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Best & Worst ’10: MR. DISGUSTING’S BOTTOM 10 OF 2010

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If I hadn’t been checking out the various film festivals over the past year, I doubt I would have been able to assemble a top 10 list. This year was such a crap-fest that making my list of the 10 worst films of the year was a breeze. It was too easy. In fact, I had to leave a dozen or so films off the list. Feelings will be hurt, but you know what, get over it. Grow some thick skin. Make a better movie in 2011.

Mr. Disgusting (Best/Worst) | Ryan Daley (Best/Worst) | David Harley (Best/Worst)
BC (Best/Worst) | Micah (Best/Worst) | Keenan (Best/Worst) | Theo (Best/Worst)
Best One Sheets | Worst One Sheets
Most Memorable Moments | Top Trailers | Memorable Quotes

MR. DISGUSTING’s BOTTOM 10 OF 2010

10. A Nightmare on Elm Street (April 30; New Line Cinema)


Freddy Krueger’s return to the big screen had so much promise: a huge budget, sweet special effects, and a pretty solid script that involved “micro-naps”. The unfortunate hiring of music video director Sam Bayer proved costly as Elm Street had zero scare, and even found a way to completely ignore the micro-nap subplot. The film was damaged by multiple cuts and reshoots that we unfortunately never got to see on DVD/Blu-ray. While it could have been worse, it was pretty “meh”. I didn’t lose any sleep over it.

9. My Soul to Take 3D (October 8; Rogue Pictures)


I almost hate including Wes Craven’s disasterpiece in my top 10 worst because it’s so darn entertaining. I guess I could easily dub it the “best of worst of 2010”? Confusing, odd and strangely hypnotic, it’s easy to recommend the film to horror fans, but with the stern warning that it will in fact melt your brain.

8. The New Daughter (January; Anchor Bay)


I saw this so long ago I barely remember it even coming out. I sat in a theater by myself as zero people showed up for the single screening in Beverly Hills. It was a laugh riot as New Daughter is littered with horrid dialogue. But what made it unbearable was how darn boring it was. Daughter feels like a made-for-TV movie that would eventually hit SyFy or get dumped on DVD.

7. The Wolfman (February 12; Universal Pictures)


If you can’t even make the transformation sequence cool, what else is there to talk about? Fail.

6. The Ward (TBD; TBD)


In my humble opinion, John Carpenter is the best horror director of our time, or at least the 1980s. The sheer number of incredible films is hard to ignore, so when Carpenter announced his return to director’s chair for this Amber Heard psychological thriller, how could I not be excited? It was heartbreaking to return from the world premiere with the news that The Ward should be committed, especially for completely failing to decide what kind of horror movie it wanted to be.

5. Jonah Hex (June 18; Warner Bros. Pictures)


The “frankenfilm” of the year, this comic book adaptation is quite simply soulless. There’s nothing here but forgettable characters and forgettable action sequences; sh*t, I can’t remember I single thing about the movie other than the fact that Megan Fox had her breasts all greased up throughout. Win?

4. Chain Letter (October 1; New Films International)


Yet another Twisted Pictures failure; the production team behind the Saw franchise can’t catch a break outside of Jigsaw’s games as they delivered a slasher movie that involved, gulp, a chain letter. Scaaarrry. Some of the kills are cool, but they are far and few between. If anything, Chain Letter felt like a really crappy direct-to-disc release. Full theatrical release? Come on.

3. Legion (January 22; Sony Screen Gems)


When all is said and done, Legion is all talk and no “do”, a prude film with some seriously wasted potential. It’s boring, slow-paced and takes itself way too goddamn seriously. Snore. The film’s worst offense is stealing it’s plotline from James Cameron’s Terminator.

2. Clash of the Titans 3D (April 2; Warner Bros. Pictures)


I’m a huge fan of the original Clash of the Titans, but it was one of those films that a remake could have done it some good. Unfortunately, many of the original film’s problems remain intact in this 2010 version, not to mention how simple Perseus’ quest is. There’s zero suspense and even the CGI is overdone (not all that surprising). It also gets a big f*ck you for post-converting to 3-D so they can charge exuberant ticket prices.

1. Case 39 (October 1; Paramount Pictures)


I can’t even begin to tell you how much I hate this movie. I hate Every. Single. Thing. about it. HATE. I hate that the running time just missed two hours. I hate that Renee Zellweger stars. I hate that it was released because Bradley Cooper was hot off of The Hangover. I hate that there are 13 fake scares. I hate that director Christian Alvart can’t decide what red herring to run with (is the little girl bad?) I hate the way it looked. I hated every inch of this movie and pray to the gods that none of you have to bare witness to such an atrocity of cinema. FAIL FAIL FAIL.

Dishonorable Mentions:


The Butcher Brothers’ The Violent Kind took what could have easily become a cult film and turned in into a mindboggling mess. From horror pacing issues, to oddball dialogue choices, Violent Kind never gains the audience’s attention nor asks for them to even care. The characters are forgettable, unlikable and remarkably stupid (literally) that it’s nearly impossible to avoid looking at your watch. Tim Sullivan returned behind the camera for the much anticipated 2001 Maniacs: Field of Screams, which ended up being the single worst movie I saw this year. I opted not to include it on my list because it only screened in one theater (that I’m aware of) for the DVD release. From the horrid cinematography to the oddly racist jokes (I don’t find myself overly sensitive or easily offended) and terrible sound design, 2001 Maniacs 2 can easily be summed up as “embarrassing'” — at least there’s one cool kill (a circular blade to the crotch). Another highly anticipated sequel that I found quite disappointing was Adam Green’s Hatchet II. While it didn’t make the bottom 10, I was extremely disappointed, with the crux of the problems being the screenplay. The pacing was off, Tony Todd talks wayyyyyy too much, and Danielle Harris takes the role to a new level of overacting. Beyond the script flaws, there are some absolutely incredible kills, and the movie does find a way to end on a high note with one hell of a extraordinary kill.

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Editorials

Meet the Actors Who Brought the ‘Backrooms’ Still Life Monsters to Life [SPOILERS]

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Renate Reinsve in 'Backrooms' - Horror ARGs

Judging from the unprecedented box office success of Kane Parsons’ Backrooms adaptation, you’ve likely already seen the liminal horror hit that managed to make audiences afraid of empty hallways and bad wallpaper. And now that so many of us have already entered the yellow labyrinth (some of us more than once), the time has come to discuss the spoiler-filled details that make the movie so fascinating in the first place.

And if there’s one element here that makes the Backrooms movie stand out from any previous lore/mythology, it has to be the genius addition of the Still Life entities. Warped recreations of real people that somehow wandered into the Complex, these misremembered creatures are responsible for some of the most disturbing imagery of 2026 – as well as laugh-out-loud memes created by one of the film’s very own concept artists.

However, true to Parsons’ word that the movie would rely heavily on practical effects, each of these distorted monsters was brought to life by real actors under heavy layers of makeup and prosthetics (with the occasional splash of CGI enhancements). While Anora and If I Had Legs I’d Kick You actress Ivy Wolk wasn’t among these performers, despite what Letterboxd might have you believe, the creature cast did benefit from veteran players with plenty of genre experience.

For starters, Alien: Romulus alumni Robert Bobroczkyi (who previously brought that film’s horrific Offspring to life during its most memorable sequence) plays the flick’s main antagonist, the Still Life version of Captain Clark. And though there was some obvious CGI involved in making the character’s peg-leg and nightmarish face more believable, Bobroczkyi’s monstrous performance and his natural 7’7″ frame helped to make that final chase sequence a clear highlight among this year’s genre offerings.

The film’s Texas-Chain-Saw-inspired “dinner” scene also features a freaky collection of less-aggressive Still Life creatures in the form of the Bearded Man, the Red-Headed Woman and, strangest of them all, the cheekily named “Archibald Leland Sutter Still Life” (who earned this title among fans and crewmembers as a reference to his apparent affinity for lamps).

While this was the first major horror outing for both Patrick Baynham (The Bearded Man) and Dana Mahmood (Archibald), Rhiannon Roberts has worked as a stunt performer in everything from Yellowjackets to HBO’s The Last of Us adaptation – which is probably why The Red-Headed Woman is the most active out of Clark’s impromptu “family.” That being said, the Archibald Leland Sutter Still Life is my personal favorite of the bunch simply because his anachronistic outfit suggests that the Backrooms phenomenon might be a lot older than the Async Foundation. I also love how hard he tries to be helpful with that little light of his!

That might be it for the Still Life entities, but I think horror fans will also be pleased to hear that the film’s Found Footage prologue stars none other than Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City star Avan Jogia as Naren Warne – and American Mary herself Katharine Isabelle also shows up in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo at Mary’s house party towards the middle of the story (though I have a feeling that she originally had a bigger part that was likely cut for time).

At the end of the day, Parsons’ Backrooms may have been an auteur-driven project motivated by the young director’s unique take on the classic creepypasta, but film has always been a collective artform, so it’s fun to see just how many talented performers it takes to bring this kind of supernatural nightmare to life in a way that connects with so many people.

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