Outdoor Screening of THE RING (2002) -- Get tix now!

 

How long has it been since you've seen the 2002 American version of The Ring? It's been a minute for me, but I've been eager to revisit because I remember it fondly as one of the scariest movies of that decade, which was an otherwise fallow period for those of us who are averse to torture porn and slasher reboots. Unlike most of its mainstream turn-of-the-century horror brethren, The Ring was dark and moody and (mostly) understated, anchored by a really strong Naomi Watts performance and an intriguing mystery -- and then, oh, that ending.

If you're also in the mood for a rewatch, why not face Samara with a big crowd, in the relative safety of the great urban outdoors at Cinespia's screening at the Los Angeles State Historic Park? It's playing next Friday, October 20th at 7:15pm -- get your tickets now & enjoy "the deliriously delightful thriller you can’t unsee in view of the downtown skyline at LA State Historic Park. DJ sets bring the spooky season to life, while our Full Bar will help put color back into scared faces. Trick or treat, our Concessions stand has many good things to eat. Step into the madness in our Free Photobooth."

It's the most fun you can have this side of being trapped inside a well!

Buy your tickets now at cinespia.org and I'll see you there in *whispers creepily* (a little more than) seven dayssssss.

Spooky List: Best Horror of the '10s

It's 2020, spookies. A new year, a new decade...onto the next one! I fear I would be remiss, however, to let the '10s dwindle to a speck in the rearview without a quick rundown of the best our favorite genre had to offer in the past ten years.

This has been a very provocative time for horror - a true renaissance, I think, with some of the most interesting films this side of the '70s. Even if you don't agree with all of my choices, you have to admit that these filmmakers took a swing and tried something fresh, even if it didn't always connect for you personally.

Without further ado, here are my picks - in chronological order - of the Best Horror of the 2010s.

• Black Swan (2010) - The best balletic body horror this side of Suspiria, this movie made Natalie Portman an Oscar winner and gave Winona Ryder perhaps her first notable (albeit small) post-shoplifting role. It somehow managed to be simultaneously weird, arty, sexy, gross, kinda pretentious, dour, and fun, setting an admirably schizophrenic tone for the decade to come.
• The Cabin in the Woods (2011) - The Scream syndrome - that postmodern, self-referential quality that worked so well in the 1996 slasher but proved to have diminishing returns in countless less intelligent ripoffs - reached its logical conclusion with this clever-but-actually-clever horror-comedy. The last 15 minutes or so are an orgy of virtually every horror trope of the last 30 years and the effect is so bananas that the ending doesn't feel nearly as bleak as it is.
• The Lords of Salem (2012) - I remember this one being widely maligned when it first came out, but the subsequent years have been kind to it and now the general consensus seems to be that this is one of Rob Zombie's best, up there with The Devil's Rejects. Lords was one of the first witch flicks in what proved to be a VERY witchy decade, and it was filmed entirely in Salem, MA to boot. Let's just say I went from trying to convince people that this movie was actually pretty good to attending a screening here in Los Angeles where it was programmed as a double feature with Hocus Pocus - which, if you think about it, is totally perfect.
• WNUF Halloween Special (2013) - A found footage flick that has more in common with British TV movie Ghostwatch than it does with The Blair Witch Project, this deliciously nostalgic throwback gets every detail perfect as it recreates a (fictional, natch) '80s TV broadcast in which a local reporter investigates a haunted house on Halloween night. This has become a seasonal staple in our household.
• What We Do in the Shadows (2014) - It has since spawned a spinoff TV series (also great, and about to unveil its second season in April 2020!), but when this mockumentary debuted all I really knew about it was that it had Flight of the Conchords' Jemaine Clement as a vampire. So thank you for that, What We Do in the Shadows, and thank you for introducing me to Taika Waititi, but most of all, thank you for the best explanation I've ever heard of why vampires prefer to drink the blood of virgins: "I think of it like this: If you are going to eat a sandwich, you would just enjoy it more if you knew no one had fucked it."

• It Follows (2014) - Moody, pretty, uncomfortable, temporally ambiguous, and with a great Carpenteresque synth score from Disasterpeace, this "cursed sex is gonna getcha!" story may have had a few holes here and there in its mythology, but no one can deny its aesthetics or atmosphere. Plays like a weird dream, and I mean that as a compliment.
• As Above So Below (2014) - I sat on this one for a while 'cause I heard it wasn't that great, and now I can't stop watching it. It's basically a Tomb Raider-y adventure movie, but it's set - and at least partially filmed - in the Parisian catacombs, so it's spooky too. Also, it's found footage, which for me is a plus.
• The Houses October Built (2014) - Another found footage movie, this one is about Halloween haunts gone wrong - another theme that would come to be used quite a bit over the course of the decade, but Houses October Built did it first. As a haunt enthusiast, this film positively tickled me. 
• A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014) - This black-and-white film about about a skateboarding burqa-clad bloodsucker from Ana Lily Amirpour has the same elegiac us-against-the-world quality as, say, Let the Right One In, but set in Iran and with a feminist slant. Sad and romantic as only the best vampire stories can be.
•  The Witch (2015) - I was a bit disappointed with this one on first viewing, as I had fallen victim to those classic "Scariest movie IN DECADES!" press quotes - plus, I'd had a key moment spoiled for me - but it grew in my estimation the longer it marinated in my mind. I'm sure you've seen it (or at least heard all about it) by now, but just in case I'll try to avoid spoilers, so I'll just say: There was one brief, jarring moment involving a raven that was one of the most chilling images I witnessed at the movies in the past ten years. And oh, that ending!

• The Blackcoat's Daughter (2015) - I love recommending this movie to people, as so few have seen or even heard of it, given that it never really got a proper theatrical release. It's a real shame too, because this boarding school-set debut from director Osgood Perkins (son of Anthony, aka Norman Bates, my forever crush) is slow, eerie, and diabolical, with a properly skin-crawling score from Oz's brother Elvis Perkins and another pitch perfect ending. (Note: I consider the original Texas Chain Saw Massacre to have perhaps the finest ending of any horror film ever, if you need a barometer by which to judge my taste.)
• Crimson Peak (2015) - Left me a little lukewarm at first, but this is another grower-not-a-shower. (Also helps when you realize that the film is less a straightforward horror flick and more of a Gothic romance, albeit one with a couple of moments of absolutely stomach-churning violence.) Probably my favorite from Guillermo del Toro. Basically a feature-length version of "Women With Great Hair Fleeing Gothic Houses," and I ain't mad at it.
• Hell House LLC (2015) - Yes, yes, another found footage movie (told you I like 'em!), and another movie set in a Halloween haunt. BUT, what if I told you there were scary clowns? Wait, wait! I mean...actually scary? No wise-cracking quips, no demented circus music. Just darkness. And stillness. And one...single...clown, standing where he shouldn't be. Where he couldn't be. And that, my spookies, is why I liked Hell House LLC.
• Krampus (2015) - Michael Dougherty really loves those holiday horrors. And guess what? So do I. They're just so goddamn festive! From the twisted mind that brought you Trick 'r Treat comes this (very) loose take on the Krampus mythology. Stop looking for accurate folklore and give in to the pleasures of homicidal gingerbread men armed with nail guns and there's a lot to love here. Mr. Spooky and I try to watch this one every Christmas Eve. Note: This is the first of two movies on this list starring the inimitable Toni Collette as a frayed-nerve matriarch! Fun!
• The Neon Demon (2016) - A movie about the utter rot that lurks beneath the surface of glamour, and the biggest complaint I've heard from detractors is that it's all style and no substance? Sounds perfect to me! One of two 2016 flicks featuring America's sweetheart Keanu Reeves playing against type as a repulsive villain (see also: Ana Lily Amirpour's postapocalyptic romp The Bad Batch), this pretty, nasty little film also boasts what is perhaps the grossest sex scene of the decade. Enjoy! 

• The Love Witch (2016) - It's not often that we get a female auteur as thorough as Anna Biller, but 2016 blessed us with this ultra-feminine fever dream of a witch film, and director Biller was involved with every aspect of her opus, from script and editing down to costume design, hooking the rugs by hand, and even painting the film's artwork herself. I wrote a bit about what this film means to me over on Death & the Maiden. Go into this one with a wide-open mind, let yourself settle into the tone, and prepare to be visually stunned. 
• Get Out (2017) - I mean, it's only the most socially incisive movie to come out of the decade, and the best horror movie of 2017, no big deal. You have definitely seen this by now - what more can I say? It's important, it's multilayered, and don't forget that the last 20 minutes or so are also wild, cathartic fun. Jordan Peele rules. 
• The Ritual (2017) - This movie came out of nowhere and then suddenly popped up on Netflix and made rural Sweden seem like the scariest place on earth. (You're welcome, Ari Aster.) Somehow managed to breathe new life into both the folk horror subgenre and the good old-fashioned creature feature. Also, did I mention it's actually pretty scary?
• Hereditary (2018) - ...and speaking of scary - and our aforementioned pal Ari Aster - here's my personal pick for the most frightening film of the decade. This movie disturbed me in ways that nothing has in ages. Again, I'm sure you've seen it, but just in case you haven't (and you've managed to avoid spoilers for this long...), I won't ruin it here. All I'll say is, there is a scene that will devastate you, and you will absolutely know it when it happens. And also, Toni Collette is magnificent. And Jesus Christ, that ending. I actually hesitated to recommend this one to people even though I loved it because I thought it might be too disturbing. Oh, and I own the Bluray but I've been too scared to rewatch it. It may not be perfect, but when this movie is effective, it's almost too effective. 
• Mandy (2018) - And, finally, my picks end as they began: With another arty, trippy, kinda pretentious, and totally fun blast of utter weirdness in the form of this drug-fueled revenge film starring man/myth/legend Nicolas Cage at his Cagiest. SEE! Nic Cage express his grief while guzzling booze and wearing tighty-whities in a bathroom! HEAR! Nic Cage snort all the cocaine in the world before gearing up for a chainsaw fight! FEEL! Your soul leave your body because maybe you ate too much of the edible but oh wait, that's just the movie! 

And there you have it. What a wild, witchy, occult-fueled decade this was. Let's hope this spirit continues well into the roaring '20s and beyond!

Best of 2017: Movies

JFC, what a year this was! It felt like the news never stopped in 2017, like any given day had the potential to end in either nuclear catastrophe or the dawning of a new era of awakened human consciousness - take your pick. Given the volatility in our culture right now, perhaps it's not surprising that this was an extremely interesting year at the movies, particularly for horror fans. Even some of the movies I didn't particularly care for - like The Killing of a Sacred Deer, It Comes at Night, and mother! - lingered in my mind, inspiring plenty of thought and conversation and illustrating just how far horror has come since the lean years of the late '90s and early '00s.

Without further ado, here are a few of my filmic favorites:

Best of 2017: H O R R O R 

1. Get Out. What's left to say about Get Out at the end of 2017? This was basically the undisputed movie of the year, and I'm pretty sure you've seen it by now. Those who weren't familiar with writer-director Jordan Peele going in might have been surprised by this super inventive, intelligent, incisive horror film coming from a guy best known for sketch comedy, but I think it's totally in line with the surreal, disturbing tone of the best Key & Peele sketches. Despite the Stepford Wives-meets-Guess Who's Coming to Dinner? heaviness of the subject matter, this movie was also funny, cathartic, surprising, and the best experience I had in a crowded theater all year, thanks to the audience reactions. Get Out stands alone as a movie that could function equally well as a good group watch at a party or as part of the syllabus for any number of academic courses, from film studies to sociology. Its legacy is already cemented.
2. It. This was the other Big One this year - the film that, along with Get Out, inspired a million think pieces on the Great Horror Revival of 2017™ and the oceans of money that said revival has generated in the past 12 months. This was a mainstream horror movie based on a well-known and previously adapted novel starring a bunch of kids, and it STILL MANAGED TO BE AWESOME. Bill Skarsgård offers a terrifying new take on Pennywise that sits comfortably alongside Tim Curry's iconic creation without stepping on any toes. The whole thing felt like Stand by Me but with a token girl and, you know, a sewer-dwelling clown that consumes children. Sick!
3. The Shape of Water. A film that asks - and answers - the provocative question, "What if the Gill Man was hot?" In all honesty, this is my favorite from Guillermo Del Toro - sad, beautiful, and romantic, like if Amélie found herself in a Universal monster movie.
4. The Lure. Another poignant tale of aquatic monsters in love, but this time it's fishy mermaid babes and they end up working in a Polish nightclub in the '80s, and oh yeah, this is a musical, and also there are subtitles. A fairytale with (actual, literal) teeth. I wasn't at all sure how I felt about this one at first, but it's been months since I first watched it and I still think about it from time to time, so it definitely made an impression. Personally I think it would be a great double feature with The Shape of Water. 
5. Happy Death Day. What if Groundhog Day was a horror flick? That's what it looked like from the trailers, and yes, it's exactly that. But it's also exactly that much fun. This may not be a movie that's going to change anyone's life, but it's a really enjoyable way to spend 96 minutes.
6. 78/52. A documentary about the shower scene in Hitchcock's Psycho - arguably the first proper slasher scene in film history, and inarguably one of the most stunning, innovative and influential sequences of all time. Psycho is one of my all-time favorites and I loved this deep dive into such a specific and pivotal moment. Felt like attending the film class of my dreams.
7. The Blackcoat's Daughter. Speaking of Psycho, did you know that Anthony Perkins (Norman Bates himself) had two sons, and one of them wrote and directed this creepy AF slow-burn horror that takes the demonic possession trope in completely new and surprising directions? Oz Perkins also wrote and directed the similarly glacial-paced and ineffably eerie I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House, which is available on Netflix and would have made this list save for the fact that it came out in 2016 (even though technically The Blackcoat's Daughter was completed first, it wasn't widely distributed until this year). If you like super-slow, engrossing, atmospheric, female-led horror that would do Shirley Jackson proud, I promise you'll love the films of Oz Perkins. (Fun fact: Perkins' other son, Elvis, provided the film's haunting score.) 

Shudder Double Feature: WNUF HALLOWEEN SPECIAL and GHOSTWATCH

4th of July weekend was a hot 'n muggy one here in LA, and the heat didn't let up after the sun set - at least, not in our apartment. The only thing I wanted to do was lay on the couch in the dark with the fan pointed directly at me and watch horror movies. Mr. Spooky and I finally signed up for Shudder recently, so we had our work cut out for us in terms of selection. (Look, I know we all miss the horror sections of brick and mortar video stores - their charms were undeniable - but I still can't get over how FUCKING DOPE it is to have the entire horror section in my living room, ready to watch at a moment's notice.)

SIDE NOTE: I assume I'm late to the party, but just in case - you're signed up for Shudder, right? For just $5 a month (less if you pay for the entire year at once) you get access to so many cool horror movies. As far as I'm concerned, it's already paid for itself, because that weekend we discovered two new (old) favorites via what turned out to be an ideal double feature of Halloween-set retro found footage horror: WNUF Halloween Special (2013) and Ghostwatch (1992). 

WNUF Halloween Special has been on my radar for a while, and it was one of the films I was most excited to find on Shudder. The movie is a tape-recorded broadcast of a local TV station's Halloween night programming in 1987, complete with commercials. For fans of '70s, '80s and '90s nostalgia, this is exactly the kind of gem you're always hoping to unearth every time you watch an old VHS tape you found in a thriftstore (or just click on one of Dinosaur Dracula's Retro TV Commercials posts). The period setting feels so true to life and the Halloween atmosphere is so intoxicating that it starts to feel like you're in an honest-to-god timewarp.

Get Ready for NIGHT OF THE WITCHES

Spring is in full swing, and for the spooky among us, that means that we're HALFWAY TO HALLOWEEN! That's right - this coming Sunday, April 30 is Hexennacht, aka Hex Night, aka Walpurgis Night, when witches roam the earth and the veil is thinned (at least, as thin as it's going to get outside of October). If you're in the Los Angeles area and your coven has the night off, head to the Phantom Carriage Brewery in Carson for Night of the Witches, a celebration featuring food and drink specials, a Q&A with a working mortician, an illustrated talk on the history of the holiday from Sarah Chavez and a screening of Anna Biller's florid feminist fever dream The Love Witch, one of my personal favorite films of 2016. 

For those of you who can't make it out, The Spooky Vegan has compiled an excellent list of 20 Witch Films to Watch on Walpurgisnacht. I was so excited to read this list comprised of some of my favorite movies that I felt compelled to offer up some additional suggestions of my own. Truly, you can never have enough cinematic spellcasters in your life. So from the goofy to the gruesome, here are 20 more titles to add to your witchlist:

NOTHING HAPPENS

A parody trailer, lovingly made to pay tribute to my favorite kind of horror movie: Ultra slow burn, leisurely paced and atmospheric. Crossing my fingers that I don’t get cease & desist emails from Eli Roth, Ti West or Fangoria!