Editorials
00’s Retrospect: Bloody Disgusting’s Top 20 Films of the Decade…Part 2
In this continuation of Bloody-Disgusting’s Top 20 of the 2000s countdown, the list has a decidedly international flavor due to the fact that 4 of the 5 films are of the foreign language variety. Fitting, considering that in the last decade the horror renaissance got a big helping hand from overseas, from the raft of J-Horror imports to the infusion of extreme, splatter-centric horror by way of France. Just goes to show that no matter what language you speak, fear is universal.
Also read: 00’s Retrospect: Dead on Arrival — Ten Horror Duds of the Last Decade
The last ten years have been a wild ride for horror fans. Thanks to countless innovators and a host of amazing films, it can safely be said that the 2000’s trump the 1990’s by a wide margin. Sure, that decade had groundbreakers like Scream and The Blair Witch Project, but that’s nothing compared to the number of great horror films (and, for that matter, the number of total horror films) that this decade has had to offer. To celebrate, the staff of Bloody-Disgusting decided to take a vote on the Top 20 horror films* of the 2000’s (along with one honorable mention), and the below list is the result. Looking over it, it’s actually pretty telling that nearly half the movies (9 out of 21) were produced on foreign soil, which just goes to show that this decade in horror was as much about the range of impressive imports as it was about the American product. Your favorites aren’t on there? Cry us a river. Or better yet, let us know what we missed. And make sure, at some point before the New Year, to get on your knees, clasp your hands together and pray to the horror gods to make the next decade as good as the last. – Chris Eggertsen
15. Battle Royale (Tartan; 2000 Japan)
No wonder this is Quentin Tarantino’s favorite film of the last ten years. Like his best movies, it’s a go-for-broke extravaganza: fun, provocative, ultra-violent, and bound to arouse controversy (which it did). It’s a pretty simple idea: a class of forty-odd young Japanese teenagers are thrust into a deadly game on a deserted island in which they must fight each other to the death until only one is left standing. If they fail at this, the collars fixed to the survivors’ necks will explode. What follows is a breathless chain of events as each individual reacts in his/her own way: some instantly become ruthless killers; others commit suicide; a few strike up allegiances in hopes that they can find a way off the island. It’s this quality that makes the film more than just an empty provocation – it builds character through action, a method all good filmmakers should seek to emulate.
14. Audition (Lionsgate; 2000 Japan)
Considered by many to be Takashi Miike’s masterpiece, this cringe-inducing, seriously disturbed film boasts one of the most unbearable scenes of torture in movie history. The story introduces us to a lonely widower whose producer friend sets up a fake movie audition for several young ingénues in hopes of finding him a wife. Unfortunately for the widower, the mild-mannered young woman he chooses isn’t exactly all she appears to be. The audience soon becomes aware of her not-insignificant dysfunctional tendencies in a series of shocking scenes, one of which just might make you lose your lunch (which, come to think of it, would be actually be a pretty fitting response). It’s revolting in the best possible way; the prolific Miike goes for the jugular here, and he cuts deep. Or, as the sadistic femme fatale of the film might say, “Kiri Kiri Kiri Kiri!”
13. Drag Me To Hell (Universal Pictures; May 29, 2009)
Sam Raimi’s return to gross-out form is a fun romp that’s by turns hilarious, gag-reflex-inducing and unsettling. Alison Lohman plays a young loan officer who has a curse put on her by an old gypsy woman after turning down an extension on her mortgage. Soon enough the demons from down below slowly begin to circle, and her efforts to countermand the curse become more and more desperate as the ticking clock winds down. Raimi is a master at this sort of thing, and much like in the Evil Dead films (particularly the second movie) he manages to keep us simultaneously laughing and screaming as we are treated to a series of increasingly inventive and maniacal set pieces. This is escapist entertainment at its best, and it almost makes you want to forgive Raimi for Spiderman 3. Almost.
12. Inside (Dimension Extreme; April 15, 2008)
One of the most audacious, brutal, unrelenting horror films ever made, Inside is perhaps the crown jewel of the new wave of extreme French horror films that have gained notoriety in the latter half of the decade. The movie follows a pregnant widow through a night of almost unbelievable pain and misery, as she is stalked by a scissors-wielding crazy woman who is convinced the baby is actually hers. Directors Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury handle the gory elements of the story with aplomb, but what really makes Inside so queasily effective is their skill at wringing the maximum amount of suspense out of the hair-raising setup. As if that weren’t enough, they even manage to work some pitch-black comedy into the mix. A shocking piece of cinema which provides further evidence that the French aren’t such pussies after all.
11. [REC] (Sony Pictures; 2007 Spain)
Out of all the “shaky-cam” films produced in the wake of The Blair Witch Project, this one is arguably the best, a seriously scary Spanish import that utilizes its P.O.V. camerawork more effectively than any of its predecessors. While the film takes awhile to get going, once the action starts it hardly ever lets up. The movie follows a TV news camera crew, police officers, firefighters and the residents of an apartment building as they fight for survival against a zombie outbreak after being sealed inside the structure in a quarantine procedure. The limited first-person viewpoint suits the enclosed setting well; it’s not necessarily what we’re seeing in front of us but what could be coming at us from just off-camera that’s most terrifying. There’s nothing all that deep here, but that’s not really the point. When it comes to visceral scares, [REC] has few peers.
Editorial written by Chris Eggertsen
*Editor’s Note: For those of you interested in knowing how the list came to be, here’s an explanation. Bloody Disgusting writers collaborated on a list of some of the best films this decade. The entire list was given to the Bloody Disgusting staff who then built their own Top 20 lists. Each film was given a point value. 20 received 1 point, 19 received 2 points, and so on all the way to number 1, which received 20 points. The numbers were tallied and the result are the top films listed. The bonus film had tied with #20 and the tie was broken by the number of actual votes.
The following participated in the project: Mr. Disgusting, Tex Massacre, BC, David Harley, Ryan Daley, Chris Eggertsen, Jeff Otto, John Marrone, Horror_Guy, Mr_Bungle, Klown, Caustic Coffee and Tool Shed
College kids, strippers and vampires—those were Donald P. Borchers’ only requirements when he approached Richard Wenk about writing and directing a movie for New World Pictures. As requested, Wenk cooked up Vamp (1986), a tailor-made blend of the decade’s teen movie craze as well as its horror boom.
Grim and earnest stories were still very much a part of the ’80s horror landscape, yet Vamp is something of a comedy. One difference between it and, say, Saturday the 14th, though, is the former avoids using schtick. Wenk’s movie proves that horror comedies also don’t have to subtract thrills from their recipes. Of course, it takes a minute before reaching that point; college antics and culture shocks preface this one macabre misadventure.
Vamp‘s initial setup is apt for a typical college-set, sex-driven comedy; to bribe their way into a fraternity house, two pledges (Chris Makepeace, Robert Rusler) go looking for some adult entertainment. Without wasting time on any further exposition, the characters embark on an all-in-one-night trip that quickly detours into terror.
To procure their elusive MacGuffin—a stripper willing to gyrate for some frat boys—Keith (Makepeace) and AJ (Rusler), plus a third wheel named Duncan (Gedee Watanabe), trade the safety of their remote college campus for the seediness of some unnamed city. The setting is recognizably L.A. by day, but as soon as night falls, downtown, along with the characters, slips into a kind of surreal universe. Director of photography Elliot Davis gave this early entry on his prolific résumé an unusual yet distinctive look; that Mario Bava-esque, magenta-green lighting is omnipresent, so much so that it’s almost its own character.
Chris Makepeace and Robert Rusler in Vamp
The faint comparisons to Martin Scorsese’s After Hours are merited, although not just because of Vamp’s distinguishing nighttime aesthetic. Save for the primary characters, the supporting roles in Wenk’s movie are also quite colorful and transactional in their behavior. The difference here, though, is the additional urge to ruin Keith and his friends at every turn. Some of that harm is humorous and tolerable enough, whereas the moment Vamp dishes out its first fatality, it’s abundantly clear how this movie qualifies as horror.
Vamp falls into that category of horror movie that reveals its genre with a scream rather than a series of whispers. The opening scene can function as a hint of what lies ahead—things are not at all what they appear to be—but otherwise, Wenk is more than happy to hold off on the horror. When that time does come, though, it catches the viewer off guard. In addition to the pure shock value is that sudden decision to upend the movie’s foremost feature. Or so it would seem.
If afraid of major spoilage, those new to Vamp would be wise to stop reading here. There’s just no skirting around the fact that the central fellowship in this buddy movie hits a serious snag when AJ is killed. That development causes the story to become more of a “long, bad night” journey for Keith and his romantic interest. So while Wenk scores points for subverting expectations, there is also a touch of sadness in his decision. Because if Vamp does anything well, it’s making the characters likable.
Something that comes easily to Vamp—and other teen horror movies from this same era—is its ability to invent young characters worth caring about, or at the very least, are interesting and not so immediately off-putting. More impressive is how Wenk did all this without actually fleshing out those characters. Still and all, Keith and his kind are a grade above cookie-cutter, and in some cases, aren’t completely devoid of growth.
Grace Jones in Vamp
Vamp appeals with an assorted cast of characters. No two are the same, nor are they operating on the same wavelength. The cinematically extroverted AJ, whose actor conveyed charm and vulnerability in near equal amounts, comes alive when he’s at his most undead. Makepeace then makes the chronically cautious Keith a sympathetic fellow, even as he’s more and more affected by the night’s bizarre events. Meanwhile, Duncan is indeed the designated loser of the whole bunch, but Watanabe still manages to humanize him. As a bonus, the role didn’t require him to pull a Long Duk Dong.
As for Dedee Pfeiffer, she is plain adorable as the mysterious After Dark server nicknamed “Amaretto”. She spends all night fixing her dress strap while at the same time trying to get Keith to remember how he knows her. As their offbeat romance grows, it becomes another highlight of this movie. Whether or not Pfeiffer’s character is really a vampire also creates some welcome tension in the story.
Like a lot of its contemporaries, Vamp went on to become a bit of a cult classic. That current status is determined by several factors, but without a doubt, the casting of Grace Jones is the most considerable. The image of her writhing on that unique-looking chair, a Keith Haring original, springs to mind whenever this movie is brought up.
Chris Makepeace, Billy Drago and Paunita Nichols in Vamp
Prior to that first display of unequivocal horror, local vampire queen Katrina (Jones) took to the stage and delivered a strip show like no other. One would expect nothing less from that renowned model and performance artist. By now reports of Jones’ tardiness on set are no secret, yet it’s also hard to deny her commitment to the part of Katrina. It was, in fact, Jones who took charge of her character’s appearance—on top of Haring painting her body and that now-iconic chair, she had Andy Warhol handle her costuming. And not too many actors could seize a room’s attention without saying a single line of dialogue.
In 2022, Vamp received a retrospective novelization from Encyclopocalypse. This literary union of preexisting source material—Wenk’s original screenplay—and new ideas from author Christian Francis amounts to a more comprehensive visit to the After Dark Club. The basic story there is no different than what’s shown on screen; however, Francis gets creative with the characters’ origins and designs, and he enhances a number of key scenes.
The novelization expands on the urban and social decay of the main setting, and supplies a background for the After Dark Club. Sandy Baron’s character, Katrina’s emcee and familiar, is given ample motivation for sticking around; up until the fiery end, he is loyal to his friend and former business partner “Squeak”, who looks like he was “fed through a combine harvester, and left as nothing more than a heap of mangled remains”. Then there is Billy Drago’s character Snow, the leader of a street gang called The Dragons. His reason for menacing Keith and AJ is more altruistic than in the movie; he and his peers act tough to scare off any potential food for the vampires.
Lisa Lyon in Vamp
If not for all the backstories, Francis’ Vamp would be a hell of a lot shorter. Instead, this tie-in read dives into how AJ met Keith—the orphaned Anthony Joseph hailed from a broken home back in Brooklyn—and how their friendship flourished over the years. Keith’s archership is no longer just an assumed part of his entire being; it’s a confidence-building extracurricular for a boy who got picked on before coming into the protection of the new kid in town. These supplemental, in-depth looks at the protagonists, plus their close connection, are maybe unnecessary. The movie already did a fair and concise job of addressing their platonic intimacy without the need for flashbacks and insights, specifically in that scene where AJ lays it all out as he sacrifices himself.
Where the novelization gets off course is its approach to the minor characters. Intermittently backstorying the likes of Katrina’s indentured servants, Seko (Leila Hee Olsen) and Vlad (Brad Logan), ends up disturbing the flow of the writing. Was it absolutely essential that readers know Vlad was the Grand Duke of the House of Romanov, or how Snow’s accomplice Maven (Paunita Nichols) became so dentally challenged? No, not really. However, one’s mileage with these random biographies may vary.
The novelization is a more substantial experience, but for a movie like Vamp, less is more. And as plentiful as they are, it never simply coasts on its campy charms, either. The character work sits comfortably in that realm between cursory and meticulous, the script is sharper than first realized, and Greg Cannom’s vampire makeup is straightforward yet effective. Most of all, the movie didn’t squander its out-of-the-box concept. Richard Wenk made his vision of a “comic nightmare in which just about anything that can go wrong does” come true, and it is very enjoyable.
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