders that occurred in Texarkana, a town on the border of Texas and Arkansas. The 2014 version, produced by American Horror Story’s Ryan Murphy — and written and directed by his frequent collaborators — is equal parts sequel and remake. It’s a more meta take on the slasher film: Final Girl (Addison Timlin) is first attacked by the Phantom at Texarkana’s annual Halloween screening of The Town That Dreaded Sundown. The success of Gomez-Rejon’s pseudo-reboot is its ability to not get bogged down by its own cleverness. Central conceit aside, it’s a low-budget, no-frills slasher that is more effective for its restraint — much like the Phantom’s simple but terrifying disguise.

Directed by: Bobcat Goldthwait
Written by: Bobcat Goldthwait

Another found-footage horror film, Willow Creek owes more to 1999’s The Blair Witch Project than to the more recent Paranormal Activity films. But really, it owes everything to the endlessly creative mind of Bobcat Goldthwait, whose career as a filmmaker has shown impressive range and a penchant for the darkest of dark comedy, including World’s Greatest Dad (2009) and God Bless America(2011). While the focus of Willow Creek is unique — the film tracks enthusiastic Bigfoot believer Jim (Bryce Johnson) and his girlfriend Kelly (Alexie Gilmore) as they search for the elusive crypto-hominid — it’s not as shocking as Goldthwait’s past efforts. Still, it offers real terror and some surprising humor that reflect the writer-director’s considerable skills.

Directed by: Kevin Kölsch and Dennis Widmyer
Written by: Kevin Kölsch and Dennis Widmyer

The price of fame isn’t a particularly original notion, but Starry Eyes takes it to a riveting (and stomach-turning) new place. Aspiring actor Sarah (Alex Essoe) is desperate for her big break, and when she’s up for a part in the mysterious filmThe Silver Scream, she finds herself pushed to her limit: Her body deteriorates and she begins to transform into something unrecognizable. It’s an apt metaphor for the strain of trying to survive as an actor, and the rigors actors put themselves through — a deal with the devil, as it were. More to the point, it leads to some truly inspired body-horror gross-outs: There is a shower scene in particular that leaves a lasting impression, whether you want it to or not. The sheer power ofStarry Eyes’ imagery is what elevates it past the somewhat familiar Faustian plot.

Directed by: Kevin Smith
Written by: Kevin Smith

Kevin Smith’s last foray into horror, 2011’s Red State, was a surprising (and largely successful) diversion from his past (largely comedic) work. Tusk is firmly planted in the horror genre, but it has all the features of a Kevin Smith comedy: sharp dialogue, offbeat characters, exceptional weirdness, and unexpected poignancy. In Tusk, podcaster — and typical Smithian asshole — Wallace Bryton (Justin Long) is lured to Manitoba by eccentric retired seaman Howard Howe (Michael Parks). After being drugged and mutilated, Wallace realizes he’s being held captive by a lunatic who will stop at nothing until he has transformed Wallace into something inhuman. The grotesquerie of Tusk’s body-horror elements is grounded by strong performances from Long and Parks, as well as a script from Smith that isn’t afraid to mine humor from unimaginable suffering.

Directed by: Doug Aarniokoski
Written by: Doug Aarniokoski and David Loughery

Nurse 3D is largely about aesthetics: Inspired by photographer (and Lionsgate chief marketing officer) Tim Palen’s work, the film is basically a concept. But that concept — a homicidal nurse takes revenge on cheating men — gives the incomparable Paz de la Huerta free reign to be as freaky, naked, and bloody as she wants to be. The gruesome results don’t reinvent the slasher genre, and the plot — which revolves around the psychosexual manipulation of Danni Rodgers (Katrina Bowden) at the hands of de la Huerta’s Abby Russell — is very Single White Female, but de la Huerta thrives in the intersection of style and substance.Nurse 3D may not be high art — and with that title, that’s probably to be expected — but it’s still a relentlessly entertaining vehicle for its unique star.

Read the remaining entries here.