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Best & Worst of 2009: Ryan Daley Picks His Top 10!

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As I’m primarily a DVD critic for Bloody-Disgusting, my year-end Top 10 list traditionally cites only DVD horror releases for a given year, which automatically excludes some of the movies I’ve seen at festivals or through pre-release screeners. Whereas I’m generally jealous of my fellow B-D critics for their all-encompassing year-end lists, I have to admit that 2009 was a fantastic year for horror DVDs, and this list was a pure pleasure to put together. Once again, just so I don’t catch any flak down in the comments, this is a list of the BEST HORROR DVDS OF 2009. Hence, no Zombieland.

Mr. Disgusting (Best/Worst) | Tim Anderson (Best/Worst) | BC (Best/Worst)
David Harley (Best/Worst) | Ryan Daley (Best/Worst)

RYAN DALEY’S TOP 10 OF 2009

10. Fear Itself: Season 1 (Lionsgate; September 15, 2009)


Some might say this horror anthology series, buried in the compost heap of NBC’s summer schedule, has been unjustly forgotten. But you can’t forget something if you never knew it existed in the first place. Overproduced and mysteriously under-promoted, Fear Itself is actually a pretty good show. Although none of the episodes can equal the best of Masters of Horror, the first season is solid across the board, each episode a strangely comforting 40 minutes of basic, well-produced horror.

9. The Killing Room (Genius Products; October 13, 2009)


I first saw The Killing Room at the Sundance Film Festival. To my pleasant surprise, Shea Whigham, one of the stars, took the theater seat directly in front of my wife. Remember that scene were Whigham gets his arm crunched in the door slot? The audience jumped out of their seats. And so did Whigham. His friends whispered props for really selling the arm crunch, and Whigham sunk low in his seat, looking both pleased and embarrassed to have pulled of the scare. It’s one of several good moments in a tense, captivating film. With its claustrophobic setting and clever B-movie premise, The Killing Room plays even better on DVD.

8. Trick r’ Treat (Warner Premiere; October 4, 2009)


Buried for years in the rubble of horror fan apocrypha, Warner Bros. finally dumped its highly-anticipated Halloween anthology onto DVD the first week of October. Like most horror fans, I spent the next 4 weeks trying to spread the word: You feeling a Halloween movie? Well check this one out. Nimbly edited, keenly executed, and oozing loads of Halloween spirit, Trick r’ Treat is an All Hallows’ Eve tradition in the making.

7. Drag Me To Hell (Universal; October 13, 2009)


Sam Raimi’s roller-coaster ride of a horror flick serves as proof-positive the director hasn’t lost a step since wrapping Army of Darkness. Steeped in the same youthful exuberance of his pre-millennial horror films, Drag Me To Hell has energy to spare: as far as pacing is concerned, the movie cooks. One of those horror flicks that oozes fun like a summer carnival.

6. Splinter (Magnet Releasing; April 14, 2009)


Splinter features the best movie monster I’ve seen this year. It’s bone-snapping, joint-contorting, black-splinter-sprouting parasite is something out of a horrible, horrible nightmare. Stranded at a rural gas station, the characters are stuck in a rut of paranoia and confusion that’s all too palpable. It’s one of those movies that makes your palms sweat.

5. True Blood: Season 1 (Warner Bros.; May 19, 2009)


Vampires and sexual abstinence? Worst combo ever, Twi-hards. Horny adults with a jones for fast-pumpin’ vampire sex, hard-core neck suckin’, and even the occasional blood “snowball”, know where to go to get their vampire fix. True Blood, bitches! It took a few episodes for the series to find the right tone, but once it got a head of steam, it was impossible to stop watching. And Season 2 (available on DVD in 2010) is even better.

4. Deadgirl (Dark Sky Films; September 15, 2009)


One of the more controversial horror releases of 2009, Deadgirl is certainly a polarizing movie. It poses a question frequently bandied about in the B-D forums: if you discovered a chained up female zombie who happened to be pretty hot, would you have sex with it? Okay, perhaps…but what about sloppy seconds? That’s the quandary faced by a couple of high school youths in this highly accomplished indie effort, one of those films that sticks with you for days after you watch it.

3. REC (Sony; July 14, 2009)


Better than Quarantine, that’s for goddamn sure.

2. Let the Right One In (Magnolia; March 10, 2009)


Magnolia may have jacked up the subtitles on the DVD release, but don’t let that stop you from seeing one of the most emotionally resonant vampire movies of all time. Thought-provoking, mesmerizing, and overwhelmingly beautiful, this is an excellent movie based on an excellent novel by Swedish author John Lindvist. An unforgettable experience.

1. Martyrs (Dimension; April 28, 2009)


One of the smartest horror movies to come along since Silence of the Lambs. Unfortunately, Martyrs‘ overwhelming violence deterred all but the most adventurous of movie-lovers, which is too bad, since French director Pascale Laugier has crafted a philosophical, deep-thinking horror movie that’s practically begging to be discussed in intellectual circles. Yes, it can be hard to watch, but sometimes the reward of personal revelation is worth the hefty price of fleeting pain.

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Editorials

5 Deep Cut Horror Movies to Seek Out in April 2024

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horror
Pictured: 'The Uncanny'

New month, new horror recommendations from Deep Cuts Rising. This installment features selections reflecting the month of April 2024.

Regardless of how they came to be here, or what they’re about, these past movies can generally be considered overlooked, forgotten or unknown.

This month’s offerings include telepathic plants, ecological horrors, and a lot of killer cats.


The Uncanny (1977)

horror

Pictured: The Uncanny (1977)

Directed by Denis Héroux.

The Uncanny is a two-for kind of deal: it works for both National Pet Day (April 11) and Tell a Story Day (April 27). Here we have Peter Cushing‘s character talking at length about the evils of cats, with his three examples fleshing out this singular anthology. And while this film is often mistaken for an Amicus production, it was, in fact, made by The Rank Organisation. However, Amicus co-founder Milton Subotsky was also a co-producer.

The Uncanny has a tendency to be one-note in its execution and story styles; vengeful felines come up more than once in the film. Even so, these macabre, cat-centric segments told in EC Comics fashion are more entertaining than not.

Watch The Uncanny at streaming sites such as SCREAMBOX.


The Kirlian Witness (1979)

horror

Pictured: The Kirlian Witness (1979)

Directed by Jonathan Sarno.

The Kirlian Witness (also known as The Plants are Watching) fits the bill when looking for something to watch on International Plant Appreciation Day (April 13). Similar to Eyes of Laura Mars, this film’s story is built on pseudoscience. More specifically, Kirlian photography. Nancy Snyder‘s character Rilla hopes to use this technique — revealing the energy field, or aura, of people and other animate things — to solve her sister’s murder. However, the only witness to the sister’s death, apart from the mysterious killer, is a plant. Rilla’s bizarre investigation eventually leads her to a startling discovery.

Jonathan Sarno’s film is a certified slow-burn, but it’s also intriguing and good-looking. This oddball of crime-solving horror is, at the very least, unique.

The Kirlian Witness is available for rental/purchase (under its alias) at digital retailers like Apple TV.


Scream for Help (1984)

horror

Pictured: Scream for Help (1984)

Directed by Michael Winner.

For Scream Day this year (April 24), why not visit Scream for Help? In this teenage thriller filtered through Death Wish, a Nancy Drew type suspects her stepfather is up to no good. And when her suspicions are proven right, she and her mother have to fight for their lives.

Scream for Help had the makings of a standard ’80s teen-slasher, but this turned out to be more like an “afterschool special meets home invasion” flick. And a hilarious one at that. It was likely not Michael Winner’s intention for this film to be so laugh-a-minute — star Lolita Lorre, bless her heart, has the funniest deliveries — however, trying to keep a straight face during his cinematic hot mess is impossible. Tom Holland‘s script was straight up murdered. Still and all, this is an entertaining disasterpiece that would have been an entirely different film had the original director, Richard Franklin, stayed on (rather than going off to direct Link).

The HD restoration of Scream for Help is available on Blu-ray from Scream Factory, but the digital version is standard-def.


Penumbra (2012)

Pictured: Penumbra (2012)

Directed by Ramiro García Bogliano & Adrián García Bogliano.

While it’s advised not to stare at the sun during the solar eclipse on April 8, fans of satirical horror are encouraged to give Penumbra, an Argentinian-Mexican film featuring an imminent solar eclipse, a watch. The unsubtle artwork suggests a straightforward survival story, however, the actual product is quite different and twisty. Cristina Brondo plays a prickly businesswoman who may have made her last sale; her new client has ulterior motives.

Surely some viewers will be put off by the protagonist of Penumbra, whose behavior in anticipation of the ominous eclipse is problematic. Yet, strangely enough, her being an imperfect victim adds something to the film, whereas a more pristine character would have made the whole experience less gripping.

Penumbra is currently available on AMC+.


Strange Nature (2018)

Pictured: Strange Nature (2018)

Directed by James Ojala.

For a less known eco-horror film to watch this Earth Day (April 22), Strange Nature tells its story with both urgency and force. Here, the late Lisa Sheridan (of FreakyLinks) played a struggling single mother looking into a local anomaly: mutated frogs. Soon enough, the cause of this abnormality extends beyond the water and creates other threats for the town’s human residents.

This truly indie production has its obvious limitations, yet the story — one based on a real life incident in Minnesota — and characters compensate for any visual flaws. The practical effects for the mutant beast are also admirable, given the meager resources available.

Strange Nature is currently streaming on Tubi.


No genre is as prolific as horror, so it’s understandable that movies fall through the cracks all the time. That is where this recurring column, Deep Cuts Rising, comes in. Each installment of this series will spotlight several unsung or obscure movies from the past — some from way back when, and others from not so long ago — that could use more attention.

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